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BIOGRAPHICAL  REVIEW 


VOLUME    XXVI 


CONTAINING  LIFE  SKETCHES  OF  LEADING  CITIZENS  OF 


NEW  LONDON  COUNTY 


CONNECTICUT 


"  Biography  is  the  home  aspect  of  history  " 


BOSTON 

Biographicai   Review  Publishii  many 

1898 


F7o2 


ATLANTIC  STATES  SERIES  OF  BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEWS. 


The  volumes  issued  in  this  series  up  to  date  are  the  following: 


I.  '.  n.    Nl  «     YORK. 

II.  M  vdison  County,  Ni  w  York. 
HI  ntv,  Ni  w  York. 

1\".  Con  mbia  CouNTy,  New  York. 

\ .  .  County,  New  Vork. 

VI.  I  >i  I  W.  C  N      •     S  ORK. 

VII.  Livingston     and    Wyoming     Counties, 

York. 

Vlll.  Clinton  and  Essi  x»  01  nties,  New  Vork. 

IX.  II  \mi-i>i  n  County,  M  issachusj 

X.  Franklin  County,   M  \  sai  hi    i 

XI,  II  IMPSHIRl     COUN  IV,    M 

XII.  Lit*  h  field  (  ,  C01  n 

XIII.  Vork  C01  n  ry,  M  111 
XI  \  m  1        -I'..   Maine. 

XV.  Oxford      ind      Franklin      Counties, 
Maine. 


XVI.     Cumberland  County,  New  Jersey. 
XVII.     Rockingham  C01  nty,  New  Hampshire. 
XVIII.     Plymouth   County,  Massachusetts. 

XIX.     Camden    and    Burlington    Countii   , 

New  Jersey. 

XX.     Sagadahoc,      Lincoln,      Kxox,      and 
Waldo  C01  nties,  Maine. 

XXI.     Strafford     \m>     Belknap    Counties, 

New    Hampshire. 

XXII.     Sullivan   and  Merrimack    Counties, 

NEM      II  \MPSHIRK. 

XXIII.     Hillsboro    and    Cheshire    Counties, 

New     II  VMPSHIRE. 

XXI Y.     Pittsburg,   Pennsylvania. 
XXV.     Norfolk  County,  Massachusetts. 
XX\  I.     New  London  County,  Connecticut. 


(graphical  sketches  published  in  this  volume  were  submitted  to  their  respective  subjects  or  to  the  sub- 
■1. lined,  for  their  approval  or  correction  before   going  to  press;  :ind  a  reasonable 
tim.  the  return  of  the  typewritten  copies.     Most  of  them  were  returned  to  us  within  the  time  allotted, 

or  !».!  <k  was  printed,  after  being  corrected  or  revised:   and  these  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  reasonably  accurate. 

il   returned   to  us:  and.  as  we  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  they  contain  errors  or  not,  w( 
I  to   our  readers,  and   to  render  this  work  more  valuable  for  reference  purposes,  we  hav< 

.1  small  asterisk   (*),  placed  immediately  after  the  name  of  the  subject.     They  will  be  founo 
•  the  book. 

B.    K.    l'l   ! 


PREFACE. 


TRUE    to  our  purpose  ol   bringing  out   in  the  closing  years  of   the  nineteenth 
centurv  —  a  period    of    record   searching  and  of    record   making  such  as,  we 
venture  to  say,  the  world  has  never  before  known  —  an  extended  series  of  biographical 

works  of  special  local  interest  and  value,  thus  far  within  the  limits  of  the  Atlantic 
States,  we  issue  herewith  our  twenty-sixth  volume,  devoted  to  contemporary  worthies 
of  New  London  County,  Connecticut.  Its  pages  set  forth,  in  brief  outline  sketches, 
the  character,  connections,  and  activities  of  representative  citizens  of  this  ancient 
shire,  showing  what  manner  of  men  and  women  have  succeeded  to  the  possession  and 
occupancv  of  the  territory  settled  by  Governor  Winthrop  and  his  followers,  in  many 
instances  tracing  lines  of  descent  from  the  pioneers  of  old,  showing  who  are  the 
conservators  of  the  goodly  heritage  to-day,  and  what  they  have  done  to  prove  their 
title  to  the  vast  heirship  of  privilege  and  responsibility,  to  win  the  respect  and  good 
will  of  their  compatriots  and  deserve  the  remembrance  of  posterity. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  REVIEW  PUBLISHING  I  0. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


[DNEY  MINER,  whose  portrait 
appears  on  the  opposite  p;ige, 
was  for  many  years  a  prominent 
citizen  of  New  London,  Conn., 
his  native  place,  where  he  died 
on  December  29,  1881,  at 
seventy-six  years  of  aye.  He 
was  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Han- 
nah (Wood)  Miner,  the  father  a 
native  of  Stonington  and  the  mother  of  Groton. 
Stonington  was  the  home  of  the  .Miner  fam- 
ily for  four  generations  or  more;  and  Simeon 
Miner,  the  father  of  Frederick,  spent  his  life 
there.  Thomas  Miner,  an  English  yeoman, 
from  Chew-Magna,  Somersetshire,  England, 
the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  America, 
came,  it  is  said,  with  John  Winthrop  in  the 
ship  "  Arhella.  "  He  lived  in  Boston  at  first, 
was  a  member  of  the  church  in  1632,  but  soon 
removed  to  Hingham,  Mass.  ;  and  about  the 
year  [646  he  1  one  to  New  London.  In  1653 
he  removed  from  here  to  Quiambog,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  The  farm 
that  he  owned  is  still  occupied  by  his  descend- 
ants. He  was  but  twenty-two  years  old  when 
he  left  England,  and  he  was  married  in  Bos- 
ton. His  son  Ephraim  married  Mary  Avery, 
June  20,  1666.  Ephraim,  Jr.,  son  of 
Ephraim  and  Mary,  married  Mar}'  Stevens; 
and  their  son  Simeon  married  Hannah 
Wheeler.  Simeon,  Jr.,  son  of  Simeon,  and 
the  next  in  this  line,  was  twice  married,  fust 
to  Anna    Hewitt,  and   second  to   Mary  Owen, 


a  daughter  of  "Schoolmaster"  Owen,  who  was 
well  known  in  that  section  of  New  London 
County.  Frederick  Miner,  the  father  of  Sid- 
ney, was  the  son  of  Simeon,  Jr.,  by  his  so- 
marriage.  He  was  a  successful  merchant. 
Three  sons  and  a  daughter  were  the  fruit  of 
his  union  with  Hannah  Wood,  but  all  have 
now   passed   away. 

Sidney  Miner,  the  special  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  largely  interested  in  the  whale 
fishery  up  to  1855.  After  that  he  engaged  in 
the  coasting  trade  as  a  merchant.  He  was 
actively  interested  in  local  affairs,  and  served 
on  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  New  London 
many  years.  In  1N51  and  1852  he  built,  on 
the  site  of  one  of  the  old  block-houses,  the 
handsome  mansion-house  in  which  he  after- 
ward made  his  home  with  his  family.  The 
main  portion  of  the  house  is  forty-four  by 
forty  two  feet  in  ground  ana,  with  a  large  L 
adjoining,  and  is  three  stories  in  height,  built 
of  stuccoed  brick.  At  the  time  of  its  erection 
it  was  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city,  and  it  is 
not  surpassed  by  many  at  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Miner  married  lor  his  first  wife  Mary 
Ann  Ramsdell,  of  Mansfield,  Conn.  She 
died  at  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  leaving 
three  children,  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 
Only  the  daughter,  Mary  Miner,  is  now  living. 
She  resides  in  California.  Mr.  Miner  mar- 
ried for  his  second  wife  on  April  25,  1844, 
Lydia  J.  Belcher,  who  survives  him.  Their 
union    was   blessed   by   the   birth   of  a  son   and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


daughter,  both  of  whom  have   passed  away,  the 
daughter  having  died    in    infancy.      The    son, 

ph  Lawrence  Miner,  died  in  September, 
1871  twenty-nine  years.      Mr.    Miner's 

nd  son,  Frederick  W.  Miner,  married  Jen- 
nie Hale,  and  had  two  sons— Sidney  II.  and 
Frederick  R.  Sidney  II.  Miner  married  Lucy 
K.   B  1    New  London.      They  are  living 

witli  Mis.  Miner  at  the  family  residence,  68 
Main  Street,  and  have  one  son,  Sidney  Bishop 
Miner.  Frederick  Miner  is  unmarried,  and 
1  ilifornia  with  his  mother. 
Mis.  Miner  was  born  in  Norwich,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Colonel  William  and  Sally  (Wilson) 
Belcher,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  native  of 
Griswold,  and   the   latter  of  Jewett  City,  this 

ity.  The}'  had  eight  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, but  only  two  survive  at  this  day;  namely, 
Mrs.  Miner  and  her  brother,  Charles  Belcher, 
wlio  is  living  in  retiremenl  in  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Mi-.  Minn-  is  a  member  of  Dr.  Blake's 
church,  whose  house  of  worship  was  erected 
under  the  supervision  of  Mi'.  Miner  at  the 
same  time  that  he  was  building  his  own 
house. 


~\)     II.LIAM    FITCH,  late  a  retired  mer- 


chant residing  in  Norwich,  where 
he  died  December  22,  1880,  was 
born  in  Bozrah,  Conn.,  on  October  27,  1800. 
He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Colonel  Asa  and 
Susanna  il-'itch)  Fitch,  and  was  a  descendant 
of  James  Fitch,  who  came  to  America  in  the 
ship  "Defense  "  in  1 63 5. 

James    Fitch,    when    sixteen   years   of   age, 
ied   theology  under  the  instruction  of  the 
Rev.  Messrs.   Hooker  and  Stone,  of   Hartford, 
n.,  and  was  ordained  at  Saybrook  in  1649. 
t  remaining  as  pastor  there  fourteen  years, 
the    Rev.   Mr.    Fitch    removed   thence  to  Nor- 
wich with  the  larger  part  of  his  congregation, 
;»>l1  ed  active  in  the  work  of  the  min- 


istry  till  very  near  the  close  of  his  long  and 
useful  life,  his  death  occurring  at  Lebanon, 
Conn.,  November  18,  1702.  He  was  a  native 
of  Bocking,  County  Essex,  England,  the  date 
of  his  birth  being  December  24,  1622.  The 
Rev.  James  Fitch  married  first,  in  1648,  Abi- 
gail, daughter  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Whitfield. 
She  died  in  1659;  and  he  married  in  Oc- 
tober, 1664,  Priscilla  Mason,  daughter  of 
Captain  John  Mason.  He  had  fourteen  chil- 
dren, six  by  his  first  wife  and  eight  by  the 
second.  Their  descendants  are  very  numer- 
ous. Thomas  Fitch,  who  settled  in  Nor- 
walk,  Conn.,  and  Joseph  Fitch,  who  settled 
permanently  at  Windsor,  and  was  the  ancestor 
of  John  Fitch,  the  inventor,  were  brothers  of 
the  Rev.  James  Fitch;  and  a  Samuel,  school- 
master, who  was  married  in  Hartford  in  1654, 
it  is  said  "may  have  been  another  brother." 

Samuel  Fitch,  born  in  1655,  son  of  the 
Rev.  James  and  Abigail  (Whitfield)  Fitch, 
is  said  by  Stiles  in  his  History  of  Windsor, 
Conn.,  to  have  been  the  ancestor  of  the  Bozrah 
Fitch  families. 

Colonel  Asa  Fitch,  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Bozrah,  February  14, 
1755.  He  was  a  farmer  and  iron  manufact- 
urer at  Fitchville.  By  his  first  wife,  Su- 
sanna, he  had  ten  children,  five  sons  and  five 
daughters.  The  maiden  name  of  his  second 
wife  was  Mary  House. 

William  Fitch  in  his  boyhood  for  some 
years  worked  on  his  father's  farm  summers 
and  attended  school  winters.  Later,  in  his 
sixteenth  or  seventeenth  year,  he  attended 
m  Academy  at  Colchester,  where  he  com- 
pleted the  course  of  study,  and  was  graduated. 
He  had  always  been  fond  of  books  and  study, 
and  he  next  applied  himself  for  several  terms 
to  teaching  school.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he 
began  his  business  career,  going  with  his 
brother  Douglas  to   Marseilles,   France,  join- 


I'.IOCRAI'IIICAI.    REVIEW 


ing  in  business  their  elder  brother,  Asa 
Fitch,  Jr.,  who  had  been  in  New  York  City 
for  some  years,  and  who  there  founded  the 
mercantile  house  of  Fitch  Brothers  &  Co., 
who  sixty  years  ago  and  more  were  doing  an 
immense  commission  business.  In  a  volume 
entitled  "Old  Merchants  oi  New  York  City" 
we  read  thai  nearly  all  the  American  vessels 
and  American  produce  sent  to  Marseilles  were 
consigned  to  "the  great  firm,"  also  that  the 
United  government     appointed     this 

;ent  of  the  navy,  charged  with  supply- 
ing the  provisions  and  making  the  payment, 
etc.,  "t  the  American  squadron  in  the  Medi- 
terranean. Returning  to  this  country  in  [825 
or  1S26,  Mr.  William  Fitch  was  engaged  for 
about  twelve  years  in  the  New  York  office  of 
the  house,  having  in  this  period  entire  charge 
of  the  same.  Mr.  Fitch  returned  to  his  native 
town  in  1S48,  and  there  remained  until  1S5S, 
when  he  removed  to  Norwich.  In  this  city 
he  became  the  owner  of  considerable  real  es- 
The  house  that  he  bought  in  1857  of 
Edward  Worthington,  and  which  has  since 
been  the  family  home,  was  built  one  hundred 
and  thirty  years  ago  or  more  by  Colonel  Will- 
iam Bradford  Whiting,  who  sold  it  in  1771  to 
iah  Lathi"]).  A  picture  of  this  historic 
ion  may  be  seen  in  the  volume  entitled 
"Old  Houses  of  the  Ancient  Town  of  Nor- 
wich." 

Mr.  Fitch  was  married  October  14,  1857, 
to  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Dr.  Elias  and  Mary 
Ann  (Hillhouse)  Williams.  A  biographical 
sketch   of   Mrs.   Fitch  follows  this. 


|RS.  MARY  E.  FITCH,  for  many 
years  a  highly  esteemed  resident 
Norwich,  was  a  daughter  oi 
Dr.  Elias  W.  and  Mary  .Ann  (Hillhouse) 
Williams.      Her  paternal   grandfather  was   the 


Rev.  Joshua  Williams,  a  native  of  Middletown, 
(-'•Min.,  and  a  man  of  great  personal  worth. 
lie  married  Mary  Webb,  who  died  in  middle 
life  sume  years  before  her  husband.  They 
had  six  children,  two  sons  and  four  daughters. 
Dr.  Elias  W.  Williams  was  born  in  Harwin- 
ton,  Litchfield  Count)',  Conn.,  September  16, 
1797.  He  was  skilled  in  his  profession,  and 
was  a  man  of  cheerful  disposition  and  genial 
and  courteous  manners.  His  career  of  useful- 
uas  cut  short  in  his  thirty-first  year,  his 
death  occurring  September  16,  [828.  His 
wife,  who  survived  him  many  years,  died  in 
[885,  at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mis.  Will- 
iam Fitch,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-nine. 
They  had  two  children  —  Mary  E.,  and  a  son 
who  died  in  infancy- 
Mary  E.  Williams  received  careful  home 
training  and  as  good  an  education  as  in  those 
days  was  readily  obtainable  In'  women.  On 
October  14,  1857,  she  was  married  to  William 
Fitch,  a  member  of  the  family  for  which 
Fitchville  was  named.  His  father,  Colonel 
Asa  Fitch,  who  was  born  in  1755,  at  onetime 
operated  an  iron  furnace  in  the  town  of  I 
rah.  His  sons  subsequently  built,  owned,  and 
operated  a  cotton-mill  in  that  town.  This 
mill  was  three  times  burned,  and  twice  rebuilt 
by  Asa  Fitch,  Jr.  In  February,  17S1, 
Colonel  Asa  Fitch  married  Susannah  Fitch, 
win  1  bore  him  five  sons  and  five  daughters. 
Alter  her  death  he  married  for  his  second 
wile,  in  January,  [816,  Mary  House,  who  sur- 
vived him  some  ye 

William  Fitch  was  the  ninth  child  and 
youngest  son  of  Colonel  .Asa  and  Susannah 
Fitch,  and  was  born  in  the  town  of  Bozrah, 
October  27,  1800.  He  became  a  member  of 
the  firm  <>I"  Fitch  Brothers,  commission  mer- 
chants and  importers  "i  New  York  City. 
Having  inherited  from  his  father's  estate  a 
goodly   patrimony,   he  added    to    it    from    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


results  of  his  successful  business  career.  A 
fuller  account  of  his  life  and  ancestry  may  be 
found  in  his  own  personal  sketch,  immediately 
preceding  this  article.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fitch 
had  six  children,  ol  whom  four  are  now  living. 
Their  record  in  brief  is  as  follows:  William 
died  at  the  age  "I  twenty  months  in  i860; 
v,  a  young  lady  of  great  promise,  died 
ruary  21,  (890,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
rs;  Marian  Hillhouse  is  the  wife  of  Elihu 
G.  Loomis,  an  attorney-at-law  of  Boston, 
Mass.,  and  the  mother  of  tour  children;  Susan 
Lee  is  Mrs.  William  R.  Jewett,  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  and  has  three  children;  Eliza- 
beth Mason  is  the  wife  of  William  N.  Wilbur, 
a  manufacturer  ol  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  has 
three  children  ;  and  Sarah  Griswold,  the  wife 
of  Francis  Hillhouse,  of  New  York  City,  has 
musical  talents  of  a  high  order,  and  is  a 
skilled  performer  upon  the  piano. 

Mis.  Fitch  died  at  her  home  in  Norwich 
town  <m  July  12,  18(17.  The  spacious  stately 
looking  house  in  which  she  resided  is  built  in 
Southern  Colonial  style,  and  dates  back  more 
than  a  bundled  years.  It  stands  back  from 
■the  street,  and  is  reached  by  a  wide  and  beau- 
tiful private  driveway  leading  from  the  foot  of 
Norwich  town  green.  The  extensive  grounds 
are  beautifully  cared  for,  and  are  shaded  by 
tall  old  trees,  which  give  one  a  feeling  of 
being  in  the  country,  tar  from  the  rush  of  city 
life.  The  mistress  of  this  beautiful  estate 
was  a  modest  and  genuine  lady,  unaffected  and 
easily  approached;  and  visitors  to  her  home, 
however  humble,  were  always  courteously  wel- 
comed. 


OHN    MITCHELL,   a  prominent  manu- 
facturer of  Norwich,  was  born  at  Stour- 
bridge,    England,     in     1819,     son     of 
Thoi  zabeth    (Williams)    Mitchell. 

her,  who   was   born    in    179S,    came   to 


America  in  1828  with  his  wife  and  five  chil- 
dren. He  spent  the  first  three  years  in  New 
York  City.  Subsequently,  in  1845,  ne  came 
to  Norwich.  He  was  an  iron  manufacturer, 
having  learned  the  business  in  England,  and  a 
member  of  the  Cold  Spring  Iron  Company, 
which  he  established  here  and  the  Gosnold 
Mills  in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  in  1855.  He 
died  in  1867,  when  sixty-nine  years  of  age, 
having  led  a  busy  and  successful  life.  Eliza- 
beth Mitchell,  his  wife,  was  a  native  of  Bris- 
tol, England.  They  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children,  of  whom  five  sons  and  three 
daughters  reached  maturity.  Of  these  Mary 
A.,  John,  William,  Elizabeth,  Charles,  and 
Emma  are  living.  Mary  A.  is  the  widow  of 
William  Garner,  and  resides  in  Derby,  Conn.; 
Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of  George  W.  Geer;  and 
Emma  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Davis.  Except- 
ing Mrs.  Garner,  all  reside  in  Norwich.  The 
mother  died  in  March,   i860,  at  sixty-seven. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen  John  Mitchell  left 
the  district  school,  and  became  an  apprentice 
to  the  iron  business,  which  has  been  his  chief 
occupation  since.  He  has  been  connected 
with  the  Cold  Spring  Iron  Works  fifty  years. 
Since  1879,  when  he  purchased  the  Thames 
Iron  Works,  he  has  been  the  president  of  that 
corporation.  Also  for  the  past  seventeen  years 
he  has  been  the  president  of  the  Richmond 
Stove  Works,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
founders.  He  is  also  interested  in  the  Uncas 
l'aper  Company,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
original  directors. 

On  June  6,  1841,  Mr.  Mitchell  was  married 
to  Miss  Joanna  Dexter  Gibbs,  a  daughter  of 
Captain  Joshua  and  Deborah  (Washburn) 
Gibbs,  of  Wareham,  Mass.  Her  father,  who 
was  a  sea  captain,  died  in  the  prime  of  life, 
leaving  two  other  children,  namely:  Azel  W. 
Gibbs,  of  Norwich;  and  Mary  B.,  the  wife  of 
Samuel   B.   Caswell,    living  in   Los  Angeles, 


[OHN    MITCHELL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'S 


Cal.  Her  mother  died  in  1852,  aged  fifty-two 
years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  have  had  four 
sons,  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy.  The 
others  are:  Albert  Gibbs  Mitchell,  residing 
in  Norwich,  who  is  married  and  has  one  son; 
and  Frank  Arthur  Mitchell,  living  in  Ari- 
zona, who  is  married,  and  has  one  daughter. 
Mr.  Mitchell  has  served  on  the  Common 
Council  for  two  years.  For  a  quarter-century 
he  has  been  a  director  of  the  Thames  National 
Hank.  He  has  been  interested  in  the  Nor- 
wich Savings  Hank  for  about  twenty-seven 
years  and  its  president  since  1895.  He  is 
also  a  director  of  the  Crescent  Fire  Arms 
Company  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  and  a  trustee  of 
the   Norwich     Fn  lemy    and    of    several 

other  institutions.  A  man  of  sound  judg- 
ment, he  has  been  very  successful.  Both  he 
and  Mrs.  Mitchell  attend  the  Second  Congre- 
gational Church.  They  reside  at  178  West 
Thames  Street,  where  he  erected  his  present 
home  and  settled  in  1859,  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  residence  of  his  father. 


• 


|ARL  J.  VIETS,  of  New  London, 
dealer  in  books,  stationery,  and  fancy 
goods,  is  a  lineal  descendant  of 
some  of  the  original  settlers  of  Connecticut. 
He  was  bum  in  East  Granby,  Conn.,  and  is  a 
son  oi  John  Jay  and  Jane  (Wadsworth)  Yicts. 
The  family  is  of  German  origin.  The  first 
progenitor  in  this  part  oi  the  country  was  a 
colonist  from  the  vicinity  oi  Dorchester, 
Mass.,  who  with  a  party  under  the  leadership 
of  ministers  Hooker  and  Stone  made  the  first 
settlement  at  Hartford.  The  exodus  of  these 
colonists  took  place  in  June,  [636;  and  their 
journey  to  Hartford  (named  for  Mr.  Stone's 
birthplace  in  England)  is  vividly  described  in 
Ellis's  Youth's  History  of  the  United  States. 
vol.     i.    p.    117.      Dr.    John    Viets    settled    in 


1 710  in  Simsbury  (now  Last  Granby),  which 
has  since  been  the  home  of  the  family.  His 
grandson,  Captain  John  Viets,  who  was  the 
great-great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  the  first  keeper  of  the  old  Newgate 
Prison  at  Simsbury,  and  during  the  Revolu- 
tion had  Tory  prisoners  under  his  charge 
there.  From  his  time  to  the  present  the  male 
members  of  the  family  generally  have  been 
iged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  John  Viets, 
Carl  J.  Viets's  grandfather,  died  in  1858,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  His  wife  was 
in  maidenhood  Abigail  Eno,  of  Simsbury; 
and  Amos  R.  Eno,  of  New  York  City,  is  a 
cousin  of  the  present  Mr.  Viets.  Mrs.  Abi- 
gail Eno  Viets  survived  her  husband  ten 
years,  living  to  be  fourscore,  and  is  now  rest- 
ing with  him  in  the  Last  Granby  cemetery, 
where  sleep  many  generations  of  the  family. 
She  reared  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  of 
whom  the  only  survivor  is  Ardelia,  widow  of 
Edward  Bowers,  and  a  resident  of  Hartford. 
The  last  to  die  was  James  Rollin  Viets,  a 
successful  merchant  and  influential  public 
man,  who  breathed  his  last  in  East  Granby  in 
July,   1896,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

John  Jay  Viets  was  born  in  Simsbury  (East 
Granby)  in  1806.  He  was  in  business  for  a 
number  of  years  in  his  native  town,  dealing 
extensively  in  general  merchandise.  Though 
a  Republican  in  a  strong  Demoi  ratic  town,  he 
was  often  called  upon  to  take  an  active  part  in 
public  affairs;  and  his  ability  was  generally 
recognized.  His  death  occurred  December 
10,  1885.  He  was  married  in  1851  to  Jane 
Wadsworth,  of  Larmington,  Conn.,  daughter 
of  Timothy  Wadsworth.  and  a  direct  descend- 
ant of  William  Wadsworth,  who  was  one  oi 
the  first  settlers  of  Hartford,  coming  thither 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hooker  from  the  vicinity  of 
Dorchester.  Her  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Strong.      Mrs.  Jane   Wadsworth  Viets  died  at 


i6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  age  of  sixty-one  years,  sixteen  days  after 
her  husband's  demise.  They  reared  three 
children:  Jennie  A.,  wife  of  O.  L.  Livesey, 
now  living  in  California  near  Los  Angeles; 
:  Hubert  Wadsworth  Viets,  pro- 
prietor and  manager  of  a  large  steam  laundry 
in  La  Crosse.  Wis. 

Carl  J.  Viets  acquired  his  elementary  edu- 
cation in  the  district  school,  and  was  gradu- 
ated at  Columbia  Institute  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen. Shortly  after  leaving  school  he  obtained 
a  position  in  the  post-office  at  Windsor, 
Conn.,  and  was  Assistant  Postmaster  there  for 
some  five  years.  In  the  spring  of  1 88 1  he 
was  engaged  as  book-keeper  for  the  Livesey 
Manufacturing  Company  in  New  London;  and 
in  i.SSS  he  purchased  his  present  stand,  buy- 
ing the  whole  estate  of  Charles  Allen.  As  a 
book  store  this  place  of  business  has  been  in 
existence  nearly  sixty-eight  years,  having 
been  established  by  the  Howies  Brothers  in 
1830.  Mr.  Viets  has  a  large  and  well-selected 
stock,  ami  controls  a  good  business. 

He  was  married  May  23,  1883,  to  Mary. 
daughter  of  Major  William  H.  H.  and  Eliza 
(Smith)  Comstock.  She  was  born  in  East 
Lyme.  Conn.,  and  has  lived  in  New  London 
thirty  years.  Mrs.  Viets  also  is  of  old  New 
England  stock.  She  is  a  member  of-  the 
Mayflower  Society  by  right  of  five  ances- 
tors, two  on  her  father's  side,  and  three  on  her 
mother's,  all  passengers  on  the  historic  craft. 
She  is  also  a  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
Revolution;  belongs  to  the  Sons  of  the  Revo- 
lution, which  she  joined  as  an  honorary  mem- 
ber, bein  w  ladies  to  have  that 
distinction:  and  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Colonial  Dames,  besides  being  eligible  to 
ml  of  the  more  exclusive  Colonial  socie- 
One  child  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
ts.  a  daughter,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Viets  is   .1    Republican    politically,  and 


he  is  now  serving  his  third  term  as  a  Council- 
man of  New  London.  He  is  a  Master  Mason, 
belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution  by  right  of  two 
lines  of  descent,  being  eligible  to  the  May- 
flower Society  by  virtue  of  being  a  descend- 
ant of  John  Alden.  He  has  an  attractive 
home  on  Granite  Street,  one  of  the  charming 
residences  in  the  vicinity  of  the  park,  into 
which  he  moved  February  17,   1896. 


ANFORD     NELSON      BILLINGS, 

a  skilful  farmer  and  extensive  land- 
owner of  Stonington,  Conn.,  was 
born  May  18,  1841,  in  North  Stonington,  a 
son  of  Horatio  N.  Billings,  and  is  of  ancient 
Colonial  stock. 

Roger  Billings,  probably  the  first  of  this 
surname  in  New  England,  came  over  about 
1635,  and  settled  at  Dorchester,  Mass.  His 
epitaph,  which  has  been  preserved  in  print, 
reads  as  follows  :  — 

Here  lyetli  buried 
ye  Body  of  Roger 
Billings  Senior  aged 
63  years  Departed 
this  life  ye  i  5  day 
of  No\  ember 
1683. 

William  Billings,  an  ancestor  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  several  generations  removed, 
married  February  12,  1658:  and  to  htm  and 
his  wife,  Mai)-,  were  born  seven  daughters 
and  two  sons,  William  being  the  eldest  and 
Ebenezer,  the  next  in  line  of  descent,  the 
youngest  child.  In  1680  Ebenezer  married 
Annie  Comstock,  who  bore  him  five  daughters 
and  an  ecpial  number  of  sons,  among  them 
being  Ebenezer  and  Increase.  The  latter, 
their  eighth  child,  born  May   13,    1697,  settled 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'7 


in  Ledyard,  Conn.  Ebenezer  Billings,  Jr., 
their  second  child  and  first  son,  was  the  next 
in  this  line.  He  was  born  January  i,  i 
and  on  April  2,  1706,  married  Phebe  Denni- 
son,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children,  six  oi 
them  being  sons.  The  line  was  continued 
through  their  third  child  and  second  son, 
Ebenezer,  third,  born  March  20,  171  1.  He 
married  Mary  Noyes  on  November  20,  1733, 
and  had  four  sons  and  four  daughters.  San- 
ford,  the  second  child  and  first  son,  born 
April  21,  1736,  was  named  in  honor  of  an 
uncle  or  aunt  who  had  married  into  the  family 
of  George  Sanford.  Sanford  Billings  married 
Lucy  Green,  daughter  of  Janus  Green,  whose 
wife,  it  is  said,  was  a  direct  descendant  of 
John  Alden  and  Priscilla  Mullins,  immortal- 
ized by  Longfellow.  Nine  sons  and  two 
daughters  were  born  of  this  union,  Gilbert, 
the  fifth  son  and  child,  being  the  grandfather 
of  Sanford  Nelson  Billings. 

Gilbert  Billings  was  horn  November  25, 
.  on  the  old  homestead  in  Stonington. 
He  married  Lucy  Swan,  by  whom  he  had 
eleven  children,  eight  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters; and  of  these  two  sons  and  one  daughter 
died  in  early  life.  A  daughter,  Lucy,  was 
twice  married  ;  and  one  of  her  grand-daughters, 
whose  father  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Twenty-first 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  commanded  by 
General  Grant,  now  lives  in  Illinois.  A  son, 
Robert  Billings,  married  Calista  Kinney,  and 
at  his  death  left  one  son,  Gilbert,  >>t  Mill 
Town.  Sanford  Billings,  second,  another 
son,  a  young  man  ol  great  promise,  went  West 
1    surveyor   when    young,    and    died  in  Illi- 

Horatio  V  Billings  was  born  in  1803,  and 
married  on  January  30,  1838,  Mary  Ann  Fish. 
lie  was  a  seafaring  man,  ami  in  1849  or  1850 
went  to  California  as  first  mate  of  a  sailing- 
vessel,       lie    was    heard     from     soon     after    his 


arrival,  but  never  afterward.  Mrs.  Hillings 
strug- led  nobly  to  educate  their  four  children; 
namely,  Lucy  II.,  Sanford  Nelson,  Edward 
!•].,  and  Mary  A.  Lucy  H.  Billings  became 
the  wife  of  John  L.  Spalding,  and  died  in 
[88l,  aged  forty-two  years;  Edward  E.  is  a 
farmer  in  North  Stonington;  and  Mary  A.  is 
the  wife  of  Charles  D.  Thompson,  of  North 
Stonington,  and  has  twin  daughters.  Mrs. 
Spalding,  wdio  possessed  rare  literary  ability 
and  artistic  talent,  was  educated  at  Cooper  In- 
stitute in  New  York,  where  she  won  the  first 
[iri/e  medal  in  art.  She  wrote  much  for  the 
press;  and  in  1.S71  a  volume  of  her  poetical 
works  was  published  by  J.  B.  Lippincott, 
bearing  the  title  of  "The  Ruined  Statues  and 
Other  Poems,''  by  Louise  Billings  Spalding 
(her  pen  name).  She  was  twice  married,  but 
had  no  children. 

Sanford  N.  Billings  began  the  battle  of  life 
on  his  own  account  when  a  lad  of  sixteen, 
working  as  a  farm  hand  for  his  uncle,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Billings,  in  Griswold,  this  count)-. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  farming  on 
the  old  homestead  farm  that  his  early  ances- 
tor, William  Billings,  had  taken  from  the 
government,  and  a  portion  of  which  has  since 
been  in  the  family,  being  now  owned  by  a 
cousin  of  Mr.  Billings.  In  August,  [862, 
Mr.  Billings  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company 
G,  Twenty-first  Connecticut  Volunteer  Infan- 
try.     Six   months    later   he  was   detached,  and 

1  year  and  a  half  was  turnkey  of  the  jail  at  * 
Norfolk,  \'a.  Rejoining  his  regiment  at 
Washington,  N.C.,  he  was  taken  prisoner  in 
front  ot  Richmond  on  May  [6,  1864,  and  con- 
!  to  Libby  Prison  and  two  weeks  later 
to  Anderson vi lie,  where  he  was  confined  until 
fall  of  1864.  He  was  then  taken  to 
Charleston,  S.C.,  thence  three  weeks  later  to 
Florence,  ami  from  there  to  Wilmington, 
N.C.,  and  afterward  to  Goldsboro.      Mr.  Bill- 


1 8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ings  had  in  the  meantime  endured  untold 
horrors,  and,  having  suffered  a  shock,  had  be- 
come so  reduced  that  he  could  scarcely  walk. 
He  had  barely  clothes  enough  to  cover  him; 
but  in  sheer  desperation  he  and  a  comrade 
wandered  away,  and  were  fortunately  picked 
up  by  some  of  the  boys  in  blue.  Mr.  Billings 
w.is  so  feeble  in  mind  that  he  knew  not  his 
name  or  where  he  was;  but  after  weeks  of 
faithful  nursing  he  was  partially  restored,  and 
as  soon  as  able  was  sent  home,  arriving  here  a 
mere  shadow  of  himself.  He  had  weighed 
(me  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds  when  in 
his  normal  health,  but  after  becoming  conva- 
lescent lie  wi  'wit  ninety-four.  Though 
he  escaped  the  missiles  of  death  that  flew 
around  him  in  battle,  he  suffered  worse  agonies 
than  were  ever  caused  by  a  bullet's  wound, 
his  prison  life  having  been  a  veritable  "hell 
upon  earth,"  the  very  memory  of  it  even  now 
overshadowing  him  with  a  sickening  horror. 
While  he  was  in  Andersonville,  his  mother 
died  on  tli                niestead. 

Mr.  Hillings  has  since  turned  his  attention 
to  agricultural  pursuits  in  Stonington  and 
North  Stonington,  paving  much  attention  to 
stock-raising,  a  part  of  the  time  having  been 
in  partnership  with  W.  W.  Billings;  but  he  is 
now  more  interested  in  dairying.  In  1873  he 
took  possession  of  his  present  fine  farm,  which 
was  presented  to  him  by  William  W.  Hillings, 
ol  Xew  London.  He  also  owns  another  farm 
and  two  tracts  of  land,  amounting  in  all  to 
some  three  hundn 

Mr.  Hillings  was  married  October  28,  1867, 
to  Miss  Lucy  E.  Main,  oi  North  Stonington, 
a  daughter  of  Charles  H.  and  Almira  (Eglcs- 
Main.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hillings  have  eight 
children,  the  following  being  their  record: 
11.  born  January  4,  [869,  is  foreman  of 
the  Wilcox  Fish  Works  at  Mystic:  Mary, 
bom     .:    .      15,      1871,     married     Arthur     G. 


JL 


Wheeler,  and  has  one  son  and  one  daughter; 
William  W.,  a  farmer,  resides  in  Stonington; 
Lucy  was  born  June  20,  1881;  Grace  W.  was 
born  December  18,  1882;  Lilla  M.  was  born 
(uly  6,  1886;  Priscilla  Alden  was  born  May 
29,  1892;  and  Sanford  N,,  Jr.,  was  born  Au- 
gust 17,  1895.  Mr.  Hillings  is  a  decided  Re- 
publican in  his  political  affiliations,  but  has 
never  aspired  to  official  honors.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  J.  F.  Trumbull  Post,  No.  82, 
G.  A.  R. 

YRUS  G.  BECKWITH,  a  dealer  in 
meats  and  groceries  and  a  substantial 
citizen  of  New  London,  was  born 
December  3,  1841,  in  the  town  of  Waterford, 
this  county,  son  of  James  and  Nancy  S. 
(Caulkins)  Beckwith.  Jason  Beckwith,  the 
father  of  James,  and  also  a  native  of  Water- 
ford,  had  ten  children,  seven  sons  and  three 
daughters,  of  whom  James  was  the  sixth  or 
seventh  in  order  of  birth.  Both  parents  lived 
to  an  advanced  age,  and  were  buried  in  Water- 
ford. 

James  Beckwith,  who  was  born  September 
12,  1803,  followed  the  occupation  of  ship- 
builder, first  in  Waterford  and  later  in  New 
London,  whither  he  came  about  the  year  1850. 
He  built  coasting-vessels  principally,  of  from 
one  to  three  hundred  tons'  burden,  and  had  a 
fair-sized  business.  In  1865  he  retired,  and 
returned  to  Waterford,  where  he  died  when 
seventy-two  years  of  age.  After  his  return  to 
his  native  town  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
legislature  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and 
served  two  terms.  In  religious  belief  he  was 
a  Baptist  and  for  many  years  a  Deacon  in  the 
church.  James  and  Nancy  S.  (Caulkins) 
Beckwith  had  four  children,  all  of  whom  are 
living.  They  are:  Cordelia,  the  wife  of  Sid- 
ney A.  Smith,  residing  in  Waterford;  James 
E.   Beckwith,  a  retired   farmer,  and    the   Town 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Clerk  of  Waterford,  which  he  h;is  also  served 
in  other  offices,  including  that  oi  Representa- 
tive to  the  State  legislature;  Elisha  P.  Beck- 
with,  who  resides  in  New  London;  and  Cyrus 
G.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  mother 
died  in  1847,  when  Cyrus  G.,  the  youngest 
child,  was  but  six  years  old.  The  father 
afterward  married  Mrs.  Eliza  Keeney  Fox, 
who  survived  him  some  years.  Me  died  when 
seventy-two  years  of  age. 

Cyrus  G.  Beckwith  completed  his  education 
in  New  London  at  the  Bartlett  High  School. 
When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  became  a 
clerk  in  the  grocery  store  and  ship-chandlery 
of  Comstock  S:  Miner,  with  whom  he  remained 
three  years.  He  then  started  in  business  for 
himself  in  blast  New  London.  Twelve  months 
later  he  sold  out  and  formed  a  partnership 
with  N.  L.  Smith,  with  whom,  under  the 
style  of  Smith  &  Co.,  he  carried  on  a  giocery 
business  at  the  comer  of  State  and  Bradley 
Streets  for  two  and  a  half  years.  Mr.  Beck- 
with then  sold  out,  and  afterward  was  a  travel- 
ling salesman  for  a  firm  of  wholesale  grocers 
in  New  York  City  for  fourteen  years,  princi- 
pal!)' in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island.  In 
1878  be  left  the  road  and  opened  a  grocery 
store  at  the  corner  of  Bank  and  Pearl  Streets, 
in  this  city.  After  being  alone  some  yea  is, 
he  took  in  Arthur  Keefe,  his  clerk,  as  a  part- 
ner, after  which  they  purchased  property  on 
Hank  Street  and  started  a  store.  This  venture 
prospered,  and  they  became  one  of  the  leading 
grocery  firms  in  this  place.  In  1894  Mr. 
Beckwith  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner,  and 
on  January  1,  1895,  in  company  with  his  son, 
J.  Allan  Beckwith,  opened  their  present  gro- 
cery  store  and  market. 

In  February,  1863,  Mr.  Beckwith  married 
Augusta  A.  Dart,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Sam- 
uel B.  and  Adeline  (Hand)  Dart,  of  New 
London,    both    of    whom    have    passed    away. 


Her  father  was  a  sea  captain.  Mr.  and  Mi-. 
Beckwith  have  lost  one  son.  Their  surviving 
son  is  J.  Allan  Beckwith,  referred  to  al 

A  Democrat  111  politics,  Mr.  Beckwith 
served  in  the  Common  Council  for  three  terms, 
was  State  Senator  in  18S7  88,  and  a  deb 
to  the  National  Convention  in  1892  and  1 
In  the  fall  of  [894  he  was  a  candidate  for 
Congress.  In  1896  he  was  elected  to  the 
legislature,  and  was  hi-  party's  candidate  for 
Speaker.  In  the  fall  election  oi  [897  be  was 
elected  Mayor  oi  New  London  by  the  largest 
majority  received  by  any  chiei  magistrate  "t 
this  place.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Hoard  of 
Trade,  a  Master  Mason,  an  Odd  Fellow,  a  Red 
Man  of  the  Improved  Order,  and  a  Captain  on 
the  Major's  staff  of  Putnam  Phalanx,  an  inde- 
pendent military  company.  The  family  reside 
at  60  Hempstead  Street,  in  the  beautiful  home 
that  he  purchased  about  twenty  years  ago,  and 
which,  facing  the  Park,  affords  a  fine  view  of 
the  Thames  R  i\  er. 


I) 


ANIEL  BURROWS  SPALDING,  a 
banker  of  Stonington  and  a  son  oi 
Daniel  Brown  and  Lui  \  Bi eed 
(Grant)  Spalding,  was  born  in  Preston,  New 
London  County.  April  14.  1843.  The  Spal- 
dings  are  of  English  origin.  Edward  Spal- 
ding, who  came  to  this  country  about  II 
was  one  oi  the  first  settlers  of  Brain! 
Mass.,  where,  accoi  ling  to  the  old  records,  he 
owned   realty   and    filled   a    pi  Ik- 

was  made  a  freeman  ol  the  town  in  1(140,  a 
fact  that  proves  he  was  also  a  member  of  Mane 
church  there.  He  dii  :  February  26,  [670. 
A  copy  of  his  will,  dated  April,  [666,  and 
proven    in    1670,  is  still   1  i  most    inter- 

esting and  valuable  document.  He  left  much 
property  and  considerable  sums  of  money  to  his 
sons,  who   were   then   wealth)    land-owners   in 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Plainfield  and  Killingly,  Conn.  His  children 
were:  John,  Edward,  Benjamin,  Joseph,  An- 
drew. Grace,  and  Dinah,  all  of  whom  left 
large  families.  The  Spaldings  are  now 
scattered  all  over  the  United  States.  Of  Ed- 
ward's sons.  John  is  a  lineal  ancestor  ol 
Daniel  Burrows,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
fohn  had  a  son  John,  whose  son  Samuel,  also 
a  native  of  Plainfield,  had  six  children,  one  of 
whom  was  Jedediah.  Asa  Spalding,  horn  in 
Plainfield,  Octobei  6,  1751.  son  of  Jedediah, 
was  the  grandfather  of  Daniel  Burrows.  He 
studied  medicine  with  Elisha  Perkins  in  his 
native  town,  and  became  a  noted  physician. 
He  was  also  an  ordained  evangelist  in  the 
Baptist  church,  and  was  one  of  the  leading 
Deacons,  but  not  a  regular  pastor.  He  was  at 
the  s  Fort  Griswold  in  17.S1,  whereby 

his  knowledge  of  surgery  he  saved  the  life  of 
a  wounded  soldier.  His  death  occurred  in 
the  place  now  called  North  Stonington  on 
February  21,  1811.  He  had  fourteen  children. 
His  son,  D.miel  Brown,  was  a  farmer  in  his 
earl_\-  days,  and  lived  at  one  time  in  Pitcher, 
nango  Comity,  WW,  which  was  then 
bed  only  by  water.  Daniel  moved  to 
Preston,  Conn.,  but  stayed  there  for  only  one 
year.      Then  :  to  Stonington,  where  he 

spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  In  1843  he  en- 
d  in  business  with  his  wife's  brother, 
(diver  B.  Grant,  a  prominent  business  man  of 
the  town.  Mr.  Granl  was  one  of  the  incor- 
porators of  the  Stonington  Rank,  served  on  its 
Pon  I  0!  Directors,  and  was  its  secretary, 
and  afterward  president.  Mr. 
Spalding  was  an  efficient  worker  as  colporteur 
and  evangelist  tor  the  Baptisl  denomination 
in  Stonington.      He  died  in   1866.      Mis  wife, 

1    1   di    cent,  was   horn 

in     North     Stonington,     October     13,     1810. 

man  ied   May    10,   1832.     Of  their 

1    two   died    in    infancy;    and  one. 


Frederick  William,  died  at  the  age  of  five. 
The  mother  died  October  25,   1888. 

I  laniel  Burrows  Spalding  was  but  seven 
months  old  when  his  parents  moved  to  Ston- 
ington. After  attending  the  public  schools 
in  the  town  for  a  time,  he  studied  at  a  private 
school  under  old  Dr.  Hart  and  later  at  the 
Seliofield  Commercial  School  in  Providence, 
R.I.  When  he  left  school,  in  1864,  he  en- 
tered the  bank  as  assistant  treasurer  to  his 
uncle.  When  Mr.  Grant  became  the  presi- 
dent in  1876,  Mr.  Spalding  was  made  the 
treasurer  and  the  secretary,  which  offices  he 
has  since  filled.  He  was  the  president  of  the 
Uncas  National  Bank  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  for 
two  years,  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  the  same  place,  and  he  is  a  director 
of  the  Stonington  Building  Company  in  Ston- 
ington. 

Though  an  ardent  Republican  in  politics, 
Mr.  Spalding  has  never  sought  office;  yet  he 
has  been  a  Burgess  of  the  town  for  four  years, 
and  he  was  elected  a  Warden,  but  he  did  not 
qualify.  .  In  1875  he  married  Drusilla  R.,  a 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  W.  and  Elizabeth  Dun- 
can Parlow,  of  New  Bedford,  Mass.  Mr.  and 
Mis.  Spalding  have  lived  in  their  present 
home  since  March,  1S75.  The  house,  which 
was  erected  in  1837,  by  Charles  II.  Smith,  a 
contractor,  is  one  of  the  fine  old  residences  of 
Stonington. 


VAyiUTAM  PARKINSON  GREENE, 
an  old  and  respected  resident  of 
Norwich,  was  born  in  this  city, 
March  26,  1X31.  He  comes  of  a  long  line  of 
American  ancestors,  being  descended  from 
John  Greene,  who  sailed  from  Southampton, 
England,  in  April,  1635,  in  the  ship  "James" 
ol  London,  and  arrived  in  Boston  on  the  3d  of 
June.  John  Greene  was  accompanied  by  his 
wile   and    live   children — John,   Peter,  James, 


IMiiC.kAi-HK'Al.    REVIEW 


23 


Thomas,  and  Mary.  An  associate  of  Roger 
Williams  in  the  Providence  purchase  oi  1638, 
he  became  proprietor  ol  a  tract  of  land  on  the 
Providence  River  in  [642,  and  was  one  of  the 
original  purchasers  of  Shawshomet  in  [642 
43.  11  is  wife  died  in  1643.  In  [644  he 
went  to  England  on  business,  and  while  there 
married  his  second  wife,  Alice  Daniels.  lie 
died  at  Warwick,  R.I.,  aboul  16591  and  was 
buried  at  Conanicut.  (Further  information 
erning  John  Greene  may  be  found  in  Ar- 
nold's History  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island, 
Palfrey's  History  of  New  England,  Savage's 
Genealogical  Dictionary,  and  the  Lives  . . t 
Roger  Williams  by  James  D.  Knowles  and 
William  Gamwell.  See  also  New  England 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  vol.    iv. 

P-  7>-> 

The  line  of  descent  from  John  Greene  is 
through  Thomas,  born  in  England  in  1631, 
who  died  at  Warwick,  June  5,  1 7 1 7 :  .Na- 
thaniel, born  April  10,  1679,  who  lived  in 
li'istim  a  number  of  years,  dying  there  August 
8,  1714;  Benjamin,  born  in  Boston,  January 
12,  1712,  died  in  1 776;  to  Gardiner  Greene, 
who  was  hum  in  September,  1753.  An  emi- 
nent   merchant,    he    was    one    of    the    leading 

iciers  and  capitalists  of  the  first  qua 
oi  this  century.  His  residence  was  in  Boston, 
on  Tremont,  near  the  head  of  Court  Si  < 
Mi--  site  of  his  mansion  and  grounds,  which, 
extended  to  Somerset  Street,  is  now  covered 
by  Pemberton  Square  and  the  rooms  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions.  Gardiner  Greene  died  December 
19,  1832.  I  le  was  thrice  married.  His  first 
wile  was  Ann  Reading.  His  second,  to 
whom  he  was  married  in  Boston,  November 
28,  17SS.  was  Elizabeth  Hubbard.  She  was 
burn  March  23,  1760,  and  died  September  7, 
1797,  in  Huston.  The  children  of  his  second 
marriage,    who    wen'  born   between    1790  and 


1795,  were:  Mary  Ann,  who  married  Samuel 
Hubbard,  and  died  July  io,  [827;  Gardiner, 
who  died  in  \~<)~:  Benjamin  Daniel  (M.D.  . 
who  married  Margaret  M.  Quincy,  and  died 
ber  4,  [862;  and  William  Parkinson, 
the  father  of  the  subject  "t  this  sketch. 
The  third  wile  of  Gardiner  Greene  was 
Elizabeth  Clarke  Goplcv.  whom  he  married 
July  3,  1800,  in  London.  She  was  born  in 
Boston,  November  20,  1770,  and  was  a 
daughter  of  the  great  portrait  and  historical 
painter,  John  Singleton  Copley,  and  a  sister 
of  the  celebrated  Lord  Lyndhurst.  The 
children  of  this  marriage  (born  between  1802 
and  1817)  were:  Gardiner,  who  died  February 
20,  1810:  Elizabeth  Hubbard,  who  died  De- 
cember 12,  1854,  wife  "I  Henry  Timmins; 
Susanna,  wdio  died  March  22,  1844,  wife  of 
Samuel  Hammond;  Sarah,  who  died  in  Paris, 
February  26,  1863;  John  Singleton  Copley, 
win  1  married  fust  Elizabeth  1'.  Hubbard  and 
md  Mai)- Ann  Appleton;  .Martha  Babcock, 
wile  of  Charles  Amory;  and  Mary  Copley, 
wil'    uf  James  Sullivan  Amory. 

William     Parkinson     <■  Sr.,    son    oi 

Gardiner  ami  Elizabeth  (Hubbard)  Greene, 
was  born  in  Boston,  September  7,  1795.  lie 
acquired  his  elementary  education  in  the  i 
ton  schools,  and  entered  Harvard  in  1810, 
one  of  the  class  which  enrolls  upon  its 
catalogue  the  names  oi  President  James 
Walker,  Dr.  F.  W.  1'.  Greenwood,  .\\i<\  the 
historian  Prescott,  who  was  for  a  time  his 
room-mate.  Gi  iduating  at  nineteen,  in  1 
pliance  with  his  father's  wishes  he  entered  the 
law  office  of  his  brother-in-law,  Samuel  Hub- 
bard, Esq.;  and  he  subsequently  became  Mr. 
Hubbard's  partner.  Boston  was  at  that  time 
the  centre  of  religious  and  philanthropic  en- 
terprises, and  Mr.  Greene  tame  into  contact 
with  many  of  the  leaders  ol  public  thought. 
Judson,    Evarts,    Channing,    Kdward     liverett, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and   Lyman    I  i  were  his  contemporaries. 

John  A. lams,  the  Nestor  of  the  legal  pro 
sion,  was  living.  William  Prescott,  Harri- 
son G.  (His,  ami  Josiah  Quincy  upheld  the 
dignity  of  the  bar;  and  on  Court  Street,  in 
1816,  was  to  be  seen  the  sign,  "Daniel 
Webster,  Attorney  and  Counsellor-at-law." 
New  party  lines  were  forming,  and  political 
aspirants  had  unusual  opportunities.  Mr. 
Greene  had  his  opportunity,  but  refused;  and 
only  once  did  he  accept  public  office,  serving 
with  credit  as  Mayor  of  Norwich.      11  is  career 

i  lawyer  was  short.  His  lather  had  in- 
vested largely  in  domestic  manufactures,  and 
had  placed  considerable  capital  in  the  Thames 
Company  al  Norwich  Falls,  established  by 
him  and  other  Boston  capitalists  in  1823; 
and  be  shortly  received  from  his  father  as 
a  gift  the  whole  amount  invested  in  this  city, 
■  Hi  condition  that  he  should  move  hither,  and 
take    the     property     under     personal     charge. 

ling  health — a  warning  hemorrhage —  in- 
fluenced his  decision;  and  in  the  summer  of 
1824  he  entered  on  his  new  life.  Within  a 
after  his  arrival  in  Norwich  he  was  at 
the  head  of  the  movi  ment  which  resulted  in 
the  organization  of  the  Thames  Hank;  and  he 
was  its  first  president,  and  held  office  sixteen 
He  was  the  first  and  largest  contrib- 
utor to  the  fund  for  impnn  ing  the  water-power 
ot  the  Shetucket  River;  and  in  1826-27  be 
with  others  inaugurated  measures  tor  improv- 
ing the  educational  advantages  of  the  com- 
munity. Ir,  the  spring  of  1829  his  plans  for 
utilizing  the  Shetucket  watei  powei  were  car- 
ried  int..  effect   by  the    .Norwich    Water    Powei 

pany,    their    work    being    completed     the 
1"  ar;  and  in  [832  the  Thames  Com- 
which    be   was   an   original    director, 
built  thi  n-mill   on   the   Shetucket, 

and    h  portion   of    the  completed  water- 

power,       i   ieir  manufactures    included   cotton 


and  iron.  In  the  panic  of  1837  this  company 
failed;  and  their  work  was  afterward  carried 
on  by  the  Falls  Company,  of  which  also  Mr. 
I  ireene  was  a  director.  In  1830  the  people  of 
Norwich  began  to  agitate  the  subject  of  con- 
structing a  railroad  between  this  city  and 
Worcester;  and  it  was  through  Mr.  Greene's 
personal  influence  that  the  credit  of  the  State 
of  Massachusetts  was  obtained.  In  the  crisis 
of  1837  most  of  his  fortune  was  swept  away; 
but  with  the  aid  of  his  brother,  Dr.  Benjamin 
D.  Greene,  he  was  soon  on  his  feet  again. 
In  1838  he,  with  his  brother  Benjamin  and 
Mr.  Samuel  Mowry,  organized  the  Shetucket 
Company.  The  Falls  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  October,  1843;  ami  the  two  companies 
had  a  prosperous  career.  (An  extended  ac- 
count of  the  operations  of  these  companies  and 
Mr.  Greene's  work  in  connection  with  them 
is  found  in  "The  Life  and  Character  of  the 
Hon.  William  Parkinson  Greene,  by  Elbridge 
Smith,  A.M.,  published  in  1865.) 

His  indomitable  energy  and  far-reaching  in- 
telligence, bis  generosity  and  wisdom,  had 
much  to  do  with  establishing  the  foundations 
of  the  thriving  city  of  Norwich.  A  gifted 
lawyer,  successful  manufacturer,  and  brilliant 
financier,  he  was  also  a  philanthropist  and  a 
patron  of  religious  and  educational  enter- 
prises. Funds  contributed  by  him  placed  the 
Norwich  Free  Academy  on  an  assured  basis, 
and  his  influence  established  some  of  its  most 
important  features.  He  was  president  of  its 
corporation  and  Hoard  of  Trustees  from  1S57 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  also  contributed 
generously  toward  the  erection  of  the  Meth- 
odist church  on  Sachem  Street.  From  early 
youth  he  had  suffered  from  a  pulmonary  com- 
plaint, and  death  was  ever  at  his  side;  but  his 
iron  will  refused  to  succumb,  and  he  lived  to 
be  nearly  seventy  years  old.  He  passed  away 
on  the    morning   of   June    18,    1864.      He   was 


ASA    BACKUS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


27 


married  July  14,  18 19,  to  Augusta  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Leonard  Vassal!  Borland,  a  lady 
of  rare  accomplishments  and  winning  manners. 
On  September  7,  1859,  the  birthday  of  her 
husband  and  of  the  city,  Mrs.  Greene  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  of  the  Norwich 
Free  Academy  a  deed  of  the  estate  now  occu- 
pied by  the  principal. 

William  Parkinson  Greene,  the  direct  sub- 
"I  this  sketch,  son  of  the  late  linn.  Will- 
iam Parkinson  Greene,  was  educated  in  the 
Norwich  Free  School  and  the  Cheshire  Acad- 
emy, which  was  then  in  charge  of  Professor 
Paddock,  Bishop  Paddock's  father.  His 
health  was  poor,  and  he  did  not  follow  an  ex- 
tended course  of  study;  hut  when  he  attained 
his  majority  he  began  to  take  an  interest  in 
the  manufacturing  business  established  by  his 
father.  He  has  been  a  director  in  the  mills 
at  Shetucket  and  at  the  Falls.  The  Ho/rah 
mills,  which  were  established  about  1813,  and 
were  in  need  of  new  management  in  18791 
were  bought  by  Mr.  Charles  Kenyon  ami  Mr. 
James  l'eckham,  who  organized  a  new  com- 
pany. Mr.  Greene  is  at  present  the  senior  di- 
rector of  these  mills,  the  only  one  of  the  - 
inal  hoard  living,  and  the  principal  stock- 
holder. He  has  a  beautiful  home  at  170 
Washington  Stn 

On  October  [8,  1854.  Mr.  Greene  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Theodosia,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Wildman  Tompkins.  Mr. 
Tompkins,  who  was  born  September  3,  1808, 
was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Norwich,  active 
and  zealous  in  secular  and  church  matter1-,  and 
lived  for  many  years  at  172  Washington 
Street.  He  died  February  3,  1892.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Greene  have  two  children  —  An 
Borland  and  Benjamin  Tompkins,  both  unmar- 
ried and  living  with  their  parents.  Mr. 
ne,  though  interested  in  tin-  welt. ire  of 
the  Republican  party,   has  refused  all    offers  oi 


public  office.      He  is  a  member  of  the  Centre 


Congregational  Church. 


SA    BACKUS,  a   retired   merchant  and 

capitalist  of  Norwich,  residing  mi  a 
tine  farm  to  the  west  and  just  out- 
side the  city  limits,  was  born  in  this  town, 
July  J 1,  [836,  son  of  A -a  and  Caroline 
(Roath)  Backus.  The  family  came  originally 
from  England,  the  first  representative  in  this 
country  of  whom  there  is  record  being  Will- 
iam Backus,  who  was  a  resident  of  Saybrook 
in  1637.  In  1660  a  member  of  it  came  from 
Saybrook  to  Norwich,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  a  house  that   is  still  standing. 

The  first  Asa  Backus  was  born  in  1736. 
I  lis  son  Asa,  Jr.,  was  bom  May  12,  1 763. 
The  third  Asa,  son  of  the  preceding  Asa,  and 
the  father  of  the  present  bearer  of  the  name, 
born  in  Norwich  in  1803,  died  in  June,  [836. 
He  was  reared  to  farming.  Though  he  re- 
ceived hut  a  limited  education,  h  ncr- 
ously  endowed  by  nature,  and  was  successfully 
engaged  in  a  mercantile  business  as  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Hyde  &  Backus  at  Yantic  vil- 
'  the  year  [831  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Caroline  Roath.  The  union  was  blessed 
by  the  birth  of  three  children:  Caroline,  who 
died  in  [861;  Cynthia  M.;  and  Asa.  The 
mother  married  a  second  time. 

Asa  Backus,  the  subjed  oi  this  biography, 
was  a  student  in  the  Andover  Phillips  Acad- 
emy for  a  time.  When  about  sixteen  years  of 
he  entered  the  employ  of  Ely  &  Co.  as 
clerk,  remaining  with  them  three  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1S57  he  went  to  Toledo,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  same  capacity 
for  a  short  time.  In  1858  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  dry-goods  firm  of  Eaton  &  Backus, 
which,  from  a  small  beginning,  develop, 
profitable    business.      lie    retired     from     busi- 


BIOGK  VPHICAL    REVIEW 


ness  in  i  N 7 5 :  and,  returning  to  Norwich,  he 
settled  on  his  fine  country  home  just  outside 
the  city  limits.     Thi  i    was  pur- 

chased by  him  in  the  fall  of  [874  from  C.  15. 
Rogers.  Enlarged  by  additional  land,  bought 
since  then,  it  now  contains  about  twenty-five 
acres.     On  it  arc  three  good  dwellings, 

Mr.    Backus    first    married    Miss    Julia    \V. 
Mi -sell,  nt  Lockport,  N.V.      She  died    in    De- 
cember,   1891,  leaving  three  children,  namely: 
William,    who    lives    in    Toledo,     Ohio; 
and  Julia  R.  and  Fri  I  racy,  w  ho  are  at 

home.      A    second  ;e,    contracted     in 

Mr.    Backus   to    Mrs.    Sarah    G. 
(Button)   Champlin,  of  Norwich.     They  have 
daughter,     Floren  In     politics     Mr. 

Backus  is  an    Independent.      lie    is   a   director 
of  the  old    Norwich    Savings    Bank,  which  has 
over  eleven  millions  on  deposit.      By  the  will 
of  the  late  William    W.  Backus    he  was    made 
Utor  of   the  large  and    valuable    estate    left 
by  the  latter.      He  is  the   secretary  and    treas- 
urer of   the   Norwich  Mutual    Assurance  Com- 
pany,   which    was    established    in     1794;     the 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Kitemang  Asso- 
ciation of   Norwich:    and  one  of   the  original 
rporators    of     the    Backus    Free    Hospital 
of   the   finest    institutions  in 
the   St.; 


"-Ill   A    C.    LEFFINGWELL,    an   en- 
'  ising  dairy  farmer  oi    Bozrah,  was 

1   in  this  town.  May  9,    [836,  son  of 

ia  B.  and   Mary  A.  (W Iworth)   Leffing- 

well.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Bozrah,  as 
was  also  his  grandfather,  Christopher  Leffing- 
well. 

ol    thi    family  in  Amerii 
ngwell,  an  Englishman,  who  emi- 
I    the    middle    of    the    seventeenth 
century,  settled    in     Saybrook,    Conn., 


where  bis  daughter  Rachel  was  born  in  1648, 
a  son  Nathaniel  in  1656,  and  other  children 
between  those  dates.  A  few  years  later 
Thomas  Leffi ngwell  was  living  at  his  new 
home  in  Norwich.  According  to  Trumbull, 
the  early  historian,  he  received  a  deed  of 
a  tract  of  land  a  number  of  miles  square, 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Norwich, 
from  Uncas,  sachem  of  the  Mohegans,  for 
his  services  in  carrying  a  boat-load  of  pro- 
visions to  the  fort  in  which  that  friendly 
chief  and  his  warriors  were  besieged  by  the 
Narragansetts.  "There  is,  however,"  says 
Miss  Caulkins  in  her  History  of  Norwich, 
"no  such  dved  or  record."  To  this  statement 
she  adds  that  Mr.  Leffingwell,  petitioning  the 
General  Court  in  1667  to  confirm  a  grant  of 
land  that  Uncas  had  proffered  him,  received 
from  that  body  the  grant  of  two  hundred  acres 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Shetucket  River. 

Deacon  Joshua  B.  Leffingwell,  son  of  Chris- 
topher Leffingwell,  was  a  stirring  farmer;  and 
in  connection  with  tilling  the  soil  he  operated 
a  stone  quarry.  In  politics  he  was  originally 
a  Whig,  but  joined  the  Republican  party  at 
its  formation.  He  rep.resented  his  town  in 
the  legislature,  and  was  a  man  of  prominence 
and  political  influence  in  Bozrah  and  vicinity. 
He  was  a  Deacon  of  the  Baptist  church.  He 
died  March  21,  1873.  His  wife,  Mary  A. 
Woodworth,  was  a  native  of  Montville,  Conn. 

Their  son,  Joshua  C.  Leffingwell,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  native  town  and  at  a  select 
school  in  Norwich.  For  a  number  of  years  be 
was  engaged  in  the  stone-quarrying  business, 
but  his  chief  occupation  in  life  has  been  farm- 
ing. He  owns  about  two  hundred  acres  of 
land,  which  he  cultivates  to  good  advantage; 
and  be  has  acquired  a  high  reputation  for  the 
superior  quality  of  his  butter  and  other  prod- 
ucts.     He  owns    and    supplies    a    large    milk 


I'.inCK.M'IIICAI.    RKVIKW 


29 


route  in  Norwich,  which  through  good  man- 
agement is  exceedingly  profitable. 

On  August  19,  [868,  Mr.  Leffingwell  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  L.  Ross,  of  this 
town.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Enos  C.  and 
Mary  A.  (Leffingwell)  Ross.  Her  lather  was 
a  native  "I  New  York  State,  and  her  mother 
was  born  in  Bozrah.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leffing- 
well are  the  parent-  ol  six  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Anna  M.,  wife  of  Nathan  Whiting; 
Fanny  E.,  wife  of  Herbert  E.  Heard;  Harriet 
C,  wife  of  Robert  E.  Champlain;  Thomas 
C. ;   Frank  E. ;  and  Minnie  F. 

In  politics  Mr.  Leffingwell  is  a  Republican. 
He  has  served  as  Selectman,  Assessor,  and  ,1 
member  of  the  School  Board,  anil  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the 
State  legislature  during  the  session  of  1 88 1 
and  1882.  He  is  a  Deacon  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church,  is  a  well-known  and  exceedingly 
public-spirited  citizen,  and  enjoys  the  confi- 
dence of  the  community. 


I^ORMAN    SMITH,     the     popular     mer- 
chant of  1  [.mover.  Conn.,  was  horn  in 

l^9  V,  „  this  place,  June  8,  i.Sjii,  sun  of  Dr. 
Vine  and  Lydia  (Lilly)  Smith.  His  paternal 
grandfather  was  Josiah  Smith,  who  was  born 
in  the  neighboring  town  of  Windham,  in  the 
county  of  that  name,  and  is  buried  in  that 
part  of  the  town  that  is  now  Scotland,  Conn. 

Vine  Smith  was  a  genial,  courteous  man 
and  a  skilled  physician  in  lifelong  practii 
Hanover.  He  was  born  in  Windham  in  1800, 
and  lived  to  be  fifty-seven  years  oi  age.  His 
books  showing  his  charges  for  professional 
visits  are  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son 
Norman.  From  them  it  is  seen  that  for  calls 
made  in  the  village  the  lee  was  a  few  cents, 
and  for  calls  made  at  a  distam  nr  miles 

a   half-dollar.      The    professional    fees    of     an 


ordinary  practitioner  of  to-day  would  seem  to 
him  enormous.  He  served  in  the  State  le 
lature  when  the  only  way  to  reach  the  capital 
wis  by  stage  or  by  private  conveyance.  The 
Doctor  is  well  remembered  by  many  of  the 
older  residents  of  Hanover,  and  even  some  of 
the  men  and  women  of  middle  age  can  recall 
his  visits  to  their  homes  during  their  child- 
His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  [824, 
survived  him  for  twenty  years,  dying  at  the 
ity-six.  They  had  one  daughter, 
Eliza  Smith,  who  married  Jared  Film 
She  died  in  childbirth,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two. 

Norman  Smith,  having  obtained   his   educa- 
tion in   the  common  schools   and    at    the    Nor- 
wich   Town    Academy,    a    private    institution, 
taught  school  for  a  full   year  in    Hanover,  and 
as  a  pedagogue  was  an   unquestioned   suci 
Believing,      however,      that      better     busi 
chances  for  advancement   were  to   be   found    in 
trade,  he  opened  a  general   merchandise   store 
in  the  fall  of  1845,  some  time  before   he  was 
twenty-one.      He   was   out    of   mercantile    pur- 
suits for  eight  or  ten   years  previous  to    1 
when  he   opened  the  store  which   he    has    since 
carried  on.      It  has  always   been    Mr.  Smith's 

avor     to     keep     only     strictly     fit 
goods    and    always  to  give  the   largest    value 
possible   lor  the  money  received.      He   ha 
well-established  trade,  and  during  the  twenty- 
eight   years  he  has   been   in   business  at   this 
stand    he    has    made    man)  and 

won  many  friends. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  in  18511  to  Sarah 
Cutler,  bom  in  New  York,  daughter  of  Will- 
iam ('.  Cutler,  who  was  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut. By  this  marriage  there  was  a  family  of 
four  children:  Ella  F.,  wife  of  James  W. 
Bennett,  of  VVillimantic,  and  mother  of  two 
children:  Mary  E.,  now  Mrs.  F.  0.  Tarbox, 
ol    this   place;    Annie   C,    wife  of   George   P, 


3° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Fenner,  of  New  London,  and  mother  of  one 
daughter;  and  Ernest  L.,  who  is  married  and 
resides  in  Hanover.  Mrs.  Sarah  Smith  died: 
and  her  husband  subsequently  married  her 
sister,  Lucinda  M.  Cutler,  who  for  the  past 
twenty-eight  years  has  officiated  as  Postmis- 
tress. She  is  the  mother  of  tour  children, 
namely:  Adeline  A.,  who  is  a  stenographer 
and  typewriter  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Fenner; 
Bertha  B.,  a  teacher  in  Portsmouth,  X.H.; 
Lillie  1...  the  wife  of  Webster  Standish,  of 
this  place,  and  mother  of  two  children;  and 
Vine  11.  Smith,  who  is  now  a  student  in 
Harvard  College. 

In  politics  Mr.  Smith  is  a  Democrat.  He 
has  served  tin-  town  as  Assessor,  Selectman, 
ami  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Relief,  and 
has  twice  been  sent  to  the  legislature.  In  all 
these  public  positions  he  has  used  for  the  ben- 
efit of  his  fellow-townsmen  that  sound  judg- 
ment and  keen  insight  into  affairs  that  have 
made  his  personal  business  life  a  success. 
He  has  never  been  an  office-seeker,  and  has 
accepted  positions  only  as  they  were  urged 
upon  him.  He  has  been  satisfied  with  legiti- 
mate gain  in  his  business;  and,  although  he 
has  lived  quietly  and  in  a  small  country  town, 
he  has  had  contentment,  which  is  better  than 
riches,  and  has  not  worn  himself  out  with  the 
stress  and  rush  of  life  in  a  huge  town.  It  is 
interest!  te  that  Mr.  Smith   claims   de- 

scent from  Myles  Standish,  the  military  leader 
ot  the  Pilgrims. 


LJ  RANCIS   NELSON    BRAMAN,    M.D., 

r^     of     New     London,    Conn.,    was     born 

in     Belchertown,     Hampshire    County, 

lay   IN,    1836,  being  the  second   son  of 

:  iniel     Park     and     Lucy     Ann    (Crocker) 

The    family    came    originally    from 

Germany;  and  the  Hector  belongs  to 


the  Flemish  branch.  The  earliest  direct  an- 
cestor of  whom  he  has  any  authentic  account 
was  a  man  of  mathematical  and  mechanical 
genius,  the  inventor  and  manufacturer  of 
mathematical  instruments.  One  of  his  early 
ancestors  was  a  Major  in  the  English  army, 
who,  connected  in  some  way  with  the  Rye 
House  Plot,  was  twice  imprisoned  in  the 
Tower,  and  twice  released. 

Dr.  Braman's  great-grandfather,  John  Bra- 
man,  was  a  native  of  Washington  County, 
Rhode  Island.  His  grandfather,  John  Bra- 
man,  Jr.,  was  a  citizen  of  Groton,  Conn.,  a 
competent  farmer  and  for  a  while  manager  of 
the  Fisher's  Island  (N.  Y.)  property.  He  was  a 
man  of  affairs,  active  in  public  matters  in  Gro- 
ton, and  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
army.  He  died  in  Mystic,  Conn.,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five.  He  was  twice  married,  and 
was  the  father  of  sixteen  children,  fifteen  of 
whom  attained  maturity.  His  second  wife, 
Dr.  Braman's  grandmother,  was  Mary  Park, 
ot  Mystic  or  Groton,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Park,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  Her  ancestry 
was  English.  She  was  the  mother  of  four 
sons  and  four  daughters.  The  youngest  of 
the  family  of  sixteen  is  the  only  one  living 
to-day,  Julia,  widow  of  the  late  Abraham 
Mi  Mm,  of  Springfield,  Mass. 

Nathaniel  Park  Braman,  who  was  the  old- 
est child  of  his  father's  second  marriage,  was 
born  on  Fisher's  Island,  N.Y.,  in  1802.  He 
was  a  farmer  in  good  circumstances,  and  was 
active  in  town  affairs.  He  died  in  Clinton, 
C"iin.,  in  1892,  aged  eighty-nine  years  and 
eleven  months.  He  was  survived  by  his  wife, 
Lucy,  to  whom  he  was  united  in  March,  1826. 
Ilei-  parents  were  Ezra  and  Hannah  (New- 
bury) Crocker,  of  Waterford,  Conn.  Her  pa- 
ternal grandfather,  Steadman  Newbury,  of 
Waterford,  served  throughout  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  and  was  afterward   pensioned   by  the 


FRANCIS    N.    BRAMAN 


BIOGR  M'lIK'.M.    REVIEW 


33 


ernment.  He  was  a  man  of  high  repute, 
active  in  public  and  religious  matters,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  old  Darrow  Church  of 
Waterford.  He  livid  to  attain  the  great  age 
of  ninety-nine  years  and  nine  months.      Mrs. 

man  was  born   in   Waterford,  Conn.,  April 
4,     [808,    and,    though    now    in    her    ninetieth 
in    mind   and    body.      Six   chil- 
dren were  born  to  her;   and,   losing  one  daugh- 

■  t  the  tender  age  of  three  years,  she  reared 
the  following:  Nathaniel  Perkins,  now  in 
Florida;  Jane  I..,  wife  of  James  I..  Davis,  in 
Clinton,  Conn.:  Francis  X.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Alfred  A.  W.,  who  died  in  Chi- 
in  1893,  in  his  forty-fourth  year,  having 
been  a  skilled  tool-maker,  in  business  for  a 
number  of  years  in  that  city;  and  Ellen  S., 
w  of  Henry  Weeden,  now  living  in  New 
Haven,  Conn.  Nathaniel  1'.  Braman,  who  is 
a  skilled  mechanic,  was  with  the  Remingtons, 
the  Colts,  and  the  Winchester  Arms  Com- 
pany at  different  times,  and  is  now  retired 
from  active  business. 

Francis  Nelson  Braman  received  his  early 
schooling  at  Belchertown,  Palmer,  and  Wilbra- 
ham,  Mass.  He  studied  medicine  in  Palmer 
and  New  London,  and  was  two  years  a  student 
in  New  York  under  the  eminent  physicians, 
Drs.  Mott,  Mosley,  and  Austin  Flint,  Sr.  In 
April,  1 866,  he  opened  an  office  in  Salem, 
Conn.;  and  on  New  Year's  Day,  [868,  he  re- 
moved to  New  London,  the  fiel  1  of  his  labors 
ever  since.  Dr.  Braman  is  a  man  of  marked 
ability,  and  has  long  been  regarded  as  a 
leader  among  his  contemporaries.  \l<-  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
the  county  and  city  medical  societies,  and  has 
served  a--  president  of  the  State  Medical  So- 
ciety. Dr.  Braman  is  physician  in  charge  of 
the  Smith  Memorial  Home  and  a  corporate 
member  of  the  Board  oi  the  New  London 
Memorial   Hospital,  also  chairman  of  the  med- 


ical staff  of  the  hospital.      II  m  the  re- 

paid ol    the  1  1    New  London,  not  only 

b)  hi-  professional  work  and  his  line  social 
qualities,  but  also  by  his  disinterested  efforts 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  six 
5,  being  chairman  three  years,  to  bring 
the  schools  of  the  city  to  their  present  high 
standard.  During  his  term  of  service  a  new 
era  in  school  matters  was  entered  upon,  the 
old  and  unsanitary  school  buildings  were  con- 
demned, a  sentiment  favoring  school  sanita- 
tion was  developed,  and  with  it  a  libera!  finan- 
cial policy.  This  resulted  in  the  construc- 
tion of  two  new  edifices  and  the  providii 
ways  and  means  for  a  third. 

Dr.     Braman     has    always    been    active    in 
church  and  A'.    M.   C.  A.  work.      At   the    p 
ent  time  he  is    Deacon   of  the  Second  Congre- 
mal     Church     of     New     London    and    its 
treasurer.      In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

Dr.  Braman  was  married  November  26, 
1868,  to  Miss  Jennie  K.  I.oomis,  of  Salem, 
Conn.,  daughter  of  the  late  Hubbell  and 
Sophronia  (Strickland)  Loomis,  and  has  two 
promising  sons  —  Francis  Loomis  and  Sidney 
Royce.  Mis.  Jennie  E.  Braman  died  May  2, 
1895.  On  December  15,  1897,  Dr.  Braman 
formed  a  second  matrimonial  alliance  with 
Miss  Lulu  M.  Tobias,  daughter  of  Daniel  J. 
and  Matilda  (Gawthrop)  Tobias,  ,,|  Chicago, 
111. 


X) 


ANIEL  F.   PACKER,   who   has  won 

a  world-wide  reputation  as  a  manu- 
facturer of  choice  soaps,  is  an  es- 
teemed resident  of  Mystic,  where  he  has  a 
beautiful  and  attractive  home.  He  was  horn 
April   6,   1825,    i  'Hiii.     A    son   of 

Captain  Charles  Packer,  he  conies  of  excellent 
Massachusetts  stoek.  His  great-grandfather, 
John  Pad  ne  to   the   county  from    I'lym- 


34 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


outh,  Mass.,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
settled  in  Mystic. 

Eldredge  Packer,  son  of  John  and  the  pater- 
nal grandfather  of  Daniel  F.,  was  born  in 
Mystic  in  1747.  He  was  a  ship-builder,  and 
it  Is  claimed  that  he  launched  the  first  large 
.1  in  Mystic.  It  is  supposed  that  he 
owm  mmanded  a  privateer  in  the  Revo- 

lution. He  married  Sabrina  Packer,  who  bore 
him  one  child,  Charles.  When  he  died  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  fourscore  and  four 
years.  His  widow  survived  him  a  few 
years,  dying  at  the  same  age.  Captain 
Charles  Packer  was  born  in  Groton,  near 
Mystic,  in  1774.  He  was  a  mariner,  engaged 
principally  in  coast  trade  during  his  life. 
For  some  years  he  did  an  extensive  fishing 
business  as  captain  of  a  fishing-smack.  In 
the  great  Christmas  snow-storm  of  many  years 
ago  he  was  among  the  castaways  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  when  he  barely  escaped  death, 
v  successful  in  his  ventures,  through  his 
industry  and  thrift  he  acquired  a  competency. 
He  married  Abigail  Latham,  who  was  born  in 
Mystic  on  Brook  Street,  then  called  Noank 
Street.  Of  their  eleven  children,  five  sons 
and  five  daughters  grew  to  maturity,  and  two 
are  still  living.  The  latter  are:  Hannah  \Y.. 
the  widow  of  the  late  S.  15.  Latham,  residing 
at  Noank;  and  Daniel  F. ,  the  youngest  mem- 
ber of  the  family.  The  mother  died  in  1829, 
at  the  age  of  forty-seven  years,  and  the  father 
died  in  1834,  aged  threescore  years.  They 
and  the  grandparents,  together  with  three  of 
Mr.  Packer's  sisters  and  his  brother  Eldredge, 
were  laid  to  rest  in  the  Packer  Burial-ground 
Mystic. 
Daniel  F.  Packer  obtained  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  district  school  of  P'ishtown,  com- 
ing his  studies  at  a  boarding-school  in 
field  County,  Conn.,  where  he 
was  a  pupil  for  three  years.      In  1840  he  went 


to  New  York  to  assist  his  brother  Eldredge, 
who  had  a  poultry  market  in  that  city,  and  in 
the  following  year  shipped  before  the  mast  on 
the  packet  ship  "Emerald,'*  under  Captain 
George  Howe,  a  most  daring  and  able  skip- 
per. With  Captain  Howe,  Mr.  Packer  made 
two  trips  to  Havre,  France,  each  lasting  from 
thirty-four  to  forty-five  days.  He  was  subse- 
quently in  the  market  business  in  New  York 
City  for  four  years.  From  there,  in  1847,  he 
went  to  Key  West,  Fla. ,  with  Captain  C.  H. 
Mallory,  and  was  afterward  employed  by  Cap- 
tain Latham  Brightman  for  a  year.  Six  days 
before  attaining  his  majority  he  bought  and 
assumed  the  charge  of  the  "Plume  of  Mys- 
tic," having  for  first  mate  Augustus  Will- 
iams, of  North  Stonington,  and  for  two  years 
coasted  along  the  reefs  of  the  Tortugas  and 
Florida.  In  1851,  1852,  and  1853  he  was 
in  California,  mining  for  gold.  While  on  the 
Pacific  coast  he  began  the  manufacture  of 
soap,  to  which  he  has  since  devoted  his  atten- 
tion. He  is  the  originator  of  the  pine  tar 
soap,  which  is  so  well  known  all  over  this 
continent  and  Europe.  He  also  manufactures 
other  kinds,  making  specialties  of  "Packer's 
All-healing  Tar  Soap"  and  "Packer's  Cuta- 
neous Charm."  Beginning  on  a  modest  scale, 
he  has  gradually  enlarged  his  business  to  its 
present  large  proportions.  He  has  established 
factories  in  twelve  States  and  in  Canada  and 
Cuba,  and  sold  rights  to  Central  and  South 
America.  His  largest  enterprise  was  in  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.  One  plant,  that  in  New  York, 
with  its  entire  business,  he  sold  for  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  to  Mr.  I.  P.  Morrison,  who  has 
since  sold  his  rights  to  Mr.  A.  Constantine. 
He  established  his  factory  in  Mystic  some 
twenty-eight  years  ago,  and  it  has  since  been 
one  of  the  leading  industries  of  the  place.  A 
man  of  rare  executive  ability,  keen  ami  far- 
seeing,     Mr.    Packer    has    brought    his    goods 


r.KK'.K  MMIICAI,    REVIEW 


35 


ire  the  public  most  successfully  by  attrac- 
tive advertising.  The  firm  is  now  known  as 
The  Packer  Manufacturing  Company  of  New 
York. 

Mr.  Packer  contracted  his  first  marriage  on 
June  7,  1849,  with  Margaret  M.,  daughter  of 
Captain    Elisha    and    Margaret    (Annan)    Nor- 

ss,  of   New  York   City.      She  died  in   1  S 5 5 . 

ing  one  child,  Arline  M.,  now  the  wii 

John   S.    Rathbone,   of    Mystic.      His  second 

marriage,    on    February   27,    1861,  united   him 

to   Miss    Carrie    A.    Randall,    ol    Ridgefield, 

in.  The  only  child  born  of  this  union,  S. 
Edward,  died  at  the  age  of  five  years.  Mr. 
Packer  erected  his  present  substantial  and 
commodious  residence  in  1868.  It  is  beauti- 
fully located  on  the  hillside  of  Mystic  River, 
commanding  an  extensive  view.  In  this 
pleasant  home  Mrs.  Packer,  a  woman  of  re- 
finement and  culture,  presides  with  graceful 
dignity,  vying  with  her  husband  in  extending 
the  hospitalities  of    the  house  to  their  many 

its.  In  politics  Mr.  Packer  is  a  sturdy 
Republican.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  Bap- 
tist faith,  but  is  now  a  Methodist  and  a  trus- 
tee of  the  church.  Mrs.  Packer  belongs  to 
the  same  church. 


REDERICK    FARNSWI  'Kill.   om 

the  prominent  wealthy  citizens  of  New 
London,  Conn.,  was  born  in  the  neigh- 
boring city  of  Norwich  in  1842,  and  is  a  son 
of  the  late  Dr.  Ralph  and  Eunice  W.  (Bill- 
ings) Farnsworth. 

The  Farnsworth  family  is  of  English  origin. 
Three  persons  of  this  name  came  to  Ami 
in   the   seventeenth   century,    namely:  Joseph, 
of    I1  r,     Mass.,    about     1632;    Thomas, 

who  settled  in  Xew  Jersey  in  16815  and  Mat- 
thias, whose  name  appears  in  the  records  of 
I. vnn,  Mass.,   in   1657.      Matthias  Farnsworth, 


a  sturdy  yeoman,  settled  in  Groton,  Mass., 
about  1660  (see  Matthias  Farnsworth  ami  his 
Descendants  in  America,  a  monograph  by 
Claudius  Buchanan  Farnsworth,  ol  Pawtucket, 
R.  I.,  published  in  [891).  Several  sue 
ing  generations  of  the  family  lived  in  Groton, 
including  Amos,  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  biographical  sketch,  and  Amos, 
Jr.,  his  grandfather,  the  latter  a  well-to-do 
farmer  and  an  active  military  man.  He  was 
one  of  the  minute-men,  ready  for  action  when 
war  was  brewing  between  the  colonies  and 
the  mother  country,  and  fought  in  the  Revo- 
lution; and  after  the  war  he  retained  his  con- 
nection with  the  State  militia.  A-  an  officer 
he  was  first  commissioned  Ensign,  then  First 
Lieutenant  of  artillery.  In  [783,  at  the  close 
of  the  Revolution,  he  was  made  Captain  of 
the  old  Groton  Artillery  Company;  and  he 
was  afterward  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major 
of  artillery,  receiving  a  commission  dated 
July  1,  1794,  signed  by  Samuel  .Adams  as 
Governor.  Major  Farnsworth  attained  the 
great  age  of  ninety  -  three  years  and  six 
months,  passing  away  in  October,  1X47.  His 
wile,  who  was  then  ninety  years  of  age,  fol- 
lowed him  within  two  weeks.  Five  children 
were  born  to  this  couple  —  Luke,  Amos, 
Ralph,  Walter,  and  Elizabeth.  The  daugh- 
ter, who  never  married,  lived  nearly  as  long 
r  father,  dying  in  Groton  in  her  ninety- 
second  year. 

Ralph  Farnsworth  was  born  in  Groton. 
Mass.,  September  20,  1795,  and  was  grad- 
uated from  Harvard  in  1821.  He  subse- 
quently taught  school  for  a  while  in  Ports- 
mouth, N.H.  For  some  time  he  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  Warren,  "i  Boston;  ami, 
the  honorary  1  Arts  having 

been   conferred  on    him  by  Dartmouth  College 
in   [824,  he  received  the   degree   of   Doctoi 
Medicine  from  the  Harvard  Medical  School  in 


$6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


[826.  In  [827  he  settled  in  Norwich,  Conn., 
where  he  was  in  active  practice  some  forty- 
eight  vears,  until  1 S 7 5 .  Dr.  Farnsworth  was 
and  well  proportioned,  six  feet  in 
height,  and  weighing  nearly  two  hundred 
pounds.  He  wis  strong  and  active,  capable 
of  a  wonderful  am. unit  of  labor;  and  one  of 
his  contemporaries  expressively  said  he  was 
several  men  in  one.  lie  died  July  16,  1875. 
On  November  25,  1828,  he  was  married  to 
Eunice  W.,  daughter  of  Cocklington  Billings, 
Esq.,  of  New  London.  The  Billings  family 
has  lived  in  this  part  of  Connecticut  for  sev- 
eral generations,  and  accumulated  property 
here.  Coddington  Billings,  who  was  born  in 
1770,  was  a  prominent  attorney  and  a  bank 
president.  He  married  a  Miss  Wheeler. 
Mrs.  Eunice  W.  Billings  Farnsworth  was 
born   in    1804,   and   lived  to  be  seventy-three 

rs  old,  dying  at  her  old  home  on  Last 
Main  Street,  Norwich,  in  1877.  She  was 
the  mother  of  nine  children,  seven  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Only  three  sons  attained  ma- 
turity; and  (me  of  these,  Charles,  met  his 
death   by   drowning   when   thirty-one  years  of 

.  in  April,  1867.  He  left  a  son  Charles, 
who  is  now  in  Colorado  Springs,  Col.  The 
surviving  children  of  Dr.  Farnsworth  are: 
Coddington  Billings  farnsworth,  of  Norwich, 
Conn.;  and  Frederick,  of  New  London,  whose 
personal  history  is  here  outlined. 

Frederick     Farnsworth     received    a    liberal 
education,  graduating  from   the   scientific  de- 
partment  of   Yale   College    in    1867.      During 
the   year    1869   he   served  in  the  Nursery  Hos- 
pital   in    V  ■■    Vork  City;  and  he  subsequently 
went    to   Philadelphia,    where   he    lived    until 
In   that   year  he  removed  to  New  Lon- 
!   took  up  his  abode  in  his  present  res- 
!S  eet.      This   dwelling, 

which    is    over    one    hundred    years    old,    was 
!y  the  mansion-house  of  a   Mr.    Led- 


yard,  and  for  some  fifty  years  was  the  resi- 
dence of  William  \V.  Billings,  Mr.  Farns- 
worth's  uncle.  It  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
generous  architecture  of  a  century  ago. 

Mr.  Farnsworth  was  married  in  1879  in 
Philadelphia  to  Miss  Lydia  Warner  Sander- 
son, wdio  died  March  12,  1888,  in  the  pleas- 
ant New  London  home.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  University  Club  of  New  York  City 
since  1S90,  and  belongs  to  the  Thames  Club 
of  New   London. 


tICHARD  SILL 
Lyme,    a    retit 
_^  born    in    this 


LL  GRISWOLD,  of  Old 
ired  manufacturer,  was 
is  town,  June  3,  1845. 
He  is  the  son  of  Richard  Sill  and  Frances  A. 
(Mather)  Griswold  and  a  representative  of 
some  of  the  oldest  and  best  New  England 
families.  His  first  American  ancestor,  Mat- 
thew Griswold,  was  born  in  England,  came  to 
this  country  in  1630,  settled  first  at  Windsor, 
Conn.,  and  later,  in  1639,  at  Saybrook,  fixing 
his  residence  in  that  part  of  the  colony  which 
fn'  1666  was  set  off  as  the  town  of  Lyme. 
His  estate  at  the  mouth  of  the  "Great  River" 
has  since  been  known  by  the  name  of  Black 
Hall.  He  married  in  1639  Anna,  daughter 
of  the  first  Henry  Wolcott,  of  Windsor,  and 
had  five  children.      He  died  in  1698. 

His  son,  Matthew  Griswold,  Jr.,  was  born 
here  in  1653,  and  died  in  171 5.  The  Rev. 
George  Griswold,  son  of  Matthew,  Jr.,  and 
Phebe  (Hyde)  Griswold,  was  born  in  1692, 
and  died  in  1761.  The  next  in  this  line,  his 
son,  George  Griswold,  of  Giant's  Neck, 
Conn.,  was  born  September  19,  1726,  and 
died  in  1816;  and  the  grandfather  of  Richard 
S.  Griswold  was  George  Griswold,  born  at 
Giant's  Neck  in  1777,  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  N.  L.  &  George  Griswold,  of  New  York 
City,    china    merchants,    one    of    the    leading 


RICHARD    S.    t.KI.sU 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


37 


importing  houses  of  that  time.      I  lo  sua  i 

in   building  up   a   large  fortune,  and  died    in 
1858. 

He  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife, 
Elizabeth  Woodhull,  he  had  five  children, 
three  of  whom  grew  up,  and  by  his  second 
wife,  Maria  M.  Cummins,  four  children.  Of 
these  nine,  one,  John  X.  .\.  Griswold,  the 
youi  born,     is    now    living    at    Newport, 

R.I.,  at  an  advanced 

Richard  Sill  Griswold,  father  of  the  subject 
lis  sketch,  was  born  in  Xew  York  City  in 
lie    was    educated    at    Yale    College, 
and  after  his  graduation  in  the  class  of    [829 
went   to  China  as   his  father's  agent,  remain- 
ing there  several  years.      During  this  time   he 
taken    into    partnership    by    his    father. 
,  erei  ted  a  mansion    in  I.' 

and  made  this  town  his  residence,  still  con- 
tinuing his  business  in  Xew  York  City,  lie 
was  a  capable  and  successful  business  man. 
He  first  married  Louisa  <  •.  Mather,  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Rev.  Richard  Mather,  of  England, 
who  died  in  Dorchester,  Mass.,  in  1669.  She 
died  leaving  no  children;  and  on  March  31, 
i,  he  married  her  sister,  Frances  A. 
Mather,  daughter  of  James  and  Caroline 
["inker)  Mather.  Three  children  were  born 
to  them,  as  follows:  Louisa  Mather;  Richard 
Sill,  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Fi 
Augusta.  Louisa  M.  Griswold  is  the  wife  of 
General  Joseph  G.  Perkins,  of  Lyme;  and 
Frances  Augusta  is  the  wife  of  Professor 
\.  M.  Kerry,  of  the  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis,    Md. 

Richard   Sill   Griswold  died  in  [847,  at  the 
of  thirty-eight   years.      His  widow,   Mrs. 
A.   M.  Griswold,   lived    until    Decem- 
bei   I-..   1 

The  present  Richard  Sill  Griswold  received 
his  ei  u<  it  ii  hi  in  Xew  I  [aven  and  in  New 
York  City.      After  this  he  went  to  sea  for   his  | 


health,  and  made  many  voyages  across  the 
Atlantic  and  elsewhere.  He  was  afterward 
in  the  brass-manufacturing  line  for  several 
years,  being  i  I  the  firm  of  Brown  &  Brothers, 
Waterbury,  Conn.,  for  many  years  a  lea 
house  in  this  business.  lb'  lias  since  retired 
Iroin  active  mercantile  life.  Mr.  Griswold  is 
a  Knight  Templar  and  a  thirty-second  di 
Mason.  He  has  served  as  a  Representative 
tti  the  Slat--  legislature. 

In   1869  Mr.   Griswold  was  married   to    I' 
Elizabeth   Brown,  daughter  of   Dr.   fames  and 
rlotte   E.    (Todd)    Brown,    of    Waterbury, 
Conn.      They  have  eight  children,  as  follows: 
Richard    Sill,    Jr.,   a    practising   physician   at 
Hartford,  Conn.,   and   a   graduate   of    Belli 
Medical   College,    Xew  York;    James    Brown, 
a    physician    in    Xew    London,    Conn.,    and    a 
graduate   of   Dartmouth    College   and  the  Col- 
li   Physicians  and   Surgeons.   New   York 
City;   Daniel    Eddie,    a   lawyer    in    New    York 
City;    George,    now    in    school    and    living   at 
home  with    his    parents:    Harry,   in    Xew   York 
City,  studying  at   the   Conservatory  of    Music; 
Rosa    Elizabeth;    Joseph    I'.;    and    Woodward 
I        n,  a  boy  of  twelve  years. 
Six    years    ago    Mis.    Griswold    established 
the    Boxwood     School    for    young     ladies,     in 
which    some    twenty  pupils   are  being  prepared 
for   college      Mr.    Griswold    has    greatly    en- 
1    and    improved    the   buildings,    and   the 
i    itsell     is    <i|    a    high    grade.      They    re- 
moved to  their  present  home  in   1  S90. 


^ELSON   A.    BACON,  a  retired  lumber 

dealer  oi    Old  Lyme,  Conn.,  was  born 

^  K^      „  in  this  town.    May  7,   184I,  a  son  oJ 

Almond  and  Margaret  S.  (Clarke)  Bacon.     His 

grandfather,    Mathew    Bacon,   who   was    born    in 

Middletown,    Cam.,    in    17*5,    was   a    farmer 
and  also  proprietor  of  the  Raton  li  aich 


38 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


be  built  about  1829,  and  carried  on  success- 
fully for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  also  a 
prominent  Thompsonian  doctor.  He  married 
Rebecca  Roberts,  of  Middletown;  and  they 
had  live  children,  four  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity. They  were:  Almond,  Kbenezer,  Dan- 
iel, Clara,  and  Lucretia.  Kbenezer,  who  was 
financially  interested  in  steam  boating,  mar- 
ried, and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty  years. 
Daniel,  after  many  years'  service  as  captain 
of  a  steamboat,  retired  with  a  competency, 
and  resided  subsequently  in  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-two  years,  leaving 
two  sons:  Stephen  II.,  who  is  unmarried,  and 
resides  in  Brooklyn;  and  Daniel,  who  is  a 
broker  in  New  York  City,  and  has  a  family  of 
two  children.  Clara  became  the  wife  of  Eb- 
enezer  I..  Roberts,  an  architect. 

Almond  Bacon,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  also  became  captain  of  a  steamboat 
ami  subsecpiently  an  agent  tor  a  steamboat 
company.  In  1 864  he  started  in  the  lumber 
business,  and  soon  became  known  as  one  of 
the  leading  business  men  of  the  town.  Six 
years  previously  he  had  built  the  house  in 
which  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
and  which  is  still  standing.  He  was  a 
Republican  politically,  and  served  as  Town 
Treasurer  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years.  He 
was  married  February  29,  1836,  to  Margaret 
S.  Clarke,  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Lura 
(Champion)  Clarke,  of  this  town.  They  had 
one  child,  Nelson  A.  Almond  Bacon  died 
in  the  fall  of  1886,  aged  seventy-five  years, 
and  his  wife  in  the  spring  of  1889,  aged 
seventy-four. 

Nelson     A.    Bacon    was    educated     in     the 

schools    of     his    native     town,    at    the    select 

I    the    Rev.    Mr.    Nichols,  and   at    the 

lb-    became    associated    with    his 

in  the    lumber    business,    which    they 

on  until   [885,  when  it  was  closed  out. 


In  his  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  has 
never  held  public  office.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church  for  the  past 
thirty  years,  and  is  now  one  of  the  trustees. 
His  mother  was  a  member  of  the  same  church. 


PALMER  BINDLOSS,  a  well-known 
and  respected  citizen  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  who  now  lives  retired  after 
an  active  and  honorable  career  of  some  forty- 
six  years,  was  born  December  19,  1829,  in 
Kendal,  Westmoreland,  England,  son  of 
William   and  Margaret    (Palmer)    Bindloss. 

He  traces  his  descent  from   Sir  Christopher 
Bindloss,  who  was  Mayor  and  head  of  the  cor- 
poration  of  the  town   of    Kendal    in    1579-80 
under  the   charter  of  Queen  Elizabeth.       Sir 
Christopher,  with  his  son  Robert,  established 
a  regular  express  service  between  Kendal  and 
London     for   the    conveyance    of    their    noted 
woollens.      Robert   was  created   a   Baronet   by 
Charles    I.    in    1641,    and    is   believed   to   have 
been    the    builder    of    Borwick    Hall,    York- 
shire.        Sir     Robert     Bindloss   was   member 
of    Parliament    for    Lancaster    in    1613.      His 
son  Francis,  born  1603,  married  for  his  second 
wife  Cecilia,  daughter  of  Thomas  West,  Lord 
de  la   Ware.      He  also  was  member  for  Lan- 
caster.     He  died  in  the  lifetime  of  his  father, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son    Robert,  the  last 
male  Bindloss  of  Borwick   Hall.      It  is  a  mat- 
ter of   history   that   King   Charles   II.,   on   his 
southward     march     with     his     Scottish    arm)-, 
reached  Kendal  on  August  16,  1651,  and  spent 
the   following  night    at    Borwick    Hall.      The 
line  of   T.    Palmer   Bindloss   comes   from    Sir 
Christopher's    son     Christopher,     born     1570, 
continuing    through    his    son    Peter,    baptized 
1607,     Peter's    son     Robert,    baptized     1630, 
Robert's   son   Christopher,    baptized    1666,    to 
Robert,    son    of    Christopher,     baptized    1696, 


i/,  tAt^t^^iy   iSy^cutr-dJ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


I' 


who  was  a  farmer  and  dealer  in  cattle  in 
Rowel,  Westmoreland  County,  and  was  a  man 
of  considerable  means,  the  typical  representa- 
tive of  an  English  yeoman.  The  next  ances- 
tor, Robert  (third)  of  Greenside  Milnthorpe, 
Westmoreland,  the  eldest  son  of  a  large  fam- 
ily of  children,  inherited  his  father's  fine 
.ml  succeeded  to  the  business.  1 1  is 
Philip,  of  Park  House,  Heversham, 
Westmoreland,  married  Jane  Watson,  a  sistei 
oi  Richard  Watson,  I).  1).,  who  was  for  years 
the  honored  Bishop  of  Llandaff. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  an  excellent 
portrait  of  Bishop  Watson,  a  fine  steel  engrav- 
ing taken  from  a  painting  by  George  Romney, 
the  celebrated  historical  artist  and  portrait 
painter;  and  he  has  also  a  full-length  steel 
engraving  of  the  artist. 

William,  son  of  Philip  and  father  of  T. 
Palmer  Bindloss,  engaged   in  mercantile  busi- 

1  le  was  a  popular  man  and  held  ol 
and  his  brother  Thompson  was  twice  Mayor 
ol  Kendal.  William  Bindloss  came  to  this 
country  in  (848,  and  bought  a  farm  just  oul 
side  of  New  London,  that  is  now  owned  and 
pied  by  bis  youngest  son.  His  wife  was 
a  native  of  Liverpool,  and  it  was  in  that 
that  their  marriage  took  place.  Of 
their  children,    three  and    four    daugh- 

ters are  still    living,    all    American    residents, 
the    youngest    being    now    sixty-four    and    the 
venty  lour  years   old.      The  first   one 
to  immigrate  was  Jane   P.  Bindloss,  who  1 

in   t843,  and  was   followed  a  year  later  by 
:.      Both  settled  in  New  London,  their 
P.     being    the    widow    of 
nder   U.   Knight,  and    Margaret   the  widow 
liott.      I  hey  e  u  h  have  children. 
The    other    brothers    and    sisters    living    are: 
Ellen,  widow  of  Henry  Hilli  seventy- 

William,    aged    seventy-three;     .Mary, 
widow    of    Joseph    Scroggie,     aged    sixty-six; 


and  Philip  George,  aged  sixty-four.     The  two 

are  a  son  who  died   in  England, 
two  years  and    nine   months;    and    Esther   B., 

who  married  Daniel  Collins,  and  died  April 
28,  1X97,  aged  sixty-eight.  The  mother, 
Alar-.net  Palmer  Bindloss,  died  in  [858,  at 
sixty  two  years  of  age;  and  the  father,  Will- 
iam Bindloss,  died  in  1864,  aged  sixt)  eight. 
linn  mortal  remains  rest  in  Cedar  Grove 
Cemetery.  In  their  native  land  they  were 
both  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
after  coming  to  this  country  both  they  and 
their  children  identified  themselves  with  the 
Episcopal  church. 

T.  Palmer  Bindloss  received  his  education 
in  Kendal  and  Liverpool.  When  twelve 
years  old  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  tailor's 
trade  for  seven  years  in  Liverpool,  but  when 
he  had  served  five  years  his  employer  died. 
In  1 85 1,  with  his  widowed  sister  Ellen  and 
her  two  children,  he  came  to  New  Lorn 
He  subsequently  worked  eight  years  as  a  cut- 
ter in  Elizabeth,  X.J.,  and  four  years  in  New 
York  City  at  the  same  occupation.  Since 
then  he  has  been  a  resident  of  New  London. 
About  three  years  ago  his  cousin,  William 
Bindloss,  Mayor  of  Kendal,  died  leaving  a 
ite  and   a    will    in    which    there   were 

.  public  bequests,  a  residue  of  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  being 
set  apart    for   heirs    in    America.      These    heirs 

ted  T.  Palmer  Bindloss  as  their  attorney, 
to  go  to  England  and  look  after  their  interests, 
a  task  that  he  accomplished  in  a  manner  satis- 

iv  to  all.       1  I  i -,  stay  in    England    exec 

nd  during   that  time   be   .nailed    him- 
self of  the  opportunity  to  gain    informatii  n 
an    historical   and  ter  rcl.it- 

0  the  I'm  irehing  the  rec- 

ords   of    many   generations.      He  also  secured 
a    large    number    ol     portraits    and    land-, 
views,     among    them    being    views     ol      I  astle 


42 


niOGRAI'I  I ICAL    REVIEW 


Green,  the  residence,   garden,   and   grounds  of 
the  late  Mayor,  who,  with  his  noble  wife,  was 
much    loved    and    esteemed    by   both    high  and 
lowly,  schools   having  been   special   objects  of 
their   interest  and   recipients  of  their   bounty, 
Mr.    Bindloss  has    a    beautiful  testimonial    in 
irs  which  was  presented    to   them    by   the 
ool  children  in  honor  of  their  silver  wed- 
ding anniversary,  and  another  testimonial  with 
their  portraits,  the  size   of   a    newspaper   folio, 
king  in   the  highest   terms  of  their  work. 
Mention    should    also    be    made   of   the  views 
■  I   Levi  us  Hall  and  gardens  of  Captain  Bagot, 
which   show   the  stone  castle  and  gardens,  now 
some  eight  hundred  years  old;  also  the  Hind- 
room  in  Sizergh  Castle,  with  the  family 
coat  of  arms,  which  is  a    combination    of   those 
of  the  Bindloss  and  West  families,  who  inter- 
married, as  before  noted. 

Mr.  Bindloss  is  a  Republican  voter,  but  has 
never  sought  or  held  office.  He  belongs  to 
the  Masonic  order,  and  is  a  member  of  Rales- 
tine  Commandery  of  Knights  Templars,  in 
which  he  has  passed  the  chairs.  Of  genial 
manners  and  a  true  gentleman  in  all  that  the 
word  implies,  he  has  many  friends  in  New 
London  and  vicinity. 


RANCIS    I"..     MERRITT,   a   prosperous 

farmer  of    Groton,  Conn.,  was   born    in 

the  adjacent  town  of  North  Stonington, 

June  <>,    [836,   son   of    Samuel   and    Sarah   G. 

(Thomas)    Merritt.     His  grandfather   Merrill 

was    a   farmer   of    North    Stonington,    and    he 

also  worked  at  carpentering  and  boat-building. 

He    lived    to   be    ninety    years    old,    and    was 

twice    married.       By     his     first     wife,    whose 

len   name   was    Partlow,  he  had   six   sons, 

them  being   Samuel,   the  father  men- 

ibove,    and   three   daughters.      Of   this 

ue   daughter    is   still    living.      Grand- 


father   Merritt's    second    wife,    Nancy    Brown, 
survived  him. 

Samuel  Merritt  was  born  in  North  Stoning- 
ton in  1804.  Like  his  father,  he  engaged  in 
farming  and  ship  -  building.  He  married 
Sarah  G.  Thomas,  who  was  born  in  Wickford, 
R.  I.,  in  1807.  They  had  eight  children,  five 
of  whom  are  living — William  H.,  Charles 
E.,  Samuel  T.,  Francis  E.,  and  Annie  E. 
William  H.  Merritt  is  in  Providence,  R.I.  ; 
Charles  E.  is  in  Ashaway,  R.  I.  ;  Samuel  T. 
is  here  with  his  brother,  Francis  F.  ;  and 
Annie  is  Mrs.  George  S.  Champlain,  of 
North  Stonington.  Another  son,  John  Mer- 
ritt, died  in  early  life;  Albert,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen;  and  Mary  Merritt,  who  was  married 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  died  the  same  year. 
The  father  died  in  1890,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
six  years.  The  mother  still  lives  on  the  old 
farm  with  her  daughter;  and,  although  in  her 
ninetieth  year,  she  is  bright  and  active, 

FVancis  E.  Merritt,  after  acquiring  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  and  Mys- 
tic Academy,  worked  on  his  father's  farm  and 
in  the  ship-yard,  also  in  the  woods  getting 
out  timber,  and  remained  at  the  homestead 
until  i860.  He  now  has  a  garden  and  dairy 
farm,  and  has  driven  his  own  milk  wagon  in 
Noank  for  twenty -eight  years.  In  connection 
with  his  farming  he  has  carried  on  butchering 
and  marketing,  and  has  also  dealt  in  fertil- 
izers. The  farm,  including  a  salt  marsh, 
covers  more  than  two  hundred  acres.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Merritt  is  a  Republican.  Officially, 
he  has  served  as  Tax  Collector  and  on  the 
School  Committee,  being  at  present  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Relief. 

<  Mi  July  2,  i860,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Abbie  E.  Crouch,  who  was  born  in  Led- 
yard  in  1841.  Her  parents  were  David  and 
Elizabeth  (Whipple)  Crouch.  Her  father, 
who  was  born  in   Ledyard,  was  a  son  of   Will- 


WOCkAI'HK'AI.    REVIFAV 


iam  Crouch,  ol  Vermont.  Her  mother  died  in 
1881,  at  the  age  of  sixty-throe,  and  her  father 
in  iS<jj,  at  the  age  ol  eighty-seven.  They 
were  the  parents  of  fourteen  children;  and 
they  reared  three  sons  and  five  daughters,  all 
•  ■I  whom  are  living.  Mrs.  Merritt  was  mar- 
ried at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  lias  had  seven 
children.  The  five  now  living  are:  Nettie 
A.,  [da  C,  Francis  I..,  Carrie  B  ,  and  Lottie 
1..  Nettie  A  Merritt  married  William  O. 
Bailey,  and  lives  in  Pontiac,  K.I.  Shi 
two  children.  Ida  C.  married  Herman  Wirz, 
ol  Brooklyn,  N. Y.,  and  has  three  children. 
Francis  L.  is  in  Boston,  Mass.  Carrie  B.  is 
a  teacher  here,  and  lives  at  home.  Lottie 
G.,  who  is  fifteen,  is  still  in  school.  Alhert 
W.  Merritt  died  at  the  age  of  eleven  years 
and  eight  months,  and  Mary  A.  when  she  was 
three  years  old. 


jRS.      MARY     E.     Mori;  _\\,     now 
=/     residing   at    Preston    City,   having 

removed  hither  since  the  death  of 
her  husband,  the  late  Daniel  Morgan, 
horn  in  North  Stonington,  Conn.,  where  her 
parents,  Lphraim  and  Eliza  Prentice  Hewitt, 
who  were  married  on  December  4,  1835,  had 
settled  on  their  farm.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hewitt 
had  a  family  of  six  children,  two  sons  and 
four  daughters,  of  whom  Mary  E.,  now  Mrs. 
Morgan,  is  the  sole  survivor.  One  son 
in  infancy.  The  other  son,  Giles  Hewitt, 
died  in  the  prime  of  life,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
his  wif  inly  child   surviving   him 

but  a  short  time.  The  father  died  in  1848,  at 
the  age  of  fifty,  and  the  mother  September 
11.   [862,  at  the  sixty-four  years. 

Mary  E.   Hewitt    received  a  good  education, 
and  in  her  m  iod  taught  school  for  some 

years.      She  was  married  to  Daniel  Mi 
January    1,    [862,  and    went    to    live    with    him 


on  the  old   Morgan  farm,  which  was  originally 
owned   and  occupied   by  his  great-grandfather, . 
Samuel    Morgan,    whose   father,    John,    son   of 
Captain    James    Morgan,  of    New  London,   set- 
tled in  Preston  about  1692.      The  tract  ol    two 
hundred   and    twenty-five   acres    purchased    by 
Samuel    Morgan    has   since  been  occupied  by 
three    succeeding    generations    of     M01 
namely:   Daniel  Morgan,  first,  son  of  Samuel; 
Daniel,  second,  born  in   1  7NS,  who  died  about 
[864;    and    his    son.     Mis.     Mary    E.     Morg: 
husband,  the   third    Daniel  in  direct  line,  who 
was  born  on  the  hom<    tead,    \nd  died  there  on 
the   first  January,  I  ;e  ol 

nty-two.       He    was    the    second     Captain 
Daniel    Morgan  in  the  State  militia.      In  poli- 
tics  he   was   a    Republican.      Though    m 
church     member,    Mr.    Morgan    regularly   at- 
tended and   helped   to  support   the  Congrega- 

il  church,  of  which  Mrs.  Morgan  is  a 
member.  He  was  a  great  reader  and  thinker, 
and  was  well  informed  on  all  topics  of  public 
importance  or  interest. 

Mrs.  Morgan  has  leased  the  farm  upon 
which  her  married  life  was  spent,  and  with 
her  daughter,  Carrie  Prentice  Morgan,  is  1  iv- 
as  above  mentioned,  at  Preston  City. 
She  chose  this  place  as  being  not  far  from  her 
old  home  and  near  the  last  resting-place  of 
her  husband,  whose  grave  is  in  the  Preston 
City  cemetery. 


• 


AMAIN   ROBERT    PALMER    WIL 
BUR,  ot  Myst  ic,  <  !onn. ,  now 
in   ship-building    at    Noank,  Ids  na- 
tive   place,    was    born    on   October    28,    1 
being   the   third       ■>    of    William    Allen    and 
Lucy  (Palmer)  Wilbur.      His  remote  paternal 
am  estors  were  Engl  ish. 

His  great-grandfather   Wilbur's    name  was 
William.       His    grandfather,    John     Wil 


M 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


who  was  master  of  a  fishing-smack,  died  in 
Norfolk,  \'a. ,  in  1836.  He  was  survived 
some  time  by  his  second  wife,  Betsy  Burrows. 
A  daughter  born  of  their  union,  Mrs.  Lucretia 

Brown,  is  still  living,  now  a  widow.  Her 
husband,  who  was  a  mariner,  died  in  1836. 
ndfather  Wilbur's  first  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Eleanor  Ashby,  was  the  mother  of 
nine  children,  seven  sons  and  two  daughters : 
Janus ;  Nathaniel;  William  Allen:  Ray  S.  : 
Allen,  who  was  lost  at  sea;  John:  and  Whit- 
man. The  last  named  was  accidentally  shot 
in  California.  Mary  Ellen  and  another 
daughter  died  in  childhood.  Kay  S.  died  in 
.    ^t  the  age  of  eighty-seven. 

William  Allen  Wilbur,  the  third  son  as 
here  recorded,  was  a  mariner  and  also  a  mer- 
chant in  Noank.  He  married  Lucy  Palmer,  of 
that  village.  They  had  six  children  —  Lucy 
Ellen,  Abby,  William  Allen,  John  Palmer, 
Robert  Palmer,  and  Charles.  Lucy  Ellen 
died  at  the  age  of  four;  Abby  lived  to  be 
nineteen;  William  Allen,  second,  a  ship- 
master, died  in  Cuba  at  the  age  of  twenty-five, 
«.!  yellow  fever;  John  Palmer,  a  sea  captain, 
died  in  Calcutta  of  cholera:  Robert  P.,  the 
subject  of  this  biography,  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor; Charles  Wilbur  died  at  the  age  of  six 
rs.  The  father,  who  was  bom  in  Noank 
in  1802,  died  December  1,  [846.  The 
mother  is  still  living.  Her  parents  were 
Deacon  John  and  Abby  (Fish)  Palmer.  Dea- 
con Palmer  was  a  ship-carpenter.  He  out- 
lived his  wife,  wdio  died  leaving  seven  of  her 
twelve  children.  Put  two  of  the  family  are 
now  living:  Mrs.  Wilbur  and  her  brother, 
Robert  Palmer,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the 
ship-building  interest  in  Noank. 

Robert    Palmer  Wilbur   had    limited    educa- 
tional advantages   in    his    boyhood   and    youth, 
school   only  winters  after  he  was  ten 
.  when  he  began  to  engage  in  fish- 


ing. From  the  age  of  sixteen  to  twenty  he 
attended  school  at  Winsted  and  Mystic,  Conn. 
During  the  Civil  War  he  was  a  three  months 
volunteer  in  Company  A,  Second  Connecticut 
Regiment,  of  New  London,  going  as  private. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  commanded  the 
steamer  "Ulysses."  The  other  vessels  in 
which  he  sailed  as  captain  were:  the  bark 
"Caleb  Haley,"  which  was  lost  on  the  coast 
of  Mexico  in  August,  1866;  the  schooner 
"Robert  Palmer";  the  "A.  E.  Campbell"; 
the  ship  "Dauntless";  the  "M.  P.  Grace"; 
and  the  "St.  PYances,"  in  which  he  made  his 
last  voyage,  quitting  the  merchant  marine 
service  in  April,  1S94.  Since  that  time  he 
has  been  interested  in  ship-building,  being 
vice-president  of  a  company  in  Noank.  In 
politics  Captain  Wilbur  affiliates  with  the 
Republican  party;  and  he  is  fraternally  con- 
nected with  Williams  Post,  No.  55,  G.  A.  R., 
as  Commander. 

On  May  10,  1864,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Phoebe  Miner  Fish,  daughter  of 
Nathan  G.  and  Emeline  (Miner)  Fish,  her 
maternal  grandfather  being  John  O.  Miner. 
Her  father  is  now  dead.  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Wilbur  have  had  six  children.  They  lost  an 
infant  son,  Albert,  and  a  little  daughter 
named  Gertrude,  who  passed  away  at  the  age 
of  seven  years.  The  four  now  living  are: 
Helen  F.,  Emeline  Miner,  Roberta  P.,  and 
John  P.  Helen  F.,  a  young  lady  at  home, 
was  graduated  at  the  Mystic  Valley  Institute. 
Emeline  Miner,  who  is  also  at  home,  was 
graduated  at  the  Williams  Memorial  High 
School  in  New  London  in  1895.  Roberta  is 
a  maiden  of  ten  years,  and  John  Palmer,  a 
boy  of  seven. 

Mrs.    Wilbur   accompanied    her   husband   on 

d  Ion-  voyages,  going  round  Cape   Horn 

anil   to  various  foreign  ports.      They  reside  on 

the    homestead    formerly    belonging     to    Mrs. 


CHARLES    0     MAINE. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


47 


Wilbur's  father,  which  has  been  owned  by 
Captain  Wilbur  for  many  years.  Personally, 
he  is  a  man  of  refinement,  one  who  lias  a 
:i  love  for  home  and  its  higher  associa- 
tions. Mrs.  Wilbur  is  a  true  wife  and 
mother.  The  family  circle  is  still  blessed  by 
grandmother's  presence.  Socially,  the  Wil- 
burs stand  among  the  highest  and  most 
esteemed  citizens.  Captain  Wilbur  is  a  Dea- 
con  of  the  Union  Baptist  Church. 


jHARLES  O.  MAINE,  Ml).,  an  ac- 
tive and  successful  physician  of  Ston- 
ington,  Conn.,  was  born  April  io, 
[843,  in  New  Hartford,  this  State.  He  is 
the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Sidney  <  >.  Maine, 
and  is  descended  from  one  of  the  best  known 
families  of  Xew  London  County,  many  of  his 
ancestors  having  been  prominent  in  industrial 
and  professional  circles.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Jabez  Breed  Maine,  was  born  in  North 
Stonington  in  1772.  and  died  there  in  1 
lie  v  ne  mason  by  trade,  and  an  expert 

in  making  the  broad,  old-fashioned  fireplaces 
with  good  draft  that  were  always  found  in  the 
Colonial  mansions;  and  as  a  government  em- 
ployee he  did  the  masonry  on  the  Stonington 
Light-house.      On  March  15,   1798,  he  married 

love  Edwards,  a  direct  descendant  of  Jon- 
athan Edwards,  the  celebrated  theologian ;  and 
of  the  thirteen  children  burn  of   this   union  six 

and  live  daughters  grew  to  mature  \ 
married,      and      reared     families.         One     son, 

1      M  line,  was  for  many  years  a   n 
counsellor  and  judge   in   Boston;  another  son, 
Jonas  C,  was  a  well-known  physician  oi   Con 
necticut;    and   a   third    son,    Christopher    Ira, 
was  a  skilful  surg  physician  ol  Central 

Xew  York,  acquiring  eminence   in   his  profes 
sion  throughout  the  counties  of  Tioga,  Tomp- 
kins, and  Chemung,  and  at  his  death   leavii 


handsome  property  to  be  divided  among  his 
large  number  of  children.  The  grandmother 
died  in  1S56,  a  few  months  before  her  hus- 
band. 

Sidney  O.  Maine  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion, and  a  man  of  literary  tastes  and  attain- 
ments. He  taught  school  man}  terms;  and  he 
wis  a  writer  ol  some  note,  many  oi  his  articles 
on  scientific  subjects  appearing  in  the  public 
1'iess.  He  was  broad-minded  and  liberal- 
hearted,  spending  his  money  as  he  made  it, 
being  unselfish  and  generous  almost  to  a  fault. 
Fraternally,  he  was  a  Master  Mason.  lie  was 
a  lifelong  resident  ol  North  Stonington,  where 
he  was  born  May  6,  1818,  and  died  August 
20,  IS.).).  Mis  wile,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Eliza  I..  Wentworth,  was  horn  April  12, 
[818,  in  Barkhamsted,  Conn.,  and  is  now  liv- 
ing in  Ninth  Stonington,  being  a  bright  and 
active  woman  of  nearly  fourscore  years.  She 
is   the   mother   of    five    children,    namely:    Dr. 

Ies  t). ,  of  Stonington;  Milo  M.,  a  stone- 
mason, living  in  North  Stonington;  Albert 
S. ,  a  farmer  in  Hampton,  Conn.;  Myron  M., 
1).  U.S.,  who  was  graduated  Mom  the  Haiti- 
more  Dental  College,  where  he  took  the 
prize  foi  excellence  of  workmanship,  and  now 
has  a  fine  dental  practice  in  South  Manches- 
ter, Conn.  ;  and  Annie  M.,  wife  ol  Henry  M. 
Newton,  a  farmer  living  in  North  Stonington. 
Charles  <  >.  Maine  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm,  obtaining  his  early  education  in  the  dis- 
trict school,  and  at  the  a  venteen  be- 
ginning life  on  his  own  account  as  a  teacher  in 
the  public  scl Is.      II"  taught   several   terms 

untiv  anil  village,  in  the  meantime  con- 
tinuing his  studies;  and  he  subsequently  en- 
tered the  medical  department  of  Dartmouth 
College,  from  which  he  wis  graduated  with  the 
class  of  [870.  He  settled  fust  in  Voluntown, 
Conn.,  where  he  remained  eleven  years,  He- 
sides  attending   to  an    extensive   practice,    he 


48 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


held  town  offices,  and  was  School  Visitor  for 
many  years.  Dr.  Maine  removed  to  Stoning- 
ton  on  April  [8,   1881,  and   has  here   built   up 

[tensive  and  lucrative  practice,  his  profes- 
sional skill   being   recognized   throughout  this 

ion  of  tlio  count}-.  In  [894  he  built  his 
present  commodious  residence  on  Water 
Street,  at  the  comer  of  Harmony,  on  which 
his  handsome  and  well-arranged  ham  is  situ- 
ated. The  house  is  furnished  and  equipped 
with  all   modem   conveniences,  with  a  suite  of 

es  both  for  himself  and  for  his  son,  who 
is  a  popular  young  dentist.  The  Doctor  is  a 
Master  Mason  and  quite  active  in  the  order. 
Mr  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations, 
has  been  elected  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  many 
terms,  and  is  a  Burgess.  Me  has  stock  in  the 
velvet-mill,  hut  pays  no  especial  attention  to 
its  management,  his  professional  labors  de- 
manding his  entire  time  and  energies.  He 
and  his  wife  are  valued  members  of  the  Baptist 
church. 

Dr.  Maine  was  married  December  iS,   1866, 
to  Sarah  Phehe  Main,  who,  though  bearing  the 
same  name  with  a  slight  different  e  in  spelling, 
i-  not  akin  to  him,  unless  it  he  possibly  on  the 
maternal    side,    her    parents    being    Robert    P. 
and    Phebe    (Edwards)    Main,    oi    Voluntown, 
Conn.      Her  father  was  in  early  years  a  stone- 
mason and  a  farmer,  hut  is   now  living  retired, 
both  he  and    his  wife    being  quite    advanced    in 
I  hey  had  hut  one  child   besides  Mis. 
Maine,  a  son,   Crawford   R, ,   who  died  in  West- 
erly,  R.I.,  in  1.X76,  leaving  a   widow  and   one 
daughter,    Gertie   I..     The  latter   was  left  an 
orphan  when  three  _\  ears    old,   and  was    brought 
up  by  her  grandparents   until   about    live  years 
Alien  -he  became  an    inmate  oi    the    1  )oc- 
household.      Mr     and    Mrs.    Maine    have 
but   one  child,  a  son    named    Charles    Everett, 
'dilated  from  the  New  York   Mental 
March    10,    1 888,  and    has   since   had 


his  home  and  dental  rooms  in  his  father's 
house.  He  was  married  June  5,  1889,  to 
Miss   Susie  Miller,    of   Stonington,    Conn. 


TmMWARD  N.  CROCKI^R,  of  New  Lon- 
QJ  don,  a  wholesale  dealer  in  cold  stor- 
age meats,  was  born  here,  July  26, 
1N41,  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Thompson) 
Crocker.  The  grandfather,  Nehemiah  Crocker, 
who  was  a  farmer,  had  four  sons  and  four 
daughters,  none  of  whom  are  living,  and  was 
over  ninety  years  old  when  he  died  in  1849. 
John  Crocker,  who  was  born  in  Waterford, 
this  county,  in  1793,  served  in  the  War  of 
1812,  married  Nancy  Thompson  about  the 
year  1838,  and  died  in  1866.  He  had  previ- 
ously married  Clarissa  Brown,  who  died  leav- 
ing three  sons  and  a  daughter.  Of  these  the 
only  survivor  is  Benjamin  A.  Crocker,  residing 
in  Waterford,  who  was  the  captain  of  a  yacht, 
and  has  tried  a  number  of  cases  in  the  capacity 
of  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Edward  N.  Crocker  lived  on  a  farm  during 
his  early  years.  When  the  Rebellion  broke 
out,  he  was  attending  the  district  school.  In 
August,  1862,  he  enlisted  for  the  defence  of 
the  Union  in  Company  F  of  the  Twenty-first 
Connecticut  Infantry.  Before  leaving  the 
State  he  was  detailed  from  the  ranks  as  a 
Quartermaster's  clerk,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  eighteen  months.  Then  he  was  de- 
tailed as  clerk  under  Major  J.  M.  Lucas,  Port 
Commissary  at  Portsmouth,  Va.,  with  whom 
he  remained  sixteen  months.  He  served  con- 
tinuously until  June,  1865,  when  he  was  hon- 
orably discharged.  Afterward  for  a  few 
months  he  was  engaged  in  a  manufacturing 
business  at  Meriden,  Conn.  Since  that  time 
he  has  been  in  the  meat  business,  beginning 
as  an  employee  of  Henry  Hobron.  In  [ 88 1 
he    purchased    the    market    in    which    he    was 


CHARLES    E.    BRAYTON. 


HIOGRAI'IIIC  \I.    RKVIEW 


loyed  from  Clark  Steward,  and  has  since 
carried  on  a  wholesale  business.  lie  first 
sold  Nelson  Morris  &  Co.'s  meat;  hut  since 
1886  he  has  been  interested  in  the  Swift  busi- 
.  being  an  equal  partner  with  G.  F.  and 
E.  C.  Swift,  each  owning  a  third.  They 
built  their  finely  equipped  establishment  in 
Their  business  now  amounts  to  about 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  yearly. 

In  June.   [867,  Mr.  Crocker  and  Janette  H. 
Tiffany   were   united    in    marriage.      She   was 

in    East    Haddam,    Conn.,   daughtei 
John      Tiffany.       They     have     two     children: 
hen  M..  a  graduate  of   Brown's   Business 
in  Brooklyn;  and  Leonard  G.,  a  clerk 
in  the  railroad  freight  office.      Both  are  living 
ime.      Mr.  Crocker  is  a   stanch    Republi- 
can, ami  has  been  chairman  of  the  Republican 
fown    Committee    for    the    past    five    years. 
During   the   past    six    years   he  has  served  as 
a   member  of    the    Common    Council    of    this 
city.      He   is   a  Master    Mason,   a   member  <>f 
the    Independent    Order  of    Odd    Fellows;    the 
Commander  of  the  W.  \V.  Perkins   Postj  No. 
<    A.  R.  ;  and  a  communicant  of  the  First 
11I    I  iiiirch.      Tin-   family   reside 
1:1    Avenue,  in    the   house  built  by 
Mr.  ('mcker's  father  forty  y< 


(HARLES  ERSKINE  BRAYTON, 
M.D.,  "!  Stonington,  son  of  .\> 
\k -  Randall  and  Sally  M.  (Davis)  Bray- 
ton,  was  born  in  this  town,  February  11,  1851. 
lie  represents  the  eighth  generation  of  his 
family  in  this  country,  being  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  Francis  Brayton,  born  in  England  in 
i"ii  or  [612,  who  in  1^43  became  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Portsmouth,  R.  I.  Succeeding  Fran- 
cis in  this  line  were:  Francis1;  Thomas,3 
born  [681;  Francis,4  horn  1721;  Benjamin,5 
ol  Fall  River,  born  1746;  George,"  born  17 


Atwood »  Randall   Brayton,  born   December  2, 

' 
George  Brayton,  the  Doctor's  grandfather, 
died  of  pneumonia  at  his  home  in  John 
now  a  part  of  Providence,  R.I.,  when  but 
thirt)  five  years  of  age.  lie  was  survived  by 
his  wife,  formerly  Nancy  Randall,  and  five 
children,  three  suns  and  two  daughters.  After 
her  husband's  death  Mrs.  Nancy  R.  Brayton 
married  a  Mr.  Carey,  a  widower  with  twelve 
children,  and,  outliving  him  also,  died  a  widow 
at  the  age  of  sixty-seven.  She  was  a  des< 
ant  of  Roger  Williams,  three  of  whose  great- 
ers  Mercy,  Lydia,  and  Martha 
Williams  married  respectively  William, 
h,  and  John  Randall.  Atwood  Randall, 
eldest  son  oi  George  and  Nancy  R.  Brayton, 
was  horn  in  Providence,  December  2,  1806. 
By  trade  a  mason,  he  was  also  a  contractor  and 
builder.  He  built  the  stone  work  of  the 
old  Baptist,  I  ongregational,  and  Episcopal 
churches,  and  most  of  the  other  stone  build- 
ings of  that  time.  He  built  his  own  dwell- 
ing-house in  1840.  Although  he  began  life 
a  poor  boy,  his  unremitting  industry  enabled 
him  to  retire  from  business  at  the  age  <  i 
1,  a  well-to-do  man.  He  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-four  and  a  half,  having 
survived  all  of  his  brothers  and  sisters.  His 
wife,  Sally  Maria,  was  horn  in  what  is  now 
North  Stonington,  January  25,  1811,  being 
the  youngest  of  thirteen  children  of  Samuel 
and  Lucy  (Dewey)  Davis.  She  is  the  only 
one  of  the  family  now  living.  Her  father  was 
a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He  enlisted  at 
the  age  of  seventeen,  was  in  the  battles 
Princeton  and  Trenton,  and  was  at  Groton,  his 
three  brothers  also  being  in  the  army.  Their 
father,  John  Davis,  who  married  Patience 
Palmer,  was  a  -on  of  Peter  Davis,  Sr.,  ol 
Westerly,  R.I.,  a  noted  preacher  of  the  Soci- 
ety ol  Friends,  who  went  on  a  mission  to  Eng- 


5  2 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


land.      Samuel  Davis  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight;  and  his  widow  died  in  1857,  ninety-four 

rs  old.  Their  daughter  married  Atwood 
Randall  Brayton,  2,   [831. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atwood  R.  Brayton  had 
eleven  children,  four  of  whom  died  in  infancy 
or  childhood;  and  one,  the  eldest-horn,  a 
daughter  Sarah,  dud  in  [895,  a  maiden  lady 
ixty-two  years.  The  survivors  are:  At- 
wood W.,  the  eldest  son,  and   his   father's  suc- 

>or  in  business,  unmarried  and  living  at 
the  old  home;  Frances  Almira  and  the  young- 
est sister  Adelaide,  also  living  at  home; 
George,  a  house  painter  and  decorator,  who  is 
married  and  has  two  children;  and  Charles 
Erskine,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The 
three  sisters  were  successful  teachers  for  many 

rs. 
Charles  Erskine,  the  tenth  child  and  the 
third  Charles,  was  sent  to  private  and  public 
schools  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twelve, 
when  he  was  placed  under  the  instruction  of  a 
private  tutor,  Dr.  Hart,  of  Stonington,  for  five 
years.  lie  worked  at  his  lather's  trade  four 
summers,  and  when  he  was  eighteen  years 
old  he  taught  school  one  term  before  he  began 
the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  William  Hyde. 
He  was  graduated  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  Columbia  College  in  1873,  having 
been  a  private  pupil  ol  Professor  William 
Parker.  He  began  practising  in  Stonington 
the  same  yeai  as  assistant  to  Dr.  William 
Hyde,  who  died  in  a  few  months.  He  then 
succeeded  to  his  practice,  and  remained  in  his 
ven  years.  In  1880  Dr.  Brayton 
erected  a  large  and  handsome  building,  where 
he  has  some  tine  offices  and  sleeping  apart- 
ments. On  the  first  floor  of  this  building 
there  is  a  drug  store,  on  the  second  dental 
and  a  great  hall,  where  the  (I.  A.  R. 
and  other  societies  hold  their  meetings, 
The   Doctor   lives    in   this   building,  but   takes 


his  meals  at  the  family  home,  in  the  house 
built  by  his  father,  which  he  has  remodelled 
and  modernized,  and  where  his  mother  is  still 
living.  He  owns  a  number  of  tenements  and 
several  vacant  lots. 

Dr.  Brayton  is  a  busy  man;  and  he  has  held 
many  positions,  both  in  public  life  and  within 
the  scope  of  his  profession.  He  has  been 
president  of  the  New  London  County  Medical 
Society,  is  a  member  of  the  State  Medical 
Society,  of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
and  of  the  National  Association  of  Railway 
Surgeons,  and  has  been  Health  Officer  for  six 
years.  He  was  chief  of  the  railroad  surgeons 
of  the  New  York,  Providence  &  Boston  Rail- 
way until  that  was  merged  into  the  N.  Y. , 
N.  H.  &  H.  R.R.,  and  examiner  for  several 
life  insurance  companies.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  he  has  been  a  Burgess  of  the 
borough  six  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum,  and  is  Past  Regent  and  life 
member  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Connecticut. 
He  is  also  connected  with  the  Sons  of  the 
Revolution.  Dr.  Brayton  is  an  active  member 
of  the  Second  Congregational  Church,  is  treas- 
urer of  the  society,  and  a  member  of  the  soci- 
ety committee. 


ABEZ  B.  HOUGH,  the  well-known  and 

popular  merchant  of  East  Lyme,  was 
born  in  Bozrah,  an  inland  town  in  this 
county,  on  April  19,  1855,  son  of  Jedediah 
Stark  and  Lydia  Amelia  (Fowler)  Hough. 
Representatives  of  the  Hough  family  have 
lived  in  the  same  house  in  Bozrah  for  a  hun- 
dred years,  and  have  been  among  the  most 
highly  respected  and  influential  citizens  of 
the   town. 

Guy  Hough,  father  of  Jedediah,  was  a 
farmer.  He  married  Hannah  Bailey,  of 
Groton,  a  relation  of  the  renowned  "Mother 


I'.loCk.M'llie  \l,    REVIEW 


53 


Bailey,"  whose  name  is  a  synonym  lor  warm- 
hearted patriotism.  By  this  union  there  were 
nine    children,    all    of    whom    are    now    dead. 

idmother  Hough  died  in  1875,  aged  about 
rs;    .ui<\  her   husband,  who  out- 
lived her,  died  in  his  ninety-ninth  year. 

Jedediah  Hough,  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  accumu- 
lating a  property  of   some  thirty-live  thousand 

us.       He     was     a     Republican,    and     was 

active  in    local    politics.      He  was   Selectman 

-nne  fifteen  years  consecutively  and   Town 

iurer  fur  a  number  of  years.  In  1 S 5 5 , 
at  the  time  when  his  son  Jabez  was  born,  he 
represented  the  town  in  the  legislature.  His 
wife,  Amelia,  was   born    in    iSjj   in  Lebanon, 

.  were  married  in  1854,  and  had  seven 
children.  A  son,  Charles,  died  in  early  child- 
The  six  living  are  as  in] lows:  Mary, 
wife  of  John  J.  Gager  in  Bozrah;  Lucn 
wife  of  J.  Milton  Newton;  Lathrop  Alanson, 
a  farmer,  unmarried;  Jabez  B.  ;  I.ydia,  wife 
'  ».  Stead,  of  Norwich,  a  retired 
merchant;     and     Katie,     wife    of     Warren     S. 

,  .111  assistant  superintendent   in   the  Vale 

.  Works,  living  at  Stamford,  Conn.     The 

•    died   in    1 861 1,    Hi'!  tin-  mothei  in  [81 1 ;. 

I'..    I  lough     lived    cm    the    old    bom. 

until  fifteen  years  of  age,  attending  the  dis- 
trict   school.      He   then   left  home  and  became 

irk  in    Fitchville,  where  he   remain* 
'.      rs.      In  the  spring  of    [880  he  1 

1st  Lyme  as  salesman  and  agent  in  charge 
of  the  factory  store.  He  was  in  this  position, 
working  on  salary  and  helping  with  the 
bonks,  never  losing  a  day's  pay,  until  the 
business  was  closed.  In  1894,  when  the 
Niantic  Manufacturing  Company  was  started 
rs.  Park  Brothers  and  1).  R.  Camp- 
bell, Mr.  Hough  opened  the  store  in  company 
with  Luther  C.  Eaton,  the  firm  name  being 
Hough  &  Eaton.      In  March,    1895,  Mr.   Eaton 


died:  and  in  the  following  May  Mr.  Hough 
ime  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  business. 
He  began  with  limited  capital,  but  with  a 
good  stock  of  energy  and  capability,  with 
well-formed  habits  of  industry,  and  lias  been 
successful  in  business.  At  present  he  employs 
two  clerks  and  keeps  time  horses,  but  !• 
alter  the  book-keeping  himself,  and  is  a  very 
busy   man.       Genial    and   ao  'ting,    he 

is  always   ready  to  do  anything   in   his  power 
to  oblige  a  customer  or  acquaintance. 

On  March  17,  1879,  Mr.  Hough  married 
Ida  J.  Grover,  daughter  of  the  late  William 
Grover,  who  was  a  travelling  and  local  sales- 
man. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hough  reside  at  their 
delightful  home  on  Flanders  Street,  in  the 
house  which  was  built  in  1895  and  1896.  In 
politics  Mr.  Hough  is  a  Republican  ;  but.  al- 
though deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the 
town  and  in  all  its  public  affairs,  he  has 
stoutly  refused  to  hold  office.  Fraternally, 
he  is  a  Master  Mason. 


SA  R.  BIGELI  IW,  farmer,  residing  in 
was  born  in  this  town, 
January  17,  1830,  son  of  Guy  Bi 
low  and  his  wife,  Sarah  Ann  Waite  Bigelow. 
He  is  of  old  and  substantial  Colonial  stock, 
being  a  direct  descendant  in  the  male  line  of 
John  Bigelow,  who  came  to  New  England  — 
some  have  thought  from  Wales  and  settled 
at  Watertown,  Mass.,  where  his  marriage  took 
place  in  1642,  and  was  the  first  one  recorded 
in  the  town.      His  wile  wis  Mary  Warren. 

Lieutenant  John  Bigelow,  grandson  of  John 
of  Watertown,  came  to  Colchester  from  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  between  1 706  and  1710.  He 
was  lour  times  married,  and  had  two  children 
by  his  first  wife  and  five  by  his  second  wife, 
Sarah  Bigelow.  a  cousin.  He  died  March  8, 
1770.      Asa  Bigelow,  first,  born  in  Colchester 


54 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


in  [720,  one  of  the  second  group,  married 
early  in  life,  and  died  in  1754,  leaving  a 
large  family.  His  posthumous  son  and  name- 
.  Asa,  grandfather  of  Asa  R.  Bigelow* 
married  February  5.  [783,  Lydia  Newton,  of 
hester,  a  daughter  of  !  inn  Newton. 
During  the  Revolution  Asa  Bigelow,  second, 
was  Assistanl  Commissary  to  Commissary- 
general  Champion,  and  took  a  drove  of  cattle 
to  Valley  Forge.  He  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  and  used  the  first  cut  nails  seen  in  the 
town  in  shingling  his  own  barn  in  1794,  the 
nails  being  brought  by  his  son  Guy  on  horse- 
back from  Windham,  Conn.  The  old  build- 
ings are  still  standing.  Grandfather  Bigelow 
was  a  large  landed  proprietor,  owning  seven 
hundred  acres  of  land,  which  was  divided  into 
three  farms,  lie  was  one  of  the  first  trustees 
i:i  Bacon  Academy.  Of  the  eleven  children 
born  to  him  and  his  wife,  ten,  three  sons  and 
seven  daughters,  reached  maturity,  and  nine 
were  married.  Three  of  the  daughters  mar- 
ried clergymen  ;  one  became  the  wife  of  Dan- 
iel SafFord,  an  iron  merchant  of  Boston,  who 
the  promoters  of  the  school  at 
South  Hadley,  now  Mount  Holyoke  College: 
and  the  son  Asa,  third,  became  a  prominent 
New  York  merchant.  Grandfather  Bigelow 
died  July  28,  1830,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five. 
His  willow  survived  him  fourteen  years,  dying 
in  1844. 

Guy  Bigelow  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Colchester  and  at  Bacon  Academy. 
He  was  a  prominent  and  influential  citizen, 
active  in  town  affairs;  and  he  served  one  year 
Representative  in  the  legislature.  He 
settled  on  his  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  in 
1X51.  He  married  March  8,  1827,  Sarah 
Ann  Waite,  a  daughter  of  Remick  and  Susan- 
nah (Matson)  Waite.  Of  the  seven  children 
born  of  this  union  four  died  young;  and  three 
-1    R.,    Jonathan    E.,    and    Henry    \V. — 


survived  their  parents.  The  father  died  in 
1S6S,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age; 
and  the  mother  died  in  1891,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-five.  They  were  active  members  of 
the  Congregational  church.  Jonathan  E. 
Bigelow,  who  is  unmarried,  lives  with  his 
brother  Asa  on  the  home  farm.  Henry  Waite 
Bigelow,  the  other  brother,  was  a  volunteer 
in  1 86 1  in  the  Fourteenth  Ohio,  going  as 
private  from  Toledo,  and  becoming  the  Cap- 
tain of  Company  H.  He  was  twice  wounded 
at  Chickamauga,  first  from  a  ball  passing 
through  his  thigh  and  afterward  in  the  arm. 
For  these  injuries  he  received  a  pension  from 
the  government.  He  was  a  merchant  and 
manufacturer  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  was  a 
thirty-third  degree  Mason.  He  died  unmar- 
ried, March  12,   1895. 

Mr.  Asa  R.  Bigelow,  following  his  father's 
footsteps,  attended  the  Bacon  Academy  in  his 
youth;  and,  beginning  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, he  taught  school  for  ten  seasons.  On 
September  13,  1855,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Anne  Putnam  Brown,  of  Brooklyn, 
Conn.  Mrs.  Bigelow  was  a  great-grand- 
daughter of  General  Israel  Putnam,  and  was 
also  descended  from  the  Brinleys,  of  Boston, 
who  were  among  the  founders  of  King's 
Chapel,  and  from  the  Hutchinsons.  She  was 
one  of  thirteen  children  born  to  her  parents, 
James  and  Emily  (Putnam)  Brown,  of  whose 
family  four  daughters  and  five  sons  lived  to 
maturity,  and  four  of  the  sons  married.  To 
take  the  places  of  the  four  sons  who  died  in 
childhood,  four  nephews  of  Mr.  Brown  were 
adopted.  The  two  children  now  living  are: 
the  Rev.  Edward  Brown,  Episcopal  rector  at 
Stafford  Springs,  Conn.;  and  his  sister,  Jane 
('.  Brown,  at  the  old  home  in  Brooklyn.  The 
mother  died  in  1S73,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
three;  and  the  father  five  years  later,  at 
eighty -two  years  of  age. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


55 


Mrs.  Bigelow  died  April  27,  1897,  aged 
sixty-seven,  leaving  four  children;  namely, 
James  Dixon,  Elizabeth  Brinley,  Sarah  Waite, 
and  Henry  Waite.  James  Dixon  Bigelow  is 
an  attorney-at-law  and  real  estate  broker  in 
rerre   Haute,    Ind.      He  has  a  wife    and    two 

Jiters.       Elizabeth     Brinley     Bigelow,    a 
young  artist,   was   educated   at   Carl    Decker's 
school,    and   now   has  a   class    in    the   village. 
Several  years  of  her  life  have  been   spent  in 
the    West,    in    Indiana    and    in     Illinois;    hut 
both   she  and    her   sister  Sarah  are  now  living 
at  home.      Henry  Waite  is   a   graduate   of   the 
Polytechnic    Institute    of    Terre    Haute,    Ind. 
He  is  a  fine  mechanic  and  chemist,  and  is  now 
in  the  department  of  tests  for  the  Pope  Manu- 
ring  Company  of    Hartford.      The  family 
all     Episcopalians.      .Mr.    Bigelow    is   a 
Master    Mason.      He    is   a    Republican,    and 
•d  his  town  as  Assessor  for  many  years. 
He  was  Representative  in   1873,  and  has   been 

efeated  candidate  many  other  years,  the 
town  being  strongly  Democratic.  To  the  old 
farm  of  two  hundred  acres  he  has  added  thirty 
acres.  It  is  in  a  most  delightful  location, 
reached  by  a  walk  or  drive  through  the  shaded 
and  picturesque  wood  road  past  the  old  mill, 
now  silent,  and  the  babbling  trout  In 
which  is  the  outlet  of  a  fine  large  mill-pond; 
and  the  secluded  homestead,  so  neatly  kept  and 
so  plainly  th  ol    taste  and  culture,  is 

of    the   most   attractive   in   this   fine  agri- 
cultural  town. 


BEL  I'.  TANNER,   an  attorney-at-law 

doing  a  successful  business  in  New 
London,  was  born  across  the  river 
in  Grotnn,  July  7,  1850,  a  son  of  Abel  and 
Clarissa  (Watrous)  Tanner.  His  paternal 
grandparents,  Palmer  and  Mary  N.  (( 
Tanner,     were     residents    of     Rhode     Island. 


They  had  four  sons  and  a  daughter,  of  whom 
two  sons  —  Abel  and  Jeremiah  —  are  now  liv- 
ing. Palmer  Tanner  died  in  Centreville, 
R.I.,  at  about  seventy  years  of  age.  His 
father,  Palmer  Tanner,  Sr.,  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  being  a  member  of 
General    Spencer's  division. 

Abel  Tanner  was  born  on  Prudence  Island, 
R.I.,  in  .August,  [805,  an<'  now  resides  at 
Mystic,  this  town.  Though  he  is  now  ninety- 
two  years  of  age,  he  is  still  well  preserved  in 
mind  and  body.  He  married  Clarissa  Wat- 
rous about  1848.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
James  Rogers,  a  noted  Quaker,  whom  tradi- 
tion claims  to  have  been  a  descendant  of  John 
Rogers,  the  martyr.  Mrs.  Tanner  died  Au- 
gust 15,  1850,  leaving  her  only  child,  Abel 
P.  Tanner,  a  babe  of  five  weeks.  The  father 
afterward  married  Cordelia  Heath,  by  whom  he 
had  a  son,  Wendell  Phillips  Tanner,  who  died 
when  in  his  twenty-first  year.  The  father  was 
associated  as  a  lecturer  with  Wendell  Phillips 
in  the  early  days  of  the  abolition  movement, 
and  named  his  boy  for  the  great  or, 

Abel  P.  Tanner  received  a  good  education, 
supplementing  his  elementary  schooling  by 
a  course  at  Brown  University,  at  which  he 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1S74  with  the 
degree  oi  Bachelor  of  Arts.  lie  studied  law 
at  Mystic  with  Colonel  Hiram  Appelman,  and 
on  February  23,  1875,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  practised  for  several  years  in  Mys- 
tic, then  in  1882  came  to  New  London,  where 
he  has  a  large  clientage.  He  is  very  promi- 
nent in  political  affairs,  and  in  1872  was 
elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  to  the 
State  Senate,  but  owing  to  an  irregularity  in 
the  court,  it  is  claimed,  never  took  his  seat. 
Following  the  example  of  his  father,  he  has 
done  effective  work  as  a  campaign  speaker. 
In  1896  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Presidential  elector. 


56 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


In   June    iS,    [874,  Mr.  Tanner  was   united 
in    marriage  to   Miss    Emma  B.    Whitford,   a 

daughter  of  Clark  X.  Whitford,  of  Stoning- 
ton.  Mr.  ami  Mrs.  Tanner  have  no  children 
living,  having  hist  their  only  daughter  in  in- 
fancy. Their  home  is  at  5  Hempstead  Street, 
where  Mr.  Tanner  built  a  pleasant  residence 
in  the  summer  of  1891. 


"J^VTNORRIS    W.    BACON,   of  New   Lott- 
ie |f=Y     don,    now    retired     from    business, 
J  '  I  '  \^ has  engaged    in   many  enterprises 

which  have  left  lasting  monuments  along  the 
road  of  progress  in  this  city,  and  has  won  re- 
nown in  the  sporting  world,  both  through  his 
horses  and  his  tine  yachts,  one  of  his  boats  a 
few  years  since  taking  the  cup  at  New  York 
City.  He  was  born  in  Middlefield,  Middle- 
sex County,  Conn.,  October  11,  1830,  a  son 
nl  William  and  Elmina  (Johnson)  Bacon,  both 
of  Middlefield. 

His  grandfather,  John  Bacon,  who  was  the 
fourth  John  in  succession  (see  Bacon  Gene- 
:  by  Arthur  W.  Bacon,  of  Middle- 
town,  Conn.),  was  born  in  Middlefield  in 
1779.  IK-  managed  a  farm  and  kept  a  hotel 
in  Middlefield,  and  at  one  period  was  con- 
sidered wealthy;  but  he  lost  some  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  by  indorsing  notes  for 
friends,  and  had  little  to  devise  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  His  homestead,  however,  is  still  in 
the  family,  owned  by  a  female  cousin  of 
Morris  W.  Bacon.  John  Bacon  died  in  Mid- 
dlefield, December  6,  1X50;  and  his  wife, 
Amy  Cor,  ol  Middlefield,  a  noble  woman, 
strong  in  the  Methodist  faith,  died  October 
30,  1 N 6 5 ,  over  fourscore  years  of  age.  They 
were  the  parents  of  the  following  children: 
Curtis,  United  States  Marshal  in  Middle- 
town:  William,  father  of  Morris  W.  ;  John 
1         i  1  Lucy,  twins;  and  George  W. 


William  Bacon,  second  son  of  John,  was 
born  in  Middlefield,  near  his  son's  birthplace, 
July  20,  1805.  He  began  life  "even  with  the 
world,"  so  to  speak,  he  and  his  brother  Curtis 
purchasing  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  for 
twelve  hundred  dollars,  giving  a  mortgage 
note  for  the  purchase  price.  Energetic  and 
capable,  this  farm  they  paid  for  in  a  short 
time.  On  April  18,  1839,  Mr.  William 
Bacon  took  charge  of  the  Bacon  Hotel  in  New 
London,  which  was  owned  by  his  uncle 
Matthew;  and  in  this  sphere  of  action  he  was 
successful  and  very  popular.  Large-hearted 
and  whole-souled,  he  never  turned  a  man  away 
hungry  because  he  had  no  money;  and  he  asked 
no  favors  himself,  always  paying  one  hundred 
cents  on  the  dollar.  He  died  in  Lyme, 
Conn.,  May  28,  1882,  aged  seventy-seven,  and 
is  survived  by  his  second  wife,  formerly  Miss 
Anna  M.  Lay,  of  Lyme,  and  now  living  in 
that  town.  Morris  W.  Bacon's  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Elmina  Johnson,  was 
William  Bacon's  first  wife,  whom  he  married 
April  21,  1828.  Her  parents  were  residents 
of  Middlefield.  Her  father  died  in  early 
manhood;  and  her  mother  lived  to  be  seventy, 
passing  away  in  1846.  Mrs.  Elmina  J. 
Bacon  was  one  of  six  children,  two  sons  and 
four  (.laughters,  all  of  whom  married  and  had 
families.  She  died  July  22,  1866,  aged  fifty- 
nine,  the  youngest  of  her  family  to  pass  away. 
She  had  but  two  children:  Morris  W.,  of 
New  London;  and  Watson  Coe  Bacon,  who 
died  the  day  he  was  nine  months  old. 

Morris  W.  Bacon  was  born  on  the  hundred- 
acre  farm  purchased  by  his  father  and  his 
uncle  Curtis  in  Middlefield,  and  in  a  district 
school  in  that  town  he  acquired  his  primary 
education.  He  completed  his  studies  in  the 
public  schools  of  New  London,  and  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  went  to  work,  engaging  as  clerk  for 
Cady    &    Newcomb.      With    this    firm    he    re- 


MoKKIs    W.    BACON, 


BIOGR  M'llie.M.    UK\  II  \\ 


mained  three  years,  his  salary  being  raised  as 
his  services  became  valuable;  and  on  Novem- 
ber 22,  [849,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  passen- 
ger clerk  on  the  steamer  "Connecticut."  He 
1  in  the  employ  of  the  steamboat  com- 
pany until  1874:  between  1S55  and  1872  he 
was  also  a  membei  ol  the  jewelry  firm  of  Gor- 
don &  Bacon,  whose  place  of  business  was  at 
the  corner  of  Main  and  State  Streets,  New 
London. 

He  has  engaged  in  some  important  transac- 
is  in  real  estate  that  have  caused  a  marked 
improvement  in  property  in  New  London, 
lie  erected  a  handsome  marble  block  on  State 
Street,  containing  spacious  stores  and  a  hall  ; 
ami  for  ten  years  prior  to  1890  he  managed  a 
billiard  room  in  this  block,  which  was  one  of 
the  finest  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The 
room  was  eighteen  feet  in  height  and  sixty-two 
by  forty-one  feet  in  dimension,  and  not  a  post 
broke  the  harmony  of  the  space.  It  was 
fitted  with  seven  billiard  tables. 

Mr.  Bacon   purchased  a  handsome  residi 
property  on  State   Street    in    iS~C<,  and,  build- 
1  fine  barn,  bought  a  number  of   thorough- 
I  horses.      Some   noted   animals  were   bred 
his   place,    and    at    one   time   he    was    the 
er  of  twenty-one.       lie  brought  out  "Will- 
iam  II.  Allen"  and  "Mary  A.   Whitney,"  ami 
others    known    to     the     racing    world.        This 
State    Street   property   he   sold    in    December, 
1895,    disposing   of    his    horses    at    the    same 
time.      Mr.  Munsey,  who  was   induced    by  Mr. 
Ba<  on  to  come  to  New  London,  purchased   the 
te    for    thirty    thousand    dollars,    and    has 
erected    a    magnificent     brick    block,    costing 
four   hundred   thousand   dollars,    eight    stories 
in    height,    and    one    hundred    ami    twelve    by 
ninety    feet    in    dimension,    and    strictly    fire 
proof. 

Trior  to  1N77  Mr.  Bacon  was  actively  inter- 
ested in  yachting:  and  he  has  owned  a  number 


of  yachts  of   which    he   had    built.       lb- 

was  licensed  as  a  captain  while  he  was  in  the 
employ  ol  the  Steamboat  company:  and  he 
always  sailed  his  own  boats,  being  his 
own  pilot.  In  1859,  w'tn  tnc  sloop  yacht 
"Rowena,"  he  won  the  cup  in  the  New  York 
Yacht  Club  regatta. 

Mr.  Bacon  was  married  October  11,  I  X 5 3 ,  to 
Jane  L.  Gordon,  who  died  July  19,  1891,  leav- 
ing two  children —  Charles  G.  and  Lizzie  J. 
Charles  G.  Bacon  was  educated  at  Exeter, 
X  11.,  and  is  now  in  business  in  this  city. 
Lizzie  J.  Bacon,  who  is  also  in  New  London, 
was  educated  at  Auburndale,  Mass.,  and  is  an 
accomplished  artist.  Mr.  Bacon  contracted  a 
second  marriage,  October  3,  1892,  with  Jane 
D.,  daughter  of  the  late  William  Carroll,  of 
this  city.  Mr.  Carroll,  who  was  extensively 
engaged  in  teaming,  died  in  1882.  He  left  a 
widow,  Mrs.  Ellen  Carroll,  and  two  children 
—  Martha  and  Jane  —  all  residents  of  New 
London.  In  politics  Mr.  Bacon  is  nominally 
a  Democrat,  but  he  reserves  the  privilege  of 
voting  for  the  candidate  best  fitted  for  the 
office.  He  has  refused  all  offers  of  public 
preferment. 


i   • 


1LI.IAM    DIXON    McSS.   a   retired 


merchant  and  manufacturer  of  Po- 
quetuck,  was  born  in  Westerly, 
R.I.,  August  25,  1830.  His  grandfather,  the 
Rev.  Reuben  Moss,  of  Connecticut,  a  Con- 
ttional  minister,  who  was  educated  at 
Yale,  married  Hedassah  Chesebro,  and  be- 
came the  father  of  a  huge  family  of  children. 
These   included:   1.  Washington,  born  in 

1800:  William  ('.  :  Reuben:  Lphraim:  Jesse 
L. :  and  two  daughters.  Reuben  married  in 
1794,  and  died  in  [812.  His  widow  married 
a  Mr.  Tyler,  in  Griswold.  Her  death  oc- 
curred in  her  seventy-sixth  year.  William 
was  ninety-two  when  he  died. 


6o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Jesse  Lathrop  Moss,  the  father  of  the  pres- 
ent Mr.  Moss,  was  born  in  Ware,  Mass.,  in 
1805.  He  married  in  [828  Fanny  Dixon, 
daughter  of  Nathan  I-',  and  Elizabeth  Palmer 
Dixon,  all  of  Westerly,  and  became  the  father 
oi  tour  sons  and  one  daughter.  These  were: 
William  Dixon,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Esther,  the  only  daughter;  Courtlandt  Dean, 
oi  New  York;  Nathan  Fellows,  who  was  a 
Major  in  the  Civil  War;  and  Jesse  L.,  who 
is  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Chicago. 
The  mother  died  in  her  forty-second  year. 
The  father  subsequently  married  her  sister 
Sally,  by  whom  he  has  had  two  children: 
iv  D.  Frankenstein;  and  Rowse  B.,  of 
St.  Louis.  He  lived  two  years  after  the 
death  of  his  second  wife,  which  occurred  in 
1884.  For  many  years  he  was  a  leading  man- 
Hirer  in  Westerly,  R.I.  He  was  also  a 
partner  in  the  firm  of  Babcock  &  Moss,  who 
built  mills  and  hotels  at  that  place,  and  did 
a  very  extensive  business.  Among  the  large 
contracts  of  this  firm  were  the  cotton  factory 
at  White  Rock,  the  mills  in  Westerly  and 
Stillrhan  Mill.  Messrs.  Babcock  and  Moss 
were  in  business  tor  torty-three  years,  and 
made  a  noteworthy  record  in  their  line. 

The  boyhood  of  William  Dixon  Moss  was 
passed  at  school  in  Hadley,  Mass.  When 
quite  young  he  evinced  a  deep  interest  in  his 
father's  business,  and  In-  was  in  charge  of  the 
store  for  a  time.  He  then  went  to  California, 
rounding  the  Horn,  and  spending  nine  months 
on  the  voyage.  After  two  or  three  years  he 
returned  home,  just  before  his  father's  second 
marriage.  He  and  Mrs.  Moss  reside  at  136 
West  Broad  Street,  Poquetuck.  Moss  Meads 
is  the  charming  name  of  the  place,  so  called 
it  was  built  on  a  beautiful  meadow  of 
the  farm  that  has  been  in  the  family  for  a 
great  while. 

Moss  was  married  October  17,   1S60,  to 


Elizabeth  Hazard,  of  Providence.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Stanton  and  Bethiah  (Aborn)  Haz- 
ard. Her  father,  who  was  a  furniture  dealer, 
retired  from  business  many  years  before  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1892,  when  he  was 
eighty-two  years  old.  Living  with  her  is  her 
mother,  who  was  born  in  18 14,  on  the  day 
the  British  left  Stonington.  Her  sister,  who 
is  a  widow,  resides  in  Providence,  and  has 
two  children.  The  latter,  a  son  and  a  daugh- 
ter, are  great  favorites  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moss. 
Mrs.  Moss  belongs  to  the  Daughters  of  the 
Revolution.  Mr.  Moss  has  taken  all  the 
degrees  in  the  Franklin  Lodge  of  Masons  in 
Westerly,  of  which  he  was  a  founder.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church,  which  they  helped  to  organize  with 
other  earnest  persons  in  the  parlor  of  his 
father's  house.  Since  1890  they  have  occu- 
pied their  present  home,  a  most  delightful 
and  commodious,  though  unpretentious,  one, 
enjoying  their  quiet  life  of  leisure. 


^RS.  JULIA  A.  LATHAM  FOR- 
SYTH, the  wife  of  George  For- 
syth, of  Salem,  is  the  eldest 
child  of  John  and  Eliza  (Brown)  Latham. 
The  other  children  of  her  parents  are:  Will- 
iam J.  Latham,  a  liveryman  of  Westerly, 
R.I.  ;  and  Elizabeth  Esther,  the  wife  of 
Charles  H.  Bailey,  of  Salem.  The  father 
died  February  13,  1866,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
six;  and  the  mother's  death  occurred  at  the 
home  of  Mrs.  Forsyth  on  February  22,  1895, 
in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  her  age,  after  eight 
years  of  sickness  and  suffering.  Mrs.  Latham 
was  remarkable  for  her  physical  and  mental 
powers. 

The  marriage  of  Miss  Latham  with   George 
Forsyth  took  place  February    13,    1853.      He 


PALMER    BILL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


is  a  son  ol  Latham  and  Abigail  (Lee)  For- 
syth. I  lis  grandfather,  Timothy  Forsyth, 
who  was  probably  horn  in  Scotland,  foil 
the  occupation  of  tanner  in  Montville,  and 
married  a  Miss  Latham.  Timothy  had  at 
least  three  sons  and  a  daughter.  Of  these 
Sanford,  a  sailor,  was  lost  at  sea  in  the 
prime  of  life;  and  William  was  a  farmer  in 
Massachusetts.  The  grandmother  lived  to  a 
great  age,  and  resided  with  her  grandson 
Latham  for  many  years.  The  father,  Latham, 
Sr.,  was  born  in  New  London  or  Montville 
in  1760,  and  died  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
his  son  and  namesake  in  [835,  at  the  aj 
seventy-five  years.      He  had  been  a  Selectman 

Montville,  and  he  received  a  pension  from 
the  government  for  his  services  in  the  Revo- 
lution. His  first  wife  was  Eleanor  Fox 
Forsyth,  who  bore  him  two  sons  and  five 
daughters.  The  sons,  IClisha  anil  Thomas, 
went  to  Livingston  Count}-.  His  second  mar- 
riage was  contracted  with  Miss  Abigail  Lee, 
who,  bom  in  [787,  daughter  of  Ed  band 

Rai  he]   (Thompson)   Lee,   died   June  6,    1868. 
Born  of  this  union  were  ten  children,  nam 
Sanford,    in    1S05:    Maria;    Jane;    Henry    B.  ; 
Edmund;    Latham;    Harriet;    G 
tus;    and    Noyes.      1  members  of  the 

family  now  surviving  are:  Harriet,  the  widow 
of  Samuel  T.  Smith,  of  New  London:  and 
Latham  and  G  both  i  irmers    in 

Salem.  Latham,  horn  December  1,  1 S  i  5 , 
inherited    his    father's    farm   of    two    hundred 

-.  situated  about  a  mile  distant  from  the 
home  of  his  brother  George.  George  Forsyth 
bought  his  present  farm  ol  on.'  hundred  and 
thirteen  acres  in  1868.  His  children 
Harriet  Elizabeth,  John  Latham,  Jennie 
Mai  i  '.    I  V.  and    Fannie   Eliza.      1  lar- 

riel  Elizabeth,  who  i  ier   in    New  Lou- 

don, was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and 
at  the  young   ladies'  high  school,  and   for  the 


past  thirty-seven  years  has  taught  the  district 
school.  Indeed,  since  the  age  ol  tour,  with 
the  exception  of  one  year,  her  life  has  been 
passed  in  the  school-room  in  the  capacity  of 
scholar  or  teacher.  John  Latham  Forsyth 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  Jennie  Maria 
is  the  wile  of  Theophilus  H.  Hanney,  a 
farmer  ol  Waterford,  and  has  two  sons  and 
a  daughter.  George  A.  is  a  farmer  and 
her  in  Waterford,  and  has  three  sons. 
Fannie  Eliza  died  in  February,  1887,  ut  con" 
sumption,  at  the  age  of  twenty.  She  was  a 
lovely  girl,  and,  though  young,  a  ripe  Chris- 
tian and  ready  for  the  change  which  came  so 
early. 


—  *  —  . 


xALMI'.K  HILL,  an  influential  resident 
"-W  of  Norwich,  was  horn  in  the  town  of 
Ledyard,  April  20,  1823,  son  of 
Avery  and  Betsey  (Barnes)  Bill.  Joshua  Hill, 
the  father  of  Avery,  divided  his  attention  be- 
ing and  farming.  ()f  his  eight 
children,  all  now  deceased,  three  were  sons. 
His  wife  lived  to  a  venerable  age.  Both 
in  the   1  1  mctcry. 

Avery     Bill,    who     was     born     in    Ledyard, 
O'tolier    1,     [797,    successfully    followed    tile- 
r's trade  in    Ledyard,  Griswold,  and   Col- 
chester.     He  also  speculated  in  farm  property 
mi  extent,   hut  was,  perhaps,  better 

known  in  connection  with  his  official  duties  as 
Constable,  having  served  in  that  capacity  for 
thirty  years.  Betsey  Hill,  to  whom  he 
married  about  the  \.  1  ,  bore  him  ten 
children,  four  sons  and  six  daughters,  all  ol 
whom  reached  maturity.  Five  of  the  number 
survive,  namely:  Palmer,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Maria  E.,  the  wile  ol  Horatio  Bardon, 
living  in  Peoria,  111.;  Emeline,  the  wife  .  1 
William  0.  Brooks,  living  in  Lincoln,  Neb.; 
Joshua,  in  Southington,  Conn.  ;  and  Abby,  the 
wile    of    Henry    I  ).     Frost,    of    Hartford,   Conn. 


64 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


The  father  died  in  March,  1862;  the  mother 
on  July  7,  1861,  in  her  sixty  fourth  year. 
Both  lie  buried  in  the  Yantic  cemetery. 

Palmer  Bill  spent  his  boyhood  on  the  farm, 
lie  obtained  a  good  education  in  the  schools  of 
Wilbraham,  Mass.,  and  of  Sufficld,  Conn., 
and  afterward  was  engaged  in  teaching  for 
three  winters.  After  his  marriage  he  worked 
at  carpentry  with  his  father-in-law.  Although 
neither  of  the  two  men  served  an  apprentice- 
ship to  the  trade,  they  were  good  workmen, 
and  they  erected  a  large  number  of  houses  in 
Norwich  and  other  places.  In  1852  Mr.  Bill 
went  to  Peoria,  111.,  where  he  spent  two  years 
in  the  building  and  grocery  business.  Return- 
ing at  the  end  of  that  time  to  Norwich,  he  pur- 
chased a  farm.  His  present  estate,  at  211 
West  Thames  Street,  with  about  two  acres  of 
land,  was  bought  I  y  him  in  1884.  The  small 
house  then  standing  here  has  been  replaced  by 
an  attractive  and  commodious  residence. 

On  January  15,  1S49,  Mr.  Bill  married 
Miss  Sarah  Maria  Brown,  of  Lebanon,  Conn., 
a  daughter  of  William  W.  and  Nancy  (Post) 
Brown.  They  have  four  living  children, 
namely:  II.  Arthur  Bill,  of  this  city,  who  is 
married  and  has  three  daughters;  Fannie  M. 
Bill,  for  several  years  a  teacher  in  the  West 
Chelsea  school  district;  Sarah  T.,  the  wife  of 
John  E.  Post,  of  Norwich,  by  whom  she  has 
one  son;  ami  Frank  A.  Bill,  a  shoe  dealer, 
who  is  also  married  and  lives  in  Norwich.  In 
politics  Mi.  Hill  is  a  Republican.  He  has 
served  the  town  as  Assessor  for  a  long  period, 
and  he  has  been  Tax  Collector  for  several  years. 
In  both  the  old  and  new  State-houses  he  held 
the  position  of  door-keeper,  and  published  the 
legislative  statistics  from  1882  to  1885  inclu- 
sive. He  was  for  several  years  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Education,  acting  as  visitor  for 
one  year;  and  he  has  been  on  the  District 
School    Board   three   years.      He   has   held   the 


important  office  of  Registrar  of  Voters  for  over 
twenty-six  years.  Both  he  and  his  family 
are  members  of  the  Central  Baptist  Church,  be 
being  one  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 


KRY  C.  PALMER,  of  the  well- 
:nown  firm  of  Palmer  &  Sistane, 
who  keep  a  meat  market  at  450 
Bank  Street,  New  London,  Conn.,  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Montville,  New  London 
County,  May  4,  1838.  His  parents  were 
Samuel  W.  and  Harriet  (Parish)  Palmer. 
Samuel,  his  paternal  grandfather,  was  a 
teacher  and  also  the  author  of  a  manual. 

Samuel  W.  Palmer  was  born  at  Montville 
in  1796.  He  was  a  shoemaker,  and  he  also 
owned  and  worked  a  small  farm.  He  married 
Harriet  Parish,  of  Norwich,  this  county;  and 
they  reared  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  all 
of  whom  are  living  except  one,  Samuel  N., 
who  died  July  4,  1895,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
nine.  The  survivors  are:  William  S.,  of 
Coshocton,  Ohio;  Harriet  M.,  in  New  Lon- 
don on  the  old  homestead;  and  Henry  C. 
The  father  died  in  1881,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
four  years  and  six  months;  and  the  mother  in 
1884,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven 
years,  being  well  preserved. 

Samuel  N.  Palmer  was  born  at  Montville, 
January  13,  1836.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
was  proprietor  of  a  first-class  meat  market  in 
New  London,  and  at  one  time  he  was  inter- 
ested in  two  markets:  but,  being  in  failing 
health  for  several  years  before  his  death,  he 
was  not  able  to  do  so  much  business  as  he 
would  otherwise  have  done.  He  was  a  man 
that  was  highly  respected.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Republican.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he 
was  married  to  Eliza  E.  Holdridge,  of  Led- 
yard,  Conn.,  daughter  of  Randall  Holdridge. 
Of    this    union     were     born     two     children, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RFATF.W 


65 


namely:   Nelson  S.,  who  has  a  meat   market; 
and  Ida  K..  residing  in  New  London. 

William  S.  Palmer,  the  eldest  son,  was 
born  at  Montville,  March  jo,  1828.  He  com- 
pleted his  education  at  the  Colchester  Acad- 
emy, and,  alter  teaching  school  a  few  terms, 
went  into  the  meat  business,  which  he  has 
followed  to  the  present  time,  having  rem 
from  Norwich  to  Coshocton.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  in  his  fraternal  relations 
he  is  a  Master  Mason.  .He  married  on  No- 
vember 2,    1853,   Mary    R.    Brown,  of   W 

.  this  county,  daughtei  oi  Daniel  Brown. 
Mrs.  Palmer  died  May  5.  1856,  leaving  one 
jhter,  Mary  I...  now  residing  in  New  Lon- 
don. On  September  4.  1858,  William  S. 
Palmer  married  Marietta  M.  Williams,  daugh- 
1  William  William-.  Greenville,  New- 
London  County.  By  this  union  was  one  son. 
Willie  ('..  who  was  horn  October  1.  1862,  and 
died  September  II,    I 

Henry  C.  Palmer,  at  the  1    sevenl 

after    acquiring    a    common-school     education, 
ship!  're  the  mast  on  board  the  whaling- 

1  ■■Clematis"  of  this  place.  Captain  I-;. 
Watrous  in  command.  They  wi 
thirty-four  months,  during  which  time  young 
I 'aimer  had  been  promoted  to  boat  steel  er. 
■  l"  the  thirty-two  who  shipped,  he  was  one 
ol  the  live  who  returned.  He  followed  whal- 
ing twenty-four  years,  wintering  nine  times  in 
enland.      At    the    expiration    of     the    first 

tain,  having  I 
promoted  from  all   the   intervening   positions, 
lie    took    Howgate's    vessel    for    him    on     that 
command  I   trip.  Palmer  was 

master   of    five    different    vessels,     making    his 
last  trip   on    the    steamer  "Callin  n    the 

return  from  V  --traits  in   1881.       I  le 

his  brother,  Samuel  N..  were  running  a  market 
in  Colch  inn.,  when  he  took  command 

of   this  steamer,   with  which  he  had   many  mis- 


-  after  starting  from  the  Far  North.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  sometimes 
votes  independently;  ami  in  his  fraternal  rela- 
tions he  is  a  Master  Mason. 

At  the  age  of  thirty-three  Captain  Palmer 
married  Martha  Holdridge,  oi  Ledyard,  this 
county,  a  daughter  of  Randall  Holdridge.  By 
this  union  there  are  two  children:  Isabella,  a 
young  lad}-,  who  is  book-keeper  in  her  father's 
market;   and  Samuel,  a  bo  The 

family  live  in  a  pleasant  house  in  the  town  of 
Waterford,  where  they  settled  ten  years  ago. 


• 


Ml  AIN  OLIVER  C.  GRIFFIN,  a 
veteran  seaman,  living  in  Stonington, 
was  born  in  1842  at  Fort  Jefferson, 
I..  I.,  son  of  John  L.  Griffin.  The  latter,  now 
a  vem  rable  man  oi 

born  in  1813  at  Guili  tin.      He  was 

a  vessel  rigger  in  his   earlier  years,  and    later 
was  engaged   in  the  coast   trade,    residin 
Fort    Jefferson.       During    that    time    he    had 
charge  of    three    different    vessels  as   captain. 
Since  retiring  from  the   sea   he   has   made   his 
home  in  Flanders,   L.I.,  where  he  has  a   small 
farm.      He    married    Hannah    A.    Griffin,    who 
born    at    Fort    Jefferson    in    [816,    their 
union  having  been  solemnized  in  1N40.      They 
became  the   parents  of  eight  children,  thn 
whom  have  passed  to  the  lite  beyond.     These 
were:   John   H.,   who  was  the   mat. 
and    died    in    Flanders,    L.I..    at    the 
thirty   years,    leaving   a    widow,    a    son.    and   a 
daughter;    William   Edward,  who  died  at  the 
age  0!    seventeen   years;  and    Frank,  who 
married  very  young,  and  died  when  but  twenty 

.    old.       Those    living    are    as    follows: 
( >li\  ei  ( '..  the  special  sub  tch  ; 

Hannah    A.,   residing    il    Brooklyn,  N.Y..  the 
widow   ol    E.   W.    Phillips,   who  was  a  boss 
penter  and   builder  of   that   city;  Charl  -    1-'.. 


66 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


of  Flanders;    Joseph,  of  East  Quogue,   L.I. ; 

and  Samuel  S.,  who  resides  with  his  father  in 
Flanders,  and  carries  on  the  farm. 

Captain   Oliver  C.  Griffin   received   a  com- 
mon-school  education    in    Flanders.     At    the 

of  twenty  years  he  began  life  for  himself 
as  a  sailor  before  the  mast  on  a  wood  boat 
plying  between  Long  Island  and  Stonington. 
Within  the  first  five  years  he  worked  his  way 
up  from  the  lowest  position  in  the  seaman's 
service  to  that  of  first  mate.  During  the  late 
Rebellion  he  was  second  mate  on  vessels  char- 
tered by  the  government  to  transport  army 
supplies  from  New  York  City  to  Southern 
ports.  Being  shipwrecked  on  the  South  Caro- 
lina coast,  he  was  captured  by  a  party  of 
guerillas,  and  with  his  ship's  crew  had  been 
kept  a  prisoner  some  ten  days,  when  he  was 
rescued  by  a  detachment  of  the  Ninety-sixth 
New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  at  Currituck, 
S.C.  In  1866  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
Neptune  Steamship  Company  of  Providence, 
R.I.,  as  wheelman  of  a  vessel  plying  between 
that  city  and  New  York,  and  has  continued 
with  the  company  and  its  successors  since. 
Id-  was  employed  as  wheelman  for  four 
years,  then  as  second  pilot  for  the  same  length 
of  time.  In  1S74  he  was  promoted  to  the  post 
of  first  pilot  and  three  years  later  to  that  of 
captain.      Captain  Griffin  has  had  many  stanch 

.ds  under  his  command,  including  the 
"Francis,"  "Eleetra,"  "Stonington,"  "Narra- 

ett,"  and  "Massachusetts."  Exception- 
ally fortunate,  he  has  nut  with  no  serious  loss 

ccident,  although    he  was    in    some   of  the 

most   terrific  gales   off  the   coast.      Me  makes 

no  long  trips  now.  being   seldom   absent   from 

his  pleasant  home  more  than  a  week  at  a  time. 

Captain  Griffin  was  married   May  15,   1S76, 

Fannie   E.  Pollard,  the  only  child  of 

William   J.  II.    and    Eliz  >'brough)  Pol- 

I    this    city,    with    whom    the    Captain 


and  his  family  make  their  home.  The  Cap- 
tain and  Mrs.  Griffin  have  two  interesting 
children,  namely:  Grace  Pollard,  a  young  lady 
of  seventeen  years,  now  attending  school  in 
Brooklyn.  N.Y.  ;  and  William  Pollard,  a 
school  boy  of  fourteen.  Mrs.  Griffin  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Stonington; 
while  the  Captain  still  retains  his  membership 
in  the  Methodist  church  at  Good  Ground,   L.I. 


•^YOHN  L.  PAYNE,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Waterford,  was  born  January  5, 
1S35,  on  Black  Point,  East  Lyme. 
William  L.,  his  father,  was  a  native  of  Block 
Island,  R.I.,  born  October  4,  1809;  and  his 
mother,  Mary  P.  Halliday  Payne,  was  born 
in  New  London,  June  14,   18 10. 

William  L.  Payne,  Sr.,  grandfather  of  John 
I...  was  at  one  time  a  farmer  on  Block  Island. 
He  married  Margaret  Clark,  and  some  years 
later  removed  to  Fisher's  Island,  where  he 
was  overseer  of  the  island  for  William 
Winthrop  for  some  time.  He  then  went  to 
Black  Point,  anil,  purchasing  a  three-hundred- 
acre  farm,  devoted  his  attention  to  agricult- 
ure. He  and  his  wife  had  two  sons  and  two 
daughters  —  Eliza,  Margaret,  Simon  R.,  and 
William  L.  Eliza  became  the  wife  of  George 
Sheffield;  Margaret  married  the  Rev.  Harlem 
H.  Hedden,  a  Baptist  preacher;  Simon  R., 
who  was  born  on  Block  Island,  married  and 
had  one  son,  Robert  G.,  a  farmer  on  Black 
Point,  who  owns  the  place  on  which  his 
grandfather  died.  Simon  R.  and  the  two 
sisters  lived  to  be  octogenarians.  After  the 
death  of  the  mother  of  these  children  Will- 
iam L.  Payne  married  a  second  wife.  He 
died  in  Waterford  on  the  place  now  occupied 
by  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

William  L.  Payne,  Jr.,  followed  farming  on 
Fisher's  Island  for  a  time,  and  also  in  Water- 


CHARLES    G.    BEEBE. 


lUOOk  U'HM'AI.    REVIEW 


69 


.  coming  here  in  [839,  am!  buying  about 
sixty-five  acres  of  land.  Five  years  before,  in 
1834.  he  had  married  Mary  1'.  Halliday,  the 
Rev.  Daniel  Wildman  performing  the  cere- 
mony. Her  mother,  in  maidenhood  Mary 
Towers,  and  of  English  parentage,  wis  one  of 
nine   children,    of    whom    five    sons    and    two 

liters  lived  to  he  octogenarians.  She 
died  during  the  Civil  War,  in  the  house  in 
which  her  grandson  lives,  at  eighty-four  ;. 
ol  age.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  an 
antique  silk  copy  of  the  Powers  coat  of  arms, 
a  representation  of  the  lion  and  unicorn  on  a 
blue  and  gold  field.  He  also  has  an  old  Bible 
left  by  his  grandmother,  in  which  is  the  fam- 
ily record.      It  was  printed   in    1795,  and   was 

uted  to  Grandmother  Powei  s  l>y  her  father 
in  1802.  William  I..  Payne,  Jr.,  died  June 
J7,  1S66.  His  wil\'  died  while  on  a  visit  to 
New  London.  I  >■  tober  28,  [883,  aged  seventy- 
thn 

John    L.    Payne  was   reared   on   his  father's 
farm,  on  which  he  resided  for  some  years 
attaining  maturity.      He  was  educated    in  the 
common  schools  and  at  an   academy.       He    has 
since   been   1  in   general    farming, 

•  1  town  affairs. 
His  farm  is  one  of  the  best  kept  in  the  county ; 
and  his  home,  though  a  modest  one.  is  most 
pleasantly  situated  on  thi  oi    the  Sound, 

of  which  it  commands  a  fine  view. 

On  January   22,    1857,    Mr.    Payne   married 
Miss  Harriet  Daniels,  a  daughter  ol  Nehemiah 

els,    of    this    town.       I  ler    mol  lei.    <   I1.11  - 

lotte    Smith      Daniels,     was    a    daughter    ol 

John  Smith,  a  farmer.       Mr.  and    Mrs. 

Payne  have  one  daughter,   Mary  Annie   Payne, 

mng    lady   who    1  it    home    with    her 

ilitically,  Mr.  Payne  is  a  Demo- 
crat. For  the  past  nine  years  he  has  ><  rved 
on    the    Ho  iid    -I     Si  .   and    he    has    also 

been  a  member   of    tl  of    Relief.       He 


was  a  member  of  the  legislature  during  the 

•M.ad-lock." 


HARLES  GORDON  BEEBE, 

lioi  trait  is  here  shew  n,   wa  ed  in 

business  in  the  village  ol  Mystic,  at 
first  as  a  merchant  and  latei  as  a  manufai  I 
urer,  for  more  than  half  a  century;  and  for  the 
last  thirty  years  of  his  life  he  resided  with  his 
family  on  West  Main  Street  in  the  house  now 
occupied  by  his  widow,  Mis.  Emily  T.  N 
Beebe.  Mr.  Beebe  was  loin  in  Norwich, 
Conn.,  November  16,  1818.  lie  was  the 
younger  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Brooks) 
Beebe,  was  a  grandson  of  Johi    I  and  was 

a    descendant    of     Mvles     Standish.        William 
Beebe   was   a    manufacturer   in    Norwich,    and 
died  there  at  the  age  of  forty-five.      His  wife, 
Elizabeth     Brooks    Beebe,     who    survived    him 
many   years,    lived    to   he   seventy-seven,  c 
in   1X65.      The}'  were  the    parents   ol    two 
and  a  daughter;  namely,  Eliza  Jane,  William 
N.,  and  Charles  Gordon.      Eliza  Jane  married 
Calvin  Stetson,  became  the  mother  of  ten  chil- 
dren, and  died  in    the   spring    of    1896.       Will- 
iam N.   Beebe,  who  died    in    New  Haven, 
seventy-two,    had    been    married,    and    had    lost 
all  of  his  six  children. 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  in  1838,  Charles 
Gordon  Beebe  came  from  Norwich  to  Mystic, 
and    in    company  with    the    late    ]■'..     R.    Gallup 

in     1 1 . 1 1 1  e     I  e  1     lie  D  i  S  - 

solving  his  firm  relations  with    Mr.  Gallup, 

then    formed   a  partnership  with  thi    late    I 
B.    F.    Palmer,  and  continued    in    the  same  line 
of    business    seven    years    more.      In    1848   he 
in    the    manufacture  of    cotton    twine    and 
.   which   he   continued  with    sui 
about    forty  four    years.       On    Septembei 
1843,  Mr.   Beebe  was  united  in   marriage   with 
Emily  T.    Noyes,  who  survives   him, 


7° 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


mentioned.  Mrs.  Beebe  was  born  in  Stoning- 
ton,  Conn.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Eunice 
(Chesebro)  Noyes.  She  is  a  descendant  in 
the  ninth  generation  of  the  American  progen- 
itor of  this  branch  of  the  Noyes  family,  who 
was  a  native  of  Nottinghamshire,  England, 
whence  lie  came  to  this  country  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Mrs.  Beebe's  father,  Joseph 
Noyes.  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife, 
Zurviah  Wheeler,  he  had  eight  children, 
seven  sons  and  one  daughter;  and  by  his  sec- 
ond wife,  Eunice  Chesebro,  he  had  nine  chil- 
dren, five  sons  and  tour  daughters,  Emily, 
Mrs.  Beebe,  being  next  to  the  youngest.  All 
grew  to  maturity,  and  five  are  still  living,  the 
eldest,  Nathan  Noyes,  a  son  by  che  first  mar- 
riage, being  ninety -four  and  the  youngest 
seventy-one  years  of  age.  Joseph  Noyes  out- 
lived both  his  wives,  dying  in  August,  1851, 
aged  eighty-four. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Beebe  occurred  March  28, 
1895,  his   latest   years   having   been   passed    in 

retirement.       lie   left  a  g 1    name.      To  quote 

from  the  obituary  published  in  a  local  sheet: 
"Mr.  Beebe  was  a  citizen  whose  voice  and  in- 
fluence were  always  given  to  the  side  of  virtue, 
temperance,  and  humanity.  lie  secured  and 
maintained  the  respect  of  all  those  with  whom 
he  came  in  social  or  business  contact,  and  by 
them  will  be  long  kept  in  remembrance." 

Mis  pure  faith  and  loyalty  of  affection  are 
revealed  in  a  poem  dedicated  to  his  wife  on 
the  forty  eighth  anniversary  of  their  marriage, 
rtion  of  which  we  quote  below,  regretting 
that  lack  of  space  prevents  us  from  giving  it  in 
full:  — 

Through  man  ns  and  storms 

We  have  sailed  life's  sea  tog 
Ami  shared  alike  its  changing  forms 

( it  foul  and  pleasant  weather. 

ther  eight  and  fort)  years 
We've  journeyed  for  our  heavenly  1' 


Mid  joys  and  tears,  while  hopes  and  fears 
Alternate  frowned  or  cheered  us  on. 


Sickness  and  pain,  as  well  as  joy. 
Were  wisely  sent,  our  faith  to  try  ; 

Hut  He  who  gave  us  grace  to  live 
Will  grant  the  needed  grace  to  die. 

Now.  as  passing  years  remind  us 
One  soon  must  leave  the  other  here, 

Our  tested  faith  should  closer  bind  us, 

While  this  great  hope  our  prospects  cheer: 

That,  when  the  night  of  death  is  ended, 
We'll  rise,  from  sin  and  sorrow  free, 

In  purer  love  our  spirits  blended, 
United  for  eternity. 

The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beebe  was 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  seven  children,  six  of 
whom  — Charles  II.,  Edward  S. ,  Emily  A., 
Courtland,  Lillian  E. ,  and  Herbert  L. —  lived 
to  celebrate  with  them  the  golden  anniversary 
of  their  marriage.  Edward  Stewart,  the  sec- 
ond son,  unmarried,  is  engaged  in  the  insur- 
ance business  at  Mystic;  Emily  A.  is  the  wife 
of  William  A.  Shutze,  of  Baltimore,  Md.  ; 
Courtland,  of  Norwich,  is  married,  and  has 
five  children;  Lillian  E.,  widow  of  Erank  R. 
Mallory,  with  her  son,  Charles  B.,  and  daugh- 
ter, Lillian  Stark  Mallory,  lives  with  her 
mother  here  in  Mystic;  and  Herbert  Lincoln, 
a  commercial  traveller,  who  has  his  home  in 
Syracuse,  is  married  and  has  one  son.  The 
eldest  son,  Charles  Hamilton  Beebe,  died  on 
April  12,  1895,  aged  fifty  years,  but  two  weeks 
after  the  burial  of  his  father,  a  cold  having  de- 
veloped into  pneumonia.  He  had  returned  to 
his  home  in  Roanoke,  Vn. ,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  business.  He  left  a  wife  and  three 
children.  In  announcing  his  death,  the  Roa- 
noke Daily  Times  said  of  him:  "Mr.  Beebe 
has  been  connected  with,  and  was  practically, 
the  Norwich  Lock  Manufacturing  Company, 
lor   almost   a   quarter   of   a   century;    and    since 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


7« 


his  removal  to  the  city  about  five  years  ago  he 
has  done  much  toward  the  upbuilding  of  Roa- 
noke. He  was  a  man  of  integrity  and  of  char- 
acter, who  enjoyed  the  full  confidence  of  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  business  or  social  1  on 
tact;  and  his  death  removes  a  man  Roanoke 
could    ill   afford   to   lose." 


LIJAH  B.  HARVEY,  who  died  at  his 
home  in  Salem.  Xew  London  Count)', 
Conn.,  September  9,  1895,  was  a  son 
of  Levi  and  Lucy  (Benjamin)  Harvey,  and 
nnc  el  a  family  of  four  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters. The  father  was  a  blacksmith  and  farmer. 
<  Ine  of  the  sons  died  at  fourteen,  and  the 
others  lived  to  marry.  The  two  youngest 
children  are  now  living,  namely:  Parke  li. 
II       ev.    a    retired    marine    engineer    of    New 

Ion,  Conn. ;  and  Olivia,  widow  of  Charles 

Benj  1    sea   captain,    born    in    Norwich. 

Benjamin     left    great     wealth,    which 

was   largely  accumulated    in    South   America, 

re  his  uncle  had  established  a  large  busi- 
-    in     marine    merchandise,    dealing     with 

lish   firms.      Mrs.  Benjamin  and  her 

lugbter,  the  wile  of   Lord  Walker,  re- 
in  London.    England,  at   the  present  time. 
Mi.  Elijah   B.  Harvey  was  born   August  4. 
1812.      lie  married    Miss   Sarah   A.    Hilliard, 

tember  21,  1837.  She  was  born  Septem- 
ber 12.  1S14.  daughter  ol  Joseph  Hilliard  and 
his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sarah 
Waterman.  Mrs.  Harvey  now  lives  on  the 
farm     where     her    great-grandfather    Hamilton 

the  first  settler.  His  daughter  was  born 
on  this  farm.  May  31,  1756,  in  the  old  farm- 
house   known    as    the    Hannah    Miller   tot: 

:    one   hundred   and   eighty    j  d,    in 

which  six  generations  ol  the  family  have  li 

died.      Miss    Hamilti  ied   Zebulon 

Waterman,  who    was    bom    May    27.     1742.    on 


Waterman's    Point,    Saybrook,     Conn.      Their 
daughter,  Sarah  Waterman,  was  born   Oct 
11.    1779.      She   first   married    in    1802    Butler 
Treadway,    who   died    leaving   one   daughl 
ainl  she  married,  second.  Joseph  Hilliard,  who 
was  born    in    Ledyard    in    1781.  and    1 
sea   captain  and  afterward  a  farmer.      Mr.  and 
Mrs.     Hilliard     had     three     children  —  Henry 
Oscar    Hilliard  a     A.    Airs. 

Harvey),  and  an  infant  son.  Mrs.  Sarah  W. 
Hilliard  die-d  in  December.  1849.  at  the  age 
of  seventy-one,  her  husband  dying  in  April, 
[861,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 
Mrs.  Hilliard  had  a  most  retentive  memory 
loi  facts  and  past  events,  and  could  quote  the 
Scriptures  and  repeat  whole  sermons  with 
wonderful  ease. 

Charles  li.  Harvey,  only  son  of  the  late 
Elijah  B.  Harvey,  conducts  the  farm  lor  his 
aged  mother,  now  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of 
her  age.  He  was  born  July  28,  [838.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  common 
si  hools  of  Salem,  an  I  afterward  studied  math- 
ematics for  a  lew  months  in  Norwich.  He 
1  to  earn  his  own  living  as  a  clerk  in  a 
retail  grocery  store,  where  he  spent  the  first 
two  years;  and  a  third  year  he  spent  in  the 
wholesale  department.  Becoming  clerk  on  a 
steamboat    at    the    agi  hteen,    he    spent 

twenty  years  in  the  employ  of  the   Norwich  & 
New    York    Transportation   Company,    during 
which  time  ho  w  is   I  heii    New    I  ondon   a 
for  two  yi 

He  married  January  6.  [862,  Mary  L.  Stan- 
ton, daughter  of  John  Stanton,  of  Norwich. 
The\-  had  two  children  —  Frederick  and 
Charles  Waterman.  Frederick,  the  elder. 
died  when  three  months  old.  Charles  Water- 
man Harvey,  who  is  a  marine  engineer  and 
unmarried,  still  makes  his  home  on  the  old 
farm.  I  le  was  educated  at  1 
Poughkeepsie,    N.Y.,    and    began    work    a 


72 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


fireman  on  the  Norwich  line  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years.  His  next  position  was  with 
tin'  Morgan  steamship  line  running  from  New 
York  to  Galveston,  Tex.  lie  was  promoted 
to  position  of  engineer  while  with  this  line  of 
steamships,  ami  after  two  years  with  the 
Panama  Steamship  Company  he  has  spent  the 
past  two  years  as  engineer  of  different  pleas- 
ure yachts. 

Mr.  Charles  B.  Harvey  has  spent  his  win- 
ters tor  the  last  eight  years  in  Salem.  His 
mother  received  a  fall  in  1895,  breaking  her 
hip;  ami  since  that  time  he  has  remained  at 
home.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
represented  the  town  in  the  legislature  in 
[872.  He  is  now  the  First  Selectman,  and 
he  also   holds  the  office  of  Judge  of  Probate. 


ISRAEL  F.  BROWN,  of  New  London,  a 
retired  manufacturer,  has  had  a  long  and 
successful  career  in  business,  producing 
machinery  for  two  of  the  greatest  industries  of 
the  United  States,  the  manufacture  and  print- 
ing of  cotton.  He  was  born  in  Salem,  Conn., 
December  31,  1 8 1  o,  son  of  William  F.  and 
Sarah  G.  (Edgerton)  Brown.  His  grand- 
father, William  Brown,  was  one  of  seven 
brothei  5. 

William  F.  Brown  was  born  at  Gale's  Ferry, 
Conn.,  about  the  year  1 77 r .  Having  learned 
the  trades  of  cabinet-maker  and  ship-joiner,  he 
was  1  I'H  some  time  in  the  manufacture 

"I  furniture  in  Montville,  this  State,  sending 
his  goods  to  the  West  Indies.  In  [823  he 
went  Smith,  and  for  some  five  years  was  in 
business  in  Macon.  Ga.,  where  his  brother, 
]•",.  E.  Brown,  was  afterward  the  proprietor  of 
the  Brown  House.  E.  E.  Brown  erected  tins 
hotel,  was  a  prominent  man  in  Macon,  a  fus- 
tice  of  the  Peace  for  several  years,  and  wis 
iated    with    Genera]    Winfield    Scott    in 


military  service  at  the  time  of  the  Seminole 
War  in  Florida.  William  F.  Brown  died  in 
Macon  in  1837.  He  was  married  in  1795  in 
Norwich,  Conn.,  to  Sarah  G.  Edgerton,  of 
that  place,  who  also  died  in  1837.  They  were 
the  parents  of  five  sons  and  two  daughters, 
who  all  married.  Of  these  Eunice  died  at 
the  age  of  sixteen;  Elizabeth  Leffingwell,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Samuel  Jacob  Hicks,  died  at 
eighty-three;  Alexander  D.,  an  ingenious 
natural  mechanic,  died  in  Columbus,  Ga.,  at 
eighty-three,  leaving  a  family.  Israel  F.  is 
the  only  survivor  of  the  seven  children.  The 
sons,  who  were  all  gifted  with  mechanical 
skill,  conjointly  made  two  miniature  vessels 
about  three  feet   long,  perfect   in   every  detail 

—  a  brig  and  a  steamer  having  a  copper  boiler 

—  named  respectively  the  "Bunker  Hill"  and 
"The  Independent." 

Israel  F.  Brown  was  left  with  a  brother  in 
Norwich,  Conn.,  when  his  parents  went  South 
in  1823.  In  1S25  he  and  his  brother  fol- 
lowed: and  in  1828  he  was  engaged  by  Sam- 
uel Griswold  to  work  on  cotton-gins  in  Clin- 
ton, Ga.  After  spending  three  years  in  that 
employment,  he  returned  then  to  Macon, 
whence  he  went  to  Girard,  Ala.,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  same  industry  for  some  years. 
Then,  with  Dr.  E.  T.  Taylor,  he  formed  the 
firm  of  E.  T.  Tavlor  &  Co.,  who  carried  on  a 
successful  business  manufacturing  cotton-gins 
at  Columbus,  Ga.,  for  the  ensuing  eight  years. 
In  1858  he  returned  to  Connecticut,  and  es- 
tablished a  cotton-gin  factory  in  New  London, 
beginning  in  1  861  to  make  these  machines  for 
New  York  firms  in  his  own  name.  The  war 
put  an  embargo  on  the  trade  in  the  South,  but 
he  found  a  market  in  Brazil  until  after  peace 
was  declared.  In  1869  he  formed  a  stock  cor- 
poration, of  which  he  has  since  been  the  presi- 
dent, and  his  son,  Edward  T.,  the  secretary 
and  treasurer.      In    1882    the   plant  was  moved 


JOHN     M.    N.    LATH  RIM'. 


niOCR  M'lllC  \l.    REVIEW 


75 


tn  a  new  brick  structure  on  Pequot  Avenue  of 
imposing  architecture  and  measuring  five 
him  (I  red  by  fifty  feet.  The  capital  stock  of 
the  company  at  this  time  was  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  One  of  the  leading  manufacturing 
enterprises  in  the  United  States,  it  employs 
n  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
hands,   and  has  turned  out   eighteen   hundred 

m-gins  in  one  year,  worth  from  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  dollars  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  each.  During  the  past  ten  years 
it  has  made  printing-presses  for  the   Babcock 

any. 

Mr.     Brown    was     married     at     the     age    of 

twenty-two     to     Maria     L.     Martin,     of    Junes 

.  Georgia,   who  lived  but  a  yen    after 

that  event.      In    1837   he   was   united   to   Ann 

Smith,    of    Macon,    Ga.,    who     died    in    New 

Ion   in    [865,   aged  forty-six  years.       She 

him  five  children,  of  whom   two   suns  and 

daughter    reached    maturity.      The   elder 

Edward   T.,    is  the   secretary,    treasurer, 

and  manager  oi  the  manufacturing  company  of 

which   his   father  is  president,  the  elder  man 

being  practically  retired,  and   leaving  all   the 

onsibility  to  his  son.      The  second   child. 

1'..    was    employed    by  the  American 

.  Note  Company  some  ten  years,  and  then 

went  to  Georgia  to  take  charge  of  the   Brown 

Hotel.       He    died    in    Macon    in    [886,    in    the 

1     life,    leaving   three    children.      The 

'    living   child   of    Mr.  Brown's  s<  < 

5  irah   A.,    is   the   wife   of   G< 

ix.  of  this  city.      In  [866  he  contract 
third  marriage,  which    united    him   with    Miss 
Emma  Conant,  of   Massachusetts,  the  adi  | 

hi  r  •  1  William  Albertson.  There  are 
no   children   by  this   union.        In    politics    Mr. 

n  favors  the  Democratic  party.       He    i-   a 
Master  Mason,  and   belongs  to    the    Indepen- 
dent Orderol  <  I  d  I    Hows.     His  religious  be 
lief   is  that  of  the  Swcdenborgians.     On  Au- 


gust 13,  1895,  he  moved  from  the  house  on 
Howard  Street,  which  had  been  his  home  for 
twenty-seven  years,  to  the  pleasant  and  at- 
ii  1- Live  cottage  at  83  Willets  Avenue,  where 
he  now  resides. 


I  IHN  MILTON  NEWTON  LATHROP, 

a  representative  farmer  of  Bozrah  and 
formerly  Representative  from  Franklin 
to  the  Connecticut  legislature,  was  born  in 
Franklin,  New  London  County,  Conn.,  May 
20,  1830,  son  of  James  and  Clarissa  (Spi 
Lathrop.  lie  is  a  descendant  of  the  Rev. 
John  Lathrop,  a  Congregational  preacher,  who 
settled  in  Scituate,  Mass.,  and  who  was  the 
founder  of  the  Lathrop  family  in  America. 
The  line  ol  descent  continues  through  Samuel 
Latin  Norwich,  Conn.),  Ezekiel,  James, 

and    James     (second)     to     John.        G  ither 

James  Lathrop,  who  resided  in  Franklin, 
fought  for  .American  independence,  and  is  said 
to  have  served  all  through  the  Revolutionary 
War. 

James   Lath  ond,  father  of  John,  was 

a  native  and  lifelong  resident  of  Franklin.  A 
farmer  anil  carpenter  by  occupation,  he  was 
quite  prosperous,  and  was  one  of  the  prominent 
and  highly  respected  citizens  of  his  day.  Ik- 
lived  to  reach  his  seventy  tilth  year,  dying  in 
He  held  seme  oi  the  town  offices,  and 
in  politics  he  supported  the  Whig  party.  A 
man  o|  strongly  defined  character,  he  was 
positive  in  his  opinions,  and  was  an  anti- 
Mason.      His  wife,   I  lai  issa,    was  a  nativi 

ut.      <  II   her  children,  the  only  sur- 
vivor is  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

John     Milton     Newton     Lathrop    began     his 
tt inn  in  the  common  schools  of   Franklin; 
and  his  schooling  was  completed  at  the   Phil- 
lips  Academy    in    Andover,    Mass.      lie    was 
d  to  farm  life,  and  has  given  his  time  and 


7<"> 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIF.W 


attention  to  agriculture.  He  continued  to 
reside  in   his  native  town   until    September  4, 

1895,  at  which  time  he  moved  to  his  present 
farm  in  Bozrah.  lie  owns  some  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres  of  land,  situated  in  this  town 
and  in  Franklin;  and  as  a  farmer  lie  is  practi- 
cal, energetic,  and  progressive. 

Mr.  Lathrop  was  first  married  to  I.ydia  E. 
r,  daughter  of  Samuel  A.  Gager,  late  of 
Bozrah.  By  this  union  there  is  one  son, 
Charles  E.  His  present  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Lucretia  Hough,  is  a  native  of  this 
town,  and  daughter  of  Jedediah  and  Amelia 
(Fowler)  Hough.  Her  father  was  bom  in 
Bozrah;  and  her  mother  was  a  native  of  Leba- 
non, Conn.  Neither  is  now  living.  Mrs. 
Lathrop  is  the  mother  of  three  sons  —  James 
1 1.,  Clifford  A.,  and  Jabez  G. 

While  residing  in  Franklin,  Mr.  Lathrop 
took  in  active  part  in  public  affairs,  serving  as 
a  Grand  Juryman  for  many  years,  as  Assessor 
I  years,  and  as  a  Selectman  for  one  term. 
In  the  autumn  of  180,0  he  was  elected  to  the 
lature,  in  which  body  he  served  with  abil- 
ity for  tw  In  politics  he  acts  with  the 
Republican  party,  and  he  and  Airs.  Lathrop 
are  members  of  the  Congregational  church. 


HARLES  PRENTICE  ALEXAN- 
DER, a  successful  farmer  of  North 
Waterford,  New  London  County, 
Conn.,  was  born  in  Groton,  this  county,  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1832,  son  of  William  and  Eliza 
(Williams)  Alexander.  The  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  the  same  town,  born  in  1S00.  The 
mother  was  born  in  Stonington,  Conn.,  in 
1802.  They  were  married  in  1825.  and  had 
three  sons  and  three  daughters  —  Eliza  Ann, 
William,  Charles  P.,  Pardon,  Emily,  and 
Amanda.  Eliza  Ann  married  William  El- 
;e,  and  died  in  Groton  in  1892,  at  the  age 


• 


of  sixty-two,  leaving  four  children.  William 
was  a  sailor  ami  farmer,  and  died  in  Groton  at 
the  age  of  forty,  leaving  four  children.  Par- 
don is  a  carpenter  at  Groton  Banks,  where  he 
holds  the  office  of  Postmaster.  Emily  mar- 
ried Simeon  Perkins.  Amanda  is  now  .Mrs. 
Chipman.  With  the  exception  of  Charles 
Prentice,  all  the  children  live  in  Groton. 
The  mother  died  in  1864,  anil  the  father  in 
1875. 

Charles  P.  Alexander  was  brought  up  on 
the  farm,  and  acquired  a  common-school  edu- 
cation. At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  shipped 
as  sailor  on  a  fishing-smack,  but  followed  the 
sea  during  one  summer  only.  For  fifteen 
years  thereafter  he  was  employed  as  farm 
hand,  receiving  from  four  to  eighteen  dollars 
a  month,  out  of  which  he  contrived  to  save 
quite  a  fair  amount.  In  1870  he  invested  his 
savings  in  a  pleasant  farm  of  thirty  acres, 
which  by  energy  and  perseverance  he  has  since 
greatly  improved.  It  is  picturesquely  situated 
on  an  eminence  commanding  a  fine  view  of  the 
Thames  and  of  the  hill  on  which  Commodore 
Decatur  planted  his  cannon;  and  it  also  has 
excellent  buildings.  Mr.  Alexander  has  a 
good  dairy  of  Jersey  cows,  and  sells  milk  in 
New  London. 

On  November  14,  1858,  he  married  Harriet 
E.  Jerome,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Harriet 
(Loomis)  Jerome,  who  had  five  children,  three 
sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  four  are  now 
living.  The  parents  have  both  passed  to  the 
life  immortal.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  have 
two  children:  Charles  Jesse,  a  farmer,  resid- 
ing at  home  with  his  parents;  and  Frank 
Jerome  Alexander,  a  merchant  at  Quaker 
Hill,  who  married  Martha  Alice  Lawson. 
The  brothers  were  both  educated  in  New  Lon- 
don. In  politics  Mr.  Alexander  affiliates 
with  the  Democratic  party.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Baptist  church. 


IMOC.KAI'IIIC.M.    REVIEW 


77 


ENJAMIN    F.    BAILEY,   a    prosper- 
ous   sail -maker    oi     New    London, 
was  born   in    Niantic,    New   London 
inty,    September    J.    1840,    son    of    Henry 
and    Susan    (Franklin)    Bailey.      I  lis  paternal 
grandfather  died    in    Niantic    in    1845,   at  an 
advanced    age.      Henry     Bailey,     the    lather, 
■   to    this   count}-    near   the    close    of     the 

ith      century.       He      married      Su 
iklin,     of     Block     Island,    and    they    had    a 
1    ten   children,  seven    sons   and    three 
liters,  only  two  of  whom    are   now    living: 
namely.  Benjamin  F. ;   and  George,  his  young- 
est  brother,    a   sailor,    who    lives    in    Mobile, 
The  father  and  mother  both  died  at  the 
sixty-four,    the    mother  surviving   her 
husband   fifteen   years. 

njamin  F.  Bailey,  alter  attending   school 
the    usual   period,   at  the  age  oi    sixteen 
in  to  learn  his  trade  with    the   firm   of   Ar- 
nold &  Beebe.      He  subsequently  enlisted  in 
1.    C,    Twenty-first    Connecticut    Regi- 
ment,   and    served    thirty-lour   months   as   pri- 
.  with  the  exception  of  a  short   time   when 
he  was  in  the  hospital.      Alter  concluding  his 
military  service,  he  began  business  in  Noank, 
where   he   continued    nearly   thirty    y 

rally  about  eight   men,  and  con- 
ing    the     sail-making     industry     in     that 
[n     [891     he    came    to     New     London, 
where    he    has    more    competition,   there    being 

Mr.    Bailey's   loft   is   loi    I 

in  the  rear  of  the    I  '  1'    ing  a  man  of 

ful    to   turn   out    none   but    the 

work,  li  ;e  business.      In   poli- 

he    affiliates    with    the    Republican    party, 

and   has  occasionally   held   town  offices,      lie 

belongs    to    Williams     Post,    G.    A.    R.,    oi 

Mystic,  and  also  belongs  to  the   Independent 

Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he   holds   the 

ce  of  Chaplain. 

At   the  age  of  twenty -one  years  Mr.   Bailey 


was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Abby 
Terry,  of  Colchester,  Conn.  She  died  leav- 
ing a  daughter,  Georgiana,  who  is  now  the 
wife  of  Samuel  Dennis,  a  machinist.  In  1 
Mr.  Bailey  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss 
Amanda  Franklin,  of  Ontario  County,  New 
York.  By  this  union  there  are  two  sons: 
Fred  Bailey,  who  is  a  resident  oi  Pen  sac 
Fla.  :  and  John,  who  resides  with  his  lather, 
is  married,  and  has  two  daughti 


GBERT     X.     MOORE,     a     well-known 
nurseryman  oi  Waterford,  Conn.,  son  oi 

~  William  ('.  and  Abby  I..  .Richards) 
Moore,  was   born    in   Waterford,  New   London 
County,    Conn.,    June    3,    1830.      His   grand- 
father,   William     Mi  in     Lyme, 
!i.,  hut  subsequently  removed   to   Western 
New  Y"rk.      Here  he  was  joined  by  nearly  all 
of    the   members   of   his   family,   including  the 
father  of   the   subject    <\    the   present   sketch, 
who    at    a    later    period    emigrated    to    Ja 
villc.  Wis.,  where,  in  company  with   threi 
(jed  in  the  manufactui 
tanning-mills. 

Egbert  N.  Moore  remained  in   V.  !  at 

the  home  of  his  maternal  nts,  Daniel 

and    Jemima   (Hardin-)    Richards,    both    lineal 
descendants  of  John  Rich  11  irly 

settlers  of  New  London.      At  the 
teen  Mr.  Moore  went  to   New  London  to  learn 
tin-  carpenter's  trade,  at  which    he  worked    for 
a  number  of  years  in  I  icut,   and  also    in 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  Charleston,  S.C.  On 
February  5,  1853,  he  went  to  California,  via 
I  sthmus,  I-  0  g  on  I  I  ner  "Tennes- 
whieh  was  wrecked  near  the  harbor  oi 
San  Francisco.  The  si,  oner  was  a  total 
but  the  p  rs  and    mail    bags  were    saved. 

Mr.   Moore  worked  at   his  trade   in   California 
for  over  three  years,  and  then  returned  to  Con- 


7« 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


nccticut,  where  on  May  II,  1857,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Lucy  E.  Hunt,  second  daughter  of 
William  and  Ann  (Baxter)  Hunt,  of  Water- 
ford,  Conn.  Mrs.  Moore  was  born  in  Leices- 
ter, England,  April  22,  1839,  uut  came  t0 
this  country  with  her  parents  in  early  infancy. 
Her  grandparents  settled  in  Western  New 
York,  and  died  near  Nunda,  Livingston 
County,  where  many  of  their  descendants  are 
still  living. 

Soon  after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moore  were  mar- 
ried they  went  to  Independence,  la.,  where 
they  lived  nearly  four  years.  While  there 
Mr.  Moure  took  a  pedestrian  tour  to  Topeka, 
Kan.,  walking  four  hundred  miles  in  thirteen 
and  a  half  clays.  In  1861  he  made  another 
trip  to  California,  going  afterward  to  Virginia 
City,  New,  in  April,  1862,  crossing  the 
snowy  mountains  on  foot.  In  Virginia  City 
he  was  a  foreman  carpenter  at  the  Gould  & 
Curry  mill  for  two  years  and  a  half.  In  the 
fall  of  1866  he  returned  to  Connecticut,  and 
purchased  the  site  of  his  present  home  and 
nursery,  about  one  mile  south  of  Uncasville, 
Conn.  It  consisted  of  twenty-eight  acres  of 
land,  beautifully  situated  upon  a  commanding 
eminence  in  the  midst  of  fine  natural  scenery. 
Since  its  purchase  many  improvements  have 
been  made,  suitable  buildings  erected,  and 
also  a  nursery  established.  Mr.  Moore's  love 
of  nature  and  botanical  studies  has  eminently 
fitted  him  for  his  work,  and  he  has  designed 
and  planted  many  fine  places  in  New  London 
County.  His  home  grounds  contain  rare 
ornamental  trees  of  large  size,  together  with 
many  choice  and  beautiful  plants  and  shrubs. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moore  have  had  four  chil- 
dren: Mary  Baxter,  who  was  bom  in  Inde- 
p  :ndence,  la.  :  Egbert  William,  who  was  acci- 
dentally drowned  in  his  nineteenth  year:  Lucy 
Abbie;  and  Annie  Hunt  —  the  last  three 
in  Waterford,  Conn. 


lISS  LOUISA  J.  BREWER,  a  rep- 
resentative of  one  of  the  oldest 
families  of  Norwich,  and  resid- 
ing at  92  Washington  Street,  one  of  the  most 
sacredly  historic  homes  in  Norwich,  is  a 
daughter  of  Lyman  and  Harriet  (Tyler) 
Brewer  and  a  grand-daughter  of  John  ami 
Hannah  (Tracy)  Tyler.  She  is  a  descendant 
of  Colonel  Thomas  Leffingwell,  who  was  one 
of  the  original  settlers  in  this  part  of  Con- 
necticut, and  owned  all  the  land  in  this  sec- 
tion. Mary  E.  Perkins,  in  "The  Old  Houses 
of  the  Ancient  Town  of  Norwich,"  makes  the 
statement  that  his  grandson,  Isaac  Tracy,  to 
whom  a  small  portion  of  the  original  estate 
descended,  could  walk  on  his  own  land  a  dis- 
tance of  nine  miles  in  one  direction.  John 
Tyler,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Miss 
Brewer,  was  the  first  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
which  he  served  for  fifty-four  years.  That 
church  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  fine 
stone  structure,  in  which  a  tablet  to  his  mem- 
ory has  been  placed.  The  land,  therefore, 
was  originally  given  to  the  church  by  the 
Tyler  family.  Being  a  servant  of  the  Church 
of  England  and  loyal  to  the  crown,  he  was 
greatly  disliked  as  a  Tory,  and  his  life  was 
frequently  threatened.  In  1768  he  went  to 
England  to  receive  ordination,  and  in  that 
same  year  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Hannah  Tracy,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Eliza- 
beth (Bushnell)  Tracy.  The  Rev.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Tyler  had  nine  children,  of  whom  three 
were  sons;  and  all  but  one  son  grew  to  matur- 
ity. The  father  was  born  in  1742,  and  died 
in  1823. 

Lyman  Brewer  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  in  Norwich  for  a  few  years.  Then 
be  became  the  cashier  of  the  Thames  Bank, 
holding  that  position  for  a  quarter-century 
from  its  establishment.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  this   institution  and  of  the  Nor- 


I 


<z*  r* 


LYMAN    BREWER. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Si 


wich  Savings  Society.      He  died   in  the  house 

now  occupied  by  his  daughter,  June  19,  1S57, 

seventy  years,  leaving  a  name  that  was  a 

mym  for  integrity  and  benevolence.      His 

widow  survived  him  until    November  3,  1S80, 

the     venerable    age    of     ninety-two 

ml  retaining  her  faculties  to  the  last. 

The  Brewer  home,  now  over  a  century  old,  has 

ipied  by  members  of  this  family  for  a 

period  of  eighty  years.      With   the  exception 

ine  years  spent  in  California,  Miss  Brewer 

has  lived  here  all  her  life,  often  surrounded  by 

her  nieces  and  nephews,  whose  frequent  visits 

make  the  old    home   bright    with   their  youth. 

Arthur    II.    Brewer,    a    grandson    of     Lyman 

Brewer,    is   a   director    in    the    Thames    Bank, 

h    is    the    second    largest     national    bank 

in    New    Kngland    outside    of    Boston.      Miss 

■  er   is   active    in   church    work,  and    in    her 

and  social  life  exerts  a  kindly  Christian 

influence. 


Ol  IX     .MILTON     KEENEY,    sea    cap- 
tain, for  the  last  ten   years   of   his    life 
retired    and    residing    at    his    home    in 
1  ondon,   Conn.,    where   he  died   on    No- 
iber   15,   1897,  was   born    in    this   city.   1' 
ber   12,   1S12.      His   parents  were   Captain 
Giles    and    Tassie   (Chappell)    Keeney.      His 
nal   grandfather,  John    Keeney,  who  also 
born  hei  I  under  General  Washing- 

ton in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

iptain  Giles  Keeney  likewise  was  a  native 
New    London,     being    born    in     1700.      In 
1   he   married  Tassie  Chappell.      They  had 
nine   children,  seven   of   whom  grew   to   matu- 
rity;  namely,   Samuel,  John    M.,  Giles,  Will- 
iam,   Albert,    Jane,    and    Caroline,    the    latter 
now   the    only   survivor.      Samuel    C.    Ki 
u.i-   captain  of  a  fishing-smack  for  nearly  fifty 
lb     died    in    New    London    in    March, 
1SS5,   at    the  age  of    seventy-five,   leaving   a 


widow  and  six  children.  Giles  Keeney,  Jr., 
was  a  seaman.  He  died  in  1867,  in  the  prime 
of  life,  leaving  a  widow  and  three  children. 
William,  another  sea  captain,  died  in  Water- 
lord,  Conn.,  of  a  cancer,  in  1SS7,  at  the  a. 
seventy-one,  leaving  a  widow  and  two  chil- 
dren. Captain  Albert  Keeney  died  at  his 
home  on  Blinman  Street.  New  London,  in 
1891,  at  the  eventy-seven,  survivi 

his    v.  :    three   children.      Caroline,    now 

Mrs.  Lester,  a  widow,  lives  at  Shelter  Island. 
N.Y.  Jane  married  Captain  Charles  Lewis. 
and  died  in  1867.  at  the  age  of  fifty,  leasing 
three  children.  Her  husband  died  in  1895,  at 
the  age  of  eighty  years.  Mrs.  I  ssi'e  C. 
Keeney,  the  mother,  died  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
six:  while  Captain  Giles  Keeney,  the  father, 
survived  many  years. 

John  M.   Keeney  1»  l  at    the 

early  age  of  five  years  mi  his  lather's   fishing- 
smack;   ami  three  years  later  he   hired  himself 
out  as  cook  on  a  fishing-vessel,  at   a   s.tlai 
three  dollars  a  month.      When  he  was  fourteen 

lipped  before  the  mast,   having    his    salary 
rom    fourteen    to    eighteen    dollars   a 
month  that  year:   and  at  the  a  ventecn 

he  commanded  his  first   vessel,  the  "Flas 
of  which  he  was  the  sole  owner.      Five  years 
later  he  sold  that  vessel,  buying   the  "At! 
which  he  owned  and   commanded   three   yi 

quently  captain    and     owner    of 

eight  quarter  of   a    century  he- 

was   in  government   emplo  .   captain    in 

the    inspecting   service  and    engineer    depart- 
ment.     During    that    time    he    commanded    a 
schooner   and    the    steamers  "Cactus,"   "Jr 
and    "Mistle:  Lor   twenty-om  he 

on   the   "St.  G  's    Bank."      In    1887 

he  retired,  having  'ing 

[n  politics  he  was  formerly 
t  Republican,  but  in  his  later  years  he  affili- 
ated with  the  Prohibition  party. 


82 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


On  January  20,  1S34,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Louisa  Young,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Lyclia  (Butler)  Young,  of  this  city.  Mrs. 
Keeney  was  born  April  4.  1S15.  She  became 
the  mother  of  nine  children,  six  of  whom 
.  to  maturity  —  Mary,  Dr.  15.  M.,  Louisa, 
Wallace,  Lavinnia,  and  George  W.  Mary, 
now  widow  of  Thomas  Allender,  kept  house 
for  her  father  in  his  later  years.  Dr.  B.  M. 
Keeney  is  a  medical  practitioner  in  New  York 
City.  lie  has  a  sou  who  is  a  dentist  in  New 
London.  Louisa  Keeney  married  John  C. 
Ladd,  of  Middletown,  Conn.,  and  has  one 
daughter.  Wallace,  a  dentist  in  New  Lon- 
don, has  one  daughter  and  a  son.  Lavinnia, 
wife  of  Frank  Phillips,  of  this  city,  has  two 
children,  the  elder  now  a  young  lady  and  the 
younger  a  little  boy.  George  W.  Keeney. 
who  was  born  in  1840,  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty-six  in  1876,  leaving  a  widow,  who  died 
ten  years  after,  and  a  son,  who  died  four  years 
ago.  Mrs.  Louisa  V.  Keeney  died  at  the  age 
eventy-one  on  March  24,  1886.  For  fifty- 
five  years  the  home  of  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Keeney  was  in  the  unpretentious  but  comfort- 
able dwelling  built  by  him  at  24  Truman 
Street,  lie  ami  his  wife  were  members  of  the 
Baptist  church  for  nearly  sixty  years;  but,  as 
they  were  not  rigidly  sectarian,  they  often  at- 
tended other  churches. 


T^TERHERT    M.    CAULKINS,   the    effi- 
r^J       cient   Postmaster  of   Lyme,    is  a  na- 

J-^  V. ,  tive  of  this  town,  born   October  13, 

1856,  son  of  Lemuel  A.  and  Maria  Caulkins. 
His  grandfather,  Elisha  Caulkins.  was  a  well- 
known  farmer  and  influential  citizen  of  Lyme 
in  his  day.  Llisha  had  a  family  of  four  sons 
and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  are  living 
with  the  exception  of  Elisha,  Jr.,  and  Lemuel, 
lather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.      Lem- 


uel A.  Caulkins  was  born  in  November,  1822, 
near  Thanksgiving  time,  and  died  January  13, 
1896.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
was  prominently  identified  with  the  public 
life  of  the  town,  filling  capably  numerous  po- 
sitions of  trust  and  responsibility.  He  was 
Tax  Collector  for  some  thirty  years,  Select- 
man of  the  town  for  several  terms.  Assessor, 
and  Representative  to  the  legislature.  He 
was  .111  active  member  of  the  Baptist  church 
and  a  man  widely  respected  by  his  fellow- 
townsmen.  He  married  Maria  Calkins,  of 
Wilbraham,  Mass.,  who  bore  him  four  sons 
and  one  daughter.  Mrs.  Caulkins  is  now  re- 
siding with  her  son,  Eugene  D.,  on  the  farm. 
The  other  children  besides  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  are:  Frederick  L.,  a  member  of  the 
mercantile  firm  of  Caulkins  &  Post,  of  Middle- 
town,  Conn. ;  Frank  L.,  a  mechanic,  em- 
ployed in  a  large  manufactory  in  Chicago;  and 
Emma  A.,  wife  of  W.  S.  Searle,  a  machinist 
with  Mr.  Whiton  in  New  London. 

Herbert  M.  Caulkins  received  a  common- 
school  education,  and  became  himself  a 
teacher,  having  charge  of  a  school  in  Lyme 
for  some  twelve  or  thirteen  terms.  He  then 
worked  three  years  as  a  butcher,  a  part  of  that 
time  being  in  business  for  himself,  and  dur- 
ing the  rest  being  employed  by  others.  For 
thirteen  years  he  was  a  partner  in  the  firm  of 
Champion  &  Caulkins  in  this  place,  but  sold 
out  his  interest  in  January,  1896,  to  Roger 
B.  Champion,  his  former  associate.  He  has 
been  Postmaster  of  Lyme  for  the  last  three 
years,  and  his  administration  of  this  office  has 
given  general  satisfaction.  He  has  also 
served  the  town  capably  as  Assessor.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  in  which  he 
has  served  as  Deacon,  following  in  the  foot- 
steps of  his  father. 

On  December  25,  1882,  Mr.  Caulkins  mar- 
ried Miss  Ida  J.   Champion,  daughter  of  Cal- 


^ 


NATHANIEL    0.    HARRIS. 


BII  IGR  UMIK'AI.    REVIEW 


8S 


vin  15.  and  Anna  R.  (Slate)  Champion.  Mrs. 
kins  is  the  tenth  in  order  of  birth  of  a 
family  of  fifteen  children,  all  oi  whom  at- 
tained maturity  except  two  sons,  Frederick 
ami  Israel,  who  died  in  childhood.  Three 
daughters  and  a  son  have  since  passed  away. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.   Caulkins    have    an    adopted 

nee  Edgar  Caulkins,  a  young  man  of  six- 
years  of  age,  and   the  youngest  graduate 
oi  the  Morgan  School  of  Clinton,  Conn.,  grad- 
uating  at    the   age   of    fourteen.      He    is    w>w 
clerk  for  his  foster-father.      He  is   the   son  of 
Mis.    Caulkins's    sister    Mary,    who    mai 
Curtis    Lamb,  and    died   of   consumption  when 
her  son  was  a  lad  of  nine  years.       In  1894  Mr. 
kins  built   his   present   commodious    resi- 
where     the     family     have    a    pleasant 
home. 


JJ 


R.    NATHANIEL   OTIS   HARRIS, 

mai  1    an    invalid   home  at    19 

North    Main    Street,    New    London, 

born    in    Salem,    this    county,    on    May  2, 

His    parents   were    Samuel    and    .Anna 

i  [arris. 

e     earliest      known      paternal      ancesl 

■  presented  the   fifth   generation  of  his 

ly  in    Weymouth,   England.      He   came   to 

.    and    in    1690  removed    from    Boston, 

-.,    to    New    London,    bringing    his    three 

-James,  Asa,  and  Ephraim.      The  eldest 

familiarly    known    as    Lieutenant    James, 

born  in    i  Mass.,  in  1673.      lb 

friendly  with  the  Indian  illy  with 

0,  the   Mohegan  chief.      From  him  he 

purchased    valuable    tracts    of     land     on     the 

River,   from    New  London  to  Norwich 

and    Colchester,  Conn.       His    first    wife,  whose 

maiden  nam*  died  ;  and   he 

subsequently  married  her  widowed  sister.      He 

died   at    the   age    of    >  ir    years,   leaving 

nine  children. 


His  son,   Jonathan    Harris,    was   born    June 
15,    1705.       He  married    I'  liter 

"I    Judge   Jo>cph    (Hi-,    a    niin    of    wealth 
distinction   and    an    extensive    Ian 
his   wife,   Dorothy    Thomas,   v  a    native 

of  Scituate,  Mass.  Jonathan  and  Rachel 
Harris  had  thirteen  children.  Their  son 
Nathaniel,  horn  April  2,  1743,  who  was  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biography, 
served  as  Captain  in  the  Revolution,  lie  mar- 
1  ied    Mn  \     rozer,    oi    Col  hi  iter,    Conn.,    on 

nary    1 ,     1 764  ;   anil    this    inn  was 

blessed  by  thirteen  children. 

Samuel,  son  of    Nathaniel  and  Mary  (Tozer) 
II. mis,    born    December    10,  came    a 

farmer  in  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  where  he 
lived  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  On  Septem- 
ber 29,  iS'05,  he  was  married  to  .Anna  (His, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Nathaniel  Otis  and  grand- 
daughter of  Hon.  Joseph  (His.  They  had  six 
children  — Rachel  A.,  Samuel  Selden,  II 
riet  Salome,  Lydia  Maria,  Nathaniel  0. ,  and 

ibetb.        Rachel     A.    married     Aaron     T. 
Niles.      She  died  in   East  Haddam,    May  21, 

,   at  the  aye  of   thirty-seven  years,   lea'. 
three    children.        Samuel    Selden,     a    farmer, 
who  was   born    March   S,    1809,  married    Mi 
A.    Baker  in  1836,  and   died  in  [882,  at  Mont 
ville,    Conn.        Harriet     S.,    bom    August     ;, 
[812,   died    Decern bei    hi,    1838.      Lydia   M., 
wife  I      Swan,  died  in   I    isl    1  laddam, 

Conn  t   forty- 

eight    years.      Elizabeth   C.    married   Ephraim 
Martin,  a  fanner  of  East  Haddam.      The  father 
I     Methodist     in     East     Haddam, 
when  h   member,      lie 

died    in    that   town   in    1857,    in  the  seventy- 
seventh  year  of  his  Mis  wife   lived   until 
dying  at  the  ty-three. 
Nathaniel   <  >.    II  element- 
ary education   in  the  common  remain- 

11  the  farm    until  he  was  eighteen 


86 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


age.  He  then  attended  Colchester  Academy 
one  war,  subsequently  taking  a  course  of  study 
in  West  Poultney,  Vt.,  for  two  years.  He 
was  graduated  from  the  New  York  Medical 
College  in  [854.  He  gained  practical  experi- 
in  his  profession  by  studying  with  Dr. 
J.  T.  Evans,  a  pioneer  of  homoeopathy  in  New 
York  City,  for  whom  he  worked  perseveringly 
at  a  time  when  their  remedies  were  prepared 
by  hand.  For  some  years  he  was  engaged  in 
teaching,  during  which  time  he  also  gave  hy- 
dropathic treatments,  gradually  working  into 
medical  practice  altogether.  From  1854  to 
1S57  he  lived  in  New  London.  He  then 
settled  in  Last  Iladdam,  where  he  remained 
until  1884,  when  he  returned  to  New  London, 
buying  his  present  residence  and  Home  for 
Invalids.  In  politics  he  votes  independently. 
Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  Columbia 
Lodge,  No.  25,  F.  &  A.  M.,  East  Haddam, 
and  is  also  a  Scarlet  Member  of  Middlesex 
Ige,  No.  3,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  East  Haddam. 
Doctor  Harris  has  been  three  times  married. 
His  first  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  on 
November  14,  1855,  was  Juliette  Mason,  a 
native  of  this  city.  She  had  twelve  children, 
ten  of  whom  reached  maturity,  and  nine  are 
now  living,  namely:  Pauline  Goddard,  of  New 
York  City;  Ulrica  Eleonora,  wife  of  William 
\V.  Gates  in  East  Haddam;  John  Mason,  a 
:  ut  of  New  London;  Juliette  A.,  wife 
of  Dr.  E.  E.  Williams,  the  successor  of  his 
father-in-law,  Dr.  Harris,  in  East  iladdam; 
Nathaniel  Otis,  Jr.,  a  veterinary  surgeon  of 
Hartford,  Conn.;  Florence  Celestia,  a  trained 
nurse  in  Xew  York  City,  who  has  won  fame 
in  the  treatment  of  contagious  diseases;  Mary 
Christina,  who  married  W.  Von  Haff,  of  New 
Y  nk  City;  Victor  Emanuel,  who  is  with  an 
electric  company  in  Hartford;  and  Jennie 
June  Harris,  who  has  been  for  five  years 
efficient  post-mistress    at    Moodus,    Conn. 


Another  daughter,  Harriet  Halsey  Harris, 
died  in  East  Iladdam,  January  13,  1887,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-four  years.  Dr.  Harris  lost 
his  first  wife  on  July  31,  1875,  at  the  age  of 
forty-four.  He  married  his  second  wife,  Miss 
Sarah  E.  Johnson,  January  S,  1S77.  She 
died  on  April  30,  1894,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Anna  Otis,  born  July  12,  1883.  On  Septem- 
ber 12,  1S95,  Dr.  Llarris  married  his  third 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Helen  J.  Trimm. 
Her  parents  were  George  E.  and  Mary  E. 
(McArthur)  Trimm,  her  father  being  a  native 
of  Spain,  and  her  mother  a  native  of  Scotland. 
Mrs.  Harris  was  instructed  in  the  profession 
of  nursing  by  her  grandmother,  Mrs.  Jean 
McArthur,  who  was  a  trained  nurse  of  Glas- 
gow, Scotland.  Mrs.  Jean  McArthur  was  the 
mother  of  fifteen  children,  and  during  the 
course  of  her  life  she  was  nurse  to  over  eigh- 
teen hundred.  She  died  in  April,  1895,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-eight,  leaving  four  daughters, 
two  of  whom  are  trained  nurses.  By  Dr. 
Harris's  last  matrimonial  alliance  there  is  one 
little  son  —  Otis  George,  born  June  11,  1S96. 
Among  the  Doctor's  kin  have  been  some 
remarkable  instances  of  longevity.  His 
grandfather  Otis  lived  to  be  over  ninety,  and 
his  grandmother  Harris  to  be  one  hundred 
years  old;  while  his  Aunt  Hannah,  wife  of 
Jared  S.  Smith,  of  New  London,  lived  to  be 
over  one  hundred  and  eight  years  old. 


"ORACE  F.  YORK,  a  farmer  of 
North  Stonington,  was  born  in  this 
neighborhood,  November  14,  1828. 
His  great -grandparents,  Thomas  and  Deborah 
(Brown)  York,  were  married  November  10, 
1737.  His  grandfather,  Jesse  York,  born  Au- 
gust 1,  1740,  son  of  Thomas  York,  was  a 
farmer  of  the  same  place,  in  good  circum- 
stances, and  served  his  country  in  the  Revolu- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RFAHEW 


87 


tionary  War.     Jesse   married   Anna    Breed  on 

January    7,     1762.        He    died    December    13, 
!,  and  his  wife  on  April   28,   1S1S.      They 
had  a  family  (if  four  sons  and  three  daughters, 
none  of  whom  are  living. 

The  father  of  the  present  Mr.  York  was 
Nathan,  born  in  Stonington,  September  8, 
1771.  He  married  a  Martha  Breed,  who  was 
born  August  m,  [791.  They  had  fifteen  chil- 
dren, of  whom  tour  sons  and  two  daughters 
■■  to  maturity,  and  Horace  F.  and  William 
'  >.  are  the  only  survivors.  The  place,  com- 
prising about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  had 
divided  between  these.  The  father's 
deatli  occurred  January  5.  1 S54,  and  the 
mother's  on  March  9,  1873.  She  was  a  de- 
vout Baptist  and  a  noble  mother.  Both  rest 
in  the  family  burial-ground  on  the  farm. 

Horace  F.  York  was  reared   to   farming,  re- 
ceiving his  education  in  the   common   schools, 
of   seventeen  he  engaged  in  teach- 
and    he    subsequently    taught    for    eight 
winter    terms.       All    bis    life    has    been    pa 
on   the  old    farm  where    his    lather   and    grand- 
father lived  and  died:  and  he  has  occupied  his 
ent    house    since    lie    erected    it,     together 
with    the   substantial    barn    and    outbuildii 

A    member   of    the    Baptist 
church    for   the    past    fifty   years,    lie    has    been 
mil    clerk    of    the    society    for    several 
intendent  of  the  Sabbath- 
1    for    over    twenty    years.       He  was    mar- 
ried December   1.   185   .  to   I'  borah,  daughter 
ihn  and    Matilda  (Brown)  Main,  ol    North 
ington.       She  had  four  brothers  and    three 
lb  r  mother  died  September  1,    1 
tir,    and    her    father    on    Juni 
1S54.      Ol  li  .    Mis.    Hannah   E.  Clark, 

a  widow,  living   in  this  town,  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor.     Mr-.    York   died    July    5,    [89 

I  I         children    an- :    Anna 
!»..  the  wile  "I   William   11.    Latham,   ol    II 


R.I.,  ami  the  mother  of  two  daughters  -  Ethel 
and  Mabel;  Mary  M.,  who  is  the  wife  of  the 
Rev.  Archibald  McCord,  a  Congregational 
minister  at  Keene,  N.H.,  anil  has  two  chil- 
dren Beatrice  and  Horace  M. ;  and  lb 
!•'.  York,  Jr.,  a  farmer  at  Tenally,  X.J.,  who 
has  a  son,  Ernest  W.  York.  Mr.  York  gave 
his  children  a  liberal  higher  education,  and 
all  have  at  seme  lime  been  ,  ngaged  in  the  pro- 
fession oi  teaching. 


'ALTER    FITZMAURICE,   the   pro- 
prii  'he  Morning  Telegraphy  a 

popular   daily    paper    published    in 
New  London,  is  a  native  of   Providence,  R.I., 
born  in  185  t .      When  but  six  months  old,  his 
parents,      Michael     and     Mary     Fitzmaui 
brought  him  to  \  Ion.      In  1S64,  being 

then  thirteen  Id,  he  entered  the  employ 

of  D.  S.    Ruddock,  of  the   New  London  Star, 
with    whom    he    began    as    a    printer's    devil. 
ailing  in    [868,   thanks  to  the    kindness    ol 
the  1  Inn.  I  lenry  I'.  I  lorn,  he 
tinue  his  education  for  four  years    in    the   first 
evening    school    of    Connecticut.       From    the 
position    of    devil    lie    rose   i; 
tion  to  that  of  the  proprietor  of  the 
Telegraph.     The    Telegraph,    which    has   eight 
-even   columns   each,   and  was   started 
July   1  5,    18X5,    has    become    th 

-     mi    New    London   Count}-,   with    a    circu- 
lation of  upward  of  live  thousand. 

Mr.  Fitzmaurice  is  a  Democrat  and  an 
ardent  advocate  "i  the  principles  of  that  party. 
During  the  State  legislal 

and  1893  be  served  as  a    Representative.      A 

prominent  temperano  lor   two 

at    of    the    Catholic   Total    Absti- 

icut,  and  represented 

the  State  at    many  nation.il    conventions.       He 

1  ving  his  seventh  yeai    is  I  the 


ss 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


New  London  Board   of  Trade,  and  is  a  trustee 
of  the  Mariners'  Savings  Bank. 

In  1873,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Mr.  Fitz- 
maurice  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Hogue.  Six  children,  two  sons  and  four 
daughters,  live  to  bless  their  union.  These 
arc:  Walter,  a  graduate  of  the  Bulkeley 
School,  now  employed  in  the  Telegraph  office; 
Teresa,  who  is  attending  school;  Frank; 
Bessie;  Ruth;  and  Mary.  Mary,  the  young- 
est child,  is  three  years  old.  The  family  re- 
side at  563  Burk  Street,  which  has  been  their 
home  since  1891. 


-TTSJTEZEKIAH  UFFORD  WILLIAMS 
r^l  was  born  August  10,  1822,  on  the 
U9  V^  old  "Cider  Hill"  farm  in  Ledyard, 
Conn.,  and  died  June  21,  1891,  at  the  home 
of  his  later  years  in  New  London,  now  occu- 
pied by  his  daughters,  the  Misses  Antoi- 
nette A.  and  Jenny  E.  Williams.  His  father 
was  Warren  Williams,  son  of  Seth  and  Abi- 
gail Williams,  the  grandmother  Abigail  being 
a  descendant  in  the  sixth  generation  of  Robert 
Williams,  who  settled  in  Roxbury,  Mass.,  in 
1637:  while  the  grandfather,  Seth  Williams, 
was  fourth  in  descent  from  William  Williams, 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Ledyard,  the 
line  being  William,'  Henry,-'  Henry,3  Seth. 4 
Warren  Williams,  son  of  Seth,  married  on 
[anuary  12,  1815,  Elizabeth  Stanton  Gallup. 
She  was  descended  on  the  maternal  side  from 
Thomas  Stanton,  who  was  Governor  Win- 
throp's  interpreter  in  his  dealings  with  the 
Indians  and  a  man  of  much  influence  in  those 
early  clays,  and  on  the  paternal  side  from  the 
famous  old  Indian  fighter,  John  Gallup,  so 
thai  Mr.  Williams  could  claim  many  brave 
ancestors.  His  great-grandfather,  Phineas 
Stanton,  served  in  the  campaigns  of  ("ape 
Breton  and  Crown  Point;   and  Colonel  Nathan 


Gallup,  another  great-grandfather,  was  a  dis- 
tinguished officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Enoch  and  Daniel  Stanton  and  Lieutenant 
Henry  Williams,  who  fell  at  the  massacre  at 
Fort  Griswold,  September  6,  1781,  were  his 
great-uncles. 

Hezekiah  U.  Williams  was  one  of  a  family 
of  ten  children.  When  he  was  quite  a  young 
boy  his  parents  moved  to  Salem,  Conn.,  where 
his  father  kept  the  tavern  and  store.  Here  he 
was  educated,  helping  his  father  in  the  store 
as  he  grew  older.  Later  he  went  out  to  De- 
troit, Mich.,  entering  the  employ  of  his  uncle, 
Gurdon  Williams,  who,  having  gone  to  Michi- 
gan in  the  early  clays,  had  become  wealthy 
through  large  mining  and  railroad  interests. 
His  uncle  gave  him  a  position  as  conductor 
on  one  of  the  trains  running  out  of  Detroit,  a 
position  attended  with  much  more  danger  than 
at  present,  as  the  old  strap  rails  were  then  in 
use.  Afterward  he  went  into  the  office  at 
Pontiac,  Mich.,  where,  with  his  partner,  Mr. 
Charles  B.  Petrie,  he  had  charge  of  his  uncle's 
large  shipping  business.  It  was  customary 
for  one  of  the  partners  to  sleep  in  a  room  ad- 
joining the  office;  and  on  the  night  of  Mr. 
Petrie' s  marriage  a  man  (supposed  to  be  a 
discharged  employee)  thought  this  would  be  a 
good  opportunity  to  rob  the  safe,  as,  of  course, 
Mr.  Williams  would  attend  the  wedding.  But 
here  he  was  greatly  mistaken,  for  Mr.  Will- 
iams, being  prevented  from  going  by  extra 
business,  was  quickly  awakened  and  read}'  to 
rush  out  on  the  would-be  burglar,  though, 
his  revolver  being  unloaded,  he  had  nothing 
better  to  defend  himself  with  than  a  wood 
cleaver  left  that  clay  by  a  carpenter.  This, 
however,  proved  sufficient;  for  the  burglar 
was  so  greatly  surprised  at  finding  any  one 
there  that  he  hurriedly  fled. 

Mr.  Williams,  contracting  malarial  fever  in 
its  worst  form,  was  compelled   to   give   up  and 


Ill./LKIAII    U.    WILLIAMS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REYIIW 


Ml 


irn  East  in  the  hope  of  regaining  his 
health.  He  very  slowly  recovered,  and  was 
married  in  Salem,  Conn.,  by  the  Rev.  Charles 
Thompson,  to  Celina  Anna  King  Niles.  Sin- 
was  a  daughter  of  Horatio  Nelson  Niles,  of 
Groton,  Conn.,  who  was  descended  from  the 
Allyns,  Averys,  ami  Stantons,  of  this  State, 
his  mother  being  Anna  Allyn,  his  grand- 
mother Anna  Avery,  ami  his  great-grand- 
mother Anna  Stanton. 

When   a   young    man     Mr.     Niles    went    out 

with    his    brother    Edwin    to    what    was    then 

kmnvn   as   New   Connecticut,  afterward   ca 

the  Western  Reserve,  taking  up  land    in    Port- 

ty,  near  the   present    city   of  Akron, 

There  he  married  Celina  King,  daugh- 

I  Joshua  King,  who  had  left  his  home  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  and  was  among  the 
fir>t  to  settle  in  "Old  Portage."  She  died 
July  ii,  1826,  soon  after  the  birth  of  their 
little  daughter;  and.  his  brother  dying  of 
sumption,      May      21,      1826,     Mr.     Niles, 

ken  with  the  same  disease,  hastened  to 
return    to   the   old   family   home,    near  Centre 

on.  It  must,  indeed,  have  been  a  tedious 
journey  in  these  days,  and  especially  so  to 
this  half-sick  man,  with  a  little  baby  of  only 
six  months  to  care   for.      Nevertheless,  Groton 

at  last  safely  reached;  and  here  Mrs. 
Anna  Warner  Bailey  ("Mother  Bailey") 
kindly  helped  him,  and  loaned  him  a  pillow, 
mid  more  easily  carry  the  baby, 
lor  the  rest  of  the  journey  was  accomplished 
on  horse-back.  He  did  not  long  survive, 
dying  March  7,  1S27,  leaving  his  child  to  the 
kind  care  of  his  father  and  mother.  W 
her  grandparents  moved  to  Salem  in  1840, 
ourse,  went  too,  and  thus  was  enabled 
to  attend  the  famous  old  -  Music  V 

where  she  must  have  been  a  favorite  pupil  of 
Mr.   Whittlesey's;     tor  her  children    treasure 

ral    pieces   ol    music    dedicated    to    her,    as 


well    as    sundry    notes    in     Mr.    Whittles 
quaint  and  original   hand. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  went  West  on  their 
wedding  trip,  visiting  in  Ohio  and  Michigan, 
intending  to  settle  in  Detroit;  but,  as  she 
took  a  great  dislike  to  the  West,  he  was 
obliged  to  give  up  that  plan,  and 
East  again,  purchasing  a  farm  near  the  village 
of  Mystic,  Conn.,  now  the  site  of  Mystic's 
beautiful  cemetery.  They  lived  there 
several  years,  and  then  removed  to  (in .ton 
village,  where  Mr.  Williams  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  his  uncle,  Erastus  Gallup.  He  next 
purchased  a  farm  in  Waterford,  on  the  Nor- 
wich turnpike,  about  two  and  one-half  miles 
from  New  London.  At  that  place  three  of 
their  children  were  born,  a  son  and  two 
daughters.  Their  eldest  daughter,  Celina 
Camilla,  was  born  February  4,  1S52,  on  the 
farm  near  Mystic  village.  The  second,  Flor- 
ence King,  was  born  in  Groton,  Conn.,  Feb- 
ruary 11,  1854.  Mr.  Williams  became  a  very 
successful  farmer,  took  much  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  the  town,  and  held  many  offices  of 
trust.  The  death  of  their  only  son,  Paul 
Frederic,  a  most  promising  boy,  in  his  fifth 
year,  was  a  great  blow  to  both  parents.  He 
wis  born  in  Waterford,  August  8,  1859,  and 
died  there,  June   ",    1864.      This    !  fol- 

lowed seven  years  later,  May  17,  1872,  by 
the  death  of  the  eldest  daughter,  and  on  April 
26,  1873,  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Williams. 
Thus  bereft,  Mr.  Williams  determined  to 
give  up  his  farm,  and  move  into  New  London. 
He  tir. st  located  on  Huntington  Street;  and 
while  living  there  his  second  daughter  died  on 

mber    23,    1880.      Finally,    he  purch 
the  Churchill  property  the  family  home) 

in  East  New  London,  where  he  died  June  21, 
1891. 

Mr.   Williams  was   l  Co  both 

he   ind   his  wile    joining   the    First  Church 


92 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Christ  in  New  London  soon  after  their  re- 
moval to  Waterford.  He  was  a  man  of  ster- 
ling integrity,  whose  advice  was  frequently 
sought  in  legal  matters;  for  he  had  that  ready 
grasp  and  comprehension  of  the  law  which 
characterized  his  brother,  the  late  Judge  Will- 
iams, of  1'ittsburg,  Pa. 


f  STkORGE  ROBERT  HARRIS,  M.D., 
\  \3  I  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon 
of  Norwich,  is  a  native  of  Preston, 
Conn.  He  was  born  December  20,  1864,  son 
of  George  A.  and  Catherine  Amelia  (Dewey) 
Harris.  Robert  Harris,  the  father  of  George 
A.,  who  was  a  native  of  Bozrah,  this  county, 
was  a  cabinet-maker,  painter,  and  decorator, 
and  worked  in  Norwich  for  N.  S.  Gilbert. 
He  married  Betsey  Brewster,  a  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Brewster  and  a  direct  descendant  of 
William  Brewster,  who  came  here  in  the 
"Mayflower."  Grandfather  Harris  died  in 
1864  or  1865,  when  about  forty-seven,  and  his 
widow  in  1895,  when  about  seventy-seven 
years  of  age.  They  were  the  parents  of  three 
-us  and  one  daughter. 

George  A.  Harris,  born  in  1839,  nas  been 
employed  on  the  'Norwich  &  Worcester  Rail- 
road, beginning  at  the  bottom  and  working 
his  way  up  through  the  different  positions,  in- 
cluding that  of  conductor,  station  agent  at 
Norwich,  and  division  freight  agent  for  many 
years.  In  September,  1893,  he  was  obliged 
to  resign  on  account  of  illness.  After  a  sick- 
ness lasting  four  years,  lie  died  August  22, 
[897.  His  wile  has  borne  him  five  children 
—  Elijah  D.,  George  R.,  Hattie  Augusta, 
Jennie  Louisa,  and  Fffie  Louella — all  of 
whom  are  living  in  Preston. 

George  Robert  Harris  spent  his  boyhood  on 
a  farm,  and  for  a  time  drove  a  milk  cart  for 
his  uncle.      He  obtained   his  preparatory  edu- 


cation in  the  district  school  and  at  the  Nor- 
wich Free  Academy.  Then  he  entered  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  New 
York  City,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1885.  After  that  he  spent  considerable  time 
in  different  hospitals,  first  in  the  New  York 
and  Roosevelt  Hospitals.  Later  he  was 
house  surgeon  to  the  Charity  Hospital  for 
eighteen  months,  and,  following  that,  to  the 
Chamber  Street  Hospital  for  fifteen  months. 
In  April,  1889,  Dr.  Harris  joined  his  uncle, 
Orris  F.  Harris,  M.D.,  who  has  been  in  prac- 
tice here  for  thirty  years.  This  uncle  was  a 
medical  cadet  during  the  Civil  War,  and  was 
on  duty  at  the  Alexandria  Hospital. 

In  politics  Dr.  Harris  is  a  Republican. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  city,  county,  and  State 
medical  societies.  He  is  a  Mason  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine;  the  Master  of  St.  James 
Lodge,  No.  23,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  and  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Of 
an  agreeable  personality  and  skilled  in  his 
profession,  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  that  a 
successful  future  lies  before  him.  On  No- 
vember 27,  1896,  he  was  joined  in  matri- 
mony with  Miss  Jessie  L.  Hegarty,  daughter 
of  Cornelius  and  Nettie  (Morse)  Hegarty,  of 
West  Wareham,  Mass.  His  first  child,  a  son 
named  George  A.,  was  born  November  27, 
1897. 


.*.... 


IRA  F.  LEWIS,  the  proprietor  of  the 
only  hotel  at  Jewett  City,  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Plainfield,  this  State,  mi 
May  20,  1S45,  son  0I  Caleb  and  Patience 
(Johnson)  Lewis.  The  family  settled  origi- 
nally in  Rhode  Island,  where  it  has  been 
prominent  and  influential.  Its  first  represent- 
atives in  America  were  two  brothers,  who 
came  in  the  seventeenth  'century  from  Wales. 
One  of  these,  John,  was  the  direct  ancestor  of 
Mr.     Lewis.       Grandfather    and    great-grand- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


father  Lewis  were  each  named  John.  The 
former,  who,  horn  in  Coventry,  R.I.,  about 
[788,  died  in  1813,  became  a  man  of  influ- 
ence and  prominence,  and  was  sent  to  the 
Rhode  Island  State  legislature.  His  wife, 
who  was  a  Miss  Jordan  before  marriage,  sur- 
vived him  for  a  number  of  years,  and  con- 
tracted a  second  marriage,  by  which  she  be- 
came the  mother  of  three  children.  She  lived 
to  a  good  old  age,  and  was  buried  in  the  cem- 
Coventry,  which  was  also  the  burial- 
pi. ice  of  her  first  husband. 

leb    Lewis,  the   only   son  of  Grandfather 
I  •  wis,    was    born    in    Coventry,    August    22, 
..   and  his  death  occurred   on    September 
12.   1886.      He  was  reared  by  his  grandfather. 
.   Patience,  born   in   Coventry  on  Au- 
[819,    was    the    youngest    child    of 
Johnson,    who   died    in    1823,    leaving 
his  widow  with  three  sons  and  four  daughters, 
is   still    living   with    a   daughter    in    Nor- 
wich, active  in  mind  and   body.      Mr.   Lewis's 
parents,    who    were    married    in    Coventry    in 
7,  came   to   Connecticut    in    1843,  settling 
on  their  farm  in   Plainfield,  Windham  County, 
where  they  lived  for   five   years.      They  subse- 
quently   resided    in    Sterling    for   three    yi 
In  1853  they  came   to  Jewett   City,  where  the 
husband  was  employed  by  J.  &  W.  Slater  for 
'  nine  years,  and    later   was   a   farmer   and 
i^ter.      Their  six  sons  and  three  daughters 
•  to  maturity,  and  had  families.      Of  these 
Ira  F.  was  the  fourth-born.      The  eldest  child, 
Mary  J.,    married   Stephen   A.    Green.     After 
Mr.  (Ween  died   of   fever,  she   married    Edwin 
I-    Ingraham.      She    died    in    October.    1S72. 
thirty-six    years,    leaving    two    children. 
Henry  W.    and    Rhodes    K.    Lewis,   twins,   are 
married    and    have    children.      James    E.    and 
Emma  M.  were   also   twins.      James    is    living 
in    Worcester,    and     Emma     is    the    wil 
Charles  <  Ilin,  of  this  place.      Edgar  L.  Lewis, 


who  was  accidentally  killed  in  Boston  in  Au- 
gust, [892,  was  survived  by  seven  of  his  eight 
children.  Ida  A.  is  now  Mrs.  Allied  Barrett, 
"t     Norwich,    and    Charles    L.     Lewis     is     in 

Sterling. 

When  eight  years  of  age  Ira  F.  Lewis  en- 
tered the  Slater  mill.  After  working  there- 
until l86l,  he  lived  at  home,  and  drove  a 
team  for  his  father.  At  the  age  ol  twenty- 
one  he  started  a  store  in  company  with  his 
father  for  the  sale  of  confectionery  and  fruit. 
In  1 868  he  embarked  in  the  hotel  enterprise, 
beginning  business  on  his  present  site,  his 
father  buying  the  stand.  The  old  house  in 
which  he  started,  and  which  was  burned  in 
1878,  was  replaced  by  a  much  more  commodi- 
ous one.  Within  the  last  two  years  this 
building  has  been  enlarged  and  1"  .       It 

is  now  ninety-three  by  littv  feet,  four  sti 
high,  and  contains  forty-one  guest  rooms,  fur- 
nished in  a  manner  fitted  to  secure  the  great- 
est comfort  ami  convenience  of  the  gir 
There  are  modern  improvements  throughout 
the  house.  The  dining-room  and  parlors 
would  do  credit  to  a  much  larger  hotel.  The 
only  hotel  in  Jewett  City,  it  is  well  patronized 
in  the  summer  by  people  who  find  it  a  de- 
lightful place  in  which  to  spend  the  heated 
season. 

On  May  13,  1869.  Landlord  Lewis  was 
married  to  Lydia  A.,  daughter  of  James  and 
Mary  (Clark)  Sweet,  of  Jewett  City.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sweet  are  both  deceased.  Their 
only  son,  William  E.  Sweet,  went  to  tin- 
Civil  War  in  1861  with  the  Twelfth  R 
ment,  and  was  killed  at  the-  battle  ot  Port 
Hudson.  Besides  Mrs.  Lewis,  there  are  two 
other  daughters  living,  namely:  Sarah,  now 
Mrs.  James  M.  Young,  ol  Warren.  R.I.;  and 
Mary  I".,  now  Mrs.  William  II.  Baker, 
of  Warren.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  have  lost  an 
infant  son,   William    h".      They  have   a    dai 


94 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ter,  Sadie  F.,  who  is  fifteen  years  of  age. 
Mr.  Lewis  is  a  Past  Chancellor  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat.  He  has  served  the  town  in  va- 
rious local  offices,  and  was  its  Representative 
to  the  legislature  in  1896.  He  was  Captain 
of  Company  II  of  the  Third  Regiment,  suc- 
ceeding Dr.  Soule.  Mrs.  Lewis  and  daughter 
attend  the  Congregational  church. 


"irXANIEL     B.     1 

I        I      now    retired 

( — KLS      was  a  well-kr 


HEMl'STKD,  who  is 
from    active    business, 

mown  jeweller  of  New 
London.  Born  in  New  London,  July  9,  1822, 
son  of  Daniel  B.  and  Grace  (Lanpheer)  Hemp- 
sted,  he  comes  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in 
the  State.  His  descent  is  traced  back  to 
1645,  when  one  of  his  ancestors,  Joshua 
Hempsted,  erected  a  house  in  this  place.  His 
great-grandfather,  Captain  Nathaniel  Hemp- 
sted, of  New  London,  who  was  a  seafaring 
man,  commanded  a  privateer  during  the  Rev- 
olutionary War.  When  New  London  was  at- 
tacked, Captain  Hempsted  happened  to  be  at 
home,  and  during  the  defence  of  Fort  Non- 
sense, in  which  he  took  an  active  part,  was 
shot  through  the  hip.  Though  the  wound  was 
a  serious  one,  he  recovered  sufficiently  to  be 
able  to  follow  the  sea  for  a  number  of  years 
after.  During  the  trouble  between  France 
and  this  country  he  was  in  the  West  India 
trade,  and  his  vessel  was  chased  for  several 
days  by  a  French  man-of-war.  The  fatigue 
and  exposure  incident  to  this  trying  situation 
led  his  old  wound,  and  eventually  caused 
his  death,  though  then  in  the  prime  of  a  vig- 
orous manhood.  In  1760  he  built  the  stone 
house  in  front  of  the  old  Hempsted  house  al- 
above.  Tin-  stone  house  was  built  at 
the    same    time    that    the    Perkins    house    was 


erected  by  the  Huguenot  settlers,  who  came 
to  this  country  at  that  period.  Captain 
Hempsted  was  married  in  1727  to  Hannah 
Booth,  of  Long  Island,  anil  reared  three 
daughters  and  three  sons,  all  of  whom  had 
families.  Of  these  Samuel  B.  Hempsted, 
who  was  both  the  second  child  and  second  son, 
and  the  grandfather  of  Daniel  B.,  was  born  in 
New  London  in  1755.  He  was  the  captain  of 
a  vessel  for  a  number  of  years,  and  died  in 
1795.  On  September  17,  1779,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lucretia  Goddard. 
She  left  two  children,  namely:  Lucretia,  who 
was  born  in  1782,  and  died  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen; and  Daniel  B.,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  biography.  The  Captain  subsequently 
married  again,  and  his  second  wife  survived 
him. 

Daniel  B.  Hempsted,  Sr.,  was  born  in  New 
London  in  1784.  He  was  left  an  orphan  at 
the  age  of  eleven,  with  some  property:  and  his 
uncle,  Giles  Hempsted,  was  appointed  his 
guardian.  Giles  Hempsted  accompanied  a 
colony  of  thirty  persons,  mostly  ship-builders 
and  rope-makers,  who  went  from  New  London 
in  schooners  to  Alexandria,  Va. ,  and  thence 
across  the  mountains  to  Marietta,  Ohio. 
When  fairly  settled  in  their  new  home  they 
engaged  in  building  schooners  and  freighting 
produce  to  New  Orleans.  The  Hempsteds  of 
the  Western  Reserve  are  descendants  of  this 
Giles.  In  Marietta  his  nephew  grew  to  man- 
hood; but  he  was  not  content  to  stay  there,  as 
the  malarial  climate  seriously  affected  his 
health.  When  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age, 
he  returned  to  New  London;  and  there  he 
learned  the  watch-maker's  trade  with  Asa 
Spencer,  in  the  employment  of  a  Mr.  Doug- 
las. Asa  Spencer,  who  was  a  remarkable 
man,  invented  the  engine-turning  machine  — 
a  contrivance  never  since  improved  upon  —  and 
a  tool  for  making  the  indentations  in  thimbles. 


NELSON    MORGAN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


When     Mr.     Douglas     died,     his     employees, 
Hempsted  and  Spencer,  continued  the  business 
under  the  firm  name  of   Spencer  &  Hempsted, 
the   latter  furnishing   the  capital   to   purchase 
tlie  estate,    and   taking   Spencer's    experii 
ami    mechanical    genius    in    lieu   of    cash.      In 
I S 5 1    Mr.    Hempsted    erected    the    house    and 
where   he   lived   and   managed   his   busi- 
lt    is    a    solid     brick    structure,    four 
s  in  height,  with  some  thirty  [eel    front- 
and  the  jewelry  store  is  still  there,  occu- 
pied   by   his   son's    successor.      This   site    has 
been    occupied    by    jewelry    firms    for    over    a 
century,  and    it   was   here  that    Mr.  Hempsted 
led    his    trade.       His    death    occurred    in 
1852.        He    was     married    May    4,     1806,     to 
Lanpheer,  oi    New  London,   a  daughter 
mes    ami     Sarah     (Mavhew)     Lanpheer. 
Mr.    Lanpheer,  who  was  a   naval   officer,    was 
i|   th.'  volunteers  who  took  the   "Luren- 
burg."      lie   was    taken    prisoner,    with   all   on 
1    the  frigate  "Trumbull" — on  which 
lie  was   a    lieutenant  —  captured    off   the    capes 
Delaware.       His   wife   died   in    1865. 
She  was  the  mother  of   eight   children,  live   of 
11    attained     maturity,     namely:     Lucretia 
the    widow    of    David    Hustace,    now    in 
klyn,    X.Y.;    Caroline    I..,    the    widow    o| 
Hem.    0.    Ames,    in   Jersey  City;   Elizabeth, 
the  widow  of   Samuel    N.    Valentine,    late    oi 
New    York   City;    Daniel    B.,    the    subject    ol 
this    sketch:    Augusta    S.,    who   was   the   wife 
ie   Rev.  James  T.  Hyde,  and  died  in  Chi- 
■   in    1890.      The    youngest    child,    Helen, 
died  in  her  eleventh  year. 

The  present  Daniel  11.  Hempsted  was  edu- 
d  in  New  London.  He  learned  the 
jeweller's  trade  with  his  father  at  the 
stand  where  the  latter  acquired  the  knowl- 
In  1X45  he  became  his  lather's  part- 
ner; ami  he  was  in  active  business  in  this 
place     until     [88 1,     when     he     retired.        Mr. 


Hempsted  has  been  actively  interested   in  pol- 
itics for  many  years    favoring  the   Republ 

side-;   but  he  has  never  allowed  his  name  ! 
used  in  connection  with  publi 
Masonic    fraternity    he    lias    attained    the    Mas- 
ter's degree. 


Tq^ELSi  IN    M(  IRGAN,    station    agent    at 
Poquonnock    Bridge,    Conn.,    on    the 

i-?  V,  ..  StuiiiiiLttoii  Division  ol  the  Old 
Colony  Railway  system,  and  [own  Clerk  of 
Groton,  is  a  native  of  the  village  ol  Noank,  in 
the  same  town.  He  was  born  July  <~>,  1830, 
son  of  Roswell  and  Jemima  (Fish)  Moi 
He  comes  from  an  old  Welsh  family,  whose 
history  has  been  traced  by  X.  II.  Mm 
author  of  the  Morgan  Genealogy,  to  the  year 
800  in  Wales.  The  immigrant  ancestor  was 
James  Morgan. 

As  early  as  1712  the  progenitor  of  this  par- 
ticular branch  settled  in  Xoank  and  became 
the  owner  of  a  large  trad  ol  land.  His  home- 
stead is  now  owned  by  Nelson  Morgan  of  this 
sketch,  having  been  held  by  his  descendants  in 
the  male  line  for  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty-five  years.  Roswell  Morgan,  son  of 
Joshua,  was  horn  in  Noank  in  1790,  and  died 
in  1S39.      He  was  a  mariner,  and  I   in 

the  coasting  trade.      His   marriage  to  Jemima 
Fish    took    place    September    24,    [814.      She 
was    born    in    Groton     in     1 787,     daughter    of 
Thomas  Fish,  who  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
War  two  or  three   months,   November   to  Janu- 
ary,   under   Captain    Hungerford.      She   \\ 
endant    of    Moses    and    Martha    (Willi 
Fish,    who   were   married    in    Groton    in    1 
Five  children,   two    sons   and    three    daughl 
were    bom    to    Roswell    and   Jemima    Mm, 
One    daughter,     Harriet,    died    at    the 
seven.      Caroline  married  Frederick   A.  Will- 
iams, and  died  aged  twenty-two  years.       Ihiee 


,,x 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


are  still  living,  namely:  R.  A.  Morgan,  of 
Noank;  Amanda,  widow  of  Perry  Bennett,  re- 
siding in  Springfield,  111.,  whither  she  went 
in    i  S 5 5  ;    and   Nelson,  of  this  sketch. 

Having  received  a  good  practical  education, 
when  eighteen  years  of  age  Nelson  Morgan 
n  teaching  in  common  schools;  and  that 
occupation  he  followed  about  twenty-five  years 
all  together,  in  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 
Michigan,  and  Illinois.  lie  first  went  to 
Michigan  in  1852,  and  after  teaching  a  few 
months  in  Hillsdale  County  returned  to  Con- 
necticut, remaining  here  until  1857,  when  he 
made  a  second  trip  to  the  same  place.  The 
year  following  he  went  from  there  to  Winches- 
ter, 111.,  as  a  teacher.  In  1862  he  enlisted 
at  Jacksonville,  111.,  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
First  Illinois  Infantry,  Company  B,  entering 
as  a  private;  and  during  his  eighteen  months 
of  service  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, lie  eventually  resigned  his  commis- 
sion on  account  of  disability,  and  returned 
home.  He  entered  his  present  position  as 
station  agent  of  Poquonnock  Bridge  four  years 
ago,  and  by  his  faithful  performance  of  all 
duties  lias  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
both  his  superiors  in  office  and  the  patrons  of 
the  road. 

On  June  28,  1855,  Mr.  Morgan  married 
Miss  Virginia  Haley,  daughter  of  Henry 
Haley,  and  grand-daughter  of  Elisha  Haley, 
who  was  often  in  the  upper  and  lower  houses 
ul  the  Connecticut  legislature  as  far  back  as 
1810,  and  who  was  also  twice  a  Congressman 
from  this  district.  The  Hon.  Elisha  Haley 
was  a  man  of  means  and  high  mental  endow- 
ment, and  though  not  a  church  member  be  was 
always  a  ruling  spirit  for  the  right.  Mr.  and 
Mis.  Morgan  bail  a  son,  Harry  Archie,  who 
died  at  Groton  Centre  when  sixteen  months 
old.  Their  living  son  is  John  Albeit,  who 
was    born    in    Bethel,     Morgan     County,    111., 


March  23,  1861,  and  received  his  schooling  in 
the  common  schools  of  Illinois  up  to  1875, 
when  he  came  to  Connecticut  with  his  parents. 
Not  long  after  he  entered  the  employ  of  Brain- 
ard  &  Armstrong,  doing  errands  and  sweeping 
the  stere,  sleeping  there  nights.  He  was  with 
them  about  eight  years  all  together,  during  five 
of  which  he  travelled  as  a  salesman  in  New 
York.  Following  that  he  was  a  commercial 
traveller  from  New  York  City  until  1S93, 
when  the  territory  of  the  Cherokee  Nation  was 
opened  for  settlement,  and  he  went  thither 
and  lived  for  six  months.  He  came  to  his 
present  position  as  Assistant  Town  Clerk  to 
his  father  in  1894.  He  was  married,  first, 
January  4,  1888,  to  Hattie  Rathburn  Potter, 
of  Noank,  daughter  of  James  Potter.  She 
died  January  4,  1892,  four  years  to  a  day  from 
the  date  of  their  marriage,  leaving  no  chil- 
dren. He  married  for  his  second  wife,  No- 
vember 7,  1896,  Harriett  Slocomb  Storey,  by 
whom  he  has  one  child,  Mary  Virginia,  born 
October  7,  1897.  John  Albert  Morgan  is  a 
member  of  the  New  London  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Society,  and  during  the  past 
three  years  has  done  considerable  work  in  the 
line  of  genealogical  research. 

Nelson  Morgan  has  been  a  Republican  from 
the  birth  of  the  party.  For  ten  years  he  has 
served  on  the  Board  of  Education,  and  has 
been  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  six  years.  In 
1894  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Town 
Clerk,  defeating  his  predecessor,  who  had  held 
the  office  for  twenty  years  consecutively. 
Fraternally,  he  is  a  Master  Mason  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  G.  A.   R. 


LIVER       DFNISON       CHESEBRO, 
late  an  esteemed  and  influential   resi- 
dent  of   Stonington,  for  many  years  a 
member  of   the  Board   of   Burgesses,  was  born 


BIOGR  M'HICAI.    REVIEW 


99 


in  this  town  in  1820,  and  here  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  long  and  useful  life.  His 
death,  which  was  caused  by  accident,  occurred 
on  January  4.  1895.  Mr.  Chesebro  was  the 
son  of  Denison  and  Martha  (Denison)  Chese- 
bro, and  was  named  for  his  maternal  grand- 
father, Oliver  Denison.  On  his  father's  side 
he  was  a  descendant  of  William  and  Anne 
Chesebro,  who  were  married  in 
Boston,  Lincolnshire,  England,  in  1620,  came 
to  this  country,  and  in  [650  settled  at  We- 
quetequock,  establishing  the  first  Puritan  home 
within  the  present  limits  of  Stonington, 
Conn.  They  had  four  sons,  the  eldest  being 
mel,  then  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and 
the  youngest,  Elisha,  a  lad  of  twelve. 

Oliver     Denison,     the     grandfather     above 

named,  whose  wife  was  Martha  Williams,  was 

n  of  George,  Jr.,  and  Jane  (Smith)  Deni- 

mdson  of  George  and    Lucy  (Gallup) 

Ik  nison,  and  great-grandson  of  Ben  Adam  and 

Prentice)     Gallup.        Captain     John 

Gallup,  the  father  of   Hen   Adam,  was  a  noted 

Indian  tighter. 

When  about  thirty-five  years  of  age  Oliver 
D.  Chesebro  entered  the  employ  of  the  Ston- 
Steamboat   Company,   being   intrusted 
the  full   charge  of   repairs  of   the  wood- 
work of  the  steamers  on  their   line.       He   con- 
tinued to  hold  the  position,  and  filled  it  so  ac- 
ibly  that  he  was  subsequently  retained  in 
the   enlarged    business    of    the     Providence    & 
Stonington  Steamboat  Company.      1 1  is  ability 
and  integrity  won  and   kept   the   approval   and 
confidence  of  his  employers,  and    he  was   soon 
charged  with  the  entire  supervision  of  that  de- 
partment of  the  business.      As  a  citizen  of  the 
ough   ol    Stonington,    he  was  held    in    the 
highest  respect.      He  was  of  a  retiring  dispo- 
sition,   and    never    sought    preferment,    which 
was,   however,   often   most   fittingly   bestowed 
upon   him,  official   duties   being   worthily  dis- 


charged.     As  senioi    membei    of  the    Boai 
Burgesses    he   was    the    acting    warden    during 
the   long  absence  ol    Warden    Ephraim   Will- 
iams.     He  was  chief   of   the   tire   department 
for  ten  years,  from  1870  to    1  I  always 

took  an  active  interest  in  its  affairs.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  was  a  director  in  both  the  First 
National  Bank  and  the  Savings  Hank  ol  Ston- 
ington, and  he  was  also  a  stockholder  and  a 
director  in  the  Stonington  Building  Company. 
He  was  a  membei-  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  and  a  most  liberal  contributor  to  its 
support.  In  Wadawanuck  Council,  No.  110, 
American  Legion  oi  Honor,  he  held  the  high- 
est office.  Of  an  unusually  active  and  indus- 
trious temperament,  even  alter  the  possibility 
of  his  retiring  on  a  comfortable  competency 
was  assured,  he  chose  rather  to  continue  his 
interest  in  his  business. 

Mr.  Chesebro  was   married    March   6,   18 
to  F ranees  H.,  daughter  of    Benjamin    F.  and 
Eunice    (Stevens)    Hancox.       Her    father    was 
born  in  Stonington,  January  22,  1803;  and  her 
mother  was  born    in   the   same   place,  July  24, 
1803.      They  were   married    January  30,    1825, 
and    reared    two    sons    and    four  daughters  — 
Benjamin    F.,    Prances    11.,  George   S..    Mary 
Jane,  Emeline  P..  and  Alice  1).     The  first  of 
these,  Benjamin  F.  Hancox.  born  in  < 
1825,  is  now  a  resident  of  Cliftondale,   Mass.; 
Frances    H.,    now    Mrs.    I  born 

February  8,  1827;  George  S.  Hancox  was 
born  March  15,  1830,  and  died  in  Stonington, 
August  1,  (866;  Mary  Jane  was  born  July  8, 
1832,  and  became  the  wife  of  Captain  Ben- 
jamin F.  Cutler,  of  Brooklyn,  X.V.;  Emeline 
P.,  was  burn  October  29,  1835,  and  married 
Erastus  Chesebro;  Alice  I),  was  born 
10,  1S45,  and  is  now  the  widow  of  Elias  Bab- 
.  Two  1  hildren  came  to  brighten  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver  I).  Chesebro, 
namely:    Mary    Ella,   who   was    born   June   20, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


1848,  and  died  in  April,  1850;  and  Mary 
Contest,  bom  August  5,  1852,  now  the  wife 
of  Horace  X.  Pendleton,  of  Stonington.  Air. 
and  Mrs.  Pendleton  have  one  daughter,  Maria 
Louise,  born  May  14,  1879,  now  occupied 
with  the  study  of  the  violin  in  Brooklyn, 
INLY. 

Mr.  Chesebro's  death  was  a  sudden  one,  and 
came  as  a  shock  to  his  family  and  the  whole 
community.  Leaving  his  home  in  the  morn- 
ing, apparently  in  perfect  health  and  vigor,  he 
went  to  Westerly,  R.I.,  five  miles  distant,  on 
a  little  matter  of  business,  and,  falling 
through  an  open  space  from  one  of  the  upper 
stories  of  a  building  to  the  cellar,  was  at  once 
cut  off  from  the  living.  His  days  were  many 
and  useful,  and  his  virtuous  memory  will  long 
be  cherished.  Mrs.  Chesebro  still  lives  in 
Stonington. 


UST1X  (>.  GALLUP,  better  known  as 
A.  O.  Gallup,  who  died  at  his  late 
home  in  Salem,  New  London 
I  ounty,  Conn.,  April  12,  1 896,  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Ledyard,  Conn.,  December  27, 
[828.  He  was  the  second  son  of  Alfred  and 
Eliza  (Hewitt)  Gallup,  and  was  a  lineal  de- 
idant  of  Captain  John  Gallup,  who  came 
from  Mosterne  Parish,  County  Dorset,  Eng- 
land, in  1630,  sailing  in  the  good  ship  "Mary 
and  John  "  from  Plymouth  on  March  20,  and 
arriving  at  Nantasket,  near  Hull,  May  30  of 
that  yeai\ 

John  Gallup  went  fust  to  Dorchester,  but 
soon  afterward  removed  to  Boston,  where  he 
joined  the  First  Church,  January  6,  1634. 
His  wife,  Christobel,  joined  on  June  22  of  the 
year.  He  was  made  a  freeman,  and  was 
of  the  earliest  grantees  of  land  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  town,  having  a  wharf  and 
house   in    the   locality  then    known   as   Gallup 


Point.  Besides  these  he  owned  Gallup's 
Island,  where  he  had  a  snug  farm,  also  a 
meadow  on  Long  Island  and  a  sheep  pasture 
on  what  became  known  as  Nix's  Mate.  Ik- 
was  a  skilled  mariner,  and  made  frequent 
trading  expeditions  on  the  coast,  one  of  which 
is  memorable  by  his  encounter  with  the  mur- 
derers of  his  friend,  John  Oldham.  His 
vessel  was  the  only  source  of  communication 
between  the  two  colonies  of  Rhode  Island  and 
Connecticut;  and  at  one  time,  when  his  vessel 
had  been  overdue,  and  he  was  at  last  heard 
from,  Roger  Williams  wrote  to  Governor 
Winthrop,  "God  be  praised,  John  Gallup  has 
arrived."  He  died  January  11,  1650,  at  his 
home  in  Boston.  His  wife  died  there,  Sep- 
tember 27,    1655. 

Their  son  John,  born  in  England,  came 
over  in  1633.  In  1643  he  was  married  in 
Boston  to  Hannah  Lake,  daughter  of  John  and 
Margaret  Read  Lake.  Her  mother  was  the 
daughter  of  Edmund  Read,  Esq.,  of  Wick- 
ford,  Essex  County,  England,  sister  of  Eliza- 
beth Read,  wife  of  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  Gov- 
ernor of  Connecticut.  They  had  ten  children, 
one  of  whom  was  Benadam,  who  was  born  in 
1655  in  Stonington  County.  He  married 
Esther  Prentice,  daughter  of  John  and  Esther 
Prentice,  of  New  London,  Conn.  His  wife 
was  born  July  20,  1660.  Both  were  members 
of  the  Congregational  church  in  Stonington. 
He  died  August  2,  1727,  and  she  died  in 
1 75 1,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  Lieutenant 
Benadam,  son  of  the  first  Benadam  and  Esther 
(Prentice)  Gallup,  was  born  in  1693  at  Gro- 
ton,  and  died  September  30,  1755.  He  mar- 
ried Eunice  Cobb,  January  11,  1716.  Their 
fifth  son,  Henry,  one  of  their  eleven  children, 
was  born  October  5,  1725,  and  married  Han- 
nah Mason,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  and  Zerviah 
(Stanton)  Mason,  October  4,  1750.  He  died 
in    181 1,    at    the    age    of    eighty-six,    having 


BIOGRAPHIC  \1.    REVIEW 


outlived  his  wife  three  years.     She  was  the 
md-daughter   of    Major    John    Mason, 
was  horn  in  Stonington,  June  10,   1726. 
Henry  Gallup,  Jr.,  son   of   Henry  and  Han- 
nah (Mason)  Gallup  and   grandfather  of   Aus- 
tin  ( >.    Gallup,    was   born   October    17,    1758. 
He  married  November  17.   [792,  Desire  Stan- 
b)  whom  he  had  three  children  —  Alfred, 
Anna,    and    Desire.      Allied    Gallup    married 
I    VV.     Hewitt,     October      19,     1823.       He 
died   at    Salem,  December   24,    1854;  and   his 
died  in  New  London,  February  21,  1876. 
!  seven  children,  three  sons  and   four 
liters.      Five  of  them   lived   to  a  mature 
lely,  William  A.,  Austin  O.,  Harriet 
Laura    E.,    and    Lewis   A.      William    A., 
the   eldest   son,  was   born    June    28,    1827,  and 
died  August  31,    1843;    Harriet  A.,  the  eldest 
ater,    was     born     October     1,      1836,     in 
m;   Laura  E.,  born  in  Montville,  May  28, 
1840,  is  the   wife  of   Sanford  W.  Haven;  and 
\.    Gallup,    the    youngest    of    the    five, 
born  June  30,   1846. 
Mr.  Austin  O.    Gallup    was   brought    up   on 
the   home   farm,    and    taught    his    first   district 
'    the   age   of   twenty-one,    being   thus 
pied  for  five  succeeding  winters.     In  1854 
1    the    topographical    survey   ol     New 
York,  and  during  the   next    ten    years  was   en- 
I    in    his    business    in    New   York,    Massa- 
setts,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ken- 
tucky.     Ik-   furnished    the   only  topographical 
survey  then  made  of   ninety  miles  of  the  Alle- 
ny  range   of   mountains,   which  at  one  time- 
really  the  dividing  line  between    the    con- 
tending   armies    of     the     North     and     .South. 
I  hese  plans  and    surveys  were   carried    by  him 
in    person    and    alone,    and    delivered    to    the 
commanding  general  of  the  Union  army  a  few 
!  before  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.     Upon 
Ids  return  he  was  safely  escorted  !  id  to 

a  point  beyond  the  contending  armies. 


He  was  elected   Probate  Judge  in  1804, 

died  in  office  in  1896,  having  ably  filled  the 
tion  for  many  years.  He  represented  the 
town  of  Salem  in  the  legislature  in  1877, 
serving  on  the  Committee  "t  Finance  with  the 
late  Hon.  David  Gallup,  "I  Plainheld,  Conn. 
He  was  Selectman  of  Salem  for  eleven  \ 
and  chairman  of  the  board   nine   y  that 

time.  He  also  served  the  town  as  School 
Visitor  and  in  other  minor  offices.  He  was  a 
Master  Mason,  becoming  a  member  in  New 
London  in  1853  ,.i  Union  Lodge,  No.  31.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  He  joined  the 
Congregational  church  in  1876,  and  was  an 
active  worker  in  early  life. 

Mr.  Gallup  married  January  22.  1855,  Lucy 
A.  Rathbun,  who  died  March  30,  1893,  in  the 
sixty-second  year  of  her  age.  .Mr.  Gallup  was 
a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  intellectual  abil- 
ity, taking  an  unusual  interest  in  biographical 
and  genealogical  work,  in  which  he  had  no 
equal  in  the  county.  He  was  large-hearted 
and  generous,  and  never  amassed  great  wealth. 
He  left  his  fine  farm  and  home  to  Mrs.  Doug- 
las, who  so  kindly  ca  him  in  his 
illness. 

RAYMOND    DOUGLASS,    a    promi- 
nent farmer  of  Salem  vill  born 
in    the  adjacent    town    ol    M 
New  London   Count)',  on   September  3,   1 
son   of   John    and    Ann    Elizabeth    (Raym 

lis-        He     is    descended     from     William 
Douglass,    a    Scotchman,    born    in    1610,    who 
1m  this  country   in    [640,    bringing   his 
son   Robert,  then  a  yi  mil   in    if>6o 

tied  in  New  London.  Since  that  time  the 
Douglass  family  have  been  among  the  influen- 
tial and  respected  inhabitants  of  this  region. 
Both    lather    and    sen 

The  former,. who  was  a  Deacon  of  the  Presby- 
terian church   ami   an   earnest   Christian,  died 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVI  K\V 


on    fuly   2,    1682.      Robert   Douglass  died  on 
the  15th  of  January,  1715  or  17 16. 

Among  his  posterity  may  be  found  many 
whose  names  help  to  swell  the  roll-call  of 
soldiers  who  fought  in  the  Revolution  and  in 
the  early  Indian  wars.  From  Robert  the 
line  continues  as  follows:  his  son  Thomas 
was  born  May  15,  1679,  and  died  on  March  3, 
1723-4;  Robert,  second,  son  of  Thomas,  was 
born  December  28,  1705,  and  died  in  Octo- 
ber, 1786;  and  his  son,  Thomas,  second,  was 
born  August  1,  1734,  and  died  in  1826. 
A  third  Robert,  son  of  the  second  Thomas 
and  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  on  January  18,  1774,  prob- 
ably in  New  London;  but  his  working  life  was 
spent  chiefly  in  Waterford,  where  he  was  en- 
ed  in  farming  on  the  estate  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Stanley  Morgan.  He  died  October  8, 
1834.  His  wife,  Abiah  Douglass,  who  was  born 
on  May  25,  1775,  survived  him  for  manyyears, 
and  died  on  the  30th  of  June,  1S51.  She 
was  the  mother  of  three  daughters  and  five  sons. 

John  Douglass,  one  of  the  five,  was  born  in 
Waterford,  then  a  part  of  New  London,  on 
February  23,  181 1,  and  died  in  that  town  on 
March  27,  1866.  His  wife,  Anna  Elizabeth, 
the  daughter  of  Josiah  Raymond,  of  Mont- 
ville,  was  born  in  Salem  in  1817.  They  were 
married  on  December  3,  1838,  and  reared  a 
family  of  lour  children  —  John  Raymond, 
George  R.,  Robert  Henry,  and  Elizabeth  H. 
;e  Ransom  Douglass  died  on  February  6, 
1865,  at  the  age  of  seventeen;  Robert  Henry 
Douglass  is  engaged  in  the  fruit-growing  in- 
dustry in  North  Pomona,  Cal.  ;  and  Elizabeth 
Douglass  since  1896  has  been  in  Pasadena, 
Cal.,  with  her  mother. 

John  Raymond  Douglass,  the  eldest  son, 
was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  in  the 
Norwich  and  Norwich  Town  select  schools. 
Politically,  he  is  a  strong    Republican,  ami  in 


1885  and  1886  was  in  the  legislature  from 
Salem.  He  has  been  First  Selectman  of  the 
town  several  terms.  On  December  24,  1864, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Julia  Ray- 
mond, daughter  of  Richard  and  Julia  (Gard- 
ner) Raymond,  of  Montville.  Mr.  Richard 
Raymond  died  on  November  30,  1S78,  at 
Montville,  which  had  been  the  home  of  his 
family  for  many  years.  His  wife  survived 
until  May  18,  1896,  when  she  died  at  the  old 
homestead.  Of  their  family  of  nine  children, 
four  sons  and  three  daughters  grew  to  matu- 
rity, and  all  are  living  but  one  daughter. 

Mrs.  Douglass  has  many  rare  souvenirs  and 
heirlooms,  among  them  being  a  fine  old  solid 
mahogany  secretary  and  bureau  combined, 
which  is  known  to  contain  a  secret  drawer 
never  yet  discovered.  It  is  of  most  beautiful 
workmanship,  and  proclaims  the  mechanics 
and  wood  workers  of  "ye  olden  days"  fully  as 
artistic  and  skilful  as  those  of  our  own  times. 
A  generous-sized  painted  punch  bowl  or  tank- 
ard of  glass  was  formerly  the  property  of  Mrs. 
Douglass's  great-great-grandfather,  and  a 
beautiful  alabaster  jewel  case  was  left  by  Mrs. 
Sigourney.  There  is  also  a  china  mug  over 
two  hundred  years  old,  and  Commodore 
Perry's  flint-lock  derringer  with  the  accoutre- 
ments, including  moulds  and  combination 
flask  for  powder  and  balls.  Very  interesting 
are  two  fans,  one  of  which,  bearing  the  date 
of  1747,  belonged  to  Mrs.  Douglass's  great- 
great-grandmother,  Elizabeth  Griswold.  The 
other  is  of  ivory,  and  bears  the  record  of  the 
marriage,  on  May  26,  1774,  of  Mercy  Ray- 
mond and  John  Raymond.  Other  relics  are: 
a  piece  of  sage  green  brocaded  silk,  which  was 
part  of  Elizabeth  Griswold's  wedding  dress; 
a  rare  copy  of  the  Bible,  dated  1738,  and 
handed  down  from  the  fourth  generation  back; 
and  an  exposition  and  notes  on  Thessalonians, 
bound  in  full  vellum,  and  dated  1627. 


r.HH'.k  M'llic  \l.    REVIEW 


■°3 


'OSEPH  STANTON  WILLIAMS,  a 
well-known  citizen  of  Stonington,  son 
ni  the  late  Joseph  Stanton  Williams, 
Sr.,  and  grandson  of  Captain  Elias  and  Thank- 
ful (Stanton)  Williams,  owns  and  occupii 

the  old  Stanton  farm,  near  Mystic,  on 

which  he  was  born.     This  farm,  originally  of 

t  two  hundred   and   twenty  acres,  was  the 

birthplace   of    his    father   and   of    his   paternal 

dmother.     It  was  granted  by  a  deed  of  gift 

lomas  Stanton,  the  noted  Indian  interpre- 

I  homas  and  Nathaniel    Beebe,  January 

the  ^\i-cA  stating  that  there  were  two 

hund  ■  :s,  more   or   less,  and   eight   acres 

of  meadow.      (See  sketch  of   Elias  Williams.) 

Mr.  Williams  is  of   English  ancestry,  being 

a  lineal  descendant  in  the  ninth  generation  of 

it   Williams,  who  was  born    in   Norwich, 

in     1593,    and    died     in    Roxbury, 

1638.      Robert's    son    Isaac    lived 

lied  in  Roxbury,  where  his  son  John,  the 

in    line    of    descent,    was    horn.       John 

iams  married   Martha,  daughter  of  Isaac 

eler,   and  removed  to  Stonington,    wh 

n    his    son,    Colonel   John   Williams. 

The   line  was  continued  through  the  Colonel's 

William  Williams,  who  was   horn    in   the 

.    May  1,    [716,    and   died    July   27, 

■  ;    and    his   son,    Captain    John    Williams, 

horn    December  23,    1744,  to  the  grandfather 

e  named,    Elias  Williams,  who   was  born 

in  what  is  now  North  Stonington,  September 

I773i  son   of   Captain  John  Williams,  and 

I  inuary  31,  1808. 

Mr.  Williams  is  also  the  representative  of 

incient  and   respected   family  of  this 

1,     Thankful     Stanton,    the    wife     of     his 

idfather,    Elias    Williams,    having    been    a 

daug  William  and   Hannah   (Williams.) 

Stanton,  a  grand-daughter  oi   Joseph  and  Ann 

(Wheeler)  Stanton,  and  a  great-grand-daugh- 

ter  of  Joseph,  Sr.,  and  Margaret  (ChcseL 


Stanton.  Joseph  Stanton,  Si'.,  was  a  soi 
John  and  Hannah  (Thompson)  Stanto 
grandson  of  Thomas,  the  first  of  the  name  to 
come  to  America.  Thomas  Stanton  sailed 
from  England,  January  2,  [635,  in  the  mer- 
chantman " Bonaventura, "  landing  in  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  remained  for  a  time.  He 
subsequently  went  to  Boston,  thence  to  Hart- 
ford, this  State,  and  there  married  Ann  Lord. 
In  1650  he  established  a  trading  post  in  l'aw- 
catuck,  Stonington,  being  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers here,  the  others  at  that  time  being  the 
Cheseboros,  Miners,  Palmers,  and  Denisons; 
and  six  years  later  he  received  the  deed  above 
mentioned. 

Joseph  S.  Williams.  Sr.,  was  born  on  this 
farm,  March  16,  1N02,  being  one  of  a  family 
of  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
who  were  left  fatherless  at  an  early  age.  He 
was  reared  a  farmer,  and  followed  that  occupa- 
tion continuously,  living  on  the  hum.  stead 
until  his  death,  which    occurred    Lehman 

A  man  of  fine  physique,  noted  for  his 
strength,  standing  six  feet  in  height  and 
weighing  two  hundred  and  ten  pounds,  he  was 
as  forceful  mentally  and  morally  as  physically, 
and  wielded  great  influence  in  the  commu- 
nity. He  was  a  member  of  the  Old  Ro 
erregational   Church  and  one  of  it-  live 

workers.      He  married  on   Decei  824, 

Julia  A.  Gallup,  daughter  of  Christopher  and 
Mrs.     Martha    Stanton     I'rent  i  lup,    and 

by  this  union  was  the  father  of  eight   children 
—  Joseph  S.,  William  S.,  Elias,  Julia  A..  Jo- 
Stanton,    Charles,    Warren,   and   Martha 
Ellen.      Mrs.  Williams,  the  mother,  v. 
dentally    kill  runaway  In  19* 

1883,  at  the   >  enty-six  ye  »eph 

S..  lb  1.  who  died  at  the  age  of 

eighl  month-.  'hat 

his    name    be    given     to    the    subject    of    this 
sketch,  who  was  then  a  babe  of   three  or  four 


io4 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


weeks,  and,  when  told  that  they  already  had 
one  Joseph  S.,  he  replied,  "You  will  not  have 
long."  William  S.,  the  second  child,  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-nine,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Mrs.  Henry  Morgan,  of  Colchester.  Elias,  of 
whom  a  brief  sketch  may  be  found  elsewhere 
in  this  volume,  lives  on  a  portion  of  the  old 
homestead  farm.  Julia  A.  is  the  wife  of 
Salmon  C.  Foote,  who  also  occupies  a  part  of 
the  home  farm.  Charles  died  here  at  the  age 
of  twenty-eight  years,  leaving  a  widow,  two 
sons,  and  a  daughter.  Warren  died  on  the 
farm  in  1865,  aged  twenty-five  years.  Martha 
Ellen  died  in  childhood.  The  three  brothers 
that  died  after  reaching  mature  years  were  the 
victims  of  typhoid  fever. 

Joseph  S.  Williams  was  born  on  August  12, 
1S34.  He  was  reared  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits, and  with  the  exception  of  two  years 
passed  in  Yates  County,  New  York,  and  six 
months  in  New  Jersey,  has  spent  his  life  on 
his  native  heath.  He  has  a  farm  of  eighty 
acres,  most  of  it  in  a  good  state  of  culture, 
and  carries  on  general  agriculture  with  excel- 
lent success.  His  house,  which  is  in  good 
repair,  is  at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years  old.  It  was  erected  by  Nathan  Stanton, 
a  brother  of  Captain  William  Stanton,  who 
lived  herefrom  1777  until  1793,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Florida,  Montgomery  County,  N.Y., 
where  his  descendants  still  reside.  Mr.  Will- 
iams is  a  stanch  Democrat  in  politics  and  an 
ardent  worker  in  the  temperance  cause.  He 
lias  rendered  his  full  share  of  public  service, 
having  been  Postmaster  when  a  young  man 
and  again  under  Cleveland's  administration; 
Selectman  four  years;  and  one  term  Repre- 
sentative to  the  State  legislature,  to  which  he 
was  elected  in  1876.  He  is  not  a  member  of 
any  church,  but  was  reared  a  Congregational- 
ist,  and  was  christened  in  a  church  of  that 
denomination. 


On  January  13,  1858,  Mr.  Williams  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  C.  Foote,  a  native  of  New 
Marlboro,  Berkshire  County,  Mass.,  and  the 
tenth  child  of  a  family  of  eight  sons  and  five 
daughters  born  to  Salmon  and  Margaret  (Tay- 
lor) Foote.  Mrs.  Williams's  father  died  at 
the  age  of  ninety  years  in  1882,  and  her 
mother  in  1857,  aged  sixty-three  years. 


OHN  A.  BOWEN,  Chief  of  Police  in 
Norwich,  was  born  May  25,  1843,  at 
Voluntown,  in  what  was  then  Wind- 
ham County,  now  New  London  County,  Con- 
necticut. His  parents  were  Philip  A.  and 
Charlotte  C.  (Gardner)  Bowen.  The  history 
of  the  family  has  been  traced  back  to  Cadivor, 
who,  about  the  twelfth  century  (1133),  was  of 
the  fourth  generation  in  Wales.  He  had  two 
sons,  we  are  told,  Myrick  and  Griffith, 
from  the  former  of  whom  this  particular 
branch  of  the  family  is  descended. 

Griffith  Bowen  came  to  America  in  1638; 
and  Richard  Bowen,  the  progenitor  of  this 
branch,  said  to  have  been  a  brother  of  Griffith, 
came  about  1640,  settling  in  Rehoboth, 
Mass.,  where  in  1643  his  estate  was  valued  at 
two  hundred  and  seventy  pounds.  From  him 
the  lineal  representatives  are,  named  in  their 
order:  Obadiah,  first;  Obadiah,  second; 
Aaron;  Asaph;  Philip;  Aaron;  Philip  A.; 
and  John  A.,  of  Norwich. 

Asaph  Bowen  was  a  mariner,  and  died  at 
sea  in  1748.  Philip,  his  only  son,  had  eight 
sons  and  two  daughters  that-reached  adult  life. 
The  eldest  was  Asaph,  second;  and  the  sec- 
ond was  Aaron,  who  resided  in  Washington, 
R.I.,  where  he  owned  nearly  all  of  Bowen 
Hill,  so  named  for  his  grandfather,  Asaph 
Bowen.  Aaron  Bowen  married  Hannah  Mer- 
rill, of  Rhode  Island.  They  had  eight  chil- 
dren, three  sons  and  five  daughters,  of  whom 


JOHN    A.   BOWEN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKYIKYV 


107 


the  sons  and  four  daughters  grew  to  manhood 
womanhood.  One  daughter,  Sally  A.,  the 
widow  of  Albert  Randall,  an  octogenarian, 
recently  of  Greenwich,  R.I.,  is  now  deceased. 
Philip  A.,  the  youngest  child,  was  born  in 
Rhode  Island  about  the  year  18  19.  lie  was  a 
stationary  engineer,  and  during  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  he  owned  and  kept  a  hotel  in 
Franklin.  He  died  there  in  1873,  survived 
is  wile,  Mrs.  Charlotte  C.  Gardner  Bowen, 
who  died  in  1880,  aged  fifty-seven  years. 
Two  of  their  five  children  are  now  living  in 
Norwich,  namely:  Lucy,  the  widow  of  Henry 
A.  Bowen,  who  died  in  1 89 1  ;  and  John  A., 
Chief  of  Police.  James  T. ,  his  twin  brother, 
died  when  sixteen  months  old;  a  brother 
died  at  three  years;  and  Henry,  at 
four  years  of  age.  The  family  burial  lot  is  in 
Yantic  cemetery. 

[ohn  A.  Bowen  was  kept  in  school  until  his 
iteenth  year,  when   he  volunteered    in   the 
Fifth  Connecticut   Infantry,  Company  G,  and, 
1   the  front   as  a   private,    served   four 
oming  out  as  a  Sergeant.      At  Resaca, 
Ga.,  he  was  wounded    in    his   right    hand;   and 
at   Cedar   Mountain,  Va.,  August   9,    1862,  he 
taken  prisoner,  but    in    November  follow- 
a.is  exchanged   and    returned   to   his   regi- 
ment.     Mr.  Bowen    became   a   member   of   the 
police  force  when  it  numbered  but  eleven,  and 
from     the     lowest     rank     rose    step     by     step 
through  all   the   positions   in   the   department, 
until  in  1886  he  became  the  Chief.      This  re- 
side   position   he   continues   to   fill    in    a 
very  creditable  manner. 

In  1865  Mr.  Bowen  was  married  in  Wood- 
Stock,  Conn.,  to  Eleanor  Arnold,  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Esther  Arnold,  of  Westerly, 
R.I.  Her  father  died  several  years  ago ;  and 
her  mother  was  left  with  six  children,  all  now 
living,  with  the  exception  of  Joseph  and 
Rouse,  who  were  killed  on   the  railroad.      Mr. 


and  Mrs.  Bowen   have  one   child,  Philip  I    . 
merchant  in  Webster,  Mass.      He   is  married, 
but  has  no  children. 

Politically,  Mr.  Bowen  is  a  Republican. 
Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  Somi 
Lodge,  No.  34,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  which  he  is 
Marshal;  Columbian  Commandery,  No.  4. 
K.  T.  ;  and  Sedgwick  Post,  No.  1.  (',.  A.  R., 
in  which  he  has  served  as  Quartermaster,  also 
as  Assistant  Inspector  of  the  Department  ot 
Connecticut. 


/TVUTAIN  JAMES  LENNEN,  a  citi- 
I    jp       zen  of   Waterford,  Conn.,  was  born  in 

V«i£_^  Waterford,  Ireland,  in  1841.  His 
parents,  John  and  Mary  Lennen,  who  sailed 
for  America  in  1844  with  their  four  children, 
both  died  on  the  passage,  and  with  one  child 
were  buried  at  sea.  The  father  was  a  farmer 
in  good  circumstances,  and  hail  with  him,  it  is 
said,  about  six  thousand  dollars  in  gold, 
which  with  most  of  their  goods  were  lost  to 
their  children.  The  three  young  orphans,  two 
boys  and  a  girl,  were  cared  for  by  the  dock- 
master  and  his  friends.  The  Captain's 
brother  William  is  now  a  farm  gardener  in 
Brooklyn,  N.V.;  and  their  sister  is  the  wife 
of  a  Mr.  (  ).    Meyer  in  New  York  City. 

James  was  adopted  by  Captain  Elnathan  M. 
Wilcox,  of  New  London  County,  .1  resident  ot 
Mystic,  and  received  a  fair  common-school  ed- 
ucation. At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  began  to 
spend  his  summer  vacations  upon  the  water, 
and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  left  school.  lie 
continued  to  go  on  the  water  with  Captain 
Wilcox  till  he  attained  his  majority.  His 
first  independent  venture  was  in  the  menhaden, 
or  bony-fish,  business  in  a  company  of  five, 
their  factory  being  at  the  Neck  in  Mystic. 
About  the  year  [882  he  established  works  at 
the    Delaware    Breakwater.      He    became    cap- 


io8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


tain  of  his  first  craft  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  years.  He  was  in  the  "Milo"  two 
years,  and  in  the  "W.  T.  Sherman,"  the 
"John  Green,"  and  the  steamer  "Samuel  S. 
Brown"  about  twelve  years.  For  the  past 
lour  years  he  has  lived  on  shore. 

Captain  Lennen  married  in  1S79  Hannah 
Adams  Stead,  who  was  born  at  Edwardsburg, 
Cass  County,  Mich.,  daughter  of  Angel  and 
Rhoda  (Buddington)  Stead.  Her  father  and 
mother  were  both  natives  of  Connecticut. 
After  their  marriage,  in  1837,  they  went  West, 
and  spent  three  years  at  Edwardsburg.  The 
fever  and  ague  then  sent  them  back  to  Nor- 
wich, where  Mr.  Stead  died  in  October,  1895, 
in  the  eighty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  a  farmer.  Mrs.  Stead  still  survives,  and 
is  now  about  eighty -four  years  of  age.  Two 
of  her  three  daughters  are  living,  namely: 
Mrs.  Lennen;  and  Mary  E.,  wife  of  John 
Hibbard,  of  North  Woodstock.  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Lennen  have  no  children. 

Mrs.  Lennen  is  a  member  of  the  Central 
Baptist  Church  in  Norwich.  The  Captain  is 
a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Wauregan 
Lodge,  of  Norwich.  He  is  not  active  in  pol- 
itics, but  votes  the  Republican  ticket.  He 
owns  a  place  in  Norwich;  and  in  the  spring  of 
1894  he  bought  the  residence  property  at  Har- 
rison Station,  where  his  wife  and  her  mother 
are  most  pleasantly  situated,  and  where  he  is 
at  home  when  business  permits.  Though  he 
is  not  now  leading  a  life  of  such  extreme  ac- 
tivity as  formerly,  his  business  interests  have 
grown  to  such  proportions  that  they  require 
close  supervision.  The  penniless  orphan  who 
was  east  a  waif  upon  the  waters  has  become  a 
successful  financier.  He  is  still  young  and 
vigorous  and  a  splendid  type  of  his  rugged 
and  ruddy  race  over  the  sea.  It  is  rather  a 
singular  coincidence  that  he  was  born  in 
Waterford,  Ireland,  and  has  drifted  after  many- 


years  to  the  town   of   the  same  name   in  the 
United  States. 


RS.     ELIZA     PALMER     NOYES, 
who   resides    on    a    small    farm    of 


thirty-eight  acres  at  "The  Road," 
in  the  town  of  Stonington,  was  born  Oc- 
tober 18,  1844,  daughter  of  Noyes  Palmer 
and  Martha  Denison  (Noyes)  Brown.  Mrs. 
Noyes's  mother  was  her  husband's  double 
cousin.  Her  parents  had  two  children  besides 
herself,  namely:  Annie  Brown,  who  has  been 
twice  married,  her  first  husband  being  Asa 
Fish,  and  her  second  John  I.  MacDonald, 
with  whom  she  resides  in  Providence,  R.I.; 
and  Helen,  wife  of  Henry  Townsend,  of  this 
town,  living  at  the  old  home,  in  the  house 
which  her  father  erected  fifty-one  years  ago. 

Eliza  Palmer  Brown  and  Edmund  S.  Noyes, 
son  of  Joseph  and  Grace  B.  (Denison)  Noyes 
and  grandson  of  Joseph  Noyes,  Sr.,  were 
married  on  February  5,  1867.  They  began 
their  wedded  life  at  the  Road,  a  short  distance 
from  her  present  residence,  in  the  old  home  of 
her  grandfather,  Thomas  Noyes,  who  died  in 
1874.  This  house,  which  they  subsequently 
bought,  was  built  in  1706,  or  nearly  two  cen- 
turies ago.  It  was  once  the  home  of  Colonel 
Giles  Russell,  a  Revolutionary  officer,  of 
whom  Mrs.  Noyes  has  an  interesting  relic, 
the  copy  of  a  public  notice  written  and  signed 
by  him,  bearing  date  of  May  12,  1777.  The 
Road  received  its  name  when  there  was  only 
a  bridle  path,  over  which  the  mail  was  carried 
on  horseback.  This  house,  which  was  a 
stopping-place  for  travellers,  was  then  called 
an  "ordinary"  and  later  an  inn.  For  forty 
years  the  Town  Clerk's  office  was  here,  and 
the  present  kitchen  in  the  L  of  the  house  was 
the  room  in  which  the  business  was  conducted 
by  John   D.    Noyes,  who  served  as  Clerk  for 


THOMAS    A.   SCOTT. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


forty-one  years.  He  died  in  office,  just  two 
days  before  his  successor  was  elected.  For  a 
long  time  he  had  been  in  feeble  health  on  ac- 
count ill"  his  age,  he  being  then  over  eighty. 
Mr.  Edmund  S.  Noyes  died  May  31,  1877, 
forty-one  years.  Having  spent  his  life 
in  industrious  toil,  he  had  acquired  a  fair 
property;  and  he  left  to  Mis.  Noyes  and  their 
little  sun  Joseph,  then  five  years  old,  the 
homestead  which  they  occupy  and  another 
farm.  Mrs.  Noyes  is  a  capable  business 
woman;  and,  though  her  son's  health  would 
not  permit  of  an  extended  schooling,  as  a  re- 
sult of  her  early  instruction  he  has  become  a 
man  ol  good  business  capacity.  Joseph  Noyes 
lives  with  his  mother,  never  having  married, 
and  now  has  charge  of  their  property.  Mrs. 
Noyes  belongs  to  the  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Stonington,  Conn. 


ZTlAPTAIN     THOMAS    A.     SCOTT,     a 
I   _         famous  diver,  wrecker,   and  contractor 

^<1__^--  of   Xew    London,  Conn.,  was  born  at 
Snow   Hill,    Worcester   County,    Md.,    August 

1830,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(1'ruett)     Scott.       James    Scott,    his    paternal 

Ifather,  also  a  native  of  Snow  Hill,  was  a 
farmer,  stock-breeder,  and  salt  manufacturer, 
and  acquired  a  large  property.  His  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Rebecca  Burch,  died 
at  the  age  of  ninety  ;  while  he  attained  the  age 
ne  hundred  years.  They  had  two  sons  and 
two  daughters. 

William  Scott,  the  father   of   Captain  Scott, 

horn  at  Snow  Hill  in  1795.  His  fust 
wife  was  before  marriage  a  Miss  Pointer.  The 
two  children  born  of  their  union  died  young. 
Elizabeth  Pruett,  his  second  wife,  whom  he 
married  in  1828,  had  previously  been  the  wife 
ol  Zachariah  Shelley,  who  had  died  leaving 
one    son,    since    deceased.      Her  parents    were 


Zachariah  and   Susan  Pruette,   residents  ol  that 
region,  both  ol  whom  lived   to  be  ninety  years 
of  age.      William  and  Elizabeth  (Pruett)  Scott 
had  three  children        Sarah   Truth,  Ann  Maria 
Hudson,  and    Thomas    A.,  the   subject   of   this 
biography.      The    daughters   grew   to   maturity 
and  were  married,  and  both  died    leaving   chil- 
dren.     The   mother   died   at    the   home   of    her 
son,  March  2,  1  890,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight. 
Thomas  A.   Scott  in  his   boyhood   received  a 
very    limited    education,    as    he    shipped    as    a 
common  sailor  on    board  a  merchant    vessel    in 
early  life.      He  gradually  worked   his  way  up 
until    in    1850    he    became    captain    and    part 
owner   of   the   "Thomas    Page."      Seven   years 
later   he   bought   an    interest    in    the  "William 
Hone,"   of   Connecticut,    and    engaged    in   the 
transportation  of  heavy  cargoes  ol    stone   from 
Bridgeport,     Conn.,     to     Washington.      D.C., 
which   proved    to   be   a    very  successful    enter- 
prise.     After    that    he    became   a   merchant    in 
Fort   Lee,    N.J.,    but    subsequently,    deciding 
that    he    was    then    out    of   his   element,  he  re- 
turned to  maritime   pursuits.      He   then   began 
diving,  a  calling  that  he  has  followed   more  or 
less     ever    since.       A     steamer    having    I 
burned  and  sunk   off  Fort   Lee,  lie  contracted 
with    the    speculator    who    bought    the    wreck, 
to  bring  the  cargo  to  the   surface.      From   that 
beginning   he  was   drawn    by   degrees    into   the 
kind    of    work    which    has    made    him    famous 
among  his   craft.      His   fust    large  contract   as 
wrecker  and   diver   was   taken    in    [865,  which 
wis  to   raise   the  "Dashing   Wave"  of) 
Hook.      Four  years  thereafter  he  was  engi  ; 
at  a  salary  of   two  hundred   and   titty  dollars  a 
month  to  bring  to  the   surface  what  could 
saved   ol    the  <  argo   1      the    steamship   "S 
land,"    of    the     National     Line,     which     was 
wrecked     off     Sandy     Hook.       The    recovered 
eoods  amounted  to  one  hundred  and   ten  thou- 
..in,!    dollars,    ol     whi<  h    sum,    ini  biding    his 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


salary  and  percentage  of  salvage,  he  realized 
eleven  thousand  dollars.  Here  he  remained 
under  water  seven  hours  and  forty-eight  min- 
utes, breaking  the  records  of  divers'  feats  of 
endurance.  Captain  Scott's  presence  of  mind, 
added  to  his  quickness  of  thought  and  prompt, 
decisive  action,  make  him  admirably  success- 
ful in  his  chosen  line  of  work. 

In  1873  he  became  a  resident  of  New  Lon- 
don, at  which  time  he  undertook  a  government 
contract  to  build  Race  Rock  Light-house,  be- 
sides many  other  important  contracts  in  wharf 
and  sea-wall  building,  among  which  may  be 
mentioned  Pier  No.  1,  North  River,  New  York. 
He  also  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  man  to  work  on  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  hav- 
ing made  all  the  preliminary  examinations  of 
the  river  bottom  and  superintended  the  work  of 
laying  the  foundations  of  the  spans.  His 
wharf  on  Pequot  Avenue  extends  two  hundred 
feet  into  the  harbor,  and  has  a  frontage  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet.  His  extensive  busi- 
ness requires  three  tugs,  four  lighters,  a  pile- 
driver,  and  mud  digger,  besides  pumps  and 
derricks,  and  a  working  force  of  forty  men,  his 
equipments  being  equal  to  any  emergency.  In 
politics  Captain  Scott  is  a  Republican.  He 
has  served  as  Alderman  one  term. 

On  September  5,  1855,  he  was  married  to 
Harriet  Whitbeck,  of  Port  Jefferson,  L.I. 
She  was  born  in  Catskill,  N.Y.,  being  the 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  E.  Ackerly. 
Isaac  Ackerly,  her  grandfather,  was  a  farmer; 
and  her  father  was  a  paper-hanger  and  decora- 
tor. Mrs.  Scott  has  one  brother  living  — 
Theodore  Whitbeck,  who  succeeds  his  father 
in  business  at  Port  Jefferson.  Her  brother 
Sidney  S.  Whitbeck  died  in  April,  1896,  at 
the  age  of  fifty  four.  Her  father  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-three,  and  her  mother  at  the  age 
of  eighty  thr<  e 

Mr.    and    .Mrs.    Scott   have   had   twelve  chil- 


dren, six  of  whom  survive:  John  A.,  Mamie, 
Eva  L. ,  Harriet  F.,  Cassie  V.,  and  Thomas 
A.,  Jr.  John  A.  Scott,  born  in  1859,  is  a 
merchant  on  his  father's  dock.  He  is  married 
and  has  two  daughters.  Mamie  Scott  married 
William  H.  Hull,  of  New  York.  Eva  L. 
married  Woodruff  Hull,  a  brother  of  her  sis- 
ter's husband,  and  has  one  son  and  daughter. 
Harriet  F.  is  at  home.  Cassie  V.  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  high  school,  and  then  studied 
designing  in  New  York.  She  married  Joseph 
Hardwick,  and  now  resides  in  Shelby,  Ohio. 
Thomas  A.,  Jr.,  a  young  man  at  home,  was 
graduated  from  Mystic  Academy.  Another 
son,  Willie  A.,  born  April  18,  1858,  was 
lost  in  the  Sound  in  18S0,  while  wrecking, 
falling  overboard  from  the  "Narragansett. " 

Captain  Scott  has  a  beautiful  residence  at 
88  Pequot  Avenue,  surrounded  by  well  laid 
out  and  well-kept  grounds,  which  commands  a 
fine  view  of  the  harbor  and  Fort  Trumbull. 
He  also  owns  White  Rock  Island,  which  is 
valuable  for  its  large  quantity  of  excellent 
stone.  Personally,  Captain  Scott  is  a  man 
of  large  physique,  weighing  three  hundred 
pounds.  He  is  held  in  high  regard,  his  portly 
frame  being  .typical  of  a  generous  heart  and 
soul   within. 


TTO  LAWSON,  a  well-known  farmer 
and  dairyman  of  Waterford,  Conn., 
residing  on  his  farm,  about  three  miles 
north  of  New  London,  was  born  in  Sweden, 
January  7,  1845.  -At  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
he  shipped  before  the  mast  on  board  the  Swed- 
ish bark  "Hilda,"  bound  for  New  York  City, 
via  Cadiz,  Spain.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  a  career  as  seaman  that  lasted  for  some 
years.  During  the  course  of  his  voyages  he 
visited  numerous  ports  and  many  countries. 
Upon  arriving  at  New  York,  he  shipped  on 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REV  I  FAY 


the  American  schooner  "Stephen  S.  Leo,"  of 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  which  he  sailed  for 
Dearly  a  year.      In    1864   he    was    in    Buenos 

Ayres,  and  from  there   returned    to    New  York 
(its',      lie   next  went   to    Stockholm,   Sweden, 
then  i"  Northern  Sweden    lor  a  cargo  of   lum- 
ber   lor    Cadi/,     Spain,     and     after    going    to 
Malaga,     Montevideo,     I.a     Plata     River,    and 
other    South    American    points,    went    hack    to 
York    City,    where    he    shipped    in    the 
"Hilda"    for    Honduras.      On    this    voyage    a 
Dumber  of   the  men  were  taken    sick  and   died 
lenly,  and  great  consternation  was  excited. 
His  own  feelings  at  that   time,  and   the   panic 
that  spread  among  the  new,  Mr.  Lawson  will 
never  forget.      At  the   age   of   twenty-three  he 
-iid   mate  of  the  "William  A.  Vail," 
•  >■«'  Haven,  Conn.:   and    in    less  than    two 
months  he  was  promoted  to  he  first  mate.      He 
remained    in    this  vessel    for   three   years:    and 
1    losing    her   he   sailed    in    the    "William 
C.  H.."    of  Noank,  for  eight    years,  five  years 
with  that  noble  man,  Captain   Daniel  Chester, 
three    years    with     his     brother,    Captain 
les    Ira   Chester. 
In    i.s-s    Mr.    Lawson    bought    twenty-two 
land  and  two  houses,  and  settled  down 
to  farming.      Since  that  time  he  has  made   ad- 
ditions to  his  property;   and  he  now  has  forty- 
ai  res,     reaching     down     to     the     river. 
When  he  first  bought  the  land,  it  would  barely 
1  a   cow  and   a   horse.      He   now   has   four 
horses  and  sixteen  cows,  and  sells  milk  to  eus- 
rs  in    New  London.      He  carries  on   con- 
rable  market   gardening,  and  employs  two 
men   to   help  in   the   farm    labor.      In   politics 
Mr.  Lawson    is  a   Democrat.      He  has   served 
six  years   on    the    Board   of    Relief.      1  te 
member  of   one  oi    the    Baptist    Church 
Committees,   and    both    he   and    his   wife  are 
members  ami  active  workers  in  the  church. 
In     \\w    London     Mr.     Lawson     first    met 


Marlha  Cone,  daughter  of  Oliver  and  Louisa 
(Knight)  Cone;  and  there  he  married  her  on 
February  12,  1872,  the  ceremony  being  per- 
formed by  the  Rev.  Ezra  Withey,  of  New 
London.  Mr.  and  Mis  Lawson  have  lost  a 
daughter,  Lizzie  May,  born  July  5,  1883,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  six  and  one-half  years,  and 
a  son  Nelson,  born  November  28,  1N72,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  months.  They  have 
three  living  children:  Alice,  born  April  14, 
1877;  Jennie  Louisa,  born  October  22.  1880; 
and  Ruth,  born  January  2,  1S94.  Alice  Law- 
son  is  now  the  wife  of  F.  J.  Alexander,  who 
conducts  a  general  store  at  Quaker  Hill, 
Conn. 


irAANIEL     N.     HOBRON,    a    rel 

——J  merchant  of  New  London,  Conn., 
<~KLs  at  present  (winter  of  1897 
residing  in  Washington,  D.C.,  was  born  on 
Hempstead  Street,  in  New  London,  on  < 
ber  2,  1826,  being  the  son  of  Russell  and 
Martha  (Howard)  Hobron.  His  grandfatl 
George  Hobron,  married  Elizabeth  Mason, 
and  had  eleven  children,  ten  of  whom  grew 
up:  namely,  William,  Thomas,  Samuel, 
Charles,  George,  Russell,  Edward,  Harriet, 
Mary,  and  Dempster.  Russell,  Mr.  Hobron's 
father,  was  born  in  New  London  on  Fort 
Street,  now  Shaw  Street,  in  1S03.  For  some 
fifty  years  of  his  mature  life  he  was  a  meat 
dealer  on  the  corner  of  Green  and  Banke 
Streets.  He  married  in  1S23  Martha,  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  John  Howard,  ol  the  same- 
place.  Her  father  commanded  a  vessel,  and 
carried  passengers  and  freight  between  New 
York  and  the  West  Indies  for  many  years. 
He  was  in  the  War  of  1N12.  He  died  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-two  at  his  home  on 
Howard  Street,  which  was  named  lor  him. 
A  remarkable  and  interesting  fact   here  claims 


"4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


our  attention;  namely,  that  three  sisters  be- 
came the  wives  of  three  brothers,  Martha, 
Mary,  and  Nancy  Howard  marrying  respec- 
tively Russell,  George,  and  Edward  Hobron. 

Russell  Hobron  and  his  wife  Martha  had 
eleven  children,  eight  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, only  three  of  whom  are  now  living: 
Daniel;  and  his  brother  Washington,  of  New 
York  City,  engaged  in  the  fish  trade;  and 
Mrs.  Mary  E.,  widow  of  James  Pierpont 
Davis,  M.D.,  of  Providence.  Mrs.  Davis  has 
one  daughter,  who  is  married  to  Captain 
Henry  L.  Starr,  and  has  one  child.  Mr. 
Russell  Hobron  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty- 
five,  and  his  wife  in  1S66,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
three. 

Daniel  Hobron  in  his  boyhood  attended 
the  district  school  in  his  native  place,  his  last 
school  days  being  spent  in  a  little  frame 
building  now  used  as  a  shoe  shop,  a  beloved 
landmark,  concerning  which  there  is  a  feeling 
prevalent  that  it  should  be  preserved  as  a 
relic,  and  removed  from  Banke  Street  to  the 
ample  grounds  of  the  new  school-house. 
When  fourteen  years  of  age  he  went  into  a  hat 
store,  where  he  worked  two  summers,  going 
to  school  in  the  winter.  He  then  entered  the 
employ  of  Whiteman  &  Turner,  grocers,  still 
keeping  up  his  schooling.  Next  he  worked 
for  six  months  for  Eben  E.  Dart  on  Banke 
Street.  The  winter  following  he  was  clerk 
fin-  A.  R.  Harris.  Then  he  was  with  Congden 
&  Latham  a  while;  and  in  February,  1846,  he 
went  into  his  father's  meat  market  as  clerk, 
eventually  succeeding  him  in  the  business  on 
the  corner  of  State  and  Green  Streets.  After 
a  time  he  sold  out  to  Samuel  Stewart:  and  four 
years  ago  the  business  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Thomas  &  Gumble,  the  latter  member  of 
this  firm  being  Mr.  Hobron's  son-in-law. 

In   1S58    Mr.  Hobron  married  Mary  Isabella 
Pitcher,  who  died  December  11,   [863,  leaving 


one  living  child,  a  daughter  Ruth.  This 
daughter  married  a  Mr.  Phillips,  and  resides 
in  Sagamore,  Mass.  She  has  three  children. 
In  November,  1871,  Mr.  Hobron  married 
Ellen  Elizabeth  Saunders,  of  New  London, 
the  daughter  of  the  venerable  Matthew  S. 
Saunders.  She  died  April  17,  1889.  By 
this  marriage  there  were  two  children  — 
Mabel  and  Nina.  Mabel  is  the  wife  of  Frank 
W.  Gumble,  of  the  above-mentioned  firm, 
and  the  mother  of  one  child,  an  interesting 
boy,  five  years  old,  named  Wolcott  for  Mr. 
Hobron's  brother,  who  was  killed  in  the  Civil 
War.  Nina,  a  most  promising  girl  of  twelve, 
died  six  months  after  her  mother's  death. 

That  Mr.  Hobron  has  had  some  varied  ex- 
periences in  life  may  be  shown  by  the  fact 
that  within  three  years  he  had  in  his  family 
three  births,  two  marriages,  and  two  deaths. 
He  is  now  living  in  Washington,  D.C.  He 
built  a  block  in  1877.  He  is  still  hale  and 
hearty,  and  enjoys  a  life  of  ease  but  not  idle- 
ness, his  time  being  well  occupied.  His  fine 
health  and  vigor  have  been  secured  to  him  by 
his  correct  habits  of  living.  His  tastes  and 
character  are  refined  and  cultured,  and  he 
evinces  much  skill  in  an  accomplishment 
rarely  cultivated  by  one  of  his  sex —  namely, 
embroidery.  His  friends  have  many  a  sou- 
venir of  his  art.  Mr.  Hobron  is  independent 
in  matters  of  religious  belief,  being  bound  to 
no  creed  or  church.  It  is  noteworthy  that  he 
never  drank  a  glass  of  liquor  in  his  life,  never 
was  so  sick  as  to  have  to  call  in  a  doctor,  and 
he  never  shot  a  gun  of  any  kind. 


LIAS  B.  HINCKLEY,  Judge  of  Pro- 
bate, Town  Clerk  and  Town  Treasurer 
in  Stonington,  was  born  here,  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1852,  son  of  Henry  Hinckley.  He 
is  of  English    extraction,  the   emigrant   ances- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIKW 


tor  having  been   Samuel    Hinckley,  who  came 
from   Tenterden,   County   Kent,    England,    to 
on    in    1634.    sailing    in    the   good    ship 
"  Hercules,"  commanded  by  Captain  Witherly. 
A    fellow-passenger   in    the   "Hercules"   was 
aniel  Tilden,  from  whom   Samuel  J.  Til- 
den,    of    national    tame,     was    descended.       In 
5     Samuel     Hinckley    settled    in    Scituate, 
Mass.,  where  two  years   later  he  was  made  a 
man.     In  1640  he  removed  to  Barnstable, 
.  where  he  died  October  31,  1662,  leav- 
three  sons  and  some  daughters.     Thomas, 
son,  became  Governor  of   Plymouth 
my.      John,  another  son,  was  the  next  pro- 
tor  of  the  branch  of  the  family  to  which 
Elias  B.  Hinckley  belongs.     John  Hinckley's 
Samuel,   born  in    Barnstable,  February  2, 
settled  in  Stonington,  being  the  first  of 
the  family  to  come  lure.      A  son  of  this  Sam- 
named   Samuel,  born    in    Stonington, 
h   4,    1706,    had   a   son,    Abel,  who,    born 
il    10,    1743,   spent   his    life    here,   and    died 
March  20,  18 is. 

tmuel  Hobart  Hinckley,  son   of   Abel   and 
the  grandfather  of  Elias  H. ,  was  born  in  Ston- 
■II.     December    26,     1 772,    and    died    here, 
ember     [9,      iSf>2,     being     almost     ninety 
s   old.       He   was   a   farmer   by   occupation 
fairly  successful    in   his  operations.      His 
first    marriage    was    contracted    with    Abigail 
Helms,    of    this    town,    who    bore    him    seven 
children:   namely.  Samuel.  Abby.  Abel.   Elias 
1!.,     B.     Frank,     Henry,     and     Mary     Esther. 
Samuel   lived   but  a  year;   Abby,  who  became 
'be   wife  •    D.    Cross,    reared    seven 

-and  five  daughters;  Mary  Esther  is  the 
whlow  of  Charles  M.  Davis,  late  of  Stoning- 
ton; Elias  and  Mary  are  the  only  survivors 
now.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  which 
urred  while  she  was  yet  in  the  prime  of 
womanhood,  the  father  married  Mrs.  Nancy  1'. 
ipman,  who   proved   herseli    a  true 


ther   to    her   step-children,    and    was   dearly 

beloved  by  her  grandchildi 

Henry    Hinckley,    who    was    bom    in    this 
town.    July    15.    1809,    is    still    living   on    his 
farm  at   Wequetquock,   near  where    the 
part    of    his    long    and    useful    life    has 
passed.     He  bears  bis  burden  oi    years  with 
ease  and  dignity,  bein  tive  in  mind 

body  as  most   men   a   score  of   years   youn 
( >n  December  12.   1838,  he  married    1 
Mary  Chesebro,  a  daughtei  of  Thomas  R.  and 
Mercy  Chesebro,  and  a  descendant  of  William 
Chesebrough  (or  Chesebro),  who  was   born    in 
England  in  1594.  and  was  the   first  white   set- 
tler   in    Stonington,    Conn.       After    a    happy 
wedded  life  of  fifty-eighl   years  sin-  passed   to 
another  life  on  September  9,   1896,  at  the 
of    seventy-nine   years    and     six    months.       She 
reared    seven    children,     namely:     Mary,     who 
was  the  wife  of  Charles  E.  Chace,  of   Mystic, 
and  died  March  24.    1881,  leaving  one   daugh- 
ter;    Abbie     H.,      who     married     Charles     II. 
Babcock,  then   the  Superintendent    of    Schi 
in  Westerly,   R.I.,  and  a  member  of   the  Ston- 
ington   School    Board    of    Visitors,    and    died 
March   14,    1883,  aged  forty-two  years,   leaving 
two    daughters    and    a    son;     Thomas    II..    ol 
Springfield,    Mass.;     Eliza    C,    who     is 
widow  of  the  late  Willi  on  11.   Palmer,  of  this 
town,  and  I1.1  in,    Bert   I'alm 

unmarried,     who    lives     on     1:  irm ; 

Elias    B.,    the    subject    of    this    sketch; 
I  mil       I  I  laveli. 

Elias    B.   Hinckley   was  ult- 

ural  pursuits  on  the  obi  homestead  on  Hinck- 
ley Hill.  I  Ic  had  acqu  :i'"> 
in  his  district,  when  mi  account  of  ill  health 
he  was  obliged  to  10I  at  tie 
seventeen  years.  He  subsequently  worked  in 
a  market  lor  bis  brother  about  foil 
Krom  [876  to  1  .  in  company  with  Calvin 
Wheeler,  he  was                     in  the  meat  and 


n6 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


vision  business.  Then  he  was  a  book-keeper 
for  four  years,  in  the  employment  of  Nathan 
H.  Gates,  a  leading  contractor  of  Stonington. 
This  position  he  resigned  in  1882  to  become 
clerk  in  the  auditor's  office  of  the  Stonington 
&  Providence  Railroad  Company.  On  Au- 
gust  9,  1886,  he  was  appointed  Postmaster  by 
President  Cleveland;  and  he  held  the  office 
until  February  1,  1891.  In  the  fall  of  1890 
he  was  elected  Town  Clerk.  A  year  later  he 
was  chosen  Town  Treasurer,  which  respon- 
sible position  he  has  since  filled  most  accept- 
ably. In  1892  he  was  elected  Probate  Judge, 
after  an  exciting  contest,  by  a  majority  of 
three.  The  outcome  was  doubted  by  the  for- 
mer incumbent,  a  Democrat  nominated  by  the 
Republicans,  who  was  the  defeated  candidate, 
and  who  fruitlessly  carried  it  to  the  Superior 
Court.  In  1S94  Mr.  Hinckley  was  re-elected 
by  a  majority  of  thirty-seven,  defeating  the 
regular  Republican  nominee.  In  1896  he  was 
again  re-elected,  receiving  two  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  more  votes  than  his  opponent, 
whom  he  had  beaten  in  the  previous  election. 
He  has  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  with 
ability  and  fidelity.  While  the  Democrats 
find  in  him  one  of  their  most  active  workers, 
Stonington  claims  him  as  one  of  her  most 
loyal  and  faithful  citizens. 

Mr.  Hinckley  has  been  twice  married.  On 
October  23,  iS/fi,  Miss  Fannie  Clift,  a 
daughter  of  Horace  and  Frances  (Burrows) 
Clift.  of  Mystic  River,  became  his  wife.  She 
died  August  2.S,  1885,  aged  twenty-nine 
years,  leaving  two  children,  namely:  Eleanor, 
who  is  now  in  school;  and  Hobart,  who  died 
at  the  age  oi  eight  years.  On  December  20, 
.  Mr.  Hinckley  married  Grace  M.  Levey, 
a  daughter  of  Antoine  Levey,  of  this  borough. 
She  has  given  birth  to  one  child,  a  beautiful 
little  girl,  Thelma,  now  three  years  of  age. 
Mr.     Hinckley    is    an    active    member    of    the 


Royal  Arcanum,  Pequot  Council,  of  which  he 
has  been  secretary  for  thirteen  years. 


Eft'OHN  TURNER  ALLYN,  whose  last 
years  were  spent  in  New  London  as  an 
agriculturist,  followed  the  sea  in  his 
younger  days  until  obliged  to  give  up  that  oc- 
cupation on  account  of  poor  health.  Born  in 
New  London,  March  10,  1838,  he  was  the 
only  son  of  Captain  Lyman  and  Emma 
(Turner)  Allyn,  who  also  had  five  daughters, 
one  of  whom  is  Mrs.  Harriet  U.  Allyn,  widow 
of  James  Allyn.  He  was  educated  at  Cheshire 
Episcopal  Academy  and  at  Monson  Academy 
in  Monson,  Mass.  Mr.  Allyn  was  a  Master 
Mason,  a  member  of  Union  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  of  New  London.  He  died  February 
23,  1887,  before  completing  his  forty-ninth 
year. 

Mr.  John  Turner  Allyn  and  Miss  Lucretia 
L.  Brown  were  united  in  marriage  on  January 
30,  1873,  and  were  the  parents  of  one  child, 
Mary  Seymour  Allyn,  who  was  born  February 
25,  1874,  and  died  October  6,  the  same  year, 
aged  seven  months  and  eleven  days.  Mrs. 
Allyn  is  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  late 
Nathan  S.  and  Sarah  F.  (Browning)  Brown, 
and  a  grand-daughter  of  Daniel  and  Delight 
(Strickland)  Brown,  of  Waterford,  Conn. 
She  now  resides  with  her  husband's  sister, 
Mrs.  Harriet  U.  Allyn,  above  mentioned. 

Nathan  S.  Brown  was  a  farmer  of  Water- 
ford  and  a  very  prominent  citizen  of  that 
town.  He  was  active  in  town  affairs,  and 
held  many  of  the  important  offices,  being 
Justice  of  the  Peace  when  a  very  young  man, 
and  subsequently  Assessor  and  Selectman. 
He  was  born  in  Waterford  on  March  1,  1S11, 
and  was  married  on  September  9,  1835.  His 
wife,  Sarah,  who  was  born  April  27,  1S17, 
was   a   daughter  of    Rouse   and    Ruth   (Morey) 


JOHN    T.    ALLYN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEW 


.  .., 


Browning.      Mr.  Browning  was  the  owner  of 
the  fine  old   Browning   Beach   farm,  which   is 
now  owned  by  Ezra  J.    Hempstead.      He  was 
of  the  M.\th  generation  from  Nathaniel  Brown- 
who  came   from    England,  and   settled   in 
South     Kingston,     R.I.       Nathaniel's    great- 
grandson  Ephraim,  who  was  born  in    1746  and 
died    in    1826,    was    the   great-grandfather    of 
Mrs.  Allyn.      He  removed  from  Rhode   Island 
to  Waterford,  and  bought  a  large  tract  of  land, 
which    was   added    to   by   his   sun    Rouse,    ami 
which  now  forms  a  part  of  the  Browning  farm. 
His   wile,    whose   maiden    name   was    Susanna 
Davis,  died  in    [832,  at  a  very  advanced  age. 
Browning  was  a  very  prosperous  farmer, 
lie   was  a  Baptist    in   religious    faith,  very  ac- 
tive   in    the    denomination    and   very   benevo- 
lent.    The  land  upon  which  the    Quaker    Hill 
Church  is  built  was  given  by  him.      His  wife, 
Ruth,  who  was  a  native  of  Stonington,  Conn., 
the  mother   of   ten  children,  four  sons  and 
laughters,    of    whom    Sarah,    Mrs.    Brown, 
the    eldest.       Nathan    S.    and    Sarah    F. 
Brown  had    a   family  of   three   sons   ami   three 
jhters,  all  of  whom  are   living   except    Na- 
than, the  eldest  son,  who  died  in  i860,  at  the 
of    twenty    years.        The     survivors     are: 
Delia  S.    Brown,  the   eldest   daughter;    Hliza- 
beth    C.  ;    and    Mrs.    Allyn  —  all    residing    in 
Nev\   London;   Orlando    II.    Brown,  who    is    in 
business  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  and   Charles  J. 
Brown,    in    this   city,    a    well-known    business 
man,    who    has    a    family    of    six    sons    and    a 
hter. 


'OSEPH     EDWARD     LEONARD    was 

long  period  a  prominent   business 

man  of  the  town  of  Griswold.  his  home 

1  >  at ci  part  of  his  life  being  about  four 

miles  from  Jewett  City,  on  the    Leonard  farm, 

which,    when    it    was    sold     m     April.      1897, 


had  been  in  the  family  nearly  two  hundred 
years.  Mr.  Leonard  was  born  September 
6,    1838,    and   died    October    2  .    at    the 

age  of  fifty-eight  years. 

His  father.  Deacon  Joseph  Leonard,  was 
born  in  1802,  and  died  at  the  homestead  in 
1887.  Deacon  Leonard  married  Laura  John- 
son, of  Jewett  City,  and  was  the  lather  of 
eight  children.  Of  this  family  two  sons  and 
two  daughters  are  now  living,  namely: 
(ieorge,  in  Wisconsin;  Mrs.  Maria  French,  a 
widow,  residing  in  Appleton,  Wis.:  Mrs. 
Sarah  Geer,  in  Griswold;  and  Howard,  in 
Jewett  City. 

Mr.  Joseph   E.  Leonard  carried  on 
business  in    flour,  grain,  and    feed    for   sixteen 
years,  handling  also  farming    implements   and 
machinery,  and  was  connected  with    a    fire    in- 
surance company.      In   these  various   lin< 
business  he   was  successful,  bringing   to   bear 
in  each  the  sound  judgment   and   keen    insight 
into  affairs  that  were  his  native  gifts.      He  ac- 
cumulated   a    handsome   property,    which    was 
bequeathed  to  his  family.      The  fine  grain  ele- 
vator  now    in    use   was   erected    soon    after    he 
began  business.      Mr.  Leonard  was  active  also 
as  a  citi/en.  and  was  deeply  interested   in  all 
local  affairs.      He  was  a    Republican    in   poli- 
tics,   and    represented    his    town    in    the    S 
legislature.      He  was  for  many  years  a  Jus 
of   the  Peace,  and  held  that  position  up  to   the 
time  of    his  death.       Like    his    lather    he  u 
Deacon  ol    the  Congregational    church,  and    he 
was  active  in  Sunday-school. 

He  married  March  5.  [862,  Martha  E. 
Northup,  who  was  born  at  Manchestei  on  Au- 
gust 24,  1836,  dai  oi  the  late  l:<  1;.  F. 
and  Martha  (Stillman)  Northup.  Her  father 
was  a  clergyman  of  th<  1  ongregational  church, 
and  was  settled  for  twenty-four  years  at  Man- 
chester, Conn.,  and  for  seventeen  year 
Griswold.      He   was  a  man  of  great    learn 


120 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  firmly  grounded  in  the  doctrines  of  his 
faith,  being  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  and  of 
Andover  Theological  Seminary.  Of  deep  and 
fervent  piety,  lie  was  a  preacher  of  persuasive 
eloquence,  .mil  became  to  the  members  of  his 
congregation  a  safe  counsellor  and  a  tender 
shepherd.  Naturally  sympathetic  and  unsel- 
fish, he  made  the  burdens  of  his  people  his 
own,  ami  was  ever  ready  to  aid  the  suffering 
or  visit  the  distressed  and  afflicted.  His  first 
wife,  Martha  Stillman,  above  named,  was  a 
native  of  Wethersfield.  She  died  in  1843, 
leaving  six  of  the  eight  children  born  to  her, 
all  of  whom  are  now  deceased  except  Mrs. 
Leonard  and  an  elder  sister,  Mrs.  Fannie 
Prentice,  widow  of  Nehemiah  Prentice,  resid- 
ing at  Union  Hall,  N.J.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Northup  died  in  [ 875,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
five  years.  His  second  wife,  Elizabeth  C. 
Pull,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  in  1S91  at 
Mrs.  Leonard's  home. 

Mrs.  Leonard  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Norwich  Town  and  Springfield.  Inheriting 
scholarly  aptitudes  from  her  father,  she  has 
always  been  a  reader  of  the  best  literature, 
and  has  been  able  to  foster  and  cultivate  a 
taste  for  the  same  in  her  children.  She  was 
bereft  of  an  infant  son  some  years  ago,  and 
has  two  children  living:  Fred  Stillman 
Leonard;  and  a  daughter,  Bessie  Northrop 
Leonard.  Mr.  Fred  Leonard  graduated  from 
the  New  Britain  schools,  and  subsequently 
taught  si  hool,  being  very  successful,  and 
finally  receiving  an  appointment  as  assistant 
principal  oi  the  Jewett  City  graded  school. 
Since  the  death  of  his  father  Mr.  Fred  S. 
Leonard  has  succeeded  to  the  business,  and  is 
now  devoting  himself  to  that.  He  is  a  young 
man  of  refined  tastes,  with  musical  ability, 
and  ol  high  moral  character.  His  sister,  ,1 
luate  of  the  New  Britain  Normal  School, 
kindergarten   department,  has  taught    in    New 


York  and    in   Northampton,  and  has  met  with 
marked  success. 

In  the  fall  of  1S96  Mrs.  Leonard  left  the 
farm,  and  moved  into  Jewett  City,  where  she 
has  rented  a  pleasant  and  commodious  house. 


(7^1  OHN  MORAN,  a  well-known  and  suc- 
cessful business  man  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  was  born  in  Ottawa,  Canada,  in 
November,  1847,  being  the  eldest  son  of  John 
and  Mary  Jane  (Devine)  Moran. 

His  father,  John  Moran,  Sr.,  was  a  native 
of  Ireland,  born  in  County  Waterford  in  1S13. 
At  nineteen  years  of  age,  in  1833,  he  came  to 
Canada,  and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Ottawa,  where  he  followed  tailoring  for  some 
years.  He  then  removed  to  Fitzroy  Harbor, 
and  at  that  place  he  worked  at  farming  in  ad- 
dition to  tailoring.  Although  possessed  of 
but  small  means  when  he  came  to  this  coun- 
try, he  amassed  considerable  property;  and, 
being  a  man  of  much  intellectual  ability,  he 
was  elected  to  various  public  offices,  includ- 
ing that  of  City  Councilman.  In  1844,  at 
Fitzroy  Harbor,  he  married  Mary  Jane  De- 
vine,  who  came  from  Ireland  in  the  "Belle 
Castle,"  the  same  year  that  he  came,  but  was 
thirteen  weeks  on  the  voyage,  four  weeks 
longer  than  he.  She  came  with  her  brother; 
and  they  spent  the  first  year  after  their  arri- 
val in  Quebec,  where  she  first  met  Mr.  Moran. 
Four  sons  and  two  daughters  were  born  to 
them,  and  all  grew  to  maturity.  They  were 
named:  John,  Mary,  James,  Bridget,  Mathias 
R.,  and  Patrick.  Mary  Moran  married  Ed- 
ward Dooner,  and  died  leaving  an  infant  son. 
James  Moran,  who  has  never  married,  is  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  trade  in  New  London. 
Bridget,  widow  of  John  O'Brien,  is  living  in 
New  York  City.  Mathias  R.  Moran,  who  was 
a  well-known  railroad  man  and  superintendent 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


of  the  Jacksonville,  Tampa  &  Key  West  Rail- 
.  Florida,  died   in   New   London    in  July. 
-.  leaving  a  family.      Patrick  Moran   is  on 
the  New  London  police  force,      lie  has  a  wife 
and    children.      Mr.    and    Mrs.    John    Moran, 
removed    from    Canada    to    New    Jersey, 
e   they  resided   five  years,  and   then    came 
New    London,    and    spent    their    declining 
-  with   their   sen   John.      The   father   died 
in    1885,   and   the   mother   ten    years  later,  in 
5,    in    her    eighty-sixth   year.      Both    were 
it   Catholics,  and   they  reared   their  chil- 
dren in  that  faith. 

Moran,    the    special     subject    of    this 

h,  left  the  common  schools  quite  early, 

and  became  a  clerk  in  the  lumbermen's  supply 

Brudenell,  Canada,  kept  by  his  father, 

0  carried  on  a  large  farm.      He  contin- 

to   live  at   home  until    his   marriage.      In 

Mr.    Moran   bought  out  the   livery  busi- 

is  Dennison,  which  was  established 

-    ars  ago,  and  at  once  tore  down  the 

old  barns,  and  replaced  them  with  a  fine  1 

ling  one   hundred   and   twenty   feet   deep, 

feet  wide,  and    two   ami   one-half   stories 

in  height.      He  employs  seven  men,  and  keeps 

thirty-five  horses   in  all,  nineteen  of  which  are 

sown,  the  others  being  boarders.      He  car  - 

on    the   largest    livery   business    in    New 

London.      Since   January   1,   [889,  Mr.    Moran 

ISO    been     associated     with    Caulkins    & 

l'i 'litis,    supplying    them    with    coaches     and 

■1  s. 

Mr.  Moran  married  first  Miss  Elizabeth  C. 
Murphy,  of  Canada.  She  died  in  New  Jersey 
in  1883,  aged  twenty-eight  years,  leaving  four 
children,  namely:  Mary  I'.,  now  a  young  lady 
ighteen,  who  has  just  been  graduated  1 101,1 
the  Young  Ladies'  High  School  as  the  vale- 
dictorian of  her  class,  in  which  there  were 
twenty  besides  herself,  and  who  is  also  an  ac- 
complished pianist;   E.  Letitia,  who  is  in   the 


Meriden  Convent;   Helen  Gertrude,  an  attend- 
ant of  the  Young  Ladies'  High   School;  and 
Elizabeth,  who  is  also  in  school.      In  1X85  Mr. 
Moran    married    Miss    Alice    Quinn,   of   < 
ada,    a    daughter    of    Patrick    Quinn,    on< 
seven    Irishmen  well   known   in  the  hist  1 

ula.  who  went  into  the  woods  on  fool  some 
six  hundred  miles  from  Montreal  to  Ramsey 
County,  and  began  the  opening  up  ol  that  pait 
of  Canada,  which  now  has  attained  a  high  de- 
gree of  civilization.  There  are  no  children 
by  Mr.  Mo  ran 's  second  marriage. 

The  family  reside  at  9   Huntington   St  1 
in  the   house  that    he    built    in    [888.      Politi- 
cally,   Mr.    Moran    is    .1    Democrat.      He    has 
served  i it  the  City  Council. 


f  STeORGE    ELDREDGE,    a    highly    re- 
V  p* 1       spected   citizen   of    Mystic,    residing 

in  the   house    in    which    he 
September    2 2,    [834,    is    a    son    oi     Flam    and 
Hannah   (Fitch)   Eldredge,  and   comes  both   of 
English    and    Irish    ancestors.      The   Eldn 
family    came   to    this   country    from    England, 
ami    settled    in    Massachusetts.     1  the 

father  of    Elam    and  son   oi    Thomas,    man 
Hannah    Burrows,    who   bore   him   eight    - 
and     a    daughter;     namely.     Elam,     Nathan, 
Charles,  Delight,  George,  Thomas,  Winthrop, 
Robert,   and    William,    all    of    whom,   with    the 
exception  of   Winl  hrop,  «  ho  died  mar- 

ried   and    had    children.      Several   el    the    - 
were    mariners,    ami    more    than    one    lived    to 
pass  the  age  oi   foursi  ore.     Their  mother  died 
in   1S47.  aged   eighty-two.  and    their   father    in 
1850,    at    the    same   age       Daniel    1. 
brother   of  G©  ;  s>'--  was 

the  wounded  at  the  battle  oi    Fort  Griswold. 

Elam  Eldredge  was  al  one  time  master 
coasting-vi  ssel,  making  trips 
Florida.        He    subsequently    engaged    in    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


fish  business.  He  was  twice  married,  his 
first  wife  being-  in  maidenhood  Eunice  Bur- 
rows, daughter  of  Elam  Burrows,  of  Mystic, 
Conn.  For  his  second  wife  he  married  Han- 
nah Fitch,  who  was  born  December  28,  1803, 
daughter  of  Chester  and  Deborah  (Packer) 
Fitch,  of  Mystic.  There  were  seven  children 
by  this  union,  four  sons  and  three  daughters, 
all  of  whom  attained  maturity.  Those  now 
living  are:  Hannah,  wife  of  Henry  Latham, 
of  Mystic;  George,  whose  name  appears  at  the 
head  of  this  sketch;  Eunice  B. ,  who  resides 
with  her  brother;  and  Mary  E. ,  who  lives  in 
this  vicinity.  The  father  died  in  1870,  aged 
seventy-seven,  and  the  mother  on  May  27, 
[885,  lacking  just  seven  months  of  reaching 
her  eighty-second  year.  George  Eldredge  re- 
ceived his  education  chiefly  in  the  excellent 
district  schools  of  his  native  town;  and,  hav- 
ing a  taste  for  the  higher  mathematics,  he 
subsequently  devoted  considerable  time  to 
that  study.  In  1854,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he 
began  learning  the  blacksmith's  trade.  For 
some  years  he  was  employed  in  a  machine 
shop,  and  he  was  later  engaged  in  the  meat 
business  for  fifteen  years.  Since  1892  he  has 
1  ived  retired. 

On  October  3,  i860,  Mr.  Eldredge  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Susan  Moody  Kemp, 
of  Mystic.  She  died  in  1883,  at  the  age  of 
forty-seven,  leaving  no  children.  Mr.  El- 
dredge is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  has  served 
two  terms  in  the  Connecticut  legislature,  in 
1883  and  1889. 


KC\)f  HEELER  BROTHERS,  blacksmiths 


in  that  part  of  North  Stonington, 
Conn.,  known  as  Mill  Town,  are 
the  proprietors  of  a  long-established  and  pros- 
perous business,  the  firm  consisting  of  J.  O. 
Wheeler     and      his      brother,      Thomas      W. 


Wheeler.  Both  these  gentlemen  were  born 
in  the  village  where  they  now  live,  the  birth 
of  J.  O.  Wheeler  having  occurred  June  5, 
[818,  and  that  of  Thomas  W.,  October  20, 
1822.  Their  grandfather,  Lester  Wheeler, 
was  among  the  early  farmers  of  this  com- 
munity. He  and  his  wife,  Eunice  Lewis 
Wheeler,  reared  a  large  family  of  sons  and 
daughters,  among  them  being  Jesse  Wheeler, 
father  of  Messrs.  Wheeler,  the  subjects  of  this 
sketch. 

Jesse  Wheeler  was  born  in  Stonington,  May 
28,  1786,  and  was  reared  to  man's  estate  on 
the  home  farm.  A  natural  mechanic,  he 
turned  his  talents  to  good  use,  learning  the 
blacksmith's  trade  in  his  youth  at  Central 
Farm  in  Stonington.  In  18 12  he  settled  at 
Mill  Town,  buying  a  smithy  that  had  already 
been  used  for  some  years;  and  here  he  fol- 
lowed his  chosen  occupation  until  his  death, 
January  16,  1852.  On  May  30,  181 1,  he 
married  Nancy  Peckham,  who  was  born  in 
North  Stonington,  July  31,  1793,  and  died  at 
Mill  Town,  March  9,  1885.  They  were  the 
parents  of  four  children;  namely,  Stephen 
H.,  Elisha  P.,  J.  O.,  and  Thomas  W. 
Stephen  H.  Wheeler,  born  March  6,  1812, 
was  a  blacksmith  at  Old  Mystic,  where  he  died 
when  about  seventy  years  of  age,  leaving  a 
family,  of  whom  but  one  daughter  is  now 
living.  Elisha  P.  Wheeler,  born  December 
15,  1 81 5,  for  many  years  a  machinist  at  Shan- 
nock,  R.I.,  died  there  at  the  age  of  forty-two 
years,  leaving  a  widow  and  three  sons,  of 
whom  two  are  living,  namely:  Van  Rensse- 
laer, a  carriage  smith  in  New  London,  Conn.; 
and  Edward,  who  is  a  clerk  and  president  of 
the  Providence  Horse  Shoe  Company  in  Prov- 
idence, R.  I.,  and  is  a  noted  singer,  more  es- 
pecially of  sacred  music,  his  services  being  in 
demand  in  church  and  camp  meetings. 

J.    O.    Wheeler    learned    the    blacksmith's 


mi 


THOMAS    W,   WHEELER. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIKW 


trade   of    his  father,    beginning  when  a    very 
ig  lad;  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  he 
was  able  to  set  shoes,  a  part  of  the  business  in 
which  he  became  exceptionally  skilful.      Dur- 
the   sixty-six   years    in   which   he   was  ac- 
tively   employed,     he     shod     many      hundred 
horses  and   a    great    number  of    oxen,   besides 
■  le  miscellaneous  work   required   in    a 
country  smithy.      lie  was  in  company  with  his 
father  fur  main'  years,  subsequently  forming  a 
lership  with  his  brother,  Thomas   \V.      In 
the  old   shop,    built   some  eighty    years 
re,    was   torn   down,    and    the    present   one 
ted.      These  brothers   have   never  swerved 
from   the   religious   faith    in    which    they  were 
brought  up,  both  being  members  of  the  Third 
Church,    to   which   their  parents    also 
-     !.      They  occupy   the   same   residence, 
tttractive  house;  and  on  either  side  of 
I  are  several   tenement  houses   which   they 
the    whole     forming    a     pleasant    little 
hamlet. 

Thomas  W.    Wheeler   was   married   Novem- 

[844,    to   Emily    E.    Brown,    of   North 

lington,    a    daughter    of    Cyrus    W.    and 

Elizabeth    (Babcock)     Brown.       Her     parents 

reared  a  family  of  seven  sons  and  three  daugh- 

■  all   of   whom   are    living   but   one,  unless 

William  Brown,  who  went   to   Australia   seme 

years     ago,     has    since     died.       Mr.      Brown 

a   farmer,  and    carried    on    his   occupation 

until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years. 

His  widow  survived  him  three  years,  dying  at 

the   same   age.      Mr.    and    Mrs.    Wheeler   have 

child,     Nancy    Mary,    wife    of    ex-Judge 

William    H.     llillard,     of     this     town.        Mi. 

Wheeler    is    a    man     of     literary    tastes    and 

talents,  and  fur  some   years   has   been  an  occa- 

ial    correspondent     for     Western     papers, 

writing  under  his   own    signature.      lie    is   an 

active  member  <■!   the   Democratic  party,  and 

has    served    his    fellow-townsmen    in     several 


official  capacities.  1  le  has  been  <  lonstable,  for 
eight  years  was  Town  Clerk,  and  lor  three 
years  was  Probate  Judge.  In  these  positions, 
when  he  needed  an  assistant,  he  had  ths 
vices  of  Mrs.  Wheeler,  who  proved  herself  a 
most  efficient  helper,  being  a  woman  of  more 
than  ordinary  intelligence  and  ability. 


LIS1IA     POST,    a   contractor  and  builder 
of  Pequot,    New    London,    Conn.,    was 
born    in    Bozrah,  July  11,    1853,  son 
of  John  and  Nam)'  M.  (Rogers)   Post. 

The  paternal  grandfather,  Elisha  Post,  a 
farmer  of  Bozrah.  had  a  family  of  two  suns  and 
five  daughters,  of  whom  John  was  born  on  the 
old  farm.  December  17,  1825.  John  Post  in 
early  manhood  followed  the  occupations  ol 
mechanic,  wheelwright,  and  shoemaker;  but 
he  later  settled  upon  his  father's  large  farm, 
of  which  he  subsequently  became  the  proprie- 
tor. In  1847  he  married  Nancy  M 
Rogers,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  and  they  had 
seven  children,  five  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
namely:  Alfred  R..  a  painter  and  decorator  of 
Beanhill;  Elisha,  whose  name  appears  at  the 
head  of  this  sketch:  John  E.,  a  farmer  and 
dairyman  of  Norwich;  Nancy  M.,  wife  of 
C.  J.  Wilson,  of  Natick,  Mass.  ;  and  Char- 
lotte R.,  wife  of  F.  I..  Weaver  at  Beanhill. 
The  mother  died  in  [896,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
six. 

Elisha  Post  was  reared  on  the  old  farm,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  district  school. 
His  leisure  moments  in  early  youth  were  few, 
as,  when  imt  employed  on  the  farm  or  in  at- 
tending school,  be  found  plenl  upation 
in  the  simp  and  grist-mill.  In  1877  he  bit 
home  to  en  in  farming  in  Norwich,  wl 
he  remained  some  years.  Coming  to  New 
London  in  the  spring  ol  [888,  for  four  ) 
he  was  occupied  in  teaming   and   jobbing.      In 


I  26 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■  he  began  taking  contracts  for  stone 
work,  grading,  and  concrete  walks.  He  owns 
two  quarries  in  this  vicinity,  employs  regu- 
larly ten  or  twelve  men   and  not   unfrequently 

>  or  more.  He  has  established  a  reputa- 
tion for  reliable  work,  and  has  a  large  and 
growing  business.  In  1892  he  bought  a  piece 
oi  land,  and  erected  thereon  his  present  resi- 
lience. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1878,  Mr.  Post  married  Lilly  A. 
Chapman,  of  Salem,  an  adopted  daughter  of 
William  A.  and  Tabitha  Chapman.  Mrs. 
Post  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 
Both  she  and  her  husband  are  much  respected 
in  New  London,  where  they  have  many 
friends. 


STTTe 


HE  NIANTIC  MANUFACTURING 
COMPANY,  a  joint  stock  concern  lo- 
cated in  East  Lyme,  Conn.,  consists  of 
three  of  the  best  known  woollen  manufacturers 
in  the  United  States:  David  R.  Campbell, 
president  of  the  company;  William  Park, 
agent  and  treasurer  of  the  mills;  and  Angus 
Park,  secretary. 

William  Park,  first,  the  paternal  grand- 
father of  the  Park  brothers,  was  a  Scotchman, 
and  was  engaged  in  lead  mining  in  that  coun- 
try throughout  his  life.  He  reared  four  sons 
and  two  daughters.  The  sons,  named  respec- 
tively James,  John,  Thomas,  and  William,  are 
now  living.  All  four  became  woollen  manu- 
facturers, James  pursuing  this  occupation  in 
Australia,  John  and  Thomas  in  their  native 
town,  Galashiels,  Scotland. 

William,  second,  the  youngest   son,  and  the 
father  of  Messrs.  William  and  Angus  Park,  of 
East    Lyme,    is   also   a   woollen   manufacturer, 
retired.      lie  was  bom  in  Scotland  in  Oc- 
r,    1830.      He    married    in    1852    in    Gala- 
shiels,   Scotland,    Catherine     Campbell,    who 


was  born  in  Elgin,  Scotland,  in  1836.  Her 
father,  Angus  Campbell,  who  was  a  woollen 
spinner  and  a  master  at  his  trade,  was  a 
brother  of  David  R.  Campbell,  the  president 
of  the  Niantic  Company.  Mr.  William  Park, 
second,  left  Scotland  with  his  family  in  the 
fall  of  1872,  arid  settled  in  Sherbrooke,  Can- 
ada, where  he  was  engaged  with  his  sons  in 
the  manufacture  of  woollen  fabrics  for  twenty- 
one  years.  His  children  were  ten  in  number. 
Six  of  them  are  now  living;  namely,  Angus, 
William,  James,  George,  Thomas,  and 
Eunice.  Angus  and  William  are  mentioned 
above;  James  and  Thomas  are  employees  of 
the  Niantic  Manufacturing  Company;  George 
is  a  designer  of  patterns  in  Pittsfield,  Mass.  ; 
Eunice  is  the  wife  of  William  T.  Mountain, 
and  resides  in  Sherbrooke,  Canada,  the  home 
of  her  parents. 

William  Park,  the  third  of  the  name  in  di- 
rect line  here  recorded,  began  work  at  the  age 
of  twelve  in  the  factory  of  the  Paton  Manu- 
facturing Company  at  Sherbrooke,  Canada,  the 
largest  woollen  manufacturers  in  this  country. 
He  was  promoted  in  due  course,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five  became  a  designer.  Five 
years  later  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
the  mill,  which  contained  thirty  sets,  and 
manufactured  all  kinds  of  wool  fabrics,  in- 
cluding fancy  Pullman  rugs,  worsted  suitings, 
overcoating,  tweeds,  etc. ;  and  in  two  years' 
time,  upon  the  death  of  the  former  incum- 
bent, he  was  made  manager  of  the  concern. 
He  continued  in  charge  of  the  Paton  mill 
until  1894,  when  he  came  to  East  Lyme  as 
the  treasurer  of  the  Niantic  Company. 

He  was  married  in  Sherbrooke  in  1887  to 
Emma  Whitcher,  of  that  place,  daughter  of 
John  and  Jane  (Crawford)  Whitcher,  both  of 
Canada.  Her  grandfather,  John  Whitcher, 
was  an  Englishman,  and  was  a  purser  in  the 
royal  navy  of  Great  Britain.      Mr.   and  Mrs. 


IIIOCR  AI'IIICAL    REVIEW 


'-7 


William  Park,  of  East   Lyme,  have  four  chil- 
i  ii    iii'  i  ;  and  two  sons,  comprising 
esting  family.      Eunice,  the  eldest 
is  nine   >.  ears  of  age;   Mabel    is   seven ; 
five;   .mil   Raymond,   three  vears  old. 
Mr.     William     Park     is    a    member    of     the 
.  !•'..  ami  is  connected  with   the   Cana- 
Order  ol  Foresters.      All  the  members  of 
ire  Presbyterians. 
Park,  secretary  of  the  Xiantic  Manu- 
ring Company,  began,  as  did  his  younger 
ther,    at   the   very    foundation   of    the   busi- 
He    was    placed    in    a   woollen-mill    in 
cotland   at   the  age  of    thirteen,    and   by   his 
industry  worked  his  way  up  to  his  present 
insible  position.      While   still   a   resident 
ioke,    he   was    married    in    1S80    to 
I  adie,  of  that    place.      Her  father, 
1   Eadie,  who   was  a   manufacturer   of 

U   in    Preston,   England,  came  to 

ida  in   1872,  and   is   now  a  dry -goods  mer- 
•    of   Sherbrooke.     The   children   of    Mr. 
Park  arc:    Margaret   Alice,    Catherine 
11,    and    William    George.       He    is    a 
of  the  Order  of  Foresters. 
David  R.  Campbell,  the   great -uncle  of   the 
brothers,  is  one   of   the   oldest    and   most 
;'  manufacturers  in  the  United  States, 
a    life    in    New    York    at    the    lowest 
round   of   thi  Deeming    honest    toil 

Ming  and  idleness  a  disgrace,  he  took  ad- 
it   the   earliest   opportunity  for  work 
whii  1    itself,  and.  though   not   reduced 

financial    straits,    was   first   employed  as  a 
I    it     few     men     have     made    a 
in    life   than    has    Mr.    Camp- 
.   the  president   of   this  company;    and  he 
rs  with  commendable  pride  to  his  youthful 
struggles  in  America. 

I  his  mill  was  originally  started   seventeen 

rs  ago  by  A.  P.  Sturtevant,  and  was  oper- 

on  ladies'  cloths.      The  mill  property  was 


purchased   by   these  gentlemen   in    ix< ,  1. 
many  and  expensive  impro  -  have  since 

been  made,  until  it  is  now  ranked  among  tin- 
best  manufactories  of  the  country.  It  is  an 
eight-set  mill,  with  forty  looms  and  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  hands.  Cassimeres  and  cheviot 
goods  for  men's  wear  are  manufactured  exclu- 
sively, the  company  carrying  a  capital  stock 
of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell and  his  nephews  own  ban  resi- 
dences, bought  scHin  alter  comin  and 
each  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  business. 
social,  and  educational  affairs  of  the  flourish- 
ing  little  hamlet  of  Fast  Lyme. 


I  AMES  S.  WILLIAMS,  an  ex-conductor 
on  the  New  London  &  Northern  Kail- 
road,  a  resident  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  was  born  on  September  [3,  [827,  in 
Stonington,  this  county.  His  parents  were 
Thomas  W.  and  Lucy  Ann  (Fairfield)  Will- 
iams. His  paternal  grandfather.  James,  Sr.. 
was  a  descendant  of  the  Williams  family  in 
Ro.xburv.    Conn.       He    was    by    0  in   a 

farmer.      He   died    young,     leaving    his    w 
whose  maiden   name  was   Wheeler,  with  s 
children.      They  have  all    since    passed    to 
life   immortal.      James,    Jr.,    who   was   unn 
ried,  was  lost  at  sea  in  middle 

Thomas  W.   Williams,  father  oi    the  sub 
of   this    sketch,    was    born    in    Stonington    in 
1803;  and  his  wife  was  born  in  1807  in  Wi 
stock,  Windham  County.      They  were  married 
in  [825.      Eight  children  blessed  their  union, 
and    four   of    them    are    now    living;    nan. 
Lydia   Ann.   lames   s..  <  i  E. 

Lydia  Ann.  widow  of  Angi  1  Wheatoi 
in    Wheaton,    Conn.  Williams    i 

conductor  on  the  West  Slime  Rail] 
York.      Mary    E.    William 
ling  in  Egypt.      A  Mary,  earlier  b  d  in 


[28 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


infancy.  Thomas  Williams,  a  brother,  now 
deceased,  was  a  farmer  in  Pomfret,  Conn. 
Another  brother,  David  F.  (also  deceased),  was 
a  conductor  on  the  New  London  &  Western  & 
Palmer  Railroad,  and  the  New  York  Central, 
and  was  also  superintendent  of  the  Troy  & 
Saratoga  Railroad.  He  was  a  clear-headed 
man,  with  much  force  of  character.  While 
on  the  New  York  Central  Road  he  showed 
his  bravery  and  self-possession  by  successfully 
combating  three  or  four  sporting  men  who 
annoyed  and  intimidated  a  carload  of  passen- 
gers and  also  made  an  assault  on  him.  The 
sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  and  fifty  cents, 
which  was  raised  for  him  on  the  train  in  grate- 
ful acknowledgment  of  his  valor,  he  declined 
to  receive;  but,  the  testimonial  later  taking 
the  form  of  a  chair,  he  accepted  it.  After- 
wan  1  the  same  sporting  men  presented  him 
with  a  purse  of  five  hundred  dollars  and  a 
handsome  diamond  pin,  which  he  finally 
accepted  and  utilized.  The  chair  he  left  to 
his  brother  James,  the  pin  to  his  sister 
Alary. 

James  S.  Williams  in  his  boyhood  acquired 
a  common-school  education,  and  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  began  life  on  his  own  account, 
his  father  having  given  him  his  time.  For  a 
while  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  Then  going 
to  Dennisonville,  now  Dennison,  he  was  em- 
ployed three  years  as  clerk  in  a  store.  In 
1X52  he  entered  the  railroad  service  as  bag- 
gage-master on  the  train,  and  two  weeks  later 
he  was  made  conductor  of  a  freight  train.  In 
less  than  two  years  he  was  appointed  conductor 
of  a  j  er  train,  and  this  position  he  con- 

tinued to  hold  for  nearly  forty  years.  During 
his  long  service  no  accident  and  no  damage  to 
the  railroad  property  was  ever  chargeable 
to  him.  Since  his  retirement  from  the  rail- 
road he  has  officiated  as  agent  of  the  Steam- 
boat Company. 


On  Thanksgiving  Day,  1850,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Mary  E.  Adams,  of  Pomfret, 
Conn.,  where  his  parents  lived  and  died  on 
the  farm,  and  where  he  had  his  home  from 
1830  to  1852.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  then 
removed  to  Palmer,  Mass.,  remaining  fifteen 
years,  thereafter  coming  to  Xew  London. 
Since  1891  they  have  resided  at  4  Pleasant 
Street.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  have  had 
four  children,  two  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  Charles  C,  a  trainman  residing  here, 
who  is  married  and  has  two  daughters  and  one 
son;  and  Jennie,  who  is  the  widow  of  Judge 
John  G.  Crump,  lives  in  this  city,  and  has  two 
sons.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  lost  an  infant 
daughter  and  a  daughter  Nellie,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  two  and  a  half  years. 

In  politics  Mr.  Williams  affiliates  with  the 
Republican  party.  Fraternally,  he  is  a 
Mason,  belonging  to  Brainard  Lodge,  No. 
102,  F.  &  A.  M.  ;  and  to  the  Royal  Arch 
Chapter.  He  and  his  wife  are  highly  re- 
spected members  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church  of  New  London.  Personally,  Mr. 
Williams  is  a  man  of  fine  mental  and  physical 
strength. 


"ON.  JOHN  T.  WAIT.— Among  the 
many  things  for  which  Norwich  is 
notable,  is  the  fact  that  she  has 
within  her  borders  an  honored  resident  who  is 
the  oldest  practising  lawyer  in  the  State,  the 
Hon.  John  Turner  Wait,  for  nearly  sixty  years 
a  member  of  the  bar,  and  still  not  only  active 
in  his  profession,  but  keenly  alive  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  community  which  he  has  so 
effectively  served  in  his  long  and  distin- 
guished public  career. 

Born  in  New  London,  Conn.,  August  27, 
181 1,  Mr.  Wait  lost  his  father  by  death  while 
yet  very  young,  and  removed  with  his  mother 


I 


[OHN    T.    WAIT. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'5' 


ich,    here  obtaining  his  early  educa- 
Reaching  a   suitable   age,   he   received 
\    three  years'  mercantile  training,  after 
opt   the  profession  of 
Resuming   his  early  studies,   he  there- 
il    Bai  on   Academy,   Col- 
.    and   two   years    at    Washington,    now 
ty,  College,  Hartford,      lie  then  studied 
with  the   llmi.    Lafayette  S.    Foster  and 
the   Hon.  Jabez   W.   Huntington,  and   was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in    1836,  beginning   practice 
in    Norwich,    which    has    since    had   in    him    a 
ispicuous  figure.      In    [842  he  was  ap- 
ted  aide-de-camp  on   the   staff  of   the   late 
r    Cleveland,    while    in     1842-44    and 
e's  attorney  for  New  Lon- 
inty.      When    the    Bar    Library    Asso- 
>n  of  the  county  was  organized    in    [874, 
lected  as  president,  to  which   position 
he  has    been    re-elected    every  year    since.      In 
rs    1854,    1855,    [856,  and    1857  he  was 
didate    for     Lieutenant    Governor    on 
itic  ticket,  which  each  time   failed 
ection.      In    [864   he  was  chosen   as  a  war 
Democrat  to  be  first  elector  at   large  on  the 
Lincoln   and    Johnson    ticket,    the    Republican 
ention   nominating  him    by  acclamation. 
mber  of  the  State  Senate  in  1865 
•  rving  at   both   sessions  as  chair- 
fudiciary  Committee,  and  the  last 
sident  pro    tempore.      During   the 
rs    1867,   1871,   and    [873   be  was    a   mem- 
ber of  the  Connecticut   House  of   Representa- 
rving   the   first    year  as    Speaker,    for 
which    position    his   party    nominated    him    by 
imation.      In    [874  he   was   candidate  for 
Lieutenant      Governor     on      the      Republican 
ticket,  which    was    unsuccessful.       In    1 876    he 
elected    to    fill   a   vacancy    in    the    Forty- 
fourth   Congress;   and  he    was   also    re-elected 
five   times,    thus    serving    eleven    years,    after 
which    he    declined    a    further     renotnination. 


While  a  member  of  Congress  Mr.  Wait  served 
on  some  of  its  most  important  commit! 
and  he  looked  after  the  interests  ol  his  con- 
stituents with  such  untiring  vigilance  that 
his  popularity  became  as  widespread  as  it  wis 
enduring;  and  it  may  be  truly  said  that  no 
man  in  the  State  to-day  has  more  and  firmer 
friends  than  the  Hon.  John  T.  Wait. 

In  his  law  practice  Colonel  Wait  has  ] 
eminently  successful,  his  commanding  influ- 
ence at  the  bar  bringing  in  hundreds  of  im- 
portant cases,  which  he  has  conducted  with 
signal  ability  in  the  county,  State,  ami  United 
States  courts.  As  a  public  speaker  his  ser- 
vices have  always  been  in  active  demand: 
and  his  literary  acquirements   ha\  duly 

recognized    in  tin  iter  of   Arts, 

bestowed  upon  him  by  Trinity  and  Yale  Col- 
leges, and  Doctor  ol  Laws  by  Howard  Univer- 
sity ami  Trinity  College. 

Mr.  Wait  is  a  member  of  the  New  London 
County  Historical  Society  and  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution,  an  honorary  member  of 
the  Norwich  Hoard  of  Trade  and  the  Arcanum 
Club,  and  has  been  president  of  tin-  I.  K.  A., 
a  Trinity  College  society,  since  its  incorpora- 
tion. He  is  also  one  of  the  incorporators  of 
the  William  W.  Backus  Hospital,  the  founda- 
tion of  which  institution  he  was  active  in  pro- 
moting. I  le  has,  too,  been  pi  1  1-'  nl  ol  the 
Eliza  Huntington  Memorial  Home  since  its 
establishment,  and  has  been  prominently 
identified   with    numerous    fin  tnd    trust 

institutions. 

As  an    indication   of   th(  I    ami   afl 

tion  felt  for  Mr.  Wait  by  all  class  pie, 

we  need  only  mention  that  his  every  public 
appearance  has  been  greeted  with  enthusiasm, 
the  warmth  of  which  has  been  amply  attested 
by  his  numerous  elections  to  publ  It 

may  be  added,  too,  that,  on  his  retirement 
from  the  speakership  at   the  session 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


he  was  presented  by  the  members  of  the  house 
with  a  handsome  silver  set  suitably  inscribed, 
"as  a  testimonial  of  their  appreciation  of  his 
ability,  urbanity,  and  impartiality  in  discharg- 
ing his  duties  of  the  chair."  From  Sedgwick 
Post,  No.  i,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  was 
chosen  an  honorary  member,  he  also  received 
in  1887  a  richly  engraved  badge  of  solid  gold, 
denominating  him  "the  soldiers'  friend"; 
while  a  history  of  Connecticut's  part  in  the 
Rebellion  was  formally  dedicated  to  him  by 
the  author.  The  Military  and  Civil  History 
of  Connecticut  was  dedicated  to  Mr.  Wait  in 
these  words:  "To  John  Turner  Wait,  late 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  a 
patriot  whose  only  son  fell  in  defence  of  his 
country,  and  whose  many  acts  of  kindness  have 
endeared  him  to  the  soldiers  of  Connecticut, 
this  volume,  the  records  of  their  services  and 
sufferings,  is  cordially  dedicated." 

Colonel  Wait  comes  of  good  old  Revolution- 
ary stock,  and  is  connected  by  blood  with 
many  of  the  leading  families  in  Connecticut. 
lb-  married  in  1842  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Harris, 
who  died  in  1868;  and  he  has  not  remarried. 
01  bis  three  children  two  survive.  His  son, 
Lieutenant  Marvin  Wait,  left  college  at  the 
of  eighteen,  enlisted  in  the  Union  army, 
served  with  distinguished  courage  on  the  field, 
and  fell  mortally  wounded  in  the  gallant 
charge  of  the  Connecticut  Brigade  at 
Antietam. 

I  [ale  and  hearty  at  the  age  of  nearly  eighty- 
three,  Colonel  Wait  is  still  seen  daily  upon 
our  streets  and  at  bis  office,  as  active  as  most 
men  twenty  years  his  junior.  A  courteous 
leman  of  the  old  school,  he  is  a  respected 
neighbor,  an  honored  friend,  and  a  welcome 
visitor  In-     goes;    and    Norwich    is 

proud  to  own  him  as  one  of  her  foremost  citi- 
zens. (From  the  souvenir  edition  of  the  Nor- 
wich Evening  Record,   1894.) 


RS.  LOUISA  B.  GILLET,  of 
Colchester,  widow  of  Solomon  T. 
Gillet,  was  born  and  reared  in 
Hebron,  Conn.,  daughter  of  Abel  Bissel  and 
Lucy  (Post)  Bissel.  She  is  the  last  living 
member  of  a  family  of  two  sons  and  six  daugh- 
ters. Her  brothers  were  Abel  and  Benjamin 
Bissel.  The  former  was  a  merchant  and 
farmer  of  Cazenovia,  N.Y.,  where  he  died  in 
July,  1885,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Ben- 
jamin, who  was  a  farmer,  kept  up  the  old 
home  in  Hebron,  which,  in  the  days  when 
Mrs.  Gillet  lived  there,  was  one  of  the  best 
estates  in  that  section  of  the  country. 

Mrs.  Gil  let's  marriage  with  Solomon  T. 
Gillet  took  place  October  18,  1832.  He  was 
a  farmer  of  Colchester,  where,  after  the  cere- 
mony, they  resided  on  a  farm  about  two  miles 
east  of  the  village.  Mr.  Gillet's  parents  were 
Caleb  and  Civil  (Huntington)  Gillet.  The 
first  representative  of  the  Gillets  in  Colches- 
ter was  Josiah,  who  came  from  Windsor, 
Conn.,  and,  witli  the  family  of  Strongs,  set- 
tled in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town.  His  de- 
scendant, Eliphalet,  was  the  grandfather  of 
Solomon  T.  The  father,  who  was  born  in 
Colchester  in  1763,  died  in  1830.  Solomon 
T.  died  January  26,  1868,  at  the  age  of  sixty 
years.  His  children  were:  Abel  Bissel 
Gillet,  who  died  September  20,  i860,  in  Ver- 
non, Conn.  ;  and  Louisa,  now  the  widow  of 
the  late  Phineas  Roll  in  Strong.  Phineas  R. 
Strong,  who  was  a  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Electa 
(Foster)  Strong,  followed  the  trade  of  machin- 
ist. At  one  time  he  was  an  undertaker  in 
Colchester.  He  was  a  reader:  and  he  took 
much  pleasure  in  genealogical  research,  on 
which  subject  he  was  an  authority.  lie  was 
a  member  of  the  Genealogical  Society.  Mis 
wife  was  an  able  and  enthusiastic  assistant  in 
his  researches.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
public   affairs,    and   was   for   twenty-five  years 


BI<  (GRAPHICAL    RE\  I  EW 


superintendent   of  the  cemetery.      He  « 
iter  Mason  in  the  lodge  of  Colchester.      At 
ii.  which  occurred   February  i  _\   i 
lie   was   sixty-six  years   old.     He    was    twice 
His  daughter  by  the  first  marri 
-    Fannie    M.    Strong,    is    unmarried,    and 
lome.      Both  she  and   Mrs.  Strong  are 
oi   the  Congregational   church,  with 
which  Mr.   Strong  was  connected   during  his 

["he   <>!'i    I >e,    which    has   been   their 

the  past  twenty-nine  years,  was  built 

in    1776.     It   was   thoroughly    remodelled    in 

now  one  him  I  twenty-two 

Mrs.  Gillet  is  a  woman  ol   great  natural   in- 
1     and    refinement.       She    is    on 
e  persons  who  never  grow  old,  though 
-    now    approaching     her    eighty-ninth 

birth. 


II.I.IAM     HENRY      BURDICK,    a 

well-known    boat-builder     of     New 

London,    was   horn    in    Hopkinton, 

R.I.,  April  26,   1848,  sun  of   William   Robin- 

l  hamplin)   Burdick.      1 1  is 

idfather     and     father    were    millwrights. 

latter    was    drowned     in      1  The 

her,  who  married  again,  and  by  her  second 

ptain  Dudley  Brand,  has  had  three 

and  a  daughter,  survives  both  husbands. 

William  II.   Burdick,  the  only  child  of   his 

ared  by  Joseph  Burdick,  receiving 

tnmon-school  education.     In  1866  he  went 

1   before  the   mast  with   Captain    Charles 

in  the  bark  "Acors  Barnes,"  on  which 

iced    for    three    years,   and    became    ship's 

carpenter.       Fifti  in    1 88 1,    lie 

ime  quartermaster  of  the  steamer  "  M 
politan."      In  the  following   winter  he  ran  the 
tug-boat  "  S.   \.   Briggs,"  and  during  the 
after  the  tue  "T.   W.    Wellington."     Subse- 


quently he  was  master  for  a  time  of  the 
"A.  E.  Burnside."  He  then  spent  six 
in  command  of  the  steam  pleasure  yacht  "Sur- 
prise." of  W.  W.  Billings.  After  that  he  was 
captain  of  the  steamer  "Gypsy"  for  two  J 
and  of  the  sloop  yacht  "Lady  Anna,"  which 
he   left    in    [892;    and    he    was    [nsp 

Dredges  for  the  goven I    for  two 

Since  that  time  he  has  lived  on  shore,  follow- 
ing his  present  business  oi  boat-building,  hav- 
ing acquired  the  necessarj  experience  during 
past  winters  in  the  employment  oi  W. 

is.  A  partnership  with  R  R.  Green, 
under  the  style  of  Burdick  &  Green,  lasted 
until  the  fall  of  1896,  since  which  time  he  has 
successfully  conducted  the  business  al 

In  1.S71  Mr.  Burdick  was  married  to  Mi- 
nerva Gardner.  1 1  is  son  Joseph  died  at  the  age 
of  three  years,  and  an  infant  daughter,  Pearl, 
at  the  age  of  six  months.  In  politics  he  is 
an  Independent.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Jib- 
boom  Club  ami  of  the  American  Association 
of  Masters  and  Pilots.  Formerly  he  w 
member  of  the  Grand  Harbor  American  Pilots 
and    Masters.      His    present    resid  21 

Howard  Street  was  built  by  him  in  1887. 
Besides  this  he  owns  the  house  7  I  Inward 
Street.  In  [887  he  built  his  wharf,  sixty-five 
by  twenty-two  feet.  He  builds  yachts  and 
fishing-boats  thirty  feet  in  length.  In  1 
be  built  a  boat  for  the  federal  government. 


ARRIS  PEND1  l.l<  IN,  ol  New  Lon- 
don, the  senior  1  the  firm 
Pendleton  &  Son.  undertakers, 
is  well  known  in  the  communil  man 
of  integrity  and  business  ability.  I  I  is 
birth  occurred  July  15.  1845,  in  Brooklyn, 
\.  Y.  :  and  he  is  a  son  of  I  [arris 
Sarah  A.  (Chesl  dleton.  His  grand- 
father Harris,  son  "i  Amos,  was  bom  in  Ston- 


»34 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ington,  November  19,  1786,  and  died  June  11, 
1863.  The  father,  who  was  born  in  Stoning- 
ton,  February  25,  1811,  became  a  mariner. 
During  the  gold  excitement  in  1849  he  went 
to  California  with  Captain  Chester,  and  there 
purchased  real  estate,  which  he  held  for  two 
years.  He  also  owned  a  large  amount  of 
property  in  Stonington.  His  wife,  Sarah  A., 
was  a  daughter  of  Captain  Josiah  Chester,  who 
was  the  commander  of  a  whaling-vessel, 
making  his  home  between  voyages  in  New 
London,  and  who  died  here  at  an  advanced 
age.  Harris  and  Sarah  A.  Pendleton  had 
eight  children,  of  whom  seven  are  living: 
Sarah,  the  wife  of  Clarence  A.  Gould,  lives  in 
Providence,  R.I. ;  James,  Lucien,  Charles, 
and  Millard,  reside  in  Stonington;  Jennie  was 
married  to  Wert  A.  Breed,  of  Painesville, 
Ohio,  and  resides  there.  The  father  died 
April  19,  1890,  aged  seventy-nine,  and  the 
mother  on  August  10,  1883,  aged  sixty-three 
years. 

After  attending  the  common  schools  of 
Stonington,  the  present  Harris  Pendleton  took 
a  course  at  the  Eastman  Business  College. 
He  began  his  business  career  as  a  telegraph 
operator,  after  which  he  took  up  civil  engi- 
neering, in  which  he  was  employed  for  a 
time  on  the  construction  of  the  New  England 
Railroad.  Following  that  he  held  a  position 
as  clerk  in  a  drug  store  in  New  York  City, 
learned  the  business,  and  in  1869  opened  a 
drug  store  in  Guilford,  Conn.,  where  he  car- 
ried on  a  profitable  business  for  twenty  years. 
He  came  to  New  London  in  1888,  and  estab- 
lished his  present  business,  with  Wilmot  L. 
Parlow  as  partner,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Pendleton  &  Parlow.  In  [892  Harris  Pendle- 
ton, Jr.,  succeeded  Mr.  Parlow  in  the  firm, 
the  style  of  which  since  then  has  been  Pendle- 
ton &  Son. 

On     November     10,     1871,    Mr.    Pendleton 


married  Mary  B.  Burch,  of  Stonington.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  Billings  Burch,  a  retired  sea 
captain  residing  at  Stonington.  Her  mother 
was  Nancy  M.  (Chesebrough)  Burch,  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  Elihu  Chesebrough,  a  Baptist 
minister.  He  went  into  the  pulpit  to  preach 
when  ninety  years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pen- 
dleton lost  two  infant  sons.  Their  living 
children  are:  Harris,  Bessie,  Coddington, 
and  May  Belle.  Harris  is  in  business  with 
his  father;  Bessie  is  at  home,  attending  the 
Young  Ladies'  High  School;  and  May  Belle 
was  born  May  15,   1889. 

In  politics  Mr.  Pendleton  is  a  Republican. 
In  1886  he  represented  the  town  of  Guilford 
in  the  State  legislature.  He  served  as  Alder- 
man for  two  terms,  and  at  present  is  senior 
Alderman  and  chairman  of  Finance  Commit- 
tee. Also  he  was  Treasurer  of  the  town  for 
ten  years,  was  Borough  Warden  for  a  time, 
and  served  in  other  minor  capacities.  A 
prominent  Mason,  he  is  a  Past  Master  of 
Union  Lodge,  No.  31,  and  District  Deputy 
Grand  Master  of  New  London  County,  having 
jurisdiction  over  all  the  lodges  in  the  county. 
He  is  also  Past  Grand  Marshal  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  I.  O.  O.  F. ; 
holds  a  retired  commission  as  Major  of  the 
Patriarchs  Militant;  and  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 


'SHAMES  ALLYN,  late  an  honored  citizen 
of  New  London,  for  some  years  County 
Commissioner,  was  born  in  Ledyard, 
Conn.,  October  22,  1822.  At  the  age  of  ten 
he  removed  with  his  parents,  Charles  and  Lois 
(Gallup)  Allyn,  to  Montville,  in  this  county. 
He  completed  his  education  at  Bacon  Acad- 
emy in  Colchester,  Conn.,  and  subsequently 
engaged  in  farming.  He  was  a  man  of  liter- 
ary tastes,  owned  a  fine   library,  and  was  well 


1 


*  1m 


JAMES    ALLYN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■37 


iin  current  topics,  his  general  knowledge 

tugmented   by  travel.      He  was  a 

trong  i  onvictions,   and   inspired  the 

■  nt   his  fellow-men.      In 

he    affiliated    with    the     Republii  an 

Officially  he  was    prominent,  serving 

lounty  Commissioner  and  as   Representa- 

the   legislature  from   Montville.      He 

March  17,  1893,  at  the  age  of  seventy, 

by  his   second  wife,  Mrs.   Harriet   I'. 

ind  his  two  brothers:   Robert,  who  was 

;<\a\\    and    president    of   an    educational 

tution    in    Carbondale,    111.;   and    Calvin 

ii,    a    resident    of    Norwich,    Conn.      Mr. 

n     and    Harriet    U.    Allyn.    daughter    of 

I   .'  1  11  and  Emma  (Turner)  Allyn,  of 

London,    were    married    December    11, 

immigrant    progenitor   of    this    family 

■  1  i est  known   ancestor  of   both    Mr. 

Mrs.  Allyn  was   Robert  Allyn,  a  resident, 

lalem,    Mass.,    in    [637,  who,   obtainii 

grant,  removed  to  New  London   in    [651, 

and  settled  at  Allyn's  Point  on   the  east  side 

le   river.      In    [665    he    kept    store    there. 

He  was  subsequently  one  of  the  first  company 

of    Norwich   purchasers,    and    lived    for    some 

-   in  the  west   part   of  the  town,  being  in 

1    to    1669.      He   died    in    this 

city  in  1683,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  \ 

n,  John,  who  received  a  lega< 

n.undred  and  thirty-three  pounds,  and    four 

i    .   each  of  whom  received  half   of    that 

lint.     John  Allyn,  the  son,  married   Eliz- 

1  .   .  ■       if  N     1   Norw  it  li ;  and  in  1691  he 

removed  to   Allyn's    Point,  where  he  died    in 

I,  leaving  an  il   twelve  hundred  and 

nty-eight    pounds  to  his  smi    Robert   and 

_  iiter   Elizabeth.       Robert,    son    of   John, 

man  1  lorah    Avery,    and    died   in    1730, 

leaving  nine  children.      His  son  Robert  1 

pied  the  same   place,  and   died    in    17'm,   leav- 


ing   worldly    possessions    to    the     amount     of 
three    thousand    pounds.      This    third    K 
Allyn,  who  represented  the  fourth 
was  born  January  25,   [697,  in  Groton,  (nun., 
and   married    in    1725   Abigail    Avery.     Their 
sons,  Robert,  Nathan,  Simeon,  and   Timothy, 
were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  Sim- 
eon   and    Timothy   being  Captains.      Captain 
Simeon  Allyn  was  killed  at  Fort  Griswold  on 
September  6,  1781,  in  his  thirty-seventh  - 
Timothy  was  a  worthy  Deacon  ol   th<    1 
gational  church.     He  died  in  Agawam,  M 
June    26,     1838,    at    the    age    oi    ninety    yi 
Nathan    Allyn,    who   was    horn    June    5,    1740, 
was  one  of   the    first  to  enter    Fort   Griswold 
after  the   British    left  ;    and   he   helped   extin- 
guish the  fire  set  to  blow  up  the  fort.      He  mi- 
ll to  Ohio  in   1S05  with   all    his   children, 
going    from    Granville,    Mass.,    to   what    they 
named     Granville,     Ohio,     where    he    died    in 
[814,   at  the  age  of   seventy-four.     Nath 
son  Freeman  was  Mrs.  Allyn's  grandfather. 

I  iptain  Lyman  Allyn,  son  of  Freeman 
Allyn  ami  father  of  Mrs.  Harriet  (J.  Allyn, 
was  1  master  mariner  in  the  whaling  trade  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  In  1833  he  left 
the  sea,  becoming  an  outfitter  with  the 
Messrs.  Billings.  He  married  Emma  Turner, 
who   was   horn    in    New    I  in.,    Au- 

gust 31,  [804,  daughter  of  Captain  John  and 
Mary  (Newson)  Turner  and  granddaughter  of 
Robert  Newson.  an  English  sea  captain  and  a 
resident  of  Groton,  Conn.  I  ler  fathi  . 
tain  John  Turner,  was  born  in  Stonington, 
1..     \\\wr     15,      1769.       '  Lyman 

Allyn  and  his  wife  had  six  children,  a  son  and 
five  daughters,  of  whom  Harriet  U.  was  the 
youngest.  One  daughter  died  in  early  life; 
and   Emma  Aim.  d  away 

On  October  29,    1877.      The    son.  John    Turner 
Allyn,    was  a  seaman.       He    retired    to    a    farm 
count  of  poor  health,  and  died  on    P'ehru- 


«33 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


arv  23,  1887,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine.  He 
left  a  widow,  Lucretia  L.  Brown  before  mar- 
riage. Mrs.  Harriet  U.  Allyn  and  her  sis- 
ters,  Mrs.  Mary  T.  A.  Henry  and  Charlotte 
C. ,  are  the  only  survivors  of  the  family. 
Their  father  died  on  April  8,  1874,  and  their 
mother  on  February  4,  18S1,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven  years.  Mrs.  Allyn  has  lived  at 
her  present  fine  residence  on  the  Norwich  road 
since  1851.  The  house  is  a  large  stone  man- 
sion, surrounded  by  beautiful  lawns  and 
choice  shrubbery,  and  was  built  seventy-one 
years  ago.  Her  father  bought  it  with  a  sixty- 
acre  farm,  to  which  he  added  forty  acres  more, 
making  one  hundred  acres. 


YgNATHAN  H.  AYER,  a  leading  farmer 
I  =J  of  Preston,  was  born  here,  in  School 
J-i9  \^  „  District  No.  3,  on  the  10th  of 
April,  1833,  son  of  Nathan  and  Nancy 
(Green)  Ayer.  He  is  the  third  Nathan  Ayer 
in  the  direct  line  of  descent.  Grandfather 
Ayer,  who  was  an  able  farmer  and  well  known 
in  the  town  for  his  public  spirit,  served  for 
some  time  as  Tax  Collector,  and  bought  con- 
siderable land  that  was  sold  for  taxes.  He 
owned  five  farms,  and  gave  one  to  each  of  his 
suns.  11  is  death  occurred  in  1833;  and  he 
was  buried  in  Preston  City  Cemetery,  where 
have  been  interred  the  must  of  his  descend- 
ants. Besides  three  daughters  he  had  four 
sons — Elisha,  William,  Jonas,  and  Nathan. 
The  Ayers  have  been  connected  with  the 
Baptist  denomination,  and  are  active  church 
workers. 

Nathan  Ayer,  second,  who  was  born  in 
1771  and  died  in  1853,  was  a  farmer  in  com- 
fortable  circumstances.  His  wife,  Nancy,  to 
whom  he  was  married  in  18 16,  was  born  in 
Rhode  Island  in  1 7< >S,  daughter  of  Peter 
11,    who    came    to    Preston    in    1800.      Mr. 


Green,  a  well-to-do  farmer,  was  prominently 
connected  with  the  public  affairs  of  the  town. 
He  was  buried  in  Long  Society  Burial- 
ground.  Mrs.  Nancy  Ayer  died  in  1857.  Of 
her  eight  children  seven  reached  maturity. 
Nancy,  the  eldest,  who  married  Henry  Gal- 
lup, died  at  the  age  of  thirty  in  Greenville; 
Desire,  who  died  in  this  town  in  middle  life, 
leaving  three  children,  was  the  wife  of  Rus- 
sel  Davis;  Sarah,  the  widow  of  George  W. 
Cook  and  now  living  in  Kansas,  is  the  mother 
of  six  children;  Abby,  who  lives  in  Marl- 
boro, Mass.,  is  the  widow  of  William  S.  Cun- 
dall,  and  has  two  daughters;  Harriet,  who 
married  Henry  Albro,  died  in  middle  life, 
leaving  three  children;  John  Ayer  died  in 
Kansas  in  1892. 

Nathan  II.  Ayer  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  at  a  private  school 
in  Meriden,  Conn.,  which  he  attended  for 
three  years.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he 
began  to  work  out  as  a  farm  hand,  receiving 
five  dollars  per  month  for  his  first  summer, 
six  dollars  for  the  next,  and  seven  for  the 
third.  When  nineteen  years  old  he  went  to 
South  Coventry,  Conn.,  to  learn  the  hatter's 
trade,  and  remained  there  for  three  years. 
In  1854  he  returned  to  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides.  He  owns  three  hundred  acres. 
mostly  farming  lands,  and  carries  on  general 
farming  and  considerable  dairying.  He 
keeps  about  thirty  cows  of  good  grade,  five 
horses,  and  employs  a  number  of  men.  Dur- 
ing the  past  twenty-six  years  he  has  sold  the 
product  of  his  dairy  in  Norwich,  to  which  he 
has  gone  daily  for  ten  years  in  all  kinds  of 
weather. 

On  August   20,   1854,  Mr.  Ayer  was   united 
in    marriage    with    Adeline    J.,    daughter    of 
Lewis    and     Jerusha    (Moulton)     Tinker,    of 
Mansfield,    Conn.      She  died  in   1861,  leaving 
her  husband  with  two  young  children,  namely: 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


[.,  who  is  now  the  wife  ol    Dr.  George 
I  "uk.     ol      Easl     1  louglas,     Mass.  ;    and 
\..    now  an  ice  dealer  in  Willimantic. 
In     [862    Mr.    Ayer    married    for    his    Sd 

S.  Baldwin,   a  daughter  ol    Ray- 

nd    Amanda    Baldwin,    of     Mansfield. 

lied   in  1871,  leaving  one  son,  Frank   R. 

r,  now  a  mechanic  in  Norwich.      In  poli- 

1  1     Ayer  is  a  Republican.      I  le  s<  rv< 

imissioner    from     July.     [883,    to 
July,   1893,  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  in 

■  State    Senator  in    I  891  I  and     I 

;  been  a  member  of  the  Board  ol 
ind  nil  the  Grand  Jury.  In  all  these 
-  he  manifested  due  appreciation  of 
d  in  him.  Mr.  Ayer  is  one 
best  known  farmers  in  the  country, 
.1  large  number  of   acquaintai 


l_         AK1»     E.     SPICER,    a     well-known 
resident  ol  rn   Point,   Groton,  and 

the  proprietor  of  a  large  ice-house 
i    ice  pond,  was  born   in    Led- 
this   county,  July   25,   1856,  son  of   Ed- 
mund  and   Bethiah   Williams  (Avery)  Spicer. 
The  paternal  grandfather,  John,  who  was  also 
itive  of    Ledyard,  born    in    1770,  followed 
business   of    carpenter  and    builder.      By 
wife,  whose   maiden   name   was    Elizabeth 
1am,  he  became  the  father  of  ten  children. 
mund  Spicer,  likewise  a  native  of   Led- 
.  born  in  January,  1  8  1  2,  was  a  fai 
-reliant   in    Ledyard   Centre.      He    <■•■■ 
ral  tract  d  in  that  town.     In  poli- 

•.  is    1    Democrat;    and    he   was    Town 
,Judge  of   Probate,  and   the   Postm 
many    years.       In    the    State    militia   he 
held  the  rank  oi  Captain.      His  wife,   Bethiah, 
■  a  he  married  in  1837,  had  eight  children, 
n    of    whom    reached    maturity;     nan 
Mar,    A  ,    b'hn    S. ,   Sarah    E., 


■  \\  .,  Edward  E.,  and   George   W.      Man' 
A.  married  George  Fan ni  !  ed- 

yard.      John    S.  lives    in    Norwich.      Sarah    E. 
is  the  wife  ol   Nathan   L.   Lester,  "I    San   J 
Cal.      Carrie     (I.    married    Amos     Lester,    and 
lives    in   Gilroy,    1    il       Cecelia    W.    is    Mrs. 
Jonathan  L.  Lester,  ol  Norwii  \\ ., 

who    nsides    in    Ledyard,    is    uni  In 

religious  belief    the 

tionalists.  The  mother,  who  was  remarkable 
for  both  physical  and  mental  strength,  died  in 
March,   1 

Edward    E.    Sp  the    common 

d,  and  worked  on  the   farm.      At   the 
of    sixteen    he    learned    the    carpenter's    trade, 
which  he  afterward  followed    for    a    numb'  1 
years.     For  twelve  years  he  was  d   in 

dairy  farming  on  the  old  Avery  estate,  in 
which  he  still  holds  an  interest.  He  now 
owns  a  valuable  ice  plant,  where  he  whole- 
sales and  retails  thousands  of  tons  annually. 
In  politics  he  is 

On    December    22,    1878,    Mr.    Spicer  and 

h  Adelaide  Griswold  were  united    in   mar- 
They    have    five    children  —  Bethiah 
\V.,    Edmund,  Clare,    Sarah    Ayer,  and    R 
Griswold  Spicer.      Bethiah,  residing  with  her 
parents,     is     now    attcndii  col- 

lege.     Edmund    is   attending   school    in    New 
I  ondon.       Clare,    who    is    twi 
Sarah  Avar,  who  is  nine,  and  Griswold 

are   also   attendin-   school.       I  -  musical 

id  bids  fair  t  ne  violii 

In  1891    Mr.    Spicer   built   and    moved    inti 
new     residence     al      1  Point.        Mrs. 

Spii  er's    parents    were    I 

ii  iswold.      They  v 
yard.       I  !  and 

in    other    town    ofl  pre- 

itive    to    the    li 
anoth  th,  who  still 

with  hei 


'4° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


kRS.    ANN    R.    CHAMPION,    a   re- 
spected resident   of   Black  Hall,   in 

the  town  of  Old  Lyme,  is  a 
d. in, liter  el  Lathrop  E.  and  Mehitable  (Reed) 
Slate.  Her  maternal  grandfather,  George 
Reed,  was  a  prominent  farmer  and  large  land- 
owner of  Lyme,  His  wife  in  maidenhood 
was  Alary  Ely.  Lathrop  E.  Slate,  father  of 
Mrs.  Champion,  was  a  blacksmith  by  occupa- 
tion and  a  man  unusually  expert  at  his  trade. 
By  his  wife,  Mehitable  Reed  Slate,  he  had 
thirteen  children,  of  whom  four  sons  and  five 
daughters  attained  maturity,  Ann  R.  being 
the  youngest  of  the  family  but  one.  Those 
living,  besides  Mrs.  Champion,  are:  Mehita- 
ble. now  eighty-six  years  old,  a  resident  of 
Ivoryton,  Conn.,  and  widow  of  William  J. 
Lord,  having  been  the  mother  of  nine  chil- 
dren; Sylvester  W.,  nearly  eighty  years  old, 
a  resident  of  East  Lyme,  and  by  his  marriage 
with  Mary  Jane  Hurlbut  the  father  of  one 
son,  Charles  W.  by  name;  and  Philena,  a 
resident  of  Ivoryton  and  widow  of  Gideon 
Rogers.  Lathrop  E.  Slate  died  at  the  age 
oi  eighty-four  years,  his  wife  surviving  him 
about  two  years. 

Ann  R.  Slate  in  girlhood  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  her  native  town,  and  was  care- 
lully  trained  by  her  parents  in  the  knowledge 
ol  household  duties  essential  to  a  good  house- 
wile.  In  i  S4.5  she  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Calvin  B.  Champion,  and  for  some 
twenty  years  subsequently  they  resided  to- 
gether on  their  farm  ol  eighty  acres  in  Black 
Hall.  Mr.  Champion,  who  was  a  native  of 
Lyme,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  adopted  a  sailor's 
life,  ami  followed  the  sea  until  his  marriage, 
lie    was   subsequently   successful  at   farming, 

;arded    as    one    of   the   substantial 

and    reliable   citizens  oi    this   town.      He  died 

.    August    3,  1875,  aged   fifty-three  years. 

Mr.    and    Mrs.  Champion    had   a    family  ol    til- 


teen  children;  namely,  Philena,  Wallace 
Ruthven,  Calvin  Winslow,  Christina  Scott, 
Frederick  Lathrop,  Israel,  Imogene  Abigail, 
Anna  Mehitible,  Mary  Rogers,  Ida  Jane, 
Roger  Burnham,  Ancil  Anderson,  Edith  Man- 
waring,  Edward  Griffin,  and  Virgil  Warren. 
Of  this  family  Calvin  W.,  Frederick  L., 
Israel,  Anna  M.,  Mary  R.,  and  Edith  M. 
are  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Champion  still  re- 
sides on  the  farm,  enjoys  good  health,  and  is 
highly  respected  by  all  the  townspeople. 


,YRON  WINSLOW  ROBINSON, 
M.D.,  the  senior  physician  of  Col- 
chester and  an  ex-president  of 
the  New  London  County  Medical  Society,  is 
a  native  of  the  adjoining  town  of  Lebanon, 
where  he  was  born  May  4,  1839,  son  °f  Will- 
iam and  Sophia  (Robbins)  Robinson.  He 
has  an  ancestry  of  which  any  man  might  be 
justly  proud,  the  name  he  bears  having  been 
honored  in  New  England  from  its  earliest  set- 
tlement. Seven  generations  come  between 
him  and  his  English-born  progenitor,  John 
Robinson,  pastor  of  the  Pilgrim  Church  in 
Leyden,  a  man  of  eminent  piety  and  learning, 
prophetic-visioned,  in  sweet-spirited  liberality 
in  advance  of  his  time. 

The  Rev.  John  Robinson  was  born  in  Lin- 
colnshire, England,  in  the  year  1575,  and  died 
in  Leyden,  Holland,  March  1,  1625.  In  1606 
he  became  assistant  pastor  of  the  Separatist 
church  that  was  organized  about  1602  at 
Scrooby,  Nottingham,  England,  in  the  manor 
house  then  occupied  by  William  Brewster, 
the  afterward  famous  Elder  Brewster  of  the 
Plymouth  Colony.  The  congregation  re- 
moved in  1608  to  Amsterdam  and  thence  in 
1609  to  Leyden,  where  Mr.  Robinson  was 
chosen  pastor.  The  wife  of  John  Robinson 
was  Bridget  White,  who  bore  him  three  sons 


"~*^ 


M\  RON    W.    ROBINSON, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


i  r. 


three  daughters.     One  son,  Isaac,  born  in 
en    in     [610,    came    to    this    i  ountry    in 
iii'1  di  Bai  n stable,  Mass.,  in    i 

llis  first    wife   was   Margaret    Hanford,  whom 
ed  June  -•;.   [636.     She  died  in  1649. 
md   wife,    whom   he   is  said   to   have 
:  ied   in    1651  >,    was  the    mot  hei    ol    I  '■ 
in   Barnstable,  Mass.,  in    [653   or    1655, 
in     Windham,    Conn.,    in    1740.       The 
in    line   was  Thomas,   born    at    Tisbury, 
Vineyard,    in     [699,    who    died    in 
;.  March  28,  1738.     Then  came  Reu- 
rn   in  1725   at  Windham,    and    his   sun 
Ford,    born     in    Mansfield,     Conn.,     1 
I  her  of  1 >r.  Robinson, 
ird   Robinson  was  a  farmer  and   well- 
On    October    21,     1778,    he    married 
Vforgan,    born    February   3,    1756.     She 
ed   1  nan  James   Morgan,    born   in 
7  in  Wales,  wliu  was   in  Roxbury  in   1 

made  a  freeman  in    1643.      James  and 
-     .   Captain  John    Morgan,   burn    March 

;;.  we mmissioners  and  advisers  to 

Indians,    Deputies  to  the  Genera]  Court 
in     1690    from     New     London,    and    in     [694 
Preston.       Captain    John's    son    James, 
•  .  ilied    in    Preston    before   No- 

~,     172I,   when    his    estate    was    inven- 
Thi  Samuel     Morgan, 

iber  16,  170;  r  of  Dr.  Robinson's 

nothei    Lucy.      II'-   died    1  lecembei     u  1, 
Clifford    and     Lui  v    1  Morgan  1    Robin- 
had  seven  children,  six  suns,  and  a  daugh- 
.  who  never  married.     The  suns  mar- 
had  families  of  hum  four  to  fourteen 
cepting  Festus,  who  had   no  chil- 
Grandfather    Robinson    died    in    1814, 
and     his     wife     in     1 X4 1 .     alter     twenty-seven 
3  ol  widowho 
l)r.  Robinson's   father.  William    Robinson, 
burn  at   Chaplin,   Conn..    May  24,   1789,  died 
Septembei   29,   1866,  in   Columbia.      He   mar- 


ried for  his  first  wife  Hannah  Robbins,  who 
bore  him  eleven  |   whom  grew 

to  maturity,  and    se\ f  whi  now  liv- 

ing. Two  are  in  Brooklyn;  namely,  Mrs. 
David  A.  Pitcher  and  Miss  E.  A.  Robin 
William  I..,  the  eldest  sun,  is  in  blast  Somer- 
ville,  Mass.  Two  brothers  and  a  sister  are  in 
Lebanon,  and  one  brother  is  in  Columbia. 
William  Robinson's  second  wife,  whom  he 
married  December  j_s.  [833,  was  hum  Sep- 
tember 27,  1794,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Rob- 
bins.  She  had  three  children — Theron,  Or- 
ville,  and  Myron  Winslow.  Theron,  born 
February  19,  1  s 3 5 ,  died  at   tl  ol    forty, 

leaving  four  children.  Orville,  burn  February 
16,  1837,  died  I  >e<  embei  1      1 

hter.      William  Robin  ive   his   i 

family  g I  educational  advantages.      In  poli- 
tics   lie  was  a   Whig  and    later   a    Republii 
and  held   numerous   offices    in   the   town.      lie- 
died    in    1866   at   th.  eventy-seven 

Having  finished  his  preparatory  education 
at  the  Ellington  High  School,  Myron  W. 
Robinson  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1858 

at     Hebron,     Conn.,     with     Adam     G.    Craig, 
M.I).,    later    matriculated    at    the     Berkshire 
Medieal    College,    Pittsfield,    and    was  gra 
ated  from  that   institnt  ion   in  tl 
He  engaged  in  the  practice  ol   his   profession 
at    Hebron   until    [862,    when    Pre  Lin- 

coln issued  Ins  e. ill  for  more  volunteers.     He 
then  left  everything,  and   shot 
in    the   Eighteenth   Conm 
Infantry,  <  lompa 

At  Fort  Mel  lenry.  Md.,  he  v.  tiled 
to  the  hospital  department,  where  he  had 
charge    of     the     convalesi  ent     «  the 

wounded    until    April     it,     1863,    when    hi 
ceived  his  commi                        'ant   surgeon  ol 
the   Sixth    Regiment    of   (               cut   \  olun- 
ln    1  lei  ember,  1  864,  he  was  pr t>  d 


1 1 1 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


to  be  surgeon  of  the  regiment;  and  he  estab- 
lished the  Hillhouse  Hospital  at  Wilmington, 
N.C.,  during  an  epidemic  of  typhus  fever. 
Alter  the  war  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  of 
lectures  at  Bellevue  Medical  College,  New 
York  City.  Dr.  Robinson  is  a  member  of  the 
New  London  County  Medical  Society  and  of 
the  American  Medical  Association.  He  is 
a  Mason,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Foresters  of  America,  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  of  the  grange,  and  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic;  and  in  1884, 
1890,  and  in  1895  he  was  medical  director  of 
the  Department  of  Connecticut.  Since  1880 
he  has  been  health  officer  of  the  town  and 
borough  of  Colchester,  where  he  settled  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  In  1897  he  was  appointed 
by  President  MeKinley  pension  examining 
surgeon.  Since  1885  he  has  been  post  sur- 
geon and  medical  examiner  for  the  county 
coroner. 

In  1867  Dr.  Robinson  married  Miss  Emma 
J.,  daughter  of  Ralph  Stewart,  of  Portland, 
1.  By  this  marriage  have  been  born  two 
children:  Ralph,  who  was  graduated  at  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School  in  the  class  of 
1894;  and  Annie  M.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 

'   ecticut  State  Normal  School  in  the  class 

of  1891.  The  house  in  which  the  Doctor  and 
his  family  reside  was  built  over  a  hundred 
■  ago,  and  is  a  fine  example  of  the  solid 
and  comfortable  dwellings  of  the  Colonial 
style  and  time. 


fONATHAN  NEWTON  HARRIS  was 
lor  man)  years  one  of  the  most  protni- 
nt  figures  in  the  mercantile  and  re- 
ligious life  of  New  London.  Horn  in  Salem, 
this  State,   .November   18,    1815,   he    belongs   to 


the  sixth  generation  descended  from  James 
Harris,  who  was  a  resident  of  Boston,  Mass., 
in  1666.  Seven  children  of  James  Harris 
were  baptized  in  the  Old  South  Meeting-house 
in  1683.  In  1690  James  and  his  wife,  to- 
gether with  their  three  sons — -James,  Asa, 
and  Ephraim  —  came  to  New  London,  where 
he  died  in  1715,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four 
years.  The  family  has  since  been  represented 
by  men  of  high  character  and  fine  abilities, 
and  none  of  its  members  have  displayed  more 
noble  characteristics  than  the  Hon.  Jonathan 
Newton  Harris. 

Mr.  Harris  began  his  working  life  when 
about  twenty  years  of  age  by  entering  the  em- 
ploy of  a  large  mercantile  house  in  New  Lon- 
don, for  which  he  had  received  a  special 
business  training.  Having  gained  valuable 
experience  during  the  two  years  he  spent 
there,  he  started  in  business  for  himself. 
Later  he  was  successively  the  senior  part- 
ner of  the  firms  Harris  &  Brown,  Harris, 
Ames  &  Co.,  and  Harris,  Williams  &  Co.  In 
1865  he  retired  from  the  last-named  firm  to 
take  charge  of  different  interests.  Previous 
to  this,  in  1S48,  he  had  established  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  the  firm  of  J.  N.  Harris  &  Co., 
which  has  now  been  in  business  for  nearly 
fifty  years,  and  is  managed  by  the  resilient 
partner,  Mr.  Thomas  II.  C.  Allen. 

From  1S56  to  1862  Mr.  Harris  was  Mayor 
of  New  London.  In  this  capacity,  at  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  War,  he  was  able  to  len- 
der valuable  assistance  to  his  old  friend. 
Governor  Buckingham.  New  London  was  the 
recruiting  centre  of  the  State,  and  Fort  Trum- 
bull the  rendezvous  for  troops  on  their  way 
to  the  front.  He  was  the  promoter  of  the  re- 
ligious services  held  at  the  fort  nearly  every 
Sunday,  and  which,  by  reason  of  the  advice 
there  imparted,  were  most  helpful  to  the 
men  about  to  face  the  hardships  and  perils  of 


I 


BIOGR  M'HICAI.    REVIEW 


In  i  8<  impany  with   Mr.  1 1  ill,  of 

i    .   he   built   and   successfully   ■ 

llieries  known  as  the  1 1  ill  &  I  lar- 

1    rnin  s   il    Mahano)  City,  Pa.,  the  coal 

h   obtained   a  wide  reputation   for  its 

mi.       In    I  864    he  was 

5enal    1    rora   the   New  I  1  mdon  dis- 

1  id   during   his  term   he  was  the  chair- 

the  Joint   Committee  on    Hanks.      .\i 

of   the    legislature   an    act    was 

nabling  the  State  banks  to  organize 

1    the    national    banking    law.    while   still 

_.  their  rights  under  their  old  charter, 

they    might   at    any   time  thereafter, 

further    legislation,    withdraw    from 

■    mal   organization   and   return   to  thc-ir 

-  methods.     All  the  State  banks 
itl)     idopted   the   national    banking   act. 
Harris  had    represented   his  town    previ- 
1   the   low  ]]  of  the  State  l< 

•.here  he   served    as   a    member  of    the 
mding    Committee    on    Hanks  and    l'i- 
While  he  was  there  the  tree  banking 
;  852,    that    had    caused    much    lo 
ders,  was  repealed,  and  the  banks  or- 

1 1  i;it     law    were     given     spi 

Outside  Jslature  Mr.  I  [arris's 

I  "ii   with    hanking    interests    had    been 

tnd     it    was    his    experience    and 

banker  that  added  weight 

mnsels  as  a  1  itive 

1  fe  wis  .1  direi  tor  ol  the  New  London 

Commerce  for  many  years,  and   from 

was    the    president  of   the  City    National 

lie    was   ,ds nnected    with    many 

mmercial   interests,  notably  with  rail- 
1    steam   n.i\ ;  ■  ompanies. 

' rganizers    ol    the    Fellowes    Medical 

ifacturing  Company  ol  Montreal,  Can 
with    branches    in    New    York     and     London, 
land,   he  was    its   president  tor  a  number 
of   years.      He   was    also    a    director   of    the 


1  Javis   &    1  aui>  n  il,  ol 

the     Xew    London     Northern     Railroad,   ol 
New    I  .ondon     Steamboa  ol 

other  companies. 

.Mr.    Harris   «  1  v    idem  ified 

with    the    religious   and    benevolent    work    ol 
the   1  with    its   business    in'  I  le 

was  a   Deacon    in   t li  Congregational 

Church,    the   president   ol    the    Board  ol    I 

the  Bradley  Street  Missi,,n  for  twenty 
years,    the    president    of    the     Young     Men's 
Christian  Association  foi   a  time,    1  d 
the  Evangelical   Association  ol  New  England, 
a    charter    member   of    the    Connecticut    Bible 

orporate  member  ol   the  Amei 
Board    ol     Foreign    Missions,    ami    a    charter 
member  and   for  several    years    the  president 
of   the  trustees  of  the  international  committee 
of    the  Young    Men's 

Xew  York.      He  was  a   linn   friend  ol    Dw 
L.    Moody   from   the   beginning  of  t];. 
of    that    great    evangelist,    and     substantially 
aided    in    founding    the    school    .it    Mount    Her- 
mon  and   at    Northfield,    bein  resi- 

dent  of  the  Mount  Hermon  Seminary  in  1 
Deeply   interested   in  religious  work  and  edu- 
11    in    Japan,   he    founded    and    endowed   in 
ient ilie    department    ol    I  loshisha 
Univi  which     was    opened    in 

1  890.     This  munificent   \ 

hundred  thou  illars.      In    1  built 

and    practically    pi  to    the  city  ol    New 

don   the    Memorial    Hospital,    who 

ned    in    August    ol    thai    year.      His 
public    spirit    ami    thi  ence    he   felt   in 

the  futui  w   London  were  shown   w 

he     ,   ;  the 

finest  business  structures  in  tl 
deeds  of  kindness  to  individu 
bered  by  his  fellow-citize 

Mr.    1  [arris   was   first    -  M., 

daughter   of    Benjamin    Brown,    of    this   city. 


146 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


She  was  the  mother  of  eight  children,  none  of 
whom  are  now  living.  A  second  marriage, 
contracted  in  July,  1869,  united  him  to 
M.utha  Strong,  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Lewis 
Strong,  of  Northampton,  and  a  grand-daughter 
of  Governor  Caleb  Strong,  of  Massachusetts. 


- 


APTAIN  BILLINGS  BURCH,  a  re- 
tired sea  captain  of  Stonington  and 
a  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Sloan) 
Burch,  of  Stonington.  was  born  October  18, 
[818.  The  grandfather,  Billings  Burch,  of 
Stonington,  was  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
and  for  the  services  then  rendered  drew  a 
ion  during  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  fol- 
-I  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  wheelwright, 
and  died  in  [839  or  1840,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-two.  By  his  first  marriage,  which  was 
contracted  with  Susannah  Bentley,  of  Hop- 
kinton,  R.I.,  he  had  five  children —  Samuel 
and  four  daughters  —  all  of  whom  married  and 
had  families.  A  second  marriage  united  him 
with  Jane  Clark,  of   Stonington. 

Samuel  Burch,  born  cither  in  Stonington 
or  Hopkinton,  R.I.,  in  1776,  was  a  carpenter 
by  trade.  He  served  in  the  War  of  1S12, 
and  afterward  drew  a  pension  from  the  govern- 
ment. At  his  death,  in  1858,  he  was  eighty- 
two  years  of  age.  His  wife,  Mary,  whom  he 
married  April  5,  1S11,  had  six  children, 
namely:  William,  born  in  1814,  now  living 
in  Bozrah;  James,  who  died  in  Preston  in 
1NX1  ;  Billings,  the  subject  of  this  biography; 
ge,  who  was  a  mason,  and  died  in  Ston- 
irles,  who  died  in  Rhode  Island; 
and  Mary,  who  was  the  wife  of  Captain 
Brewster,  and  died  in  Stonington,  which  was 
her  native  town. 

Billings  Burch  received  a  good  education 
in  the  district  schools.  When  fourteen  years 
of  age  he  went  to  sea  as  cook  on  the  coasting 


schooner  "Brakewater."  After  spending  two 
years  in  the  coasting  trade,  he  was  offered  the 
command  of  a  schooner,  but  preferred  to  avail 
of  a  chance  to  go  on  a  whaling  expedition. 
On  this  occasion  he  shipped  as  a  hand  before 
the  mast,  and  went  on  a  voyage  of  twenty-one 
months,  going  around  Cape  Horn.  Captain 
Burch  has  been  on  eight  whaling  expedi- 
tions, serving  in  the  several  capacities  of 
boatswain,  third  mate,  second  mate,  and  cap- 
tain. In  the  last-named  capacity  he  com- 
manded the  ship  "Corva"  on  the  "West 
Coast"  and  the  "Charles  Phelps"  twice  in 
the  Arctic  Ocean.  He  has  been  three  times 
around  the  world,  and  during  his  sea  voyages 
took  twenty-five  thousand  barrels  ot  sperm 
and  whale  oil,  and  whalebone  enough  to  make 
him  a  millionaire  if  he  had  it  now.  He  left 
the  sea  forty  years  ago,  and  since  then  has 
led  a  quiet  life  at  his  home  in  Stonington. 
In  1S47  Captain  Burch  married  Nancy  M. 
Chesebro,  a  daughter  of  Elihu  and  Nancy 
(Pendleton)  Chesebro  and  a  grand-daughter 
of  Elihu  Chesebro,  who  was  a  Baptist 
preacher  in  Stonington  for  twenty  years. 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Burch  have  had  six  chil- 
dren, of  whom  two  died  in  childhood.  The 
others  are :  Mary,  the  wife  of  Harris  Pendle- 
ton, of  New  London;  Nancy  Bell,  the  wife  of 
James  V.  Trumbull,  of  Hartford;  Oliver  C, 
who  lives  at  home;  and  Billings,  now  in  New 
York.  Both  the  Captain  and  Mrs.  Burch  are 
earnest  workers  and  members  of  the  Baptist 
church. 


M 


ANIEL  FRANCIS  GULLIVER, 
M.D.,  for  many  years  a  highly  es- 
teemed resident  of  Norwich,  was 
born  in  Boston,  May  29,  1826,  son  of  Deacon 
John  and  Sarah  (Putnam)  Gulliver.  His  fa- 
ther was  born  in  Taunton  in  1792,  son  of 
Gershom  Gulliver,  who  was  one  of  the  min- 


I'.IOCK  M'llir.M.    REVIEW 


'  17 


.it    Lexington;   and  his  mother  was 

■i    Reading,  North    Parish,   now   North 

.  Mass.     She  was  ,i  daughter  oi    I 

f-Ienryand  Mary  (Hawkes)  Putnam,  grand- 

ter  of  1  (eacon  I  )aniel  Putnam,  and  gi 

d  lughter  oi    th  I  laniel    Putt 

thi   first  minister  oi  the  North  Parish 

.  where  he  was  ordained  and   set- 

•       '.   .ind    where    he   died    in    i 

i    Putnam"    was   a    son    of    Deacon 

gi  indson  of  Nathaniel  Putnam, 

n   from  England  with  his  two  brothi  rs 

ither,   John    Putnam,   and    settled 

.    Mass.,   about    1634. 

.  John  Gulliver  was  an  able  merchant 

irnesl   Christian  worker.      He  died  at 

t,    R.I.,  at  the  age  oi  even 

1     ■■        of     his     children       John      I'., 

Daniel    F.    -  grew   to    matui  ity. 

Gu  livei  1^  the  wife  of  the   Rev.    1  ,ew- 

itt,     I  '.1 >..    oi    Norwich.      [*he   elder 

the     late     Rev.     John     Putnam    Gulliver, 

1    Andover,  Mass.,   was  the   pastor  of 

hurch    at    Norwich    for    nineteen 

v  is      tive  in  furthering  the  educa- 

5ts  of  the  city.     To  his  untiring 

Norwich    owes    her     i 

,-,     which     is    widely    and    favorably 

all. 

Daniel    F.    Gulliver  was  graduated  at    \ 

in    1 8  \8    and    at    Jefferson    Mi 
College  in  1N52.     Although  .1  student  oi    fine 
•    and    by   nature   well    suited 

ive  up  the  practice  of  his 

in    a    few    years    on    account     oi      his 

th,    and    engaged     in     stock-raising,    in 

which     he    attained     notable    success.      Being 

mthority    on  this  subject,   he 

delivered   a   course   of    lectures   at    Yale  at  one 

time  ick-raising,    which    attracted   very 

irable  comment.      He  was  a  man  of  refined 

tastes  and  keen    intellect,  a  great  reader  and  a 


delightful  conversationalist.      II'  man 

of   deep]  .  us    nature,    and    at   one   t 

took    part    in    revival    work    in  parts  of 

the    State.      1 1  is    zeal    and    efl  in    this 

work    are   still    spoken    oi    with    enthusiasm. 
During  the   last   twent)  his  life  Dr, 

Gulliver    was    connected    with      n      Bn    dway 
( 'hurch,  being  for  nin  D        n.      For 

he  conducted  a  young  men's  Bible  1 

and    in    that    capacity    was    a   power  tor  g 1. 

His  death  occurred  on   May  2  J,    1 
week  before  his  sixty-ninth  birth. 

Dr.  Gulliver  was  married  on   Septembei 
1852,   to   Mary,    daughter  of   Henry  and    Eu- 
nice (Huntington)  Strong.      Eight  children  — 
namely,    Henry    Strong,    Arthur   Huntingl 
Gertrude    Putnam,    Charlotte    Chester,    Fred- 
eric    Putnam,    Eunii  el!  i         imin 
Wolcott,    and    Robert   Joseph  —  were    born    oi 
this    union:    anil    six    are    now    living       I 
trude,  the  eldest   daughter,  died   at    tl 
three    years;    and     Robert     (Williams,     1 
died  at   twenty-two.      Henry    (Yale,    [875 
married,   and   is  now  teaching   in   Waterbury, 
Conn.     Arthur  (Yale,   1877),  •''*"  married,  is 
a  cotton  manufacturer  oi   Ashton,   U.I.     Char- 
lotte   (Smith.    [883)   is  now   teaching    in    Nor- 
wich    Free    Ai  idem) .  I  larvard, 
[893;   l'h.I).,     [896)    worked    for   some   j 
in  the   United   States  <  ieologii  al   Sui  \  <  \ .  and 
is    now   teaching    in    Southboro,     Mass.      Eu- 
nice   (Smith,     1891)    is    at    home    in    Norw 
imin  is  living  in  Providence,  R.  I. 

Mis.  Gulliver's  pal 
the     Rev.     Joseph     and      Mary      .Huntington) 
mg.     The     Rev.     Joseph     Strong,     I  >  I »  . 
who    was    bom    Sep  r     2 1  ,     1753.   and 

graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1772  died 

to    the    pastorate  of    the    I  arch  in   Nor- 

wich  as    colh  •  1    i" 

March,     177s.      His    ordination    sermon 
preached    by    his    brother,    tl  than 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


Strong,    D.D.,    of    Hartford:   and   the   charge 

was  given  by  his  father,  the  Rev.  Nathan 
Stnmg,  of  Coventry.  He  remained  pastor  of 
this  church  till  his  death,  December,  1834. 
The  Rev,  Joseph  Strong's  preaching  was 
simple,  but  solemn  and  earnest,  and  proved 
very  effective.  He  was  a  man  of  command- 
ing physique,  being  fully  six  feet  in  height, 
and  correspondingly  proportioned.  The  house 
in  which  Mrs.  Gulliver  now  resides  at  Nor- 
wich Town  was  built  by  him  about  1786. 

His  youngest  child,  Henry  Strong,  LL.D., 
Airs.  Gulliver's  father,  born  August  23,  1788, 
was  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  1S06,  and  a  lead- 
ing citizen  and  influential  lawyer  of  Norwich. 
He  died  November  12,  1852.  His  wife,  Eu- 
nice, who  died  June  19,  1865,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-seven,  was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Eunice  (Carew)  Huntington.  She  was  one  of 
a  family  of  ten  children,  five  sons  and  five 
daughters,  of  whom  five  daughters  and  three 
sons  grew  to  maturity,  Mrs.  Gulliver  her- 
self was  the  only  one  of  a  family  of  three  to 
reach    adult  years. 


TT^APTAIN      NATHAN     KEENEY,     a 

I  native  of   New   London,    Conn.,   com- 
^^      ^  mander    of     the    steamer    "City    of 

Lawrence,"  was  born  on  April  18,  1833,  son 
ot    Josiah   and    Sarah    B.    (Maynard)    Keeney. 

II  is  paternal  grandfather,  Josiah  Keeney,  Sr. , 
died  in  1820,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years. 
His  father,  the  younger  Josiah,  who  was  born 
in  this  city  on  July  1,  i.Xii,  was  a  sea  cap- 
tain I  in  the  coasting  trade.  In  1832 
he  married  Sarah  15.  Maynard,  of  Waterford, 
Conn.  They  had  five  children,  of  whom  they 
reared  but  two:  Nathan;  and  his  sister,  Mary 
A.,  who  married  John  Winslow,  of  New  Lon- 
don. Another  daughter,  named  Lydia  A., 
lived  to  be  ten  years  of  age;    and  two  children 


died  in  infancy.  Josiah  Keeney,  the  father, 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-four.  His  wife  sur- 
vived him  twenty -six  years,  dying  at  the  age 
of  eighty. 

Nathan  Keeney  bail  limited  educational  ad- 
vantages, attending  an  ungraded  school  only 
in  the  winter  time.  At  an  early  age  he  began 
to  go  to  sea,  and  he  was  so  rapidly  promoted 
that  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  became  cap- 
tain. Later  he  officiated  as  first  pilot  for  the 
steamers  "City  of  Worcester"  and  "City  of 
Lawrence,"  taking  command  of  the  latter  in 
March,  1896.  At  intervals  he  has  been  cap- 
tain of  the  steamers  "City  of  Norwich," 
"City  of  Lawrence,"  "City  of  New  York," 
"City  of  Boston,"  "City  of  Lowell";  and  in 
the  summer  of  1897  he  was  captain  of  the 
"New  Brunswick."  At  present,  as  above 
noted,  he  is  captain  of  the  "City  of  Law- 
rence." In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Re- 
publican  party. 

On  April  12,  1859,  Captain  Keeney  was 
married  to  Sarah  J.  Paige,  daughter  of  John 
F.  and  Harriet  N.  (Beebe)  Paige.  Mrs. 
Keeney's  grandfather  Beebe  kept  the  alms- 
house, which  was  then  located  where  the 
Bulkley  School  is  now,  for  eleven  years.  Her 
father  also  kept  it  there,  and  on  its  present 
site  for  several  years.  He  was  a  stone-cutter, 
and  worked  on  the  high  bridge  across  .the 
Harlem  River,  New  York.  He  also  laid  the 
last  stone  of  the  New  London  custom-house, 
and  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  builders. 
Mrs.  Keeney  is  one  of  a  large  family,  of  whom 
six  daughters  and  one  son  are  now  living. 
Her  twin  sister,  Mary  Breckenridge  Paige, 
married  William  H.  Sistare,  of  this  city. 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Keeney  have  had  eight  chil- 
dren, but  have  lost  four:  Lydia  A.,  who  died 
in  her  sixth  year:  Ella  M.,  who  lived  to  be 
only  four  years  and  five  months;  Hattie  N., 
who  passed  away  at  the  age  of  nine  years;  and 


.VVUI.W     Kl .  I 


Block  M'lIlCAI.    REVIEW 


•S« 


who    married    Walter   L.    Allen, 
May  22,    [893,  without   children,  .it 
twenty-eighl    years.     She    n 
•  ..1   the    New    London    High    School, 
been  a  successful  teacher.     The  sur- 
nembers  ol   the  family  are:  Sarah   A., 
Nathan    E.  Geer,  <>l'  this  city;   Edgar 
.  ol  Newport,  R.I.,  who  has  ,1  wife, 
ns,  and  a  daughter;  and   two   interest- 
it     home,    namely,     Lydi 
lad)    .'I    musical  talent,  and  Alberta  S. 
in    Keeney   and    his   family    reside    at 
:t  home  on  Keeney's  Lane,  in  the 
ol   New    London,  in  the  house  which 
:  by  his  uncle,  Charles  Keeney,  forty- 


j^INDLOSS    II.     HILLIAR,    of     New 

1  Ion,      a      successful       dealer      in 

hardware,    was    hum    in    Liverpool, 
I,    May    13,    1: 848,    son    of    Henry  and 

1  llilliar.      The    lather,    who 

.it  sea  in  1S5".  at  tl,  twenty- 

1    widow  left    another  son,    Henry 

lilliar,  now   in  bus  in  Niantic,    New 

inty.      rhe    mother,    a    native    ol 

Westmoreland  County,   England,  was 

.  :  '.rul   William  and  Margaret  (Palmer) 

-.    eight    of    whose    children  are    now 

in    this    section.       Of    these    William 

is  a  retired  ship-carp,  nti  I  "l   Mystic. 

Bindloss    II.  1  Miliar  cam.-   to   America  with 

widowed    mother   when    he  was  only  four 

mpleting    his   studies 

in    the    Bartlett    High    School    at    the 

-   rved  an  apprenticeship  of  three 

•    "  '    the    machinist's    tr 

ntly  worked  at   it   for  seven  years.     Then 

he  engaged  in  his  present  business  at  49  Hank 

t,  under   the  style  ol    llilliar  &  Mallory, 

which  partnership   lasted   seven  years.      Since 


then    the   firm    name    has    been    llilliar  &  Co. 
They    keep   first -i  ods,  and  1 1  to 

anj    emergency    in    their   lini  In 

polities    Mr.    llilliar    votes    the     Republican 
1 .      1  le  is  a    Mister   Mason,  nber- 

ship   in  the    Independent    Order  oi    Odd 
lows,  ,md  he  has  been  president  ol  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association. 

On  August  19,  [869,  Mr.  llilliar  and 
I.uella  Benham  were  united  in  marri 
Her  mother,  Frances  Bolles  Benham,  died 
of  consumption  in  the  prime  of  life,  leaving 
six  children,  of  whom  one  son  and  two  daugh- 
ters are  living.  Her  father,  Austin  Benham, 
keeps  a  fish  market  in  this  city.  (  >l  hei  .six- 
children  by  Mr.  llilliar,  four  —  Charles 
Henry,  I.uella  15.,  Florence,  and  Raymond 
A. —  are  living,  and  reside  at  home.  Benja- 
min Austin  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  j 
and  Edgar  Harold  passed  away  al  t; 
twelve.  In  [886  Mr.  llilliar  bought  two 
acres  of  land  situated  in  a  desirable  location. 
and  built  thereon  four  tine  dwellings.  In 
one  of  these  he  resides  with  his  family.  It 
beautiful  residence,  equipped  with  all  the 
modern  improvements.  Connected  therewith 
is  a  large  hennery,  where  his  wife  keeps  fowl 
of  the  choicest  breed. 


fSftONATHAN     JEROME     PALMER, 

is  farmer  of  Preston,  whose 
farm  is  located  on  /.ion's  Hill,  was 
born  in  Norwich,  Chenango  County,  N.Y., 
June   28,    182  and  1 

ndfather,  Jona- 
than Palmer,  whi  nington, 
Conn.,  married  a  daughtei  pher 
Palmer,  a  distant  relation;  and  they  reared 
twelve  children.  Benjamin  Palmer  settled  in 
Norwich.  X.Y..  where  his  than 
Jerome,    was    born.      He    married   for   his  first 


!52 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


wife  Patty  York,  of  that  town,  who  died 
leaving  two  daughters  and  two  sons.  In  1 8 1 S 
he  married  Betsey  Kendall,  of  Chenango 
County,  New  York.  Jonathan  Jerome,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  only  child  of 
this  union;  and  the  mother  died  when  her  son 
was  but  two  years  old.  The  father  married 
for  his  third   wife   Phebe   Ives. 

Jonathan  Jerome  Palmer  was  brought  up 
by  his  half-sister.  He  received  a  good  edu- 
cation, attending  the  high  school  at  Colum- 
bia, Mich.,  where  he  lived  between  the  years 
[837  and  1841,  and  where  his  father  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  Returning  from 
Michigan  in  1841,  he  spent  one  winter  in 
travelling  in  Pennsylvania  and  Southern  New 
York  with  his  eldest  brother  Prentice,  who 
sold  Yankee  notions  and  traded  in  furs,  lie 
then  occupied  himself  for  two  years  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  grandfather's  farm.  In 
April,  1S44,  he  found  employment  driving 
a  team  for  B.  A.  &  J.  W.  Smith  in  Mont- 
ville,  Conn.,  and  remained  with  them  one 
year.  In  April,  1845,  he  moved  to  Groton, 
Conn.,  where  he  worked  for  some  time  in  a 
granite  quarry.  In  the  fall  of  1846  he 
moved  to  Norwich,  Conn.,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  meat  business  in  company  with  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Darrow  from  Providence, 
R.J.,  their  market  being  located  at  Central 
Wharf.  The)'  ran  two  meat  carts,  and  Mr. 
Palmer  continued  in  business  there  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  Later,  in  company  with  John 
P.  Kingsley,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  he  con- 
ducted a  market  and  general  provision  store 
it  90  Eighth  Avenue,  New  York  City,  for 
some  time.  He  also  sold  meat  for  about 
eleven  years  in  several  towns  in  Connecticut, 
chiefly  Baltic,  Versailles,  and  Taftville. 
During  this  time  he  resided  in  Hanover, 
Conn.,  where  he  had  a  farm.  This  farm  he 
sold    in    1867,    and   moved    back   to   Norwich, 


Conn.  He  was  at  one  time  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  soap  in  Binghamton,  N. Y., 
in  company  with  John  \Y.  Smith,  of  Mont- 
ville,  Conn.  They  did  a  good  business,  and 
sold  a  number  of  soap  receipts  to  such  men 
as  William  Colgate,  of  New  York  City,  and 
others.  In  1869  Mr.  Palmer  bought  his  pres- 
ent farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  situ- 
ated on  the  east  side  of  Ouinebaug  River. 
Through  the  farm  flows  a  pretty  stream  called 
Chaote  Brook,  where  many  a  fine  black  bass 
and  speckled  trout  may  be  caught.  Besides 
general  farming  Mr.  Palmer  slaughters  live 
stock  for  the  market. 

February  8,  1844,  he  was  married  in  Mont- 
ville,  Conn.,  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Abel 
Smith.  She  died  in  1862,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren: Elisabeth,  who  married  George  M.  Rey- 
nolds, of  Chicago,  and  died  in  that  city  at 
the  age  of  thirty-five,  leaving  no  children; 
and  Albert  Jerome,  who  died  of  consumption 
in  Norwich,  Conn.,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine 
years.  In  1862  Mr.  Palmer  married  for  his 
second  wife  Emma  M.,  daughter  of  Deacon 
Charles  H.  Starr,  of  Groton.  By  her  he  had 
two  children — Louisa  Starr  ami  Therressa. 
Louisa  Starr  became  the  wile  of  Charles 
Lamphere,  and  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
after  a  single  year  of  married  life.  Ther- 
ressa died  when  an  infant  of  two  years.  The 
mother  of  these  children  passed  away  in  1877. 
Three  years  later,  on  June  28,  1880,  Mr. 
Palmer  married,  on  his  sixtieth  birthday, 
Emma  Jane,  daughter  of  Dr.  Beckweth,  of 
Angola,  N.Y.  She  was  of  delicate  constitu- 
tion, and  lived  but  four  years  after  her  mar- 
riage. The  present  Mrs.  Palmer,  wl 
maiden  name  was  Beckweth,  was  a  cousin  of 
his  third  wife.  They  were  married  February 
28,  1886.  Mr.  Palmer  is  a  stanch  Prohibi- 
tionist from  the  Republican  ranks.  He  is 
much    interested    in    educational    affairs,    and 


BIOGR  \Pllie.\l.    REVIEW 


:d  on  the  School  Committee.     He  is 
iptist  in  religion,   and  Ins   been    on    the 
immittee      in      several      different 
s    with   which   he   has  been  conm 
member.     He    is    physically    a    h< 
nan,  well   preserved,  and  one  who  en- 
roughly. 


RNOLD    RUDD,   ol   the    New    London 
firm   Arnold    Rudd  &  Co.,    wholesale 
» V^   _  dealers    in    flour,    feed,    and  grain, 
n  near  Seneca   Falls,   N.Y.,   February 
A    son   oi    G  and    Mary   (Ar- 

Rudd,    he  counts  among  his   ancestors 
r  Rradl  l  'lymouth.      1 1  is  grand- 

Daniel   Rudd,   Jr.,  was  a  sun  ol   Mary 
Rudd,    who    was   a   daughter   of    the 
iseph    an  (Adams)     Metcalf. 

Vlams   was   a   daughter   of    the    Rev. 
William    Adams,    of    Ipswich,    and    his    wife, 
Bradford)    Adams.       Alice     Bradford 
laughter  of   Major  William  and   Alice 
lord.      Major    Bradford  was  a 
rnor   Bradford  and   .Alice  (Carpen- 

Daniel    Rudd.   Jr.,   who   was   born    in   Con- 
it,    and    died     in    Bozrah,    at    the 
ty-five     y>-ar-.     followed     farming     in 
conducted  a   saw-mill  which 
ited  on    his  farm.      A    soldier  in   the 
ilutionary  army,  he  took   part   in  the  bat- 
l    Island.  1  [arlem    I  [eights,  Tren- 
and    Princeton.     During    the    Lexington 
m  he  sei  one  day  .is  a  private  in 

'  i i  n    John     Perkii  mpany,     Col 

ih    Huntington's    regiment.       Beginning 
in    December,    1775.    he    wa  poral    in 

Robinson  s  company,    Colonel    Dur- 
nt.     1  In   July   9,    1 779,    he  en- 

3    a     private     in     Captain      Xehemiah 
Waterman's  company,    regiment    ol     Colonel 


Samuel    Abbott,  and    •  n  a  tour  of  duty 

to    New   London,     [n   the  fall  ol  that  year  he 
went  to   France  in  the  frigate   "Provider 

commanded     by     Captain     Whipple,     and 
turned   in   the   followi  1.      Drafted 

a  tour  to  Hoi  .  in  July.  17N1,  i. 

for  two  months   in   that   place,  undei 
Xehemiah     Waterman,     ol     the     Connecticut 
rwentieth.      He  also  served  tor  .1  few  days  in 
New    London    when    that    place    was   bun 

I  (ei  embei  7,  1 780,  he  married  Abigail 
Allen,  of  Montville,  Conn.,  who  lived  to  be 
nearly  a  hundred  years  old.  They  reared  two 
sons  and  three  daughters,  each  of  whom  also 
reared  families.  One  daughter,  Lucy,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Genera]  Henry  Burbeck, 
tained  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-seven. 

orge  Rudd,  born  in  Bozrah,  Conn.,  Oc- 
tober S,  1785,  who  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  also 
followed  agriculture,  residing  for  the  most  of 
his  life  on  a  hundred-acre  farm  in  Montville 
that  was  bequeathed  him  by  his  n  lie- 

was  in  military  service  on  the  Canadian  fron- 
tier during  the  War  of    1X12.      His   death  oc- 

d    in    the  spring   ol    [866.      (  >n   June 
[811,    he    was   married    to  M  1  'Id,  who 

was   born   October    1  ;,   1  7  ■  d   in 

[883,  aged  ninety  years.  Both  Mr.  and  Mis. 
Rudd  rest  in  the  new  cemeter)  on  the  river 
in    Montville.     They    were    mem  the 

Congregational   church  until   the  time  of   the 
abolition     movement,    when     Mr.    Rudd 
ruled  out  of   the  church  on  account  ol   his  bold 
advoi  that   cause.     Ot    their    children, 

six    sons    and    two    daugl  '  ined 

maturity.      A   daughter  died    in    early    child- 
hood.     Two  of   the  children  are  now  living  — 
Arnold    and    his    brother    John.      The    latl 
who    is    six    years    youngei    than    Arnold, 
grain  dealer,   and  lives  in    Montville. 

At  the  age  ol 
to  work  in  a  cotton  factory,  where  lie  was  em- 


'54 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


ployed  for  two  years.  Subsequently  he  was 
employed  in  an  oil-mill  for  six  years,  receiv- 
ing thirteen  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  month. 
When  he  was  twenty-three  years  old  he  pur- 
chased a  grist-mill  in  Montville,  contracting 
a  debt  of  three  hundred  dollars.  Six  years 
later  he  bought  a  saw-mill  close  by.  In  the 
spring  of  1866  he  sold  his  mill  property  to- 
gether with  a  tract  of  land,  and  with  the  pro- 
ceeds started  in  his  present  business.  Begin- 
ning as  a  retailer  of  grain  and  produce,  he 
steadily  enlarged  the  scope  of  his  operations. 
Some  six  years  ago  he  took  into  partnership 
Mortimer  Beckwith  and  George  M.  Cole,  em- 
ployees and  kinsmen  of  his.  His  business 
block,  a  fine  three-story  brick  edifice  with 
commodious  basement,  at  157,  159,  and  161 
Bank  Street,  New  London,  was  erected  by 
him  in  1886.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the  old  Sav- 
ings Bank  and  a  director  of  the  Union  State 
Bank.  His  handsome  home  at  12  Hunting- 
ton Street  was  purchased  some  twenty  years 
ago. 

When  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Lyon,  of  Mont- 
ville, Conn.,  by  whom  he  became  the  father 
ol  two  children.  These  were:  John,  who  died 
in  infancy;  and  Stephen  A.,  who  died  in  his 
fourteenth  year.  By  a  second  marriage,  con- 
tracted  in  1870,  Miss  Louisa  C.  Beckwith,  of 
New  London,  became  his  wife.  She  has 
borne  him  three  daughters,  of  whom  one  died 
in  infancy.  The  others  are:  Mary  L.,  who 
has  attended  school  in  Northampton,  Mass., 
and  later  became  a  pupil  of  Miss  Emerson's 
School  in  Boston;  and  Charlotte  F.,  also 
attending  school  at  Miss  Emerson's.  Both 
young  ladies  are  accomplished  musicians. 
Mr.  Rudd  votes  the  Republican  ticket.  He 
has  served  the  public  efficiently  at  different 
times,  acting  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Mont- 
ville  for  three  years,    serving  on   the   Grand 


Jury,  and   fulfilling  the  duties  of  Sewer  Com- 
missioner in  New  London  for  nine  years. 


AMES  A.  BROWN,  an  honored  citizen 
of  Norwich,  Conn.,  residing  on  Laurel 
Hill,  was  born  in  Middletown,  near 
Newport,  R.I.,  February  19,  1828.  His  par- 
ents were  George  and  Elizabeth  (Peckham) 
Brown;  and  his  paternal  grandfather  was  Will- 
iam Brown,  a  prosperous  Rhode  Island  farmer, 
who  was  the  father  of  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  attained  to  years  of 
discretion. 

George  Brown  was  born  in  Middletown 
about  the  year  1788,  and  died  February  23, 
1853.  Elizabeth  Peckham  Brown,  his  wife, 
who  survived  him  a  number  of  years,  was  a 
daughter  of  Peleg  and  Elizabeth  Peckham,  of 
Middletown,  R.I.  She  was  the  mother  of  ten 
children,  six  sons  and  four  daughters,  of 
whom  four  sons  and  two  daughters  are  living, 
James  A.  Brown,  now  about  seventy  years  of 
age,  being  next  to  the  youngest.  The  other 
survivors  are:  Elizabeth,  aged  eighty-four, 
who  is  living  in  Lebanon,  Conn.,  widow  of 
Ira  B.  Tucker,  and  has  no  children;  George, 
aged  eighty,  a  farmer  in  Lebanon,  who  has 
one  daughter  living;  Almira  L. ,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  C.  Palmer,  a  ranchman  and 
banker  at  Paxton,  Neb.,  and  has  one  daughter; 
Peleg  P.,  a  liveryman  in  Jamestown,  R.I., 
who  has  five  sons  and  one  daughter;  and 
Charles  H.,  a  real  estate  dealer  in  Ogallala, 
Keith  County,  Neb.,  who  has  five  children. 
Mrs.  Brown  died  in  Lebanon,  July  10,  1874, 
at  eighty-six  years  of  age,  and  was  buried  be- 
side her  husband  at  Middletown. 

James  A.  Brown  passed  his  boyhood  on  his 
father's  farm;  and  up  to  sixteen  years  of  age 
he  was  a  pupil  of  the  district  school,  where  he 
gained  a  fair  knowledge   of  the   rudimentary 


JAMES    A.    BROWN. 


biographic  \i.  review 


learning.      At   eighteen    he  took 

•    elf   "i    a   carpenter,  but   a  year    later 

ned  to  farm  labor.     After  his  marriage 

tn   Lebanon,   Conn.,  whither  his 

--law  had  gone,  and   purchased  a  farm. 

i  Lebanon   Mr.  Brown   subsequently  went 

n    the   meat  busi- 

which  lie  had  followed  tor  two  years  prior 

g  Lebanon.      In   April,   (869,  he  em- 

n  the  wholesale  grocery  business  here 

wich,    having    as    a    partner    John    C. 

rig  business  under  the  style  of 

Brown.       When    they    hail    been    to- 

seventeen   years.  Mr.  Brown   purchased 

i   -  interest,  and  continued  the   busi- 

ir  ten  years,  selling  oul  in  April, 

During  the  war  he  was  Captain  of    the 

-.  and  but  tor  the    interposition  of 

you  Id  have  enlisted  for  active  ser- 

the  front,  they  persuading  him  that  he 

ie    spared    from    the   town,  where    he 

untiring  in  his  efforts  to  relieve  the  needs 

ot  the  families  of  the  soldiers  in  the  held. 

1.     [850,    Mr.    Brown    was 
united  in  marriage  with    Miss   Susan    Weaver, 
'  town  and  daughter  of  Abncr 

san    (Peckham)    Weaver.      Her   mother 
June    23,    1867,    aged    sixty-six.    and    her 
father,     May     17.     1875,     aged     seventy-six. 
!    seven   children:   namely,  six  daugh- 
1  Mm,  1 ,  l  bner  Weaver,  ol   Leb- 

1  onn.      The  three   daughters    now    liv- 
are:     Mrs.     Brown;     Ruth    M.,    wit. 
William    Brown,    of    Willimantic,    Conn.,    a 
ot  James  ,\.:  and  Emma  lb  Peckham, 
ot    Lebanon.      Mr.    and    Mrs.  James   A.  Brown 
son  and  daughter:   Francis  II.,  of  Nor- 
wich, who  is    married,  and    has   one   daughter; 
and  Ella  J.,  wife  of  (barbs  M.  Cob-,  a  1 
rt,  who  has  one  son. 
In  political  affiliation    Mr.   Brown    is   a    Re- 
publican.     In    Colchester    be   served    .is    Con- 


stable,     lie  has  here   served   on    1  anon 

Council    live    years,    on    the    Board   of    V 

imissioners  two  years,  alsi 

man,  and  since  1895  as  First  Selectman. 
For  ten  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Com- 
pens  the 

adjustment  of  damages,  holding  th< 
under  both  Democratic  and  Republican  ad- 
ministrations. He  is  also  trustee  and  din 
of  the  Dime  Savings  Bank.  Mr.  Brown  is  a 
member  of  the  Central  Baptist  Church,  in 
which  he  has  been  a  very  active  worker,  .and 
member  of  the  Building  Committee  in 
the  erection  of  their  tine  church  edifice.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Brown  reside  at  124  Laurel  Hill 
Avenue. 

OBERT  R.  CI  »NGDl  IN  is  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  New  London,  now  for 
5  V  some  time  retired  from  busin 
He  was  born  in  Newport,  R.I.,  April  19, 
1842,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  William  I'. 
and  Nancy  (Tilleyi  Congdon.  His  paternal 
grandfather,     Cat  born    in 

Newport,  R.I.,  about  1775.  He  died  in  the 
prime  of  life;  and  his  wile,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Sarah  Trior,  was  left  at  his  death 
with  a  family  of  nine  children,  six  sons  and 
three    daughters,    the-    yo  leven    \ 

old.      She  wa  ible   and    thrifty    woman, 

and   was  equal   to  thi  all 

her   children  bly.      She  died    in    1S5N. 

seventy-five  years,  and  is  buried  in  New- 
port.      Of    her    children    tin-  -John, 
Jo-epb,    and    Robert       learned    the 
trade,  and  eventually  became  sail-  ris- 
ing to  the  rank  of  captain;  and  James,  Will- 
iam,  and   Peleg  were  m<                                 and 
John    never   married,    and    Robert    and    Ma 
had    no  children.      The   ■ 
and  all  ha>  e  now  passed 

William    I'.  <  !ongdon  wa-   born   in   N 


1 58 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


R.I.,  in  1807.  He  was  engaged  as  clerk  in  a 
store  in  Georgetown,  S.C.,  when  he  was  but 
fifteen  years  old;  and  two  years  later  he  went 
into  business  himself.  In  trade  over  fifty 
years,  he  was  very  successful;  and  at  his 
death  in  1X79  he  left  a  valuable  property  to 
his  children.  He  was  married  in  Newport, 
June  26,  1830,  to  Nancy  Tilley,  of  that  city, 
a  member  of  an  old  and  numerous  family. 
Her  immigrant  ancestor  was  William  Tilley, 
an  Englishman,  born  in  1641,  who  settled  in 
Boston,  Mass.,  and  was  the  first  rope-maker 
in  this  country  (see  Genealogy  of  the  Til- 
ley Family,  published  in  Newport,  R.I.,  in 
[878).  Mrs..  Congdon's  grandfather,  Will- 
inn  Tilley,  was  born  in  Newport,  October  19, 
1738,  and  died  there,  April  14,  1825,  aged 
eighty-seven.  He  was  three  times  married, 
and  by  his  first  wife  had  seventeen  children. 
During  his  lifetime  his  progeny  increased  to 
ninety  grand-children  and  thirty  great-grand- 
children. Abraham  Tilley,  Mrs.  Congdon's 
father,  was  one  of  the  children  born  of  his 
father's  first  marriage.  Mrs.  Congdon  died 
in  1S90.  She  was  the  mother  of  twelve  chil- 
dren, nine  of  whom  attained  maturity,  namely: 
William,  who  went  to  California  in  1849, 
and  was  engaged  there  in  silver  mining  until 
1876,  coming  East  then  to  attend  the  Centen- 
nial, and  who  has  since  resided  in  Newport; 
Charlotte,  Ruth,  and  George,  all  now  de- 
ceased; Sarah,  wife  of  Joseph  P.  Stevens,  of 
Newport;  Robert,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
James,  living  in  Newport;  and  Martha  and 
John,  both  deceased. 

Robert  R.  Congdon  acquired  his  early 
education  in  the  district  school.  In  1859, 
when  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  he  became 
a  clerk  in  his  father's  store  in  Georgetown, 
S.C.,  where  he  was  employed  until  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  War  in  1S61.  He  then 
returned   with   his   father  to  Newport,  and   re- 


mained until  the  close  of  hostilities,  resum- 
ing business  in  1865.  The  firm  of  which  the 
younger  Mr.  Congdon  was  a  member  was  at 
that  time  known  as  Congdon,  Hazard  &  Co. 
In  1870,  when  about  twenty-eight  years  of 
age,  he  severed  his  connection  with  the  firm, 
and  entered  the  employ  of  C.  D.  Boss,  a 
cracker  manufacturer  in  New  London.  In 
1879  Mr.  Congdon  succeeded  Mr.  Boss  as  a 
member  of  the  firm,  and  was  successfully  en- 
gaged in  business  until  1886,  when  he  retired. 
In  18S5  he  purchased  the  Cheeseboro  property 
on  Post  Hill.  His  house,  which  is  located  on 
Nathan  Hale  Street,  is  one  of  the  largest, 
handsomest,  and  most  beautifully  situated  in 
the  city,  commanding  a  beautiful  view  of 
Groton  and  the  Thames. 

Mr.  Congdon  was  married  November  12, 
1867,  to  Eliza  Boss,  of  this  city,  daughter  of 
C.  D.  Boss,  whom  he  succeeded  in  business. 
Mr.  Boss  died  in  1895.  Three  sons- 
Thomas  Boss,  Carey,  and  Robert  R.,  Jr. — 
have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Congdon. 
Thomas  Boss  Congdon  died  in  1892,  aged 
eighteen  years.  Carey  Congdon,  who  studied 
at  the  Boston  Institute  of  Technology  and  at 
Harvard  University,  is  in  the  water  and 
sewer  department  of  this  city.  He  has  taken 
several  degrees  of  Masonry,  being  at  present 
a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  and  is  Lieu- 
tenant of  Company  I,  Third  Regiment,  Con- 
necticut National  Guards.  Robert  R.  Cong- 
don, Jr.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Boston 
English  High  School  and  Bryant  &  Stratton's 
College,  is  a  clerk  in  the  New  London  Sav- 
ings Bank.  He,  too,  is  a  Mason,  and  is  .1 
private  in  the  militia.  Mr.  Robert  R.  G 
don,  Sr. ,  has  been  elected  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  New  London,  with  which  he 
has  long  been  connected,  to  the  offices  of 
Councilman  and  Water  Commissioner,  and 
is  at  present  serving  on  the  Water  Board. 


Iilne.u.M'IIICAI.    RKVIFAV 


C^/ALLACE    R.    CHAMPII  >N,    a   mer- 
chant   of    Bl  ick    1 1. ill,  was  born   in 
1848   at    Old    I. vmc.   Conn.      He    is 
id  child  and   first   son  of  his  parents, 
tnd  Anna    R.  (Slate)  Champion.      I  lis 
-ill    living  on    her   farm   near  this 
He  attended    the   district    schools  of 
tive    town     in    his    boyhood,    and    also 
on   his  father's  farm.      At   the  age  of 
me  he  became  a  clerk  for  R.  W.   De- 
remaining  in  this  situation  for  three 
He   then   went   to    Madison,  where  he 
1    for   twi  Still  later  he  cum- 

in  business  for  himself   in    Hartford, 
in   held  and   country  produce. 

old   out    and    removed    to    Lyme, 
irtner  in  the  firm  "1   Mor- 
!    Champion,    who   kept  a  general    store, 
later,  on    the  death  of    Mr.  Mor- 
W.     DeWolf,    Mr.    Champii 
cr-in-law,    became   a  member  of  the  firm, 
:    which    was   then    changed   to    De- 
At    the   end  of 
by    Champion    &    Caul- 
This  linn    had    conducted   the    business 
for  tin    years  when    Mr.   Champion    sold    his 
interest  to  his  brother,   R.  15.  Champion.      Il< 
il    on    th  ■  mmercial  travel- 

ler in  the  gentlemen's  furnishing  line,  travel- 
through  New  York  and  the  New  England 
I  he  opened  his  present  si 
re  he  has  mer- 

ise  busii 
I'i    politics  Mi.  Champion  is  a  Republii 

1  Town  1  1 1  is 

Amis  principles  are  those  of  a  stanch   I 
In    June.     1870,    he    married     Lillie     1. 
Butler,    m|    Rocky    Hill,    Conn.,    and  now  has 
three  children    -  ..   lit  ista, 

and  Gertrude   Louise.      Edgai    I: 

v  College  "i   Pharmacy,  is  at 
-t    in    Haiti  in-      Ib- 


is   married    and    is    twenty-four    years    of 
Florence    Augusta    is    a    student    at     Smith 
College,   class     of    [898.      Gertrude     Louise 
with     her    parents,    and     attends     the 
gan    School,    where    she    is    taking 
paratory  course.     Mrs.   Champion    is   a    Con- 
gregationalism     Mr.  Champion  has  succeeded 
in   building   up  a  fine  trade  with   his  experi- 
.    natural    adaptability,    and    p  ad- 

He  is  highly  respected   in  the  town. 


BEL   11.    HINCKLEY,   the   Postn 

of   Old    Mystic,    was  bom    in  the  ad- 
'wV^      joining    town    of    Groton, 
is.   [839,  s.m  oi    Ali.  1  and   Abbie  Eliza  (Bab- 
cock)    Hinckley.      The    Hinckleys   trace   tl 
lineage    through    a    long    line    ol    noble    ances- 

.  and  are  identified  with  New  England 
history  from  its  earliest  period.  Samuel 
Hinckley  came  from  Tenterden.  Kent  County. 
England,  on  the   "Hercul  mmanded  by 

Captain  Witterly,  and  landed  at  Boston  in 
[634.  In  the  following  year  he  settle. 
Si  ituate;  and  in  1(140  he  removed  to  Barn- 
stable, where  he  died  October  31,  1662.  His 
son  Thomas  became  Governor  "i  Plymouth 
Colony.  Another  son,  John  Hinckley,  was 
the  progenitor  of  this  particular  branch  of  the 
family. 

Abel  Hinckley,  who  was  bom  on  Hinckley 
Hill.  Stonington,  November  12,  1803,  died 
September    18,    1883,    nearly   eighty    . 

llis.ii  ipation  was    farming.       In 

his  earlier  years   he   taughl  tor    twenty- 

two  winters  in  Stonington,  North  Stonington, 
and  for  six  years  ,.f  the  time  in  Westerly. 
1 1     served   his  town 

I  lis    wile,     in    maidenhi         Abide 
Eliza    Babcock,  who  was  born  in  I 
tember   22.    1817,    daughter  oi    Stanton    I 

..    and    whom    he    married     May    5.     1 


i6o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


died  April  i,  1894.  Of  their  five  children,  a 
son  and  two  daughters  reached  the  years  of 
discretion,  namely:  Abel  H..  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Alice  B.,  born  July  31,  1845, 
the  wife  of  Allen  Avery;  and  Agnes  J.,  born 
February  18,  1848,  in  Groton,  the  wife  of 
Jefferson  O.  Bailey. 

Abel  H.  Hinckley  attended  the  high 
school  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  of  which  place  his 
parents  were  residents  from  1848  to  i860. 
At  the  first  call  for  volunteers  he  enlisted 
from  Latrobe,  Pa.,  in  the  Eleventh  Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment,  with  which  he  served  three 
months.  In  1862  he  re-enlisted  in  the  One 
Hundred  and  Thirty-fifth  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
ment, and  was  out  nine  months,  rising  to  the 
rank  of  Lieutenant.  While  living  in  Syra- 
cuse, he  became  interested  in  the  nursery 
business,  with  all  branches  of  which  he  made 
himself  familiar  by  a  five  years'  apprentice- 
ship. Thereafter  it  engrossed  his  time  and 
attention  up  to  1886.  He  owned  fourteen 
acres  of  land  here  in  Mystic  village  on  Main 
Street,  four  acres  of  which  were  set  with  fruit 
and  evergreen  trees,  and  the  remainder  used 
for  the  nursery  proper.  His  trade  was  a  local 
one. 

When  discharged  from  the  army,  Mr. 
Hinckley  returned  to  Latrobe,  Pa.,  and  on 
November  11,  1863,  was  married  to  Caroline 
M.  Hair,  a  daughter  of  Sebastian  and  Naomi 
(Keenor)  Hair.  Her  father,  who  was  a  mer- 
chant and  Justice  of  the  Peace,  died  in 
March,  1895,  when  seventy-one  years  of  age, 
leaving  his  widow  and  this  one  child.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hinckley  have  lost  their  first-born, 
Minnie  (J.  Hinckley,  who  died  January  1, 
1885,  in  her  twenty-second  year.  They  have 
one  child  living,  Helen  Hobart  Hinckley,  fif- 
teen years  old.  who  is  attending  school  and 
taking  piano  lessons.  They  reside  on  Main 
Street,    where    they    settled    soon    after    mar- 


riage. In  politics  Mr.  Hinckley  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  has  been  a  Selectman  of  the  town, 
Tax  Collector  for  nine  years,  and  has  been  a 
Notary  Public  for  some  time.  He  was  the 
Postmaster  under  President  Cleveland's  first 
and  second  administration,  and  he  has  contin- 
ued in  the  office  so  far  under  President  Will- 
iam McKinley. 


ORACE     WAIT     TINKER,     retired 

ship-carpenter  and  builder  of  Mystic, 
Conn.,  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Lyme,  in  the  south-western  part  of  New  Lon- 
don County,  July  17,  1828.  His  parents 
were  Charles  and  Mahala  (Beckwith)  Tinker. 
His  mother,  who  was  born  in  Genesee 
County,  New  York,  in  1805,  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Esther  (Wait)  Beckwith; 
and  his  maternal  grandmother  was  an  own 
cousin  of  the  late  Chief  Justice  Waite.  In 
1842  Charles  Tinker  died,  in  middle  life, 
leaving  his  widow  with  five  children. 

A  few  years  after  his  father's  death  Horace, 
then  a  boy  of  about  seven  years  of  age,  went 
to  live  with  Nathaniel  Wait,  a  farmer,  con- 
nected with  the  distinguished  family  of  that 
name.  He  lived  there  twelve  years,  and  was 
brought  up  a  thorough  farmer,  working  hard 
in  the  summer,  and  attending  school  in  the 
winter.  Mr.  Tinker  has  a  vivid  remem- 
brance of  the  father  of  Judge  Morrison  R. 
Waite,  Henry  M.  Wait,  who  was  the  brother 
of  Nathaniel  above  mentioned.  About  the 
year  1858  Mr.  Tinker  went  from  Lyme  to  Old 
Mystic,  Conn.,  where  he  worked  in  the  ship- 
yard of  Greenmans  and  Charles  Mai  lory  many 
years,  remaining  there  until  they  gave  up 
their  business.  He  became  a  master  of  his 
business,  and  was  most  successful  and  enter- 
prising as  a  subcontractor.  He  has  done  no 
active  business  of  any  account  for  the  past  six 
years. 


HORACE    W.    TINKER. 


MRS.    HORACE    W.   TINKER. 


Bl(  (GRAPHIC  M.    REVIEW 


of  twenty-three  Mr.  Tinker  mar- 

lelia  Smith,  the  daughter  of   John  and 

Whipple)  Smith,  of  Old  Mystic,  where 

.   1 826.     Three  children, 

id   .1  daughter,    were   the    fruit    oi 

II  are  now  living  and  are  mar- 

,  Hi  1  [enry  and  Chai  les  Al- 

ing    practising    physicians   in   New 

.    _  f .,  :    iti  New   York   I  lo- 

1  he    daughter,    Esther 

linker,  born  October  14.   [869,  is  the 

John  II.  Johnston,  of   Mystic,  and  the 

on,  Charles   I  lorace  Johnston. 

Alphonso,   of   New  York  City,   b 

11,    ami   one  daughter.     Mrs.    Ar- 
Tinker  was  for  the   last   twenty  y 

I   sufferer  from   rheumatism, 
-    most    tenderly    and    devotedly    • 
er  husband,  he  sparing  no  pains  or  ex- 

ure  her  comfort    and    happii 
tined  a  di  in    Iter  death,  which 

in  Mystic,  December  25,  [896.      She 
del   wife   and    mother,  and   the   union 
the  two  was  an  ideal  one. 
Mr.  Tinker  is   bound   down   to   no  creed    in 
and   to   no  one   platform    in   politics, 
lection  days  he  has  in   the  main   \ 
Republican     side.      A    man    of    finely 
led  physique,  which  the  excellent  1 
sturdy  manual    labor  and 
from  all  bad  habits  has  doubt  mm  h 

rve,    he   is   |  of  a   noble    and 

kindly  nature,  and    is   strictly   honest,     lie  is 
to  hi       mily,  and  takes  especial  pride 
in  his  daughter's  six-year-old  son,  a  handsome 

1    the 
ire. 


(..r, 


HARLES    GRISWOLD     BART- 


II.  IT.    the    principal    and   proprietor 
V^L__-      I  the  Black  Hall  School,  establi 

by  him  twenty-two  \  ra  in  the 


town  of   <  )ld    Lyme   on    <  'In  i  I 

■t    Shubael    Fitch  and  Fannie  (Griswi 
Bartlett.      He   belongs   to   the   ninth 
tion    iks.  from     Roberl     B   rl  ett,    who 

from  England  on  the  "Ann"  in  r 
and  who  married  Mary  Warren.  In  Mr.  1 
lett's  1    ". May- 

flower" ancestors.      The   male    1  in 
in    the    Bartlett    family  ft 

Benjamin,    Ichabod,    Josiah,    Ichabod, 
John.  Shubael,  Shubael,  and  1 

The    first    Shubael    Bartlett,    who   w: 
in  1779,  married   Fannie  !  Nor- 

wich, scendant    of    Lieutenant    Thoi 

ngwell,    well    known    in   the  Colonial  his- 
tory   of    this    country.      In    this    family 
nine   children,  all    of   whom    bad    families 
cepting   one  son,    I  bur'..     Grandfather   Bart- 
lett died  at  the  nty-five,  and   his 
widow,   at  the  age  of  eighty-four.     Both 
buried   at    Hast  Windsor.     Shubael    Bartlett, 
Jr.,  was   born    in    Mast  Windsor  in  l8ll.      He 
was   a    Yale   graduate,  class  of    1833,  and 
well  known  all   through   this   section   as   Dr. 
Bartlett.     His  wife,    Fannie,   whom  he    mar- 
ried on   September  t.    [842,    •■  is  born  in  New 

Ion  in  March.   1822.     She  bore  him   three 
children,    one   of   whoi  d   in 

infancy.      The  remaining  two  tries  G. 

Bartlett;  and    Mrs.    Adaline    Bartlett   Allyn, 
now  residing  with  her  brother. 

Mr.    Bartlett    pn  the 

II  art  tor.  I     High 

oi    1  872.      He  did  not  grai      te  witl 

5,  but  in  1888  thi  red   upon 

him    the  honorary  di 
I  le  has  become  widely  known 
and  as  the  successful    princi] 
school.      His    institution    is  that 

students  come  to  it  I  e  in 

the    Union.       He    h 
whom   h 


1 66 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


courses.  The  fine  estate  on  which  the  school 
building  is  now  located  was  formerly  the 
property  of  Captain  George  Moore.  Since 
buying  it,  Mr.  Bartlett  has  enlarged  it,  made 
many  improvements,  and  arranged  it  so  as  to 
make  it  most  admirably  adapted  to  his  work 
and  to  the  growing  needs  of  his  school.  It 
has  a  most  desirable  situation  on  Long  Island 
Sound  and  on  the  Connecticut  River,  and,  in 
respect  to  sanitary  arrangements  and  in  the 
facilities  it  offers  to  students,  is  unrivalled. 

On  October  3,  1 8 7 1 ,  Mr.  Bartlett  married 
Anna  Pierson  Terry,  of  Hartford,  daughter 
of  Roderick  Terry.  Mrs.  Bartlett  died  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1896,  at  the  age  of  forty-six  years. 
Their  children  are:  Henriette  Collins,  who 
was  educated  at  Orange,  N.J.,  and  at  Water- 
bury:  Charles  Griswold  Bartlett,  Jr.,  a  stu- 
dent in  Yale  University,  class  of  1899;  Sarah 
Pierson,  now  at  school  in  Brooklyn,  L.  I. ; 
Frank  Trowbridge,  deceased;  and  Harold 
Terry,  ten  years  old,  who  is  a  pupil  in  his 
father's  school.  On  July  6,  1S97,  a  second 
marriage  united  Mr.  Bartlett  with  Miss  Har- 
riet Butler  Banning,  of  Old  Lyme.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  conservative  Republican,  in  re- 
ligious faith  an  Episcopalian. 


-^KNJAMIN  W.  JENKINS,  a  resi- 
dent farmer  of  Salem  since  18S2, 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  Au- 
gust 6,  1847,  son  of  William  and  Harriet  A. 
(Tiniam)  Jenkins.  The  father  was  a  head 
drayman  and  carman,  and  in  the  steamboat 
agency.  The  mother,  whom  the  latter  mar-, 
ried  May  2S,  1 S46,  was  a  native  of  Troy, 
N.Y.  Of  their  six  children  four  are  living, 
namely:  Benjamin  W.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  William  W.,  a  boss  drayman  of  New 
York  City;  Theodore  Franklin,  an  agent  for 
a    steamboat    company;  and    Lillian   A.,    who 


resides  with  her  brothers  at  6  Commerce 
Street,  New  York,  the  home  of  the  only  mar- 
ried brother.  When  the  father  died,  in  1877, 
his  sons  William  and  Theodore  succeeded 
him  in  business.  The  widow  died  on  Decem- 
ber 27,  1893,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years. 
Both  are  buried  in  the  Lutheran  cemetery  on 
Long  Island.  While  he  did  not  profess  any 
religion,  he  was  kind  and  generous. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  years,  after  receiving 
a  common-school  education,  Benjamin  W. 
Jenkins  began  to  earn  his  own  living.  When 
fourteen  years  old  he  went  into  the  employ  of 
a  silversmith  in  Ball,  Black  &  Co.'s  build- 
ing, remaining  for  more  than  six  years.  In 
1870  he  was  employed  by  Tiffany,  the  well- 
known  jeweller,  who  one  year  later  made 
him  foreman  of  his  department,  a  position 
that  he  held  for  twelve  years.  In  1882  he  be- 
came the  foreman  of  a  department  in  the 
Whiting  Manufacturing  Company.  After 
eleven  years  spent  with  this  firm,  on  finding 
his  health  in  a  poor  condition,  he  bought  of 
Wellington  S.  Gott,  for  the  sum  of  twenty -six 
hundred  dollars,  his  present  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  acres.  Here  he  lived 
quietly  for  a  time,  and  regained  his  health. 
Then  he  returned  to  the  employment  of  the 
Whiting  Company,  leaving  his  family  on  the 
farm. 

On  February  3,  1868,  Mr.  Jenkins  married 
Susan  Cornelia  McNaughton,  a  daughter  of 
James  and  Agnes  McNaughton.  Her  father, 
who  served  in  the  Federal  navy  during  the 
Civil  War,  at  the  close  of  the  war  was  num- 
bered among  the  missing,  and  without  doubt 
lost  his  life  in  the  cause  of  the  Union.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jenkins  have  three  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Agnes  C,  wife  of  William  R.  Golding, 
who  resides  in  Tenafly,  N. J.,  and  has  three 
children;  Grace  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Alvin 
F.    Kargo,    a  farmer  .in   Bozrah,   and  has  one 


STEPHEN    H.   HALL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


169 


son;  and  Mary  I.,  who  is  the  wife  of   Edward 
W.   Fargo,  oi  New  London,  has  two  sons.     In 
politics  Mr.  Jenkins  supports  the   Republican 
ticket.     He  is  a  member  of  the   Knights  of 
Honor,  and  was  formerly  connected  with  the 
r  of  United  American   Mechanics.     Con- 
ring  his  early  training  and  long  residence 
in  a  great   city,   Mr.    Jenkins   has   been    fairly 
11]  as  a  farmer  among  the  Connecticut 
hills. 


51  RA    J.    MARTIN,   the   superintendent  of 
the  Bozrahville  cotton-mill,  was  born  in 
eiL      Sterling,    Conn..   June   8,    1857,    son    oi 
liam   1).  and   Maria  M.   (Harrington)   Mar- 
tin,   who    were    natives    respectively    of    Kill- 
.'    and    Woodstock,    Conn.        The    father, 
was  for  some  years  a  cotton-mill   super- 
ndent,    later    in    life    invented    a    turbine 
water-wheel.      He  died  when   his   son,   Ira   J., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  nine  years   old. 
Ira  J.   Martin  began  life   for   himself   at   the 
of    eleven   years   as   an   operative   in    the 
Whitestone    Mill    at    East     Killingly.      Here 
for   some   years   he   was   employed    during  the 
summer   season,    and    attended    school    during 
the  winter.      At  the  age   of  twenty  he  went  to 
Pawtucket,    R.I.,    where    he    was    for    a    short 
time  a  pupil  at  the  high  school.      From   Paw- 
tucket  he  went  to  Springvale,    Me.,  as  over- 
»eer   in    the    Springvale    cotton-mills;    and    a 

■  t  time  later  he"  went  to  North  Uxbri 
Mass.,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  same 
capacity  al  the  Uxbridge  cotton-mill  for  four 
years.  After  working  as  overseer  in  the 
Smithville  mills  at  Willimantic  for  a  time, 
he  was  appointed  superintendent  oi  the  Staf- 
ford Manufacturing  Company's  nulls  in  Paw- 
tucket. In  the  spring  of  [892 
his  present  position,  that  of  superintendent  oi 
the    Bozrahville    cotton-mills,    and    has    since 


devoted  his  energy  and  experience  to  this  en- 
terprise. He  has  under  his  direction  an  aver- 
age of  one  hundred  and  twenty-live  hands,  and 
the  quality  of  goods  turned  out  at  these  mills 
has  acquired  a  high  reputation. 

.since  coming  to  Bozrah,  Mr.  Martin  has 
taken  much  interest  in  public  affairs,  acting 
with  the  Republican  party.  Since  1894  he 
has    been    the    chairman    of    the     Republ 

Town    Committee.      He    is    a    Justi f    the 

Peace:  has  served  as  the  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  School  Visitors;  is  connected  with 
the  Masonic  fraternity  of  Uxbridge,  Ma 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  of 
Lebanon,  Conn.,  and  with  the  Royal  Arcanum 
of  Norwich.  Also  he  is  the  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Bozrahville  Re- 
ligious Union,  an  incorporated  society  in 
which  he  takes  an  active  interest. 

lie  wedded  Yerina  I..  Pray,  a  native  of 
Killingly,  and  has  a  family  of  seven  children. 
A  self-made  man,  he  is  held  in  high  consider- 
ation by  the  people  of  Bozrah;  and  he  fully 
merits  the  respect  accorded  to  him. 


YgTOX.     STEPHEN     II.     HALL,     Post- 
r^ri       master  of   Norwich,  Conn.,  the  post- 

Ji®   V .    office    here    having    been    under    his 

aide  management  since  April  1,  [81 
born  in  Waterford,  Saratoga  Count)-,  N.Y., 
January  3,  (849,  son  oi  Henry  M.  and  Betsey 
(Van  Voorheis)  Hall  His  grandfather  Hall 
was  a  native  oi  Massachusetts  and  a  lit'  I 
resident  of  that  State.  He  married  Miss 
Sophia  Cooley. 

Henry  M.  Hall  was  born  in  Springfield, 
Mass.,  in  1820.  He  was  an  iron  moulder  by 
trade,  and  for  many  years  was  superintendent 
of  the  foundry  in  Elizabethport,  N.J.  lb- 
died  in  1863,  aged  forty-two.  Betsey  Van 
heis,  to  whom  he  was  married  in    1848   at 


fj6 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Clifton  Park,  Waterford,  where  the  early  years 
of  their  wedded  life  were  spent,  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jeremy  and  Ann  (Lasalle)  Van  Voor- 
heis.  She  bore  her  husband  three  children; 
namely,  Stephen  H.,  Charles,  and  George  D. 
Charles  Hall,  born  in  1850,  died  in  Water- 
fun  1,  X.  V.,  in  1SS0,  leaving  a  wife  and  two 
children,  one  a  son,  George,  living  in  Water- 
ford.  George  D.  Hall  is  a  machinist  in 
Waterford,  and  has  two  sons.  Their  mother 
continues  to  live  on  the  old  Waterford  home- 
stead, and  is  still  very  active  despite  her 
seventy-three  years. 

Stephen  H.  Hall  was  an  attendant  of  the 
Waterford  district  school  until  fourteen  years 
of  age.  Then,  in  1863,  his  father  having 
died,  he  started  out  for  himself,  without  cash 
capital,  and  with  his  few  earthly  possessions 
tied  together  in  a  bundle.  When  leaving 
home  he  intended  to  become  a  sailor;  but  in- 
stead of  shipping  he  replied  to  an  advertise- 
ment in  a  Springfield  paper  for  a  newsboy, 
and  was  soon  installed  in  the  news  store  of 
A.  F.  Jennings,  of  that  city,  where  he  worked 
over  two  years,  beginning  at  one  dollar  and  a 
half  per  week  and  board.  His  next  position 
was  in  the  pistol  manufactory  of  Smith  & 
Wesson,  lie  being  the  only  boy  employed 
there.  He  remained  in  the  factory  for  four 
years,  during  which  time  he  gained  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  certain  parts  of  the  me- 
chanical work.  In  [869  he  went  West,  and 
spent  the  succeeding  two  or  three  years  in 
various  places,  securing  work  first  in  Chicago, 
later  successively  at  Des  Moines  and  Council 
Bluffs,  la . ,  and  Omaha,  Neb.,  engaging  in 
the  then  new  enterprise  of  rubber-stamp  mak- 
ing. He  also  went  South  to  Missouri,  Texas, 
Arkansas,  and  Tennessee,  then  back  to  In- 
diana, Ohio,  Michigan,  and  Canada,  meeting 
with  good  financial  success.  In  1 873  he 
•    to   Norwich,   and   went   to   work    in   the 


pistol  factory,  where  he  remained  for  fifteen 
years. 

He  was  elected  in  1887  a  member  of  the 
upper  house  of  the  State  legislature  over 
H.  H.  Osgood,  the  Republican  candidate,  and 
served  two  years.  After  that  he  went  into  the 
mail  service  as  route  agent  from  Boston  to 
New  Vork  City,  working  at  this  sixteen 
months.  In  1888  he  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Congress,  and  ran  ahead  of  his 
ticket,  coming  closer  to  an  election  than  any 
of  his  predecessors  had  done.  His  Republi- 
can opponent  received  a  majority  of  somewhat 
over  six  hundred,  which,  compared  with  the 
majority  of  over  three  thousand  given  the  Re- 
publican candidate  in  1894,  speaks  well  for 
Mr.  Hall.  He  served  on  the  School  Board 
three  years.  In  his  religious  views  he  is  a 
Universalist.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in 
which  he  has  passed  the  different  chairs;  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias;  the  Improved  Order 
of  Red  Men;  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  ;  the  New 
England  Order  of  Protection;  the  Veteran 
Fire  Association;  and  the  Foresters.  Mr. 
Hall  is  president  of  the  local  board  of  the 
Guarantee  Savings  Loan  and  Investment  Com- 
pany of  Washington,  D.  C.  In  the  New  York 
JournaVs  vote  for  Connecticut's  most  popular 
man  Mr.  Hall  was  second,  receiving  eighty- 
four  thousand  and  thirty-nine  votes.  Ex- 
Governor  Waller  was  first,  receiving  ninety- 
two  thousand. 

On  November  2,  1878,  Mr.  Hall  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Caroline  E.  Blackwell,  of  East 
Wareham,  Mass.  Her  parents  were  Ellis  and 
Elizabeth  Blackwell,  and  she  has  one  brother, 
Thomas  Blackwell;  of  East  Wareham.  There 
were  two  sisters,  but  neither  is  now  living. 
Maude  E.  Hall,  the  only  child  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hall,  is  a  student  in  Norwich  Free  Acad- 
emy.   The  family  reside  at  22  Fairmont  Street. 


BIOGR  VPHICAL    REVIEW 


•  7' 


7T"\APTAIN     DANIEL     WEBSTER 
IV     CHESTER,    a   well -known    sea    cap- 
Vw~    ^  tain  of  Noank  and  a  son  of  Charles 
Bets)    (Wilbur)    Chester,  was  born  here, 
i  4,    1839.       His  ancestors  were  among 
settlers  oi    New   England.     The  first 
iter  of  whom  there  is  a  rei  ord  was  a  >  ertain 
John   Chester,  who,    it    is  said,   1 
England  in  his  own  ship.      Nathan  Ches- 
tne  grandfather  of   Captain    Daniel,    was 
April  14,  1765,  at  the  Cluster  farm  neai 
tern  Point.      He  followed   tanning  on   the 
homestead,   a    mile   distant  from    Noank, 
lived  to  lie  ninety  years  of  age.      With  his 
who  was  a  Wal Iswort h,  he    reared    seven 
1 .       Nathan,  the  eldest  of 
these   children,    went    to    Ohio,   where    he   was 
dent    oi    a   college.      Asa  ami    Eldredge, 
were  twins,  settled  at  Albion,  N.Y.      Ex- 
\   bert,   all   Nathan's    children   are   de- 
Their    descendants    still    live    in    the 
Wi  --t.      Charles    Chester,    the    father    of     the 
of   this   sketch,  horn    in    Noank    about 
1794,  died  in  [848.      He  married    Betsy  Wil- 
bur,   ot     Noank,    who,    horn    in    1800,    died    in 
1884.      Their  four   children  were:    Delia,  who 
is    now    the    widow    of   G  I  'hipman,    oi 

Noank,     and     has     one     daughter;      William 
iter,    who    was    a    bachelor,    and    died    in 
;;     and     Charles     Ira    ('Inst,!,    of     Noank, 
horn  in   [8 34. 

1  laptain   1  laniel   Wi  1  Ihester  was  edu- 

1    in    the    district    schools,    which    he    at- 
tended    until     about     thirteen    years    oi     age, 
being  employed  Foi   eight    months  of  the  year 
on    a    fishing-smack.      For    the    past     twenty 
rs  he  has   been  "Captain"  Chester.      Dur- 
the  first  ten  years  of  this  time  he  was    em- 
ployed   in   the   coasting   trade    with    Southern 
ports  and   the    West    Indies.      In    the    last   ten 
-  In-    sailed   to   Australia,  Africa,  Europe, 
Peru,   and   the   Philippine   Islands.     The  two 


latter   places   ware   visited    while   the   Chilian 
Wai    was    waging.      Hi-    coasting    servia 
five  \e.n  s  wa>   pei  formed   on   the  "Triune 
a    two-masted    schooner.      His    second    I 
which  served  him  for  five   years,  was 
master;    and   his  last  ship  was  .1  ister 

of  eighteen  hundred  tons,  called  "The  Daunt- 
,"  built  in  Mystic,  and    in  which    he   made 
his    foreign    voyages.     This    vessel    ■ 
away  on  the  coast  ol   Africa,      He  abando 
his  seafaring    life   in    1883.      Since   that    time 
he    has    been    engaged    in    the    coal    busim 
About  twenty-seven  years  ago  he  elected   his 
residence  at  the    corner   ot    Chapel    Street    and 
<  Ihester  .Avenue. 

On    December    to,  sin 

married  Mary  Emma  Fitch,  of  Noank,  daugh- 
ter of  Elisha  and  Mary  Peabody  Fitch,  ol  the 
same  place.  Her  grandparents  were  Latham 
and  Waty  (Burrows)  Fitch.  Mr.  Fitch,  a  na- 
tive of  Groton,  followed  the  sea.  and  died  in 
1808.  His  wife  was  born  August  i\  1769, 
and  died  May  22,  1863.  Nathan  Burrows,  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Chester,  lived 
in  the  village  now  known  as  Mystii 
his  hous  I  a  hospitable  n  treat  to  refu- 

gees from  Fisher's  Island,  Long  Island,  and 
Block  Island.  Main-  ware  the  interesting 
stories  that  Mrs.  Waty  hitch  nlated  to  her 
children,   grandchildren.  at  •grandchil- 

dren, of  the  stirring  events  of  the  Revolution. 
Among  them  she  told  of  the  massacre  at  Fort 
Griswold  in  1781;  of  the  burning  of  the 
houses  on  Fisher's  Island  in  tin-  first  bom- 
bardment of  the  coast  in  September.  1775: 
and   ot    the  mutiny,  threi  1   the 

privateer   "Eagle,"    in    which  '    ot    her 

friends  were  murdered.  She  had  nine  chil- 
dren, eight  of  whom,  foui  md  four 
daughters,  reached  maturity.  Captain  Ches- 
ter and  his  wife  have  had  Wvc  children, 
namely:    Lizzie    D.,    who   died   at    the    age   ot 


T72 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


nine  years;  Juliette  F.,  who  was  educated  at 
Wilbraham;  Hattie,  who  died  when  nine 
months  old;  John  D.  W.,  now  a  student  at 
Colgate  University  in  Hamilton,  N.Y.,  class 
of  1899;  and  Claude  Milton,  a  graduate  of 
Bulkeley  School,  and  now  attending  Colgate. 
Roth  the  Captain  and  Mrs.  Chester  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church.  Captain  Chester 
is  a  trustee  and  the  treasurer  of  the  society. 


TLAS  B.  WHEELER,  an  enter- 
prising and  progressive  agricultur- 
ist of  Stonington,  Conn.,  has  been 
identified  with  the  leading  interests  of  this 
section  of  New  London  County  for  many  years 
as  an  educator,  a  town  officer,  and  a  member 
of  the  legislature.  He  was  born  June  25, 
1845,  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides,  and 
which  was  also  the  birthplace  of  his  father, 
the  late  Hiram  W.  Wheeler.  He  is  of  Eng- 
lish antecedents,  the  emigrant  ancestor  on 
both  sides  being  Thomas  Wheeler,  who  came 
to  this  country  in  the  very  early  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  is  likewise  a  direct 
descendant  of  John  Alden  and  Priscilla  Mul- 
lins.  The  homestead  property,  originally 
containing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  was 
formerly  owned  by  the  great-grandfather  of 
Mr.  Wheeler,  who  willed  it  to  his  sons,  Na- 
thaniel and  Silas,  the  latter  being  the  grand- 
father of  Silas  B.  The  first  house  on  the 
place  was  built  in  1680;  but  of  this  nothing  is 
left  standing  excepting  the  large  stone  chim- 
ney, the  remainder  having  been  taken  clown  in 
.895. 

1 1  i ram  W.  Wheeler  was  born  February  19, 
1805,  and  spent  his  life  engaged  in  agricult- 
ural pursuits  on  the  homestead,  his  death  oc- 
curring here,  January  19,  1891.  He  married 
Mary  B.  Wheeler,  who  was  a  distant  relative. 
She  was  born  in  Stonington,  January  1,  1812, 


and  died  December  14,  1S85.  On  February 
1,  1832,  the  union  of  the  parents  was  solem- 
nized. They  had  five  children,  as  follows: 
Hiram  W. ,  born  November  19,  1832,  a  car- 
penter by  trade,  went  to  Minnesota  when  a 
young  man,  and  was  accidentally  drowned  Au- 
gust 27,  1856,  in  the  Mississippi  River;  Sam- 
uel A.,  born  October  23,  1838,  a  resident  of 
Providence,  R.I.,  is  superintendent  of  the 
Consolidated  Railroad  from  New  London  to 
Providence;  the  Hon.  Ralph  Wheeler,  born 
May  14,  1843,  was  graduated  from  Yale  in 
1864,  studied  law  in  Mystic  and  Ohio,  is  a 
leading  attorney  of  New  London,  of  which  he 
is  an  ex- Mayor  and  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court,  an  office  to  which  he  was  appointed  in 
1893;  Silas  B. ,  the  special  subject  of  this 
brief  biographical  sketch;  and  Mary  A.,  born 
January  30,  1850,  who  lives  on  the  old  home- 
stead with  her  brother  Silas. 

Silas  B.  Wheeler  was  graduated  from  the 
Mystic  River  Academy  when  but  sixteen 
years  of  age,  and  at  once  began  his  profes- 
sional career,  continuing  for  twenty-eight  con- 
secutive years  as  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  this  locality.  In  186S  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Town  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, in  which  he  has  since  done  faithful 
service,  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
duties  and  needs  of  the  schools  making  him  a 
most  efficient  and  desirable  official.  He  has 
also  been  Assessor,  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Relief,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  in  1888 
was  elected  as  a  Representative  to  the  State 
legislature,  in  which  he  served  on  the  Educa- 
tional Committee.  In  1890  he  was  re-elected 
to  the  same  responsible  position,  and  during 
that  term  was  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Railroads.  Having  given  up  his  school  to 
enter  the  legislature,  Mr.  Wheeler  has  since 
turned  his  attention  to  farming,  occupying  the 
ancestral    homestead,    which   he    bought  from 


BIi  >GR  VPHIC  M.    REVIEW 


173 


the  remaining  heirs  after  his   lather's  death. 
,  tains  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
land,    and    three    miles    away    he    has   ano 

one   hundred    acres.      He   carries   on 
the  \  irious  branches  of   mixed   farming  with 

September  3,  1872,  Mr.   Wheeler  mar- 
Mary  A.   Cooper,  of   Centreville,  R.I.,  a 
liter  ol   the  Rev.  John   Cooper,  who  1 
England    to    Connecticut,   and    was    for 
many    years    a     manufacturer    in    Woods' 

,.,    and    afterward    became    a    Methodist 
in. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler   have    had    lour   chil- 
1:    Edna   M.   was   born    August   20,    1873, 
uated     from     Wesleyan     Academy,     Wil- 
>.    Mass.,   in    June,    (891,    and    was    mar- 
tober  20,   1896,  to  Orson   C.   Pulver,  a 
merchant   of   Hillsdale,  N.V.  :    Ralph   ('.    was 
horn  November  5.  1876,  completed  his  educa- 
tion  at    the    Connecticut    Literary    Institute, 
Suffield,    Conn.,    and    is    now    in    business    at 
Mass.;    Richard   W.   was  born    Maj 
3,  1885,  and  died  March  t6,  1888;  and  Helen 
L.  was  born  August  1  2,   1889. 

In  politics  Mr.  Wheeler  is  a  Democrat. 


AMES     F.     BUGBEE,    a    well-known 
merchant   oi    Lyme,   \\  'as   horn   in  Tol- 
land,  Conn.,  on  tlie  last   day  of  Janu- 
ary,  1863,  son  oi    A.  S.  Bugbee  and  his  wile, 
pta  Barrows   Bugbee.      He  represents  the 
fifth  generation  of  his  family  in  America,  his 
dparents     having     come 
iand    when    their   son,    John    Bugbee,    his 
grandfather,    was    hut    a    youth.       They 
were    industrious    people    in    humble   circum- 
stances.     John  Bugbee  was   a   tailor   by  trade, 
and  lived  to  he  an   old   man.      His   son    Alan- 
son,  a  farmer  in   Tolland   County,  now  retired 
and    living   in    Hartford,    was   born    in    Mans- 


.  August  25,  1804,  and  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three  is  still  remarkably  well  and 
stron-  tor  bis  years,  and  in  possession  oi  all 
his     faculties.         He     was     a     man  .it 

-   in  To]  land,  and  at  one  time  hail 
three  stores.      He  met  with  In  through 

indorsement  and  fire,  but  in  all  business  was 
thoroughly  honest,  and  would  never  keep  a 
that  was  not  lawfully  his  own.  His 
wife,  Abigail  Spellman,  of  Stafford,  who  died 
in  1SS7,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine,  was  the 
mother  of  nine  children,  eight  of  whom,  five 
-oils  and  three  daughters,  grew  to  maturity. 
One  ot  the  sons,  Sylvester  by  name,  enlisted 
in  the  cavalry  at  eighteen,  and  had  served 
nearly  three  years  in  the  Civil  War,  rising 
from  the  ranks  to  be  Sergeant,  when  he  was 
killed  at  Wilson's  Raid,  being  then  but 
twenty-one.  The  living  children  oi  Alanson 
Bugbee  are:  Arthur,  of  Springfield,  M. 
Walter,  in  Middletown,  Conn.  :  and  Mr. 
A.  S.  Bugbee,  of  Saybrook,  bom  in  1832. 

For  eight  years  Mr.  James  F.  Bugbee  was 
in  business  at  Silltown  in  Lyme,  in  company 
with  R.  W.  Chadwick,  the  firm  being  R.  W. 
Chadwick  &  Co.,  dealers  in  flour,  teed,  and 
grain.  In  [889  the  firm  sold  out,  and  Mr. 
Bugbee  bought  the  stock  and  trade  of  Robert 
eral  merchandise  store  where 
he  is  now  located  and  carrying  on  a  successful 
trade.      Mr.     Bit    '  is    a    Master     Mason    oi 

Pythagoras  Lodge,  No.  45,  ot    Lyme,  and  also 
a  member   of   the  1.  «  >.   (  >.    F.       In    politics    he 
is  ,1  Democrat.      He  has  been  a  member  oi 
Hoard  of  Relief,  and  is  one   of   thi  'men 

of  the  town.       In    [895    he  was    sent    as    Repre- 

itive  to  the  legislature,  and  served  his 
constituents  to  their  satisfaction  and  to  his 
own  credit.      Both   Mr.  and    Mrs.  are 

members  and   earnest   supporters   of    the   Con- 
gregational church. 

On  July  11,   [880,  Mr.  Bugbee  was  married 


•74 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


to  Mary  Louise,  daughter  of  Thomas  S.  and 
Charlotte  Augusta  (Rogers)  Swan.  Her 
father,  a  native  of  East  Haddam,  was  born  in 
[815,  and  died  in  1882;  and  her  mother,  a  na- 
tive of  Lyme,  was  born  in  1824,  and  died  in 
1870.  Grandfather  Thomas  VV.  Swan,  father 
of  Thomas  S. ,  was  a  man  of  note  in  public 
life.  His  wife  was  Louisa  Emmons,  of  East 
Haddam.  She  bore  him  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Thomas  S.  Swan  was  a  farmer  in 
Old  Lyme,  near  Laysville,  and  was  very 
prominent  in  public  affairs  in  the  town.  He 
served  as  a  Representative  in  the  legislature, 
was  Town  Clerk  for  over  twenty-five  years, 
and  was  actively  interested  in  educational 
matters.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Swan  had  five  chil- 
dren, of  whom  four  grew  to  maturity;  namely, 
T.  Walter,  Ada,  Helen,  and  Mary  Louise. 
T.  Walter  Swan,  born  in  1846,  was  graduated 
from  Yale  College  in  the  class  of  1869,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1871,  and  died  in  Flor- 
ida in  1878  of  lung  trouble.  His  wife  sur- 
vives him,  together  with  a  son,  T.  Walter 
Swan.  Jr.,  in  Yale,  and  Isabel,  also  a  student 
in  college.  A^a  Augusta  is  a  widow,  and 
lives  at  Shelburne  Falls,  Mass.  Helen 
Lizzie  was  the  wife  of  Austin  Perkins,  of  Nor- 
wich. She  died  in  Kingston,  N.Y.,  in  1890, 
on  the  10th  of  September,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
one  years.  Mary  Louise  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Lyme  and  in  Norwich. 
She  was  married  to  Mr.  Bugbee  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  and  began  her  wedded  life  in  this 
town.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bugbee  have  one  child, 
a  daughter  Ruth,  eleven  years  of  age. 

One  of  Mrs.  Bugbee's  great-grandfathers  on 
the  maternal  side  was  Lynde  Lord,  born  at 
Lyme  in  1767.  He  was  a  descendant  of 
William  Lord,  who  was  born  in  England  in 
1623,  came  to  America  with  his  father, 
Thomas  Lord,  in  1635,  and  was  a  compara- 
tively early  settler  of  Saybrook.      Lynde  Lord 


married  Mehitable  Marvin,  a  descendant  of 
Reynold  Marvin,  who  came  from  England 
about  the  year  1635,  it  is  thought,  and  died 
in  Lyme  in  1662.  Matilda,  daughter  of 
Lynde  Lord  and  grandmother  of  Mrs.  Bugbee, 
was  born  in  1794,  and  married  in  1822  John 
Rogers,  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  the  class  of 
1815  and  a  physician.  He  removed  to  Ohio 
in  1837,  where  he  died  many  years  later. 
His  two  children  were:  Mrs.  Bugbee's 
mother;  and  an  older  daughter  now  living  in 
Ohio. 


ALTER  FISH,  one  of  the  progres- 
sive farmers  of  Groton,  was  born  in 
his  present  abode,  November  22, 
1854,  son  of  William  R.  and  Lydia  (Will- 
iams) Fish.  He  is  a  descendant  of  John 
Fish,  who  settled  in  Groton,  Conn.,  as  early 
as  1655,  being  one  of  the  first  settlers  there. 
Captain  Samuel  Fish,  son  of  John,  and  the 
next  in  line  of  descent,  was  born  in  1656  or 
1657.  His  name  occurs  in  the  patents  of 
New  London  in  1704,  the  year  prior  to  the 
incorporation  of  Groton.  He  was  the  second 
townsman  in  Groton  on  its  organization,  and 
was  re-elected  to  this  position  for  many  years. 
In  the  French  and  Indian  War  he  bore  a  Cap- 
tain's commission.  His  lands,  which  must 
have  exceeded  a  thousand  acres,  were  situated 
between  the  Mystic  River  and  the  north-east 
spur  of  Fort  Hill.  Near  the  centre  of  his  es- 
tate was  Pequot  Hill,  between  which  and  the 
river  he  built  his  house.  His  son,  Nathan 
Fish,  the  paternal  great-great-grandfather  of 
Walter  Fish,  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade. 
After  he  lost  his  parents,  he  was  reared  to 
manhood  on  Shelter  Island,  New  York,  where 
he  learned  his  trade.  He  was  also  a  farmer. 
His  son  Sands  followed  the  same  pursuits  in 
Mystic,  Conn.  Simeon,  son  of  Sands  and  the 
grandfather    of    Walter    Fish,    was    a    ship- 


WALTER    FISH. 


BIOOK  M'llK'AI.    REVIEW 


177 


builder,  being  one  of  four  who  established  the 

Field    ship-yard.       1 1  is     partners    were: 

William  Clift,  who  left  the  sea  tn  engage   in 

mterprise;   Nathan  S.  Fish,   his  brother; 

William    E.    Maxson.      They    began    by 

ng     fishing    smacks.       Later    they    fur- 

ing-vessels   for  tin-  cotton   trade, 

clipper   ships    for   the    California    trade. 

fine  craft  of  their  construction 

'he  "15.  F.  Hoxie,"  which  was  well  known 

e  merchant  marine  service   in   California. 

ilur   Simeon    married    Kliza,    daughter 

Mali  Randall,  on  whose  land    the   sh i p- 

was    located.      Mr.    Randall    was  an   out- 

.  ..lid    prepared   many  whaling-vessels   for 

Simeon,    who   was   born    here    in    1797, 

in    [861,  at   the  age  of  sixty-four  years. 

Hi-  wile,  who  was  six  years  younger,  sin 

him     fifl  :ars.        Their     children     w 

William  R.:   Nathan  S.,  of  Mystic;  and  I 

diah  Randall  Fish,  of  New  London. 

William  R.   Fish  was  horn  in  the  village  of 

tic,    July    17,    1X24.      From    the   time    he 

fifteen    years    of    ago    he     worked    on    the 

farm,  toiling  for  almost  a  half-century.     This 

farm  of  one  hundred  acres   is  one  of   the 

tion.  In  1 849  William 
married  Lydia  Williams,  ol  Ledyard,  Conn. 
Her  parents  were  Erastus  and  Nancy  (Hewitt) 
Williams,  her  father  having  been  the  son  of 
the  third  William  Williams.  She  had  three 
children  —  Ida,  Mary,  and  Walter.  Ida  mar- 
Russell  W.  Welles  at  Poquoni 
Bridge,  and  Mary  married  Thomas  Wolf  on 
this   farm.      The   father   was  a  member  of   the 

hurch  from  early  youth.  He  di< 
May,  1  Si^ct,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his 
The  mother  passed  away  on  October  8,  1S96, 
sixty -seven  years  old.  'Idle  house  in  which 
they  ended  their  life  had  been  their  rcsn 
since  it  had  been  erected  by  the  lather  in  1 
Walter  Fish,  after  completing  his  studies  at 


the  academy,  engaged  in  farming,  which  he 
follows  in  an  up-to-date  manni  r.  IN-  has  two 
silos,  which  were  the  first  built  in  this  sec- 
tion, with  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five   to  d  which  he  fills  with 

grown  from   twelve  acres,  1  rom   his 

land  twelve  hundred  bushels  besides.  He  has 
the  latest  and  best  farming  implements,  in- 
cluding a  portable  steam-engine.  As  a 
breeder  and  dealer  in  the  superior  Brown 
Swiss  stock  he  stands  second  to  none,  and 
now  keeps  thirty  head  of  cattle  on  his  farm. 
On  a  part  of  the  original  farm  that  he  sold, 
many  village  homes  have  been  erected.  The 
many  massive  and  well-built  walls  surround- 
ing ami  dividing  the  property  represent  a  vast 
amount    of    labor   and    expense.      I  or    se1 

-  he  has  been  the  president  of  the  Brown 
Swiss  Breeders'  Association  of  America,  in 
which  capacity  his  father  served  for  twelve 
years  or  more  before  his  death. 

In  1SS4  Mr.  Fish  married  Eunice  Avery, 
of  Preston,  Conn.  They  have  a  comely  and 
interesting  daughter,  Fanny  Ella,  who  was 
born  November  14,  1888.  Mr.  Fish  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mrs.  Fish  is 
a  daughter  of  Erasmus  and  Eunice  (Williams) 
Avery,  both  of  whom  reside  near  her.  She 
is  a  descendant  of  Christopher  Avery,  who, 
born  in  England  in  1590,  lived  in  Gloucester, 
Mass.,  in  1644,  officiating  as  Selectman. 
1 1  is  son  James,  born  in  England  in  11 
married  Joanna  Greenslade  in  Boston.  The 
line  oi    descent   comes   throu  istopher; 

i;  Jam  d)  ;   John  ;  John,  Jr.  :  and 

Robert,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Fish. 
Through  the  Avery  family  she  traces  her  an- 
cestry to  Elder  Brewster,  of  the  "Mayflower." 
In  their  possession  is  a  fine  specimen  ot  the 
tall,  old-fashioned  clock,  which  was  built  by 
John  Avery,  her  tndfather,  ami   is   re- 

garded as  an  heirloom  of  the  Williams  family. 


i78 


IWOCRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ARRIET  HUBBARD,  a  respected 
resident  of  Stonington,  is  a  daughter 
of  George  and  Sally  (Swan)  Hub- 
bard, both  of  this  town,  and  was  born  Septem- 
ber 2,  1812,  Her  grandfather,  John  Hub- 
bard, was  one  of  three  brothers,  young  men  of 
means,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Eng- 
land, and  spent  here  the  rest  of  their  lives. 
The  grandfather  settled  in  Windsor  County, 
near  Hartford,  Conn.,  where  he  died  when 
over  eighty  years  of  age.  His  wife  was  in 
maidenhood  Susanna  Mills;  and  they  had 
three  sons  —  John,  Job,  and  George.  George 
Hubbard,  father  of  Miss  Harriet  Hubbard, 
was  born  in  Windsor  County,  July  23,  1780. 
Entering  Yale  College,  he  subsequently  took 
a  degree  there;  and  in  1S07  he  came  to  Ston- 
ington, where  he  practised  law  for  many 
years,  becoming  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  in 
the  town.  He  had  a  financial  interest  in 
shipping,  and  was  also  the  founder  of  the 
Stonington  Bank.  A  loyal  citizen,  interested 
in  public  affairs,  he  was  elected  Representa- 
tive of  the  town  for  several  terms,  serving 
both  in  the  upper  and  lower  house.  He 
was  also  a  Master  Mason.  In  1809  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Sally  Swan  Phelps,  widow  of 
Dr.  Charles  Phelps,  who  died  in  1800,  leav- 
ing her  with  four  children,  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  none  of  whom  lived  beyond  middle 
life.  She  was  born  October  5,  1772,  and  died 
in  1 84 1,  at  sixty-nine  years  of  age.  Mr. 
Hubbard  died  in  1853,  his  death  being  widely 
regretted.  He  left  his  daughter  a  fair  com- 
petency. He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of 
three  children  —  George,  Harriet,  and  one 
that  died  in  infancy.  George,  born  in  18 10, 
was  for  many  years  Collector  of  the  Port  at 
Stonington.  Miss  Harriet  Hubbard  received 
a  liberal  education,  attending  schools  in  Ston- 
ington, New  Haven,  and  New  York.  After 
finishing  her  studies,  she  returned  to  her  na- 


tive village,  where  she  has  since  resided, 
doing  much  good  in  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  way. 
She  is  an  earnest  worker  in  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church,  and  is  the  last  surviving 
member  of  her  family. 


ATTHEW     STILLMAN    CLARK, 
a  well-known  and  esteemed  citizen 


of  Salem,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Westerly,  R.I.,  January  13,  18 16,  eighty- 
two  years  ago,  son  of  Augustus  and  Ruth 
(Barker)  Clark.  The  family  is  noted  for  its 
longevity.  Grandfather  Clark  was  an  octo- 
genarian, and  his  wife  also  lived  to  be  very 
old.  Mr.  Clark's  mother,  who  was  a  Barker, 
of  Newport,  R.I.,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five.  She  had  nine  children,  six  of  whom 
lived  to  maturity.  George  Barker  Clark  went 
to  Jasper  County,  Illinois,  forty  years  ago. 

Matthew  Clark  received  his  education  partly 
in  Westerly,  R.I.,  and  partly  in  Franklin, 
New  London  County,  to  which  place  his  par- 
ents removed  when  he  was  about  sixteen  years 
old.  He  spent  two  years,  1855  and  1856,  in 
Poquonock,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  sash 
and  blind  industry.  In  1848  he  married  Har- 
riet M.  Pratt,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Hannah 
A.  (Brown)  Pratt,  of  Lyme.  Her  maternal 
grandfather,  Deacon  William  Brown,  of  Gro- 
ton,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.  Her 
father,  Joshua  Pratt,  who  was  a  blacksmith  by 
trade,  served  as  a  Drum  Major  in  the  War  of 
18 1 2.  He  settled  in  Salem  when  a  young 
man,  and  married  first  Abby  Way,  who  died 
leaving  two  daughters.  By  his  second  wife 
also  he  had  two  daughters,  but  Mrs.  Clark  is 
now  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  family. 
Mr.  Pratt  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years.  His  widow  passed  away  at  their  old 
home  about  1879,  aged  eighty-seven. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  lost  one  son  at  the  age 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■79 


of  eleven  months,  Arthur  Henry  by  name. 
They  have  three  living  children,  namely: 
Joshua  P.,  who  conducts  the  farm,  saw-mill, 
grist-mill,  and  shingle-mill,  and  who  is  mar- 
ried and  has  one  son,  Charles  Stillman  Clark, 
now  live  years  oi  age;  Thomas  S.,  also  a  resi- 
dent of  this  place,  and  married;  and  Ora  !•'., 
wife  of  Nathaniel  Clark,  and  a  resident  of 
this  town.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Clark  is  a  relative 
of  the  family  by  marriage  only. 

The  original  owner  of  the  Clark  homestead 
was  I.avine  Stoddard,  who  built  the  dam  and 
the  grist-mill  in  [8l2.  The  Clarks  settled 
hen  forty  years  ago,  the  farm  then  compris- 
ing fifty-four  acres  of  land,  with  the  saw  and 
grist  mill.  Mr.  Clark  elected  a  shingle-mill 
a  few  years  later,  which  has  proved  profitable 
to  him  and  ol  benefit  to  the  community.  He 
made  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  shingles 
in  one  year,  which  he  sold  at  two  and  one-half 
dollars  per  thousand.  During  the  same  year  he 
ground  eleven  thousand  bushels  of  grain,,  and 
his  saw-mill  netted  him  two  hundred  dollars. 
The  property  has  doubled  in  value  since  it 
came  into  his  possession.  Mr.  Clark,  in 
spite  of  his  eighty-two  years,  is  a  hale  and  ac- 
tive man,  and  retains  all  his  faculties  unim- 
paired. He  lias  not  even  been  obliged  to  use 
eye-glasses,  now  so  generally  worn:  and  to 
his  intellectual  powers  the  years  have  only 
added  strength. 


-*-»**-*  - 


Benjamin  franklin  Will- 
iams, a  prosperous  farmer  of  Ston- 
ington,  was  born  in  Ledyard, 
Conn.,  September  7,  1841.  son  of  Seth  and 
Lucy  A.  (Noyes)  Williams.  The  grand- 
father, Seth  Williams,  was  an  industrious 
farmer  of  Ledyard.  who  had  six  children, 
three  sons  and  three  daughters.  The  father, 
Seth   Williams,    second,    born    in    Ledyard    in 


1S01,  married  Lucy  Ann,  a  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph and  Zerviah  (Wheeler)  Noyes.  Her 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Paul  Wheel. 
in  in  of  wealth  and  note  in  his  time.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Williams  had  ten  children:  Seth 
N.  ;  Lucy  Ann;  Eunice  Servla<^Harriet ; 
Newel  Gurdon;  Joseph  Warren;  William 
Henry;  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Abbie  Eliza;  and  Orrin  Merwin. 
Eight  of  them  are  still  living. 

Benjamin  Williams  attended  the  district 
schools  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  when 
he  was  sent  to  a  boarding-school  in  East 
Greenwich,  where  he  studied  three  years.  He 
then  entered  Phillips  Academy  at  Andover, 
Mass.,  where  he  finished  the  usual  course  of 
study.  Returning  to  Ledyard,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Civil  War  he  was  one  of  the  first 
volunteers,  but  was  rejected  on  account  ol 
rheumatism.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to 
farming  as  his  chief  occupation,  although 
later  in  life  he  has  done  much  business  as  ad- 
ministrator of  estates  and  conservator  of  the 
unfortunate  and  as  guardian  of  minors.  He 
has  taken  ,1  prominent  part  in  public  affairs. 
Ho  served  as  School  Visitor  for  nine  years, 
during  which  time  he  was  clerk  of  the  School 
Board,  and  for  sixteen  years  was  District 
Committeeman.  Although  he  is  a  firm  Re- 
publican and  the  town  of  Stonington  is  Dem- 
ocratic by  a  large  majority,  he  is  now  serving 
his  eighth  consecutive  year  as  Selectman,  four 
of  which  years  he  was  First  Selectman.  Mr. 
Williams  took  an  active  part  in  securing  for 
Mystic  the  new  velvel  pi. mi  oi  the  Rossie 
Brothers,  of  Germany;  and,  when  the  Mystic 
Industrial  Company  was  formed  in  the  winter 
of  1897,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  directors, 
and  was  elected  its  first  president.  He  joined 
the  First  Congregational  Church  in  Stoning- 
ton in  [866,  and  has  since  been  a  member  of 
the     Society     Committee.       He     has     been    a 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Deacon  since  October  4,  1868,  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school  since  1874. 
Since  1888  he  has  been  treasurer  of  the  so- 
ciety and  of  the  church  fund,  amounting  to 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  He  lives  on  a 
farm  which  was  settled  by  his  father-in-law 
thirty-five  years  ago,  and  carries  on  a  large 
dairy. 

Mr.  Williams  was  married  February  4, 
1S64,  to  Ann  Louisa,  a  daughter  of  Nathan 
S.  and  Nancy  (Dennison)  Noyes,  of  Stoning- 
ton.  They  have  had  eight  children,  only 
three  of  whom  are  living.  Nathan,  the  eld- 
est, died  in  1892,  leaving  a  widow;  Everett 
and  Joseph  died  in  infancy;  George  passed 
away  in  1876,  at  the  age  of  seven  years; 
Eliza  Dennison  died  in  1880,  at  the  age  of 
five;  Frank  Lincoln,  a  commercial  traveller, 
is  unmarried,  and  makes  his  home  with  his 
parents;  Annie  Louise  is  the  wife  of  Noyes 
Palmer;  and  Clarence  Henry  is  a  commercial 
traveller. 


jAPTAIN  JAMES  F.  SMITH,  the 
proprietor  of  a  steamboat  line  running 
-  between  New  London  and  the  east 
end  of  Long  Island,  and  a  member  of  the  New 
London  Board  of  Aldermen,  was  born  in  this 
city,  December  17,  1837,  son  of  Franklin  F. 
and  Mary  C.  (Chapel)  Smith.  He  comes  of 
a  family  of  sailors,  and  is  the  sixth  James 
Smith,  each  succeeding  generation  giving  to 
the  world  one  of  that  name.  His  great-grand- 
father and  grandfather,  both  named  James, 
were  seafaring  men.  The  grandfather,  who 
was  lost  from  a  privateer  when  about  forty- 
four  years  of  age,  married  a  Miss  Hempstead, 
who  lived  to  be  quite  old.  They  reared  six 
sons  and  five  daughters  of  whom  all  but  one 
nearly  reached  the  age  of  eighty.  Only  one 
of  this  family  is  living  to-day.  Five  of  the 
sons  —  Parker,    Robert,    James,    Franklin    F. , 


and  Richard  —  were  successful  ship-masters 
in  the  whaling  trade.  The  other,  John,  was 
cut  off  in  the  flower  of  young  manhood,  being 
lost  from  the  topsail-yard  of  his  vessel  off  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Franklin  F.  Smith  was  born  in  New  Lon- 
don about  1800.  He  followed  the  sea  during 
a  large  part  of  his  life  as  the  captain  of  a 
whaler.  For  some  time  he  was  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Perkins  &  Smith,  whaling  agents; 
and  at  one  time  he  was  quite  wealthy.  He 
died  in  1872;  and  his  wife  died  about  five 
years  later,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  her 
age.  Five  children  were  born  to  this  couple, 
four  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  The  latter 
are:  James  F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Frank,  a  seafaring  man ;  and  Chelsea  and 
Elias  P.,  who  reside  in  this  city. 

James  F.  Smith  acquired  his  education  in  a 
district  school  of  New  London  and  at  East- 
hampton  (Mass.)  Institute.  His  first  voy- 
age was  made  to  California  with  his  father, 
who  was  at  that  time  the  captain  of  the  ship 
"■Charles  Carroll";  and  he  first  sailed  as  a 
hired  seaman  on  the  ship  "Crystal  Palace" 
in  1855,  receiving  five  dollars  a  month  for 
seventeen  months.  In  1865  he  was  offered  a 
captain's  command,  but  did  not  undertake 
such  responsibility  until  1868,  when  he  took 
charge  of  the  bark  "  Peru."  He  was  cap- 
tain of  the  "Peru"  for  two  years.  Next  he 
took  command  of  the  "Paiea,"  which  name 
signifies  the  flag  of  Hawaii.  On  this  vessel 
he  had  a  unique  experience.  Having  lost  her 
rudder  during  a  typhoon  in  latitude  forty- 
eight  north,  longitude  one  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  east,  the  captain  made  and 
shipped  a  temporary  one,  with  which  he  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Llonolulu  Harbor  in  forty- 
eight  days.  From  1855  to  1868  he  was  away 
from  home,  most  of  the  time  on  the  high 
seas,    successfully  weathering  the  dangers  of 


JAMES    F.    SMITH. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIKW 


•S3 


arctic  icebergs  and  tropical  storms.  In  [871 
he  established  a  home  of  his  own  on  the  land; 
and  on  July  4,  1875,  he  started  his  steamboat 
line  hum  New  London  to  the  east  end  oi 
Long  Island.  He  made  many  friends  in  his 
travels.  Since  1882  he  has  resided  at  1 
Granite  Street,  formerly  the  home  of  his 
mule  and  aunt,  Captain  James  Smith  and 
sister,   who  died  he:  e. 

In  1 87 1  the  Captain  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Sarah  1!.  Ward,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain John  L.  Ward.  Of  their  three  children 
one  is  living.  This  is  a  promising  boy  of  fif- 
teen years,  the  seventh  James  Smith.  I 
tain  Smith  takes  an  active  interest  in  tin-  city 
government.  Elected  Alderman  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  he  has  served  in  the  City 
Council  for  five  years.  A  veteran  Mason,  he- 
has  taken  thirty-two  degrees.  lie  is  Last 
Grand  of  Mohegan  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  ex- 
State  Councillor  in  the  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics;  Last  Chancellor  of 
Mistuxct  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of 
Mystic;  Great  Sachem  in  the  Improved  Order 
of  Red  Men;  and  he  belongs  to  the  Daughters 
ol  Liberty,  the  Daughters  of  Rebecca,  and  the 
Daughters  of  Pocahontas.  For  some  time  he 
has  been  the  vice-president  of  the  Veteran 
Firemen's  Association  of  New  London. 


f  STeORGE  OSCAR  JACKSON,  of  Col- 
\J5  I  Chester,  the  present  High  Sheriff  of 
New  London  Count)',  was  born  Jan- 
uary [3,  1N54,  in  South  Coventry,  Tolland 
County,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Scott)  Jack- 
son. Andrew  Jackson,  the  father  of  John, 
was  a  native  of  Scotland.  He  came  to  this 
country  when  a  young  man,  and  settled  in 
New  York.  By  trade  he  was  a  builder  and 
contractor.  He  married  Margaret  Snow,  a 
native   of    the    north    of     Ireland.       Thirteen 


children  were  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  died 
in  childhood.  Six  sons  and  live  daughters 
1  eai  lied  maturity. 

John  Jackson  was  married  about  1852  in 
Mansfield,  Conn.,  to  Mrs.  Mary  Scott  Perry, 
of  Windham,  Conn.,  daughter  of  William 
Scott.  She  is  a  great-grand-daughter  of  the 
William  Scott  who  came  over  in  the  English 
army,  subsequently  took  up  the  cause  of  the 
patriots,  and  fought  against  the  British  in  the 
Revolution  and  in  the  War  of  1812.  By  her 
marriage  with  Ransom  Perry,  who  died  in  the 
prime  of  life,  she  had  two  children,  one  of 
whom,  P.  G.  Perry,  resides  in  South  Wind- 
ham. Conn.  Two  children  were  born  of  her 
union  with  John  Jackson  —  George  Oscar  and 
Lydia.  The  latter  is  now  the  wife  of  Charles 
Bui  lard,  and  lives  at  Big  Stone  City,  S.  Dak. 
The  father  died  at  Colchester  Springs  in 
18S8.  Besides  carrying  on  a  farm,  he  con- 
ducted a  tan-yard,  which  he  started  in  Marl- 
1,  Conn.,  in  1858.  The  mother,  now 
seventy-nine  years  of  age,  but  still  very  ac- 
tive,  is  living  with  the  son. 

George  O.  Jackson  spent  his  boyhood  with 
his  parents,  assisting  his  father  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  tan-yard.  His  education  was  ac- 
quired in  the  old  red  brick  school-house, 
which  is  still  standing.  In  1877  he  left 
home  and  went  to  the  Black  Hills,  where  for 
a  twelvemonth  or  more  he  led  an  adventurous 
life,  engaging  in  the  hotel  and  mining  busi- 
ness and  as  a  mounted  guard  for  the  express 
company.  He  then  returned  home,  and  in 
July,  1879,  went  to  Colchester,  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  manufacture  of  har- 
s.  Here  he  did  a  prosperous  business 
up  to  the  time  that  he  sold  out,  in  January, 
1895.  For  thirteen  years  he  has  been  a 
Deputy  Sheriff;  and  on  April  I,  1896,  he 
appointed  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  High 
Sheriff  Frank  Hawkes,  deceased.      At  present, 


iS4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


besides  attending  to  bis  official  duties,  he  is 
engaged  in  developing  a  fruit  farm  in  the 
village. 

On  Thanksgiving  Day,  1879,  Mr.  Jackson 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Hattie  F. 
Crocker,  of  Colchester.  They  lost  a  son  at 
the  age  of  eight,  and  three  others  younger. 
Three  of  the  deceased  died  of  scarlet  fever 
within  a  few  days  of  each  other.  Their  living 
children  are:  Lila,  aged  twelve;  Alice, 
seven;  Agnes,  five;  Ruth,  three;  and  Myron, 
two  years  old.  The  family  reside  on  one  of 
his  south  village  places.  In  politics  Sheriff 
Jackson  is  a  Republican,  and  he  has  served 
very  acceptably  for  twelve  years  on  the  party's 
State  Central  Committee.  He  was  a  Con- 
stable for  many  years,  and  was  also  Tax  Col- 
lector and  Bailiff  for  the  borough.  In  the 
Masonic  fraternity  he  is  a  Knight  Templar 
Mason,  and  he  belongs  to  the  order  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias. 


(S I  HEOPHILUS  BROWN,  a  retired  sea 
^]|  captain,  who  is  now  engaged  in  farm- 
ing in  Groton,  New  London  County, 
Conn.,  was  born  in  that  part  of  the  town 
which  is  now  Ledyard,  on  January  12,  1824. 
I  lis  parents  were  Aaron  and  Mary  (Wilcox) 
Brown,  both  of  old  Colonial  stock  of  English 
origin.  Nathaniel  Brown,  the  earliest  known 
progenitor  of  Captain  Brown  on  his  father's 
side,  married  a  Miss  Haines  in  Groton,  Conn., 
in  171 5.  Their  son  Comfort  was  the  father 
of  Nathaniel,  second,  the  father  of  Aaron 
Blown.  Nathaniel  Brown,  second,  was  one 
of  the  minute-men  during  the  Revolutionary 
War.  II  is  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Deborah  Morgan,  was  a  native  of  Groton. 
They  reared  two  sons  Nathaniel,  third,  and 
Aai'":  and  seven  daughters,  all  but  one 
of    whom    had    families.      Grandfather    Brown 


lived  to  be  threescore  years  and  ten.  His 
property  at  his  death  was  inventoried  at 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars.  His  widow,  who 
survived  him  twelve  years,  died  in  1830,  at 
the  age  of  eighty. 

Aaron  Brown  engaged  in  farming  on  part 
of  the  original  home  farm.  He  married,  in 
1807,  Mary  Wilcox,  of  Groton.  They  reared 
seven  children  —  Robert,  Eleazer,  Sabrina, 
Allura,  Laura,  Theophilus,  and  Jeffrey. 
Robert  Brown,  who  was  a  master  mariner, 
went  to  Seattle,  Wash.,  in  1873,  and  died 
there  in  1894,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  He 
and  his  wife  reared  a  family.  Eleazer  Brown 
died  single,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years. 
Sabrina  married  Jeremiah  Wilcox,  had  two 
daughters,  and  died  in  1881.  Allura  died  at 
the  age  of  eighteen.  Laura  married  Thomas 
Lanphere,  and  died,  she  and  her  only  child, 
an  infant,  being  buried  in  the  same  coffin. 
Jeffrey  died  in  1868  on  the  old  farm,  at  the 
age  of  forty-two,  leaving  two  sons  and  three 
daughters.  The  father,  Aaron  Brown,  died 
in  1 871,  and  the  mother,  Mary  Wilcox 
Brown,  in  1877,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four. 
Their  remains  rest  in  the  Brown  burial-ground 
with  several  generations  of  their  family,  Com- 
fort, the  donor  of  the  ground,  being  its  first 
occupant. 

Theophilus  Brown  was  reared  on  the  home- 
stead farm,  and  there  remained  until  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age,  receiving  a  limited  dis- 
trict-school education.  In  1843  he  shipped 
as  sailor  before  the  mast,  with  Captain  Jona- 
than Nash,  on  the  bark  "  Vermont,"  of  Mys- 
tic. They  went  round  Cape  Horn  to  the 
Pacific,  and  were  gone  twenty-nine  months, 
making  a  very  poor  voyage  as  to  profits,  oil  at 
the  time  of  their  return  being  only  twenty- 
five  cents  a  gallon,  and  bone  but  twenty-seven 
cents  a  pound,  his  entire  earnings  amounting 
to  but  one  hundred  and  twelve  dollars.      His 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


i8S 


second   voyage  on   the  "  Ven it"    was   still 

nunc  disastrous,  the  vessel  and  her  cargo 
being  cast  away  on  Amsterdam  Island,  sev- 
enty-eight degrees  east  longitude,  and  forty- 
one  degrees  south  latitude,  the  crew  being 
rescued  by  the  whalers.  For  sixteen  years 
he  was  a  master  mariner,  for  several  years 
sailing  the  "Elector."  In  [869  Captain 
Brown  settled  down  on  a  small  farm  in  Gro- 
ton,  where  he  now  lives.  Mis  tine,  large 
mansion-house  was  built  by  a  Mr.  Perry,  who 
died  shortly  after  it  was  finished.  Captain 
Brown  lias  expended  thousands  of  dollars  in 
clearing  and  cultivating  the  grounds,  beautify- 
ing the  place  by  setting  "at  shade,  fruit,  and 
ornamental  trees  and  shrubbery.  The  house 
can  be  seen  from  New  London  and  other 
points;  and  it  affords  a  commanding  view  of 
the  majestic  Thames  River  flowing  by,  oppo- 
site Fort  Trumbull  and  the  lovely  banks  and 
lawns  of  Pequot  anil  New  London.  As  the 
follows  the  man\-  sailing  and  steam  craft 
gliding  out  of  the  harbor  and  river  into  Long 
Island  Sound,  it  sees  in  the  distance  Fisher's 
Island  and  other  smaller  islands,  apparently 
floating  on  the  waters. 

Captain  Brown  was  first  married  in  1857 
to  Julia  llallet,  a  native  of  that  part  of 
Groton  now  known  as  Ledyard.  She  died, 
i less,  two  years  later,  of  consumption. 
In  1, SOS,  after  leaving  the  sea,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Mary  Louisa  Geer,  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Experience  (Avery)  Geer.  Lap- 
tain  and  Mrs.  Brown  have  two  daughters, 
namely:  Alice  Experience,  a  graduate  of 
Mount  Holyoke  College  in  Smith  Hadley, 
Mass.,  now  living  at  home;  and  Clara  Louise, 
who  was  graduated  from  Williams  Memorial 
High  School  in  New  London  in  [895,  subse- 
quently taking  a  post-graduate  course.  Mrs. 
Brown  was  one  ol  a  family  "I  tour  children. 
1  >ne    brother   and    one   sister  have  passed  away. 


Isaac  Geer,  her  surviving  brother,  is  now 
living  on  the  old  Geer  homestead;  and  she 
has  nieces  and  nephews  of  education  and  re- 
finement, who  are  filling  positions  of  trust 
and   honor. 


RS.    FANNY  A.    WILCOX,   widow 

of  the  late  Leander  Wilcox,  of  the 

town  of  Stonington,  is  a  daughter 

of  Elias  and  Frances  (Wilcox)  Davis,  and  was 
bom  in  Quinebaug,  New  London  County, 
Conn.,   May  10,    I  8  p  i, 

Her  father,  Elias  Davis,  a  son  of  Peter 
Davis,  was  born  in  Lisbon,  Conn.,  and  is  now 
living  in,  Stonington,  not  far  from  the  resi- 
dence of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Wilcox.  He  was 
twice  married.  His  first  wife,  Frances  A., 
a  daughter  of  Lodwick  Wilcox,  died  August 
6,  1848,  leaving  three  children,  including 
Fanny  A.,  the  subject  ol  this  sketch,  then  an 
infant.  The  other  two  were  Elias  N.  and 
Benjamin  F.  I.  Elias  X.,  who  was  a  volun- 
teer in  Company  C,  Twenty-first  Connecticut 
Regiment,  enlisting  in  1862  and  serving  six- 
months,  died  in  a  hospital  in  Newport  News, 
Va.,  in  March,  1865,  when  but  nineteen 
years  of  age.  Benjamin  F.  I.  Davis  is  now 
a  resident  of  Westerly,  K.I.  Mr.  Davis's 
second  wife  was  in  maidenhood  Julia  Ann 
Wilcox.  Five,  daughters  and  one  son,  the 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis,  are  now 
living. 

fanny  A.  Davis  received  her  education  in 
the  common  schools.  Her  marriage  to  Lean- 
der Wilcox  occurred  January  t,  1865.  She 
began  her  married  life  in  the  house  in  which 
she  now  lives,  being  at  that  time  but  eighteen 
years  old,  and  her  husband  twenty.  Mr. 
Wilcox  was  a  son  of  Elias  Wilcox,  a  retired 
fisherman  of  Stonington,  who  was  born  in  that 
town  April   3,   1815.      He  was  engaged    in   the 


iS6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


fish  business,  at  first  in  company  with  others; 
but  for  some  years  before  his  death  he  con- 
ducted business  alone.  He  was  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Union  Baptist  Church  of  Mys- 
tic, in  which  he  was  also  a  Deacon.  His 
death,  which  occurred  December  22,  1895, 
was  most  tranquil,  his  last  words  being, 
"How  beautiful!  how  beautiful!"  He  was 
a  much  respected  citizen,  and  his  loss  was 
widely   regretted. 

Mrs.  Wilcox  has  one  child,  Ella  May,  who 
now  resides  with  her  mother,  and  is  a  student 
at  the  Mystic  High  School.  Further  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  the  family  may  be  found 
in  the  sketch  of  Captain  Elias  F.  Wilcox, 
published  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 


&'  EORGE  LOVETT  GRISWOLD, 
Town,  City,  and  School  Tax  Collector 
of  Norwich,  Conn.,  is  a  native  of 
Willimantic,  this  State.  He  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1858,  son  of  George  H.  and  Lucinda 
(Cheney)  Griswold.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Henry  Griswold,  died  early,  leaving 
this  one  son,  George  H.,  above  named,  who 
was  reared  by  his  grandfather  Paige. 

George  H.  Griswold  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Windham,  Conn.,  in  1826.  He  became  a 
skilled  machinist,  and  during  the  Civil  War 
he  worked  in  the  Eagle  Armory,  making  guns. 
His  last  years  were  spent  here  in  Norwich, 
where  he  died  in  1868.  Lucinda  Cheney,  to 
whom  he  was  married  in  the  year  1845,  was 
born  in  Windham,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph H.  and  Abigail   (Pabcock)  Cheney. 

George  Lovctt  Griswold  is  the  fifth  child 
and  second  son  of  the  three  sons  and  five 
daughters  born  to  his  parents.  All  of  these 
children  except  Henry,  who  died  when  but 
two  years  old,  grew  to  adult  age.  The  living- 
are :   Ellen  A.,  wife  of  William  P.  Potter,  Jr., 


residing  at  60  Prospect  Street,  Norwich;  Jo- 
sephine A.,  wife  of  Ripley  J.  Ramage,  of  New 
Britain,  Conn.  ;  George  Lovett,  of  Norwich, 
direct  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Frank  H. 
and  Clara  E.,  who  reside  with  their  mother  in 
this  city. 

George  Lovett  Griswold,  after  obtaining  a 
common-school  education,  learned  the  carpen- 
ter's trade.  He  then  worked  at  type-wood 
dressing  for  three  years,  and  subsequently  did 
a  contracting  business  in  the  manufacture  of 
gun-stocks.  In  the  fall  of  1893  he  was 
elected  Town  Tax  Collector;  in  June,  1894, 
he  was  chosen  City  Collector;  and  in  Septem- 
ber of  that  year  School  Tax  Collector.  In 
these  several  capacities  he  is  now  serving. 

On  May  4,  1894,  Mr.  Griswold  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Angie  L.  Thompson,  daughter  of 
Charles  Thompson,  of  Willimantic.  Their 
home  has  been  brightened  by  the  birth  of  a 
daughter,  Gladys  L. ,  born  March  23,   1896. 

Mr.  Griswold  is  prominent  in  fraternal 
circles,  being  a  member  of  Franklin  Council, 
No.  3,  R.  &  S.  M.  ;  Past  Sachem  of  Mohican 
Tribe,  No.  4,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men;  a 
member  of  the  Republican  Club;  the  Arca- 
num Club;  the  R.  N.  E.  Wheel  Club;  Gardner 
Lodge,  No.  46,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Nor- 
wich; Captain  of  C.  A.  Russell  Company,  Uni- 
form Ranks,  K.  P. ;  also  a  member  of  Uncas 
Lodge,  No.  11,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Norwich;  and 
a  member  of  Citizens'  Corps  of  Sedgwick 
Post,  No.  1,  G  A.  R.  He  served  nearly 
eight  years  in  the  Volunteer  Fire  Department, 
and  afterward  organized  the  Veteran  Firemen's 
Association,  of  which  he  is  treasurer.  For 
eleven  years  he  served  in  the  militia, 
and  at  the  time  he  resigned  he  was  Captain 
of  Company  C,  Third  Regiment.  He  resides 
at  103  River  Avenue,  Laurel  Hill,  having 
bought  the  estate  and  settled  here  in  October, 
1895. 


G]  ORGE    L.   GRISWOLD. 


I 


I'.IOCR AI'IIICAL    REVIEW 


1S9 


RRIN  EUGENE  MINER,  M.D.,  a 
physician  of  Noank,  Conn.,  was  born 
in  North  Stonington,  Conn.,  Sep- 
tember 29,  1X54.  He  is  the  son  of  Den i son 
W.  and  Clarissa  M.  (Park)  Miner.  Thomas 
Miner,  the  progenitor  of  this  family,  was 
born  in  Chew  Magna,  in  the  county  of  Somer- 
set, England,  April  23,  160S,  and  emigrated 
to  this  country  with  Governor  Winthrop  and 
family  in  1630,  in  the  good  ship  "Arbella," 
arrived  in  Salem,  Mass.,  June  14,  1630,  and 
settled  in  Charlestown,  Mass.  On  April  20, 
1633,  he  married  Grace,  daughter  of  Walter 
Palmer,  and  by  this  union  had  twelve  chil- 
dren. In  1 63 5  he  removed  to  Ilingham, 
Mass.  ;  and  in  1646  he  came  to  Connecticut, 
and  settled  in  New  London.  llis  seventh 
son,  Manasseh,  was  the  first  male  child  born 
in  that  town.  In  1653  he  removed  to  Stoning- 
ton ( Wequetequoc) ,  thence  to  Ouiambog  in 
the  same  town,  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
1  if  his  days,  and  held  about  every  office  in  the 
gilt  of  his  townsmen,  being  elected  Deputy 
Magistrate,  Selectman,  Chief  Military  Offi- 
cer, and  also  Town  Clerk  for  a  number  of 
;;  and  it  is  said  his  peculiar  style  of 
writing  forms  one  of  the  curiosities  of  the 
Stonington  records.  Dying  on  October  23, 
1690,  aged  eighty-three  years,  he  was  buried 
at  Wequetequoc,  in  Stonington. 

Over  his  grave  lies  a  common  pasture  stone, 
about  six  feet  long,  the  top  ten  inches  wide 
and  about  one  foot  thick,  having  the  following 
inscription,  "  Here  I. yes  the  body  of  Livten- 
ant  Thomas  Miner,  aged  .S3,  departed  [690. " 
I  he  fifth  son,  Ephraim,  is  buried  at  Taug- 
wmik,  in  Stonington;  and  over  the  grave  is 
a  beautiful  ami  elaborately  carved  table  stone 
representing  the  Miner  coat  of  arms  and  other 
devices.  Near  the  grave  of  Thomas  are  two 
more  finely  wrought  table  stones,  which  mark 
the   resting-place   of    Deacon     Manasseh    (sev- 


enth son)  and  grandson  Deacon  Th< 
Miner,  each  of  these  stones  having  engraved 
upon  it  the  Miner  coat  of  arms.  This  coat 
of  arms  was  conferred  on  Henry  Miner,  of 
Chew,  county  of  Somerset,  England,  by  Ed- 
ward III.,  in  1339,  for  valorous  services  ren- 
dered the  king  during  the  French  war  about 
that  time.  The  original  document  was  pre- 
served by  his  descendants  to  the  sixth  genera- 
tion—  that  is,  to  the  time  of  Asa  Miner, 
and  was  by  him  deposited  with  the  Connecti- 
cut Historical  Society  for  preservation,  at 
Hartford,  Conn.  The  following  certificate  is 
appended  to  the  original  document:  "This 
Coat  of  the  Miners  of  Chew,  I  attest  to  be 
entered  at  Bath  in  Somersett,  by  Clarencieux, 
the  4th  of  King  James  the  first,  which  visita- 
tion is  in  custody  of  me  1606,  Alex:  Cun- 
ningham. " 

Isaac  Miner,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  a  farmer  of  Stonington, 
where  he  remained  during  his  life.  He  mar- 
ried Keturah  Frown,  of  North  Stonington; 
and  they  had  eight  children  —  four  daughters 
and  four  sons,  all  of  whom  grew  up  and  had 
families.  Isaac  Miner  died  thirty  years  be- 
fore his  wife,  who  lived  to  the  advanced  age 
of   ninety  years. 

Their  son,  Denison  W.  Miner,  the  father 
named  above,  was  born  in  Stonington  in  1808. 
He  was  a  well-to-do  farmer,  and  he  held  some 
offices  in  the  town.  He  married  Clarissa  M. 
Park,  daughter  of  Israel  P.  Park,  in  May, 
1S32,  and  was  the  father  of  five  children,  as 
follows:  Orrin  Eugene,  Clarissa,  Elmina, 
Fannie,  and  Irving  W.  Clarissa,  the  second- 
born,  is  the  wife  of  Elias  11.  Miner,  a  second 
cousin.  They  live  at  Taugwonk.  Elmina 
Miner,  the  second  daughter,  died  in  infancy; 
and  Fannie,  the  third,  died  at  the  age  "I  six- 
teen years.  Irving  W.  Miner,  the  younger 
son,    is   at    present    living    in    Westerly,    R.I. 


IQO 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Their  father,  Isaac  Miner,  died  in  1886;  and 
their  mother  died  December  29,  1897,  aged 
eighty-three  years. 

Orrin  Eugene  Miner,  the  eldest  born  of 
the  family,  attended  the  East  Greenwich 
Academy  in  his  youth,  and  prepared  for 
Brown  University,  but  changed  his  plans,  and 
entered  the  University  of  New  York  City  in 
1855,  graduating  in  1858,  in  a  class  of  five 
hundred,  receiving  a  certificate  of  honor  in 
addition  to  his  diploma.  He  settled  soon 
after  in  his  present  home,  and  erected  his 
drug  store.  He  has  a  practice  in  Noank  and 
the  adjoining  villages,  and  also  carries  on 
a  successful  business  as  a  druggist.  He  has 
invested  considerably  in  real  estate,  and  owns 
a  number  of  tenements.  Dr.  Miner  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Pharmacy  Association, 
and  of  the  Connecticut  Association,  and  is  an 
ex-Fellow  of  the  Connecticut  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. He  is  also  a  Master  Mason.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  having  been  a 
voter  with  that  party  since  its  formation. 
He  has  been  Notary  Public,  for  over  thirty 
years  was  Medical  Examiner,  and  has  also 
held  the  office  of  Postmaster  for  seventeen 
years.  He  has  resigned  the  duties  of  Coro- 
ner, which  he  performed  for  some  years. 

On  May  19,  1859,  he  married  Abbic  J. 
Latham,  daughter  of  James  A.  Latham.  The 
Doctor  and  his  wife  have  two  children  — 
Orrin  E.  and  Fannie  M.  Orrin  E.  Miner, 
Jr.,  resides  in  New  London,  being  employed  as 
mail  clerk  from  New  London  to  Boston.  He 
is  also  his  father's  partner  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness. He  married  Anna  Libby,  of  Noank. 
Fannie  M.  Miner  was  graduated  from  Mount 
Holyoke  College  in  1891,  and  is  now  living  at 
home  with  her  father  and  mother.  Dr.  Miner 
is  at  present  the  oldest  physician  in  his  vicin- 
ity. Descended  from  an  honorable  line  of 
ancestry,  an   eminently  useful  and  worthy  citi- 


zen,  he  has  the  respect  of  his    fellow-towns- 
people. 

ORENZO  DOW  BEEBE,  one  of  the 
oldest  citizens  of  New  London,  re- 
siding at  86  Shaw  Street,  where 
he  has  lived  for  nearly  half  a  century,  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Waterford,  three  miles 
from  New  London,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1809. 
His  father,  Benjamin  Beebe,  who  was  born 
in  the  same  town  in  1775,  died  in  1813, 
leaving  his  wife,  Abigail  Douglas  Beebe 
and  six  sons  and  two  daughters.  Of  his  chil- 
dren, Lorenzo  D.,  the  fourth-born,  is  the  only 
survivor.  One  of  the  sons,  Dyer  Beebe,  who 
died  in  middle  age,  before  the  war,  left  a 
daughter,  who  is  now  living.  The  mother 
died  November  23,  1840,  and  was  buried  in 
Cedar  Grove  Cemetery. 

Lorenzo  Dow  Beebe  was  named  after  the 
celebrated  Lorenzo  Dow,  whom  his  mother 
greatly  admired.  When  a  lad,  he  attended 
the  district  school  in  Waterford,  which  at 
that  time  offered  comparatively  few  advan- 
tages to  the  pupils.  When  twelve  years  old 
he  was  working  out  on  farms  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. At  fourteen  he  came  here  to  learn  the 
trade  of  tanner  with  James  Edgerton.  After 
serving  three  years,  in  accordance  with  the 
good,  old-fashioned  custom,  receiving  but 
slender  wages,  he  worked  at  tanning  as  a 
journeyman  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  1833  Mr.  Beebe  was  married  to  Nancy 
Daniels,  of  Waterford,  a  daughter  of  Nathan 
and  Nancy  (Chappell)  Daniels.  Mrs.  Beebe's 
mother  was  daughter  of  Peter  Chappell.  Air. 
and  Mrs.  Beebe  have  had  nine  children,  of 
whom  six  are  living.  A  son  and  a  daughter 
died  in  infancy.  Horace  Beebe,  who  was 
always  in  delicate  health,  died,  aged  twenty- 
six.  The  remaining  children  are:  Ellen 
Edgerton     Beebe,     a    spinster,    who     lives    at 


J 

\ 

r   ^         v,. 

Ik 

1 

1                *"* 

i 

WILLIAM    P.    BINDLOSS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


>93 


home,  and  is  in  frail  health;  Nathan  B.,  for- 
merly a  mariner,  now  a  painter  in  this  city, 
who  has  one  son,  Horace  W.  Beebe,  a  rising 
musician;  Cordelia  A.,  unmarried,  who  was  a 
very  successful  and  popular  school  teacher, 
and  has  devoted  herself  to  the  care  of  her  aged 
father  and  invalid  sister  since  18S7;  Eliza- 
beth S. ,  who  married  John  N.  Brown,  a  car- 
riage-maker of  this  city,  who  died  October  16, 
1897;  Mary  L.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Alanson 
Beckwith,  of  this  city;  and  Henry  N.,  a  sales- 
man in  the  refrigerator  business,  who  has 
three  children  -  Leburton,  Bessie,  and  May. 
Mr.  Beebe  has  six  grandchildren.  He  is  a 
stanch  Republican,  and  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  city  affairs.  For  several  years  he 
was  Street  Commissioner,  and  he  was  seen  on 
the  streets  with  his  oxen  for  man)'  years.  He 
was  the  first  man  to  light  the  street  lamps  in 
New  London.  Moth  he  and  his  wife  have 
been  active  members  of  the  Methodist  Protes- 
tant church.  Although  bowed  with  age,  he 
is  still  young  in  feeling,  and  is  active  about 
his  home,  caring  for  his  farm  animals  and 
still  in  possession  of  all  his  faculties.  He 
thinks  and  works  well,  appreciates  fun  as  well 
as  some  of  bis  grandchildren,  and  it  is  the 
hope  of  his  friends  that  he  may  be  spared,  if 
not  longer,  to  round  out  a  full  century  of 
honored  days. 

ILLIAM  PARR  BINDLOSS,  coal 
merchant  of  Stonington,  Conn., 
who  was  for  some  years  in  the  coal 
business  with  the  late  J.  N.  Hancox,  was  born 
in  the  adjoining  town  of  Groton,  this  State, 
January  10,  1854.  He  is  a  sun  of  William 
and  Mary  Ellen  (Park)  Bindloss. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  William  Bind- 
loss, Sr. ,  born  in  1 794,  a  native  of  Kendal, 
Westmorelandshire,  England,  was  a  son  of 
Philip  Bindloss  and  a  brother  of  Robert  Bind- 


loss. A  cousin,  William  Bindloss,  was  Mayor 
of  Kendal  when  he  died,  and  left  of  his  mill- 
ions a  fine  endowment,  including  city  water- 
works, a  city  hall  with  chime  bells,  and  the 
revenue  from  his  castle.  Grandfather  Bind- 
loss came  to  America  about  the  year  [846, 
accompanied  by  his  wife  and  five  of  their 
eight  children,  two  or  more  being  already 
here.  He  was  very  social  and  generous,  and 
spent  his  time  chiefly  as  a  gentleman  of  lei- 
sure. He  died  in  the  town  (if  Waterford  in 
[864,  aged  sixty-nine.  His  wife  was  Mar- 
garet Palmer,  daughter  of  Thomas  Palmer. 
Eight  of  their  ten  children  are  still  living,  the 
youngest  being  sixty-three  years  of  age  and 
the  eldest   seventy-five. 

William  Bindloss,  Jr.,  the  second  child  and 
eldest  son,  was  bom  in  Kendal,  Westmore- 
landshire, England,  July  22,  1824.  In  the 
spring  of  1844  he  left  Liverpool  fur  New  York 
City  on  the  "  Elizabeth  Denison, "  a  sailing- 
vessel,  and  was  thirty  days  on  the  voyage. 
His  younger  brother,  Philip  George,  who  now 
lives  in  New  London,  came  with  him.  Before 
leaving  England  William  had  served  a  five 
years'  apprenticeship  at  the  butcher's  trade  in 
Liverpool,  receiving  sixty  cents  per  week  to 
start  with.  After  coming  to  Connecticut,  he 
worked  for  seven  years  as  a  cooper  in  Mystic, 
and  subsequently  engaged  as  a  ship-carpenter, 
first  with  Irons  &  Grinnell,  then  with  Charles 
Mai  lory,  and  later  with  the  Greenmans,  fol- 
lowing the  business  for  five  years  all  together. 
In  January,  1854,  forty-four  years  ago,  he 
bought  his  little  farm  of  ten  acres  and  mill 
site,  paying  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  The 
water-power  was  the  little  spring  brook  on 
which  his  wife's  grandfather  Parks  built 
a  dam  as  early  as  1750.  Mr.  Bindloss 
repaired  the  old  dam,  and  put  up  a  new 
mill,  which  is  still  running;  and  in  1868 
he     built     his     residence     and     barn.        Eor 


194 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


forty  years,  up  to  1896,  he  gave  his  personal 
attention  to  the  running  of  the  mill,  which 
has  now  passed  into  the  management  of  a  son, 
Frank  Miner  Bindloss. 

The  marriage  of  William  Bindloss  and 
Mary  Ellen  Parks  was  solemnized  on  February 
27,  1852.  She  is  a  daughter  of  William 
Parks  and  a  grand-daughter  of  Joseph  Parks, 
spoken  of  above,  who  was  lost  at  sea  in  the 
memorable  Christmas  storm,  while  out  in 
Southern  waters  on  a  fishing  trip.  Her  father 
died  of  yellow  fever  in  183S,  in  Key  West, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business; 
and  her  widowed  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Catherine  Mitchell,  was  left  with  six- 
children.  She  now  lives  with  Mrs.  Bindloss, 
and,  though  ninety-three  years  of  age,  is  re- 
markably well  preserved,  with  hearing  un- 
did led  and  eyesight  so  good  that  she  can 
thread  her  needle  without  the  aid  of  glasses. 
When  but  ten  years  old,  she  began  to  learn 
tailoring.  At  eleven  she  cut  and  made  a  pair 
of  trousers  for  her  father;  and,  during  the 
eighty  years  that  have  followed,  her  skilful 
fingers  have  fashioned  a  great  number  and 
variety  of  garments  for  both  men  and  women. 
She  was  married  at  twenty-four,  in  1828. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bindloss  have  had  eleven 
children;  and  seven,  four  sons  and  three 
daughters,  are  living.  Four  sons  have  died  — 
three  in  infancy,  and  Roswell  at  the  age  of 
twelve.  Those  who  reached  maturity  are: 
William  Park,  the  special  subject  of  this  bio- 
graphical sketch;  Julia  Ellen,  wife  of  James 
W.  Pollock,  a  nurseryman  living  in  .Mystic, 
who  has  one  son;  Catherine,  wife  of  Oliver 
Braman,  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  who  has  a  daugh- 
ter; Austin  Palmer  Bindloss,  also  living  in 
Newport,  who  has  a  daughter;  Dudley,  a 
in  by  trade,  who  is  unmarried  and  lives  at 
the  parental  home;  Margaret  Ann  and  Frank 
Miner,  also   living  at  home,  the  latter  having 


charge  of  the  mill.  Mr.  Bindloss  is  now 
retired  from  the  active  cares  of  business  life. 
He  began  with  small  means,  and  was  depend- 
ent upon  his  own  resources  until,  in  1863,  he 
received  a  small  legacy  from  one  of  the  family 
across  the  water.  He.  has  been  a  man  of  un- 
usual physical  endurance,  and  his  life  has 
been  a  very  active  one.  In  political  views  he 
is  a  Democrat  and  an  ardent  advocate  of  the 
free  trade  policy. 

William  Park  Bindloss,  the  elder  of  the  four 
brothers,  completed  his  education  in  Mystic 
High  School.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  he 
began  working  on  a  farm,  and  continued  thus 
employed  for  some  years.  Later  he  learned 
the  mason's  trade,  following  that  about  fifteen 
years.  He  has  been  in  the  coal  business  on 
his  own  account  since  January,   1897. 

Mr.  Bindloss  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Esther 
Bickley  were  united  in  marriage  on  April  7, 
18S1.  They  have  two  children:  William, 
born  January  2,  1896,  after  fifteen  years  of 
wedded  life;  and  Esther  Helen,  born  January 
25,  1897.  Mr.  Bindloss  and  his  family  reside 
on  Water  Street,  in  the  house  which  he  built 
in  1884.  Mrs.  Bindloss  is  a  native  of  Lee, 
Mass.,  and  is  a  daughter  of  John  Bickley,  of 
England.  In  politics,  like  his  father,  Mr. 
Bindloss  is  a  stanch  Democrat.  PTaternally, 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  and 
Council.  He  and  his  wife  are  church  mem- 
bers, the  one  of  the  Episcopal  and  the  other 
of  the  Congregational  church.  A  full  record 
of  the  Bindloss  family  in  England  may  be 
found  in  the  old  church  in  Kendal. 


ILLIAM  H.  BENHAM,  a  well- 
known  farmer  of  North  Waterford, 
New  London  County,  Conn.,  was 
born  in  this  town  on  the  farm  he  now  occu- 
pies, June  17,   1856.      His  parents  were  Will- 


WILLIAM    BINDLOSS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIKW 


195 


iam   II.   and   Sally  A.    (Edgecomb)    Ben  ham. 
His  ancestors  were  English. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  John  Benham, 
was  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  being  born 
in  17S6.  He  was  of  wealthy  parentage;  but, 
as  the  property  went  to  the  eldest  son,  he 
came  to  America  in  early  manhood,  and  set- 
tled in  Groton,  Conn.  After  serving  a  seven 
years'  apprenticeship,  he  became  an  itinerant 
maker,  with  his  bench  and  tools  going 
from  house  to  house  among  the  fanners,  as 
was  the  custom  in  those  days,  and  remaining 
in  each,  using  their  stock,  mostly  home  tanned, 
until  the  family  were  all  shod.  He  married 
Betsy  Taft,  ol  Mystic,  and  they  reared  eight 
children,  but  two  of  whom  are  now  living: 
Austin,  of  New  London;  and  James.  John 
Benham  died  in  1  s 5 « ) ;  and  his  wife  died  in 
18771  aged  ninety-seven  years. 

William  II.  Benham.  Sr.,  son  of  John  and 
Betsy  (Taft)  Benham.  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Groton,  July  16,  1816.  He  was  a  carpen- 
ter by  trade,  and  began  his  business  career 
with  his  chest  of  tools  and  twenty-five  dollars. 
He  acquired  considerable  property  as  the 
years  of  activity  went  on,  and  purchased  a 
farm  of  eighty  acres  lor  six  thousand,  five 
hundred  dollars.  He  erected  a  new  house  in 
Groton,  which  he  sold  when  they  came  to 
North  Waterford,  in  April,  1848.  On  July  2, 
1840,  he  married  Sally  A.  Edgecomb,  with 
whom  he  lived  over  fifty  years.  They  had  six 
children,  and  they  reared  one  son  and  three 
daughters;  namely,  William  IL.  Mary  Emma, 
Sarah  J.,  ami  Josephine.  Mary  Emma  mar- 
ried George  Payne,  and  lives  in  New  London; 
Sarah  Jane  is  the  wife  of  James  E.  Comstock, 
of  Quaker  Hill  in  this  town;  and  Josephine 
married  Asa  O.  Goddard,  of  New  London. 
The  other  children  were:  George  II.  Benham, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  six;  and  Walter  G., 
who  died  at  the  early  age  of   eighteen  months. 


William  H.,  the  father,  died  on  October  10, 
1893;  but  the  mother  still  lives  with  her 
son,  being  bright  and  active  in  mind  and 
body.  Her  parents  were  Jabez  and  Bridget 
(Chesebrough)  Edgecomb.  Her  father  was  a 
native  of  Groton;  but  her  mother  was  born  in 
Stonington,  Conn. 

William  II.  Benham,  Jr.,  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  and  also  the  business  evening 
school  in  this  town,  remaining  on  the  farm 
until  his  marriage.  He  has  a  good  dairy 
farm,  keeping  sixteen  cows  of  the  best  breeds, 
and  sells  milk  in  New  London.  His  farm, 
which  is  pleasantly  located  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Thames  River,  has  a  most  accessible 
shore  and  a  commanding  view.  In  polities 
Mr.  Benham  is  a  Republican.  He  has  served 
on  the  School  Committee.  Fraternally,  he  is 
identified  with  the  American  Order  of  United 
Workmen. 

On  June  1,  i88_\  he  was  married  to  Maria 
S.  Brooks,  daughter  ol  George  A.  ami  Mary 
T.  (Steward)  Brooks.  Mrs.  Benham's  mother 
died  in  1870,  at  the  age  of  forty-three;  and 
her  father,  who  was  a  butcher  in  the  firm  of 
Steward  &  Brooks,  died  in  181)4.  at  the  age  of 
seventy-four.  They  reared  three  children, 
namely:  Emma  A.,  a  professional  nurse,  now 
the  widow  of  Charles  Field,  and  living  in 
Montville,  this  county;  Mrs.  Benham;  and 
Jennie  C,  wife  of  Oliver  T.  Collins,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.Y.  Mrs.  Benham  was  educated 
in  the  New  London  public  schools.  She  has 
four  children:  Mary  J.  Benham,  who  is  nine 
years  old;  Ida  E.,  who  is  seven;  Tryon  G., 
aged  four;  and  Lloyd  Brooks,  aged  two  y. 


AMES  A.    ROWLAND,  a  leading  mer- 
chant of  Old  Lyme,  son  oi   .\sahel  and 
Abigail      (Greenfield  1      Rowland,      was 
born    in    the   town    of    Lyme,    November    15, 


ig6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


1839.  His  great-grandfather,  Levi  Rowland, 
was  a  native  of  Lyme,  where  he  owned  many 
acres  of  land,  and  carried  on  farming.  He 
had  several  sons,  among  whom  was  Asahel, 
the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Asahel  was  also  a  farmer  of  Lyme,  in  which 
town  he  died  at  the  age  of  forty-nine,  leaving 
a  widow,  two  sons,  and  two  daughters.  His 
wife  was  in  maidenhood  Hannah  Greenfield. 
She  survived  her  husband  many  years,  dying 
on  the  farm  at  an  advanced  age.  Their  son 
Asahel  was  born  on  the  old  farm,  February 
11,  1796.  He  was  at  one  time  a  Captain  of 
the  militia,  and  saw  a  few  clays'  service  in  the 
War  of  181 2.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer, 
and  owned  two  hundred  acres  of  land.  By 
his  wife,  Abigail,  who  was  a  daughter  of 
James  Greenfield,  he  had  three  children: 
John,  who  is  now  a  farmer  of  Lyme;  Mary 
A.,  who  became  the  wife  of  John  De  Wolf, 
and  died  in  1858:  and  James  A.,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch. 

James  Rowland  was  brought  up  on  the  old 
farm,  and  received  his  elementary  education 
in  the  district  schools.  He  subsequently  at- 
tended the  New  Britain  Normal  School,  and 
afterward  taught  in  the  district  schools  for 
three  winters.  In  1866  he  began  dealing  in 
merchandise  in  the  town  of  Old  Lyme  at  the 
stand  of  Captain  Charles  W.  Wait,  who  had 
been  in  the  business  for  many  years.  He  was 
at  first  in  partnership  with  George  W.  De 
Wolf,  the  firm  being  known  as  Ue  Wolf  & 
Rowland;  but  for  the  last  twenty-five  years 
Mi-.  Rowland  has  carried  on  the  business 
alone.  A  Republican  politically,  he  served 
as  Town  Clerk  for  one  year.  He  is  a  Deacon 
in  the  Congregational  church,  of  which  he 
has  been  an  active  member  for  years.  Mr. 
Rowland  married  Sophronia,  daughter  of  Win- 
throp  and  Hepzibah  (Anderson)  De  Wolf. 
They  have   one   adopted    daughter,  Annie  M. 


During  his  business  career  Mr.  Rowland  has 
gained  a  reputation  for  honesty  and  fair  deal- 
ing, and  his  trade  has  steadily  increased.  He 
has  the  good  will  of  his  fellow-townsmen, 
and  is  regarded  as  a  substantial  and  useful 
citizen. 


LIAS  PERKINS  RANDALL,  a  retired 
banker  of  Mystic,  Conn.,  was  born 
July  4,  1 S 2  1 ,  the  son  of  William  and 
Martha  (Chesebrough)  Randall.  His  great- 
great-great-grandfather,  John  Randall,  re- 
moved with  his  wife  from  Newport,  R.I.,  to 
Westerly,  R.I.,  in  1666.  In  1670  he  pur- 
chased a  lot  of  land  in  what  is  now  the  east 
part  of  the  present  town  of  North  Stonington, 
and  became  an  extensive  land-owner.  lie 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance  in  1669,  and  was 
a  man  of  prominence  in  public  life,  serving 
as  Deputy  to  the  General  Assembly  in  Rhode 
Island  and  in  other  offices.  He  died  in  West- 
erly about  1685. 

John  Randall,  second,  born  in  1666,  son  of 
the  first  John,  had  a  son  John,  born  December 
2,  1701,  who  likewise  had  a  son  John,  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  This 
fourth  John  Randall  was  born  August  4,  1730. 
He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Lucy  Brown,  by 
whom  he  had  eight  children,  and  second  to 
Thankful  Swan,  who  became  the  mother  of 
four  children  —  William,  Desire,  Nancy,  and 
Dudley.  Of  this  group  all  married,  reared 
families,  and  lived  to  a  goodly  age,  Desire 
being  eighty-six  at  the  time  of  her  death; 
Nancy,  wife  of  Benadom  Williams,  Jr.,  about 
sixty-seven;  and  Dudley,  seventy-nine.  The 
father  of  these  children  died  in  1802. 

William  Randall,  son  of  John,  fourth,  and 
Thankful  (Swan)  Randall,  and  father  of  Elias 
Perkins,  was  born  in  Stonington,  March  25, 
1768,  and  was  a  man  of  note   in  his  commu- 


IIIOCRAPMICAL    REVIEW 


197 


nity,  throughout  his  Life  holding  many  offices 
of  trust  both  in  civil  and  military  affairs. 
He  was  Colonel  of  the  Thirtieth  Regiment, 
Connecticut  Militia,  and  was  in  command 
when  the  regiment  was  called  out  in  [813  and 
1S14  during  the  second  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain. During  si\  sessions  of  the  Connecticut 
legislature  he  was  a  member  of  the  lower 
house;  and  in  iSjj  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Senate,  being  one  of  the  twelve  Senators 
elected  by  the  general  election  of  Connecti- 
cut. In  [818  he  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention which  formed  the  Constitution.  He 
was  from  [818  to  [833,  inclusive,  Associate 
Judge  of  the  County  Court;  and  he  received 
the  annual  appointment  of  Justice  of  the  Peace 
lor  twenty-eight  years.  IK-  was  a  charter 
member  of  the  Stonington  Bank,  organized  in 
1822,  and  was  its  first  president,  which  office 
he  held  lor  two  years. 

His  third  wile,  Martha  Chesebrough,  was 
the  daughter  oi  William  and  Ksther  (Will- 
iams) Chesebrough,  all  of  Stonington.  Will- 
iam Randall  and  his  wife,  Martha,  had  eight 
children,  six  oi  whom  they  reared:  l'hebe 
Esther,  Hannah  A.,  Roswell,  Harriet  X., 
Martha  <'..  and  Elias  I'.  Roswell  died  at  the 
age  ot  twenty-one.  Phebe  Esther  married 
nel  Ezra  Hewitt,  and  had  three  children, 
all  ol  whom  died  in  infancy.  She  died  in 
September,  1X391  aged  twenty-nine.  Hannah 
died  when  one  year  old.  Harriet  N.  married 
Reuben  E.  Moss,  son  of  a  well-known  Con- 
ttional  clergyman,  and  had  seven  children, 
ot  whom  six  survive.  Mr.  Moss  was  long  a 
druggist  in  New  York  City.  Later  he  went 
to  Elmira,  N.Y.,  where  he  became  a  wealthy 
and  influential  citizen.  He  died  October, 
1896,  aged  eighty-nine.  Mrs.  Moss  is  now 
living  in  Elmira.  Martha  C.  married  Ralph 
II.  Avery,  of  North  Stonington,  Conn.  They 
lived  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  Brooklyn  and  Canas- 


tota,    N.Y.       He   was  appointed   in    1862,    by 

President  Lincoln,  United  States  Collector  of 
Internal  Revenue,  and  held  the  office  eight 
years.  He  died  in  May,  [889,  aged  seventy- 
three  years.  His  widow,  Martha  C,  died  in 
March,  1897,  aged  eight)-  years.  They  had 
seven  children,  five  of  whom  survive,  two 
having  died  in  infancy.  William  Randall 
died  June  17,  1841,  at  the  age  ot  seventy- 
three.  1 1  is  wife,  Mrs.  Martha  C.  Randall, 
lived  until  she  was  ninety,  and  died  Septem- 
ber 25,   1870. 

Elias  Perkins  Randall  was  reared  to  farm 
hi.  and  work,  and  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  ami  at  the  academy,  which  he  at- 
tended for  about  three  terms.  He  was  subse- 
quently engaged  in  teaching  for  a  very  short 
time,  and  at  the  death  of  bis  father  he  took 
charge  of  the  home  farm.  He  settled  in 
Mystic  in  1X50,  ami  went  into  business  with 
his  father-in-law,  whose  successor  he  became. 
About  fourteen  years  later,  in  1864,  he  was 
elected  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  ot 
Mystic  Bridge;  and  this  position  he  held  up 
to  the  time  of  its  liquidation  in  1894.  He  is 
still  occupied  to  some  extent  in  closing  up  the 
business.  lie  has  been  an  active'  man  of 
affairs,  has  served  as  Selectman,  as  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  and  as  Notary  Public  many  \< 
was  Representative  to  the  General  Assembly 
in  1859,  and  Judge  of  Probate  lor  district  of 
Stonington  in  1863.  In  politics  he  has  been 
a  stanch  Republican  since  the  formation  of 
the  party,  which  he  helped  to  organize.  Both 
he  and  his  wile  are  valued  members  of  the 
Congregational  church,  in  which  he  was  clerk 
from  [869  to  the  present  year,  [898.  lie  has 
been  treasurer  of  the  society  for  the  past 
twenty-seven  years,  and  was  Sunday-school 
superintendent  for  almost  twenty-five  \> 
to  January,   1894. 

Mr.    Randall  was   married    March   15,    1S43, 


1 98 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


to  Hannah  Fish,  born  June  6,  1823,  daughter 
of  Asa  and  Prudence  (Dean)  Fish,  the  former 
of  Groton  and  the  latter  of  Stonington.  Mrs. 
Randall's  father  was  a  prominent  merchant  in 
Mystic  for  many  years,  and  held  various  im- 
portant offices.  His  children  were  nine  in 
number.  Eight  of  them  were  reared;  namely, 
James  D.,  Sands  H.,  Hannah,  Silas,  Asa, 
Prudence,  Benjamin,  and  Fanny.  Three  of 
these,  James  D.,  Sands  II.,  and  Silas,  are  in 
New  York  City,  the  last  two  being  in  partner- 
ship in  the  ship  supply  business;  Benjamin 
lives  in  New  York  and  Mystic;  Prudence  is 
the  wife  of  Uriah  H.  Dudley,  of  Brooklyn, 
N.Y. ;  and  Fanny  is  the  widow  of  Caleb  S. 
Woodhull,  of  that  place,  where  she  still  re- 
sides. Mr.  Asa  Fish  died  April  20,  1861,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-one;  and  his  wife,  Mrs. 
Prudence  D.  Fish,  died  in  December,  1873, 
aged  seventy-four.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randall 
have  had  four  children.  Their  eldest  child, 
Martha  C,  was  born  April  20,  1844,  and  died 
December  3,  1845.  A  daughter,  Fanny,  was 
born  February  1,  1849,  anc'  cl'ec'  June  24, 
1850.  The  fourth  child  was  a  son,  who  was 
born  and  died  December  6,  1853.  The  sur- 
viving son,  Sands  F.  Randall,  A.B.,  LL.B., 
who  was  born  May  18,  1846,  and  is  unmar- 
ried, is  a  lawyer  at  99  Nassau  Street,  New 
York  City.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege and  Columbia  College  Law  School. 

Mr.  Randall  and  his  wife  have  lived  at 
their  pleasant  home  on  Church  Street  for 
forty-seven  years.  He  owns  the  two-hundred- 
and-thirty-acre  farm,  Elm  Ridge,  where  he 
was  born  and  brought  up.  The  most  of  this 
property  was  bought  by  his  grandfather  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  ago.  On  their  fif- 
tieth wedding  anniversary,  which  was  cele- 
brated March  15,  1S93,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randall 
ived  many  congratulations  on  their  con- 
tinued  health   and  activity.      At    the   present 


time,   1898,  also,  they  remain   in  comfortable 
health. 


APTAIN     RICHARD      K.     MINER, 

master  of  the  steel  steamer  "City  of 

,~ '  Lowell,"  which  plies  between  New 

London  and  New  York  City,  was  born  in  the 
village  of  Lyme,  Conn.,  August  11,  1S36, 
son  of  Samuel  W.  Miner,  Jr.,  by  his  wife, 
Phebe  Kendrick,  of  Chatham,  Mass. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  Samuel  \V. 
Miner,  Sr.,  was  a  shoemaker,  and  lived  in 
Old  Lyme.  He  married  Sarah  Sill,  of  Lyme 
village,  and  reared  four  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters, all  of  whom  lived  to  marry  and  to  have 
families;  but  only  one  daughter  survives  at 
this  date,  Caroline  Winslow,  now  a  widow. 
Grandfather  Miner  died  in  1856,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five  years;  and  five  years  later  his 
widow  died  at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety. 
They  sleep  in  the  Duck  River  Cemetery  at 
Lyme. 

Samuel  W.  Miner,  Jr.,  son  of  Samuel,  Sr., 
and  Sarah  (Sill)  Miner,  was  born  on  February 
21,  1810.  He  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade 
of  his  father,  but  spent  most  of  his  life  upon 
the  water,  principally  upon  the  inland  seas, 
and  was  for  many  years  captain  of  different 
sailing  vessels.  He,  however,  took  one  voyage 
on  a  whaler.  His  home  was  for  many  years  in 
Saybrook,  just  across  the  river.  He  married 
Miss  Phebe  Kendrick  in  1833,  and  had  six 
children,  briefly  mentioned  as  follows:  Will- 
iam, the  eldest-born,  a  mariner  and  afterward 
a  hotel-keeper  of  Hartford,  where  he  died  in 
the  blizzard  of  1888,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four 
years,  leaving  a  wife  and  two  sons;  Richard 
K.,  the  sea  captain;  Charles  Miner,  a  loco- 
motive engineer,  who  lost  his  life  between 
Black  Hall  and  South  Lyme;  Julia  S.,  wife 
of  Rollin   D.    Lane   in   Hartford,  Conn.  ;  Or- 


RICHARD    K.    MINER. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


201 


lando,  who  died  young;  and  Orlando  M.,  who 
is  in  Hartford.  The  mother,  Mrs.  Phebe  K. 
Miner,  died  September  25,  1 S 5 4 ,  at  the  age 
of  forty-one;  and  the  father  married,  second, 
Phebe  Whaley,  a  widow.  His  death  occurred 
November  iS,   1S94. 

Richard  K.,  the  second  son,  attended  the 
common  schools  until  fourteen  years  of  age, 
at  that  time  beginning  life  as  a  cook  on  board 
a  small  vessel  alongshore.  At  nineteen  he 
was  made  captain  of  the  sloop  "Joel  Hall," 
from  the  Portland  Brownstone  Quarry;  and 
he  was  afterward  captain  and  part  owner  of 
four  different  sailing  vessels.  In  1868  he 
me  a  steamboat  captain  on  the  Connecti- 
cut River,  Hartford  line,  and  he  commanded 
successively  the  "Silver  Star";  "Granite 
State";  "City  of  Hartford,"  which  was  lost 
on  the  Sound;  the  "City  of  Lawrence,"  then 
in  the  Hartford  line;  the  "Laura,"  of  Bridge- 
port, on  the  Sound  line;  the  "City  of  Spring- 
field"; and  many  others.  His  present  com- 
mand is  the  "City  of  Lowell,"  plying  between 
New  London  and  New  York,  probably  the 
fastest  boat  in  the  country,  stanch  and  pretty, 
of  which  he  assumed  charge  in  1  S93. 

In  i<S6i,  on  New  Year's  night,  the  Captain 
was  married  to  Mary  I.  Cone,  of  Cromwell, 
Conn.,  daughter  of  William  Horace  Brockway 
Cone,  by  his  wife,  Sarah  Selinda  Spencer,  of 
Haddam,  Conn.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cone  had 
twelve  children.  He  died  in  1S75,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-seven,  leaving  his  widow  and  five  chil- 
dren. Sin-  died  in  1888,  aged  seventy-two, 
at  the  home  of  her  daughter.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Miner  have  one  child,  a  son,  Walter  R.,  an 
electrician  on  the  steamer  "Mohegan."  lie 
married  in  Mobile,  Ala.,  Mary  Josephine 
Chappell,  daughter  of  Ezra  P.  Chappell,  for- 
merly of  New  London,  Conn.  She  is  an  ac- 
complished  musician  and  pianist. 

The  Captain    is   a   Republican    in   politics, 


and  cast  his  first  vote  for  Lincoln.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Lyme. 
They  resided  in  the  charming  rural  village 
of  Lyme  until  the  winter  of  1S96.  They 
have  since  spent  much  of  their  time  with 
their  son  at  123  Huntington  Street,  New 
London,  but  now  have  their  own  pleasant 
home  on  Montauk  Avenue  in  this  city. 


T^HARLES     JEREMIAH     SLATE,    an 

I  Jp  experienced  mariner  residing  at  94 
Vs  ^  Pequot  Avenue,  New  London,  was 
born  here,  January  2,  1845,  son  of  Jeremiah 
and  Sophia  (Holt)  Slate.  The  paternal 
grandfather,  John,  who  was  a  master  mariner, 
came  to  New  London  with  the  father  of 
Sebastian  Lawrence,  anil  built  a  house  on  Pe- 
quot Avenue,  now  owned  by  the  actor,  James 
O'Neil. 

Jeremiah  Slate  was  born  in  New  London  in 
1800.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  a 
sailor's  life:  and  at  thirty  he  was  master  of 
the  "I'hienix,"  in  which  he  made  two  voyages 
to  the  Indian  Ocean,  lasting  three  years  each. 
Subsequently  he  commanded  the  "Corinthian" 
for  four  years.  He  married,  and  became  the 
father  of  five  children,  of  whom  Charles  J., 
Thomas  Franklin,  and  Samuel  N.  are  living. 
Samuel,  born  at  St.  Helena  in  1 849,  while 
his  father  was  master  of  the  "Corinthian," 
was  the  first  male  child  of  American  parent- 
age on  that  island.  The  authorities  were  so 
delighted  with  his  advent  that  they  borrowed 
him,  and  kept  him  so  long  that  his  parents 
were  afraid  of  abduction.  He  was  taken  to 
Napoleon's  grave,  and  laid  upon  it.  Char- 
lotte Ann  died  in  her  fifth  year,  on  September 
3,  1844;  and  Samuel  N.  (first)  was  drow 
in  October  of  that  year,  at  the  age  of  six. 
Very  successful  in  whaling,  the  father  ac- 
quired   a    large    property.      Though    he   subse- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


quently  lost  a  part,  he  left  his  widow  in  com- 
fortable circumstances.  She  was  twice  mar- 
ried, being  left  a  widow  with  two  children, 
the  first  time  when  she  was  only  twenty  years 
old.  Jeremiah  Slate  died  on  June  25,  i860, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-nine;  while  the  mother 
lived  to  be  eighty-one  and  a  half  years  old, 
dying  October  27,   1892. 

Charles  J.  Slate  attended  the  district  school 
for  a  short  time.  The  most  of  his  book 
knowledge  was  subsequently  acquired  on 
board  ship.  At  the  age  of  eleven  years  he 
shipped  as  cabin  boy  with  Joshua  Lyon,  his 
half-sister's  husband,  sailing  from  New  Bed- 
ford, Mass.,  in  the  bark  "Isabella,"  being 
away  three  years  and  nine  months.  He  made 
six  whaling  voyages,  including  two  to  the 
South  Shetland  Islands  in  the  Pacific,  being 
first  mate  on  one  voyage  and  second  mate  on 
the  other.  For  two  years  he  was  captain. 
He  sailed  round  Cape  Horn,  and  for  three 
years  he  prospected  in  Patagonia.  He 
learned  much  from  the  book  of  nature  by  ob- 
servation during  his  forty-eight  years'  experi- 
ence as  mariner.  For  the  past  six  years  he 
has  been  running  a  summer  steamboat  in  the 
harbor.  Captain  Slate,  in  the  capacity  of 
diver,  New  York  City,  spent  six  and  a  half 
hours  under  thirty  feet  of  water,  examining 
the  vessel  "State  of  New  York,"  which  sunk 
off  Goodspeed's  Landing.  He  and  his  two 
brothers,  all  bachelors,  live  together  in  the 
house  that  formerly  belonged  to  their  great- 
aunt,  Lucy  Harris,  situated  just  across  the 
road  from  where  their  mother  was  born,  and 
where  Grandmother  Holt  resided  most  of  her 
life.  Every  one  in  New  London  knows  and 
believes  in  Charles  Jerry  Slate,  who  has  the 
true  heart  of  a  sailor.  He  is  identified  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  is  a 
Master  Mason,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Jib- 
boom  Club. 


UGUST  MULLER,  founder  of  the  firm 
of  August  Miiller  &  Sons,  furniture 
dealers  and  undertakers,  one  of  the 
most  reliable  business  houses  in  Stonington, 
was  born  April  19,  1820,  in  Weidenhein,  by 
Torgau,  Kraes  Daletzsch,  Kingdom  of 
Prussia.  His  father  was  a  tailor,  born  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1786,  and  died  at  the  age  of  ninety 
years  and  seven  months.  His  mother  was 
born  December  14,  1784,  and  died  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years  and  ten  months.  They 
had  five  children,  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 
August,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the 
second  child.  He  attended  school  until  four- 
teen years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Torgau, 
where  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  cabinet-maker, 
with  whom  he  remained  five  years  to  learn 
cabinet-making.  The  next  six  years  he  spent 
in  Leipzig,  where  was  being  built  at  that  time 
the  first  Catholic  cathedral,  in  which  he  built 
the  pulpit  and  altar  in  Gothic  style.  He  then 
visited  the  Rhine  and  several  large  cities,  in- 
cluding Nurnberg,  Frankfort  on  the  Main, 
Mannheim,  Strasburg,  St.  Goar,  and  Mainz, 
where  the  finest  cabinet-makers'  shops  were 
located.  Here  again  he  stayed  for  six  years. 
The  outlook  for  starting  in  business  for  him- 
self not  being  of  the  best,  he  decided  to  try 
his  fortune  in  America.  So  he  visited  his 
parents  once  more  on  the  28th  of  September, 
1852.  He  then  went  via  Leipzig  and  Magde- 
burg to  Hamburg,  where  on  the  first  day  of 
October  he  took  passage  on  the  steamer  "Vic- 
toria "  for  Hull,  England.  He  arrived  there 
on  October  4,  after  a  very  stormy  voyage,  the 
steamer  losing  two  of  her  masts.  On  October 
5  he  travelled  by  rail  to  Liverpool,  and  taking 
passage  on  the  sailing-ship  "Australia,"  Oc- 
tober 8,  after  a  pleasant  voyage  arrived  in 
New  York,  November  10,  1852.  He  very 
soon  found  employment  with  the  firm  of 
Fraede  &  Kamp,  who  were  cabinet-makers  lo- 


!% 


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yi< 


AUGUST    MULLEK 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REYIKW 


205 


cated  mi  Broadway,  where  he  was  employed 
until  September  19,  1854,  when  the  business 
was  destroyed  by  fire. 

He  was  married   in   New  York,  October  26, 
1853,   to   Barbara  Scheinlein,   of   Langenfeld, 
Bavaria,  Germany.     In  the  fall  and  winter  of 
1S54   business   was  dull   everywhere;   and   he 
was  out   of  employment   until   the  middle  of 
April,    1855,  when  he  was  induced   by  a  friend 
to  locate  in  Stonington,  Conn.,  where  a  cabi- 
net-maker bv  the  name  of   Dayton  was  in  need 
of  help.      He  accordingly  went   to  his   relief; 
and  after  working  for  him  two  weeks   he  made 
an  agreement  with  Mr.  Dayton  for  steady  em- 
ployment,  and    returned  to    New  York   for   his 
family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and   son    Henry, 
who  came  to  Stonington  with   him   on    May  1. 
Work    at    Mi'.     Dayton's    becoming    slack,     in 
September  he  started   out   for  himself,  repair- 
ing furniture  in  a  small   room  in  the  house   in 
which   he   lived,    still    standing  on   the  corner 
ol     Main   and   Church   Streets.      After  several 
months,  his  business  increasing  so  that  he  had 
to  have  more  room,   in  the   spring   of    1856   he 
removed  with  his  family  to  the  .Arcade   build- 
ing on  Water   Street,  where   he   lived   ami   did 
business  until  May,    1S61.      At   this   time   the 
only  furniture  dealer   in    town    moved    away, 
and  he  hired  of  Dr.  Ira  H.   Hart   the   building 
vacated    by  them   on    Gold    Street.      There   he 
i'   nained  until    1866,  when  a  stock  company 
was  formed  for  the  manufacture  of  furnit- 
ure went  to  Dr.  Hart,  and  offered  him   twenty- 
five  dollars  more  rent.      Mr.  Miiller  thereupon 
bought  the  Eagle  Hotel,  corner  of  Gold  Street 
and    Railroad    Avenue,    and    on    February    6, 
18(17,    removed    there    with    his    business    and 
family,  which  consisted   of  two  sons  and   two 
daughters. 

In  1SS7,  having  the  opportunity  to  secure  a 
piece  of  land,  comer  of  Gold  and  Pearl  Streets. 
he  purchased  the  same,  and   erected   thereon  a 


modern  three-story  business  house,  now  known 
as  the  Miiller  Block,  into  which  he  moved  his 
business,  November  1,  1887.  He  here  keeps 
furniture  of  all  descriptions  and  any  variety 
of  house  furnishings,  and  also  all  that  pen 
to  the  undertaking  branch  of  the  business. 
His  sons,  Henry  and  Edward,  have  been  re- 
ceived into  partnership;  and  they  are  not  only 
doing  a  large  business  in  furniture,  but  for  a 
number  of  years  have  been  the  leading  under- 
takers in  Stonington. 

Mrs.  August  Miiller  died  January  28,  1875, 
aged  fifty-two  years.  The  four  children  that 
survive  her  are:  Henry,  who  was  born  in  New 
York;  Mary,  Barbary,  and  Edward,  who  were 
born  in  Stonington,  Conn.  Henry  A.  Midler 
was  married  May  16,  [889,  to  Miss  Lizzie 
Owen,  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  and  has  three 
children,  two  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Mr.  August  Miiller  is  a  Master  Mason  of 
thirty-five  years'  standing.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Second  Congregational  Church,  with 
which  his  family  are  identified.  His  wife- 
was  also  a  consistent  member  of  the  same 
church. 


EV.      ALBERT      A.       KIDDER,      a 

Methodist  minister  of  Mystic,  Conn., 
who  has  been  on  the  supernumerary 
list  for  the  past  two  years,  after  an  active  ser- 
vice of  fourteen  years,  was  born  in  Berlin, 
Mass.,  July  19,  1858.  His  early  years  were 
pissed  on  a  farm.  He  attended  the  high 
school;    and,    aft.  iring    lor    college    at 

East  Greenwich  Academy,  he  was  graduated 
at  Drew  Theological  Seminary.  While  there 
and  subsequently  he  devoted  much  time  to  the 
study  of  different  Ian  including  Latin, 

French,  Hebrew,  and  Hindustanee,  also 
Gujarati,  one  of  the  several   langu  oken 

in    India.      He    then    spent    two    years,    from 


206 


i;kh;raphical  review 


1879  to  1 88 1 ,  in  Hindustan,  studying  the 
language.  The  journey  out  was  made  through 
the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  Suez  Canal;  and 
the  return  trip,  which  was  made  leisurely  for 
his  health,  took  him  through  Italy.  While 
in  the  East,  his  first  pastorate  was  in  Baroda, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  missionary  work. 
Here  he  broke  the  ground  with  his  own  hand, 
digging  out  the  dirt  for  the  corner,  and  plac- 
ing in  the  corner-stone  the  recording  relics, 
which  included  a  Testament  and  a  copy  of  the 
Methodist  Discipline,  with  an  historical  sketch 
of  the  church  and  Mr.  Kidder's  name  as 
founder  and  pastor.  The  edifice  was  of  the 
Gothic  style  of  architecture,  and  built  of 
American  brick.  The  funds  for  erecting  this 
church  were  largely  secured  through  Mr. 
Kidder's  own  efforts,  he  soliciting  one-third 
of  the  amount  from  the  natives  themselves, 
and  about  one  thousand  rupees  from  the  palace 
or  government.  After  his  return  to  this 
country  he  held  charges  as  pastor  succes- 
sively on  Staten  Island,  in  South  Orange, 
N.J.,  and  at  Silver  City,  N.  M.  While  in 
the  West  he  made  a  lecturing  tour  through 
California  and  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  took 
with  him  a  fine  illustrative  apparatus,  and  his 
audiences  were  large  and  appreciative.  His 
lectures  included  one  before  the  University  of 
Southern  California.  Subsequently  he  had 
charge  of  a  church  in  Canon  City.  His  next 
pastorate  was  in  East  Weymouth,  Mass., 
where  he  remained  four  years,  from  1888  to 
1892.  His  last  settled  charge  was  at  Mystic, 
Conn.,  where  he  served  the  church  for  two 
years. 

Mr.  Kidder  was  married  November  13, 
[882,  to  Miss  Hattie  L.  Kinsman,  of  Au- 
gusta, Me.,  daughter  of  F.  W.  and  Octavia 
A.  (Greeley)  Kinsman,  her  father  bein_;  ;i 
druggist  and  pharmacist  by  occupation.  Mis. 
or  was  educated    in   the  high   school    of 


Augusta,  at  Kent's  Hill  Academy  in  that 
town,  and  at  East  Greenwich  Academy.  She 
also  studied  music  in  Boston,  Mass.,  and, 
having  a  fine  soprano  voice,  developed  into  an 
accomplished  vocalist.  Before  her  marriage 
she  was  engaged  in  the  profession  of  teaching. 
During  Mr.  Kidder's  pastorate  in  Mystic, 
Conn.,  his  wife's  failing  health  induced  him 
to  cease  his  itinerancy,  and  become  a  super- 
numerary. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kidder  have  a  fam- 
ily of  four  children,  namely:  Florence,  who 
was  born  on  Staten  Island,  fourteen  years  ago, 
and  is  now  attending  school;  Frank,  born  in 
New  Mexico,  and  now  eleven  years  of  age; 
Albert  A.,  Jr.,  who  is  now  in  his  ninth  year; 
and  Ralph  W.,  who  is  four  years  old. 

Mr.  Kidder  has  recently  established  a 
church  publishing  business  at  Mystic,  making 
a  specialty  of  collection  helps,  an  invention  of 
his  own  which  is  novel  and  taking,  as  well  as 
practical.  He  is  a  Master  Mason  and  Com- 
mander of  the  Golden  Cross.  Having  scarcely 
reached  the  prime  of  life,  it  may  well  be 
hoped  that  he  is  but  in  the  beginning  of  his 
career  of  usefulness. 


(5  I  HOI 


HOMAS  E.  PACKER,  a  real  estate 
(J I  and  insurance  agent  of  Groton,  Conn., 
the  son  of  George  and  Delight  (El- 
dredge)  Packer,  was  born  in  Groton,  April  11, 
1827.  The  family  are  of  English  descent, 
coming  to  America  in  the  early  days.  John 
Packer,  Jr.,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  February  7,  1753.  He  was 
a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  enlisted  in 
February,  1778,  for  three  years  in  Captain 
Amos  Stanton's  company,  of  Colonel  Sher- 
burn's  and  S.  B.  Webb's  regiment.  He  ap- 
plied for  a  pension  in  1816,  which  he  received 
sixteen  years  later.  He  died  February  8, 
1835,  eighty-two  years  of  age.      His  wife  was 


BIOGR  U'HK/AI.    REVIEW 


207 


in    maidenhood    Hannah    Gallup,    of    Stoning- 
ton,  who  survived   him  a  number  of  years,  re- 
taining   her    faculties   up  to   the  day  of    her 
th.      They  had  six  children,  three  suns  and 
three  daughters.      Their  son   George  was   born 
in   Groton,    December  26,    1794.     He  was  a 
farmer    of    Groton,    and    died    in    1872,    aged 
seventy-eight   years.      His  wife,    Delight  El- 
dredge  Packer,  died  in   [864,  aged  sixty-three 
years.      They    were    married    July    17,     1820. 
They  had  nine   children,  of   whom    three    sons 
died     young:     William     Henry    died     on    his 
twenty-first   birthday;  Thomas    is  the   subject 
of  this   sketch;    Mary   Delight,  widow  of   (iil- 
bert  S.  Bailey,  and  Prudence  Helen,  widow  of 
Erastus  William  Denison,  are  living  in   Mys- 
tic :    John  Green  married  Frances  Park;   Han- 
nah Gore  married  Alexander  Irving,  of  Groton. 
Thomas   E.    Packer  spent  his  early  life  on 
the  farm.      He  received  a  common-school  edu- 
cation, and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  began  to 
teach  in  the  district  schools,  which  he  taught 
sixteen  years.      This   included,  however,  some 
time  spent    in   the   Brandon    (Miss.)    College. 
Thirty-two  years  ago  he   engaged    in   the   gen- 
eral insurance  business  with  Charles  H.  Deni- 
son.     In    1875   they  took    William    H.    Potter 
into  the   firm,  which    became  Denison,  Packer 
&  Co.      Seven  years  later  Denison  and  Potter 
went  out  of  the   firm,  and    Mr.  Packer  contin- 
ued the  business,  taking  his  son-in-law,  Frank 
W.     Batty,    into    the    firm     with     him.       Mr. 
Packer  is  a  Prohibitionist  in   politics,  and  has 
voted  for  every  Presidential   candidate  of   his 
■'  since   its    inauguration.      He   is  a  Royal 
Arch    Mason,   and    is    Past    Master  of   Charity 
Lodge    in    Mystic.      He   was    married   July   4, 
[849,    to    Emma    J.,    daughter  of   Daniel   and 
Mary  (Hempstead)    Burrows.      They   have   two 
children:    Teresa  Kossuth,  who  married  Amos 
Grinnell;  and  Addie  B. ,  who  married    Frank 
W.  Batty,  mentioned  above.      Mr.  Packer  was 


the  superintendent  of  the  Baptist  Sunday- 
school  for  a  number  of  years,  lie  is  a  man  of 
quiet,  studious  habits  and  sound  business 
integrity. 


LFRED  H.  VAUGHN,  who  was  one 
of  the  oldest  business  men  in  Nor- 
wich, was  born  in  the  city  of  Provi- 
dence, R.I.,  on  February  26,  1828,  son  of 
Christopher  and  Ruby  Ann   (Briggs)  Vaughn. 

Ruby  A.  Briggs  was  born  in  Assonet, 
Mass.  Her  grandfather  was  Benjamin  Read, 
Captain  of  the  First  Company  of  Freetown 
militia  from  1776  to  1781,  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary War. 

Alfred  H.  Vaughn's  boyhood  was  spent  in 
Assonet;  and  he  always  retained  a  great  fond- 
ness for  that  town,  ami  with  characteristic 
generosity  gave  it  help  in  many  ways.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  Mr.  Vaughn  came  to  Nor- 
wich, and  entered  the  employ  of  Abner  T. 
Pearce,  who  was  conducting  an  iron  foundry. 
Mr.  Vaughn  showed  great  aptitude  for  the 
business,  and  became  thoroughly  skilled  in 
every  department.  In  1X54  he,  with  two 
others,  started  the  Norwich  Iron  Foundry  on 
Ferry  Street,  in  which  he  afterward  became 
so  successful  and  so  well  known.  In  1861 
the  original  firm  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Vaughn 
buying  out  the  interest  of  his  partners.  He 
continued  the  business:  and,  as  it  increased, 
he  enlarged  the  premises  and  added  new  build- 
ings, until  he  had  covered  the  square  lying  be- 
tween Ferry  Street  and  Rose  Place,  and  em- 
b]  li  ing  an  acre  of  land.  I  lis  sons,  A.  N.  II. 
Vaughn  and  C.  W.  Vaughn,  learned  the 
business,  and  in  1  sx  1  were  admitted  to  part- 
nership, the  firm  name  being  changed  to  A.  II. 
Vaughn  &  Sons.  In  1884  Mr.  Vaughn  built 
a  handsome  four-story  building  on  Ferry 
Street.      He   was   a    very    successful    business 


2oS 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


man,  but  his  success  was  largely  owing  to  his 
energy  and  careful  supervision  of  details. 
As  a  citizen  Mr.  Vaughn  was  genial,  social, 
and  ever  mindful  of  the  highest  interests  of 
the  community  in  which  he  lived.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Republican,  and  was  at  one  time 
a  member  of  the  Common  Council ;  but  he  was 
never  a  political  office-seeker.  He  attended 
the  Broadway  Congregational  church.  His 
death  occurred  April  6,  1886,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-eight  years,  after  an  illness  of  about 
three  months. 

Mr.  Vaughn  was  married  December  10, 
1849,  to  Eliza,  daughter  of  Jefferson  and  Mary 
(Crandal)  Lamb.  Jefferson  Lamb  was  born 
in  Ledyard.  His  daughter  Eliza  was  born  in 
Norwich,  and  in  the  public  schools  received 
her  education.  Her  residence  is  on  Broad- 
way. The  children  are:  Alfred  N.  H.; 
Charles  W. ;  Helen,  wife  of  Eoster  Wilson; 
Erank  J.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three  years; 
Eugene  A.,  of  Buffalo,  N.Y.  ;  Rufus  H.  ;  and 
Annie  E.  Vaughn. 


lUCIUS  DWIGHT  BROWN,  late  a 
prominent  resident  of  North  Stoning- 
ton,  Conn.,  his  native  town,  a  well- 
known  speculator  in  real  estate  and  horses, 
was  born  on  May  21,  1839,  and  died  April  9, 
1897.  He  was  a  son  of  Jedediah  and  Eunice 
(Bailey)  Brown,  and  belonged  to  one  of  the 
old  families  of  this  locality.  His  grand- 
father, Elias  Brown,  was  a  farmer  of  Stoning- 
ton,  where  he  was  born  about  1760,  and  died 
about  1840.  He  married  Rhoda  Williams, 
and  had  a  large  family  of  sons  and  daughters. 

Jedediah  Brown,  the  father  of  Lucius 
Dwight  Brown,  was  born  in  1806,  and  died  in 
1  886.  He  was  twice  married.  Mis  first  wife 
was  Betsey  Irish,  of  Preston,  who  bore  him 
four    children,    two   sons   and    two    daughters. 


All  married  and  had  families,  and  all  are 
now  dead.  The  last  survivor  was  Obadiah 
Brown,  who  was  born  in  1829,  and  in  1855 
went  to  California,  where  he  kept  a  hotel  and 
carried  on  the  livery  business,  dying  there  in 
1896,  and  leaving  considerable  property  to  his 
widow  and  two  sons.  Jedediah  Brown's  sec- 
ond wife,  Eunice  Bailey,  of  North  Stonington, 
a  daughter  of  Elijah  Bailey,  was  born  in  1S16, 
and  died  in  1874.  She  was  the  mother  of  ten 
children,  of  whom  the  first-born,  a  daughter 
named  Elizabeth,  died  at  the  age  of  ten,  and 
the  elder  son,  Lucius  D.,  died  about  a  year 
ago,  as  above  mentioned.  The  second  daugh- 
ter, Almeda,  died  in  Norwich,  iu  1866,  leav- 
ing a  husband,  Abner  Geer,  and  one  daughter. 
The  living  are:  Abbie,  wife  of  William  Rose, 
of  Norwich;  Governor  H.  Brown,  of  Norwich; 
Mrs.  Ann  Eliza  Copp,  a  widow,  living  in  Nor- 
wich; Margaret  F.,  wife  of  Stephen  Wilcox, 
of  Norwich;  Charles  N.  Brown,  of  New  Lon- 
don, who  keeps  a  livery  and  sale  stable;  Daniel 
Miner  Brown,  of  Providence,  R.I.  ;  Mary,  wife 
of  William  Arnold,  a  hotel-keeper  at  Olney- 
ville,  R.I. 

Lucius  Dwight  Brown,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  brought  up  to  farm  life,  receiving 
his  education  at  the  common  school,  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  home,  which  he  attended  until 
he  was  sixteen.  After  leaving  school,  he 
worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  he  was 
twenty,  when  he  entered  the  machine  shop  of 
Cottrell  &  Babcock  at  Westerly,  R. I., Where 
he  worked  one  year.  Soon  after  he  hired  a 
farm  of  Dr.  Kinney;  and  he  subsequently 
owned  and  occupied  several  in  North  Ston- 
ington, buying  and  selling  some  thirty  or 
more.  He  owned  at  the  time  of  his  death 
about  eleven  farms,  located  in  towns  in  Con- 
necticut and  Rhode  Island.  Mr.  Brown  was 
a  great  lover  of  horses;  and  he  speculated 
largely  in  them,  owning  in  the  course  of  his 


*&    fc 


LUCIUS    D.    BROWN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


life  several  thousand.  He  left  about  seventy, 
which  was  a  moderate  stock  for  him  to  winter. 
He  was  widely  known  among  horsemen  all 
through  New  England  and  in  the  West.  His 
new  barn,  which  he  built  in  1894,  at  a  cost 
of  thirty-five  hundred  dollars,  is  a  model  one 
and  the  finest  in  the  town. 

Mr.  Brown  was  married  December  25,  1864, 
tn  Mai)'  Eliza  Sisson,  of  Westerly,  R.I.,  a 
daughter  of  Clark  E.  and  Susan  H.  (Hall) 
Sisson,  of  that  place.  Mr.  Sisson  was  a 
farmer  and  fisherman,  born  in  1814,  and  died 
in  [880.  Ilis  wife  died  at  the  age  of  forty- 
nine,  leaving  twelve  children,  eight  of  whom 
are  now  living. 

Commencing  life  without  capital,  Mr- 
Brown  by  good  judgment  in  his  business 
dealings  attained  great  financial  success. 
The  losses  sustained  by  many  of  his  neigh- 
bors, who  were  tempted  by  large  interest  to 
invest  in  Western  securities,  he  escaped,  tell- 
ing them  he  preferred  to  see  his  property,  and 
could  find  his  horses.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown 
had  no  children.  In  April,  1875,  tney  moved 
into  the  fine  residence  now  occupied  by  Mis. 
Brown. 


•5TSAAC  GILLKTTE,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Lebanon  and  the  Judge  of  Probate 
<«-L  was  born  on  the  farm  which  is  his  pres- 
ent home,  June  10,  1841,  son  of  Milo  and 
Mary  (Wilson)  Gillette.  The  family  is  an 
honored  one  in  this  town,  and  has  long  been 
resident  here.  Great-grandfather  Ebenezer 
Gillette,  who  was  a  farmer,  lived  to  be  a  very 
old  man.  His  son  Isaac,  who  was  born  on 
Liberty  Hill,  February  2,  1749,  died  Febru- 
ary 21,  1840.  Isaac's  wife  died  July  20, 
1824,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  They 
ed  a  family  of  eleven  children,  eight  sons 
and  three  daughters.  One  son  was  drowned 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 


M  ilo  Gillette,  son  of  Isaac,  was  born  here 
in  February,  1802,  and  was  a  lifelong  farmer 
of  this  town.  While  a  quiet  and  unassuming 
man,  he  had  good  judgment.  He  served  the 
town  in  various  public  offices,  and  always 
with  the  strictest  loyalty  to  public  interests. 
His  death,  which  occurred  on  February  28, 
1S74,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  removed  a 
highly  esteemed  citizen.  His  wife,  who  was 
born  in  New  York  in  1802,  and  reared  in  Cov- 
entry, Conn.,  died  on  the  day  before  Christmas 
in  1866.  Her  children  were:  Mat)'  fane, 
who  was  born  September  25,  1836,  was  the 
wile  of  Albert  G.  Lyman,  and  died  November 
\(~>,  1897;  George,  who  was  drowned  in  1863, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-four;  and  Wealthy,  who 
is  the  wife  of  E.  F.  Reed,  of  Willimantic, 
Conn. 

Isaac  Gillette  grew  up  here  on  the  home- 
stead, which  has  been  partly  in  the  possession 
of  his  family  since  the  settlement  of  the  town. 
After  passing  through  the  district  schools,  he 
studied  for  a  number  of  terms  at  the  high 
school.  Subsequently  he  taught  school  lm 
more  than  twenty-five  years  through  both  the 
fall  and  winter  terms.  He  has  been  a  School 
Visitor  of  this  town  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  and  was  for  fifteen  years  the  secretary 
of  the  School  Hoard.  Much  of  the  advance- 
ment made  in  the  schools  ol  this  town  during 
the  period  Mr.  Gillette  has  been  officially 
connected  with  them  has  been  due  to  his 
timely  and  wise  suggestions.  He  has  also 
served  his  fellow  -  townsmen  as  Assessor, 
Treasurer  of  the  Town  Deposit  and  School 
Fund,  and  as  their  Representative  in  the 
State  legislature.  Fourteen  years  ago  he  was 
elected  Probate  Judge,  which  office  he  has 
since  filled  with  strict  impartiality.  .Al- 
though he  is  not  a  regularly  qualified  lawyer, 
he  is  well  read  in  law  and  thoroughly  in- 
formed in  all    matters   coming   under   his   offi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


cial  notice.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
in  religion  a  Baptist.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  for 
five  years,  and  has  occupied  all  the  chairs  in 
that  organization.  He  is  also  a  Master 
Mason.  His  home,  one  of  the  neatest  and 
most  attractive  places  in  Lebanon,  located 
on  the  green,  with  a  beautiful  environment, 
was  built   by   him    in    1880. 

On  October  25,  1866,  Mr.  Gillette  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mercy  F. ,  daughter  of 
Thurston  and  Amy  (Tucker)  Tucker.  Her 
parents,  who  were  not  related,  came  to  this 
place  from  Rhode  Island.  The  father  is  still 
living  near;  but  the  mother  died  October  6, 
1884,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four.  Mrs.  Gillette 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  She  has 
one  sister,  Phoebe,  now  the  wife  of  George 
Irish;  and  a  brother,  Orlando  C.  Tucker,  of 
this  town. 


Tt^NKV.  LEWELLYN  PRATT,  D.D., 
I  Sr^  tne  pastor  of  the  Broadway  Congrega- 
-l-P  y^  _,  tional  Church,  Norwich,  was  born 
August  8,  1832,  in  Saybrook,  now  Essex, 
Conn.  Selden  M.  Pratt,  his  father,  was  born 
in  the  same  place,  March  4,  1805,  son  of 
Ezra  Pratt,  whose  birth  occurred  on  December 
5,  1757.  Jared  Pratt,  the  father  of  Ezra, 
was  born  in  171 1,  son  of  Benjamin  Pratt,  who 
was  born  June  14,  168 1,  a  son  of  Captain 
William  Pratt.  Captain  Pratt,  born  May 
15,  1653,  was  a  son  of  Lieutenant  William 
Pratt,  who  came  from  England  in  1633,  with 
the  Thomas  Hooker  colony.  Three  years 
later  Lieutenant  Pratt  settled  in  Hartford, 
Conn.,  whence  he  removed  in  1645  to  Say- 
brook,  which  has  been  the  birthplace  of  all 
the  succeeding  generations  in  this  branch  of 
the  family.  He  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Will- 
iam Pratt,  who  for  thirty  years  served  as  rec- 
tor  of   the    old    parish    church    in    Stevanage, 


England.  The  father  of  minister  Pratt  was 
Andrew  Pratt,  of  Baldock;  and  his  grandfather 
was  Thomas  Pratt,  of  the  same  place,  whose 
will  bore  date  of  February  5,  1538.  Lieuten- 
ant Pratt  was  for  many  years  in  the  General 
Court,  and  held  other  public  offices.  When 
the  first  court  in  New  London  County  as- 
sembled at  New  London  on  September  20, 
1666,  Major  Mason,  Thomas  Stanton,  and 
Lieutenant  Pratt  occupied  the  bench;  and  on 
May  9,  1678,  the  last-named  gentleman  at- 
tended as  Deputy  for  the  twenty-third  time. 
He  died  in  that  year. 

Ezra  Pratt,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  biography,  was  a  farmer.  He  married 
on  January  22,  1783,  Temperance  South- 
worth,  a  native  of  Saybrook.  Eleven  children 
were  the  fruit  of  the  union,  eight  sons  and 
three  daughters,  of  whom  Selden  M.  was  the 
youngest.  Ezra  died  soon  after  the  birth  of 
Selden,  leaving  the  mother,  who  was  known 
as  "Aunt  Tempe,"  with  a  large  family  and 
but  limited  means  for  its  support.  However, 
one  of  the  noblest  types  of  womanhood,  she 
brought  up  her  children  in  a  manner  that 
made  them  an  honor  to  their  name.  She  lived 
to  be  an  octogenarian.  Two  of  her  sons,  Ezra 
and  Alfred,  migrated  to  the  Western  Reserve 
(Ohio),  where  they  became  large  land-owners 
and  influential  and  public-spirited  citizens. 
Horace  and  Nathaniel  were  educated  for  the 
ministry  at  Princeton  after  graduating  from 
Yale  College.  The  former  became  a  Presby- 
terian preacher  in  Tuscaloosa,  Ala.,  and  the 
professor  of  belles-lettres  in  the  university 
there.  The  latter  became  a  preacher,  and 
labored  in  Marietta,  and  in  Roswell,  Ga. 
Henry  acquired  much  wealth  as  a  New  York 
merchant.  Amasa  and  Lyman  were  sea  cap- 
tains, the  latter  dying  a  young  man.  All 
but  two  of  these  sons  married  and  had  chil- 
dren,   some  of  whom  are  filling  positions  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


213 


distinction,  one  of  the  number  being  a  recent 
Mayor  of  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Selden  M.  Pratt  spent  the  active  years  oi 
his  life  occupied  in  carrying  on  his  farm 
at  Saybrook.  Appreciating  his  ability  and 
worth,  his  townsmen  conferred  various  official 
honors  upon  him.  He  served  as  Town  Clerk, 
Judge  oi  Probate  for  many  years,  and  in  the 
State  legislature  for  several  terms.  On  Janu- 
ary 15,  1828,  he  was  married  at  Saybrook  to 
Rebecca  Nott,  daughter  of  Clark  and  Wealthy 
(Pratt)  Nott.  Tlie\r  had  nine  children,  six 
sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  reached 
maturity.  Selden,  the  seventh  child,  after  a 
year's  service  in  the  Civil  War  as  a  volunteer 
in  the  Connecticut  Infantry,  was  stricken 
with  a  lever,  and  died  in  Baton  Rouge,  at  the 
;i  of  nineteen  years.  He  was  brought  to 
Saybrook  for  burial.  The  living  children 
are:  Lewellyn,  the  second  son  and  child; 
Jane,  who  for  many  years  was  a  missionary 
teacher  in  New  Mexico,  under  the  New  West 
Commission;  Amasa,  now  residing  in  Colum- 
bus. I  Ihio,  who  was  for  a  number  of  years 
the  superintendent  of  a  deaf-mute  institute; 
James  M.,  a  successful  business  man  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.  ;  and  Abram  Nott,  who  is  en- 
gaged  in  the  lumber  business  in  Eddy, 
N.M.  Henry  Lyman  Pratt,  the  first-born, 
alter  graduating  from  Williams  College, 
studied  law,  and  subsequently  practised  at  the 
bar  in  Essex.  He  was  Judge  of  Probate,  and 
represented  the  town  in  the  lower  house  of 
the  State  legislature.  In  addition  to  his  law 
practice,  he  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  bits 
and  augers  for  a  number  of  years.  He  died 
in  1894,  aged  sixty-four  years,  having  sur- 
vived fur  'some  time  his  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren. Selden  M.  Pratt  died  in  i8Si,  aged 
seventy-six,  and  his  wife  in  1869,  aged  sixty- 
two  years. 

Lewellyn  Pratt,  after  preparing   in    Durham 


and  Essex  Academies,  entered  Williams  Col- 
lege in  [848,  and  graduated  in  [852,  with  a 
class  of  over  fifty,  having  one  of  the  orations. 
Soon  after  his  graduation  he  became  the  pro- 
fessor of  natural  science  in  Gallaudet  College, 
Washington,  D.C.  In  1869  he  went  to 
Galesburg,  111.,  to  take  the  position  of  pro- 
fessor of  Latin  in  Knox  College.  After  re- 
maining here  until  1871,  he  was  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  North 
Adams,  Mass.  Five  years  later  he  accepted 
the  chair  of  rhetoric  in  Williams  College,  his 
Alma  Mater;  and  in  1880  he  became  the  pro- 
fessor of  practical  theology  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  Hartford,  Conn.  From  the  semi- 
nary he  came  to  the  Broadway  Congregational 
Church  in  1888.  In  this,  the  largest  Protes- 
tant church  of  Norwich,  he  has  ministered 
most  acceptably  during  the  past  eight  years. 
Thoroughly  practical  himself  in  all  depart- 
ments of  church  work,  his  lectures  while  pro- 
fessor of  practical  theology  could  but  win  the 
indorsement  of  those  he  taught.  His  success 
as  a  teacher  and  preacher  lies,  not  so  much  in 
special  talents,  as  in  a  happy  and  rare  combi- 
nation of  natural  traits.  A  man  of  command- 
ing presence,  he  is  at  the  same  time  distin- 
guished by  the  uniform  courtesy  of  a  thorough 
gentleman.  Williams  College  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  1877, 
and  later  elected  him  a  trustee.  Hartford 
Theological  Seminary  has  also  received  him 
on  its  Board  of  Trustees.  He  has  published 
many  magazine  and  review  articles,  which 
have  been  very  favorably  received. 

On  October  17,  1855,  Dr.  Pratt  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  Putnam  Gulliver, 
of  Philadelphia,  whose  parents  were  John  and 
Sarah  (Putnam)  Gulliver,  of  Boston,  Mass. 
Of  his  two  children,  Theodore  died  when 
four  years  old.  The  survivor  is  Professor 
Waldo  Selden  Pratt,  A.M.,  who  fills  the  chair 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


of  ecclesiastical  music  in  the  Hartford  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  Like  his  father,  he  was 
graduated  from  Williams  College.  He  has  a 
wife,  but  no  living  children. 


WILLIAM  LADD,  a  highly  esteemed 
octogenarian  farmer  of  Sprague, 
now  retired,  was  born  February  17, 
1 816,  near  his  present  home,  then  included  in 
the  adjoining  town  of  Franklin,  New  London 
County.  His  parents  were  Festus  and  Ruby 
Ladd.  He  is  of  old  and  substantial  Colonial 
stock,  whose  immigrant  progenitor  (see  Ladd 
Genealogy),  Daniel  Ladd,  "took  the  oath  of 
supremacy  and  allegiance  to  pass  to  New  Eng- 
land in  the  'Mary  and  John'  on  March  24, 
1633-4."  He  had  a  grant  of  land  in  Ipswich, 
Mass.,  in  1637,  anil  a  little  later  on  was  one 
of  the  original  settlers  of  Haverhill,  Mass., 
where  he  was  a  Selectman  in  1668.  Daniel 
Ladd's  son  Samuel  was  killed  by  Indians  on 
February  22,  1698.  David  Ladd,  of  Haver- 
hill, son  of  Samuel,  was  twice  married;  and 
Abner  Ladd,  born  in  1740,  is  said  to  have 
been  David's  son  by  his  second  wife.  Abner 
Ladd,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  married  Abigail  Perkins,  who  bore 
him  five  sons  —  Jedediah,  Abner,  Jr.,  Erastus 
P.,  Festus,  and  George  Washington.  There 
were  also  a  number  of  daughters. 

Festus,  father  of  William  Ladd,  was  born 
on  the  farm  adjoining  the  one  on  which  his 
son  now  lives.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  spent 
his  life  in  this  town,  dying  here  in  1855,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  His  wife, 
who  was  also  his  cousin,  survived  him  twenty 
years.  They  had  a  family  of  five  sons  and  six 
daughters.  The  eldest  child  was  Asa  Spald- 
ing Ladd,  who  was  born  in  1808,  and  lived  to 
the  age  of  seventy-three  years;  the  next  child 
was    Lura;    Eliza,    now    the   widow   of    Jerry 


Sims  on  Bean  Hill  is  eighty-eight  years  old; 
Betsey,  now  Mrs.  Ladd  Perkins,  a  widow,  re- 
sides in  Franklin  at  the  age  of  eighty-six 
years;  William,  of  Sprague,  has  nearly  com- 
pleted his  eighty-second  year;  Laura,  a  widow 
residing  in  Illinois,  is  in  her  seventy-ninth 
year;  Rufus  S.  is  seventy-three  years  of  age; 
and  Lydia,  Mrs.  Hall,  a  widow,  is  in  her 
seventieth  year.  The  combined  ages  of  all 
these  is  five  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

William  Ladd  was  reared  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  received  a  common-school  educa- 
tion. He  was  a  fine  penman  in  early  life, 
and  spent  considerable  time  in  perfecting  him- 
self in  that  art.  Leaving  home  at  nineteen 
years  of  age,  he  hired  himself  out  as  a  farm 
laborer  at  eleven  dollars  per  month  for  the 
year  round,  and  until  he  reached  his  majority 
gave  the  wages  he  earned  to  his  parents.  He 
worked  for  nine  years  for  one  man,  Edwin 
Allen  by  name,  who  died  in  Mystic  in  1895. 
Mr.  Allen  was  an  inventor,  and  was  the  origi- 
nator of  wooden  type.  At  one  time  Mr.  Ladd 
received  from  him  six  hundred  dollars  of  his 
wages;  and  then  he  and  his  sister  Eliza 
bought  a  farm  here,  and  gave  their  mother  a 
lifelong  lease  of  it.  Mr.  Ladd  now  owns  five 
farms,  and  on  one  of  them  has  a  fine  dairy. 
In  1892  he  built  his  present  cosey  house  on  a 
home  lot  of  seven  acres  of  land.  Mr.  Ladd  is 
a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  has  held  various 
town  offices,  and  has  represented  his  town  in 
the  State  legislature. 

In  1865  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Lucretia  Waldo.  After  her  decease  he  mar- 
ried on  October  26,  1885,  her  cousin,  Mrs. 
Louise  Jackson,  widow  of  John  R.  Jackson, 
of  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Horatio  Waldo,  a  Congregationalist  minister, 
formerly  pastor  of  the  church  in  Portage, 
Wyoming  County,  N.Y. 

Mrs.    Ladd's   daughter,    Anna   Jackson,    an 


i 


WILLIAM    LADD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


217 


only  and  fondly  loved  child,  died  at  the  early 
age  of  nineteen,  a  blossom  of  beauty  already 
ripened  for  a  better  land.  She  was  not  only 
the  flower  of  the  home,  but  in  social  life  and 
religious  circles  occupied  a  prominent  place 
that  no  one  else  could  fill.  Her  pastor,  Mr. 
Gage,  uf  Hartford,  who  was  abroad  at  the  time 
of  her  death,  wrote  to  her  mother  that  she 
(Anna)  was  the  most  active  and  influential 
young  woman  in  Christian  work  in  his  large 
congregation,  that  her  loss  would  be  deeply 
mourned  by  all  with  whom  she  associated, 
and,  as  they  should  all  miss  her  so  much,  he 
could  scarcely  conceive  how  the  mother  could 
live  without  her.  She  was  not  only  strikingly 
handsome  in  face  and  figure,  but  was  of  a  rare 
type  of  beauty,  with  soulful  eyes,  that  radi- 
ated grace  upon  all  who  came  within  the 
circle  of  her  influence.  She  was  gifted  in 
music  and  literature,  but  her  Christian  graces 
outshone  all  other  gifts.  At  the  age  of  ten, 
when  a  fine  piano  was  presented  her,  she 
sat  down  upon  the  stool  gracefully,  and,  play- 
inn  her  own  accompaniment,  sang  in  a  most 
pleasing  and  effective  manner,  '"How  the 
Cites  came  Ajar,"  "The  Golden  Stairs,"  and 
other  hymns.  A  musician,  who  was  present 
at  the  time,  said  that,  "if  a  child  of  that  ten- 
der age  could  sing  with  such  spirit  and  pathos 
such  pieces  as  those,  she  well  deserved  a  fine 
instrument." 

Mrs.  Ladd  says  that  it  has  always  seemed  to 
her  as  if  the  child's  grandparents,  who  were 
most  estimable  Christian  people,  had  let  their 
mantle  fall  upon  Anna,  and  as  if  the  grand- 
father's blessing  had  proved  most  effectual. 
He  was  a  man  (if  letters,  versed  in  Greek. 
When  the  baby  Anna  was  brought  to  him  as 
he  lay  dying,  he  was  bolstered  up  at  his  re- 
quest; and,  taking  the  child  in  his  arms,  he 
must  fervently  asked  the  blessing  of  the  Al- 
mighty upon  her.      She  grew  from  day  to  day 


in  Christian  loveliness  of  character,  under  her 
mother's  watchful  training.  After  Anna's 
death  Mrs.  Ladd  received  a  very  affecting 
letter  of  condolence  from  a  young  Chinese, 
who  had  become  converted  to  the  Christian  re- 
ligion under  her  daughter's  influence  in  a 
Sabbath-school  class  taught  by  Anna  for  some 
time  in  New  York  City.  The  Chinese  lad 
was  thrown  under  her  influence  at  a  missionary 
meeting,  and  subsequently  joined  her  Sabbath- 
school  class,  where  he  was  always  an  attentive- 
listener. 

"This  world  is  His  garden,  Anna, 
Me  Ijnt  took  thee  from  us  he-re 
To  bloom  tlie  brightei  there." 


DWARD  PREST,  who  was  for  fifty  \ 
a  resident  of  New  London  and  in  later 
life  one  of  its  best  known  and  most 
respected  citizens,  was  born  in  Bolton,  Lanca- 
shire, England,  in  1 8 1 3.  Lie  was  a  son  of 
George  and  Mary  (VVignall)  Prest,  his  father 
being  a  local  Methodist  preacher,  who  held 
frequent  religious  meetings  at  his  house.  At 
these  gatherings  he  in  early  childhood  re- 
ceived impressions  which  had  much  to  do  with 
shaping  his  moral  character  and  laying  the 
foundation  of  his  upright,  useful,  and  prosper- 
ous career.  A  separate  sketch  of  his  brother, 
George  Prest,  including  further  ancestral  his- 
tory, may  be  found  on  another  page  of  this 
volume. 

Edward  Prest  learned  the  trade  of  a  stone- 
mason in  England.  In  1845  he  came  to 
America  with  his  father  and  brothers,  and  set- 
tled in  New  London,  where  he  subsequently 
became  a  contractor  and  builder.  An  expert 
mechanic,  he  was  also  a  man  of  the  strictest 
probity,  and  would  contract  for  nothing  but 
the  best  quality  of  work,  which  he  always  exe- 


2lS 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


cuted  in  the  most  skilful  and  thorough  man- 
ner. By  virtue  of  these  qualities,  though  be- 
ginning life  a  poor  boy,  he  became  a  wealthy 
man  and  one  of  New  London's  most  substan- 
tial citizens.  Among  the  buildings  erected 
by  him  which  bear  witness  to  his  skill  as  a 
master  workman  are  St.  James  Episcopal 
Church,  City  Hall,  Lawrence  Hall,  Metropol- 
itan Hotel,  Rogers  Block  on  Main  Street,  and 
the  residence  of  J.  N.  Harris.  He  bought  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  the  western  part  of  this 
city,  through  which  he  laid  streets;  and  he 
built  thereon  many  tenement  houses.  He 
also  erected  a  comfortable  residence  for  him- 
self on  the  corner  of  Blackhall  and  Prest 
Streets,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1893,  and 
in  which  his  widow  still  resides. 

His  first  wife  was  Jane,  daughter  of  John 
and  Barbara  McDonald,  who  came  from  Scot- 
land, her  father  being  for  years  the  leading 
baker  in  New  London.  For  his  second  wife 
he  married  Frances  H.,  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Fanny  Chester,  both  natives  of  Groton. 
Her  grandfather,  Deacon  Elisha  Chester,  as 
well  as  her  father,  Thomas  Chester,  were 
born  in  the  old  Chester  homestead  in  Shin- 
necossett,  now  Eastern  Point.  In  18 14, 
Thomas,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  assisted  in 
building  a  battery  on  the  Chester  property  as 
a  defence  against  marauding  British  vessels. 
He  taught  school  for  twenty  years.  In  1834 
he  purchased  a  farm  in  Waterford,  near  what 
is  now  Cedar  Grove  Cemetery,  where  both 
he  and  his  wife  died  in  1S77.  The  farm  still 
remains  in  possession  of  the  family.  Mrs. 
Prest's  great -great-grandfather  was  Samuel 
Chester,  who  was  a  ship-owner,  commander, 
and  factor  in  the  West  India  trade.  He  re- 
moved from  Boston  to  New  London  in  1663. 
He  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Groton. 
His  son  John,  the  next  in  line  of  descent  to 
Mrs.   I 'rest,  married  Mary  Starr,  a  great -great- 


grand-daughter  of  William  Brewster,  one  of 
the  "Mayflower's  "  passengers  in  1620.  Two 
of  the  sons  of  John  Chester  were  Thomas  and 
Benajah.  Thomas,  who  resided  in  the  old 
Chester  homestead  at  Shinnecossett,  was  pay- 
master for  Connecticut  troops  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  On  September  6,  1 78 1 ,  he 
armed  three  of  his  sons  for  the  defence  of  Fort 
Griswold.  Two  of  them  were  massacred  after 
they  had  surrendered,  and  the  other  was  taken 
prisoner.  The  land  on  which  the  Fort  Gris- 
wold House  and  adjacent  cottages  now  stand 
was  owned  by  Benajah  Chester  and  his  son 
Starr.  Their  house  was  burned  by  the  enemy 
during  the  war.  Starr  Chester,  son  of  Bena- 
jah, subsequently  purchased  a  large  tract  of 
land,  a  part  of  which  is  now  known  as  Long 
Point.  His  son  Nicholas  became  the  father 
of  Fanny,  wife  of  Thomas  Chester  and  mother 
of  Mrs.  Prest. 


DWARD  P.  BREWER,  M.D.,  is  an 
esteemed  and  successful  physician  of 
Norwich,  his  native  town.  A  son  of 
Pliny  and  Ellen  M.  (Whittemore)  Brewer,  he 
traces  his  descent  by  both  parents  to  English 
colonists  who  came  to  New  England  in  the 
early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  His 
great-great-grandfather,  Isaac  Brewer,  first, 
died  about  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Isaac  Brewer,  second,  son  of  the  first  Isaac, 
married  in  1747  Sibyl  Miller,  of  Ludlow, 
Mass.  They  had  eleven  children,  five  sons 
and  six  daughters.  Of  these  one  son  died  in 
infancy  and  one  at  the  age  of  seventeen. 
Lyman,  the  youngest  son  and  tenth  child, 
married  Harriet  Tyler,  of  Norwich,  settled 
there,  and  became  the  father  of  Arthur  Brewer. 
Isaac  Brewer  died  when  forty-seven  years  of 
age.  Chauncey  Brewer,  horn  about  1776, 
who  was  the  seventh  child  and  third  son,  and 
who   located   in  Wilbraham,  Hampden  County, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


219 


Mass.,  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  extending 
from  Ludlow  to  Springfield.  Me  married 
Asenath  Mandeville,  who,  with  her  father, 
had  recently  come  from  England.  Seven  sons 
and  two  daughters  were  born  to  them,  of  whom 
Pliny  was  the  youngest.  The  mother,  who 
survived  the  lather  several  years,  died  at  Noi 
wich  in  1X71,  over  eighty  years  of  age. 

Pliny  Brewer  was  born  November  27,  (823, 
in  Ludlow,  Mass.  When  fourteen  years  oi 
age  he  left  home  and  came  to  Norwich. 
About  the  year  1848  he  went  into  the  cloth- 
business  with  his  brother,  John  M. 
Brewer.  He  was  in  trade  until  1862,  when 
he  enlisted  tor  nine  months'  service  in  the 
Civil    War,    and    went    out    as     Lieutenant    oi 

ipany  G,  Twenty-sixth  Connecticut  Regi- 
ment, which  was  assigned  to  the  Department 
of  the  Gulf.  After  an  absence  of  about  a 
year  he  returned  home,  a;  id  was  in  active  busi- 
ness until  the  spring  of  1SS9,  when  he  retired. 
In  or  about  1851  he  was  married  to  Ellen 
M.  Whittemore,  a  native  of  Providence,  R.I. 
Her  ancestry  is  traced  in  England  to  the  year 
121  1.  Samuel  Whittemore,  the  founder  of 
the  American  family,  came  to  the  country  in 
1630.  He  purchased  meadow  lands  along  the 
Charles  River,  which  were  deeded  to  him  by 
Cotton  Mather.  These  lands,  after  having 
been  in  the  family's  possession  for  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  were  sold  within  the 
past  twenty-five  or  thirty  years.  Several  rep- 
resentatives  of    the    Whittemore    family   were 

picuous  as  officers  in  the  Revolution. 
Mis.  Ellen  M.  Brewer's  grandfather  served  as 
Lieutenant  throughout  the  war,  heing  in  the 
campaign     against     Burgoyne.        Ller     great- 

idfather,  Benjamin  Cady,  and  his  son 
joined  the  Revolutionary  army  from  Killingly, 
Conn.  Her  mother  died  in  1896,  when 
eighty-five  years  of  age.  The  children  of 
Pliny   Brewer  and   his   wife  were:  Mary,   now- 


living  in  Norwich;  Florence,  a  resident  of 
Wichita,  Kan.  ;  Edward  P.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  and  Frank,  who  was  a  medical 
student,  and  died  of  diphtheria  in  New  York 
City.  The  mother's  death  occurred  in  Nor 
wich,  in  December,  1895,  when  she  was  sixty- 
four  years  old. 

Edward  P.  Brewer  received  the  greater  part 
of  his  college  preparatory  education  under  a 
private  tutor.  lie  then  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia,  from 
which  he  received  the  degree  oi  Doctor  of 
Philosophy.  Later  he  graduated  from  the 
Dartmouth  Medical  College.  lie  continued 
his  studies  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia  for 
five  years.  Then,  in  1SS1,  he  established 
himself  in  Norwich,  where  he  has  since  built 
up  a  large  and  successful  practice.  In  [895 
he  went  to  Europe,  and  studied  under  the  most 
celebrated  specialists  in  London,  Paris,  and 
Vienna.  Since  his  return  he  has  devoted 
himself  to  special  work.  He  has  been  a  con- 
stant contributor  to  the  medical  press,  and  has 
occupied  important  editorial  positions.  Pos- 
sessed of  an  inventive  faculty,  he  has  devised 
several  important  instruments,  among  which 
is  the  torsiometer,  which  has  attracted  much 
notice. 

In  1 886  Dr.  Brewer  was  married  to  Miss 
Alice  L.  Boardman,  of  Norwich.  Her  par- 
ents were  Clement  and  Louisa  t  Prentice) 
Boardman,  of  whom  the  latter  is  living.  Mis. 
Brewer's  grandfather,  General  Mott,  a  civil 
engineer,  drew  the  plans  fur  the  fortifications 
at   New  London,  and  inied  the  expedi- 

tion that  captured  Ticonderoga.  ller  great- 
grandfather, General  John  Tyler,  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  having  command  oi  forces 
in  the  Newport  and  I  ong  Island  1  cpeditions. 
Dr.  and  Mis.  Brewer  have  one  child,  .Alice. 
Dr.  Brewer  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 
He  is  a  member   of    the   regular   medical   asso- 


220 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ciations  of  the  county,  State,  and  country,  and 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
In  religion  he  is  a  Congregationalist  and  a 
member  of  the  Broadway  Congregational 
Church.  The  family  reside  at  i<S  Washing- 
ton Street,  where  he  built  his  dwelling  and 
office  in  1891. 


ILLIAM  HARRIS  BENTLEY, 
the  second  son  of  William  and 
Hannah  (Harris)  Bentley,  was  born 
in  New  London,  Conn.,  July  6,  1833.  His 
father  was  descended  from  William  Bentley, 
who  came  from  Scotland  in  1716.  His 
mother  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Governor 
William  Bradford  (1620;  and  Walter  Harris, 
one  of  the  first  white  settlers  in  the  present 
town  of  New  London.  She  grew  up  in  the 
Blinman  house,  one  of  the  houses  which  stood 
through  the  burning  of  New  London  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  which  is  still  in  pos- 
session of  her  daughter,  the  street  on  which  it 
is  situated  being  named  for  the  Rev.  John 
Blinman,  who  built  the  house.  Mr.  Bent- 
ley's  father  received  injuries  from  a  severe 
fall  on  his  vessel,  which  deprived  him  of  his 
eyesight;  and  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  sea- 
faring life.  As  New  London  was  then  in  the 
height  of  its  prosperity  owing  to  its  whaling 
interests,  he  established  a  teaming  business. 

William  H.  Bentley,  on  coming  of  age, 
succeeded  his  father;  and,  as  the  demands  of 
the  business  increased  with  the  growth  of  the 
city,  he  added  a  wholesale  and  retail  ice  busi- 
ness at  24  State  Street,  wharfage  at  Howard 
Street,  and  a  storage  department  and  stables 
on  Truman  Street,  all  of  which  he  still  car- 
ries on.  His  residence  is  on  Vauxhall  Street. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  Second  Congrega- 
tional Sunday-school  in  1839,  of  which  he  is 
still  a  member,  together  with  his  three  sons. 


He  joined  the  Niagara  Engine  Company,  No. 
1,  in  1848,  filling  all  positions  in  the  com- 
pany, from  volunteer  to  chief  engineer  of  the 
fire  department  of  New  London.  He  was  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  Veteran  Fireman  As- 
sociation, of  which  he  is  now  first  vice-presi- 
dent. November  20,  1856,  he  married  Miss 
Frances  Leech,  of  Norwich,  who  died  January 
28,  1874.  He  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-sixth 
Regiment,  Connecticut  Volunteers;  and  on 
formation  of  the  company  he  was  elected  Cap- 
tain, and  served  with  them  during  their  enlist- 
ment, being  in  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson 
forty -two  days,  and  having  the  entire  charge 
of  the  regiment  fifteen  days.  On  his  return 
he  was  unable  to  attend  to  business  for  a  year, 
his  health  having  been  impaired  from  the  ex- 
posure and  hardships  endured  while  in  Louisi- 
ana. He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  since  its  first  formation  in  New  Lon- 
don, filling  its  various  offices,  being  appointed 
February  27,  1S90,  Aide-de-camp  to  General 
R.  A.  Alger,  and  appointed  March  19,  1891, 
Aide-de-camp  to  General  W.  G.  Vesey.  He 
joined  the  Union  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  1S66, 
and  is  now  Past  Eminent  Commander  of  Pal- 
estine Commandery,  No.  6,  K.  T.  He  was 
elected  Selectman  for  the  town  of  New  Lon- 
don, serving  in  1869-72.  Subsequent  to  the 
re-formation  of  the  Third  Regiment,  C.  N.  G., 
in  1871,  he  was  elected  First  Lieutenant  of 
Company  D  (in  1873)  ;  promoted  to  Captain  in 
[881;  promoted  to  Major,  receiving  sword, 
straps,  and  all  insignia  of  the  office  from  mem- 
bers of  Company  D  in  1882;  promoted  to 
Lieutenant  Colonel;  and  honorably  discharged 
June  30,  1 886.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
State  legislature  in  1883,  and  served  on  the 
Military  Committee.  He  was  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  being  the  first 
Master  Workman.  He  was  a  charter  member 
of   the    Royal   Arcanum.     The    New   London 


CALVIN    ALLV.X. 


MRS.    (\\l.\  1  \    ALLYN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEYV 


2-S 


Hoard  of  Trade  was  formed  in  1S85,  and  he 
was  its  president  in  [886.  He  has  served  the 
city  twenty-one  years  as  Councilman  and 
Alderman.  October  25,  1877,  he  married  for 
his  second  wife  Miss  Charlotte  Bingham,  of 
Norwich,  by  whom  he  has  four  sons  —  George 
Bingham,  William  Harris,  Julian  Bingham, 
and  Frank. 

George  graduated   from  the  Bulkeley  School 

in  the  class  of    1897;   William  is  a  student   at 

Bulkeley,  in  the  class  of   1898;  Julian  is  now 

ised;    Frank   is  a  student  at  the   Robert 

Bartlett. 


|ALVIN    ALLYN,  a  prosperous   farmer 

of  Norwich,  belongs  to  a  family  that 
came  to  America  in  the  early  days 
of  its  settlement  by  white  people,  enduring 
with  brave  hardihood  the  privations  and  suffer- 
ings which  were  the  lot  of  the  early  colonists. 
He  is  a  direct  descendant  of  Sir  Robert 
Allyn,  of  England.  Another  of  his  ancestors 
was  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  and  the  family 
coat  of  arms  dates  from  the  second  crusade. 

Robert  Allyn,  the  immigrant  progenitor  of 
the  branch  of  the  family  now  being  con- 
id.  .one  over  in  [637,  and  settled  in 
Salem,  Mass..  remaining  there  until  [65 1, 
when  he  removed  to  New  London,  Conn.,  and 
obtained  a  large  tract  of  land,  including  what 
is  now  Allyn  Point,  much  of  which  is  still  in 
the  family.  From  Robert  Allyn  the  line  de- 
ls, through  John,  Robert,  Robert,  Janus, 
a  second  James,  and  Charles,  to  Calvin,  whose 
name  appears  at  the  beginning  of  this  sketch. 
The  younger  James  and  his  twin  brother 
lezer,  who  was  the  progenitor  of  the  pres- 
ent Allyn  Point  branch,  were  born  in  that 
part  of  Grot  on  which  is  now  Ledyard,  Conn., 
about  1750.  James  Allyn  purchased  the 
farm  of  John  Dean,  and  the  active  years  of  his 
life  were  profitably  spent   in  carrying   it  on. 


James  Allyn,  Jr.,  was  married  in  1768  at 
Stonington,  Conn.,  to  Anna  Stanton,  of  that 
place.  She  was  descended  from  Thomas 
Stanton,  the  Indian  interpreter.  A  coverlid 
made  and  marked  by  her  mother  in  174}  and 
a  chair  that  belonged  to  her  ancestors  have 
been  handed  down  as  heirlooms  to  the  present 
generation.  The  children  of  James  and  Anna 
(Stanton)  Allyn  were:  Joseph,  Anna,  Althea, 
Martha,  Jabez,  Charles,  and  Roswell,  all  ol 
whom  had  families  except  Jabez.  The  mother 
died  at  sixty -seven  and  the  father  at  eighty-six 
years  of  age.  Their  remains  are  resting  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Allyn  Burial-ground, 
which  was  taken  from  the  old  farm  in  the  town 
of  Ledyard.  The  house  in  which  Janus 
Allyn,  Jr.,  and  his  children  were  born  was 
also  the  birthplace  of  Silas  Ueane,  one  of  t he- 
commissioners  to  France  in  Revolutionary 
times. 

Charles  Allyn,  father  of  Calvin,  was  born 
September  28,  1781,  twenty-two  days  after  the 
massacre  of  Fort  Griswold,  New  London, 
headed  by  Arnold,  the  traitor,  September  f>, 
1781.  He  became  a  well-to-do  man  and  influ- 
ential citizen,  and  served  acceptably  as  Se- 
lectman of  Montville.  He  married  in  Groton, 
February  9,  1814,  Miss  Lois  Gallup,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  Gallup,  who  was  a  son  of  Colonel 
Nathan  Gallup,  one  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety  that  advised  with  Governor  Trumbull. 
The  children  born  of  this  union  were:  Louisa; 
Robert;  Amanda;  James;  Calvin;  and  Har- 
riet. Louisa  married  Robert  A.  Williams, 
of  Preston,  and  died  March  22,  1896,  at 
eighty  years  of  age,  leaving  five  children. 
Robert  was  educated  at  the  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity at  Middletown,  Conn.,  graduating  in 
1841.  In  1857  he  was  elected  Professor  of 
k  in  Wesleyan  University  at  Athens, 
Ohio;  was  afterward  president  of  the  Female 
College   in   Cincinnati,    president  of    McK.cn- 


226 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


dree  College  at  Lebanon,  111.,  and  the  first 
principal  of  Southern  Illinois  State  Normal 
School  at  Carbondale,  111.  The  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
his  Alma  Mater,  also  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws; 
and  he  was  ranked  with  the  leading  educators 
of  the  West.  He  died  in  Carbondale,  111., 
January  7,  1894.  Amanda,  who  was  the  wife 
of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Clark  Lewis,  a  Metho- 
dist preacher,  died  September  19,  1891,  in 
Onarga,  111.,  leaving  no  children,  and  be- 
queathing her  large  property  to  the  North- 
western University,  at  Evanston,  near  Chi- 
cago. Her  husband  was  in  the  itinerancy  in 
New  England  and  Illinois,  and  was  also  en- 
gaged in  university  work.  James  Allyn, 
third,  died  in  Waterford,  Conn.,  March  18, 
1893,  aged  seventy.  Harriet  lived  to  be  but 
sixteen,  and  Calvin  is  now  the  sole  survivor. 
At  a  family  reunion  held  here  August  15, 
1889,  all  the  sons  and  daughters  except  Har- 
riet were  present.  Their  mother  died  April 
28,  i860,  at  sixty-nine  years  of  age;  their 
father,  May  13,   1868,  at  eighty-six. 

Calvin  Allyn  was  born  in  Groton,  Conn., 
New  London  County,  May  26,  1S27.  His 
early  education  was  supplemented  by  a  course 
at  Wilbraham  Academy;  and  after  that  he 
taught  school  for  three  winters,  but  eventually 
turned  his  attention  to  farming,  in  which  he 
has  met  with  good  success.  He  came  to  Nor- 
wich from  Montville,  where  he  had  lived  for 
forty-nine  years,  and  now  resides  on  the  farm 
known  as  the  Riverview,  which  he  purchased 
of  the  Jedediah  Spalding  estate  in  1881. 
Commodore  Perry  was  staying  at  the  tavern 
here,  which  was  kept  by  his  father  at  the  time 
he  was  ordered  to  Lake  Erie,  where  he  en- 
gaged with  the  British  fleet,  and  won  his 
famous  victory  of  September  10,   1813. 

On  February  26,  1861,  Mr.  Allyn  was 
united    in    marriage   with    Sarah    A.    Gallup. 


She  died  in  1864,  leaving  one  son,  Robert 
Gallup  Allyn,  who  lived  to  be  but  eighteen 
years  of  age,  dying  in  1881.  On  November 
7,  1865,  Mr.  Allyn  was  married  to  Mrs. 
Eunice  A.  Ames,  born  Raymond,  a  daughter 
of  William  and  Eunice  13.  Raymond.  By  her 
former  marriage  she  had  one  son,  Charles  \V. 
Ames,  who  was  accidentally  drowned  at  seven- 
teen years  of  age.  Three  children  blessed  her 
union  with  Mr.  Allyn,  namely:  Lois  Anna, 
wife  of  Dwight  L.  Mason,  a  manufacturer  of 
Winchendon,  Mass.  ;  James  Raymond  Allyn, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  market  business  in  Nor- 
wich, is  unmarried,  and  lives  at  home;  and 
Martha  S.,  who  was  graduated  from  the  Nor- 
wich Free  Academy  in  1894  and  from  the 
Normal  School  in  1896,  and  is  now  pursuing 
the  study  of  art,  for  which  she  has  special 
aptitude.      Mrs.  Allyn  died  April  19,   1897. 

Mr.  Allyn  votes  in  the  ranks  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  but  prefers  the  quiet  of  home  life 
to  the  turmoil  of  political  service,  and  as  a 
rule  declines  official  honors. 


7TAURTIS  LADD  HAZEN,  First  Select- 
I  \/      man    of    Sprague    and    a    well-known 

V»l£_^  farmer  of  this  place,  was  born,  son 
of  Eli  Hartshorn  and  Ruth  Kingsbury  (Ladd) 
Hazen,  on  the  farm  which  is  his  home  and  in 
the  house  built  in  1839  by  Grandfather  Hazen. 
Simeon,  the  grandfather  of  Curtis  Hazen,  was 
a  son  of  Moses  Hazen,  and  was  born  in  1769, 
in  a  house  which  stood  on  the  homestead. 
He  was  a  lifelong  farmer,  and  resided  on  the 
farm  now  occupied  by  Charles  T.  Hazen. 
Although  he  always  lived  in  the  same  place, 
his  residence  was  in  three  different  towns  — 
Norwich,  Franklin,  and  Sprague.  This  was 
owing  to  successive  subdivisions  of  the  town 
under  two  governments.  Simeon  was  twice 
married.     His  first  marriage  was  made  with 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


^7 


a  Miss  Simpson.  The  second  wife,  Temper- 
ance Sabin  Hazen,  was  the  grandmother  of 
Curtis  L.  There  were  in  all  ten  or  twelve 
children  in  the  family.  Eli  was  born  Febru- 
ary 27,  i S 16,  in  leap  year,  and  so  came  near 
losing  three-quarters  of    his   birthdays.      The 

it  occurred  in  the  red  house  now  standing 
on  the  farm  owned  by  his  brother,  Charles 
Thomas  Hazen.  He  was  an  active  man  in 
town  affairs,  serving  as  Selectman,  on  the 
Board  of  Relief,  and  in  other  public  posi- 
tions. He  sang  for  sixty  years  in  the  choir  of 
the  Methodist  church.  Three  years  after  his 
marriage  his  father  built  the  house  in  which 
Curtis  L.  now  resides,  entailing  it  to  Eli, 
who  in  turn  entailed  it  to  his  son  Curtis. 

Eli  Hartshorn  Hazen  was  married  on   April 
'.    [837,  at  the   age   of  twenty-one  years,  to  a 

, liter  of  Darius  Ladd,  she  being  then 
twenty.  Moth  were  born  in  February.  Her 
mother  belonged  to  a  family  named  Frink. 
Mrs.  Eli  H.  Ha/en  died  February  22,  1894, 
when  seventy-seven  years  of  age,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Portapaug  Congregational 
Churchyard.  Of  her  five  children,  Curtis  L. 
is  the  youngest.  Charles  Eli,  the  eldest,  re- 
sides  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  is  an  overseer 
in  an  envelope  factory.  The  only  daughter, 
Ruth  Jeanette,    is  the   wife  of  Joseph   Henry 

dings,  of  Mystic.  The  other  sons  are: 
Dwight  Bailey,  who  is  a  commercial  traveller, 
ami  resides  in  Matavia,  111.  ;  and  Marcus 
Morton,  who  is  a  farmer  in  the  town  of  Leb- 
anon. All  have  been  Democrats  in  politics. 
The    father,    who    survived    the    mother    three 

-,  was  buried  beside  her. 
Curtis  Ladd  Hazen  received  a  common- 
si  hool  education,  and  at  an  early  age  showed 
an  aptitude  for  mathematics.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  he  had  mastered  Greenleaf's 
"National  Arithmetic."  Beginning  at  seven- 
teen, lie  taught  school   in   the  winter  term   for 


three  successive  years.  He  has  been  active  in 
the  public  life  of  the  town,  and  takes  a  warm 
interest  in  all  matters  concerning  the  general 
welfare.  In  the  capacities  of  Tax  Collector, 
Constable,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  Select- 
man he  has  shown  unswerving  loyalty  to  the 
interests  of  the  town,  winning  general  esteem. 
He  is  now  serving  his  fourth  term  as  First  Se- 
lectman. Mesides  carrying  on  general  farm- 
ing, he  keeps  a  dairy  of  eight  cows.  When 
the  fine  barn,  now  in  course  of  erection,  is 
finished,  he  will  increase  his  stock.  He  has 
always  been  interested  in  music,  and,  like  his 
father,  has  sung  for  many  years  in  the  church, 
having  been  the  choirmaster  and  taken  both 
tenor  and  bass  parts. 

On  September  50,  1876,  Mr.  Hazen  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Catherine, 
daughter  of  James  and  Caroline  (Shepard) 
Allen.  Her  grandfather,  Aaron  Allen,  was 
born  in  Springfield,  Mass.  Her  mother, 
whose  people  were  English,  is  still  living. 
The  father  died  in  1892,  aged  seventy-two,  in 
Mr.  Hazen's  house,  where  both  parents  had 
made  their  home  for  the  three  preceding 
years.  Mrs.  Hazen  was  born  in  Canada. 
Her  daughter,  Miss  Lottie  Alice  Hazen,  who, 
having  inherited  the  musical  taste  of  her 
father  and  grandfather,  is  a  skilful  performer 
on  the  piano,  cornet,  and  organ,  presides  at 
the  church  organ,  and  sings  both  soprano  and 
contralto  parts. 


ESSRS.  II.  !•".  and  A.  J. 
DAWLEY,  of  Norwich,  the  well- 
known  manufacturers  and  dealers 
in  lumber,  shingles,  mouldings,  etc.,  are  sons 
of  Joseph  Frank  Dawley,  now  a  resident  of 
Westford.  Their  paternal  grandfather,  Jo- 
seph Dawley,  came  from  Rhode  Island  with 
his  wife   and   family,  and   settled   at    Willing- 


228 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ton,  Tolland  County,  Conn.,  where  he  carried 
on  farming.  Both  Grandfather  and  Grand- 
mother Dawley  lived  to  about  the  age  of  four- 
score years.  They  had  eight  sons  and  one 
daughter.  The  two  sons  now  living  are:  An- 
drew, who  is  superintendent  of  the  Hadley 
Thread  Company  in  Holyoke;  and  Joseph 
Frank,  father  of  Messrs.  Dawley. 

Joseph  Frank  Dawley  was  born  in  Eastern 
Rhode  Island  in  February,  1828,  and  was  the 
seventh  son  of  his  parents.  In  his  early  ac- 
tive life  he  was  engaged  in  trade,  having 
a  store  and  sending  out  a  number  of  teams. 
For  the  last  thirty-five  years  he  has  given  his 
attention  to  farming  on  his  estate  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  acres  in  Westford,  Conn. 
His  first  wife,  Elvira  Robbins,  whom  he  mar- 
ried March  24,  1850,  was  born  in  Thompson- 
ville  on  November  24,  1829,  and  died  March 
21,  1S55,  leaving  only  two  sons;  namely, 
Herbert  F.  and  Arthur  James,  of  Norwich. 
His  second  wife  was  sister  of  the  first,  and 
was  named  Sophronia.  She  was  born  Novem- 
ber 21,  1835,  and  was  married  in  October, 
1855.  Her  children  numbered  five.  Three 
of  them  arc  living,  as  follows:  Clara  E.,  the 
.1  El  .  r  Walker,  of  Webster,  Mass.; 
William  H.,  who  is  in  the  employ  of  H.  F. 
and  A.  J.  Dawley;  and  Edward  R.,  who  re- 
sides in  Evanston,  111.,  and  is  a  commercial 
traveller  for  a  Chicago  firm. 

Arthur  James  Dawley,  the  younger  of  the 
two  elder  brothers,  was  born  March  9,  1855, 
in  the  town  of  Wellington,  and  was  reared  to 
farm  life.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  began  to 
work  out  during  the  summers,  attending  school 
in  the  winters.  When  he  was  seventeen  years 
of  age,  his  father  hired  him  out  until  he 
should  be  twenty;  and  when  that  time  came  he 
was  given  the  rest  of  his  time.  At  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  went  to  Boston,  and  en- 
tered the  office  of  E.  A.  Buck  &  Co.,  the  firm 


a  year  later  becoming  Dean,  Foster  &  Co. 
Their  business  was  the  manufacture  of  glass 
bottles  for  druggists,  with  the  name  of  the 
customers  blown  in  the  glass.  Mr.  Dawley 
began  work  the  very  day  of  his  arrival,  which 
was  on  September  4,  1876,  his  wages  being 
eleven  dollars  per  week.  He  was  at  first  ship- 
ping clerk,  and  within  a  year  became  salesman 
and  city  collector.  Some  time  after  this  he 
was  sent  on  the  road  as  salesman  for  the  New 
England  States  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
dollars  per  month  and  expenses.  In  the 
spring  of  1879  ne  was  sent  out  to  the  North- 
western States,  including  among  others  Ind- 
iana, Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Kentucky,  and 
Kansas.  He  travelled  in  the  interests  of  his 
firm  until  1883,  doing  business  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  and  each  year  visiting 
thirty  States.  In  1882  he  was  offered  a  salary 
of  thirty-five  hundred  dollars  and  all  of  his 
expenses  paid;  and  in  1883  he  became  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Dean,  Foster  &  Daw- 
ley, occupying  the  whole  of  a  five-story 
building  at  120  Lake  Street,  Chicago,  and 
the  other  two  partners  being  in  Boston.  This 
firm  was  the  second  largest  in  the  United 
States  in  its  line,  doing  a  business  of  half 
a  million  dollars  a  year.  On  April  1,  1889, 
Mr.  Dawley  severed  his  connection  on  account 
of  poor  health,  and,  coming  to  Norwich,  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  business  with  his  brother. 
Fifteen  months  later  he  went  to  New  York 
City,  and,  becoming  a  partner  in  the  firm  of 
Webster,  Dawley  &  Co.,  at  52  Park  Place, 
wholesale  dealers  in  druggists'  glassware  and 
sundries,  travelled  in  the  New  England  States 
and  West  as  far  as  the  Rockies.  He  built  up 
a  large  trade,  but  in  P"ebruary,  1892,  sold  his 
interest  in  the  business  to  his  partners,  and 
returned  to  Norwich,  where  he  has  since  been 
engaged  in  his  present  business  in  company 
with  his  brother. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKYV 


229 


Mr.  Arthur  J.  Dawley  is  an  independent 
voter.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent    Order   of    Odd    Fellows.       His 

home  is  at  40  Oak  Street.  There  are  but  few 
ner  and  more  successful  business  men  in 
Norwich  or  in  the  New  England  States  than 
he:  and  his  success  has  been  won  entirely  by 
his  own  energy,  enterprise,  and  natural  busi- 
aptness. 

On  September  1 2,  1S77,  Mr.  Arthur  J. 
Dawley  was  united  in  marriage  with  Eugenia 
M.,  daughter  of  Obed  P.  ami  Charlotte  A. 
(Ladd)  McLean,  of  Glastonbury,  Conn.  Mrs. 
McLean  died  in  [895,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two  years,  leaving  four  children:  Ellen  and 
May  E.,  who  are  both  in  Hartford:  James 
<  1  .  .1  farmer  and  market  gardener  of  Glaston- 
;  and  Mis.  Dawley.  Mr.  McLean  is 
living  on  his  farm,  still  in  good  health.  Mrs. 
nia  M.  Dawley  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  her  native  town,  ,u\d  subsequently 
taught  school  for  two  years  prior  to  her  mar- 
riage. She  is  a  member  of  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church  on  Broadway. 

Mr.  Herbert  !•".  Dawley  received  a  practical 
common-school  education,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty  struck  out  for  himself  in  farming. 
When    twenty-one    years     old     he     entered     a 

w 1-turning    establishment,   and    he    was    in 

the  spoke  department  for  four  years  at  ordi- 
narv  wages.  About  1S76  he  became  partner 
to  E.  A.  Buck,  the  company  being  known  as 
Buck  &  Dawley,  and  carried  on  a  grocery 
business.  They  managed  also  a  grist-mill 
and  a  saw-mill,  which  were  run  by  water,  and 
likewise  a  portable  steam  saw-mill,  the  two 
latter  being  used  for  manufacturing  into  lum- 
ber the  timber  cut  from  a  number  of  lots  of 
Hand  that  they  bought.  The  firm  em- 
ployed many  workmen  and  many  teams,  and 
did  a  large  and  paying  business.  Since  his 
brother  Arthur  returned  to   Norwich    in    1892, 


Mr.  Dawley  has  been  in  company  with  him; 
and  together  the)'  have  built  up  on. 
most  thriving  enterprises  ever  started  in  this 
city.  Their  planing-mill  and  plant,  which 
covers  fifteen  acres,  and  is  fitted  with  all 
modern  machinery,  is  at  Fort  Point,  three 
miles  below  Norwich,  and  their  office  and  city 
yard  off  Laurel  Hill  Avenue.  They  employ 
fifty  to  sixty  men.  Their  timber  and  lumber 
come  from  the  South  and  West,  and  from 
Maine  and  other  Northern  sections.  They 
have  a  large  wholesale  trade  lor  Georgia  pine 
timber  and  North  Carolina  pine  and  cypress, 
and  ship  it  by  rail  throughout  the  New  Eng- 
land States  anil  Canada.  They  do  a  business 
of  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  annu- 
ally. Mr.  Herbert  F.  Dawley  was  married  on 
May  30,  1876,  to  Martha,  daughter  of  Peter 
Piatt,  of  Ashford. 


YT)KV  JAMES  CAMERON  GAVIN, 
I  S^  recently  of  Lyme,  New  London 
-l-^  V,  ^  County,  Conn.,  now  settled  at  Cole- 
iv,  Litchfield  Count)-,  as  pastor  of  the 
North  and  the  South  Baptist  Churches  of  this 
town,  was  born  at  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  Janu- 
ary 5,  1863,  and  is  of  Scotch  parentage.  His 
father,  James  Gavin,  was  a  native  of  Old 
Meldrum,  Aberdeenshire,  and  followed  the 
mercantile  business.  His  mother  was  the 
eldest  daughter  of  John  Cameron,  of  Ldny, 
Aberdeenshire.  After  receiving  a  common- 
school  education,  James  C.  Gavin,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  adopted  his  father's  calli 
serving  his  apprenticeship  in  his  native  city. 
Ultimately  finding  that  his  interest  was 
lening  in  missionary  work,  in  which  for 
several  years,  as  opportunil  d,  he  had  en- 

gaged, he  relinquished  his  business  prospects, 
and  at  the  suggestion  of  prominent  friends 
entered  Harley   College,   Lon<  land,  as 


23° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


a  missionary  student.  Subsequently  he  stud- 
ied at  Hulme  Cliff  College,  Derbyshire,  Eng- 
land: and  in  1890  he  came  to  America,  and 
settled  in  New  York,  where  he  engaged  in 
ministerial  work  as  assistant  missionary  in 
the  Baptist  Mariners'  Temple  of  that  city. 
He  continued  in  that  work  for  about  one  year; 
and  in  December,  1S91,  he  removed  to  Old 
Lyme,  Conn.,  having  accepted  a  call  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Baptist  church  in  that  town. 
There  he  was  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry 
in  August,  1892. 

In  April,  1895,  he  married  Ann  Henderson 
Davidson,  who  also  is  a  native  of  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  being  the  younger  daughter  of 
George  Davidson,  late  merchant  at  Kenneth- 
mont,  Aberdeenshire.  In  November,  1897, 
after  a  successful  pastorate  of  nearly  six  years 
at  Old  Lyme,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gavin  accepted  a 
call  to  Colebrook,  in  the  north-western  part  of 
the  State,  and  removed  thither  with  his  fam- 
ily. Earnestly  devoted  to  the  duties  of  his 
high  calling,  Mr.  Gavin  is  a  rising  young 
clergyman,  and  is  doing  a  most  acceptable 
work  in  his  new  field  of  labor. 


TTAHARLES  CLARK  PERKINS,  the 
I    >p       principal  of  the  New  London  clothing 

Vfc~_^  firm,  C.  C.  Perkins  &  Co.,  was  born 
in  Noank,  this  county,  November  5,  1864. 
An  enthusiastic  student  of  family  history,  he 
has  traced  his  ancestry  back  for  twelve  genera- 
tions. One  of  his  ancestors,  John  Perkins, 
was  high  steward  to  Hugo  Dispencer,  one  of 
the  richest  and  most  powerful  nobles  of  Eng- 
land in  his  time.  It  is  believed  that  John's 
son,  and  his  successor  in  the  office  of  steward, 
who  also  became  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Madras- 
field,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  have  the 
fesse  dancette  between  six  billets  for  his  arms. 
This  ancestor  lived  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI., 


and  was  the  steward  of  the  Dispencer  estates 
when  their  heiress  married  the  Earl  of  War- 
wick, the  king  maker. 

John  Perkins,  the  immigrant  ancestor,  was 
born  in  Newent,  Gloucestershire,  England,  in 
1590.  Sailing  from  the  port  of  Bristol  on 
December  1,  1630,  he  was  a  fellow-passenger, 
on  the  ship  "Lyon,"  William  Pierce,  master, 
of  the  celebrated  Roger  Williams.  On  the 
mother's  side  Mr.  Perkins  claims  descent 
from  Elder  Brewster,  who  came  to  the  coun- 
try in  the  "Mayflower."  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Rufus,  who  was  a  farmer  in  Groton, 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Groton  Heights.  The 
grandfather,  Civilian,  born  in  1805,  was  cap- 
tain of  a  fishing-smack.  In  1849  he  went  to 
California,  and  was  there  engaged  in  specula- 
tion for  a  few  years.  After  his  return  home 
he  bought  a  sloop,  and  was  thereafter  engaged 
in  fishing  for  cod  on  the  George's  Banks. 
His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Lucy  B.  Potter, 
of  Noank.  She  belonged  to  one  of  the  old 
families  of  this  county.  Grandfather  and 
grandmother  Perkins  had  seven  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
married,  and  had  families.  Six  of  the  number 
are  now  living,  the  most  of  whom  are  scat- 
tered in  the  West.  Grandmother  Perkins  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-five,  while  her  husband 
lived  to  be  seventy-two. 

Albert  W.  Perkins,  the  father  of  Charles 
Clark,  was  born  in  October,  1834.  After 
spending  twenty-eight  years  in  seafaring,  hav- 
ing had  command  of  a  vessel  for  several  years, 
he  opened  a  general  merchandise  store.  On 
January  22,  1858,  he  was  married  to  Julia 
Burrows,  a  daughter  of  Austin  and  Almira 
(Hill)  Burrows.  Her  maternal  great-grand- 
father, Samuel  B.  Hill,  was  slain  at  the  battle 
of  Groton  Heights.  His  son,  Moses  Hill, 
was    her    grandfather.       Her     children     are: 


CHARLES    C.    PERKINS. 


niOGRAI'HICAL    REVIEW 


233 


Lucy,  Charles  C,  Almira,  Warren  C,  Albert 
W.,  and  Abbie.  Lucy  married  Charles  I. 
Fitch,  Jr.,  the  station  agent  at  Noank;  Al- 
mira is  the  wife  of  O.  \V.  Monroe,  of  Provi- 
dence,  R.I.;  Warren  C,  who  is  the  baggage- 
master  at  Noank,  married  Flora  Stanton,  of 
Stonington;  Albert  W.,  a  young  man  of  six- 
teen years,  and  Abbie,  now  aged  fourteen,  are 
still  under  the  paternal  roof. 

Charles  Clark  Perkins  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  At  the  age  of  seventeen, 
after  gaining  some  experience  in  mercantile 
pursuits  in  his  father's  store,  he  went  to  Prov- 
idence, R.I..  where  he  was  employed  in  a 
wholesale  gentlemen's  furnishing  store  in  the 
several  capacities  of  salesman,  entry  clerk, 
and  commercial  traveller.  While  in  Provi- 
dence he  supplemented  his  early  education  by 
taking  a  business  college  course.  Later,  on 
Hint  of  his  father's  failing  health,  he  re- 
turned home,  and  took  charge  of  the  latter's 
business.  In  1885,  when  Johnson  &  Shurts 
opened  their  New  York  store  in  New  London, 
he  came  here,  at  the  same  time  retaining  his 
interest  in  his  father's  business.  After  serv- 
ing as  second  salesman  in  the  new  establish- 
ment for  four  years,  he  embarked  in  the  hat 
and  furnishing  business.  In  April,  1889, 
he  bought  out  George  W.  Meeker,  hatter  and 
furnisher.  Owing  to  the  smallness  of  the 
store,  he  gave  it  the  name  of  "Hat  Box." 
1 1  is  stock  comprised  hats,  caps,  and  furnishing 
Is.  So  successful  did  this  enterprise  prove 
that  two  years  later,  when  the  new  Cronin 
Block  was  completed,  he  moved  from  the  "Hat 
Box"  to  the  "  Hat  Palace."  Two  years  later  he 
established  a  branch  in  Norwich,  buying  out 
John  C.  Clark.  This  place  was  conducted 
under  the  style  of  Perkins  &  Montgomery, 
until  he  withdrew  from  the  connection  in 
1894.  Next  year  the  firm  of  C.  C.  Perkins  & 
Co.  was  formed  by  the  consolidation  of  the  Hat 


Palace  and  the  old  establishment  of  Shepard 
&  Harris.  S.  E.  Tyler  was  admitted  to  part- 
nership; and  the  firm  opened  their  fine  store 
at  130  State  Street  in  November,  1895.  Mr. 
Perkins  has  been  remarkably  successful  in 
business. 

Mr.  Perkins  is  Past  Grand  of  Mohegan 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  Chief  Patriarch  of 
the  encampment;  a  member  of  Sprague 
Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  \V.,  of  which  he  is  Over- 
seer; Past  Leader  of  the  Home  Circle;  a 
member  of  the  Jibboom  Club  and  of  the  Sons 
of  the  American  Revolution,  and  President  of 
the  New  London  Business  Men's  Association. 

On  November  27,  1887,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Hattie  S.  Pish,  of  Noank.  They  have 
one  child,  Alice  Tyler  Perkins,  who  was  born 
March  23,  1891.  In  politics  he  affiliates  with 
the  Republican  party.  In  religion  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Second  Congregational  Church. 
His  musical  ability  has  led  him  to  become  a 
chorister  in  his  own  church,  and  also  of  the 
Third  Baptist  Church.  For  four  years  he  was 
the  treasurer  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  Mr.  Perkins  is  also  a  trombone 
soloist  of  unusual  ability,  having  played  that 
instrument  for  five  years  in  the  theatre  with 
Wight's  Orchestra.  The  family  reside  in 
their  pleasant   home,  88    Huntington   Street. 


TEPHEN  CRANE,  of  Norwich, 
V7~>  Conn.,  proprietor  of  the  extensive 
and  well  -  stocked  Norwich  Nur- 
series, situated  near  the  fair  grounds,  was 
born  March  24,  1828,  in  Bane,  Orleans 
County,  N.Y.  He  is  a  son  of  the  late  Jerry 
Crane,  of  that  State,  and  bears  the  name  of 
his  grandfather  Crane,  an  Onondaga  County 
farmer,  who  was  born  in  1776,  and  died  in 
185 1.  For  his  first  wife  the  elder  Stephen 
Crane    married    a     Miss     Elsie    Grinnell,    by 


234 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


whom  he  had  three  sons  and  four  daughters. 
Both  of  these  grandparents  were  devout  Meth- 
odists. They  were  buried  in  the  town  of 
Spafford,  N.Y. 

Their  son,  Jerry  Crane,  the  father  men- 
tioned above,  long  familiarly  known  as 
"  Uncle  Jerry,"  was  born  in  Saratoga  County, 
New  York,  November  16,  1797.  On  Decem- 
ber 25,  1X2  1,  he  married  Miss  Orrissa  Fisher, 
who  was  born  in  Cherry  Valley,  N.Y.,  in 
1800.  They  shortly  moved  to  Barre,  Or- 
leans County,  N.Y. ,  and  settled  on  a  new  and 
uncleared  farm,  where  for  the  first  few  years 
they  experienced  the  deprivations  and  hard- 
ships common  with  the  pioneers  of  those  days. 
By  hard,  honest,  persistent  labor  the  forests 
to  the  extent  of  over  three  hundred  acres  gave 
way  to  broad  meadows  and  pastures.  They 
celebrated  their  golden  wedding  on  this  farm  ; 
and  the  ten  children  who,  from  a  total  of  thir- 
teen, had  grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood 
were  present,  with  about  twenty-five  grand- 
children. 

Jerry  Crane  died  November  25,  1878,  and 
his  wife,  Orrissa,  in  1882.  They  were  sin- 
cere Christians  of  the  Methodist  faith.  Their 
graves  are  in  the  cemetery  taken  from  their 
farm  in  Barre. 

Stephen  Crane,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
spent  his  boyhood  on  the  homestead  farm; 
and.  with  the  exception  of  about  three  years 
when  he  was  employed  as  clerk  in  a  country 
stoie,  he  followed  agriculture.  From  the  age 
oi  fourteen  he  performed  the  same  hard,  sturdy 
work  as  the  men.  In  1861  he  engaged  with 
Ellwanger  &  Barry,  of  Rochester,  N.Y.,  as 
travelling  salesman  for  their  nursery  at  Nor- 
..vu  h,  Conn.,  at  a  salary  ol  one  dollar  pei 
and  expenses.  He  was  well  adapted  ami 
thoroughly  qualified  lor  the  position,  and 
soon  became  one  of  their  most  trusted  and 
best  paid   employees.      After   continuing  with 


them  for  six  years,  he  embarked  in  the  nursery 
business  on  his  own  account.  In  1882  he 
purchased  his  present  nursery  property  on 
West  Main  Street,  near  the  fair  grounds, 
which  he  devotes  to  the  raising  of  fruit  and 
ornamental  trees  and  flowers  in  rich  and  choice 
variety,  making  a  specialty  of  roses,  rhododen- 
drons, and  rare  evergreen  trees.  He  keeps 
from  ten  to  fifteen  salesmen  on  the  road  in  the 
New  England  States,  and  by  years  of  honest 
dealing  has  built  up  a  profitable  business. 

Mr.  Crane  was  first  married  August  16, 
1849,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Starr,  of  Barre,  N.Y., 
a  daughter  of  Deacon  F.  Starr.  She  died 
November  25,  1S7S,  aged  forty-eight  years, 
leaving  three  of  their  five  children;  namely, 
Floyd  H.,  Carrie  P.,  and  Sarah  M.  Floyd 
II.  Crane  is  superintendent  of  the  parlor, 
sleeping-car,  and  commissary  departments  of 
the  New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford  Rail- 
road, and  for  several  years  previous  to  1892 
was  superintendent  with  the  Pullman  Palace 
Car  Company.  He  has  a  wife  and  one  son, 
Lester  S.  Carrie  P.  Crane  is  the  wife  of  Mr. 
C.  D.  Noyes,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  and  has 
three  sons  —  Charles,  Fred,  and  Harry.  Mr. 
Noyes  is  the  head  of  the  firm  of  Noyes  & 
Davis,  proprietors  of  the  largest  bookstore  in 
Norwich,  and  is  one  of  the  city  Aldermen. 
Sarah  M.  Crane  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  G.  W. 
Whaley,  of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Whaley  has  an 
important  position  with  the  Swift  Chicago 
Dressed  Beet  Company,  and  has  handled  over 
a  million  dollars  of  their  money  annually  with- 
out bond. 

Mr.  Crane  was  married  the  second  time,  in 
1879,  t0  Sarah  L.  Brown,  born  Reynolds,  a 
daughter  of  the  late  O.  E.  Reynolds.  Mrs. 
Crane  has  one'  brother,  <  ».  II.  Reynolds,  of 
Norwich.  She  was  educated  in  Norwich,  and 
is  a  most  estimable  woman  and  model  wife. 
Mr.    and    Mrs.    Crane    have    resided    at    their 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


present   home,   106  William   Street,  ever  since 
their  marriage. 

.Mr.  Crane  is  a  Prohibitionist  from  the  Re- 
publican ranks,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest  here, 
having  first  voted  with  this  party  in  1870. 
He  is  a  very  zealous  advocate  of  prohibition, 
standing  loyally  by  his  principles  and  colors 
at  every  Presidential  election.  His  fine  flag, 
inscribed  with  the  names  of  Levering  and 
Johnson,  prohibitionist  candidates  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President  in  1896,  is  the  only 
one  of  the  kind  in  Norwich. 


M 


EACON  KRASTUS  C.  KEGWIN, 
a  retired  railroad  official  living  in 
Jewett    City,    was    bom    in    Volun- 

town,  then  in  Windham  County,  March  17, 
1N14.  A  son  of  Daniel  ami  Anna  (Crandall) 
Keigwin,  he  is  of  English  descent.  The  first 
representative  of  the  family  in  America  was 
John,  whose  surname  was  spelled  Keigwin. 
Coming  here  a  single  man,  he  subsequently 
married  a  Miss  Brown,  of  Groton.  Their 
grandson  was  Lieutenant  Nicholas  Keigwin, 
a  brave  soldier  and  officer  of  the  Revolution, 
who  died  on  April  22,  1S13,  in  his  seventy- 
nth  year.  He  was  twice  married,  the  first 
time  on  November  15,  1759,  to  Huldah  Stark- 
ther,  and  the  second  time  to  a  Miss  Cor- 
don. By  the  first  marriage  there  were  five 
children,  namely:  Sarah,  born  September  17, 
1761;  Joseph,  born  in  November,  1763; 
Anne,  born  October  27,  1765;  Olive,  born 
March  16,  1769;  and  Daniel,  born  January 
29,    c/74. 

Daniel  Keigwin.  who  was  born  in  Volun- 
town,  was  a  man  of  much  prominence  and  in- 
ice.  He  was  in  the  State  legislature  for 
a  number  of  terms,  was  Probate  Judge  and  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  for  many  years,  and  con- 
stantly   held    a    public    office    of     some     kind 


during  his  active  life.  Although  not  a  pro- 
fessional lawyer,  he  was  a  careful  student  ol 
the  Statutes  and  a  keen  and  unerring  inter- 
preter thereof.  He  was  the  author  ol  m 
legal  documents,  and  but  few  of  his  decisions 
were  reversed.  One  important  decision  in- 
volved the  reputation  of  a  worthy  physician  and 
a  former  school  teacher,  who  sued  the  town 
in  order  to  secure  payment  for  professional 
services  to  a  poor  family.  The  case  was 
appealed,  but  the  decision  rendered  by 
Judge  Keigwin  was  sustained.  He  died  on 
May  16,  1852,  and  is  buried  in  Kennedy  1 
etery.  All  the  Keigwin  ancestors  before  him 
were  buried  in  the  town  of  Sterling,  in  the 
Plains  Cemetery,  which  was  originally  in  Vol- 
untown.  His  first  marriage  was  contracted  al 
the  age  of  twenty-live  with  Anna  Crandall, 
who  was  then  twenty-one  years  old.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Amos  Crandall,  who 
was  widely  known  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode 
Island  as  a  Baptist  minister.  A  second  mar- 
riage afterward  united  him  with  Belinda  Cook, 
a  second  cousin  of  the  present  governor  of 
Connecticut.  His  first  wife  had  seven  chil- 
dren, namely:  Sterry  S. ,  born  in  1S03;  Sally 
L.,  born  in  1806;  Stephen  S. ,  born  in  1. 
Daniel  A.,  born  in  [ S 1 1 ;  Erastus  C,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  and  two  daughters  who 
died  in  infancy.  By  the  second  marriage 
there  was  one  child.  Barton  C,  born  April 
22,  1823.  Barton  and  Deacon  Kegwin  are 
the  only  surviving  children. 

After  attending  the  district  schools  for  the 
usual  period,  Deacon  Kegwin.  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years,  began  to  work  in  a  woollen 
factory.  Subsequently  he  was  a  clerk  at  Vol- 
untown  in  the  store  of  James  S.  Treat.  He 
was  married  in  [839  to  Hannah,  daughter 
ol  Ebenezer  Paine,  of  Windham  County.  She 
died  in  1871,  having  heme  three  children,  of 
whom    two    are    deceased.       The    other   child, 


236 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Henry  W.  Kegwin,  a  graduate  of  Brown  Uni- 
versity, is  now  a  teacher  in  Norwich  Free 
Academy,  is  married,  and  has  two  daughters 
and  one  son,  Richard  P.  Deacon  Kegwin 
was  again  married  on  November  5,  1874,  to 
Mrs.  Louisa  Read,  the  widow  of  Nelson  Read. 
Mr.  Read  died  in  1870,  leaving  one  son, 
Asher  N.  Read,  who  is  now  married  and  has 
one  son,  Nelson  G.  Read.  Mr.  Kegwin  is  a 
Republican  in  politics,  and  has  been  very  ac- 
tive in  the  public  life  of  the  town.  He  was 
Town  Clerk  for  ten  years,  and  has  been  a  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  and  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Education  for  many  years.  Of  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty  wills  he  has  drawn,  not  one 
has  been  broken.  In  1862  he  was  in  the 
State  legislature.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
joined  the  Baptist  church  in  Plainfield;  and 
for  much  of  the  time  since  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age  he  has  been  a  Deacon,  having 
during  the  last  sixty  years  served  in  that  ca- 
pacity in  three  different  churches.  For  nine 
years  he  was  in  Norwich,  and  was  very  active 
and  prominent  in  the  church  there.  Deacon 
Kegwin  purchased  his  present  home  in  Jewett 
City  about  thirty  years  ago.  He  was  for  fif- 
teen years  station  agent  in  the  railroad  office 
here,  and  in  that  responsible  position  made 
many  warm  friends  and  admirers. 


T-^NOBERT  PALMER,  Sr.,  ship-builder, 
\[\  president  of  the  Robert  Palmer 
.Ly  y_  j  Company  at  Noank,  Conn.,  in  the 
town  of  Groton,  his  native  place,  was  born  on 
May  26,  1825.  His  parents  were  John  and 
Abby  (Fish)  Palmer.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Elihu  Palmer,  a  mariner,  died  before 
reaching  middle  age;  and  his  grandmother, 
Mrs.  Annie  Palmer,  was  left  a  widow  with 
one  child,  John  Palmer,  named  above.  Mrs. 
Palmer  afterward   married   a   Mr.    Ashby,  and 


had  five  children,  four  sons  and  a  daughter,  of 
whom  two  sons  are  living. 

John  Palmer,  who  was  born  about  the  year 
1786,  was  quite  young  when  his  father,  Elihu, 
died;  and  he  went  to  live  with  his  grandfather 
Palmer.  Early  in  life  he  began  a  successful 
career  as  a  boat  and  ship  builder,  building 
principally  vessels  of  from  fifty  to  sixty  tons' 
burden.  Of  the  twelve  children  born  to  him 
and  his  wife,  formerly  Abby  Fish,  whom  he 
married  in  1809,  four  sons  and  five  daughters 
grew  to  mature  years.  But  two  of  these  are 
now  living:  Robert,  the  tenth  child;  and 
Lucy,  widow  of  Captain  Jerry  Wilber,  the 
uncle  of  her  first  husband,  William  A.  Wil- 
ber. Mrs.  Wilber  was  born  in  181 1,  and  is 
now  in  her  eighty-sixth  year.  Her  only 
child,  Robert  T.  Wilber,  is  a  stockholder  in 
the  Robert  Palmer  Company.  John  Palmer 
died  in  July,  1869;  and  Abby,  his  wife,  died 
in  1856,  aged  sixty-six  years. 

Robert  Palmer,  Sr.,  received  only  an  ordi- 
nary district  schooling  in  his  childhood,  and 
at  ten  years  of  age  went  on  the  water  here. 
When  but  thirteen  years  old  he  went  on  a 
fishing  trip  to  Nantucket;  and  for  several 
years  after  he  went  on  fishing  trips  regularly 
to  different  places,  being  for  two  years  on  a 
vessel  that  his  brother  John  commanded.  At 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  Stonington, 
where  for  a  year  and  a  half  he  was  employed 
in  a  boat  builder's  shop.  He  then  came  to 
Groton,  and  worked  for  some  years  for  his 
father,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the  business, 
about  ten  years  prior  to  his  parent's  decease. 
It  is  now  fifty-one  years  since  he  set  up  for 
himself  in  the  ship-building  business  in  a 
modest  way.  His  career  has  been  a  very  suc- 
cessful one;  and  he  is  a  leader  in  his  spe- 
cial line,  having  the  largest  yard  for  wooden 
ship  building  in  this  country,  from  which  he 
has  turned    out  as  many  as  thirty-three   craft 


IIMKIK  Al'HICAL    RKVIEW 


'37 


■  ■I  various  styles  in  a  single  year.  The  three 
Sound  steamers,  "Rhode  Island,"  "Nashua," 
and  "Connecticut,"  of  from  twenty-four  to 
twenty-six  hundred  tons'  burden,  were  built 
here.  He  still  owns  his  father's  old  yard, 
in  which  boats  have  been  built  for  eighty 
years;  and  he  has  established  two  others. 
In    1879   he   started   the    marine   railway. 

In  his  twenty-first  year,  October  15,  1845, 
Robert  Palmer,  Sr. ,  married  Harriet  Rogers, 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Grace  (Gallup) 
Rogers  and  grand-daughter  of  Gurdon  Gallup. 
Seven  children  were  born  of  their  union,  and 
a  son  and  two  daughters  grew  to  maturity, 
namely:  Jane,  widow  of  Benjamin  Humphrey, 
living  in  Noank,  mother  of  one  daughter; 
Harriet,  wife  of  the  Rev.  William  L.  Swan, 
of  Auburn,  N.Y.,  who  also  has  one  daughter; 
and  Robert,  Jr. 

Robert  Palmer,  Sr.,  is  a  Republican,  but 
has  never  participated  in  political  affairs. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church 
since  1839,  a  Deacon  forty-five  years,  and 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school  fifty 
years.  He  is  president  of  the  public  library, 
called  the  Mystic  and  Noank  Library,  given 
to  Groton  by  Captain  Elihu  Spicer,  who 
named  Mr.  Palmer  as  one  of  the  trustees.  In 
1885  Mr.  Palmer  erected  his  present  residence 
near  his  ship-yard. 

Robert  Palmer,  Jr.,  was  born  on  February 
15,  1S56.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of 
\  "ink  and  Mystic  and  at  Schofield  Business 
College  at  Providence,  R.I.,  completing  his 
Studies  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He  then 
entered  his  father's  employ,  and  has  thor- 
ily  familiarized  himself  with  every  branch 
of  the  business.  In  1877  he  was  admitted  I" 
partnership,  the  firm  name  being  Robert 
Palmer  &  Son,  which  was  afterward  changed 
to  Kobert  Palmer  &  Sons;  and  on  December 
10,    1894,  when  a  stock  company  was  formed 


with  Robert  Palmer,  Sr.,  as  president,  Robert, 
Jr.,  became  the  secretary  and  treasurer.  The 
son  has  proved  himsell  a  genius  as  a  ship- 
wright; and  under  his  direction  the  company 
has  built  several  fast  boats  of  unique  design, 
which  have  carried  off  a  number  of  regatta 
prizes.  The  "Irma,"  built  in  1894,  and  now 
owned  by  Fred  Allen,  of  Galveston,  Tex., 
was  one  of  the  first  of  these  prize  winners, 
showing  remarkable  adaptability  for  racing  in 
both  the  calm  waters  of  the  Bay  and  the 
rough  waters  of  the  Gulf.  She  is  thirty-seven 
feet  long,  twelve  feet  wide,  and  has  a  shoal 
draught.  She  has  thrice  carried  off  the  prize, 
and  is  known  as  the  "Queen  of  the  Gulf." 
The  "Novice,"  built  a  year  later,  a  sail-boat 
twenty-seven  feet  long  and  ten  feet  wide, 
proved  a  wonder,  easily  distancing  all  class 
boats,  and  taking  the  prize  over  all  the  noted 
boats  and  yachts  in  Southern  waters.  She  is 
of  the  skimming-dish  type,  with  an  overhang- 
ing end,  and  is  both  fast  and  seaworthy.  She 
is  of  original  design,  with  a  centre-board,  and 
demonstrates  that  a  boat  can  go  faster  over 
the  water  than  through  it.  The  "Jennie,"  a 
steam  yacht  thirty-three  feet  long,  and  having 
an  eight-foot  beam,  has  been  the  object  of 
much  attention  to  yachtsmen  along  the  At- 
lantic coast;  and  the  "Gleam,"  a  cat-boat, 
twenty-four  feet  long,  but  entering  the 
twenty-foot  class,  built  in  1895,  won  the  first 
three  of  a  series  of  races  at  Bushby  Point, 
July  11,  25.  and  31,  1896.  Mr.  Robert 
Palmer,  Jr.,  is  likewise  a  designer  of  lobster 
steamers,  of  which  the  company  has  built 
three,  and  now  has  in  process  of  construction 
at  Rockland,  Me.,  a  seventy-toot  boat  de- 
signed to  go  outside  in  any  kind  of  weather, 
and  bring  in  a  cargo  of  eight  thousand  lob- 
sters. He  is  now  building  a  new  boat  for 
racing,  with  which  he  hopes  to  win  new 
trophies   in    1897.      This  one    is   to  be  thirty 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


feel  long,  eleven  feet  wide,  and  is  to  draw  not 
more  than  nine  inches  of  water. 

In  March,  1SS1,  Mr.  Robert  Palmer,  Jr., 
married  Elizabeth  L.  Murphy,  of  Noank. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Nancy 
Murphy,  the  former  of  whom  died  a  number 
of  years  ago,  leaving  his  widow  with  a  son 
and  three  daughters.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer 
have  been  bereft  of  their  only  son,  Bernard 
Ledyard,  who  died  March  5,  1 S 8 5 ,  aged  two 
years  and  eleven  months.  Their  dwelling  is 
the  old  Baptist  church,  which  Robert  Palmer, 
Sr.,  remodelled. 

In  political  affiliation  Robert  Palmer,  Jr., 
is  a  Republican.  In  1886  he  served  as  a  Rep- 
resentative to  the  Connecticut  legislature, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Ap- 
propriations.  In  1889  he  was  again  a  nomi- 
nee, but  was  defeated  by  one  vote,  by  John 
Morgan,  the  opposing  candidate.  Mr.  Palmer 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 


EATHAM  HULL,  one  of  the  most  ca- 
pable and  progressive  farmers  of  New 
_ »*-  London  County,  son  of  the  late 
William  B.  Hull,  resides  at  the  old  Hull 
homestead,  now  known  as  the  Westwood  Stock 
Farm,  of  which  he  is  the  proprietor.  The 
original  owner  of  this  valuable  property, 
which  is  situated  in  North  Stonington,  was 
one  Latham  Hull,  an  ancestor  of  the  present 
Latham  Hull,  several  generations  removed; 
and  from  Latham,  the  first,  the  land  and  the 
name  has  been  handed  down  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another  until  the  present  time,  the 
only  exception  being  in  the  name  of  the  im- 
mediately preceding  owner,  William  I?.  Hull, 
above  mentioned. 

Latham    Hull,   grandfather    of    the  present 

Latham,    spent    his   entire    life   on   the   home- 

1.    living   to   an    advanced    age.      He    was 


a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  was  quite  promi- 
nent in  public  affairs,  serving  several  terms 
as  Representative  to  the  State  legislature,- 
and  was  one  who  helped  divide  the  old  town 
of  Stonington  when  North  Stonington  was 
set  off  to  form  a  town  by  itself.  He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Browning,  of  Stonington;  and 
they  reared  two  children  —  William  B.  and 
Latham.  The  latter,  an  able  business  man, 
and  for  many  years  president  of  a  bank  in 
Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  died  there  in  1890,  leav- 
ing one  daughter  and  a  large  estate.  The 
grandmother  lived  a  widow  for  a  long  lime, 
dying  in  1886,  at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety- 
one  years. 

William  B.  Hull  in  his  early  manhood  was 
engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  New  York 
City;  but  from  his  birth,  which  occurred  in 
[816,  until  his  death  in  1894,  he  lived  at  in- 
tervals on  the  home  farm,  following  the  occu- 
pation in  which  he  was  reared.  A  man  of 
energy  and  foresight,  he  made  many  substan- 
tial improvements  on  the  estate,  which  is  one 
of  the  best  as  regards  appointments  and  equip- 
ments in  this  vicinity.  He  married  Miss 
Susan  Wattles,  daughter  of  Dr.  Wattles,  of 
this  town,  and  was  the  father  of  four  chil- 
dren—  Thomas,  Anna,  Lucy,  and  Latham. 
Thomas  Hull,  who  was  educated  in  a  military 
school,  and  afterward  spent  a  year  abroad,  is 
now  a  newspaper  reporter  in  Boston.  He  is 
married  and  has  a  daughter.  Anna,  with 
whom  the  widowed  mother  makes  her  home, 
is  a  woman  of  culture  and  accomplishments. 
She  was  educated  in  Claverack,  N.  V. ,  and  at 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  and  is  now  living  in 
Norwich,  Conn.,  where  she  has  a  select  kin- 
dergarten school. 

Latham  Hull,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  in  North  Stonington,  Conn.,  Febru- 
ary 6,  1870.  He  acquired  a  good  education, 
attending  Storr's  Agricultural   College,  where 


LATHAM    III   I.I. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    KKVIEW 


-'I  | 


he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  [890. 
Putting  into  practice  the  useful  know 
there  acquired,  he  has  since  been  extensively 
and  profitably  engaged  in  general  farming, 
dairying,  and  stock-raising  at  the  old  home- 
stead, which  he  has  named  Westwood  Stuck 
Farm.  He  keeps  about  sixty  head  of  stock, 
principally  Jerseys,  some  of  which  are  regis- 

1:  and  he  has  thirty  cows  in  his  dairy, 
which  partly  supplies  the  residents  of  Wes- 
terly, R.I.,  with  milk.  He  has  a  fine  silo  for 
the  preservation  of  fodder.  In  1896  he  built 
his  handsome  horse  barn,  in  which  he  keeps 
six  horses  for  his  own  use.  All  of  his  barns 
and  stables  are  furnished  with  water,  the 
]iower  also  supplying  water  for  the  house, 
which  is  over  one  hundred  years  old,  but  is  in 
excellent  condition.  His  stock  is  well  known 
throughout  this  region,  and  at  the  fairs  held 
in  Xew  London  Mr.  Hull  has  received  many 
premiums.      Politically,    he    is   an   active    and 

1  Democrat;  and  in  [893  he  represented 
North  Stonington  in  the  State  legislature, 
being  one  of  the  youngest  legislators  in  that 
body. 

In     September,     1895,    Mr.    Hull     married 
Miss   Angie   Brown,    of   North    Stonington,    a 

liter    of    the    late    Stephen     E.    and    Mary 

en)  Brown.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hull  have  one 
child,  Ethel  Louise,  who  was  born  in  April, 
1896. 

LONZO    II.     HARRIS,    business   man- 
ager,   secretary,    and   treasurer  of  the 
'^  V_^  Bulletin     Company,     Norwich,    was 
bom    in   this   town.    September    18.    1854,    his 
nts    being    Henry    and    Sarah    W.    (  Dodge) 
Harris.      Henry  Harris  was  born  in   Bozrah  in 
[817,  and  died    in    Si  r,    1  .S 5 7 .      He  and 

his  wit.-,  Sarah,  had   three  children,  oi    whom 
laughter  died  in   early  childhood,  and  one- 
is  still  living. 


Alonzo  II.  Harris  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon and  high  schools.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen he  became  a  clerk  in  the  bookstore  oi 
Morgan  Safford  iS:  Co.,  in  whose  employ  h 
mained  for  four  years.  In  March,  [873,  he 
entered  the  Bulletin  Compam  as  clerk. 

Seven  years  later,  in  May,  1880,  he  was  made 
business  manager,  which  position  he  occupied 
for  four  years.  He  then  retired  from  the  man- 
agement, but  still  remained  in  the  employ  oi 
the  company.  In  June,  1888,  he  was  re-elected 
secretary,  treasurer,  and  business  manager, 
and  up  to  the  present  time  has  continued  to 
attend  to  the  duties  of  these  several  offices,  in 
which  his  fine  executive  ability  has  found  a 
wide  scope  for  exercise.  The  fidelity  he  has 
shown  to  the  interests  of  the  company  has 
further  proved  his  fitness  for  his  present  posi- 
tion. Mr.  Harris  is  a  Mason,  belonging  to 
St.  James  Lodge,  Franklin  Chapter,  and  the 
Council.  Politically,  he  is  a  Republican; 
but,  although  interested  in  local  affairs  and 
well  informed  in  regard  to  all  public  move- 
ments, he  has  had  no  wish  to  enter  politics. 

On  October  27,  1880,  Mr.  Harris  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Ida  F.,  daughter  oi 
Stephen  and  Margaret  S.  (Frink)  Sylvester 
Mr.  Sylvester  is  no  longer  living,  but  his 
widow  is  a  resident  of  Norwich.  She  has  one 
daughter  besides  Mis.  Harris.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hands    have   a    pleasant    horn  Union 

Street. 


i 


HARLES  II.  BABCOCK,  su] 
tendent  of  tin'  public  schools  of 
Westerly,  R.I.,  a  position  for  which 
he  is  well  fitted  by  natural  abilities  and 
scholarly  acquirements,  is  a  resident  of  the 
village  of  Pawcatuck,  on  tin' 
the  river,  in  the  town  of  Stonington,  New 
London  ( lounl  v.  I  !onn.  I  [e  was  born  Jul}-  i<>, 
1838,  in    the  town   of   Groton,    this   State,  but 


242 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


is  of  Rhode  Island  stock,  his  father,  the  late 
Charles  Babcock,  of  Stonington,  having  been 
a  native  of  Westerly  and  a  lineal  descendant, 
it  is  said,  of  John  and  Mary  (Lawton)  Bab- 
cock, pioneer  settlers  of  that  locality. 

Among  the  twenty-four  free  inhabitants  of 
Westerly,  R.I.,  in  1669,  the  year  in  which 
the  town  was  incorporated,  were  James  Bab- 
cock, Sr.,  James  Babcock,  Jr.,  and  John  Bab- 
cock, the  two  latter,  no  doubt,  sons  of  the 
elder  James.  John  Babcock,  born  in  1644, 
married  Mary  Lawton;  and  their  son  James  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  white  child  born  in 
the  new  settlement. 

Henry  Babcock,  great  -  grandfather  of 
Charles  H.,  born  in  Westerly  in  1755,  son  of 
Daniel  Babcock,  was  a  grandson  of  Captain 
James  Babcock,  and  is  reputed  to  have  been 
a  near  kinsman  of  Colonel  Harry  Babcock  of 
Revolutionary  fame.  He  and  his  wife  Pru- 
dence had  eight  children.  The  eldest  of 
these,  Henry  Babcock,  Jr.,  a  master  mariner, 
who  commanded  a  merchant  vessel,  and  for 
many  years  was  engaged  in  the  West  India 
trade,  was  born  at  Westerly,  R.I. ,  in  1779, 
and  died  at  his  home  in  that  town  in  the  sev- 
entieth year  of  his  age.  His  wife,  Fanny, 
who  was  a  daughter  of  Timothy  West,  of 
Rhode  Island,  an  officer  of  some  note  in  the 
Revolution,  died  in  1866,  at  the  age  of  three- 
score and  ten,  having  reared  two  sons  and  four 
daughters,  one  son  being  Charles,  the  father 
above  named.  One  child  is  now  living  — 
Rhoda,  widow  of  the  late  Matthew  Barber,  of 
Westerly. 

Charles  Babcock,  son  of  Captain  Henry  and 
Fanny  (West)  Babcock,  was  born  in  Westerly, 
in  April,  181 5.  After  his  marriage,  which 
took  place  in  1835,  he  removed  to  Stonington, 
where  he  was  engaged  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil 
during  his  active  years.  His  wife's  maiden 
name   was   Lovisa    Brown.      She   was   born    in 


1812,  in  the  town  of  Ledyard,  this  county, 
and  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Brown,  who 
married  a  Miss  Latham.  Ten  children,  four 
sons  and  six  daughters,  were  born  to  Charles 
and  Lovisa  B.  Babcock;  and  of  these  three 
have  passed  away,  one  having  died  in  infancy, 
and  John  W.  and  Abbie  J.  in  mature  life. 
John  W.  Babcock  went  to  Kansas  for  his 
health,  and  died  there  when  about  thirty  years 
old,  in  1 87 1,  leaving  a  widow.  Abbie  J.,  the 
widow  of  John  H.  Cross,  of  Stonington,  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty  years.  The  children  now 
living  are  as  follows:  Charles  H.,  the  special 
subject  of  this  biographical  sketch;  William, 
a  physician  in  Connecticut;  Erastus  W. ,  a 
resident  of  Stonington  borough;  Amanda  M. 
of  Stonington;  Mary  N.,  the  widow  of  Rowse 
P.  Babcock,  of  Stonington  borough;  Sarah 
F.,  wife  of  Captain  Amos  Dickens,  of  this 
town;  and  Helen  M.,  wife  of  Captain  Jesse 
W.  Hall,  also  of  Stonington.  The  mother, 
Lovisa  B.  Babcock,  died  in  Stonington  in 
1 886;  and  the  father,  Charles  Babcock,  died 
there  in  1889. 

Charles  H.  Babcock  was  graduated  from  the 
East  Greenwich  Academy  when  about  nine- 
teen years  of  age,  in  1857.  Choosing  the 
profession  of  teacher,  he  met  with  marked 
success,  not  only  in  imparting  knowledge,  but 
in  winning  the  love  and  respect  of  his  pupils 
and  as  a  disciplinarian,  and  has  since  contin- 
ued his  labors  in  the  educational  field,  teach- 
ing more  or  less  in  this  vicinity.  Since  1872, 
or  for  twenty-four  consecutive  years,  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Stonington  School  Board, 
an  office  in  which  he  has  rendered  the  town 
most  valuable  aid;  and  for  the  past  five  years 
he  has  been  superintendent  of  the  schools  of 
Westerly,  R.I.,  the  home  of  his  ancestors  for 
several  generations.  Mr.  Babcock  has  also 
served  in  the  various  township  offices.  He 
has  been  Assessor  a  number  of  terms  and  Jus- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


•  I  | 


tice  of  the  Peace  fifteen  years.  In  1S71  he 
was  nominated  on  the  Republican  ticket  as 
a  Representative  to  the  State   legislature,  but 

was  defeated.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  Master 
Mason,  belonging  to  Pawcatuck  Lodge,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M. 

tin  March  30,  [863,  Mr.  Babcock  married 
Miss  Abbie  II.  Hinckley,  a  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Prudence  Mary  (Chesebro)  Hinck- 
ley, of  this  town.  She  died  March  14,  1883, 
d  forty-two  years.  She  had  been  the 
mother  of  four  children,  namely:  a  son  that 
1  in  infancy;  Harry  II.,  a  druggist,  who 
died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years;  .Anna 
Lincoln,  who  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  John  II.  El- 
dredge,  of  Norwich,  and  has  four  children  ;  and 
Edith  Vincent,  a  graduate  of  the  Norwich 
Business  College,  and  a  teacher,  who  now  has 
the  care  of  her  lather's  house,  having  given  up 
her  persona]  ambitions  to  devote  herself  to 
him  and  a  half-sister,  Mai)'  Emma.  This 
chilil,  a  bright  and  winning  little  girl,  is  Mr. 
Hancock's  daughter  by  his  second  wife,  for- 
merly Mary  Emma  Gardner,  whom  he  married 
in  August,  1884,  and  who  died  in  Jul)',  1892, 
thirty-seven  years.  Mr.  Babcock  has 
01  '  upied  his  pleasant  home  at  Pawcatuck  since 
in;  2. 


6]"7le< 


♦-••^■» 


HEODORE  F.  POWERS,  whose  an- 
.  I  cestors  were  among  the  early  settlers  of 
Connecticut  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, is  a  well-known  and  honored  resident  and 
native  of  Waterford.  lie  was  born  in  1839, 
on  the  Powers  homestead,  son  of  Phillip  M. 
and  Abbie  Maria  (Havens)  Powers.  The 
father,  born  on  the  same  farm  in  1814,  was  a 
son  of  Joshua,  who  was  born  in  Lyme,  Conn., 
October  24,  1783,  son  of  Joshua  and  Elizabeth 
Powers.  The  founder  of  the  family,  Joshua 
Powers,  came  from  Ireland  in  1674.  Joshua, 
the   grandfather  of  Theodore    F.,    settled    on 


this  farm  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago.  lie 
married  Wealthy  Morgan,  of  Waterford,  and 
had  two  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom 
married,  had  families,  and  lived  to  nearly 
threescore  years  of  age.  Wealthy  Morgan 
Powers  died  at  a  comparatively  early  age,  and 
Joshua  Powers  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 
One  of  their  sons,  Joshua,  who  was  a  carpen- 
ter by  trade,  went  to  Minnesota  when  a  young 
man.  He  died  there  at  sixty-nine  years  of 
age,  leaving  three  children. 

Phillip  M.  Powers  was  a  successful  agricult- 
urist, and  in  later  years  ran  the  Jordan  grist- 
mill. He  and  Abbie  Maria  Havens  were 
married  June  8,  1836,  when  he  was  twenty 
years  old,  and  she  was  eighteen.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Silas  Havens,  of  Lyme,  and  his 
wife,  Sabra  (Griffin)  Havens.  Mrs.  Havens 
died  in  1826,  leaving  five  children;  and  he 
afterward  married  her  sister,  who  had  by  him 
twelve  children.  Mrs.  Abbie  Maria  Powers 
has  but  one  own  sister  living,  Mrs.  Eliza 
Crocker,  of  Clinton.  John  Havens,  the  father 
of  Silas,  and  his  two  brothers  came  from  Eng- 
land. One  of  the  brothers  settled  on  Long 
Island,  and  the  other  went  to  the  West. 
John  was  with  General  Israel  Putnam  on  his 
famous  ride.  His  wife,  Mary  Havens,  who 
was  buried  in  Cedar  Grove  Cemetery,  died 
aged  ninety-nine  years  ami  seven  months,  and 
the  inscription  on  her  tombstone  is  the  oldest 
in  the  cemetery.  Phillip  M.  and  Abbie 
Maria  Powers  had  eight  children,  three  sons 
and  five  daughters,  of  whom  Theodore  !•'., 
Phillip  II.,  and  Fannie  C.  are  living.  Theo- 
dore was  the  first  son  and  second  child. 
Phillip  II.,  who  was  Formerly  first  mate  on  a 
steamship,  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Russian 
Fur  Company,  and  now  resides  in  Kob  . 
Japan,  where  he  went  with  the  Japanese  em- 
bassy in  i860.  He  has  a  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren.     Fannie   C.    is    the   wife    of    James    G. 


?44 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Marthers,  and  resides  in  Middletown,  Conn. 
The  father  died  in  June,  1889. 

Theodore  F.  Powers  received  a  common- 
school  education.  When  fourteen  years  old 
he  engaged  in  the  fishery  business.  At  six- 
teen he  went  on  a  whaling  bark,  the 
"Tenedos,"  as  harpooner  or  boat  steerer,  and 
was  gone  three  years.  He  was  subsequently 
on  the  schooner  "Emma  Rooke,"  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-seven  tons'  burden,  built  by 
Samuel  Miller  in  New  London  for  Thomas 
Hobron,  for  service  as  a  packet  between  Hon- 
olulu and  Latrina,  and  which  he  steered  for 
half  the  voyage  from  New  London  to  Hono- 
lulu. Having  followed  the  sea  lor  twelve 
years  all  together,  he  in  1865  went  to  Will 
County,  Illinois,  and  there  purchased  a  farm, 
which  he  carried  on  for  nine  years.  Then  he 
returned  in  1874  to  his  native  town,  where  he 
has  been  the  miller  of  the  Jordan  grist-mill. 
This  mill,  which  was  erected  by  James 
Rogers,  an  ancestor  of  Mr.  Powers,  was  the 
outcome  of  a  controversy  between  Mr.  Rogers 
and  Governor  Winthrop.  Built  in  181 2,  it 
was  chartered  in  New  London,  December  26, 
1709:  ami  it  was  conducted  by  James  Powers, 
an  uncle  of  Mr.  Powers,  for  many  years.  Mr. 
Powers  opened  the  Great  Neck  stone  quarry 
now  owned  by  Booth  Brothers,  who  are  doing 
a  large  business. 

On  October  9,  1861,  Mr.  Powers  married 
Sarah  S.  Briggs,  of  Waterford.  Two  daugh- 
ters have  been  born  to  them,  namely:  Nellie 
A.,  the  wife  of  William  H.  Rogers,  a  locomo- 
tive engineer  on  the  New  London  &  Northern 
Railroad,  residing  in  New  London;  and  E. 
Willimene,  who  became  the  wife  of  George 
E.  Ryley,  and  died  April  15,  1 S96,  when  but 
eighteen  years  old.  In  politics  Mr.  Powers  is 
a  Republican.  He  has  served  for  one  year  in 
the  legislature,  has  been  Town  Treasurer  for 
three  years  and  Town  Auditor  for  two  years. 


He  was  a  charter  member  of  Relief  Lodge, 
No.  37,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  Waterford,  and 
served  the  organization  in  the  capacity  of  re- 
ceiver for  the  first  eight  years.  Both  he  and 
Mrs.  Powers  are  members  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church.  While  a  resident  of  Plainfield  he 
was  the  Sunday-school  superintendent  for 
eight  years,  and  since  he  came  to  Waterford 
he  has  served  in  the  same  capacity  for  ten 
years. 

«  m» m» 

OSEPH  HALL,  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  blall  Brothers,  manufacturers 
of  woollen  goods  at  Hallville,  in  the 
town  of  Preston,  Conn.,  was  born  in  Hudders- 
field,  England,  on  May  S,  1840,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Ann  (Ague)  Hall.  His  paternal  grand- 
father was  James  Hall,  who  died  at  Hud- 
dersfield,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven,  and  is 
buried  at  Thornhill,  England.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation. 

Joseph  Hall,  first,  son  of  James,  was  born 
in  England,  and  there  grew  to  manhood,  and 
was  married.  He  came  to  America  in  1841; 
and  his  wife  and  children  followed  him  a  year 
later,  coming  in  a  sailing-vessel  of  the  Black 
Ball  Line,  and  being  eleven  weeks  on  the  pas- 
sage from  Liverpool  to  New  York  City.  The 
unusual  length  of  the  voyage  was  on  account 
of  the  detention  of  the  ship  for  having  smug- 
gled goods  on  board.  Mr.  Joseph  Hall,  first, 
was  a  weaver  by  trade;  and,  though  he  came 
to  this  country  without  cash  capital,  he  was 
soon  engaged  in  establishing  a  small  mill  at 
Cedar  Hill,  Dutchess  County,  New  York. 
After  being  there  for  about  two  years,  manu- 
facturing carpet  yarn,  he  removed  to  Wash- 
ington Hollow  in  the  same  county,  where  he 
established  and  carried  on  for  nine  years  a 
manufactory  for  carpet  yarns.  His  plant  was 
then  burned;  and  upon  that  event  he  removed, 
in      1852,     to     Poquetanuck,      New     London 


JOSEPH    HALL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEW 


2  17 


County,  Conn.,  where  he  worked  as  a  shoddy 
picker  for  about  four  years  in  the  mill  of 
Frank  Loomis.  Going  then  to  Cooktown  in 
company  with  Isaac  Cook,  he  was  there  em- 
ployed in  the  carpet  yarn  factory  for  four 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  came  to 
Preston,  where  about  a  hundred  years  previous 
.1  cloth-mill  had  been  established  on  the  site 
ol  the  present  mill,  by  a  Mr.  Kennedy, 
and  began  in  a  small  way  the  manufact- 
ure of  carpet  yarn.  Joseph  Hall,  first,  died 
in  [86i,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  leaving  his 
widow  with  six  children,  four  oi  whom  were 
in  England  and  the  othei  two  in  New 
York.  A  brief  record  of  the  family  is  as  fol- 
lows: Sarah,  widow  of    Henry  McCrary,    now 

ling  at  Poquetanuck;   Elizabeth,  widow  of 

iles  \V.  Bedent,  also  at  Poquetanuck;  Jo- 
seph, Benjamin,  .md  George,  constituting  the 
firm  of  Hall  Brothers;  and  Harriet,  who  died 
in    i88o,    in    the    prime  of   life,    the  wife    ol 

liner  Wilcox.  Their  mother,  Mrs.  Ann 
A.  Hall,  died  in  [868,  aged  forty-seven  years. 
I  he  subject  of  this  sketch  has  an  aunt, 
Mary,  now  living  in  England,  a  well-pre- 
served la  vcntv-si\  years,  and  the  wife 
ines  Brown.  Another  aunt,  Eliza,  is  the 
widow  ut  Joseph  Oile,  of  Dewsbury,  England. 
Two  uncles,  George  and  James,  both  lived  and 
died  in  England.  The  former  was  one  of  the 
wealthy  citizens  of  Dewsbury,   England. 

Joseph  Hall,  of   the  firm   of    Hall    Brothers, 

in  working  in  his  father's  yarn-mill  when 
only  eight  years  of  age.  His  early  educa- 
tional opportunities  were  limited,  and  he  at- 
tended   school   after   he   was   sixteen    years    of 

only  two  winter  terms.  At  twenty-two 
N'eai's  of  age    he  became  associated  in  the  man- 

turing  business  with  Dwight  Cook,  who 
had  been  his  father's  partner  for  two  years. 
The  building  then  used  by  the  company  was 
about    thirty    by    forty    feet,    two    stories     in 


height,  and  fitted  with  one  set   ol    machinery. 
Some  four  or  five  later  two   sets   more 

were  added,  and  the  building  was  cnlai 
About  six  years  alter  the  death  oi  the  elder 
Mr.  Hall,  Mr.  Cook  retired  from  the  business, 
and  the  three  brothers  who  now  constitute  the 
lii  in  became  sole  proprietors.  In  1878  the 
mill  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  a  loss  of  sev- 
eral thousand  dollars  ensued.  A  brick  build- 
ing, thirty-two  by  seventy-five  feet,  was,  how- 
ever, soon  erected  in  place  of  the  Former 
wooden  structure.  This  was  devoted  to  scour- 
ing wool,  and  was  in  operation  for  about  two 
years.  In  1880  the  Messrs.  Hall  built  a  part 
ol  the  present  mill,  and  began  the  manufact- 
ure of  ladies'  dress  goods,  cloaking,  etc. 
This  new  mill  contained  lour  sets  of  machin- 
ery. In  1882  an  addition  was  built,  and  Inn 
sets  more  put  up.  In  1  888  the  Mohegan  mill, 
a  four-set  mill  in  the  town  of  Montville,  was 
bought;  and  during  the  last  eight  or  nine 
years,  despite  the  hard  times,  these  mills  have 
been  kept  in  operation,  the  goods  being  sold 
in  New  York.  The  business  done  annually 
amounts  to  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  and  about  one  hundred  ami  twenty 
men  are  employed.  This  presents  a  strong- 
contrast  to  tin-  lust  year  when  Mr.  Hall  be- 
connected  with  the  firm.  Mr.  Hall  him- 
self then  did  the  teaming,  and  the  live  hands 
employed  received  four  cents  per  pound  for 
making  yarn,  and  earned  about  five  dollars  a 
day.  The  plant,  now  one  of  the  most  pros- 
perous in  this  section,  has  a  wide  reputation 
for  turning  out  first-class  product. 

Mr.  Hall  was  married  at  twenty-five  years 
of  age  to  Sarah  Rogers,  of  Ledyard,  daughter 
of  James  and  Esther  (Crouch)  Rogers.  Three 
children  have  been  bom  to  them;  namely, 
Fannie  and  Flora  (twins),  and  Joseph. 
Fannie  is  the  wife  of  Frank  C.  Turner,  of 
Norwich.      Flora  Hall,  who  resides  with  Mrs. 


248 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Turner,  was  educated  in  the  Boston  Conserva- 
tory of  Music,  and  is  a  pianist  of  merit.  Jo- 
seph Hall,  third,  who  is  a  young  man  of  much 
ability,  formerly  a  student  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, has  charge  of  the  mill  as  superintend- 
ent. He  designs  many  of  the  patterns  used 
by  the  firm.  Mrs.  Sarah  Hall  died  in  1873, 
at  the  age  of  thirty -five;  and  Mr.  Hall  married 
in  1878,  for  his  second  wife,  Carrie  B.  Lucas, 
of  Poquetanuck.  By  this  marriage  the  fol- 
lowing named  children  have  been  born: 
Grace,  Raymond,  Dorothy,  Amanda,  and 
Ralph   Gardner. 

Mr.  Hall  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He 
has  not  cared  to  serve  in  public  office.  In  re- 
ligious faith  he  is  Episcopalian.  Hallville, 
which  was  built  in  1880,  covers  about  eighty 
acres  of  ground,  and  numbers  thirty-two  fam- 
ilies. Mr.  Hall  and  his  brother  have  built 
fine  residences  here.  The  mill  and  annexes 
cover  about  four  acres. 


(SYOHN  WILLIAM  KEENEY,  for  many 
years  a  farmer  and  latterly  an  exten- 
sive land-owner  of  Waterford,  Conn., 
died  at  his  home  in  this  town,  February  8, 
1892,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  He  is 
survived  by  his  wife,  Mrs.  Frances  A.  E. 
Keeney,  who  before  marriage  was  Miss  F ranees 
Ann  E.  Chappell,  and  by  four  sons  —  John 
William,  Jr.,  Frank,  Griswold,  and  George. 

Mr.  Keeney's  paternal  grandfather,  whose 
name  was  William,  was  four  times  married. 
By  his  first  wife,  formerly  a  Miss  Moore,  he 
had  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  as  follows: 
Ezra;  Joseph,  who  went  to  Xew  York  State; 
John,  father  of  John  VV.  ;  William;  and  Bet- 
sey, who  married  Baruch  Beckwith.  All 
these  are  now  deceased.  Grandfather  Keeney 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-one,  his  fourth 
wife,   born  Chapell,    surviving  him    five  or   six- 


years.      They  had  one  daughter,  Mary,  wife  of 
Thomas  Manwaring,  now  dead. 

John  Keeney,  third  son  of  William  and 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a 
farmer,  beginning  life  as  a  poor  boy  and  by 
his  own  industry  and  enterprise  securing  a 
good  estate.  He  married  Eliza  Darrow,  and 
they  reared  three  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Allen  A.  Keeney,  the  only  son  now  living,  is 
a  farmer  on  the  old  farm  ;  and  the  daughter, 
Sarah  Eliza  Keeney,  is  with  her  sister-in-law, 
Mrs.  Frances  Keeney.  The  father  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-one,  and  the  mother  some  five 
years  later,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years. 

John  W.  Keeney  and  Frances  Ann  E. 
Chappell,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Gurdon  Tracy 
Chappell,  were  married  at  Lake  Pond,  on  the 
13th  of  October,  1839,  by  Elder  Francis  Dar- 
row. Mrs.  Keeney  was  born  at  Lake  Pond, 
November  19,  1819.  Her  father  was  pastor 
of  the  Baptist  church  at  that  place,  and  was 
a  noble,  broad-minded  man,  full  of  charity  for 
all,  reaching  out  a  generous  heart  and  hand  far 
beyond  the  borders  of  his  own  denomination. 
He  announced  to  the  people  that  it  was  his 
desire  to  see  ten  persons  band  together  to  or- 
ganize a  liberal  church  ;  and  the  fine  Baptist 
church  at  Lake  Pond,  now  standing,  was  built 
by  him  and  a  few  others  who  were  unwilling 
that  he  should  bear  the  full  expense.  He 
preached  many  years  without  receiving  any 
salary,  and  at  his  death  left  a  fund  for  the 
poor  whom  he  was  in  the  habit  of  seeking  out 
and  visiting.  He  had  a  fine  property,  most  of 
which  was  accumulated  by  his  own  energy  and 
industry.  His  wife  was  Mary  Ann  Avery,  a 
lady  of  education  and  refinement,  descended 
from  the  notable  Avery  family  famous  in  the 
annals  of  the  Revolution,  and  well  fitted  by 
birth  and  breeding  to  occupy  the  position  of 
a  clergyman's  helpmate.  Thirteen  of  her 
family  connections  spilled  their  blood  at  Fort 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


249 


Griswold.  She  was  married  to  Rev.  Gurdon 
I  Chappell,  when  about  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  died  March  20,  [88o,  nearly  fifty-nine 
years  alter.  Her  husband  died  in  1876,  at 
enty-five  years  of  age.  Their  children 
numbered  eleven,  of  whom  Mrs.  Keeney  was 
the  eldest.  One  son  and  a  daughter  died  in 
infancy. 

Mr.  Keeney  and  his  wife  began  life  as 
tenant  farmers  near  New  London,  where  he 
had  a  milk  route  for  three  years.  He  then 
engaged  in  farming  for  two  years  on  .Mrs. 
Keeney's  home  farm  at  Lake  Pond;  and  for 
the  next  two  or  three  years  he  was  in  the  meat 
business  at  Montville.  In  [853  Mr.  Keeney 
went  to  California  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  leaving  Mrs.  Keeney  with  three  chil- 
dren at  home  with  her  parents.  After  four 
of  successful  business  venture  in  Cali- 
fornia, Mr.  Keeney  returned  and  bought  a 
farm  here.  He  added  to  this  in  later  years, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  owned  many  hun- 
dreds of  acres  of  land  in  different  parcels. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  church  and  a  de- 
voted Christian. 

John  William  Keeney,  Jr.,  eldest  son  of 
John  W.  and  Frances  A.  E.  (Chappell) 
Keeney,  is  a  merchant  in  VVaterford.  He  is 
married  a  second  time,  and  has  one  son. 
Prank  Keeney,  the  second  son,  living  in  New 
York  City,  married  Clara  Robinson  in  1875. 
He  is  in  company  with  his  brothei  George  in 
the  linn  oi  Keeney  Brothers,  fish  dealers  in 
Fulton  Market,  established  many  years  since 
and  now  carrying  on  a  very  prosperous  busi- 
ness. Griswold  Keeney,  who  is  in  the  same 
business  at  [O  Fulton  Street  Market,  in  com- 
pany with  Benjamin  Wallace,  married  Fannie 
Nugent,  and  has  had  one  daughter,  now  de- 
ceased. The  fifth  child,  George  Keeney, 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Captain  Ed- 
ward   Luce,   and  has    two  children  —  Mildred 


and  Edward.      Another  son,  Allen  F.   Keeney, 
died  August  26,   1857,   in  infancy. 


OLLIS  HYDK  PALMER,  a  success- 
ful farmer  of  Preston,  was  born  on 
the  family  homestead  in  this  town, 
August  13,  1850,  being  the  son  of  Charles 
and  Lucy  A.  (Hyde)  Palmer.  He  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  eighth  generation  in  descent 
from  his  original  American  ancestor,  Thomas 
Palmer,  who  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Row- 
ley, Mass.,  in  1639,  an£l  died  there  in  1669. 

Thomas,  grandson  of  the  original  Thomas 
Palmer,  removed  from  Rowley  to  Norwich, 
Conn.,  and  purchased  there  in  1723  the  farm 
on  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  now  lives, 
so  that  the  latter  is  the  sixth  owner  in  lineal 
descent  of  property  that  has  been  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  years  in  the  family.  Jede- 
diah  Palmer,  grandson  of  the  second  Thomas 
Palmer,  headed  a  petition  whereby  that  part 
of  Norwich  lying  east  of  the  Quinnebaug 
River  was  set  off  in  1786  to  Preston.  His 
ancestral  estate  lay  within  the  tract  so  ceded. 
He  was  one  of  the  moneyed  men  of  his  time 
in  his  town,  which  intrusted  him  with  various 
public  offices.  He  married  Esther  Read,  and 
had  besides  other  children  Walter,  born  in 
1766,  the  grandfather  of  Ilollis  II. 

Walter  Palmer  was  by  occupation  a  sur- 
veyor in  early  life,  and  later  a  tanner.  IP- 
was  a  Deacon  in  the  "strict  Congregational  " 
church  of  the  so-called  "Separatists"  and  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  he  also  served  in  the 
legislature.  He  died  in  1833,  in  the  sixty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age.  An  interesting  diary 
of  his,  kept  when  surveying  in  the  lake  region 
of  Central  New  York,  17S9-90,  is  still  in 
existence.  On  March  25,  1792,  he  married 
Martha  Pendleton,  daughter  of  Joshua  Pen- 
dleton,   of    Westerly,    R.  I.,    a  1    in    the 


2qo 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


war  of  the  Revolution.  Twelve  children 
were  the  fruit  of  their  union,  one  son  being 
Charles  (deceased),  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Colonel  Edwin  Palmer,  now  liv- 
ing in  Norwich  at  the  age  of  ninety-two,  is 
the  sixth  child  and  third  son.  The  other  sur- 
viving members  of  the  family  are:  Mary  Ann, 
widow  of  Luther  Pellett,  also  of  Norwich; 
and  Joseph  P.,  the  youngest  son,  who  resides 
in  the  town  of  Andover,  Tolland  Count}-, 
Conn. 

Charles  Palmer  was  born  in  1807  on  the  old 
farm,  and  here  spent  a  long  and  useful  life. 
He  married  Lucy  A.,  daughter  of  Elijah  and 
Lydia  (Burnham)  Hyde,  and  had  four  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Charles  L.,  Lydia  A., 
Martha  A.,  and  Hollis  Hyde.  Charles  L. 
Palmer  is  a  merchant  of  Irwin,  Pa.,  is  married, 
and  has  a  family.  Lydia  A.  Palmer  was  a 
school  teacher.  She  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five.  The  father  died  here  in  1887. 
He  was  an  exemplary  member  of  the  Congre- 
gational church,  a  man  of  sterling  character 
and  marked  integrity,  cpjiet  and  unostenta- 
tious in  habit,  genial  and  kindly  in  disposi- 
tion, a  true  son  of  a  pious  ancestry.  Mrs. 
Lucy  A.  Palmer,  surviving  her  husband,  lives 
with  her  daughter,  Martha  A.,  at  Preston 
City. 

Hollis  Hyde  Palmer  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Preston  and  in  a  school  at  Hanover, 
Conn.,  where  he  was  a  student  one  term.  He 
married  October  23,  1877,  Lydia  E.  Davis, 
the  only  daughter  of  Oliver,  and  Emily  J. 
(Crary)  Davis,  of  Preston.  She  has  five 
brothers.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer  have  lived  on 
this  and  the  adjoining  farm  since  their  mar- 
riage, having  purchased  in  1889  the  Palmer 
homestead  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-six 
acres.  Mr.  Palmer  has  a  well-managed  and 
very  productive  farm.  He  raises  grass,  corn, 
and   potatoes   in    large   quantities,    and,    keep- 


ing twenty  grade  Jersey  cows,  sells  the  cream 
and  milk:  while  Mrs.  Palmer  has  fine  flocks  of 
turkeys  and  chickens.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren—  Clara  M.,  Frank  H.,  Mary  E.,  and 
Emily  Crary.  The  eldest  daughter  has  a  taste 
for  books.  She  is  a  student  in  the  Williman- 
tic  Normal  School.  Frank  H.,  the  only  son, 
now  seventeen  years  of  age,  assists  his  father 
on  the  farm.  The  younger  daughters  are  both 
in  school. 

Mr.  Palmer  is  a  member  of  the  Preston 
City  Grange,  No.  no,  of  which  he  is  Master. 
He  is  Republican  in  his  political  views  and 
affiliations,  and  has  served  as  Selectman  (as 
did  several  of  his  ancestors  before  him)  and 
upon  the  Board  of  Assessors.  In  religion  he 
is  a  Congregationalist,  and  is  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school  at  the  present 
time. 


7"V-\PTAIN  JAMES  V.  LUCE,  a  well- 
I  Sf       known    manufacturer    of    East    Lyme, 

vJ?  ^-  Conn.,  is  native  of  the  island  of 
Martha's  Vineyard,  where  the  family  is  nu- 
merously represented  and  much  respected.  He 
was  born  May  14,  183S,  son  of  Cathcart  and 
Mary  Luce.  His  paternal  grandfather,  a  resi- 
dent of  the  Vineyard,  was  a  master  mariner, 
and  followed  the  sea  for  many  years.  Cath- 
cart Luce  was  in  the  whaling  business  until 
about  fifty  years  of  age.  In  1838  or  1839  he 
came  to  East  Lyme,  where  he  settled  on  his 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  here 
spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  had  a  family  of 
nine  children,  five  sons  and  four  daughters, 
all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  and  all  married 
except  Charles,  who  went  to  California  among 
the  "forty-niners,"  and  died  there  at  the  age 
of  twenty-seven.  The  living  children  of  this 
family  are:  Edward  and  John,  of  Niantic;  and 
Captain  James  V.,  of  Lyme. 

James  V.  Luce  passed  his  boyhood  on  his 


^ 


p 


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JAMES    V.    LUCE. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKVY 


253 


father's  farm,  now  his  own  property;  and,  in- 
deed, the  old  home  has  been  his  residence 
during  his  life,  excepting  the  live  years  that 
lie  spent  in  Virginia,  where  he  was  operating 
a  stamp-mill  in  quartz  gold  mining.  He 
began  in  the  fish-oil  and  guano  business  with 
his  brothers  in  the  year  1857  on  Giant's  Neck, 
a  mile  from  the  farm.  Starting  in  a  small 
way,  they  gradually  extended  the  business 
until  they  have  had  factories  in  Delaware,  at 
Portland,  Me.,  in  Long  Island,  and  on  Rocky 
N'eek  in  this  county,  also  a  floating  factory, 
which  was  stationed  at  Oyster  Bay,  ami  later 
at  Prince's  Lay,  and  at   other  points  wherever 

were  most  plentiful.  Their  factories 
cost  from  ten  thousand  to  twenty  thousand  dol- 

each,  and  the  expense  ol  running  them 
has  some  years  been  over  eighty  thousand  dol- 
lars. For  the  past  ten  years  the)'  have  oper- 
ated but  two  factories,  one  in  Delaware  and 
the  one  here.  At  one  time  Luce  Brothers 
owned  and  ran  four  steamers  in  their  business, 
these  being  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  tons'  burden.  Their  trade  has  been 
altogether  wholesale.  In  1896  they  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  phosphates,  sending  out 
selling  agents.  The  factory  of  Luce  Brothers 
is  1  large  building  fitted  in  the  most  perfect 
and  elaborate  manner  tor  the  guano  and  phos- 
phate manufacture,  and  conducted  on  most 
energetic  and  business-like  principles.  Cap- 
tain Luce  owns  ten  acres  of  land  on  Rocky 
Neck,  and  has  operated  the  stone  quarry  there 
for  the  past  fifteen  years,  doing  considerable 
business  in  shipping  rock  for  building  sea 
walls  and  other  substructures. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-three  Captain  Luce 
was  married  to  Sophia  A.  Havens,  of  this 
town,  daughter  of  Silas  Havens.  She  died 
May  23,  1882,  leaving  no  children.  The 
Captain  married  for  his  second  wife  Terrie 
!•'.   Havens,  sister  of  the  first  Mrs.   Luce.      By 


this  union  there  are  two  children:  Laura  S., 
aged  eleven  years;  and  bavin  J.,  aged  ten. 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Luce  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  the  former  being 
an  active  and  efficient   officer  in  the  church. 


SCAR     MAXSON    BARBER,     M.D., 

a  successful  medical  practitioner  in 
Mystic,  was  born  in  Hopkinton,  R.I.. 
June  25,  [837,  sun  of  Franklin  and  Lydia  \V. 
(Maxson)  Barber.  His  ancestors  were  Welsh. 
Scotch,  and  English.  The  founder  of  the 
family  in  America,  Moses  Barber,  was  in 
Rhode  Island  in  1652.  The  great-grandpar- 
ents  of  Oscar  M.  were  Joseph  and  Deliverance 
Barber.  The  maiden  name  of  the  litter  was 
not  changed  by  marriage.  Joseph  was  a  ship- 
builder in  Westerly,  R.I.  In  1804  he  built 
the  "Dauphin,"  which  was  the  first  whaler 
built  in  that  locality;  and  he  was  its  principal 
owner.  She  sailed  from  New  London,  Sep- 
tember 6,  [805.  Sprague,  son  of  Joseph,  was 
a  sea  captain  in  Westerly.  He  married  I 
Stillman,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  George  Still- 
man,  of  Westerly,  R.I.  Sprague  Barber  and 
his  wife  reared  several  sons  and  daughters. 

Franklin  Barber,  son  of  Sprague,  was  born 
in  Westerly  in  1808.  He  removed  to  M. 
in  1849.  In  the  same  year  he  became  inter- 
ested in  a  woollen  factory  that  was  established 
by  the  Greenman  Company.  He  married 
Lydia  \Y.  Maxson,  of  Hopkinton,  R.I.  They 
had  four  children,  of  whom  two  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  others  are:  Oscar  M.:  and  his 
brother  Leander,  who  also  resides  here.  The 
father  died  in  Mystic  in  1856.  The  mother, 
now  in  her  eightieth  year,  is  an  honored  mem- 
ber of  the  Daughters  of  the  Revolution.  Her 
earliest  known  ancestor,  the  Rev.  John  Max- 
son, born  in  1638,  was  a  minister  of  the 
Seventh  Hay  Baptist  denomination.      His  son 


!54 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


John  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  town  of 
Westerly  in  1660.  The  Rev.  John  Crandal), 
who  was  also  one  of  the  organizers,  was 
another  maternal  ancestor.  He  died  in  1676. 
Phineas  Crandall,  who  was  horn  in  Westerly, 
April  7,  1743,  died  at  the  age  of  ninety.  His 
daughter  Eliza,  the  great -great-aunt  of  Oscar 
Maxson,  was  a  resident  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
died  in  1897,  aged  ninety-five  years.  On  the 
old  Colonial  records  and  in  those  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  of  the  War  of  18 12  will  be  found 
several  of  the  names  of  other  ancestors  as  well 
as  the  foregoing.  Grandfather  Maxson  was  a 
Captain  during  the  latter  war. 

Oscar  Maxson  Barber,  after  attending  the 
common  schools  and  Mystic  Academy,  studied 
in  the  New  York  Homoeopathic  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1871. 
He  then  entered  upon  his  profession  in 
Mystic,  which  had  been  his  home  since  he 
was  eleven  years  old.  He  succeeded  to  the 
practice  of  Dr.  A.  W.  Brown,  and  his  success- 
ful work  now  covers  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  Health  Officer  of  Stonington, 
Conn.  In  1889  he  attended  the  Paris  Exposi- 
tion, and  in  1892  he  made  a  European  tour, 
returning  with  much  food  for  thought;  and 
he  was  also  a  visitor  to  the  World's  Fair  at 
Chicago. 


/^JuRDON  F.  ALLYN,  farmer  and 
V  ST  auctioneer  of  Salem,  New  London 
County,  Conn.,  was  born  at  Gale's 
Ferry,  in  the  town  of  Ledyard,  this  State, 
October  1,  1826,  son  of  Gurdon  L.  and  Sarah 
S.  (Bradford)  Allyn.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Nathan  Allyn,  was  the  captain  of  a 
merchantman  sailing  to  the  West  India 
Islands.  He  married  a  Miss  Lester,  by  whom 
he  had  three  children  —  Hannah,  Nathan,  and 


Gurdon  L.  His  death  occurred  on  a  return 
voyage  from  the  West  Indies,  and  he  was 
buried  at  sea.  Mrs.  Allyn  survived  her  hus- 
band, and  lived  a  widow  for  many  years,  dying 
at  the  age  of  eighty.  Her  daughter  Hannah 
married  John  D.  Bradford.  Both  sons  fol- 
lowed the  sea.  Gurdon  L.  Allyn,  who  was 
the  third  child,  sailed  with  his  father  when 
only  eleven  years  of  age.  He  became  the 
master  of  a  vessel  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
and  later  was  part  owner  of  many  vessels  and 
in  various  enterprises.  He  made  two  whaling 
voyages,  one-  of  two  and  one  of  four  years' 
duration;  and  he  shipped  guano  off  the  coast 
of  Africa,  on  the  Island  of  Ichaboe,  when  this 
rich  deposit  was  first  opened  up.  He  had 
previously  known  of  this  new  product,  and 
thought  of  going  to  Africa;  but,  when  he 
made  his  first  trip,  the  English  had  opened  it, 
and  he  paid  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for 
the  privilege  of  using  one  of  the  stagings,  the 
only  wharf  there.  He  was  also  in  the  guano 
trade  from  Patagonia.  An  active,  enterpris- 
ing, and  rather  adventurous  man,  making  and 
losing  large  sums  by  his  open-handed  ways 
and  confiding  nature,  he  left  at  the  time  of 
his  death  only  a  fair  estate.  He  participated 
in  the  Civil  War  in  the  war  vessel  "St.  Law- 
rence," of  which  he  was  acting  master,  though 
not  the  captain.  While  in  Hampton  Roads 
the  vessel  was  fired  upon  by  the  rebels,  and 
some  of  the  flying  shot  and  shell  entered  the 
cabin,  one  cutting  off  a  leg  of  the  table  at 
which  he  was  seated,  engaged  in  writing. 
Coming  from  Gale's  Ferry  to  Salem  in  1839, 
he  purchased  a  farm,  a  grist-mill,  and  a  saw- 
mill, and  had  his  home  here  until  1S63.  He 
left  the  sea  at  the  age  of  eighty,  and  spent 
his  last  years  at  Gale's  Ferry,  dying  in  1891, 
at  the  age  of  ninety -two.  His  wife,  who  was 
a  daughter  of  Adonijah  Fitch  and  Sarah  (Dol- 
beare)  Bradford,  died  two    years  before  at  the 


\ 


(ll'KUnX    F.   ALLYN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


*S7 


age  of  eighty-nine.  They  had  five  children, 
of  whom  three  lived  to  maturity.  The  first- 
born, an  infant  son,  died  in  infancy;  Gurdon 
F.  was  the  second  child;  James  M.  died  on 
the  Isthmus  of   Panama  on   his  way  from  Peru 

alifornia  in   1X55,   at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three   years;   the  fourth  child  died  young;  and 
the  fifth,   Sarah    I'"..,   wife    of    Thomas    Latham, 
il  I  lale's  Ferry. 
Mr.    Gurdon     I'".    Allyn    was    educated    at 

1  Academy.  On  March  7,  1851,  he  mar- 
ried Sarah  Raymond  Dolbeare,  a  native  of 
Lyme  and  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Eunice  (Morgan)  Dolbeare,  of  East  Haddam. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allyn  have  no  children;  hut 
they  have  fostered  one  boy,  Herbert  E.  Beard, 
who  is  now  a  dealer  or  travelling  trader  in 
milk    and    produce.       He    is    married    and    has 

son.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allyn  came  to  their 
present  home  about  thirty-three  years  ago. 
The  farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and  forty- 
five  acres,  for  which  they  paid  twenty-three 
hundred  dollars.  The  house  is  more  than  a 
century  old,  and  was  in  former  days  the  half- 
way tavern  on  the  stage  road  from  Essex  to 
Norwich. 

Mr.  Allyn  is  an  adherent  of  the  Republican 
party,  has  served  as  First  Selectman,  has 
represented  Salem  in  the  legislature  at  three 
different    times,    has    also    been    School    Yisi- 

ind  has  held  other  minor  offices.  He  is 
a   Deacon  oi   the  Congregational    church  and 

rintendent  of  the  Sunday-school.  He  has 
e  town  auctioneer  for  the  past  twenty- 
five  years;  and,  though  he  began  the  business 
with  diffident  e,  he  lias  abundantly  proved  his 
skill  and  efficiency  in  conducting  public 
Although  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
has  been  spent  as  a  landsman  and  in  New 
London  County,  Mr.  Allyn  has  travelled  and 
seen  something  of  the  world.  When  nineteen 
years  of   age  he   sailed  with    his   father  to   the 


coast  of  Africa,  and  on  the  return  voyage 
visited  the  grave  ol  Napoleon  on  the  Isle  of 
St.  Helena. 


RS.  SARAH  M.  MORGAN, 
witlow  of  Edward  Morgan,  resides 
upon  her  farm  in  Waterford,  six 
miles  north  of  New  London.  She  is  the  only 
child  of  George  and  Sarah  (Powers)  Gibson, 
both  of  this  section  of  the  country.  Her 
grandfather  resided  in  New  London  until  his 
house  was  sacked  and  burned  by  the  British  in 
17S1,  when  he  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  Mts.  Morgan.  Her  father  died  here, 
March  23,  1835;  and  his  widow  died  Novem- 
ber 24,  1S53,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years. 
They  are  buried  in  the  Cedar  Grove  Ceme- 
tery at  New  London. 

Miss  Gibson  married  Edward  Morgan,  Oc- 
tober 15,  1837,  son  of  Guy  and  Nancy  (Gris- 
wold)  .Morgan.  Mr.  Morgan's  grandfather 
was  a  man  of  force  and  character.  He  settled 
in  Ohio  in  the  early  days,  taking  all  his  chil- 
dren but  his  oldest  son  Justus,  whom  he  left 
on  the  old  farm.  He  died  suddenly  in  Ohio, 
just  past  middle  life,  having  accumulated  con- 
siderable property.  His  wife  was  a  Pickett, 
of  Wyoming  County,  New  York.  His  son 
Guy  was  born  in  Wethersfield,  Conn.  He 
took  up  wild  land  in  Wyoming  County.  His 
wife  belonged  to  a  good  family  of  Wethers- 
field. 

Mr.  Edward  Morgan  was  born  at  Wethers- 
ford  Springs,  August  18,  1818,  and  died 
March  12.  1SS8,  during  the  great  and  memo- 
rable blizzard  of  that  year.  The  snow  em- 
bargo was  so  complete  that  the  news  of  his 
death  could  only  be  telegraphed  to  his  family 
at  Hartford  by  a,  cable  sent  to  England,  hack 
to  Huston,  and  thence  to  Hartford.  He  was  a 
prominent  citizen,  a  man  of  military  tastes, 
and    was    Captain    of     a     company    for    many 


2S8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


years.  Mrs.  Morgan  reared  eight  of  her 
twelve  children — ■  Nancy,  Martha  M.,  Stanley 
G.,  Stephen,  Rovvena,  Strong,  Kittie  Lu- 
cretia,  and  Lottie.  Nancy  is  the  wife  of 
Edgar  R.  Smith,  of  Wethersfield,  and  has  two 
daughters;  Martha  M.,  wife  of  Henry  Way  in 
East  Lyme,  has  one  daughter  and  a  son ;  Stan- 
ley G. ,  a  farmer  in  the  vicinity,  has  two 
daughters  and  one  son,  all  bright  and  interest- 
ing children;  Stephen  is  unmarried,  and  re- 
mains at  the  homestead,  carrying  on  the  farm; 
Rovvena,  widow  of  Martin  Cadwell,  has  two 
daughters;  Strong  is  unmarried,  and  is  a  com- 
mercial traveller,  located  at  Meriden,  Conn.; 
Kittie  Lucretia  is  at  home;  and  Lottie  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  S.  Seymour,  of  Hartford,  and 
has  one  son  and  a  daughter.  Mrs.  Morgan  is 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  She  has 
been  able  to  give  all  her  children  a  good 
schooling,  and  is  now  happily  surrounded  by 
her  many  children  and  grandchildren. 


^NATHANIEL  PENDLETON  NOYES, 
l=|  a  respected  and  lifelong  resident  of 
J-^  V.  .,  Stonington  and  a  son  of  Captain 
Franklin  and  Susan  (Pendleton)  Noyes,  was 
born  here,  March  12,  1846.  One  of  his  early 
ancestors  was  William  Noyes,  who,  born  in 
Choulderton,  England,  was  made  rector  of 
Wiltshire,  England.  In  1602  William  mar- 
ried Anna  Parker,  of  Choulderton,  and  they 
had  two  children:  James,  born  in  1608;  and 
Nicholas,  born  in  1616.  James,  who  was  ed- 
ucated for  the  ministry  at  Brasenose  College, 
Oxford,  came  to  America  in  1634,  on  the  ship 
"Mary  and  John."  He  preached  in  Medford, 
Mass.,  that  year.  In  1635  he  accepted  a  call 
to  Newbury,  Mass.,  where  he  labored  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  October  22,  1656. 
He  married  Sarah  Brown,  of  Southampton,  in 
1634,  just  before  leaving  England.      They  had 


nine  children,  six  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Their  second  child,  James,  born  in  1639, 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  and  was  or- 
dained pastor  of  the  church  in  Stonington  on 
the  day  before  his  marriage.  He  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  Yale  College.  He  married 
Dorothy  Stanton,  September  11,  1674;  and 
they  had  five  sons  and  two  daughters.  He 
died  in  Stonington,  December  30,  1719,  aged 
nearly  eighty  years.  The  pier  slab  that  for 
more  than  a  century  has  been  over  his  grave 
in  the  old  Wequetequock  burying-ground  in 
Stonington,  has  the  following  inscription: 
"In  expectation  of  a  joyful  resurrection  to 
eternal  life,  here  lyeth  interred  ye  body  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  James  Noyes,  aged  eighty  years, 
who  after  a  faithful  serving  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  this  place  for  more  than  fifty-five 
years,  deceased  Dec.  ye  30,  1719-20.  Maj- 
esty, meekness  and  humility  here  meet  in 
one,  with  greatest  charity."  One  of  his  sons, 
Captain  Thomas,  born  August  14,  1679,  on 
September  3,  1705,  married  Elizabeth  San- 
ford,  a  daughter  of  Governor  Sanford  and  a 
grand-daughter  of  Governor  William  Codding- 
ton,  of  Rhode  Island.  They  had  five  sons  and 
seven  daughters.  Their  son,  Thomas,  born 
January  26,  1 7 10,  married  Mary  Thompson, 
of  Westerly,  R.I.,  March  1,  1731.  His  son 
Thomas,  born  in  1739,  married  on  January  24, 
1760,  and  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-two,  in 
the  old  house  which  formerly  stood  near  the 
residence  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His 
wife,  Mary  E.  Cobb  Noyes,  a  daughter  of 
Henry  Cobb,  of  Stonington,  born  February 
15,  1740,  died  in  March,  1833,  aged  ninety- 
four.  They  spent  seventy  years  together  in 
the  old  house  that  was  burned  in  1855.  They 
h.nl  eight  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Nathaniel  Xoyes,  the  third  child  of  Thomas 
and  Mary  E.  Noyes  and  the  grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Stonington 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEW 


*59 


in  1771,  and  died  there  in  1854.  On  Febru- 
ary II,  1800,  he  married  Mary  Saunders,  of 
Stonington,  who  died  in  1852.  They  had  two 
suns  and  six  daughters,  all  of  whom  were  mar- 
ried. Their  son  Franklin,  who  was  a  seafar- 
ing man  and  the  master  and  a  part  owner  of 
several  vessels,  died  April  15,  [892.  He 
married  June  14,  1829,  Susan  B.  Pendleton,  a 
daughter  of  Paul  and  Sahra  Pendleton,  of 
Westerly,  R.I.,  and  who  died  February  29, 
1880.  They  had  eight  children  —  Charles 
F.  1'.,  Tin unas  [.,  Benjamin  1*".,  William  I'., 
Susan  Sabrina,  Paul  Pendleton,  Mary  A.,  and 
Nathaniel  P.  Benjamin  was  lost  at  sea  in 
November,    1859. 

Nathaniel  P.  Noyes  attended  the  common 
schools  in  Stonington.  After  attaining  the 
age  of  eighteen  years,  he  served  as  Assistant 
Postmaster  to  Franklin  Williams  for  fifteen 
months.  Subsequently  he  completed  a  course 
at  the  Eastman  Business  College,  Poughkeep- 
sie,  N.Y.,  graduating  therefrom  in  the  class 
of  1865.  On  his  return  home  he  was  made 
Assistant  Postmaster  to  Enoch  B.  Pendleton, 
"I  Westerly.  R.I.,  a  position  which  he  held 
fur  three  years.  For  the  next  five  years  he 
was  employed  in  the  United  States  railway 
mail  service,  on  the  night  train  between  Bos- 
ton and  New  York.  After  this  his  health 
broke  down,  and  obliged  him  to  spend  three 
winters  in  the  South.  In  1875,  having  re- 
gained his  health,  he  again  entered  the 
Westerly  office  as  Assistant  Postmaster  to 
Eugene  B.  Pendleton;  but  after  seven  years' 
service  he  was  again  obliged  to  go  South  on 
account  of  failing  health.  He  came  back  to 
Stonington  again,  however,  and  in  1885  en- 
tered the  Stonington  office  as  Assistant  Post- 
master, and  served  three  and  a  half  years 
under  Postmasters  fames  Pendleton  and  Elias 
15.  Hinckley.  Appointed  Postmaster  on  De- 
cember  2$,    1890,    by    President    Harrison,  he- 


held  the  office  from  February  1,  1891,  to  M; 
1,  1895.  He  was  doorkeeper  (if  the  House 
of  Representatives  during  the  session  of  (897. 
In  politics  Mr.  Noyes  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can. On  October  30,  1869,  he  married 
Fannie  S.  Hall,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Phoebe  C.  Hall,  of  Westerly.  They  have  had 
two  children:  Minnie  Pauline,  a  young  girl 
of  considerable  musical  and  artistic  ability; 
ami  Harry  Pendleton,  a  bright  boy  of  fifteen. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  \<>\es  ami  their  daughter  are 
members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Ston- 
i US' ton. 


"^ATHAN  DENISON  NOYES,  a  re- 
tired gentleman    of    Mystic,  was    born 

-  \^  _  in  Stonington,  Conn.,  January  20, 
1S32,  son  of  Nathan  Stanton  and  Nancy 
(Denison)  Noyes.  The  family  tin.'  their 
lineage  in  England  to  a  period  prior  to  1600. 
The  Rev.  William  Noyes,  the  rector  of  the 
diocese  of  Salisbury  in  1602,  resigned  in 
favor  of  his  brother  Nathan  in  1620,  and  be- 
came attorney-general  to  James  I.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Parker;  and  their  sons,  James 
and  Nicholas,  came  to  .America  in  the  ship 
"Mary  and  John,"  settling  in  Newburyport, 
Mass.  The  Rev.  James  Noyes,  alter  he  had 
seceded  from  the  Church  of  England  and  gone 
to  Holland,  returned  to  Southampton,  where 
he  married  Sarah  Brown  in  1634,  previous  to 
his  emigration.  His  son.  the  Rev.  James 
Noyes  (second),  born  March  11,  1640,  was 
graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1659,  and 
ordained  in  1674.  This  ancestor  was  the  pas- 
tor of  the  Road  Church  —  which  was  estab- 
lished over  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  — 
for  fifty-five  and  a  half  years,  and  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty.  Dr.  Paeon,  of  New  Haven, 
said  of  him,  "He  was  one  "I  the  leading  di- 
vines of  the  country,  and  was  greatly  respected 
for  his  unswerving  piety  in  those  perilous  and 


260 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


trying  times,  being  distinguished  not  only  for 
his  fervor  and  heavenly  zeal  in  his  public  min- 
istry, but  for  his  ordinary  conversation,  which 
breathed  the  spirit  of  that  world  to  which  he 
endeavored  to  guide  his  fellow-man."  He  was 
also  eminently  useful  in  theological  controver- 
sies. During  King  Philip's  War  he  served  as 
physician  and  surgeon.  The  General  Court 
gave  him  an  equal  share  with  the  volunteers 
of  the  Narragansett  Bay  Company,  said  grant 
comprising  the  present  town  of  Voluntown. 
Although  then  old  and  in  a  remote  corner  of 
the  colony,  his  influence  was  deemed  necessary 
to  the  success  of  the  project  of  establishing 
Yale  College;  and  he  was  one  of  the  founders 
and  one  of  the  trustees  of  that  institution. 
He  died  December  30,   1719. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Noyes,  son  of  the  preced- 
ing James  Noyes,  became  pastor  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church  in  New  Haven,  Conn., 
and  one  of  the  first  professors  of  Yale  College. 
He  married  Abigail  Pierrepont,  who  was  a 
sister  of  the  wife  of  the  first  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards. Deacon  John,  another  son,  married 
Mary  Gallup;  and  they  had  four  sons  and 
three  daughters.  The  sons  were:  William, 
John,  Joseph,  and  James.  Joseph  wedded 
Prudence  Denison  in  1763.  Their  son,  Jo- 
seph Noyes  (second),  the  paternal  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  contracted  his 
first  marriage  on  November  30,  1790,  with 
Zerviah  Wheeler,  who  had  seven  sons  and 
one  daughter,  and  reared  five  sons  and  the 
daughter.  Nathan  Stanton  Noyes,  the  only 
survivor,  is  an  aged  resident  of  Stonington, 
Conn.,  where  he  was  born  January  7,  1804. 
He  is  still  bright  and  active  mentally.  He 
married  Nancy  Denison,  a  daughter  of  Ethan 
and  Eliza  (Williams)  Denison.  By  Joseph 
Noyes's  second  marriage,  which  was  made 
with  Eunice  Cheesebrough  on  January  11, 
1 8 14,  there  were  five  sons  and  four  daughters. 


Nathan  Denison  Noyes,  after  acquiring  his 
school  education,  was  engaged  as  clerk  in  a 
dry-goods  store  in  Providence,  R.I.,  and  later 
in  the  store  of  John  Hyde  at  Upper  Mystic. 
In  October,  1853,  he  went  to  St.  Louis, 
where  he  was  clerk  for  a  large  wholesale  dry- 
goods  jobbing  house.  Three  years  later,  in 
December,  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm 
Claflin,  Allen  &  Co.,  in  the  wholesale  boot 
and  shoe  business,  of  which  firm  Governor 
Claflin,  of  Massachusetts,  was  the  head.  He 
retired  from  this  connection  in  1862  to  be- 
come a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Appleton,  Noyes 
&  Co.,  who  carried  on  the  same  business,  and 
was  the  buyer  in  the  Boston  and  other  markets 
during  that  firm's  existence. 

On  August  4,  1857,  in  Mystic,  Mr.  Noyes 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Adelia  Miner 
Randall,  a  native  of  Hartford,  Conn.  In 
1873  they  removed  from  St.  Louis  to  Newton, 
Mass.,  where  they  resided  sixteen  years, 
going  from  thence  to  Newton  Highlands. 
From  the  latter  place  in  1S94  they  came  to 
Mystic,  taking  possession  of  their  present  ele- 
gant residence  on  West  Mystic  Avenue.  Mr. 
Noyes's  chief  occupation  since  has  been  the 
raising  and  breeding  of  poultry,  which  he  dis- 
poses of  by  wholesale. 

Mrs.  Noyes's  paternal  great-grandfather, 
Jonathan  Randall,  married  Ann  Crary,  of 
Groton,  Conn.  They  were  intellectual  and 
well-to-do.  He  was  a  tanner  and  fuller,  own- 
ing a  tannery  and  fulling-mill  in  Norwich 
during  the  Revolutionary  War.  His  daugh- 
ters married  into  the  beSt  families.  His  son 
Jedediah,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Noyes,  used 
to  say:  "I  have  four  sisters.  One  married  a 
Vanbuskirk,  one  a  King,  another  a  Lord,  and 
another  a  Cooper. "  Colonel  Ebenezer  Avery 
(second)  was  Mrs.  Noyes's  maternal  great- 
grandfather. He  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  was  killed   at    Fort   Griswold.      Her 


CHARLES    BISHOP. 


IIIOCRAI'IIICAI.     Kl  \  [EW 


263 


maternal  grandparents  were  Dr.  John  Owen 
and  Elizabeth  (Awry)  Miller,  the  latter  born 
October  28,  [768.  Her  parents  were  Isaac 
and  Adclia  (Miner)  Randall.  Mrs.  Noyes's 
mother  was  the  youngest  of  nine  children,  all 
of  whom  were  remarkable  instances  of  lon- 
gevity. The  eldest  daughter  died  at  the  age 
of  ninety-six,  and  the  youngest  at  the  age  ol 
eighty-four.  Mrs.  Noyes  is  the  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  eight  children,  of  whom  two  sons  died 
in  early  infancy.  The  other  survivors  are: 
John  !•'.  and  Charles  Arthur.  John  F.  Ran- 
dall is  in  business  in  St.  Louis.  Charles  \. 
is  in  Prescott,  Ariz.,  mining  for  gold  and 
silver.  Jedediah,  the  eldest,  was  Captain  of 
ipany  K,  Twenty-sixth  Connecticut  Regi- 
ment, in  1862.  He  died  in  the  Baton  Rouge 
Hospital,  June  9.  1863,  in  the  twenty -eighth 
year  of  his  age,  having  been  mortally  wounded 
at  Port  Hudson.  The  father,  who  was  born 
in  Milltown,  Conn.,  in  1808.  was  married  in 
1831.  He  died  March  9,  1 88 1.  The  mother, 
who  was  born  September  6,  1809,  died  Au- 
gust 19,  1893,  at  Newton  Highlands.  Mass. 
Mrs.  Noyes  is  the  happy  possessor  of  many 
ancient  and  interesting  family  relics,  some  of 
which  are  nearly  two  hundred  years  cdd. 


jIIARLFS  BISHOP,  a  retired  business 
man  of  New  London,  was  born  in 
Montville,  Conn.,  June  20,  1813. 
Sun  of  Charles  and  Charlotte  (Lattimer) 
Bishop,  he  comes  of  English  origin.  His 
first  American  ancestor,  Nicholas  Bishop,  was 
kidnapped  from  the  Isle  of  Wight  when  a  boy, 
brought  to  this  country,  and  sold  to  a  man 
named  Hart  for  the  price  of  his  pass 
When  Nicholas  reached  manhood,  he  married 
Hart's  daughter.  They  had  a  son,  Nicholas, 
who  married  Hannah  Douglas  on  February  14, 


174U.  This  Nicholas  had  five  sons  and  four 
daughters.  His  fourth  child  and  third  son, 
Joseph,  born  August  14.  1758,  who  was  a 
fanner  in  Montville.  married  Desire  Gilbert  in 
1781.  Of  Joseph's  four  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters the  first  child  was  a  girl,  and  two  sons 
and  three  daughters  grew  up. 

Charles  Bishop,  the  lather  of  the  subject  ol 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Montville,  April  20, 
1784.  In  bis  early  manhood  he  was  a  farmer 
and  a  school  teacher;  but  afterward  he  went 
into  the  grocery  business,  setting  up  a  store 
in  New  London,  near  the  centre  of  the  town. 
He  died  in  this  town  at  the  age  of  eighty-two. 
His  wife,  Charlotte,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Sarah  (Christophers)  Lattimer,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  September,  1809,  had  seven  sons  ami 
one  daughter,  all  of  whom  reached  old  age. 
They  were:  John  and  David,  who  each  died  at 
eighty-two;  Charles,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Joseph,  who  died  when  past  middle 
age;  Charlotte,  the  widow  of  Ezra  S.  Beck- 
with;  Henry,  who  died  in  1891;  Gilbert,  a 
retired  lumberman  of  New  London;  and  Hlias, 
tin    superintendent  of  the  cemetery. 

Charles  Bishop  received  bis  education  in 
the  district  schools  and  in  Chesterfield. 
When  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  he  obtained 
employment  in  a  store  as  a  clerk,  and  stayed 
there  four  years.  Then  he  went  to  Fisher's 
Island  for  a  short  time.  When  In'  was  twenty 
he  began  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade,  serv- 
ing two  years  with  his  elder  brother  John. 
He  and  John  started  in  the  lumber  and  build- 
in:;  business  in    [838.       In   1892  be  retired. 

Mr.  Bishop  built  his  large  and  handsome 
house,  [6  Franklin  Street,  in  [866.  Besides 
this  lie  owns  twenty  tenements  and  a  cottage 
at  Listein  Point.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  was  Selectman,  Councilman,  and 
.Assessor  lor  a  number  of  years.  He  has  also 
served    on    the    Hoard     of    Relief.      Although 


264 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


trained  in  the  Baptist  church,  he  has  been  an 
earnest  member  of  the  Universalis  congrega- 
tion for  years;  and  he  helped  that  society  very 
much  in  building  their  last  church  edifice. 
The  first  of  his  two  marriages  was  contracted 
with  Cynthia  Davidson,  of  Preston,  in  1838. 
Of  their  eight  children,  three  died  in  child- 
hood. The  others  were:  Charlotte,  the  wife 
of  the  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Waller;  Dr.  H.  M. 
Bishop,  now  in  Los  Angeles,  Cal.;  Charles 
A.,  a  lumberman  in  New  London;  Adam  F., 
a  dentist  in  New  London;  and  George,  now 
dead,  who  was  a  dentist  in  California,  and  left 
a  widow  and  three  sons  in  Los  Angeles. 
Airs.  Cynthia  Davidson  Bishop  died  in  1892; 
and  in  1893,  Mr.  Bishop  married  Mrs.  Cor- 
delia Sanford  Young,  a  widow,  of  Danielson, 
Conn. 


/SJeORGE  MAYNARD  MINOR,  the 
\J5 1  well-known  medical  practitioner  of 
Waterford,  is  a  native  of  Stamford, 
Conn.  He  was  bum  in  1863,  and  is  the  son 
of  Robert  C.  and  Isabel  (Smith)  Minor.  Dr. 
Minor's  paternal  ancestor  a  few  generations 
back,  Captain  John  Minor,  son  of  Thomas,  of 
New  London  and  Stonington,  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Woodbury,  going  to  that  place 
from  New  London,  and  dying  there,  as  re- 
corded in  the  History  of  Woodbury,  Sep 
tember  17,  1 7 1 9.  He  was  Town  Clerk  of 
Woodbury  for  thirty  years,  and  "for  twenty 
years  almost  always  a  member  of  the  General 
Court."  Israel  Minor,  Dr.  Minor's  grand- 
father, was  horn  at  Woodbury,  and  died  in 
B klyn,  N.Y.;  in  1893.  His  wife  was  be- 
fore marriage  Charlotte  Crandall,  of  New  Lon- 
don. She  is  still  living  in  Brooklyn,  at  the 
age  of  ninety,  in  good  mental  and  physical 
condition.  Of  her  four  sons  two  are  now  liv- 
ing: John   Crandall   Minor,  M.D.,  a  physician 


of  New  York  City ;  and  Robert,  father  of  Dr. 
George  Minor. 

Robert  C.  Minor  is  the  well-known  artist 
of  New  York  City,  where  he  has  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  He  studied  art  at 
Antwerp,  and  in  Holland  with  Diaz;  and 
while  in  France  he  was  the  personal  friend 
of  Corot.  He  has  been  twice  abroad,  spend- 
ing in  all  eight  years.  In  the  Faris  Exposi- 
tion of  1890  he  received  a  medal  from  the 
French  Salon,  an  honor  much  coveted  by 
every  artist  of  whatever  nation.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design, 
and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Salma- 
gundi Society.  His  studio  is  in  Sherwood 
Studios.  Mr.  Robert  C.  Minor  married  Isa- 
bel Smith,  daughter  of  Orrin  F.  and  Emma 
A.  (Loomis)  Smith,  of  New  London.  He 
has  one  daughter  living:  Louise,  sister  of  Dr. 
Minor,  and  now  the  wife  of  Hermon  F.  Tie- 
man,  son  of  ex-Mayor  Tieman. 

George  M.  Minor  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Brooklyn  and  in  Plainfield 
Academy.  He  then  pursued  a  course  of  medi- 
cal studies  in  the  Long  Island  College  Hospi- 
tal, and  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  in  1885.  He  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  as  ambulance  surgeon  of  St. 
Peter's  Hospital,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years.  He  then  accepted  the  position  of  sur- 
geon on  the  steamship  "Illinois,"  and  in  1888 
came  to  Waterford.  Here  he  met  and  mar- 
ried on  November  19,  1895,  Miss  Anne  B. 
Rogers,  daughter  of  James  Chapman  Rogers, 
a  well-known  sea  captain  of  New  London,  and 
his  wife,  Nancy  Hazeltine  Beckwith,  the 
father  born  in  New  London,  and  the  mother 
in  East  Lyme,  in  the  house  where  Mrs.  Minor 
was  born.  Mrs.  Rogers's  father  was  a  well- 
known  ship-builder.  She  was  married  in 
1849.  Her  husband  died  in  1866,  leaving 
her  with   five    children  to  care  for.      All   are 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


265 


now  living,  and  areas  follows:  Irene,  wife  oi 
William  X.  Coates,  of  this  place;  Julius,  a 
resident  of  Tarrytown,  N.  Y.  ;  Alida,  wife  of 
James  D.  Hanan;  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  son 
of  James  L).  Hanan,  of  the  well-known  firm  "t 
Hanan  &  Son;  Frank  E.,  of  Tarrytown;  and 
Mrs.    Minor. 

Seven  or  eight  years  ago  Mis.  Minor  built 
and  opened  Konomac  Inn,  which  is  now  one  of 
the  must  popular  summer  hotels  on  the  Sound. 
Beginning  on  a  small  scale  and  with  but  lew 
guests,  the  business  has  increased  so  that  now 
from  lift)-  to  sixty  guests  are  entertained. 
The  success  of  this  enterprise  is  due  to  the 
careful  attention  to  the  comfort  of  all  persons 
in  the  house,  and  to  the  most  excellent  ar- 
rangements of  the  inn,  and  its  unrivalled  table 
service.  Abundant  amusement  is  offered,  in- 
cluding golf,  yachting,  and  tennis,  no  pains 
being  spared  to  make  the  place  a  delightful 
resort.  That  this  fact  is  appreciated  by  the 
its  is  evidenced  by  the  growing  patronage 
the  inn  receives  and  the  many  words  of  praise 
that  are  heard  every  summer.  Mrs.  Minor  is 
a  member  of  the  society  of  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution.  Dr.  Minor  is  a  Mas- 
ter Mason,  and  exceedingly  popular  in  the 
order.  lie  is  an  independent  voter,  is  the 
Health  Officer  of  this  town,  and  Medical  Ex- 
aminer for  the  coroner. 


[ZRAJUDSON  HEMPSTEAD,  a  promi- 
nent farmer  of  W'aterford,  Conn.,  son 
of  Orlando  Ilallem  anil  Julia  Ann 
(Rogers)  Hempstead,  was  bom  at  W'aterford, 
June  3,  1851.  He  is  a  direct  descendant  in 
the  male  line  of  Robert  Hempstead,  who 
came  to  this  country  from  England,  and  was 
one  of  the  fust  settlers  of  New  London  in 
1645.  ()n  the  maternal  side  Mr.  Hempstead 
traces   his   lineage   to  James  Rogers,  supposed 


t"  be  the  immigrant  of  that  name  (without  the 
j)  who  came  over  in  the  '*  Increase"  in  II 
James  Rogers  lived  for  some  years  at  Mil- 
ford,  Conn.,  and  between  1656  and  1660  set- 
tled in  the  New  London  plantation.  He 
carried  on  an  extensive  business  as  a  baker, 
and  became  the  owner  of  a  large  estate  near 
New  London,  which  has,  however,  to-day 
dwindled  to  the  twenty-acre  farm  of  Mrs. 
Hempstead.  Some  of  the  Rogers  family  were 
Quakers,  and  a  part  of  the  town  settled  by 
them  has  thus  been  known  as  Quaker  Hill. 

Mr.  Ezra  J.  Hempstead's  great-grand- 
father Hempstead  bore  the  name  of  Robert. 
His  grandfather,  George  W.  Hempstead,  was 
a  farmer  in  Stonington  and  a  shoemaker  in 
New  London.  Alfred  ami  Orlando  Hemp- 
stead, sons  of  George,  went  to  New  London 
when  young  men,  and  together  established 
there  a  blacksmith  shop  on  the  Neck,  where 
they  carried  on  a  successful  business  in  gen- 
eral  blacksmithing  ami   the  ironing  of  vessels. 

Orlando  Hallem  Hempstead,  son  of  George 
W.  and  father  of  Ezra  Judson,  was  born  in 
North  Stonington,  Marcli  23,  1809,  and  died 
at  his  farm  in  North  Waterford,  April  19, 
1874.  He  was  married  January  1,  1832,  to 
Julia  Ann  Rogers,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Sarah  Rogers,  who  were  cousins.  The  farm- 
house where  Mrs.  Hempstead  now  lives  was 
built  by  him  over  fifty  years  ago.  They  had 
one  daughter  and  seven  sous  who  reached  ma- 
turity, and  two  sons  who  died  in  infancy. 
Loin-  oi  these  children  are  now  living:  Eliza- 
beth, wife  nl  Stephen  C.  Comstock;  George 
\\\,  of  Main  Street,  New  London;  Andrew 
Jackson,  .1  bachelor,  at  home  on  the  old  farm; 
and  Ezra  Judson  Hempstead,  tin-  seventh  son, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Francis  Alexan- 
der died  at  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  Mrs. 
Julia  A.  Hempstead  is  the  oldest  living  mem- 
ber of  the  Second   Congregational   Church  at 


-66 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


New  London,  with  which  she  united  herself  in 
i S 3 6.  During  the  later  years  of  his  life  her 
husband  was  a  Republican,  but  was  formerly 
a  Democrat.  He  served  in  many  of  the  town 
offices. 

Ezra  Judson  Hempstead  was  educated  in  the 
New  London  schools,  including  the  old  Bart- 
lett  High  School,  the  Connecticut  State  Nor- 
mal School,  and  Scofield's  Business  College 
at  Providence,  R.I.  In  early  manhood  he 
taught  school  for  some  seven  years  at  Water- 
ford  and  other  towns.  Mr.  Hempstead  is 
Master  of  New  London  County  Pomona 
Grange  and  State  Deputy  of  the  State 
Grange.  He  also  belongs  to  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 
He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  on  the 
Board  of  Education  for  twenty  years,  at  least 
part  of  that  time  being  its  chairman.  He  is 
much  interested  in  the  Ouaker  Hill  Church, 
where  in  case  of  an  emergency  he  fills  the 
pulpit.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church  at  New  London. 

December  25,  1877,  Ezra  Judson  Hempstead 
married  Mary  M.  Smith,  of  PIrie,  Pa.,  daugh- 
ter of  Newman  and  Mary  Harris  Smith. 
They  have  two  children  :  Ezra  Judson  Hemp- 
stead, Jr.,  now  eighteen  years  old,  who,  hav- 
ing graduated  from  the  Bulkeley  High  School 
of  New  London  and  spent  one  year  at  Mr. 
Moody's  world-  famous  school  at  Northfield, 
is  now  living  with  his  parents  upon  their 
farm  ;  and  Agnes  Burchard,  born  December 
16,    1887. 

Ezra  Judson  Hempstead  has  a  place  of  about 
two  hundred  acres,  known  as  the  Browning 
Beach  Farm.  It  is  delightfully  situated  on 
the  Thames  River,  and  has  long  been  a  favor- 
ite resurt  for  the  people  of  that  neighborhood. 
The  house,  standing  well  back  from  the  high- 
way, is  interesting  on  account  of  its  age,  hav- 
ing weathered  about  one  hundred  years.  The 
views  from   the  farm,  both  of  the  surrounding 


charming  country  and  of  the  river,  harbor,  and 
far-off,  shining  waters  of  the  Sound,  are  pict- 
uresque and  beautiful. 


REDERICK  DENISON  CHESEBRO, 
one  of  Stonington's  most  venerable  and 
honored  citizens,  a  descendant  of  Will- 
iam Chesebro,  was  born  here  October  20, 
1S05,  when  the  place  was  known  as  Stoning- 
ton  Point.  His  parents  were  Elder  Elihu  and 
Lydia  (Chesebro)  Chesebro. 

The  History  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  Stonington,  contains  an  interesting 
account  of  the  life  of  his  pioneer  ancestor, 
from  which  the  following  is  condensed  :  Will- 
iam Chesebrough,  the  first  white  man  who 
made  a  permanent  settlement  in  what  is  now 
Stonington,  was  bom  in  Boston,  Lincolnshire, 
England,  in  1594,  and  there  married  Anna 
Stevenson,  December  6,  1620.  He  came  to 
this  country  with  Winthrop's  fleet  in  1630, 
settled  in  Boston,  Mass.,  and  soon  became  a 
member  of  the  First  Church.  He  was  made 
a  freeman  of  the  Colony  in  1631;  and  in 
1632  he  was  one  of  two  men  chosen  for  Bos- 
ton in  compliance  with  the  order  that  there 
should  be  "two  of  every  plantation  to  confer 
with  the  Court  about  raising  a  public  stock." 
"And  this,"  says  Prince,  in  his  New  England 
Chronology,  referring  to  the  measure,  "seems 
to  pave  the  way  for  a  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  the  General  Courts."  After  residing 
in  Boston  several  years,  serving  as  Constable 
and  being  otherwise  active  in  public  affairs, 
he  removed  to  Braintree,  Mass.,  and  while- 
there  was  Deputy  to  the  General  Court. 
Later  he  lived  for  a  time  at  Rehoboth,  where 
in  1643  his  list  was  returned  at  four  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds;  and  in  1(144  he  was  one  of  the 
planters  there  who  signed  a  compact  by  which 
they  agreed    to   be  governed   by  nine   persons, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


267 


"according  to  law  and  equity,"  until  they 
should  .subject  themselves  jointly  to  some  other 
government.  Owing  to  an  affray  with  an  Ind- 
ian he  was  in  disfavor;  and  in  ICJ45  ne  visited 
the  colon)  <>t  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  at  Pequot, 
now  New  London,  Conn.,  and  finally,  in  (649, 
he  and  his  family  settled  at  Wequetequoc,  now 
Stonington.  He  was  a  gunsmith,  and  worked 
at  his  trade  until  he  came  here,  when  he  be- 
came a  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  owning  large 
tracts  of  land.  He  trailed  with  the  Indians, 
and  was  accused  of  selling  them  weapons  of 
warfare,  which  brought  him  before  the  au- 
thorities; hut  he  was  an  active  man  in  busi- 
ness and  public  affairs,  and  diew  ,1  goodly 
number  of  settlers  about  him,  making  a  place 
of  some  importance  for  that  period.  He  was 
a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  fence; 
and  dining  the  time  that  his  settlement,  We- 
quetequoc, was  in  the  jurisdiction  (if  .Massa- 
chusetts, 1658-62,  he  was  one  of  those  ap- 
pointed tn  manage  the  prudential  affairs  of  the 
town.  lie  was  elected  Deputy  to  the  General 
Court  at  Hartford  in  1653,  1654,  1655,  and 
[656. 

Elder   Elihu  Chesebro  was  born    here  March 

1761;.  He  was  an  unsalaried  ISaptist 
preacher  here  fur  seventeen  years;  and  in  cold 

her  he  often  sawed  the  wood  for  heating 
the  school-house  in  which  the  services  were 
held,  displaying  commendable  earnestness  and 
sincerity.  March  20,  1791,  he  married  Lydia, 
daughter  of  Zebulon  Chesebro.  She  died  in 
18. ii,  at  seventy  years  of  age;  and  he  after- 
ward married  Mary  Fish,  whom  he  outlived 
about   six  years,  his  death  occurring  on  April 

1868,  at  the  age  "t  ninety-nine  years,  one 
month,  and  three  days.  Rev.  Elihu  and 
Lydia  Chesebro  were  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren—  Elihu,  Denison,  Lydia,  Gilbert,  Pru- 
dence, Ethan  Allen,  Frederick  1).,  Lydia, 
Amelia,    and    Mary   Ann.      Elihu,    born   Janu- 


ary 3,  1792,  married  and  had  ten  children, 
five  sons  and  five  daughters.  Denison,  born 
January  16,  1794,  married,  and  had  two 
and  a  daughter.  Lydia,  bom  March  28, 
1796,  died,  aged  nine  years.  Gilbert,  who 
was  born  September  21,  1798,  and  died  in 
[851,  aged  fifty-two  years,  was  twice  married, 
and  had  seven  children,  one  by  his  first  wile 
and  six  by  his  second.  Prudence,  born  Octo 
her  5,  1800,  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Lang 
worthy,  and  had  two  sons  Samuel  C.  and 
Henry  Allen  Langworthy.  Ethan  Allen,  who 
was  born  December  25,  1803,  and  died  at  sea 
in  [832,  aged  twenty-nine  years,  had  two 
daughters,  one  of  whom  is  living;  namely, 
Mrs.  W.  J.  II.  Pollard.  Lydia,  bom  August 
1,  1807,  married  Joseph  S.  Knight,  and  died 
in  1S92.  .Amelia,  who  was  born  Julv  17. 
[809,  married  Thomas  J.  Wheeler,  and  had 
one  son,  Thomas  A.  She  died  in  1856,  aged 
forty-five  Mars.  Mary  Ann  was  born  Septem- 
ber 29,  1  Si  I,  and  now  lives  in  Norwich, 
Conn.,  being  in  her  eighty-seventh   year. 

Frederick  Denison  Chesebro  received  a 
district-school  education,  attending  school 
until  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  during  the  last 
few  years  in  the  winter  only.  He  remained 
at  home  until  he  was  married.  His  years  of 
active  labor  were  spent  in  farming;  and  he 
still  owns  the  old  Chesebro  homestead,  which 
has  been  in  the  family  for  nearly  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years.  During  all  this  time 
there  have  been  but  two  dwellings  on  the 
place,  the  present  house  replacing  the  original 
structure  in  181  8. 

On  October  25,  1837,  Mr.  Chesebro  mar- 
ried Mary  A.  Chesebro,  daughter  of  Klias 
Chesebro,  a  distant  relative.  Five  children 
were  bom  to  them,  as  follows:  Frederick 
D.  J.,  on  April  7,  1839;  Klias,  December  23, 
1840;  George  W.,  November  28,  1842;  Will 
iam   H.,  November  26,    1845;  and   Jabez,  May 


268 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ii,  1847.  The  last-named  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor; and  with  him  Mr.  Chesebro  has  lived 
since  the  death  of  his  wife,  which  occurred  on 
February  2,  1884,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
three  years,  less  one  day. 

Jabez  Chesebro  is  an  operator  in  the  velvet- 
mill,  which  was  erected  here  in  Stonington  in 
1S92,  and  in  which  he  is  a  stockholder.  The 
business  has  now  grown  so  that  they  are 
doubling  the  capacity  of  the  plant.  On  March 
12,  1873,  he  married  Etta  Irons,  of  Mystic, 
daughter  of  the  late  Resolved  Irons,  a  ship- 
builder. They  lost  their  first  child,  William 
\Y. ,  who  died  July  11,  1893,  when  he  was 
between  eighteen  and  nineteen  years  of  age, 
and  was  learning  the  drug  business  with  Dr. 
Brayton.  They  have  one  daughter  living  — 
Grace  E.,  a  young  lady  at  home,  and  attend- 
ing the  high  school.  Mr.  Jabez  Chesebro  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  belongs  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  State.  He  and  his  wife  and  daughter 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  church.  They 
live  in  the  house  that  he  built  in  1887  at  66 
Elm  Street. 

Frederick  Denison  Chesebro  has  been  a  firm 
Democrat  all  his  life.  He  has  served  in  some 
of  the  minor  town  offices,  and  for  twelve  years 
was  Superintendent  of  the  Highway.  For 
about  seventy-seven  years  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church,  and  he  is  now 
senior  Deacon. 


•  -•  •  —  • 


D 


AVID  ERSKINE  WHITON,  a 
manufacturer  of  lathe  and  drill 
chucks  and  machinist's  tools  in  New 
London,  is  a  native  of  Stafford,  Conn.,  born 
October  15,  1825.  His  ancestor,  James 
Whiton,  who  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
Hingham,  Mass.,  came  to  this  country  from 
either    England    or    Scotland    about    the    year 


1630,  and  was  made  a  freeman  in  1636.  Jo- 
seph Whiton,  his  grandfather,  resided  in 
Westford,  was  a  carpenter  and  builder,  and 
had  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  Westford 
Orthodox  Church  edifice.  Joseph  married 
Miss  Joanna  Chaffee,  of  that  town;  and  their 
union  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  several  sons 
and  daughters.  Both  were  members  of  the 
Orthodox  church.  Their  son,  Heber  Whiton, 
born  in  Westford  about  1780,  died  in  Stafford 
about  1827.  A  cooper  by  trade,  he  carried 
on  that  business  in  conjunction  with  his 
farm,  and  acquired  a  fair  property.  About 
1806  or  1807  he  married  Miss  Marcia  Gay,  of 
Stafford.  After  his  death  she  remarried  and 
moved  to  Monson,  Mass.,  where  she  died 
when  about  sixty-three  years  of  age.  Eight 
children  were  born  of  her  union  with  Mr. 
Whiton,  of  whom  six  sons  and  one  daughter 
reached  maturity.  The  daughter,  Hannah,  is 
the  widow  of  Penuel  Eddy,  and  resides  in 
Stafford. 

David  Erskine  Whiton,  the  youngest  son  of 
his  parents,  attended  the  common  schools  of 
Stafford.  When  about  fourteen  years  of  age 
he  began  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade  with 
his  brother  Lucius,  and  continued  his  school 
attendance  in  the  winter  terms  until  eighteen 
years  old,  working  with  him  six  years.  At 
twenty,  having  spent  six  years  in  his  brother's 
employment,  he  started  for  himself  as  a  jour- 
neyman carpenter.  Subsequently  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  millwright  business  for  four 
years,  and  still  later  he  worked  at  pattern- 
making.  Until  he  took  up  the  machinist's 
business,  he  did  not  feel  that  he  had  found 
the  occupation  for  which  his  natural  ability 
fitted  him.  Before  this,  however,  in  1849, 
travelling  by  water  he  visited  Buffalo,  Chi- 
cago, and  Milwaukee,  crossed  Michigan  by 
rail,  and  then  on  horseback  went  to  manyf 
places  in   Illinois  and   Wisconsin.      He  made 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEVV 


a  considerable  stay  in  Beloit,  which  reminded 
him  of  the  East,  and  reached  as  far  north  as 
Green  Bay,  stopping  at  Fond  du  Lac,  Oshkosh, 
and  Appleton,  where  the  first  improvements 
on  Fox  River  were  being  made.  He  worked 
at  carpentry  in  different  places,  but  the  East 
was  still  his  preference.  Returning  in  1852 
to  Stafford,  he  built  his  first  machine  shop, 
for  which  he  made  the  water-wheel  and  much 
ol  the  other  equipment.  After  renting  it 
Mime  years,  he  occupied  it  for  the  manufact- 
ure of  machine  tools,  lathe  chucks,  etc.,  which 
he  continued  there  until  [886,  building  up  a 
good  business,  and  employing  about  twenty 
men.  He  then  sold  out  and  came  to  New 
London,  where  he  shortly  after  erected  a  shop 
on  Howard  Street.  Since  1896  he  has  con- 
ducted the  business  in  the  present  large  brick 
structure.  In  [886  an  incorporated  company 
was  formed,  with  Mr.  Whiton  as  the  presi- 
dent and  his  son  as  the  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. About  one  hundred  hands  are  employed 
in    the   establishment. 

On  November  13,  1856,  Mr.  Whiton  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Asenath 
Francis,  of  Stafford,  a  daughter  of  James  and 
Achsah  (Howe)  Francis.  Her  father  died 
when  seventy-seven  years  of  age,  and  her 
mother  about  two  years  later,  at  seventy- 
three.  A  sou  and  lour  daughters  survive. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whiton  were  bereft  of  their 
first-born,  a  daughter  of  four  years.  They 
have  a  son  and  daughter  living — Lucius 
Erskine  and  Mary  W.  Lucius  Erskine 
Whiton,  who  is  in  company  with  his  father, 
married  Viola  King,  and  has  two  daughters- 
Helen  King  and  Dorothy.  His  infant  son, 
I 'avid  Erskine  (named  for  his  lather), 
died  October  5,  1896.  Mary  W.  is  the  wife 
ol  Leander  Shipman,  M.D.,  of  New  London. 
While  a  resident  of  Stafford,  Mr.  Whiton, 
Sr.,    who    is   a   stanch    Republican,    served   in 


many  of  the  town  offices,  and  was  twice  a 
member  of  the  State  legislature,  winning  a 
hotly  contested  election.  He  and  Mrs. 
Whiton  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

JT\RS.  MARY  E.  ALLEN,  of  Han 
over  village,  in  the  town  ol 
Sprague,  New  London  County, 
Conn.,  is  a  native  of  Canterbury,  Windham 
County,  being  a  daughter  of  Hubbard  and 
Sabrina  (Adams)  Adams. 

Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  late  a  well-known 
woollen  manufacturer  of  Hanover,  to  whom 
she  was  married  on  December  g,  1855,  was 
bom  in  Lisbon,  this  county,  in  [822,  and 
died  on  January  15,  1884,  at  the  age  ol  sixty- 
two  years.  He  was  the  son  of  Deacon  Eben- 
ezer  .Allen,  a  native  of  Canterbury,  Conn., 
and  was  of  the  eighth  generation  in  descent 
from  Samuel  Allen,  who  came  from  England 
ab.out  1630,  and  settled  at  Braintree,  Mass. 
Deacon  Ebenezer  was  a  son  of  Pratt  Allen,  a 
native  of  Scotland,  Conn. 

To  Colonel  Ethan  and  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Allen 
were  born  eight  children,  named  as  follows: 
Ebenezer,  Mary,  Sarah,  Thomas  II.,  Morgan, 
Harriet  15.,  Olive  B.,  and  Maud  E.  Sarah 
died  April  6,  1874,  at  fourteen  years  of  age. 
Morgan  died  at  the  age  of  four  years.  The 
living  children  are  all  residing  in  this  p]  n  e, 
and  are  single,  except  Ebenezer,  who  married 
Martha  F.  Gordon,  of  Hanover.  They  have 
been  liberally  educated,  and  are  citizens  of 
influence  and  prominence.  Ebenezer  and 
Thomas  are  graduates  of  the  Highland  Mili- 
tary Institute.  The  business  of  manufactur- 
ing woollen  goods,  in  which  Colonel  Allen 
was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death,  has  been 
continued  by  his  sons  and  their  uncle,  Fli- 
sha  M.  Allen,  who  was  Colonel  Allen's  part 
ner.      During   the   business   depression   of    the 


270 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


past  four  years  the  factory  has  been  closed  for 
a  considerable  part  of  the  time.  Mr.  Eben- 
ezer  Allen  is  the  present  Representative  of 
this  town  to  the  Connecticut  legislature. 

His  brother,  the  Hon.  Thomas  Hubbard 
Allen,  who  was  bom  September  3,  1862,  has 
had  a  brilliant  record  as  a  public  man.  He 
was  educated  at  East  Greenwich  Academy, 
Rhode  Island,  and  at  Highland  Military  In- 
stitute, graduating  from  the  last-named  institu- 
tion in  18S1,  as  valedictorian  of  the  class,  and 
having  been  Captain  of  the  Cadet  Corps.  He 
has  always  been  interested  in  military  affairs, 
and  for  eight  years  was  a  memher  of  the  Third 
Regiment,  Connecticut  National  Guard,  retir- 
ing as  Captain  and  Inspector  of  Rifle  Practice. 
He  served  his  native  town  five  consecutive 
years  as  Selectman;  and  in  1885  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature,  being  at  the  time 
he  took  his  seat  the  youngest  man  in  the 
house.  He  has  been  five  terms  in  the  lower 
branch,  and  one  term  in  the  Senate.  During 
his  first  term  in  the  house  he  was  clerk  of  the 
Committee  on  Engrossed  Pills,  and  during 
the  four  successive  terms  he  was  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  In  1886 
he  was  also  clerk  of  the  Library  Committee, 
and  in  [893  was  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Joint  Rules.  The  other  years  in  which  he 
served  were  1889  and  1895.  In  1S87  he  was 
elected  State  Senator,  and  was  the  youngest 
man  in  the  upper  house.  Here  also  he  served 
as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs. 

.Mr.  Thomas  II.  Allen  has  had  many  other 
civic  honors  conferred  upon  him.  At  the 
time  of  President  Harrison's  second  inaugura- 
tion he  was  one  of  the  aides-de-camp.  In 
18SS  he  was  sent  as  delegate  to  the  Republi- 
can convention  at  Chicago,  and  in  1896  as 
delegate  to  the  St.  Louis  convention.  In 
1889  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  centennial  cele-  | 


bration  held  in  New  York  City.  Mr.  Allen's 
record  as  a  public  man  has  been  one  of  dis- 
tinguished service  and  high  integrity.  lie 
has  worked  faithfully  for  the  interests  of  his 
constituents,  and  has  allowed  no  personal  con- 
siderations to  deter  him  from  carrying  out 
what  he  has  believed  to  be  for  the  general 
good  of  his  district  or  of  the  State  as  a 
whole.  He  is  a  member  of  Hartford  Lodge, 
No.  19,  Brotherhood  of  Elks;  also  of  Court 
Sprague,  No.  90,  Foresters  of  America,  of 
Sprague,  Conn. 


{*/V/ILLARD  J.  WAY,  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  of  Bozrah,  was 
born  in  Salem,  Conn.,  February  18, 
1859,  son  of  David  ami  Sally  R.  (Gardner) 
Way.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Salem,  in 
which  town  the  paternal  grandfather,  Joshua 
Way,  was  an  early  settler.  The  Gardners  are 
native  residents  of  Montville,  Conn.  David 
Way  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Salem  in  his 
day.  He  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  many 
years,  held  several  town  offices,  and  was  a 
Deacon  in  the  Baptist  church.  His  last  days 
were  spent  at  the  home  of  his  son  Willard  in 
Bozrah,  his  death  occurring  in  1893.  His 
wife,  Sally,  became  the  mother  of  several  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Willard  J.  is  the  only 
survivor. 

Willard  J.  Way  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Salem.  His  boyhood  ami 
youth  were  passed  in  his  native  town;  and  he 
started  in  business  life  as  the  proprietor  of  a 
livery  stable  at  Fitchville,  Conn.  In  1884  he 
settled  upon  his  present  farm  in  Bozrah,  a  val- 
uable piece  of  agricultural  property,  which  he 
is  cultivating  with  prosperous  results.  He 
also  owns  a  tract  of  land  in  Salem. 

On  December  2,  18S5,  Mr.  Way  was  united 
in    marriage   with   Cora   B.    Ross,   daughter   of 


WILLARD    J.    WAY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    KKVIEW 


273 


Enos    C.     Ross,    late    ;i    respected    citizen    of 

:  ah. 
Mr.    W.iy    is   a    Democrat   politically.      He 
served  the  town  foi  one  term  as  Assessor,  was 

ted  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen 
in  October,  [896,  and  has  represented  Bozrah 
in  the  legislature.      His  public  record   is  one 

delity  to  his  constituents  and  sound  judg- 
ment in  the  exercise  (it  his  legislative  duties, 
which  qualities  have  been   recognized   and   ap- 

iated  by  the  general  community.  .Mrs. 
Way  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  of 
Leffingwell,  Conn. 


EV.    EDMUND    DARROW  was   I... in 


in     Waterford,      February     7,      1X07, 
y M   of  Joseph  and  I  Iannah 

hop)  Darrow.  His  grandfather,  the  Rev. 
Zadoc  Darrow,  bum  in  New  London,  Decem- 
ber J5.  [728  (O.  S.),  son  id  Ebenezer  Dar- 
row,  was  fur  hall  a  century  pastor  of  Jordan 
tist  Church.  Ebenezer  Harrow's  wife  was 
a    Rogers,    a   direct   descendant,  it    is   said,   of 

Smithfield  martyr.  Zadoc  Harrow  early 
left  the  Congregational  church,  and.  uniting 
with  the  Niantic  church  under  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Howard,  was  chosen  Deacon.  He  was 
lined  in  [769,  and  from  1775  to  1827,  a 
period  of  fifty-two  years,  was  pastor  of  the 
First    Baptist   Church.    Waterford.      lie    lived 

!'•  venerable  age  of  ninety-nine.      I  lis  suc- 
cessor    in    the    pastorate     was     his    grandson, 

r  Francis  Darrow;  and  the  two  pastorates 
covered  ninety  years. 

In  1830,  at  tlv  age  of  twenty-three,  Edmund 
Darrow  united  with  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
Waterford,  of  which  his  cousin,  Elder  Francis 
Darrow,  was  pastor.  He  served  as  Deacon  of 
the  church  and  as  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day-school several  years,  but  in  1X45  he 
united  with  the  Seventh  Day  Baptist  church, 
lie  often  made  allusion  to  the    remarkable   co- 


incidence that  his  birth  occurred  in  the 
seventh  year  of  the  century,  on  the  seventh 
il.iv  oi  the  month,  and  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week,  and  that  he  became  a  Seventh  Day  Bap- 
tist. The  following  year  he  was  made  a 
Deacon;  and  in  1853  he  was  ordained  to  the 
ministry,  and  accepted  as  a  non-salaried  posi- 
tion the  pastoral  care  of  the  church  of  which 
he  had  charge  until  his  death,  thirty-five  years 
later.  For  some  years  also  he  was  engaged  in 
teaching.  He  was  a  thrifty  farmer,  employ- 
ing help,  keeping  his  homestead  property, 
with  its  large  barns  and  the  house  that  he 
built  about  fifty  years  ago,  in  good  condi- 
tion. The  farm  contains  about  eights-five 
acres,  a  part  of  which  was  handed  down  from 
his  father  and  grandfather.  Mr.  Darrow's 
ability  as  a  man  of  affairs  was  recognized  by 
his  townsmen,  who  elected  him  to  various 
offices,  including  that  of  Selectman.  In  pol- 
itics lie  was  a  Republican,  and  he  served  in 
the  State  legislature.  He  passed  away  at  his 
home  in  Waterford,  October  f>,  [888,  aged 
eighty-one  years. 

Mr.  Darrow  was  with  his  people  at  the  last 
communion  before  his  death,  also  the  follow- 
ing Sabbath,  although  very  feeble,  coming  as 
lu-  said,  "to  set  them  to  work."  He  spoke 
briefly  from  Dan.  ii.  35:  "The  stone  that 
smote  the  image  became  a  great  mountain, 
and  filled  the  whole  earth."  One  who  knew 
him  well  and  was  a  coworker  with  him  has 
written  of  him:  "Amid  all  his  cares  and 
labors  he  regarded  no  sacrifice  too  great,  if 
thereby  he  might  benefit  others.  .  .  .  Not 
anxious  for  a  great  name,  but  modest  and  un- 
assuming, he  was  a  man  of  simple  habits  and 
Scriptural  faith.  He  was  a  practical  and 
earnest  friend  of  the  temperam  e,  having 

signed  the  first  pledge  formed  in  the  town 
when  a  boy.  No  one  stood  higher  in  the  esti- 
mation  of   the  people  for  Christian   character, 


274 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


as  the  large  audience  that  gathered  at  his 
funeral  from  many  miles  around  attested.  As 
a  friend  he  was  hospitable,  social,  and  true; 
as  a  pastor,  genial  and  hopeful,  having  kind 
words  for  all." 

On  March  4,  1831,  Mr.  Darrow  married 
Grace  Rogers,  by  whom  he  had  three  chil- 
dren: Edmund,  who  was  born  in  March,  1833; 
Josephine,  who  died  November  5,  1841,  at 
the  age  of  three  years;  and  Francis  Newton 
Darrow,  who  was  born  October  10,  1842,  is 
now  a  farmer  in  Waterford,  and  lias  one  son, 
Earl  W.  Darrow,  a  teacher  and  preacher  of 
promise.  The  mother  of  these  children  died 
nineteen  years  later,  April  26,  1850.  On 
March  3,  185 1,  Mr.  Darrow  was  united  in 
marriage  to  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Potter 
Darrow,  by  whom  also  he  had  three  children, 
namely:  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Adrian  Almy,  of 
Altamont,  Ky. ;  George  P.,  a  prominent  mer- 
chant in  Germantown,  Pa.;  and  Courtland  R., 
a  civil  engineer  in  Waterbury,  Conn.  Mary 
E.  and  George  P.  are  graduates  of  Alfred  Uni- 
versity, Courtland  R.,  of  Norwich  Academy 
and  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology, Boston.  Their  mother  died  Novem- 
ber 15,  1872.  December  25,  1877,  Mr.  Dar- 
row married  for  his  third  wife  Miss  Ellen  R. 
Walden,  who  survives  him.  She  was  born  in 
Waterford,  Conn.,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Hiram  and  Rebecca  (Bird)  Walden.  In  her 
girlhood  she  attended  the  common  school,  also 
studied-  at  home  under  her  father's  direction, 
and  later  for  a  time  she  was  a  student  at 
Greenwich  Academy.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
rs  she  taught  her  first  school,  and  during 
the  next  twenty-five  years  until  marriage  was 
successfully  engaged  in  teaching.  Mrs.  Dar- 
row is  a  widely  known  and  highly  respected 
resident  of  Waterford. 

Her  father,  a  Methodist  minister,  one  of 
the  old-time   circuit   riders   of  the   Massachu- 


setts itinerancy,  was  born  in  Montville, 
Conn.,  and  spent  his  last  days  there.  His 
marriage  to  Rebecca  Bird  took  place  in 
Stoughton,  Mass.,  in  January,  1827.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Abner  Bird,  and  grand- 
daughter of  a  Revolutionary  patriot  who  died 
while  fighting  for  American  independence. 
The  Rev.  Hiram  and  Mrs.  Walden  had  eleven 
children,  of  whom  three  died  in  infancy,  five 
sons  and  three  daughters  attaining  maturity. 
Six  are  living,  namely:  Elvira,  wife  of  Travis 
Douglass,  of  Waterford;  Mary  P.,  wife  of 
George  L.  Rogers,  a  Montville  farmer;  Ellen 
R.,  widow  of  the  Rev.  Edmund  Darrow; 
William  B. ,  a  merchant  in  Uncasville,  Conn.  ; 
Charles  H.,  superintendent  at  the  New  Lon- 
don almshouse;  and  John  Wesley,  a  resident 
of  New  London.  Their  brother,  Edwin  H. 
Darrow,  a  physician,  died  in  Washington, 
Kan.,  aged  forty-nine;  and  Warren  N.,  a  Bap- 
tist minister,  died  in  New  Jersey  in  1893, 
aged  forty-nine. 


/TVXPTAIN  JOSEPH  J.  FULLER  is 
I  Vy       a     well-known      mariner,     who    after 

V»^__^  years  of  adventure  on  the  sea,  hunt- 
ing the  whale  and  the  seal,  is  living  at  ease 
in  New  London,  Conn.  He  was  born  in 
Danvers,  Mass.,  October  13,  1840,  son  of  Jo- 
seph J.  and  Mary  Ann  (Glass)  PTiller.  The 
Fuller  family  is  an  ancient  one  in  England, 
and  one  branch  of  it  is  said  to  have  a  coat  of 
arms  Jhat  denotes  service  in  the  holy  wars, 
being  a  dove,  three  bars,  and  a  crescent. 
Two  brothers,  Samuel  and  Edward  Fuller,  the 
former  a  physician,  came  to  this  country  in 
the  "Mayflower"  in  1620.  Others  of  this 
name  came  later,  among  them  Thomas,  who 
arrived  in  1638.  He  married  first  in  1643 
Elizabeth  Tidd,  of  Woburn,  Mass.,  by  whom 
he    had    nine   children.      A    number    of    years 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'75 


i   marriage,  about    1665   it   is  thought,   he 

removed  to  Salem,  buying  land,  and  establish- 
ing his  home  in  what  is  now  Middle  ton, 
Mass. 

Timothy  Fuller,  Captain  Fuller's  grand- 
father, was  bom  in  Hudson,  N.H.,  and  reared 
in  Darners,  Mass.  He  followed  the  sea  in 
carl)-  manhood,  and  after  retiring  was  engaged 
in  farming  in  Danvers.  He  was  fairly  well- 
to-do.  He  died  when  about  sixty-live  years 
oi  age,  and  is  buried  in  Middleton,  Mass. 
Timothy  Fuller  was  twiee  married.  His  first 
wife,  who  was  the  mother  of  Captain  Fuller's 
father,  was  Lucy  Field.  She  bore  him  four 
sons  and  four  daughters,  and  one  daughter  is 
now  living  in  California.  I  lis  second  wife 
was  Lucy  Putnam,  said  to  have  been  a  niece 
rand-niece  of  Israel  Putnam,  whose  old 
home  is  still  standing  in  Danvers. 

Joseph  J.  Fuller,  Sr.,  father  of  Captain 
Fuller,  was  born  in  Hudson,  N.H.,  about 
1812.  He  followed  the  sea  for  eighteen 
years,  and  when  he  retired  was  first  mate. 
When  between  thirty  and  forty  years  of  .age 
he  settled  on  the  farm  in  Danvers  which  has 
1  in  the  family  considerably  over  two 
hundred  years,  and  is  now  owned  by  his  son, 
Captain  Fuller.  There  he  died  in  [878,  ■ 
sixty-five  years:  and  he  is  buried  in  the  old 
town  where  so  many  of  his  kindred  rest. 
When  he  was  following  the  sea  in  his  early 
manhood,  he  was  taken  sick  at  one  time,  and 
put  ashore  on  the  island  of  Tristan  d'Acunha, 
in  the  South  Atlantic,  then  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Governor  Glass,  a  Scotchman.  The 
young  American  sailor  became  acquainted 
with  the  Governor's  daughter,  and  won  her 
his  bride,  the  marriage  taking  place  on 
the  island  in  [832.  Ten  children  were  born 
o!  this  union.  Six  sons  and  three  daughters 
attained  maturity,  and  all  but  three — Maria, 
John,      and     Benjamin  —  are     living    to-day. 


Benjamin  Fuller  volunteered  at  the  time  of 
the  Civil  War,  though  hardly  more  than  a 
boy.  He  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at 
Bermuda  Hundred,  and,  alter  a  term  oi  suf- 
fering and  neglect  in  Libby  Prison,  died  and 
was  buried  in  an  unmarked  grave.  His  death 
occurred  in  1863,  when  he  was  twenty  years 
old.  Mrs.  Fuller,  the  mother,  a  most  estima- 
ble woman,  died  an  01  rian  in  October, 
1897. 

The  boyhood  of  Captain  Joseph  J.  Fuller 
was  passed  on  the  Danvers  farm.  His  educa- 
tion was  limited  to  a  few  months'  schooling 
in  the  year,  and  he  began  to  work  out  at  the 
early  age  of  twelve.  In  July.  1N50.  in  his 
nineteenth  year,  he  shipped  before  the  mast 
from  New  London  on  the  schooner  "Frank- 
lin," owned  by  Williams,  Havens  &  Co.,  in 
charge  of  Captain  Church,  and  after  three 
years  of  sailing  found  himself  forty-five  dol- 
lars in  arrears.  The  war  was  at  this  time 
fairly  inaugurated,  and  his  next  berth  was  on 
the  gunboat  "Genesee"  from  Boston.  He 
shipped  as  a  seaman  for  thirteen  dollars  a 
month,  and  was  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment thirty  months.  From  Boston  he  went 
to  the  James  River,  and  he  w.is  subsequently 
engaged  in  the  blockade  of  Wilmington, 
N.C.,  and  later  on  was  in  Farragut's  squadron 
on  the  Mississippi  until  Port  Hudson  and 
Vicksburg  fell.  His  vessel  was  afterward  en- 
gaged in  the  Mobile  blockade.  At  the  end  of 
his  term  of  service  he  engaged  as  boat  steerer 
for  the  old  firm,  his  first  employers,  on  the 
schooner  "Roswell  King."  His  fortunes 
Wi  re  linked  with  this  vessel,  of  which  he  be- 
came master  in   1870  for  some  time. 

After    taking   charge   as    captain,    he    made 
four   voyages  to   the    South    Indian    Ocean    in 
pursuit  of  "sea  elephants."  and  was  quite  suc- 
cessful as  a  whaler.      In   1880  he   became  1 
tain  and  part    owner   of   the    large,  two-masted 


276 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


schooner  "Pilot's  Bride,"  of  which  the  agents 
and  principal  owners  were  C.  A.  Williams  & 
Co.,  of  New  London.  With  this  vessel  he 
sailed  the  same  waters,  and  near  the  Ker- 
guelen  Isles  he  took  twelve  hundred  barrels  of 
whale  oil  and  seventeen  hundred  fur  seals. 
The  seal  skins  he  shipped  from  Cape  Town, 
Africa,  to  London,  England;  and  the  oil  he 
disposed  of  in  New  London,  Conn.  On  his 
next  visit  to  these  islands  he  was  cast  away 
(October  2,  1882).  He  had  a  crew  of  twenty- 
two  men,  and  they  saved  only  their  lives  and 
the  clothing  which  they  were  wearing  at  the 
time.  They  spent  eleven  months  in  that  out- 
of-the-way  corner  of  the  globe  before  they 
were  found  and  taken  away  by  the  rescue  party 
sent  by  the  owners  of  the  wrecked  vessel. 
This  was  the  only  serious  mishap  in  the  Cap- 
tain's career  as  a  sailor.  After  that  he  made 
three  successful  voyages  from  New  Bedford  to 
the  South  Seas.  In  1884  he  purchased  some 
land,  and  erected  the  pretty  dwelling  at  12 
Freemont  Street,  New  London,  where  he  has 
since  resided. 

In  1870,  when  he  was  first  invested  with 
the  authority  of  captain,  he  chose  a  mate  for 
life's  voyage,  marrying  Miss  Jane  M.  Adams, 
daughter  of  James  Adams,  of  Isleton,  London, 
England.  She  was  born  in  England  in  1S55, 
but  was  residing  in  New  London  when  she 
met  the  Captain.  Four  children  have  been 
given  to  Captain  Fuller  and  his  wife,  namely: 
Jennie,  a  talented  musician,  living  with  her 
parents;  Joseph  A.,  a  young  man  who  has 
not  yet  chosen  his  life  work;  Gertrude  M., 
sixteen  years  of  age;  and  Bertram  R.,  twelve 
years  old,  both  attending  school.  In  political 
matters  the  Captain  is  independent.  He  is  a 
Master  Mason  of  twenty-six  years'  standing, 
and  he  belongs  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. Mrs.  Fuller  and  the  children  belong 
to  the  Episcopal  church. 


ON.     ROBERT     COIT,    president    of 

the  New  London  &  Northern  Rail- 
road, is  a  member  of  an  old  Con- 
necticut family  which  has  figured  extensively 
in  the  records  of  Yale  College,  and  has  been 
prominent  in  business  and  in  public  affairs. 
He  was  born  in  New  London,  April  26,  1830, 
son  of  Robert,  Sr.,  and  Charlotte  (Coit)  Coit. 
On  the  paternal  side  his  ancestry  includes,  it 
is  said,  William  Brewster,  of  the  "Mayflower" 
company,  who  was  Elder  of  the  church  at 
Plymouth,  and  has  sometimes  been  called 
"chief  of  the  Pilgrims."  Mr.  Coit  is  lineally 
descended  from  John  Coit,  one  of  the  early 
English  inhabitants  of  Gloucester,  Mass.,  who 
settled  in  New  London  in  1650,  and  was  the 
first  ship-builder  in  this  place.  Mr.  Coit's 
grandfather,  Joshua  Coit,  son  of  Joseph  Coit, 
a  substantial  citizen,  was  born  in  New  Lon- 
don in  1762.  He  was  graduated  at  Harvard, 
became  a  brilliant  lawyer  of  New  London, 
and  was  serving  his  third  term  in  Congress, 
when  his  life  was  cut  short  by  yellow  fever. 
He  was  then  but  thirty-six  years  of  age.  His 
wife,  Ann  Borrodell  Hallan,  of  this  city, 
lived  to  be  an  octogenarian,  and  reared  seven 
or  eight  children. 

Robert  Coit,  Sr.,  son  of  Joshua  and  Ann 
Coit,  was  born  in  New  London  in  1785.  He 
was  a  successful  merchant  and  financier,  presi- 
dent of  the  New  London  Savings  Bank, 
and  president  also  of  the  Union  Bank,  the 
oldest  institution  of  the  kind  in  Connecticut 
and  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  LTnited  States. 
He  died  in  October,  1S74,  aged  eighty-eight 
years  and  eleven  months,  having  been  active 
to  the  last.  He  was  married  in  1820  to  Char- 
lotte Coit,  a  distant  relative,  who  was  a  de- 
scendant of  Lyon  Gardner,  of  Gardner's 
Island,  otherwise  known  as  the  Isle  of 
Wight.  This  Lyon  Gardner  bore  the  title  of 
Lord  of  the    Isle   of  Wight.      Mrs.    Charlotte 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


277 


Coit  died  in  1X74,  aged  seventy-six.  She 
was  the  mother  of  seven  children,  who  all 
grew  to  maturity,  and  of  whom  four  are  liv- 
ing, namely:  Fanny,  widow  of  Dr.  A.  L. 
Chapin,  late  president  of  Beloit  College, 
Wisconsin;  Robert,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  the  Rev.  Joshua  Coit,  of  Winchester, 
Miss.,  who  was  graduated  at  Yale  in  the 
class  of  1  s 5 3  ;  and  Ellen,  widow  of  the  late 
Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  P.  Field,  of  Amherst,  where 
she  resides. 

Robert  Coit,  the  younger,  was  graduated  at 
Vale  in  the  class  of  1850,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  New  London  County  in  1853.  He 
distinguished  himself  in  his  profession,  and 
was  Probate  Judge  for  a  number  of  years  and 
Registrar  of  Bankruptcy  during  the  continu- 
ance of  that  office.  Endowed  with  keen  in- 
telligence, marked  executive  ability,  and  con- 
itive  judgment  in  financial  affairs,  he  has 
long  held  the  confidence  of  the  public,  faith- 
fully discharging  the  duties  of  a  number  of 
important  offices.  In  1867  he  was  elected 
treasurer  of  the  New  London  &  Northern 
Railroad,  and  since  1881  he  has  filled  the 
president's  chair.  He  is  also  president  of  the 
In  ion  Bank,  having  been  elected  to  that 
office  in  1894.  An  esteemed  member  of  the 
Republican  party,  he  served  with  dignity  and 
ability  as  Mayor  of  New  London  from  1879  to 
|8.X_\  IK-  was  a  member  of  the  Connecticut 
House  ot  Representatives  in  1879,  and  was  in 
the  State  Senate  the  following  four  years,  in 
•  and  1883  acting  as  president  pro  tern,  of 
that  body. 

Mr.  Coit  was  married  August  1,  1855,  to 
Lucretia,  daughter  of  William  F.  and  Sarah 
(Prentiss)  Brainard,  all  of  this  city.  Mr. 
Brainard,  who  was  a  Yale  graduate,  was  one 
of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Connecticut.  He 
died  in  middle  life.  His  wife  lived  to  be 
over  fourscore.      Two  of  their  children  besides 


Mrs.  Coit  are  living  —  Sarah  Prentiss  and 
Mary  Gardner  Brainard —  both  unmarried,  re- 
siding in  New  London.  Two  children  have 
blessedthe  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coit:  Mary 
G.,  who  lived  but  three  years;  and  William 
Brainard  Coit.  The  son  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1884  from  Yale,  and  is  now  City 
Attorney  of  New  London.  He  is  married. 
Mr.  Robert  Coit  is  a  member  of  the  Second 
Congregational  Church.  He  resides  in  a 
handsome  three-story  brick  dwelling,  38  Fed- 
eral Street,  which  he  erected  in  1855,  the 
year  ot  his  marriage. 


ICTOR  O.  FREEMAN,  superintend- 
ent of  the  Totokett  Mills,  New  Lon- 
don County,  Connecticut,  was  born 
in  Buffalo,  N.Y.,  on  September  12,  1841. 
His  parents,  Charles  A.  and  Anna  A.  (Holt) 
Freeman,  reared  four  children;  but  he  is  the 
only  one  now  living.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Norfolk,  Va. 

Mr.  Freeman  is  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War, 
having  served  as  a  Union  soldier  during  two 
periods  of  enlistments.  In  April,  1861,  di- 
rectly after  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  he  en- 
listed from  Lawrence.  Mass.,  as  a  private  in 
Company  I,  under  Captain  John  Pickering, 
Sixth  Regiment,  Massachusetts  Volunteer 
Militia,  which  was  the  first  to  march  for  the 
defence  of  Washington  in  response  to  the 
President's  call  for  troops  on  the  15th  of 
April.  On  the  morning  of  the  [8th  the  regi- 
ment, commanded  by  Colonel  Edward  F. 
Jones,  passed  through  New  York  City,  and  on 
tin-  following  day  reached  Baltimore,  where 
the  detachment  that  brought  up  the  rear,  led 
by  Captain  Follansbee,  were  obliged  to  fight 
their  way  through  a  violent  mob.  Three  sol- 
diers were  killed,  including  one  member  of 
Company  I,  Sumner  11.  Needham.of  Lawrence. 


278 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Mr.  Freeman  served  three  months  in  the 
Sixth,  and  subsequently  re-enlisted  as  a  pri- 
vate in  the  First  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  Com- 
pany B.  He  was  later  made  Sergeant,  and 
was  with  the  regiment  in  all  its  engagements, 
excepting  when  he  was  in  the  hospital.  He 
was  first  wounded  at  Aldie,  where  his  com- 
pany went  into  active  service  with  fifty-two 
men  and  came  out  with  only  thirteen. 
Among  the  slain  was  his  only  brother,  John 
B.  Freeman,  a  brave  and  dashing  young  man 
twenty-one  years  old,  who  was  killed  in  a  rash 
attempt  to  save  himself  from  being  taken  by 
the  Confederates,  choosing  death  rather  than 
the  lingering  honors  of  a  Southern  prison. 
He  was  buried  in  Aldie  under  the  regimental 
monument.  At  Brandy  Station  Mr.  Victor 
Freeman  received  a  sabre  wound  in  the  thigh; 
and  at  Black  Water,  Va.,  he  received  a  severe 
gunshot  wound  in  his  right  thigh.  He  was 
discharged  at  Readville,  Mass.,  in  July,  1865, 
and  shortly  after  went  to  work  in  the  Naum- 
keag  Mill  at  Salem,  Mass.,  beginning  at  the 
lowest  round  of  the  ladder  as  a  card  stripper. 
He  worked  subsequently  at  New  Market, 
N.H.  ;  Great  Falls,  N.H.  ;  at  Indian  Orchard, 
Me.,  where  he  started  Mill  No.  7;  and  at 
Arkwright,  R.I. ,  where  he  had  charge  of  the 
carding-room.  He  came  from  Arkwright  to 
Occum  about  twenty -seven  years  ago  as  super- 
intendent of  the  carding-room,  and  within  a 
short  time  of  his  arrival  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  mill,  succeeding  Lyman  Frisbie,  who 
was  then  travelling  for  his  health,  and  who 
subsequently  died  in  California.  In  politics 
Mr.  Freeman  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Sedgwick  Tost,  No.   1,  G.   A.  R. 

In  October,   1866,  Mr.   Freeman  was  united 

in   marriage   with    Mary   Hines,  of   Readville, 

Mass.      Of   the   ten    children    that    have    been 

to  them,  three  died  in  infancy,  and  seven 

living,  namely:   Lyman   W. ;  Charles   E.  ; 


Albert  R.;  John  B.  and  his  twin  sister, 
Hilda  J.  ;  Mary  E.,  eight  years  of  age;  and 
Annie  P.,  six  years  of  age.  These  were  all 
born  in  Occum,  Conn.  Lyman  \V. ,  the  eld- 
est, is  paymaster  and  in  charge  of  the  cloth 
department  of  the  mill.  The  pay-roll  em- 
braces one  hundred  and  fifty-six  employees, 
men,  women,  and  children.  Charles  E.  Free- 
man has  recently  had  charge  of  the  mechanical 
department  of  the  mill;  and  on  the  retirement 
of  his  father,  on  July  1,  1896,  he  assumed  the 
superintendency. 


/  ILLIAM  H.  MANSFIELD,  farmer 
and  merchant  of  Preston,  one  of  the 
central  towns  of  New  London 
County,  was  born  in  Saxon  land,  Germany, 
January  29,  1847,  son  of  Andrew  and  Man- 
Mansfield.  His  father  died  in  Germany  in 
1851,  when  about  forty-three  years  of  age, 
leaving  a  widow  and  five  children.  Mary,  the 
eldest-born,  sailed  from  Bremen  in  1S53,  ar- 
riving in  New  York  after  a  voyage  of  five 
weeks.  Two  years  later  her  sister  Louisa  fol- 
lowed her  to  America;  and  both  settled  in 
Norwich,  Conn.  They  were  able  to  send 
money  home  to  their  mother,  who  was  in 
humble  circumstances;  and  she  joined  them  in 
1857,  accompanied  by  her  two  younger  chil- 
dren: Henry,  who  was  fifteen;  and  William 
H.,  then  but  ten  years  of  age.  Christian, 
an  older  son,  joined  them  in  Norwich  in  1861. 
Mrs.  Mansfield  died  in  1891,  in  the  seventy- 
ninth  year  of  her  age.  But  three  of  the  chil- 
dren are  now  living,  namely:  Louisa,  who 
married  Henry  Hasler,  of  Ledyard;  Henry,  a 
resident  of  Preston;  and  William  H.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

William  H.  Mansfield  began  life  in  Nor- 
wich by  working  out  on  the  neighboring 
farms,  thus  earning  his  clothes  and  schooling 


V 


WILLIAM    H.    MANSFIELD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


and  small  sums  of  money  besides.  Winn 
twenty  years  of  age  he  made  a  five  months' 
voyage  to  Hudson's  Bay  on  a  whaling 
schooner,  under  Captain  Budding,  of  New 
London.  II  is  second  voyage  was  on  the 
schooner  "Georgiana"  from  New  London  to 
North  Carolina,  and  thence  to  the  West  India 
Islands  and  Australia.  He  followed  the  sea 
I'M  five  years  as  sailor  and  mate,  hut  at  the 
end  of  that  time  returned  to  Preston  to  enter 
the  Lucas  woollen-mill. 

( >n  December  to,  1871,  Mr.  Mansfield  mar- 
ried Susan  Hush,  of  Poquetannock,  a  daughter 
of  Peter  hush.  With  his  wife  he  worked  on 
the  Nash  farm  for  about  seventeen  months, 
afterward  returning  to  the  mill,  where  they 
were  employed  for  two  years.  He  subse- 
quently spent  several  years  in  different  lines 
of  work,  until  in  1879  he  opened  a  store  in 
Poquetannock,  and  two  years  later  was  able  to 
purchase  his  fine  property  of  fourteen  acres, 
for  which  he  paid  thirty-eight  hundred  dol- 
lars. Here  he  opened  a  store,  and  has  since 
done  a  small  but  profitable  business. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mansfield  lost  one  son  when 
seventeen  months  old.  They  have  one  son 
living  and  one  daughter:  George,  a  young- 
man  of  about  twenty-one  years,  who  is  at 
ent  clerk  in  his  father's  store;  and  Phebe, 
a  young  lady  residing  at  home.  Mr.  Mans- 
field is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  of  the  German  So- 
ciety, Sons  of  Hermann,  of  which  he  is  an 
r.  In  political  ranks  he  stands  as  an  in- 
cident voter. 


lAFTAIX     ELIAS     F.      WILCOX,     a 
prominent     citizen     of      Stonington, 

Conn.,  was  born  within  a  few  rods 
oi  ins  present  home,  October  6,  1 850,  son  of 
111 i  is  and   Hannah    (Dennison)  Wilcox.      The 


- 


paternal  great-grandfather  was  Hezekiah  Wil- 
cox, who  lived  at  Watch  Hill,  where  his  son 
Jesse  was  born  in  175.;.  This  son,  by  tra< 
ship  carpenter  and  builder,  made  and  sailed 
many  different  packets,  carrying  freight  and 
passengers  to  New  York.  Soon  after  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  he  moved  to 
Stonington.  He  and  his  eldest  son,  Jesse, 
while  out  in  a  small  sail  boat  in  1827,  were 
caught  in  a  squall,  and  drowned.  Their 
bodies  were  recovered  and  buried  in  Stoning;- 
ton.  Jesse  Wilcox  was  twice  married.  By 
his  first  wife,  to  whom  he  was  united  just 
before  leaving  Watch  Hill,  and  whose  maiden 
name  was  Nancy  Pendleton,  he  had  six  chil- 
dren. He  married  for  his  second  wile  Me- 
hitable  Wilcox,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Wilcox, 
of  Stonington.  Mrs.  Wilcox  was  a  remark- 
able woman,  of  superb  constitution  and  well 
endowed  both  physically  and  mentally.  She 
came  of  a  long-lived  family,  some  of  whom 
reached  the  age  of  one  hundred  years,  and  u- 
tained  her  powers  to  a  remarkable  degree  until 
her  death,  which  occurred  in  [868,  at  the 
of  ninety-nine  years,  six  months,  and  twenty- 
three  days.  She  bore  her  husband  seven 
children  —  Iantba,  Ebenezer,  Elisha,  Mason 
B.,  Elnathan  M.,  Silas,  and  Llias. 

Elias  Wilcox  was  born  April  v.  1S15.  He 
engaged  in  the  fish  business,  establishing  a 
factory  for  the  manufacture  ol  fish,  oil,  and 
fertilizer  on  the  shore  of  Fisher's  Island 
Sound  about  1.X66,  which  factory  was  burned 
in  188.:.  In  1843  he  married  Hannah,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Lucy  (Smith)  Denni- 
son, of  Groton,  and  one  of  ten  children,  all 
(■!  whom  are  living  at  the  present  time  except 
the  eldest,  who  died  in  1894,  at  the  age 
of  eighty.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Llias  Wilcox  have 
had  ten  children,  eight  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity. The  parents  celebrated  their  golden 
ling  in  1893. 


28; 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Elias  F.  Wilcox,  the  direct  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  his  education  in  the  district 
school.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began 
fishing  in  company  with  his  father  and  other 
members  of  the  family,  who  were  engaged  in 
menhaden  fishing.  This  business,  of  which 
he  is  now  a  half-owner,  is  run  under  the 
company  name  of  "The  Wilcox  Fertilizer 
Works."  The  business  of  this  company  has 
largely  increased,  and  the  high  reputation  of 
Wilcox  fertilizers  is  widely  known  throughout 
New  England. 

January  15,  1S73,  Mr.  Wilcox  married 
Sarah  J.  Davis,  daughter  of  Elias  and  Julia  A. 
(Wilcox)  Davis,  of  Stonington.  They  have 
had  two  children,  both  of  whom  have  gone 
before  to  the  heavenly  mansions:  Annie  L., 
a  bright  and  interesting  little  girl,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  ten  years;  and  Willie  F.,  who 
died  when  he  was  sixteen,  having  been  an  in- 
valid for  several  years.  Captain  Wilcox  is  a 
Republican  in  politics.  He  is  a  Master  Mason 
and  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  He  built 
bis  present  home,  on  the  bank  of  the  Sound, 
in  1874.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Baptist  church,  in  which  he  is  a  Deacon;  and 
both  are  highly  respected  in  Stonington  and 
the  vicinity. 


[LLIAM  STORRS  LEE,  a  prom- 
inent farmer  of  Sprague,  son  of 
William  and  Sarah  (Storrs)  Lee, 
was  bom  December  15,  1S27,  at  the  old 
homestead  near  Hanover,  where  he  now  lives, 
and  where  bis  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Lee,  D.  D.,  who  was  born  in  Lyme,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county,  in  1745,  ami  was 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Han- 
over more  than  sixty  years,  settled  upward  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago,  building 
the  farm-house  here  in  1770. 


A  detailed  account  of  the  Lee  family, 
founded  by  Lieutenant  Thomas  Lee,  who  set- 
tled at  Saybrook,  Conn.,  in  1641,  and  later 
lived  at  Lyme,  is  given  in  volume  three 
of  Family  Histories  and  Genealogies,  by 
E.  E.  and  E.  M.  Salisbury.  Lieutenant 
Thomas  was  the  only  son  of  Thomas,  first, 
who  died  on  the  passage  to  America,  with  his 
wife  and  three  children.  "The  Lee  family," 
we  are  told,  "of  which  he  was  the  progenitor, 
has  always  held  a  respectable  position,  and 
many  times  has  been  prominent  under  its  own 
name,  and  in  its  female  lines  has  carried  its 
traits  into  many  families  of  distinction." 

From  Lieutenant  Thomas  2  the  line  we  are 
now  considering  descended  through  his  son 
John3  by  his  first  wife,  Sarah  Kirtland; 
John,4  son  of  John3;  and  Andrew,5  above 
named,  son  of  John'  and  Abigail  (Tully) 
Lee.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew  Lee  was  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  College  in  1766,  ami  later  in  life 
was  a  fellow  of  the  corporation.  He  was  the 
author  of  an  octavo  volume  of  sermons  and 
of  other  writings.  As  a  theologian  he  was 
known  as  "moderately  Calvinistic."  He  is 
spoken  of  as  a  good  classical  scholar  and  a 
very  industrious  and  useful  man.  He  was 
chaplain  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  Colonel 
John  Durkee's,  Connecticut  line,  January  1  to 
October  15,  1777.  Dr.  Lee  retired  from  his 
pastorate  a  few  years  before  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1S32.  Of  his  large  family  of 
children  by  his  wife,  Eunice  Hall,  William, 
father  of  Mr.  William  S.  Lee,  was  the  youngest. 

William  Lee  was  born  on  the  Lee  home- 
stead in  1785,  and  spent  his  whole  life  here, 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was 
for  forty-one  years  a  Deacon  of  the  church  of 
which  his  father  had  so  long  been  the  pastor. 
He  was  an  earnest  Christian  man  and  active 
in  temperance  and  anti-slavery  reforms.  He 
was  three   times   married,  his   first  wife   being 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


283 


Nancy  Bingham,  whom  he  married  in  1S12. 
She  bore  him  six  children;  namely,  Eliza, 
Eunice    Hall,    Nancy,    Andrew.    Talitha,    and 

Lucy.  Eliza,  the  eldest,  now  Mrs.  Crary,  a 
widow,  resides  in  Norwich;  Eunice  Hall  is 
the  widow  ol  Levi  P.  Rowland,  and  lives  in 
Springfield,  Mass.;  Nancy,  wife  of  Nathan 
Bishop,  died  at  about  the  age  of  seventy  years, 
leaving  a  family;  Andrew,  who  was  born  in 
[820,  died  in  Northfield,  Minn.,  in  May. 
[897;  Talitha,  now  Mrs.  Cushman,  a  widow, 
lives  in  California;  and  Lucy  has  been  twice 
married,  and  is  now  Mrs.  Knowlton,  of 
Minnesota.  Mrs.  Nancy  Bingham  Lee  died 
January  4,  1S25,  at  thirty-seven  years  of  age: 
and  William  Lee  subsequently  married  Sarah 
Storrs,  who  became  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  and  of  his  brother,  Samuel 
Henry  Lee,  president  of  the  French  American 
College  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  a  graduate  ol 
Vale  in  the  class  of  1 858,  and  an  ordained 
clergyman  of  the  Congregational  church.  By 
his  third  wife,  Thankful  Aver,  whom  Deacon 
Lee  married  May  27,  1840,  he  had  no  chil- 
dren. He  died  March  24,  1871  ;  and  she  sur- 
vived him  nine  years. 

William  Storrs  Lee  obtained  a  fair  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  ol 
seventeen  began  to  learn  the  tinsmith's  trade 
at  Plainfield,  Conn.  He  worked  there  for 
seven  years,  and  subsequently  in  Springfield, 
Mass.,  tor  seven  years.  After  his  marriage 
he  set!  led  on  the  old  Lee  estate  in  Spraguc, 
which  comprises  some  one  hundred  and  sixty 
S  of  valuable  land.  Here  he  carries  on 
eral  fanning  and  gardening.  He  has  a 
tine  peach  orchard  of  several  hundred  trees. 
In  politics  Mr.  Lee  is  .1  Republican,  but  his 
sympathy  is  with  the  Prohibitionists.  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Congrega- 
tional chinch. 

Mr.   Lee  married  on   April  4,   i860,  Frances 


Anna  Calkins,  daughter  ol  Elisha  and  Abby 
(Chapman)  Calkins,  of  blast  Lyme.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lee  have  one  son,  William  Storrs  Lee, 
Jr.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  Storrs  Agricultural 
College,  and  is  now  living  at  the  old  home- 
stead. He  married  on  March  28,  [894, 
Hettie  Chapman,  of  Sprague,  daughter  of 
Fuller  Chapman.  Abbie  S.  Lee,  late  a  music 
teacher  of  New  York  City,  the  only  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lee,  died  011  May  I,  1896. 
She  was  a  graduate  of  Norwich  Free  Academy 
and  of  the  New  Britain  Normal  School.  For 
nine  years  previous  to  her  death  she  had  b<  en 
a  highly  successful  and  deeply  loved  teacher 
in  New  York  at  the  Workingman's  School, 
under  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture,  and 
also  in  the  People's  Singing  Classes  and  the 
People's  Choral  Union  from  their  inception. 
Her  success  in  all  respects  as  a  teacher  at- 
tracted marked  attention  among  those  capable 
of  judging  her  work.  The  director  of  the 
singing  classes  said  of  her,  "She  was  faithful 
to  every  task  at  any  cost."  and  "she  had  but 
one  idea,  to  do  everything  she  attempted  just 
as  well  as  she  could  do  it." 


01'ORACE  O.  BURCH,  of  the  firm 
■^|  H.  O.  Burch  &  Co.,  who  are  general 
.s3  v, „  contractors  lor  sidewalks  and  build- 
ing movers  in  New  London,  was  bom  here, 
September  20,  1851,  son  of  Isaac  ().  and 
Mary  Ann  (Moore)  Burch.  The  paternal 
grandfather.  Isaac,  who  was  also  a  native  of 
this  county,  married  Nancy  Pettigrew.  They 
reared  seven  children,  of  whom  four  are  liv- 
ing, namely:  Henry,  a  resident  of  this  city: 
Nancy  Tinker,  ol  East  Lyme;  and  Hannah 
Noyes  and  Harriet  Watrous,  who  reside  in 
Waterford.  Grandfather  Burch  died  on  his 
farm  in  i860,  and  his  wife  in  1S72,  at  thi 
of  seventy-five  years. 


284 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Isaac  O.  Burch,  born  in  Norwich  in  1822, 
was  engaged  as  building  mover  in  New  Lon- 
don for  over  forty  years,  having  begun  with  an 
ox  team  in  1846.  In  1843  he  married  Mary 
Ann  Moore.  Of  their  six  children  they 
reared :  Francis  Thomas,  a  farmer  of  East 
Lyme;  Mary,  the  wife  of  John  A.  Morgan; 
Horace  O.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Annie, 
who  married  Albert  E.  Harris,  of  this  city; 
and  Walter  G.  Burch,  who  also  resides  in 
New  London.  The  mother  died  here  in  1879, 
at  the  age  of  sixty  years,  and  the  father  in 
1889,  aged  sixty-four  years.  The  mother's 
ancestors  settled  in  East  Lyme  at  an  early 
day.  Her  grandfather,  Edward  Moore,  reared 
ten  children,  of  whom  Jairus,  an  aged  resi- 
dent of  Deep  River,  is  still  living  and  active. 
Her  parents,  Edward  and  Mary  (Gee)  Moore, 
had  six  children,  of  whom  George  W.,  Lydia 
M.,  and  Adeline  are  now  living  in  New 
London. 

Horace  O.  Burch  acquired  a  common-school 
education.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  be- 
came a  clerk  in  the  grocery  store  of  the  late 
William  H.  H.  Comstock,  remaining  five 
years.  Then,  after  spending  two  years  in  the 
business  for  himself,  he  entered  the  employ- 
ment of  his  father  in  1874.  In  1884  his 
father  received  him  into  partnership.  At  his 
father's  death  he  succeeded  to  the  business 
and  considerable  property.  The  land  on 
which  the  barns,  sheds,  and  factory  are  lo- 
cated comprises  f6ur  acres  on  Truman  and 
Grand  Streets.  Messrs.  Burch  &  Co.  make 
asphaltum  for  sidewalks  and  artificial  stone 
and  coping.  Mr.  Burch  has  greatly  improved 
the  stone  or  ornamental  brick,  the  manufact- 
ure of  which  he  and  his  father  began.  The 
old  farm,  twenty  acres,  at  Great  Neck,  on 
which  is  a  large  dwelling,  is  also  owned  by 
Mr.   Burch. 

In    politics    Mr.    Burch    is    an    independent 


voter,  and  he  has  served  for  three  years  in 
the  Common  Council.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  the 
United  Order  of  the  Golden  Cross,  and  the 
American  Mechanics'  Association.  On  Oc- 
tober 2,  1872,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Nellie  E.  Melzard,  of  Boston,  Mass.  Mrs. 
Burch's  parents,  Thomas  and  Ellen  (Peterson) 
Melzard,  have  both  passed  away.  She  has 
three  brothers  and  one  sister,  who  are  settled 
in  Boston,  Mass.,  and  Exeter,  N.H.  Her 
children  were:  Emma  E.,  now  the  wife  of 
Hervey  E.  Rogers;  Ernest  W.,  an  electrician 
in  New  York;  Daisy  E.,  who  graduated  from 
the  Williams  Memorial  High  School  in  1896, 
and  died  in  October,  1897;  Edward,  who  is 
engaged  with  the  Warren  Chemical  Manufact- 
uring Company,  New  York;  and  Mary  Moore 
Burch,  a  healthy  young  miss  of  thirteen 
years.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burch  are  highly 
respected  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 


TILES  CRANDALL,  an  esteemed 
resident  of  Ledyard,  living  in  re- 
tirement on  his  farm,  which  is  situ- 
ated about  a  mile  north  of  Old  Mystic,  was 
born  November  25,  181 3,  in  the  town  of  Gro- 
ton,  Conn.,  son  of  Wells  and  Sally  (Wood- 
bridge)  Crandall.  Jonathan  Crandall,  father 
of  Wells,  was  a  Rhode  Island  farmer,  and 
lived  to  be  about  seventy-five  years  of  age. 
Wells  Crandall  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  in 
1769.  While  still  a  young  man,  after  learn- 
ing the  trade  of  a  tanner,  he  came  to  Old 
Mystic,  and  was  there  employed  at  his  trade 
by  Paul  Woodbridge.  He  followed  the  busi- 
ness throughout  his  life,  but  never  on  a  suffi- 
cient scale  to  bring  in  large  returns;  and  at 
his  death  he  left  but  a  small  property.  He 
died  at  the  age  of   sixty,  and   his   widow,  who 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIFAV 


285 


was  a  daughter  of  Paul  Woodbridge,  at  the 
age  "I  seventy-five.  They  lie  side  by  side,  in 
the  old  Woodbridge  burial-place 

Early  in  life  Stiles  Crandall,  the  only  son 
of  the  four  children  born  to  his  parents,  went 
to  live  with  his  uncle,  James  Woodbridge,  a 
well-to-do  farmer.  He  received  a  good  com- 
mon-school education.  When  the  latter  and 
his  wife  died,  Stiles  became  heir  to  the  one- 
hundred  -  and  -  fifty-acre  farm  he  now  owns, 
which  is  half  of  the  fine  three-hundred-acre 
farm  left  by  his  uncle. 

Fifty -four  years  ago,  on  February  15, 
1S44,  Mr.  Crandall  married  Miss  Caroline  L. 
Greene,  (laughter  of  Stephen  and  Sarah 
(Bowles)  Greene,  who  live  on  a  farm  on 
Quaker  Hill,  Waterford.  Mrs.  Crandall, 
now  seventy  years  of  age,  is  the  only  survivor 
of  the  five  children  born  to  her  parents.  Her 
only  sister,  Eliza,  who  was  the  wile  of  Will- 
iam Thompson,  of  Montville,  Conn.,  died  in 
1894,  aged  seventy-five  years.  Her  father 
lived  to  be  eighty-three.  Her  mother  died 
five  years  later,  aged  eighty-eight.  They  are 
buried  in  the  Angel  Burial-ground  in  Water- 
ford.  Three  children  have  been  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Crandall,  namely:  Augusta  Caro- 
line, who  died  when  eight  years  old;  Ashbel 
Woodbridge,  who  lived  thirteen  months;  and 
S.  Ashbel  Crandall,  an  ex-Mayor  of  Norwich 
and  a  successful  attorney-at-law. 

Mr.  Crandall  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  has 
faithfully  served  his  town  in  a  number  of 
offices.  He  has  been  Assessor  lor  about  eigh- 
teen years.  Selectman  for  twe  years,  and  he 
has  served  in  the  lower  chamber  of  the  Con- 
necticut legislature.  Both  he  and  Mrs. 
Crandall  are  esteemed  members  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Fifty-two  years  ol  their  wedded  life 
have  been  most  happily  spent  in  their  present 
home. 


HRISTOPHER    I..    AVERY,    a    resi- 
dent   of    Groton,    Conn.,    the    son    ol 
Latham   and    Betsey    Wood  (Lester) 

Avery,  was  born  in  Groton,  June  8,  1826. 
The  Averys  of  England,  we  are  told,  trace 
their  ancestry  back  to  the  Saxon  kings.  The 
immigrant  progenitor  of  this  branch  of  the 
family  was  Christopher  Avery  hum  Cornwall, 
England,  one  of  the  colonists  who  came  ovei 
with  Governor  Winthrop  in  [630.  He  settled 
first  in  Gloucester,  Mass.,  but  removed  to  Los- 
ton  in  1658,  and  a  few  years  later  to  New 
London,  Conn.  James,  son  of  Christopher, 
born  in  England,  was  ten  years  ol  age  when 
he  came  to  this  country  with  his  father.  In 
1656  he  built  a  house  in  Poquonnock,  Conn., 
which  had  been  in  the  family  eight  genera- 
tions when  it  was  set  011  tire  by  the  sparks 
from  a  passing  locomotive,  and  binned  to  the 
ground.  James  had  a  son  James,  whose  son 
Benjamin,  a  farmer  of  Groton,  was  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Daniel,  son  of  Benjamin,  married  Deborah, 
the  daughter  of  Colonel  L.bene/er  Avery,  a 
distant  relation,  and  had  six  sons  and  two 
daughters.  Daniel  Avery  was  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution,  and  was  killed  at  Fort  Gris- 
wold  in  his  forty-first  year.  His  wile,  Debo- 
rah,  lived  to  be  eighty-four  years  old. 

Latham,  son  of  Daniel  and  Deborah,  and 
the  father  of  Christopher  L.  Avery,  was  bom 
in  Groton  in  1775.  When  quite  a  young  man 
he  went  to  Demerara,  South  America,  where 
he  engaged  in  ship-building  and  merchandis- 
ing. After  living  there  some  twenty  years, 
he  came  back  to  his  native  town,  and  eng 
in  farming.  Lor  a  while  be  lived  on  a  farm  a 
little  north  of  Groton.  Then  he  sold  out.  and 
moved  into  the  village,  where  he  and  his  wile 
spent  the  rest  of  their  lives.  This  farm  is 
now  in  the  possession  ol  one  ol  his  grand- 
daughters.     He  married  Betsey,  the  daughter 


2S6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


of  Christopher  and  Mary  (Fish)  Lester,  of 
Groton,  the  ceremony  taking  place  on  the  7th 
of  July,  1816,  when  he  was  forty  and  she  eihg- 
teen.  Their  children  were:  Latham,  who 
died  unmarried  at  the  age  of  forty;  Betsey 
Ann,  who  became  the  wife  of  Edmund  Fish, 
and  died  at  sixty-nine,  leaving  three  children; 
Emily,  who  married  Silas  H.  Fish,  and  died 
at  seventy-two,  leaving  two  children;  Mary 
Jane,  who  married  A.  M.  Ramsdell,  and  died 
at  sixty-three;  Christopher,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Julia,  the  widow  of  Richard  J. 
Sherman,  of  Buffalo,  N.Y.  ;  and  Deborah, 
who  married  the  late  I.  P.  Bouse,  and  died 
in    1895,    aged   sixty-five  years. 

Christopher  L.  Avery  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  and  at  the  academy  in  New 
London.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  went  to 
New  York,  where  he  worked  as  a  book-keeper 
in  a  counting-house  on  South  Street  about 
four  years.  He  then  went  to  China,  where 
he  stayed  a  year.  Returning  to  America,  he 
went  to  Buffalo,  N.Y. ,  and  engaged  in  the 
grain  business  until  1861,  when  he  brought 
his  family  to  Groton,  Conn.,  and  engaged  in 
merchandising  in  New  York  City.  He  re- 
mained in  this  business  until  1873;  and  in 
1876  he  settled  on  his  farm  in  Groton,  where 
he  has  since  lived. 

Mr.  Avery  is  progressive  in  his  ideas  and 
methods,  and  his  well-kept  homestead  prop- 
erty shows  the  signs  of  good  management. 
The  spacious  house,  which  is  a  model  of  com- 
fort and  convenience,  is  situated  on  rising 
ground,  commanding  a  delightful  and  ex- 
tended view  of  hills  and  vales,  with  a  part  of 
the  Sound  and  the  Pequonriock  River.  In 
politics  Mr.  Avery  is  a  Democrat,  although 
independent  enough  to  vote  the  Republican 
ticket  when  he  considers  that  candidate  to 
be  the   better  man. 

He    was     married    in    Brooklyn,     N.Y.,     in 


1850,  to  Sarah  W.  Smith,  who  bore  four 
children,  namely:  Latham,  a  farmer;  Mary 
Louise,  the  wife  of  P.  L.  Schellens,  a  mer- 
chant in  Rio  Janeiro;  Ira  Smith,  who  died  at 
nineteen;  and  Betsey,  the  wife  of  Belton  A. 
Copp,  a  bank  cashier.  Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Avery 
died  in  1869;  and  Mr.  Avery  married  on  No- 
vember 1,  1870,  Ellen  B.  Copp,  a  daughter  of 
Belton  A.  and  Betsey  Ann  (Barber)  Copp,  of 
Groton,  and  the  grand-daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Sarah  (Allyn)  Copp,  both  descendants  of  old 
families.  Her  father's  family  is  descended 
from  the  early  Copps,  of  Boston,  for  whom 
Copp's  Hill  was  named.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Avery 
have  two  children:  Christopher,  a  law  student 
at  Yale;  and  Mary  Jane,  a  graduate  of  the 
Williams  Memorial  School,  living  at  home. 


lAPTAIN  DUDLEY  A.  BRAND,  of 
New  London,  an  experienced  navi- 
gator, especially  skilled  in  yacht- 
ing, was  born  in  Westerly,  R.I.,  January  12, 
1853,  son  of  Captain  Dudley  and  Catherine 
(Champlin-Burdick)  Brand.  His  paternal 
grandfather  married  a  Miss  Green,  who  died 
when  their  only  son,  Dudley,  born  in  Westerly 
in  1 80S,  was  a  child.  The  boy  was  brought 
up  by  his  maternal  grandfather,  and  became  a 
successful  ship-master  in  the  carrying  trade 
between  the  West  Indies  and  the  Strait  of 
Belle  Isle.  He  commanded  the  brig  "  Buffalo," 
and  was  lost  off  Squirrel  Island  while  attempt- 
ing to  put  ashore  in  a  small  boat. 

Captain  Dudley  Brand  married  first,  in 
1836,  Evelyn  Bailey.  She  was  drowned  oil 
the  coast  of  Long  Island  from  the  "Catherine 
I'.  Hale"  in  1847,  her  husband,  the  Captain, 
the  mate,  and  one  sailor  being  saved.  He 
married  second,  March  30,  185 1,  Catherine, 
daughter  of  John  A.  Champlin,  and  the 
widow  of  William  Burdick,  who   was  drowned 


DUDLEY    A.    BRAND. 


liloc.K.M'IIICAL    REVIEW 


in  the  prime  of  life,  leaving  but  one  son. 
Mr.  Champlin's  wife,  the  mother  of  Catherine, 
was  a  Greene.  Captain  Dudley  ami  Mrs. 
Catherine  Brand  had  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  namely:  Dudley  A.,  the  yacht  com- 
mander, a  further  account  of  whom  is  given 
below;  John  H.,  who  is  in  Montana;  Lyman, 
a  marine  engineer  in  Boston;  and  Hattie,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  The  father's 
death  occurred  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years. 
He  had  been  captain  and  part  owner  of  differ- 
ent vessels. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  years  Dudley  A.  Brand 
was  brought  tu  New  London,  where  he  re- 
ceived a  common-school  education;  and  at 
eighteen  he  went  to  sea,  shipping  as  a  sailor 
before  the  mast  on  the  coasting  schooner 
'"Daniel  T.  Willets,"  under  Captain  Stapelin. 
In  1S72  he  made  his  last  voyage  as  a  seaman, 
and  in  his  twenty-second  year  sailed  as  mate 
of  the  ""  H.  R.  King,"  Captain  Bliven.  Since 
that  time  he  has  commanded  many  different 
vessels.  In  1882  he  took  charge  of  the  yacht 
"Alice,"  owned  by  Mr.  Thomas  (',.  Appleton, 
brother-in-law  of  the  poet  Longfellow.  He 
sailed  this  craft  for  four  years,  leaving  her  to 
take  command  of  the  steam  yacht  "Wanda," 
owned  by  Woodward  &  Stillman,  of  New  York 
City.  This  position  was  held  by  Captain 
Brand  for  ten  years.  In  1894  ^5  the  Captain 
took  an  extended  trip  in  charge  of  the  "Mar- 
garita," owned  by  A.  J.  Drexel,  of  Philadel- 
phia, sailing  from  New  London  on  September 
22.  reaching  Southampton,  England,  in  eleven 
days  and  five  hours.  During  the  year  they 
toui  lied  at  Gibraltar,  Tangiers,  Barcelona, 
Marseilles,  Algiers,  Toulon,  Nice,  Mentone, 
\  '  1  to,  Cividivitch,  then  went  inland  to 
Rome,  thence  to  Naples,  through  the  Strait 
oi  Messina  to  Brindisi,  thence  to  Corfu, 
through  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  and  Corinth 
Canal  to  Athens,   from  there  to  Alexandria, 


and  inland  to  Cairo,  from  Port  Said  to  Joppa, 
Jerusalem,  and  Beirut.  Returning  from 
Beirut,  they  went  through  the  Adriatic  Sei 
Venice,  thence  to  Genoa  and  Marseilles, 
thence  to  Leith,  Scotland;  from  there  they 
went  to  the  opening  of  Kiel  Canal,  and  then 
they  sailed  to  Copenhagen,  to  Stockholm,  and 
St.  Petersburg.  They  returned  via  Kiel 
Canal  to  Southampton,  England,  and,  taking 
in  eoal  and  stores  at  the  Isle  of  Wight,  made  a 
sale  voyage  back  to  Philadelphia.  Tin-  boat 
has  been  renamed  the  "Narada"  since  it  be- 
came the  property  of  Mr.  Hairy  Walters,  of 
Baltimore;  and  Captain  Brand  will  again  take 
her  to  Europe;  starting  about  January  I,  1 
going  also  to  China  and  Japan. 

He  was  married  on  January  15,  1877,  to 
Lottie  E.  Brown,  of  this  county,  daughter  of 
Lyman  and  Mary  Ann  (Jones)  Brown.  Her 
father  was  one  of  the  first  Deacons  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  in  Brooklyn,  N.Y.  The 
eldest-born  of  Captain  and  Mrs.  Brand  is 
Mary  Catherine,  eighteen  years  of  age,  now 
studying  in  the  Williams  Memorial,  belonging 
to  the  class  of  1898.  Their  second  child  was 
a  boy,  and  died  in  infancy.  The  youngest  is 
Harold  Brand,  now  about  eleven  years  old. 
Captain  Brand  is  the  owner  of  a  handsome 
house  on  Ocean  Avenue,  which  he  purcha 
in  1876.  As  a  Mason  he  is  a  member  of 
Brainard  Lodge,  No.  102,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Union 
Chapter,  R.  A.  M.  ;  Cushing  Council, 
R.  S.  M.  ;  and  Palestine  Commandery,  K.  T. 
In  politics  he  is  Republican. 


OGER      BURNUM     CHAMPION,    a 

merchant    of     Old     Lyme,     was     born 
P  VL  j  here.    May  50,    [866,  son   oi    Calvin 

and   Ann    R.  (SI  1  impion.      The    -rand- 

father,  Frederick  Champion,  who  was  a  farmer 
and  spent  the  greater  part  oi  his  life  here,  was 


290 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


twice  married.      The  maiden  name  of  his  sec- 
ond wife  was  Mahala  Tinker. 

Calvin  B.  Champion,  son  of  Frederick,  born 
in  this  town  about  1X23,  was  a  farmer.  In 
1S45  he  married  Ann  R.  Slate,  a  daughter  of 
Lothrop  Slate,  of  this  town.  Of  their  fifteen 
children,  two  died  in  infancy.  The  others 
were:  Calvin  B.,  Mary,  Annie  M.,  Edith  M., 
Philena  A.,  Wallace  R.,  Christena,  Imogene, 
Ida  J.,  Roger  B.,  Ansil  A.,  Edward  T.,  and 
Virgil  \V.  Calvin  B.  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three  years;  Mary,  who  was  the  wife 
of  J.  C.  Lamb,  died  aged  twenty-nine,  leaving 
two  sons:  Annie  M.,  who  married  Henry  H. 
Lay,  died  aged  twenty-four  years;  Edith  M. 
Champion  died  aged  sixteen  years;  Philena 
A.  is  the  wife  of  G.  W.  DeWolf,  of  this  vil- 
lage; Wallace  R.  is  a  merchant  in  Black 
Hall;  Imogene  is  the  wife  of  J.  S.  Hopper, 
of  Ivoryton,  Conn. ;  Ida  J.  is  the  wife  of 
H.  M.  Caulkins;  and  Ansil  A.,  Edward  T. , 
ami  Virgil  W.  reside  in  this  town.  The 
lather  died  in  1876.  The  mother  still  re- 
sides  here  with   her  two  youngest  sons. 

Roger  B.  Champion  received  his  education 
in  the  schools  "t  the  town  and  at  the  academy. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  was  employed 
as  clerk  by  the  firm  of  Morley  &  Champion, 
of  which  his  brother,  Wallace  R.,  was  a  mem- 
ber. This  position  he  left  in  1889  to  engage 
in  the  meat  business,  which  he  followed  for 
several  years.  In  1891  he  became  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Champion  &  Caulkins,  buying 
out  his  brother's  interest.  Since  January, 
1896,  he  has  carried  on  the  business  alone. 
In  the  Masonic  order  he  holds  the  rank  of 
Master.  While  a  Republican  in  politics,  he 
has  never  held  public  office.  On  May  12, 
1 89 1 ,  he  married  Annie  M.  Daniels,  of  East 
Lyme,  daughter  of  Washington  Daniels. 
They  have  two  sons:  Roger  W.,  aged  four 
years;    and   Harry  V.,    aged   two  years.      Mr. 


Champion's    success    in    business    is    entirely 
due  to  his  own  industry  and  enterprise. 


SAHEL  TANNER,  an  esteemed  resi- 
dent of  Preston,  was  born  in  Volun- 
town,  May  19,  1823,  son  of  Asahel 
and  Susan  M.  (Tanner)  Tanner.  The  grand- 
father, Isaac  B.  Tanner,  a  cousin  of  the  cele- 
brated Wendell  Phillips,  was  a  native  of 
South  Kingston,  R.I.  He  settled  in  Volun- 
town  early  in  life,  and  there  reared  a  large 
family.  One  of  his  great-grandchildren,  John 
R.  Tanner,  is  the  present  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Illinois.  Isaac  B.  Tanner  long  sur- 
vived his  wife.  He  went  to  Illinois  in  1838 
to  reside  with  a  married  daughter,  and  died 
there  about  the  year  1840.  His  son  Asahel 
married  Susan  M.  Tanner  in  1820,  and  by  her 
became  the  father  of  the  present  Asahel 
Tanner  and  of  Cynthia  C.  Tanner.  The  latter 
married  Latham  II.  Babcock,  of  Providence, 
R.I  ,  and  died  in  Galveston,  Tex.,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-one,  leaving  a  son  and  a  daughter. 
The  father  was  in  the  prime  of  life  when  he 
died,  in  1836.  After  his  death  his  widow, 
who  was  left  without  means,  came  to  Nor- 
wich, where  after  many  years  spent  as  a  faith- 
ful and  efficient  nurse  she  died  in  1861. 

Asahel  Tanner,  the  subject  of  this  biog- 
raphy, was  able  to  attend  school  only  until 
the  tenth  year  of  his  age.  He  lived  upon  his 
grandfather's  farm  until  twelve  years  old, 
when  he  obtained  employment  in  the  rope 
factory  at  Norwich  during  the  winter,  spend- 
ing the  summer  months  at  work  upon  neigh- 
boring farms.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
began  to  learn  the  tailor's  trade.  When 
twenty-one  years  of  age  his  services  were  en- 
gaged by  Mr.  R.  B.  Morey.  Three  years 
later  he  was  persuaded  to  join  Mr.  Morey  in 
partnership,  and  invested  his  savings,  amount- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


291 


ing  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  in  the 
business.  In  a  short  time,  having  realized 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  he  was  able  to  buy 
Mr.  Morey's  interest.  Alter  conducting  the 
business  alone  for  about  three  years,  he  re- 
tired. For  the  past  forty  years  he  has  made 
a  specialty  of  breeding  fancy  fowl,  and  for 
nearly  half  a  century  he  has  been  the  chair- 
man of  the  examining  judges  of  the  county. 

On  October  12,  [848,  Mr.  Tanner  married 
Sarah  M.  Ward,  of  Lebanon.  By  her  he  has 
one  child,  Minnie  M.  Tanner,  who  is  a  gifted 
musician  and  a  highly  successful  teacher  of 
music.  A  stnmg  advocate  of  temperance  re- 
form for  a  long  time,  he  has  been  a  member 
and  Chief  of  the  Council  of  the  Temple  of 
Honor.  lie  was  Captain  of  the  Norwich 
Artillery  Company  of  the  Third  Regiment 
tor  seven  years,  during  which  time  he  pro- 
vided the  company  with  .uniforms  at  his  own 
expense.  While  his  political  principles  are 
Democratic,  he  votes  independently,  lie  rep- 
resented his  district  in  the  House  in  1862. 
He  has  been  the  First  Selectman  for  many 
years,  and  he  has  served  on  the  Hoard  of  Re- 
lict, lie  is  a  regulai  attendant  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Since  coming  to  Preston  in  1X56,  he 
his  dealt  largely  in  real  estate.  He  bought  a 
large  lot  oi  land,  which  is  now  covered  with 
dwelling-houses.  At  the  present  time  he  is 
owner  oi  five  houses  and  two  stores,  in- 
cluding the  fine  brick  house  on  Main  Street, 
built  by  him  thirty  years  ago,  and  in  which 
he  now  resides. 


(TfoSHCA  I-:.  BROCKWAY,  a  prosper- 
ous farmer  of  <  >M  Lyme,  living  near 
the  village  of  Lyme,  was  born  in  East 
Lyme,  Conn.,  February  18,  1S40,  son  of  Ezra 
C.  and  Lucy  A.  (Howard)  Brockway.  His 
great  -  grandfather  was  Elias  Brockway,  a 
farmer  of  this  country  and  a  man   universally 


esteemed.      Christopher,     son    of    Elias,    was 

mate  of  a  vessel,  and  was  lost  at  sea  in  1832, 
when  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  left  a  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Christiana  Chapel, 
and  who  reared  and  educated  their  family  of 
four  sons  and  five  daughters  on  her  small  farm. 
Of  this  family,  one  daughter,  "Aunt"  Cam- 
line  Beckwith,  and  two  sons,  Christopher 
Brockway,  a  resident  of  Denver,  and  Ezra  C, 
lather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  are  living. 
Ezra  C.  Brockway  was  limn  in  this  town,  then 
known  as  Lyme,  on  March  6,  [814.  He  mar 
lied  Lucy  A.,  daughter  ol  Joshua  Howard. 
She  died  October  3,  1X89.  Her  four  children 
were:  Joshua  E.,  Joseph  P.,  Christiana  C, 
and  Lucy  J.  Christiana  C.  married  living 
Watrous,  and  died  May  14,  1874,  leaving  an 
infant  son,  Walter,  now  a  resident  of  East 
Lyme.  Lucy  J.  Brockway,  who  was  bom 
August  27,  1854,  ami  became  a  successful 
teacher,    died    November    19,     1.875. 

Joshua  E.  Brockway  was  reared  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  received  but  a  limited 
schooling.  In  the  spring  of  1861  he  shipped 
as  a  sailor  on  a  vessel  engaged  in  the  halibut- 
fishing  industry;  and  he  continued  to  follow 
the  sea  for  some  nine  years.  On  his  mar 
riage,  in  1872,  he  made  a  wedding  journey  to 
Ohio,  where  he  rented  a  farm  for  two  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  bought  fifty  ai 
which  he  cultivated  until  1892,  when  he  re 
turned  to  Lyme,  to  take  charge  of  the  farm 
owned  by  Mrs.  Brockway's  father.  Here  he 
carries  on  general  farming,  and  keeps  a  dairy 
of  four  good  cows,  besides  a  yoke  of  oxen. 
He  still  retains  the  ownership  of  the  Ohio 
farm.  Mr.  Brockway  is  a  Democrat  politi- 
cally, and  has  always  voted  the  straight  party 
ticket.  lie  stands  firm  for  "honest  money," 
and  in  1896  he  voted  the  gold  ticket.  He  has 
been  Selectman  of  Lyme,  and  has  served  on 
the   Board   of    Relief.      As  a   citizen   his  prob- 


292 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ity   is   unquestioned,   and   his  word  is  as  good 
as  his  bond. 

On  the  10th  of  March,  1S72,  Mr.  Brockway 
married  Sarah  II.  Huntley,  of  this  town,  by 
whom  he  had  one  daughter,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mrs.  Brockway  is  a  devoted  member 
of  the  Congregational  church  and  an  active 
worker  in  its  varied  charitable  and  benevolent 
interests.  Her  parents  were  Sylvanus  II. 
and  Lvdia  L.  (Caulkins)  Huntley,  both  of 
win  mi  have  passed  away.  Mr.  Huntley  was 
shot  when  only  thirty-two  years  of  age,  while 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  constable;  and 
his  death  made  orphans  of  four  children. 
Mrs.  Huntley  died  in  1883,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-four.  The  living  children  of  this 
family  are:  Louisa  C.  Huntley,  living  in  this 
town;  David  C,  a  well-known  farmer  of 
Lyme;  and  Mrs.  Brockway.  Mary  E.  Hunt- 
lev,  now  deceased,  was  for  some  years  a  most 
successful  teacher.  She  lived  a  life  of  great 
usefulness  and  helpful  service  to  others,  being 
active  in  church  and  Sunday-school  work,  and 
helpfully  interested  in  every  reform  movement. 


rl> 


EORGE  PREST,  of  New  London,  one 
V  &T  of  the  largest  masonry  contractors 
ami  builders  in  the  State,  was  born 
in  Bolton,  Lancashire,  England,  March  2, 
1830,  son  of  George  V.  and  Mary  (Wignall) 
1'rest.  The  paternal  grandfather,  also  named 
George,  was  engaged  in  lead  mining  in  early 
life,  and  subsequently  became  a  stone-mason. 
His  wife  bore  him  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 
The  sons,  Geoige  and  Edward,  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  their  families  in  1843,  the  voyage 
occupying  thirty-one  days.  Both  were  stone- 
masons, and  after  their  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try they  carried  on  a  successful  contracting 
and  building  business.  In  England,  in  1820, 
George,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Bolton,  born 


in  1787,  married  Mary  Wignall,  another  na- 
tive of  Lancashire.  Her  parents  had  twenty- 
one  children,  of  whom  two  were  born  twins, 
two  were  married  on  the  same  day,  and  two 
were  buried  on  the  same  day.  In  her  child- 
hood the  mother  of  this  numerous  family 
planted  an  apple-seed.  That,  later  in  her 
life,  yielded  her  the  material  for  a  wooden 
leg,  when  a  white  swelling  on  her  knee  made 
necessary  the  amputation  of  the  limb.  George 
and  Mary  1'rest  had  five  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  the  only  other  survivor  is  Jacob, 
who  resides  in  Bellaire,  Ohio.  Edward,  the 
eldest  son,  was  for  many  years  a  leading  con- 
tractor and  builder  in  this  city,  and  acquired 
considerable  property.  Among  the  buildings 
erected  by  him  are  the  Episcopal  church  and 
the  city  hall.  He  was  twice  married,  but  had 
no  children.  The  mother  died  in  England 
about  1837.  The  father,  who  afterward  re- 
mained unmarried,  died  in  this  country  in 
185 1,  aged  sixty-four  years. 

The  present  George  Brest  learned  the 
mason's  trade  with  his  brother  Edward,  and 
remained  with  him  until  1864,  acting  as  fore- 
man for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  that.  He 
subsequently  succeeded  Edward  in  the  busi- 
ness, and  man)'  stately  structures  have  since 
risen  under  his  careful  superintendence. 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  elegant 
home  of  Henry  A.  Mott  at  Neptune's  Nook; 
the  Hooper  Manufacturing  Company's  mills 
at  Aucum,  erected  in  1865,  on  which  sixty- 
five  men  were  employed;  the  stone  paper-mill 
in  Montville  for  Bingham  New,  built  in 
1866;  the  Bequot  Dam,  an  arched  structure, 
thirty-two  feet  high,  forty  feet  wide  at  the 
base,  and  having  steps  tothe-top;  the  Rock- 
land paper-mill,  a  solid  stone  building  com- 
pleted about  1868;  the  Second  Congrega- 
tional Church  edifice  of  New  London  and  the 
Buckeye  School-house,  both  of  stone,  put  up 


PE  IKK    STEFFENSEN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


295 


in  1871  ;  the  stone  summer  residence  of 
Zebulon  Ely,  of  New  York  City,  in  1872; 
four  large  stone  mills  for  Palmer  Brothers,  two 
at   Fitchville  ami  two  at    Montville;    a    stone 

r-mill   for  C.  M.   Roberts  &    Son  at  Mont- 
ville;  and   the  Union  Railway  Station  in  Nor 
wich,    in    [892.       1  Ie  has  also  been    largely  em- 

ed  on  other  masonry  work,  including  the 
reservoir  dam  at  Lake  Konoroack  tor  the  New 
1  -inl. .11  water  supply,  the  foundations  of  the 
Harris  Block  and  the  Brainard  &  Armstrong 
silk-mill;  and  he  has  just  completed  the 
foundations  for  the  new  electric  power  house 
and  the  addition  to  the  old  savings-bank  in 
this  city.      For  the   past   twenty-four  years  he 

lone  the  bridge  and  culvert  work  for  the 
New  London  &  Northern  Railroad,  and  he  was 
the  superintendent  of  the  large  stone  dock  at 
East  New  London  for  two  years. 

Mr.  Prest  was  first  married  in  1 S 5 3  to 
\li-s  Lydia  Morris,  of  Xew  London.  A  son 
and  daughter  were  bom  to  them,  namely  : 
Mary,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years; 
and  (ieorge  B.  Prest,  who  is  living  at  home, 
and  is  a  very  promising  young  business  man. 
The  latter  began  as  a  messenger  boy  in  the 
Hank  of  Commerce,  where  lie  now  holds  the 
responsible  position  of  cashier.  He  is  the 
administrator  of  the  estate  of  his  uncle  Ed- 
ward   (being    appointed    without    bonds),    the 

surer  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  a  com- 
missioner of  the  town  deposit  fund.  Mrs. 
Prest  died  in  October,  1872;  and  Mr.  Prest, 
Sr.,  afterward  married  Miss  Martha  Maria 
riffany,  who  was  bom  in  Salem,  New  Lon- 
don   Count}',    and    is    a    daughter   of    William 

my.  She  was  a  district-school  teacher 
for  a  time,  and  then  carried  on  dressmaking 
in  New  London.  There  are  no  children  by 
this  marriage.  The  family  resides  at  18 
Blackball  Street,  where  Mr.  Prest  erected  his 
fine   residence    in    1S89,    after   plans   made   by 


himself.  He  has  one  hundred  and  eight)-  feet 
frontage  on  Belden  Street  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  on  Blackball  Street,  making  an  excep- 
tionally desirable  estate.  Politically,  he  is 
a  loyal  Republican,  and  has  served  on  the 
Common  Council.  Mrs.  Prest  is  an  influen- 
tial member  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church. 


-ovETER  STEFFENSEN,  of  Norwich, 
^■^  residing  just  outside  the  city,  on 
Laurel  Hill,  was  born  in  Denmark, 
near  Copenhagen,  on  May  31,  1857.  He  at- 
tended pay  schools  until  he  was  fourteen  years 
of  age.  Then  he  was  confirmed  in  the  Lu- 
theran church,  and  apprenticed  for  four  years 
to  the  trade  of  ship-carpenter.  During  his 
apprenticeship  he  also  took  lessons  in  draw- 
ing and  architecture.  At  eighteen  he  shipped 
from  Copenhagen  as  ship's  carpenter,  at  sixty 
crowns  per  month.  His  first  voyage  was  to 
Brussels  and  Riga  and  back.  In  1875  he  sailed 
for  Antwerp;  and  in  1876  he  shipped  as  carpen- 
ter on  board  the  Nova  Scotia  bark,  "Josephine 
Benjamin,"  bound  for  Philadelphia,   l'a. 

Upon  reaching  Philadelphia,  which  was  his 
first  stopping-place  in  America,  Mr.  Steffen- 
sen  remained  there  for  about  a  month.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  he  sailed  in  an  American 
three-masted  schooner  for  Belfast,  Ireland. 
Arrived  in  Belfast  after  a  quick  passage,  he 
joined  the  crew  of  a  Norwegian  bark  hound 
for  Pensacola,  Fla.  From  there  he  went  to 
England,  thence  on  a  Scotch  bark  to  (Que- 
bec, Canada,  and  to  Swansea  in  Wales.  He 
was  next  ashore  at  Gloucester,  Mass.  From 
there  he  went  in  the  Nova  Scotia  barkentine 
"Economy,"  which  was  said  to  be  the  largest 
craft  of  her  kind  afloat,  to  New  York  City. 
Thence  he  visited  successively  St.  John, 
N.B.,    Dublin,    Philadelphia,  and  Belfast,  and 


296 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKVY 


returned  to  St.  John.  Sailing  next  in  an 
American  barkentine,  he  went  to  Barcelona, 
Spain.  On  the  return  voyage  the  vessel  was 
wrecked  on  the  Bermuda  Islands,  and  was  sub- 
sequently condemned,  the  crew  coming  to 
New  York  by  steamer.  After  spending  a 
month  in  New  York,  he  went  by  rail  to  Phila- 
delphia, from  which  port  he  sailed  to  Ant- 
werp, and  thence  to  Yokahama,  Japan,  being 
one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  clays  on  the  voy- 
age. After  visiting  other  ports  in  Japan,  he 
sailed  for  Sydney,  Australia.  In  a  subse- 
quent voyage  from  Hiago,  Japan,  to  New 
York,  by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  the  boat  was  out 
one  hundred  and  seventy  days,  and  won  a  new 
hat  for  the  captain  by  getting  into  port  ahead 
of  another  vessel.  Mr.  Steffensen  next  sailed 
for  Cardiff,  England.  On  this  voyage  the 
ship  fell  in  with  an  abandoned  vessel,  which 
Mr.  Steffensen  and  three  others  of  the  crew, 
including  the  first  mate,  undertook  to  take  to 
England.  The  craft  was  soon  found  to  be  in 
a  sinking  condition,  and  the  four  men  would 
have  gone  down  with  it  had  they  not  been  res- 
cued just  in  time.  They  got  ashore  at  South- 
ampton. From  there  they  were  sent  by  the 
English  Shipwreck  Society  to  London,  and 
thence  to  Cardiff,  where  they  saw  their  own 
vessel   coming   into  port. 

Having  been  absent  from  home  for  seven 
years,  Mr.  Steffensen  now  returned  to  Copen- 
hagen for  a  two  months'  visit.  He  next  took 
steamer  for  Antwerp,  and  thence  shipped  in  a 
Dutch  bark  for  Alexandria,  Egypt.  On  this 
voyage  he  visited  Smyrna,  Salonica,  Gibral- 
tar, and  France.  Returning  to  Antwerp,  he 
shipped  on  a  full-rigged  German  ship,  bound 
for  Philadelphia.  In  1S84  he  entered  the 
United  States  Coast  Survey  as  ship-carpenter, 
and  remained  in  the  service  for  six  years,  em- 
ed  on  cruisers  engaged  in  surveying  the  At- 
lantic coast  from  Maine  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


From  the  foregoing  account  it  will  be  seen 
that  Mr.  Steffensen  has  visited  every  conti- 
nent, and  most  of  the  great  ports  of  the  world. 
He  has  acquired  in  this  world-wide  travel  a 
surprising  fund  of  information,  and  can  spin 
sailor's  yarns  with  the  best  purveyors  of  the 
article.  He  -left  the  sea  when  he  resigned 
from  the  United  States  service  in  1887,  and 
same  to  Norwich,  where  he  settled  his  family 
in  Greenville.  Here  he  purchased  a  few 
acres  of  land,  which  he  has  since  planted  with 
fruit-trees  and  shrubbery,  and  upon  which  he 
erected  his  pleasant  dwelling-house.  P'or  the 
last  four  years  he  has  been  the  repair  man  for 
the  Uncas  Paper  Mills.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  American  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
a  Master  Mason.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

Mr.  Steffensen  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Alida  Anderson,  on  November  29,  1885,  the 
twenty-fifth  birthday  of  the  bride.  Mrs.  Stef- 
fensen was  born  in  Gotten  burg,  Sweden, 
daughter  of  Andres  Anderson.  She  was  only 
sixteen  years  old  when  she  arrived  in  Ston- 
ington,  Conn.,  where  Mr.  Steffensen  first  be- 
came acquainted  with  her.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Steffensen  have  a  very  interesting  family  of 
children,  and  are  desirous  of  giving  them 
every  educational  advantage,  including  a  train- 
ing in  music,  for  which  the  children  have 
a  marked  talent.  The  eldest  child,  Albert 
Palmer,  was  born  August  6,  1887.  The  next 
is  Abby  Palmer,  born  December  11,  1889; 
and  the  youngest  is  Raymond,  a  bright  little 
man  of  five  years,  born  July  17,  1892. 


HOMAS  MURRAY,  one  of  the  ablest 
farmers  in  the  county,  was  born  in 
Ayrshire,  Scotland,  March  29,  1S35, 
son  of  Gilbert  and  Janet  Murray.  The  grand- 
father, Gilbert  Murray,  a  Scotch  farmer,  lived 


IMOCRAI'IIICAL    REVIEW 


297 


and  died  on  his  native  heath.  He  had  three 
suns  anil  two  daughters.  His  son  Gilbert, 
|r .,  who  was  bom  Decembei  7,  1805,  married 
in  [826,  and  had  thirteen  children.  Two  of 
their  sons  came  to  this  country.  The  father 
and  mother  followed  them  two  years   later,  ac- 

ipanied  by  ten  children.      In  the  next  year 

the  remaining  son  followed  with  his  bride. 
William  died  in   Illinois    in    1880,  at   the   age 

irty-three,  leaving  a  widow  and  four  chil- 
dren. Nellie,  who  was  the  wife  of  Edwin 
Niles,  died  in  1887,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine 
years,  leaving  two  children.  The  parents 
bought  a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  in  Salem, 
where  they  lived  until  the  death  of  the  father, 
in  icS86.  The  mother,  after  surviving  her 
husband  five  years,  died  in  Norwich  in  [891. 
In  religion  they  were  Congregationalists. 
The  father  was  a  well-informed  man,  was 
First  Selectman  for  a  time,  and  was  in  the 
laturc. 
Thomas  Murray  received  a  part  of  his  edu- 
cation in  Scotland.  In  1 86 1  he  enlisted  in 
the  Fiftieth  New  York  Volunteer  Engineers 
for  three  years.  Upon  receiving  his  honor- 
able discharge  after  the  expiration  of  that 
term,  he  re-enlisted  in  the  same  corps.  Dur- 
ing the  entire  war  he  was  off  duty  but  two 
days,  lie  was  in  the  Pontoon  Brigade,  and 
worked  on  forts  in   front  oi    Petersburg  ami  at 

1     places.       Though     blessed     with    g ! 

health,  his  experience  in  the  field  impaired 
his  physical  condition,  and  in  consideration  of 
this  he  draws  a  small  pension.  On  March  1, 
[881,  he  married  Mrs.  Clarissa  A.  Sisson,  the 
widow  of  Ebenezer  F.  Sisson  and  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  I),  and  Clarissa  (Watrous)  Will- 
iams, all  of  Colchester.  Her  grandfather, 
Daniel  Williams,  married  Asenath  Day.  Her 
father,  one  ol  eleven  children,  was  born  April 
1 -\  1799.  lie  married  Miss  Watrous,  who 
died  in  1891,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one.      Mrs. 


Murray  comes  of  a  long-lived  race.  Nearly 
all  her  ancestors  and  their  children  were  octo- 
genarians. Her  parents  had  five  children, 
one  of  whom  died  in  early  youth.  She  v 
student  at  Bacon  Academy,  and  taught  her 
first  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-two  she  married  E.  T.  Sisson, 
who  died  February  7,  1879,  aged  fifty-six 
years.  Her  children  by  Mr.  Sisson  were:  a 
son.  who  died  in  infancy:  Katie,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  four  years:  and  Millie  W..  who  is 
the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Purdy,  a  pas- 
tor in  the  Methodist  church,  and  has  a  daugh- 
ter, Clara  I'].  Purdy.  Gilbert  Joseph  Murray, 
the  only  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray,  was 
born  February  17,   1884. 

Mr.  Murray  owns  a  line  faun  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  acres,  which  is  kept  in  the 
most  perfect  condition,  and  shows  Mr.  Murray 
to  be  a  thorough  farmer.  Besides  carrying  on 
general  farming,  he  is  engaged  the  year  round 
in  making  butter,  which  is  of  the  finest  qual- 
ity, and  brings  the  highest  market  price. 
His  fine  estate  shows  him  to  be  a  typical 
Scotchman,  frugal  and  industrious,  lie  is  an 
adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  puts 
more  faith  in  deeds  than  creeds.  Mis.  Mur- 
ray is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church. 


"-fTYTVASON  CRARY  HILL,  a  dealer  in 
t=  I  =/  paints,  oils,  and  similar  materials. 
g\  aJJ?  \^^  alu]  a  jobber  in  general  mer- 
chandise, was  bom  in  the  north-western  part 
of  Stonington,  Conn.,  January  27,  1817.  His 
foster-father,  John  Bennett,  by  whom  he  was 
reared,  was  a  farmer  in  this  town.  Mr.  Ben- 
nett was  also  a  house  and  ship  carpenter,  hav- 
ing been  employed  many  years  by  the  Leeds, 
who  were  early  ship-builders  in  Old  Mystic. 
Mr.  1 1  ill  was  the  only  son  of  his  mother. 
Mary    Hill,    who    was    born    on     Block    Island 


29S 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


in  1798,  daughter  of  Robinson  and  Lydia 
(Briggs)  Hill  and  a  descendant  of  the  Hills  of 
Massachusetts.  The  mother  was  living  in  her 
island  home  during  the  War  of  1812,  and 
afterward  well  remembered  the  stirring  events 
of  that  time.  Although  Mr.  Hill  began  life 
in  humble  circumstances,  sadly  handicapped 
in  many  ways,  he  has  bravely  surmounted  all 
obstacles,  and  won  an  assured  position  among 
the  respected  and  valued  citizens  of  his  native 
town.  He  had  a  step-father,  a  Mr.  Mitchell, 
whom  he  never  knew,  his  early  home  having 
been  with  Mr.  Bennett;  but  it  was  his  privi- 
lege and  pleasure  to  tenderly  care  for  his 
mother   in   her  last  years. 

Mason  C.  Hill  began  working  for  his  living 
when  a  very  young  boy.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen he  used  to  go  on  fishing-smacks  as  cook. 
On  one  of  his  first  voyages  he  came  very  near 
being  killed  by  having  his  head  crushed  be- 
tween two  vessels,  his  rescue  from  death  being 
almost  a  miracle.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he 
left  his  foster-parents  to  serve  an  apprentice- 
ship of  three  years  at  the  carpenter's  trade 
with  Joseph  Frink,  on  the  conditions  that  he 
would  receive  one  month's  schooling  yearly 
and  one  hundred  dollars  and  a  set  of  tools 
when  his  time  would  expire.  He  was  not  al- 
lowed to  attend  school;  and,  instead  of  receiv- 
ing the  tools  and  money  referred  to,  he  bought 
the  last  three  months  of  his  time  from  Mr. 
Frink  for  sixty  dollars.  He  worked  at  his 
trade  in  West  Hoboken,  going  there  after  the 
great  fire,  previous  to  1840.  Then  he  secured 
a  position  as  carpenter  in  Groton,  his  wages 
being  fixed  at  one  dollar  per  day  and  board; 
but,  when  his  employer  cut  his  pay  to  seventy- 
five  cents  a  day,  he  left  him.  Coming  then 
to  Mystic,  he  worked  for  a  time  at  boat-build- 
ing for  eighty-four  cents  a  day.  He  after- 
ward shipped  for  New  Orleans.  Upon  his  re- 
turn   from    that    voyage    he    was    offered    one 


dollar  a  day  as  a  ship-carpenter,  in  the  yards 
of  Irons  &  Grinnell,  his  pay  to  continue,  rain 
or  shine.  He  continued  working  as  a  ship 
and  house  carpenter  for  some  time,  carrying 
on  business  for  eight  years  for  Charles 
Mallory  in  Mystic.  In  185S  he  went  to 
Jersey  City,  N.J.,  to  superintend  the  con- 
struction of  a  dry  dock,  remaining  there  till 
the  fall  of  i860.  In  this  year  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Amos  Grinnell,  and  for  the 
ensuing  fifteen  years  was  engaged  in  ship- 
building under  the  firm  name  of  Hill  &  Grin- 
nell, constructing  in  that  time  many  steam- 
ships. 

During  the  war  Mr.  Hill  was  employed  by 
the  government  in  Connecticut  and  New 
York  to  superintend  the  building  of  war 
vessels ;  and  for  nineteen  months  in  Cincinnati 
he  superintended  the  construction  of  ironclad 
monitors  at  a  salary  of  four  thousand  dollars. 
These  ironclads,  the  "Catawba"  and  the 
"Oneoto,"  built  in  1863  and  1864,  which 
were  never  in  action,  were  subsequently  sold 
to  the  Peruvian  government.  Afterward  he 
lost  about  five  thousand  dollars  by  the  burning 
of  his  ship-yard.  In  1891  he  embarked  in  his 
present  mercantile  business,  in  which  he  is 
meeting  with  good  success. 

Mr.  Hill  was  married  in  1842  to  Mary  Ann 
Williams,  a  woman  of  rare  loveliness  of  char- 
acter and  personality.  She  was  accidentally 
drowned  July  4,  1 S53,  leaving  an  adopted 
daughter.  The  latter  is  Phebe,  the  widow  of 
John  Forsyth,  who  died  during  the  war,  leav- 
ing two  little  ones.  In  1855  Mr.  Hill  mar- 
ried Margaret  Wheeler,  of  Stonington,  a 
daughter  of  Stephen  A.  Wheeler.  Of  the 
eight  children  born  of  this  union,  two  are  now 
living — -John  E.  and  Herbert  Crary.  John 
E.  Hill,  after  graduating  from  Yale  Univer- 
sity, took  a  post-graduate  course  at  Clark  Uni- 
versity, and  is  now  serving  his  second  year  as 


I.H  IGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


299 


professor  of  mathematics,  his  favorite  science, 
in  Columbia  College.  He  is  married,  and 
has  one  daughter,  Herbert  Crary,  also  a 
graduate  of  Yale,  is  a  civil  engineer  by  pro- 
Eession.  One  of  Air.  Hill's  daughters,  Mary 
Ann,  who  married  Frank  II.  Sheffield,  died 
having  two  children,  one  of  them  an  infant. 
Mr.  Hill  is  a  stanch  Republican,  takes  an  ac- 
tive interest  in  public  affairs,  and  has  served 
for  two  trims  as  Selectman  of  the  town.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  for 
mure  than  thirty  years  has  been  the  secretary 
of  the  Hoard  of  Trustees.  Liberal  and  active 
in  all  religious  movements,  he  has  given  finan- 
cial aid  toward  the  erection  of   three  churches. 


OSHUA  HALEY,  of  the  hardware  firm 
of  Haley  &  Chesebro,  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  reliable  houses  in  Stoning- 
ton,  was  born  on  the  old  Haley  homestead  in 
this  town,  September  5,  1822.  A  son  of 
Joshua  and    Rebecca   (Brown)    Haley,   his   an- 

ry  is  traced  through  five  generations  to 
John  Haley  and  his  wife,  Mary  (Saunders) 
Haley,  who  are  known  to  have  lived  in  Centre 

ion,  Conn.,  as  early  as  1738.  They  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  four  sons  and  two 
liters.  (  )f  these  John,  Joshua,  and  Caleb 
remained  at  Centre  Groton.  John,  from  whom 
this  branch  of  the  family  is  descended,  came 
to  Stonington,  and  settled  on  a  large  tract  of 
land,  much  of  which  was  covered  with  a  heavy 
growth  of  timber.  This  place  was  the  family 
home  for  four  generations.  John  married 
Deborah  banning,  and  became  the  father  of 
thirteen  children,  four   sons   and    nine   daugh- 

.  all  of  whom  grew  up,  and  all  but  one 
married.  The  sous  were  named:  John,  Ed- 
mund, Joshua,  ami  Belcher.  Edmund  married 
Polly  Irish;  Joshua  left  no  issue;  and  Belcher 
married   a    Miss    Harry.      One  daughter,    Abi- 


gail, was  married  May  10,  1770,  to  William 
Miner,  anil  had  twelve  children;  another, 
whose  name  is  not  given,  was  the  wii 
John  West;  Zeruiah  married  David  Smith  in 
1777,  and  afterward  lived  in  Mystic,  Conn.; 
Hannah  married  Manassa  Miner  in  1779,  and 
had  seven  children;  Mary  became  the  wife  oi 
Thomas  Leeds  in  1773;  Constance  marri 
Burdick;  Lucy  married  Nathan  Burdick  in 
1784;  Deborah  was  the  wife  oi  Elisha  Han- 
cock; and  Phebe  did  not  marry.  The  father 
died  in  1S13,  at  an  advanced  age,  and  the 
mother   in  1827. 

John  Haley,  son  of  the  preceding  bearer  oi 
the  name,  was  born  in  Stonington  in  1763. 
During  the  Revolutionary  War  he  served  on 
the  American  privateer  "Yankee."  On  Oc- 
tober 21,  1792,  he  married  Priscilla  bellows, 
a  descendant  of  an  old  family  here.  Three 
sons  were  born  to  them,  namely:  John.  July 
22,  1793;  Joshua,  March  15,  1795:  and 
Elihu,  born  May  8,  1797.  Joshua,  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  succeeded  his 
father  as  owner  of  the  old  homestead  at  the 
Roads.  About  the  year  1832  he  moved  to  the 
village,  and  engaged  in  cabinet-making,  .1 
trade  he  learned  in  Hebron,  Conn.  He 
worked  at  that  and  carpentering  for  some 
years.  Rebecca,  his  wife,  to  whom  he  was 
married  in  1821,  was  a  daughter  of  David  and 
Lydia  (Billings)  Brown.  Her  fathei  was  in 
the  Revolutionary  War;  and  her  mother,  wlfl> 
lived  ninety-six  years  and  some  months,  drew 
a  pension  for  many  years  as  his  widow.  Of 
their  twelve  children  five  reached  mature  life, 
namely:  Joshua,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Rebecca,  who  was  the  wife  of  John  Brown,  "I 
Quiambog,  and  died  in  1894.  aged  seventy 
years,  leaving  four  children;  Jane,  wife  of 
James  Norman,  a  large  fanner  of  Poquetanuck, 
in  Ledyard;  John  E.,  who  lives  in  New- 
Britain,  Conn.  :  and  Harriet,  who  is  still  sin 


3°° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Joshua  Haley,  the  special  subject  of  this 
biography,  attended  school  at  the  Roads 
church  until  ten  years  old,  when  his  father  re- 
moved to  Stonington  village.  From  the  aye 
of  seventeen  to  that  of  twenty-one  he  served 
an  apprenticeship  as  a  worker  in  tin  and  iron, 
and  in  1X47  started  in  business  for  himself  as 
a  hardware  merchant.  Beginning  on  a  small 
scale  with  a  limited  stock,  he  has  built  up 
the  business  so  that  it  now  gives  employment 
to  from  two  to  four  men.  He  had  conducted 
it  alone  for  nearly  twenty  years,  when,  in 
1 866,  his  present  partner,  E.  S.  Chesebro, 
who  had  previously  been  in  his  employ,  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm.  The  new  firm, 
Haley  &  Chesebro,  at  once  removed  from  the 
old  stand  down  town  to  their  present  commo- 
dious quarters,  where  they  occupy  three  floors, 
and  carry  a  large  and  varied  line  of  goods. 
The  store  is  the  leading  one  of  its  description 
in  Stonington.  Mr.  Haley  is  one  of  the  old- 
est merchants  here,  fifty  years  having  passed 
since  he  established  the  business. 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1851,  Mr.  Haley  anil 
Miss  Matilda  Williams  were  united  in  mar- 
riage. She  was  born  at  Groton  Bank,  Conn., 
and  is  a  daughter  of  Captain  Peter  and  Amy 
(Daniels)  Williams.  In  his  younger  days  her 
father  was  a  sea  captain,  and  later  ran  the 
New  London  ferry-boat,  which  was  drawn  by 
four  horses.  A  son  and  daughter  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Haley.  The  daughter, 
Matilda  W.  Haley,  is  a  lady  of  musical  abil- 
ity, ami  lives  at  home.  George  W.  Haley, 
the  sen.  now  ,1  newsdealer  in  Stonington,  was 
a  student  in  the  agricultural  department  of 
Amherst  College,  and  was  at  one  time  era- 
ployed  in  the  railroad  office  here.  He  mar- 
ried Hope  Dyer,  of  Providence,  R.I.  Pre- 
viously a  Whig,  Joshua  Haley  has  been  a 
Republican  since  the  birth  of  his  party.  He 
has    served    in    various    minor    offices    and    as 


Burgess.  Under  President  Lincoln  he  was 
appointed  United  States  Weigher,  an  office 
that  he  held  until  it  was  abolished,  some  eight 
or  ten  years  later.  During  his  term  of  office 
in  this  capacity  he  weighed  four  shiploads  of 
railroad  iron.  He  was  also  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  ten  years.  Mr.  Haley  is  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  order,  being  a  Knight 
Templar,  and  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  being  the  oldest  member  in  this 
county.  He  joined  the  latter  fifty  years  ago, 
has  been  through  all  the  chairs,  and  he  was 
a  Representative  to  the  Grand  Lodge  three 
times.  In  the  Congregational  church  he  is 
the  senior  Deacon  and  a  trustee,  and  he  has 
been  the  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  has  resided  at 
the  corner  of  Main  and  Church  Streets  for 
thirty  years. 


HENRY     C.    JOHNSON,    the    efficient 
manager  of  the   William    G.  Johnson 
,  Company  dye  works  at  Uncasville, 

in  the  town  of  Montville,  was  born  here  July 
10,  1843,  son  of  William  G.  and  Louisa 
(Matthewson)  Johnson.  His  paternal  great- 
great-great-grandfather  emigrated  from  Scot- 
land to  America.  The  grandfather,  William, 
was  born  near  Norwich,  Conn.,  in  1765.  On 
June  26,  1799,  he  married  Nancy,  daughter  of 
John  Leach,  a  farmer  of  this  town.  They 
had  these  children:  William  G.,  born  in  New 
London,  April  3,  1S00;  Robert,  born  July  1, 
1S01  ;  Nicholas,  born  in  February,  1S03; 
Nancy,  born  May  30,  1807;  and  Sarah,  who 
is  the  widow  of  Erastus  Osgood,  a  brother  of 
the  late  Dr.  Charles  Osgood,  and  resides  in 
Vermont,  being  still  bright  and  active.  The 
parents  of  these  children  have  long  since 
passed  to  the  life  immortal. 

William    G.    Johnson,  father  of   Henry   C, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3°' 


married  Louisa  Matthewson,  a  native 
Bozrahville,  this  county,  in  1823.  Immedi- 
ately after  his  marriage  he  went,  accompanied 
by  his  wife,  to  Buenos  Ayres,  South  America, 
when-  for  twelve  years  thereafter  he  was  en- 
1  in  trade.  They  had  five  sons  and  four 
daughters,  eight  of  whom  grew  to  maturity: 
Mary,  Caroline,  Nicholas  \\\,  Louisa,  An- 
drew T.,  Edwin  C,  Charles  S.,  Henry  C, 
and  Lucy.  Mary  'lied  in  infancy  in  Buenos 
Ayres.  Caroline  married  Samuel  Townsend, 
and  died  in  1 863  in  Bovina,  Miss.,  leaving 
four  children.  Nicholas  \V.  is  a  banker  in 
Des  Moines,  Iowa.  Louisa,  widow  of  Robert 
II.  Gardner,  resides  in  Norwich.  Andrew  T., 
who  was  Captain  of  Company  A,  Thirteenth 
Connecticut  Regiment,  met  his  death  in  a 
railroad  disaster.  Lie  was  twenty-eight  years 
oi  age  and  unmarried.  Edwin  C.  resides  on 
the  old  homestead.  Charles  S.  is  a  resident 
ol  Norwich,  Lucy  married  Dr.  McLprd,  and 
both  she  and  her  husband  died  in  Kansas 
City,  Mo. 

Henry  C.  Johnson,  after  acquiring  his  edu- 
cation, engaged  successively  in  various  occu- 
ons.  He  subsequently  became  a  live- 
stock dealer,  going  South  to  Texas  after 
cattle,  and  being  one  of  the  first  in  that  enter- 
to  drive  a  herd  to  Colorado.  He  re- 
mained in  the  West  eleven  years.  He  now 
owns  M>me  of  the  best  blooded  horses  on  the 
turf,  among  them  being:  Bessie  Ilessell,  a 
very  promising  colt,  by  Father  Wilkes,  able 
to  trot  in  j.  10;  Walter  J.;  and  a  valuable 
mare,  Westeria.  He  became  the  owner  of  the 
dye  works  five  years  ago,  when  it  comprised 
but  thirty-lour  mills.  Since  then  he  has  re- 
fitted  the  plant  at  an  expense  of  thirty-four 
thousand  dollars.  He  takes  a  justifiable  pride 
in  the  quality  and  high  reputation  of  his 
goods. 

On  August  15,   1871,  Mr.  Johnson  was  mar- 


ried   to     Rebecca    M.,    daughter   of    Richard 

Wells.      Her    father,    a    native    oi    W Hairy, 

N.J.,  was  a  cotton  broker  and  dry-goods  mer- 
chant in  Natchez,  Miss.  Her  mother, 
Laycock  in  maidenhood,  was  born  in  Camden, 
N.J.  Mr.  and  Mis.  Johnson  have  had  seven 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living;  namely, 
William  G.,  Richard  W. ,  Sarah,  Nancy 
Leach,  and  Charles  S.  William  G.  was  grad- 
uated at  the  Norwich  Business  College,  and  is 
now  book-keeper  in  the  dye  works.  Richard 
W.,  a  young  man  of  twenty-two,  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  William  G.  Johnson  Company. 
Sarah,  who  was  graduated  at  McLean's  Semi- 
nary in  Simsbury,  Conn.,  is  a  tine  pianist. 
Nancy,  a  young  lady  of  seventeen,  is  now  a 
student  in  the  same  seminar}-.  Charles  S., 
who  possesses  musical  talent,  plays  the  snare 
drum  in  Johnson's  Military  Hand,  which  was 
organized  in  [894,  and  has  since  won  a  fine 
reputation.  Mr.  Johnson  owns  the  old  fiddle 
which  was  found  in  the  Niles  House  in  [812. 
In  politics  Mr.  Johnson  is  an  independent 
voter.  He  is  identified  with  Mohegan  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  having  attained  its  highest  office, 
and  he  also  belongs  to  the  encampment. 


-  ••  •  —  ■ 


/  ILLIAM  J.  BROWN,  who  was  a 
prosperous  and  well-known  farmer 
ni  Ledyard,  was  born  in  this  town, 
August  31,  1X41,  son  of  James  J.  and  Sophia 
E.  (Crandall)  Brown.  The  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Rhode  Island,  born  near  llopkinton, 
.April  3,  1S06.  When  five  years  old,  as  his 
parents  had  a  large  family  of  children,  he  left 
home  to  live  with  his  uncle,  James  W 
bridge,  a  large  land-owner  of  Ledyard,  who  had 
no  children.  His  marriage  with  Sophia  E. 
Crandall  was  solemnized  in  [840.  She  was 
born  May  15,  181  1.  They  became  the  par- 
ents of  two  sons — William  J.  and   .Albert    /. 


302 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Albert  is  a  farmer  on  a  portion  of  the  old 
Woodbridge  farm.  The  mother  was  nearly 
eighty-four  when  she  died  on  March  4,  1895. 

William  J.  Brown  supplemented  a  district- 
school  education  with  three  terms  of  study 
in  Dr.  Hart's  High  School  at  Stonington 
Point.  When  nineteen  years  old  he  began 
teaching,  which  calling  he  followed  in  the 
winter  season  for  several  years.  The  most  of 
his  life,  however,  was  spent  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  died  January  2,  1897,  on  the 
farm  whereon  he  had  passed  his  last  fourteen 
years. 

On  September  14,  1S82,  Mr.  Brown  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Jennie  A.  Sabin,  the  widow  of 
Charles  Sabin,  by  whom  she  had  no  children. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Lucy  (Smith) 
Denison,  who  were  natives  respectively  of 
Stonington  and  Groton,  Conn.  Mr.  Denison 
thirty  years  ago  settled  on  this  farm"  of  one 
hundred  acres,  and  continued  to  live  here 
until  his  death,  April  5,  1885.  Mrs.  Brown 
then  succeeded  to  the  property.  Her  parents' 
ten  children,  three  sons  and  seven  daughters, 
grew  to  maturity;  and  eight  are  living  in  this 
section.  Her  mother  died  May  23,  1872,  in 
her  seventy-fifth  year.  Mr.  Denison  lacked 
but  three  days  of  ninety-two  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown 
have  one  daughter  living,  Jennie  E. ,  born 
July  6,  1883,  who  is  an  apt  scholar  in  the 
common  branches  of  study,  and  possesses  con- 
siderable musical  talent. 

Though  afflicted  with  heart-disease  for 
years,  Mr.  Brown  was  always  a  hard  worker, 
and  at  his  death  left  his  wife  and  daughter  in 
good  circumstances.  Mr.  Brown  was  always 
prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  highly  es- 
teemed in  the  community  as  a  man  of  sterling 
worth.  He  represented  Ledyard  in  the  State 
legislature  for  two  terms,  and  served  as  School 
Visitor  for  several  years,  taking  a  deep  inter- 


est in  educational  matters.  Mrs.  Brown  and 
daughter  are  members  of  the  First  Groton 
Baptist  Church.      They  reside  on  the  farm. 


YfTyCHARD  WILLIAM  CHADWICK, 
I  |^y  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Old  Lyme, 
*-?  V  j  owner  of  the  Chadwick  farm,  which 
has  been  in  the  family  from  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  was  born  here,  September  17, 
1836,  son  of  George  H.  and  Mary  (Sparrow) 
Chadwick.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Rich- 
ard Chadwick,  married  a  Miss  Terry,  of  Long 
Island,  by  whom  he  had  one  son  and  one 
daughter,  George  and  Betsey.  The  last 
named  became  the  wife  of  Grant  Chamber- 
lain, reared  a  family  of  four  daughters,  and 
died  at  an  advanced  age  in  Litchfield  County. 
George  H.  Chadwick  adopted  farming  as  his 
life  occupation,  and  was  cpiite  successful. 
Esteemed  by  his  fellow-townsmen,  he  was 
elected  to  various  positions  of  trust  and  re- 
sponsibility, including  that  of  Selectman. 
He  saw  military  service  in  the  War  of  1812, 
and  at  its  close  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. .  In  1S33  he  married  Mary  Sparrow, 
of  this  town,  daughter  of  Union  Sparrow;  and 
by  her  he  had  two  children  — ■  George  R.  and 
Richard  W.  George,  who  went  to  sea,  lost 
his  life  in  1852  when  nineteen  years  old,  by 
falling  from  the  mizzen  rigging  of  a  vessel. 
The  father  and  mother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  and  also  his  grandparents,  are  resting 
in  Old  Lyme  cemetery.  The  parents  were 
members  of  the  Congregational  church. 

Richard  W.  Chadwick  was  educated  in  the 
town  schools  and  at  Lyme  Academy.  Like 
his  father,  he  became  a  farmer,  in  which  occu- 
pation he  has  been  successful.  Politically, 
he  is  an  ardent  Republican.  He  takes  a 
warm  interest  in  town  affairs,  and  has  been 
repeatedly    elected    to    public    office.       Until 


LICHARD    W.    CIIADWICK. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3°S 


June,    1895,    he  was    Deputy  Sheriff,    having 
held   that   position    for   thirty   years   with    the 

I  it  ion  of  his  period  of  service  in  the  legis- 
lature and  two  years  under  a  Democratic  ad- 
ministration, lie  was  instrumental  in  captur- 
ing the  notorious  gang  of  Bridgeport  burglars 
in  1885,  and  at  that  time  narrowly  escaped 
death  by  a  pistol  shot  tired  by  one  of  the 
youthful  desperadoes  while  the  Sheriff  was 
placing  him  under  arrest.  In  1873  and  1889 
he  was  sent  by  his  town  to  the  lower  branch 
of  the  State  legislature,  where  he  served  his 
constituents  with  the  fidelity  and  ability 
which  have  always  marked  his  administration 
11I  public  office.  In  April,  1896,  he  was  ap- 
pointed County  Commissioner  for  a  term  of 
three  years.  A  Master  Mason,  he  was  for- 
merly a  member  of  Mount  Olive  Lodge,  and 
now  belongs  to  Pythagoras  Lodge  of  Lyme. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  Mr.  Chad- 
wick  married  Maria  Bracey,  of  this  town, 
who  bore  him  two  children  (twins)  :  G. 
Robert  Chadwick;  and  Maria,  now  Mrs. 
Charles  Stanton,  of  Hartford.  The  mother 
died  while  her  children  were  yet  infants. 
Mi.  Chadwick  married  for  his  second  wife, 
in   January,   1886,  Miss   A.  M.    Rowland.      In 

ions  belief  the  family  are  Congregation- 
alists. 


ILLIAM    DENISON    ROGERS,  the 

well-known  ice  dealer  on  Laurel 
Hill  in  Norwich,  was  born  in 
Salem.  Conn.,  February  15,  1831.  A  son  of 
William  Pendleton  Rogers,  he  belongs  to  the 
twelfth  generation  descended  from  the  John 
Rogers  who  was  burned  at  the  stake  in  Eng- 
land in  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary.  This 
branch  of  the  Rogers  family  is  one  of  the  old 
anil  worthy  families  of  the  county.  Denison 
Rogers,  the  grandfather,  married  Nancy  Pen- 
dleton, and  had  four  sons  and   three  daughters 


—  Alfred,  Henry,  William,  James,  Charlotte, 
Lucy,  and  Emily.  Alfred  was  Captain  ami 
James  a  Colonel  in  the  militia. 

William  Pendleton  Rogers,  who  was  a 
teacher  for  many  years,  married  in  1S30  Lucy 
Caroline  Beebe,  of  Last  Great  Plain.  She 
was  born  in  1809,  daughter  of  Joab  Beebe, 
wdio  settled  here  in  1790.  After  the  marriage 
they  rented  a  farm  in  Salem.  Two  years 
later  they  removed  to  the  old  Beebe  farm  in 
Norwich,  where  they  remained  during  the  rest 
of  their  long  and  useful  lives.  Their  children 
were:  William  Denison,  Joab  B.,  Emily, 
Mary  Elizabeth,  Nancy  Maria,  Jenny  L.,  and 
J.  Frank.  Joab  B.  Rogers  is  the  present 
jailer  at  New  London.  Emily  died  unmarried 
in  1873.  Mary  E.  was  married  in  California, 
and  died  there,  leaving  two  children.  Her 
twin  sister,  Nancy  M..  is  unmarried,  and  re- 
sides at  the  old  farm.  Jenny  L.  became  Mis. 
Harris.  J.  Frank  is  a  farmer  and  a  mail  agent 
of   Salem. 

William  Denison  Rogers  remained  at  home 
until  he  reached  his  majority.  He  then 
bought  a  few  acres  of  land  in  Great  Plain,  ami 
built  the  house  to  which  he  took  his  bride  011 
March  28,  1865.  She  was  Susan  Frances, 
daughter  of  Gardner  and  Martha  (Rates)  Hull. 
Mr.  Rogers  has  been  in  the  ice  trade  foi 
thirty-two  years,  supplying  ice  both  at  whole- 
sale and  retail.  His  ice  is  obtained  from  the 
pure  spring  water  which  comes  from  his  own 
water  works  on  the  hill,  and  which  is  con- 
ducted several  hundred  feet  from  the  three 
reservoirs  built  by  Mr.  Rill.  He  bought 
this  property  on  time,  going  in  debt  to  the  ex- 
tent of  five  thousand  dollars  for  the  fust  pur- 
chase, and  afterward  buying  over  forty  ai 
for  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars.  Within 
live  years  he  had  paid  up  his  entire  in 
ness.  He  is  now  our  oi  the  solid  farmers  of 
the  county. 


3°6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers  have  two  sons  anil  a 
daughter.  Their  first-born,  William  Gardner, 
who  is  at  home  on  the  farm,  spent  a  part  of 
the  year  1896  in  California.  Fanny  Bell 
Rogers  and  her  younger  brother,  John  Deni- 
son,  were  educated  in  the  Norwich  High 
School.  Miss  Rogers  is  now  cashier  in  the 
large  store  of  Porteous  &  Mitchell,  where  she 
handles  several  hundred  dollars  daily.  Mr. 
Rogers  is  a  Republican  voter,  as  was  his 
father,  though  his  ancestors  were  adherents  of 
the  opposite  party.  He  carries  on  general 
farming,  and  besides  three  horses  he  keeps  fif- 
teen cows  of  the  Holstein  and  Guernsey 
grades.  He  has  made  many  improvements  on 
his  farm,  including  the  erection  of  a  double 
ice-house  and  sundry  out-houses. 


--+-*•»-♦ 


DWARD  KEEFE,  an  enterprising  gro- 
cer doing  business  at  495  Bank  Street, 
New  London,  was  born  in  Newfound- 
land, April  4,  1852,  son  of  Richard  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Brown)  Keefe.  The  father,  who  was 
born  in  Ireland  in  1S24,  married  Elizabeth 
Brown,  of  the  same  country,  and  emigrated  to 
Newfoundland.  Subsequently  he  came  to 
New  London,  where  he  followed  the  trade  of 
tailor  during  the  rest  of  his  life.  Of  his 
seven  children  six  were  reared,  namely:  Ed- 
ward, the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary,  of  this 
city;  James,  a  resident  of  Syracuse,  N.Y.; 
Ellen,  the  wife  of  John  Callahan;  Thomas, 
who  resides  at  home  and  is  unmarried;  and 
Richard,  who  also  lives  with  his  widowed 
mother  on  Bank  Street. 

After  acquiring  a  public-school  education 
in  this  city,  Edward  Keefe  had  learned  the 
machinist's  trade  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  He- 
was  employed  for  seventeen  years  thereafter  in 
two  concerns,  serving  the  New  London  & 
Northern  Railroad  for  fourteen  years.      In  the 


spring  of  1885  he  established  his  present  gro- 
cery. He  is  the  owner  of  his  residence  at 
281  Bank  Street  and  of  another  place  on  the 
corner  of  Bank  and  Ocean  Avenue.  On  Sep- 
tember 23,  1875,  he  was  married  to  Bridget 
Rowe,  of  this  city.  Her  parents,  James  and 
Elizabeth  (Dray)  Rowe,  came  from  Ireland  in 
1851.  Her  father  is  dead;  but  her  mother  is 
still  living,  and  has  three  daughters  and  one 
son.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keefe  have  six  children 
—  Mary,  Frank,  Fred,  Edward,  Bessie,  and 
Lucy.  Mary  was  graduated  from  Williams 
Memorial  High  School  of  this  city  in  June, 
1895.  Frank,  who  was  also  a  high-school 
graduate,  is  now  the  book-keeper  in  his 
father's  store.  The  other  children  are  still 
attending  school.  In  politics  Mr.  Keefe  is  a 
sound  money  Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of 
Trumble  Lodge,  No.  47,  K.  of  P.  ;  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Foresters  of  America;  of 
the  Knights  of  Columbus;  and  of  St.  John's 
Literary  Association.  In  religion  both  he 
and  Mrs.  Keefe  are  Roman  Catholics. 


1LLIAM  A.  ERASER,  book-keeper 
for  the  Robert  Palmer  &  Son  Com- 
pany at  Noank,  in  the  tewn  of  Gro- 
ton,  Conn.,  was  born  in  Bath,  Me.,  January 
20,  1856,  son  of  Simon  Campbell  and  Jane 
(Nicholson)  Eraser. 

Simon  C.  Fraser,  now  a  wharf  builder  at 
New  London,  was  born  at  Kirk  Hill,  Inver- 
ness, Scotland,  January  1,  1825.  He  was  a 
son  of  Donald  and  grandson  of  Donald,  Sr. ,  a 
lineal  descendant  of  Simon  Levat,  a  noted 
Highlander,  and  at  one  time  a  contestant  of 
his  estate. 

The  family,  nicknamed  Maconie  (from  land 
owned  by  the  family  for  many  generations), 
immigrated  in  1832  to  Nova  Scotia,  where 
Donald,  the  father  of  Simon,  died  at  the  age 


IJIOCRAI'HKAL    REVIEW 


3°7 


of  eighty.  There  were  seven  children,  and 
five  are  now  living,  namely:  Simon  C.  and 
f.  Dun. ild,  of  Now  London;  Ann  Cameron,  of 
New  Glasgow,  N.S.;  and  Margaret  Hender- 
son  and   Jennie    Fraser,    of   Boston,    Mass. 

In  1868  Simon  C.  Fraser  came  to  New 
London,  and  engaged  in  the  ship-building  in- 
dustry; and  about  twenty  years  ago  he  took  up 
wharf  building,  in  which  he  still  continues  to 
do  a  profitable  business.  He  resides  at  115 
Main  Street,  New  London.  Simon  C.  and 
his  wife,  Jane,  who  died  December  21,  1S84, 
had  eight  children.  The  three  now  living 
are:  William  A.,  of  Noank ;  George  W.,  an 
engineer  and  dock  builder,  engaged  with  his 
father  in  New  London:  and  Jean  C,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  class  of  1896  in  the  Ladies'  High 
School  in  that  city. 

William  A.  Fraser  received  his  education 
in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  New  Lon- 
don. IK-  assumed  the  duties  of  his  present 
position  with  the  Palmer  Company  a  little 
more  than  eight  years  ago,  in  1889.  Five 
years  before,  mi  December  3,  1884,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Lena  Brown,  of  Noank,  daughter 
-I  George  and  Harriet  (Cromwell)  Brown. 
Her  father  is  master  of  a  fishing  schooner,  of 
which  he  is  half-owner.  She  has  one  brother, 
Will riil  Brown.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fraser  have 
one  child,    Lloyd   Wilfrid. 

Politically,  Mr.  Fraser  is  a  Prohibitionist 
from  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party.  He 
and  his  wile  are  members  oi  tin-  Baptist 
church,  in  which  he  is  a  Deacon,  the  clerk, 
and  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school.  The 
church  has  been  a  very  active  and  prosperous 
nne,  and  a  year  or  two  ago  Mr.  Fraser  wrote  a 
comprehensive  ami  interesting  history  of  its 
work  in  this  community.  Mr.  Fraser  is 
deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  village, 
lb-  was  the  president  of  the  Village  Improve- 
ment Association  for  a  term  of  years,  was  one 


of  the  organizers  ol  the  lire  department  in  the 
village,  and  for  the  first  two  years  after  organ- 
ization was  its  executive  head. 


■EfrABEZ  S.  LATHROP,  a  v<  teran  teacher, 
now  retired  ami  residing  in  North 
Washington  Street,  Norwich,  was  born 
May  28,  icS24,  in  Bozrah,  this  county,  son  of 
Simeon  and  Phcebe  (Peckham)  Lathrop.  The 
paternal  great-grandfather,  who  was  also 
named  Simeon,  lived  on  the  farm  on  Blue 
Hill.  This  estate,  comprising  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land,  was  settled  by  an 
earlier  ancestor,  to  whom  it  was  granted  by 
the  Colonial  authorities,  and  is  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Jane  Smith,  a  sister  of  Jabez  S.  Lathrop. 
The  great-grandfather  was  ninety-eight  years 
of  age  when  he  died.  His  son  Andrew,  who 
was  born  on  the  Lathrop  homestead,  there 
spent  his  life,  principally  engaged  in  farming, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years, 
from  injuries  inflicted  by  an  enraged  ram. 
The  first  of  Andrew's  two  marriages  was  con- 
tracted with  Lucrctia  Smith,  who  died  in  the 
prime  of  life.  She  had  two  sons  and  four 
daughters.  The  son  Azariah,  who  died  in 
Vernon,  Tolland  County,  in  1891,  nearly 
eighty  years  of  age,  married  a  Miss  Hunting- 
ton. Andrew's  second  wife  was  Zerviah 
Polly  Lathrop. 

Simeon  Lathrop,  the  lather  of  Jabez  S., 
lived  to  be  nearly  ninety-three 
and  was  in  the  full  possession  ol  his  mental 
powers  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  [886. 
He  was  twice  married.  By  the  first  marriage 
there  was  one  son,  William,  who  volunteered 
from  Pembroke  for  service  in  the  late  war, 
and  who  was  mortally  wounded  while  in  a 
skirmish  just  before  the  battle  of  Pull  Run. 
1  le  died  during  the  battle  on  Sunday,  and  is 
buried    in    an    unknown    grave.      His    captain 


3ot 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


said  that  he  was  a  typical  soldier,  and  that  no 
braver  one  had  ever  been  known.  By  his 
marriage  with  Phoebe  Peckham,  who  died 
about  1850,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one,  he  had  five 
sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity.  They  were:  Andrew,  Lucy,  Jabez 
S. ,  Alanson,  Peckham,  Jane,  David  A., 
Lydia,  Ann  Hasseltine,  and  Phoebe  Calista. 
Andrew  Lathrop,  born  in  1822,  was  a  carriage 
builder  in  Belvidere,  111.,  and  died  there  at 
the  age  of  seventy.  Lucy  is  the  widow  of 
John  Ashcroft,  and  resides  in  Franklin  with 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Lydia  Smith.  Alanson  died 
in  1867,  leaving  a  widow.  Jane  is  the  widow 
of  Lucien  H.  Smith,  and,  as  above  intimated, 
resides  in  Franklin.  David  went  to  Michi- 
gan, and  is  there  living  in  Chase,  Lake 
County.  Lydia,  the  twin  sister  of  David,  is 
the  widow  of  Henry  Smith.  Ann  married 
A.  F.  Park,  a  brother  of  the  late  Judge  J.  D. 
Park.  She  died  in  1892,  leaving  one  daugh- 
ter, Miss  Annie  Park,  a  graduate  of  the  Nor- 
wich Free  Academy  and  a  most  competent 
teacher  in  this  town.  PlKebe,  who  lived  to 
be  about  twenty  years  of  age,  was  the  first  of 
the  family  to  die. 

Jabez  S.  Lathrop  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  under  Martin  Pomeroy  Wells, 
who  was  afterward  the  able  vice-president  of 
Marietta  College.  Mr.  Lathrop  was  subse- 
quently a  student  at  an  academy.  When 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  began  to  teach 
school.  This  profession  he  afterward  fol- 
lowed for  nearly  forty-seven  years,  meeting 
with  rare  success  as  an  instructor.  lie  is 
now  one  of  the  twelve  trustees  of  the  State 
School  for  Boys,  and  is  the  acting  chairman  of 
the  board.  Though  not  a  church  member,  he 
is  an  energetic  worker  in  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Norwich,  which  dates  back 
to  1660;  and  he  has  for  many  years  sung  in 
the    choir.       On    coming    to     Norwich    forty 


years  ago,  he  rented  the  comfortable  and 
pleasant  dwelling  which  is  now  his  home, 
and  shortly  afterward  bought  it.  He  has 
served  the  town  as  Selectman  for  five  years, 
and  was  in  the  legislature  in  1879,  1881,  and 
1884,  where  he  showed  himself  thoroughly  in- 
formed on  all  questions  of  public  importance. 
Besides  this  he  was  also  County  Treasurer  for 
nine  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
and  his  first  Presidential  vote  was  cast  for 
Henry  Clay.  Not  long  since  a  partial  stroke 
of  paralysis  obliged  him  to  give  up  teaching. 

On  December  4,  184S,  Mr.  Lathrop  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Julia,  a  daughter  of 
Elijah  J.  and  Joanna  R.  (Kllis)  Backus  and  a 
grand-daughter  of  Asa  Backus,  who  was  the 
third  Asa  Backus  in  this  town.  The  fourth 
Asa  is  Asa  William  Backus,  of  Toledo,  Ohio. 
Besides  an  infant  daughter  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lathrop  have  lost  a  son,  Joseph  Backus  La- 
throp, who  left  a  wife  and  two  daughters  — 
Julia  B.  and  Helen  W.,  both  residents  of 
Columbus,  Ohio.  Four  of  their  children  are 
living.  Their  daughter  Helen  M.  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Norwich  Free  Academy  ami  a 
highly  successful  teacher  of  Norwich.  Her 
sister,  Julia  L.,  is  the  wife  of  Walter  H. 
Potter  and  the  mother  of  one  daughter,  Ruth 
Lathrop  Potter.  Alanson  P.  Lathrop  is  the 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  gas  company  in 
Columbus,  Ohio.  He  married  Ella  Farquhar, 
and  has  two  children —  Grayson  F.  and  Ger- 
trude. Gertrude  L.,  the  youngest  child  of 
Jabez  S.  Lathrop,  is  now  the  wife  of  Alonzo 
M.  Luther,  of  Norwich. 


)N     S.     ASH  BEL    CRANDALL,    a 
prominent  Norwich   lawyer,  was  born 

"  V .   in    Ledyard,    October   12,    1851,  son 

of  Stiles  and  Caroline  L.   (Greene)  Crandall, 
and    grandson    of    Welles    and    Sally    (Wood- 


S.  ASHBEL    CRANDALL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3ii 


bridge)  Crandall.  Welles  Crandall,  who  was 
a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  followed  the  trade 
of  tanner  in  Preston.  His  wife,  who  was  horn 
hi  dinton,  lived  to  he  sixt)  years  of  age;  and 
he  died  in  middle  life.  They  are  buried  in 
Ledyard.  They  had  a  son  and  three  daugh- 
ters. 

Stiles  Crandall,  the  only  son  of  Welles 
Crandall,  was  horn  in  Groton,  November  25, 
[8l  }.  He  is  a  highly  esteemed  and  successful 
farmer  of  Ledyard,  where  he  and  his  wife  still 
reside  on  their  farm.  Although  advanced  in 
years,  they  are  remarkably  active.  Mrs. 
line  I..  Crandall  is  a  daughter  of  Stephen 
and  Sarah  (Bolles)  Greene,  of  Waterford, 
Conn.  Her  marriage  with  Stiles  Crandall 
was  performed  in  i8a_p  Of  their  two  sons 
and  a  daughter,  S.  Ashbel  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. Caroline  .Augusta  died  at  eight  years 
of  age,  and  Stiles  lived  to  he  hut  thirteen 
months  old.  Beginning  soon  after  attaining 
his  legal  majority,  the  lather  served  the  town 
in  different  offices  until  he  was  seventy  years 
old.  He  was  Assessor  for  thirty  consecutive 
In  i860  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
legislature  by  the  largest  majority  ever  given 
in  his  district. 

S.  Ashbel  Crandall  spent  his  boyhood  on 
the  farm,  and  his  early  education  was  acquired 
in  the  district  school.  When  eighteen  years 
old,  he  engaged  in  school  teaching,  and  after- 
ward followed  that  calling  until  he  was  twenty- 
live.  Shortly  after,  he  began  to  read  law  in 
Iowa  City,  la.,  at  the  State  University,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1878.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Norwich,  and  immediately  engaged  in  prac- 
tice. His  career  as  a  lawyer  has  been  at- 
tended with  marked  and  well-deserved  success. 
In  1880,  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  he  was 
elected  as  Representative  to  the  lower  house 
oi  the  State  legislature  from  Ledyard.      From 


1888  to  1S92  he  was  .Mayor  of  Norwich,  and 
from  1S93  to  1895  he  was  a  State  Senator  and 
City  Attorney.  He  has  also  been  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Education  six  years.  He  is 
Judge  Advocate  and  a  member  of  Brigadier- 
general  Haven's  staff,  with  the  rank  ol  Major. 
Fraternally,  he  is  a  Master  Mason,  a  Past 
Grand  Conductor  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  a  Knight 
of  Pythias,  a  member  of  the  Improved  Order 
of  Red  Men,  ami  a  Forester. 


On     April 


Oi 


I  88: 


Mr.     Crandall     was 


joined  in  marriage  with  Miss  Jane  F.  Stod- 
dard, of  Ledyard,  a  daughter  of  Sanford  B. 
arid  Mary  Stoddard,  both  of  whom  an-  now 
deceased.  She  died  June  18,  1885,  when 
thirty-four  years  of  age,  leaving  two  children. 
The  latter  are:  Mary  S.,  twelve  years  old; 
and  Billings  F.  S.,  eleven  years  old.  For  the 
past  seven  years  Mr.  Crandall  has  made  his 
home  in  the  Wauregan  House. 


RRIN  F.  HARRIS,  M.D.,  a  popu- 
lar physician  of  Norwich,  is  a  native 
and  a  resident  of  Preston.  He  was 
born  May  31,  1843,  son  of  Robert  P.  and 
Betsey  (Brewster)  Harris.  The  father,  who 
died  in  1863,  about  fifty-six  years  of  age,  was 
a  cabinet-maker  of  Preston  and  a  man  of  solid 
worth.  His  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of 
Erastus  Brewster  and  a  sister  of  Augustus  and 
Frank  Brewster,  survived  until  18115,  and  at- 
tained the  age  of  eighty  years.  Besides 
Orrin  F.  she  had  three  other  children. 
Charles  R.  Harris,  the  eldest,  who  died  in 
Hoboken,  N.J.,  in  [896,  aged  sixty-two  yi 
was  a  mariner,  and,  though  modest  and  retir- 
ing, was  a  man  of  merit  and  of  influence.  He 
left  a  widow  and  two  sons.  Lucretia  Harris 
is  now  Mrs.  Elias  M.  Brewster,  of  Norwich. 
George  H.,  now  residing    in    Preston,   was   tor 


3 '  - 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


years  the  agent  of  the  Norwich  &  Worcester 
Transportation  Company  in  Norwich. 

Orrin  F.  Harris,  the  youngest  child  of  his 
parents,  received  his  elementary  education  in 
the  common  schools.  Subsequently  he  en- 
tered the  medical  department  of  Columbia 
College.  Believing  that  he  could  be  of  ser- 
vice to  his  country  and  at  the  same  time  gain 
valuable  experience,  he  volunteered  in  1862 
in  the  medical  department  of  the  army,  and 
was  appointed  to  the  hospital  at  Alexandria 
under  General  Surgeon  Edward  Bentley,  a 
personal  friend.  After  the  war  Dr.  Harris 
returned  to  Columbia  to  complete  his  medical 
studies,  and  graduated  in  1865.  He  began 
practice  in  Norwich,  opening  his  present  office 
in  March,  1865.  He  has  well  earned  his  rep- 
utation of  a  skilful  and  conscientious  phy- 
sician. 

The  Doctor  was  married  in  August,  1890, 
to  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Daniel  \V.  and  Sarah 
(Woodward)  Tracy,  of  Preston.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  in  a  house  that  he  had 
previously  erected  in  Preston,  and  which  has 
since  been  the  family  residence.  Besides  a 
little  son,  the  Doctor  and  his  wife  have  been 
bereft  of  twin  boys,  who  lived  but  a  few 
hours.  They  have  one  infant  son,  Orrin  F., 
who  is  the  object  of  their  tenderest  care  and 
affection.  Essentially  a  domestic  man,  the 
Doctor  is  devotedly  attached  to  his  home  and 
family.  His  greatest  pleasure  in  life  is  to 
return  home  after  a  tiresome  day,  and  enjoy 
the  epiiet  rest  of  his  own  fireside  and  the  com- 
panionship of  his  home  circle  and  family 
friends.  In  politics  lie  is  a  loyal  Republican, 
but  he  has  never  cared  to  hold  public  office. 
During  the  years  of  the  anti-slavery  agitation 
he  was  an  abolitionist.  The  estate  upon 
which  Dr.  Harris  resides  comprises  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  good  land.  On 
it  is  a  peach  orchard   of   fifteen  hundred   trees, 


recently  set  out,  which  promises  to  become 
one  of  the  finest  orchards  of  the  kind  in  this 
section  of  the  State.  Dr.  Harris  relies  more 
on  nature  than  on  drugs,  and  is  never  afraid 
to  prescribe  in  accordance  with  this  principle. 


HOMAS  O.  THOMPSON,  a  well- 
known  insurance  dealer  in  New  Lon- 
don, was  born  in  New  York  City, 
April  14,  1S64,  son  of  Francis  and  Adelaide 
(Owen)  Thompson.  Alexander,  the  paternal 
grandfather,  emigrated  from  Ballantragh, 
Londonderry,  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  in  18 10, 
bringing  his  wife  and  children.  He  was  a 
wealthy  retired  sea  captain,  who  subsequently 
engaged  as  a  shipping  merchant.  His  first 
marriage  was  contracted  with  Ann  Corscod- 
den,  who  died  June  12,  1809,  leaving  two  of 
her  four  children.  In  February,  1810,  he 
married  Margaret  Burney,  of  New  York,  who 
had  ten  children.  She  died  October  30, 
1838,  leaving  eight  children.  He  reared  ten 
of  his  fourteen  children,  and  three  of  his 
daughters  are  still  living. 

Francis  Thompson,  son  of  Alexander,  was  a 
wholesale  hardware  merchant  of  the  firm  A.  R. 
Van  Ness  &  Co.,  one  of  the  largest  concerns  of 
the  city  at  that  time.  He  married  Adelaide 
Owen  in  New  York  City,  June  1,  1847,  and 
they  had  six  children  —  Adelaide  M.,  Eliza- 
beth O.,  Carrie  N.,  Francis  G.  A.,  Thomas 
O.,  and  Mary  N.  Adelaide  was  twice  mar- 
ried, the  first  time  to  Lieutenant  Commodore 
Walter  Abbott,  of  the  United  States  navy. 
She  is  now  the  widow  of  Dr.  H.  C.  Nelson. 
Elizabeth  O.  married  Captain  J.  E.  Sawyer, 
of  the  United  States  army.  Carrie  N.  is  the 
wife  of  Edwin  Van  Hornstein,  who  is  a  Major 
in  the  German  army  at  Strasburg.  Francis 
G.  A.  is  in  Chicago,  111.  Mary  N.  is  the 
wife  of  Dallas  Goodwin,  of  New  York  City. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3i3 


The  father  died  January  1,  1869,  and  the 
mother,  at  the  age  oi  fifty-three,  in  1SS0,  hav- 
ing survived  her  husband  eleven  years.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Owen,  of  this  city. 
Her  grandfather,  John  Owen,  was  the  first 
City  Clerk  in  New  London,  and  filled  that 
office  from  [784  to  1S24,  a  period  of  forty 
years.  Previously  he  was  a  successful  teacher 
for  main'  years,  and  was  familiarly  known  as 
Mastei  Owen.  lie  was  married  three  times, 
and  became  the  lather  of  eighteen  children, 

vhom  Thomas  was  the  youngest. 

rhomas  O.  Thompson  was  a  student  in  the 
schools  oi  Heidelberg  and  Baden-Baden,  Ger- 
many, from  the  time  he  was  nine  years  oi  age 
until  [880,  when  he  came  to  New  London, 
lie  has  served  in  the  militia  for  fifteen  years, 
being  promoted  from  the  rank  of  private  to 
that  oi  Captain.  In  politics  he  affiliates  with 
the  Republican  party.  On  March  26,  [888, 
lie  married  Jeanette  Allender  in  New  York 
City.  Her  parents,  William  and  Mrs.  (Gar- 
Al lender,  who  married  young,  subse- 
quently went  to  the  diamond  mines  near  Cape 
Town,  Smith  Africa,  where  the  father  was  em- 
ployed in  civil  engineering,  leaving  her  and 
her  brother  William  in  New  London  to  he  ed- 
ucated. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  have  one 
sun.  Thomas  O.,  yet  a  babe.  They  reside  at 
1  Nathan  Male  Street,  where  Mr.  Thompson 
built  his  line  house  on  Post  1 1  ill  in  1892. 
Personally,  Mr.  Thompson  is  pleasant  and  re- 
fined, and  stands  high  in  the  social  and  com- 
mercial circles  of  New  London. 


DWIN    A.    ROATH,   a  highly    respi 

citizen  of  Norwich,  living  in  retire- 
ment   at    20    Spalding    Street,   was 

on  Union  Street,  this  city,  November 
2,  [823.  Asa  Roath,  his  father,  was  born 
March  3,  1790,  on   Roath  Street,  Norwich,  in 


the  old  Roath  house,  which  was  erected  by  a 
member  of  the  family  over  two  hundred  years 
ago,  and  which  is  now  the  property  of  the  sub- 
ject nf  this  sketch.  Eleazer  Roath.  the  father 
ot  Asa  and  a  son  oi  Stephen,  was  born  in  the 
same  house  in  1747,  and  died  in  1835.  lie 
was  a  farmer,  and  owned  a  Large  anil  valuable 
estate,  a  portion  of  which  is  still  in  the  fam- 
ily, lie  married  Hannah  Killam.  of  Nor- 
wich, who  bore  him  bun-  sons  and  lour  daugh- 
ters. OI  these,  three  sons  and  three  daughters 
lived  to  a  good  age.  Stephen  Roath  died  in 
1808,  at  an  advanced  age,  leaving  considera- 
ble property.  Robert  Roath,  a  native  of 
England  and  the  first  to  settle  in  America, 
came  here  about  the  year  1640.  and  estab- 
lished a  home  on  Plain  Hill  01  Wawacus  Hill, 
Norwich,  a  portion  of  a  grant  el  land  received 
from  the  town  proprietors.  According  to 
family  tradition  these  early  ancestors  were 
men  of  magnificent  physique,  some  of  them 
standing  six  feet  or  more  in  height. 

Asa  Roath,  who  was  five  feet,  eleven  and 
one-half  inches  tall,  and  weighed  about  two 
hundred  and  ninety  pounds,  was  a  Colonel  in 
the  State  militia.  In  the  War  of  [812  he 
served  in  the  defence  oi  New  London.  In 
1820  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Allyn, 
of  Groton,  now  Ledyard,  Conn.,  where  her 
birth  occurred  in  May,  1799.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  General  Billings  Allyn.  Nine 
children  were  the  fruit  of  their  union,  as  fol- 
lows: Edwin  and  Ann.  both  of  whom  died  in 
childhood,  el  scarlet  lever,  within  a  very  short 
period;  Edwin  A.;  Hannah,  the  widow  of 
Ruphus  Leeds  Fanning,  who  died  in  middle 
age;  Stephen,  who  resides  in  Chicago.  111.; 
Elizabeth,  the  widow  oi  David  M.  Randall, 
now  living  on  Franklin  Street.  Norwich,  and 
who  has  one  daughter;  Louis  Phillip,  named 
by  his  aunt,  Mary  Allyn  Clarke,  whose  hus- 
band  was  the  captain  oi    a  merchantman,  re- 


3 1 4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


siding  in  Norwich;  Ann  Meach,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Henry  L.  Parker,  resided  at  431 
Franklin  Street,  Norwich,  and  who  died  in 
the  fall  of  1894,  aged  fifty-eight  years,  leav- 
ing two  sons  and  three  daughters;  and  Hen- 
rietta Louisa,  who  died  in  infancy.  The 
lather  died  March  11,  1846,  when  fifty-six 
years  of  age,  and  the  mother  on  May  20, 
1859,  aged  sixty  years. 

Edwin  A.  Roath  was  graduated  from  Nor- 
wich Academy  when  eighteen  years  of  age. 
Soon  after  he  began  his  business  career  in  the 
Norwich  &  Worcester  Railroad,  covering  a 
period  of  over  fifty  years.  For  twenty-four 
years  of  that  time  he  was  an  engineer  and  for 
twenty-one  years  a  station  agent.  He  ran  a 
special  train  into  Boston  at  the  time  of  the 
dedication  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  His 
present  home,  where  he  has  lived  since  Janu- 
ary, 1870,  was  purchased  by  him  in  1868. 
He  also  owns  two  other  places  on  North  Main 
Street,  built  in  1839,  tnat  were  formerly 
owned  by  his  father;  also  his  grandfather's 
place  on  Roath  Street,  which  was  built  about 
two  centuries  ago,  a  home  in  which  the  red 
man  always  received  kindly  treatment,  and 
from  which  he  was  never  turned  away. 

()n  February  21,  1849,  Mr.  Roath  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Frances  M. 
Rathbone,  of  Norwich.  They  have  had  two 
sons,  namely:  Francis  Edwin,  who  died  when 
but  two  years  old;  and  Frank  Allyn  Roath. 
The  latter,  who  resides  on  Otis  Street,  Nor- 
wich, is  the  purser  of  the  steamer  "City  of 
Worcester,"  which  runs  between  New  London 
and  New  York  City.  On  June  28,  1894,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Gertrude  Hakes,  of 
Worcester,  a  very  capable  business  woman, 
who  was  formerly  book-keeper  of  a  large  con- 
cern in  her  native  city.  In  politics  Mr. 
Roath  is  a  Democrat,  while  as  a  rule  he  de- 
clines all  official  honors. 


RS.  LYDIA  A.  KEENEY,  of 
New  London,  the  widow  of  Sam- 
uel C.  Keeney,  was  born  here, 
September  25,  181 7,  daughter  of  Josiah  and 
Lydia  (Lester)  Keeney  and  a  grand-daughter 
of  Daniel  Keeney.  The  family  are  an  old 
and  numerous  one,  who  trace  back  their  an- 
cestry in  this  section  for  two  hundred  years. 
The  early  ancestor,  John  Keeney,  occupied 
the  front  part  of  the  Alfred  Mitchell  man- 
sion, where  he  reared  his  family.  The  house 
is  undoubtedly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old.  Among  the  descendants  who  were  born 
in  this  house  were  Mrs.  Keeney  and  her  hus- 
band, and  they  were  second  cousins. 

Josiah  Keeney,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Keeney, 
died  in  April,  1817,  before  she  was  born, 
leaving  a  widow,  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 
The  widow  was  again  married  to  her  hus- 
band's brother,  Richard,  by  whom  she  also 
had  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  After  sur- 
viving her  second  husband,  she  died  in  Ches- 
terfield, Conn.,  in  August,  18S1,  in  her 
eighty-ninth  year.  Two  children  by  the  sec- 
ond marriage  still  survive,  namely:  Erastus 
Keeney,  of  this  city;  and  the  widow  Fox,  of 
Chesterfield. 

Mrs.  Keeney  was  twice  married.  Her  first 
husband,  to  whom  she  was  united  in  1836, 
was  Harris  Lewis,  of  this  city.  He  lived  but 
four  years  thereafter,  dying  at  the  age  of 
thirty-one.  Mrs.  Lewis  had  one  child  by 
him,  Harry,  who  was  born  after  the  father's 
death.  He  died  at  the  age  of  three  years. 
In  1S43  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Keeney,  by 
whom  she  became  the  mother  of  seven  chil- 
dren, the  youngest  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
The  survivors  are:  Joseph  Keeney,  of  Wash- 
ington, D.C.,  who  is  married;  Harriet,  who 
married  George  H.  Johnson,  of  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.  ;  Emma  J.,  the  wife  of  Charles  Burdell, 
of     New    Haven,    Conn.  ;     Ulyssus,    a   single 


BIOGRAPHICAL    KKVIKW 


3  IS 


gentleman,  living  at  home  with  his  mother: 
Hiram  IF.,  of  this  city;  and  Lilian,  who  mar- 
ried Charles  Tarbox,  a  blacking  manufacturer 
oi  this  city.  Mrs.  Keeney  has  lour  grand- 
children. 

Samuel  C.  Keeney,  a  former  resident  of 
this  city,  was  horn  here  in  1813,  son  of  Giles 
and  Theresa  (Chappell)  Keeney  and  grandson 
of  John  Keener,  of  this  place.  His  father 
and  grandfather  were  fishermen.  His  parents 
had  seven  children,  only  two  of  whom  are 
now  living.  These  are:  Captain  John,  who 
is  eighty-four  years  of  age;  and  his  sister, 
Caroline,  now  Mrs.  Samuel  Lester,  who  lives 
on  Shelter  Island,  New  York.  Samuel  C. 
Keeney  shipped  on  a  merchantman  in  early 
life,  and  went  to  foreign  countries.  Having 
begun  as  a  common  sailor,  he  was  the  captain 
fishing-smack  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  He 
was  also  engaged  in  wrecking  off  the  coast  of 
Florida,  making  and  losing  a  great  ileal  of 
money  thereby.  When  he  died  in  18S7,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-four,  he  left  his  widow 
with  a  comfortable  competency.  She  sold 
her  house  on  Blinman  Street,  and  built  a 
smaller  one,  92  Willetts  Avenue,  in  1888. 


B 


AVID  A.  NORRIS,  a  retired  com- 
mercial traveller  of  Norwich,  liv- 
ing at  Yantic,  was  born  in  Hanover, 
Morris  County,  N.J.,  November  8,  1826,  son 
of  David  and  Joanna  (Burnet)  Norris.  The 
father,  who  was  born  in  I/Qi,  was  a  black- 
smith, and  followed  his  trade  in  Whippany 
until  he  was  sixty-five  years  of  age.  Then  he 
removed  to  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  A  whole-souled, 
benevolent  man,  he  seldom  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity to  do  a  kindness  for  a  neighbor  or 
friend.  As  a  workman  he  was  skilled  in  all 
parts  of   his   craft,  anil    could   match    his  work 


with  that  of  any  other  man  in  the  trade.      His 
wife,    Joanna,  who   was  a  daughter  of  a  K 
lutionary   soldier,  born    in    1S01,  died  in  New 
Haven,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

David  A.  Norris  received   a  common-school 
education,    and    when    fourteen    years    of    age 
11    to    learn   the   blacksmith's   trade  in  his 
lather's    shop.      When    eighteen    years    old   he 
came  to   Bridgeport,  this   State,  and   there   re- 
mained for  six  years,  working  as  a  blacksmith. 
He   then    learned   to  make  wagon  springs,  and 
followed    that     trade    in    Bridgeport    for    four 
years.      In    1856    he   went    to   Greenville,  and 
entered    the  employ   of     the     Mowrey    Spring 
and  Axle  Company.      For  nearly  twenty  years 
he   had   charge   of   their  shop.      At   the  end  of 
that   time  the   constant  confinement  of   indoor 
labor   had   so  affected    his   health    that   he  felt 
the  need  of  a  protracted  rest  and  change.      He 
therefore  went   to  Suffolk,  \'a.,  and  rusticated 
on  a  farm  there  for  a  year,  from  Christmas  to 
Christmas,  living   as  much  as   possible    in   the 
open    air,    and    going    about     minus    hat    and 
shoes.      In  this    way   he   regained    his    health, 
and   at   the  end  of   the   year  was  able  to  take  a 
position    as    travelling    agent     for    enamelled 
ware.      He  travelled    in    the    interests   of   this 
business,     from     Portland,    Me.,     to    Portland, 
Ore.,  and    from    British  Columbia   to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  covering  forty-six  States  and  Terri- 
tories.     In   the  course  of  these  journeyings  he 
became  familiar  with  all    sorts  and   conditions 
of  men,  and   gained   a   wide  experience  of   hu- 
man  nature.      He    also    gained    extensive    in- 
formation   on    a    variety    oJ    subjects,   and    is 
to-day  one  of  the  best  informed  men  a  traveller 
is   likely   to   encounter.      In    1S95    Mr.  Norris 
ed    from   active   business,  having   been  at- 
tacked with  rheumatism,  which  at    times  made 
it    impossible  for   him    to    prosecute    his  work. 
The  value  of  his  services  t"  the  firm  for  which 
he    travelled,    and    their    appreciation    of    his 


316 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


worth,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  on 
this  occasion  they  settled  on  him  a  comfort- 
able annuity  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

In  the  spring  of  18S7  Mr.  Norris  bought 
the  forty-acre  farm  which  is  his  present  home; 
and  he  now  spends  his  time  in  outdoor  pur- 
suits—  hunting,  fishing,  or  driving.  He  has 
a  fine  horse  and  a  handsome  Gordon  setter, 
which  are  his  companions  on  many  a  pleasant 
excursion.  The  fishing-rod,  in  the  use  of 
which  he  is  an  expert,  whiles  away  many  an 
hour.  Mr.  Norris  is  a  very  genial  man  and, 
on  account  of  his  wide  knowledge,  at  all 
times  a  most  interesting  and  instructive  com- 
panion. He  is  not  a  member  of  any  religious 
organization;  but,  appreciating  the  value  of 
Christian  benevolence,  he  delights  in  making 
generous  contributions  to  a  worthy  cause. 
He  voted  for  John  C.  Fremont  in  1856,  and 
has  ever  since  been  a  stanch  Republican. 
Since  1873  he  has  been  a  Master  Mason.  He 
has  been  twice  married.  On  the  first  occa- 
sion, in  1848,  he  wedded  Sarah  A.  Seeley,  of 
Bridgeport,  Conn.  She  became  the  mother 
of  a  daughter,  Hattie  S.,  who  was  born  in 
1850.  Mrs.  Sarah  Norris  died  in  1864,  at 
the  age  of  thirty -one.  On  May  24,  1865,-  Mr. 
Norris  entered  his  second  marriage  with  Mrs. 
Mary  E.  Prentice,  the  widow  of  Leonard 
Prentice  and  a  daughter  of  Harlan  Hyde,  of 
the  distinguished  Hyde  family,  of  which  a  fine 
genealogy  has  been  published.  There  are  no 
children  by  this  marriage. 


M 


AVID  C.  MANWARING,  a  retired 
sea  captain  of  Niantic,  Conn.,  was 
born  in  blast  Lyme,  a  mile  from 
this  village,  on  the  15th  of  September,  1812, 
son  of  Latham  and  Emily  (Manwaring)  Man- 
waring.  The  family  to  which  he  belongs  is 
an  old  one  in   this  county,  Oliver  Manwaring 


having  settled  at  New  London  about  1663. 
From  Mrs.  Frances  M.  Calkins's  History  we 
learn  that  a  Thomas  Manwaring,  thought  to 
have  been  a  nephew  of  Oliver,  married  in  1722 
Esther  Christophers,  and  is  the  ancestor  of  the 
Lyme  branch  of  the  Manwarings. 

Captain  Manwaring's  father  followed  the 
sea  during  the  greater  part  of  his  active  life, 
and  was  first  mate  in  a  coasting-vessel.  His 
wife  was  the  daughter  of  an  older  Latham 
Manwaring,  so  that  by  singular  coincidence 
her  husband  and  father  bore  the  same  names. 
Captain  Manwaring's  father  died  in  1842,  at 
the  age  of  sixty  years,  having  been  born  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  War.  His  wife  sur- 
vived him  a  few  years,  and  died  at  about  the 
same  age.  Their  children,  of  whom  there  were 
five,  married  and  scattered.  Some  are  dead; 
and  one  sun,  Nehemiah,  was  buried  at  sea. 
The  only  survivors  are  Captain  Manwaring 
and  his  sister  Abbie,  widow  of  William  Da- 
vidson. 

During  three  months  of  the  year  David  C. 
Manwaring,  until  he  was  twelve  years  old, 
attended  the  district  school.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  went  as  cook  on  a  fishing-smack 
alongshore,  and  at  twenty  he  began  to  go  on 
deep-sea  voyages  South  as  a  sailor.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-six  he  was  captain  of  the  sloop 
"  Trojan,"  in  which  he  sailed  for  eight  years, 
engaged  in  fishing  for  mackerel,  sea  bass,  and 
halibut  alongshore.  He  then  became  master 
of  a  fishing-sloop.  William  Chester  built 
her,  and  sailed  in  her  for  seven  years.  After 
that  he  was  in  the  schooner  "  North  Amer- 
ica "  for  two  years,  until  the  17th  of  August, 
1864,  when  she  was  sunk  by  the  privateer 
"  Tallahassee,"  on  Brown's  Bank,  off  the  coast 
of  Nova  Scotia,  with  a  full  load  of  halibut. 
She  was  owned  by  Messrs.  Charles  S.  How- 
ard, Edwin  Howard,  Daniel  Howard,  and 
Daniel   Howard,  Jr.      The  "  Tallahassee  "  ap- 


Mr.   am.    Mrs.    Ii.W'II)    C.    MANWARING 


BIOCk.U'HICAL    REVIEW 


3'9 


propriated  the  papers  of  the  "  North  Amer- 
ica," together  with  her  quadrant,  charts,  fish- 
gear,  and  so  forth,  ami  then  sunk  her  forty 
miles  nit  shore.  The  captain  and  his  crew  of 
si\  men  were  kept  prisoners  lor  seven  limns, 
ami  were  then  put  on  board  of  a  brig.  The 
sloop  was  valued  at  four  thousand  five  hundred 
and  seventy  dollars,  ami  was  paid  for  some 
seventeen  years  later. 

( >n  September  14,  [836,  the  day  before  his 
twenty-fourth  anniversary,  Captain  Manwaring 
married  Frances  Sands  Clark,  who  was  born 
mi  Block  Island,  November  5,  1816.  Their 
only  child,  a  son,  Charles  Henry  Manwaring, 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years  and  a  half.  Cap- 
tain and  Mrs.  Manwaring  have  lived  at  their 
pleasant  home  at  104  Main  Street,  Niantic, 
lor  the  last  forty-nine  years.  When  the  Cap- 
tain was  away  on  a  voyage,  Mrs.  Manwaring 
lit  a  lot  of  land,  and,  before  her  hus- 
band's return,  had  had  a  house  built,  and  was 
fairly  settled  in  it. 

In  politics  the  Captain  has  always  been  a 
Democrat,  lie  belongs  to  no  secret  order  or 
society;  and,  when  at  home  between  his  sea 
voyages,  his  time  was  spent  in  the  companion- 
ship of  his  family  anil  by  his  own  fireside. 
He  retired  from  following  the  sea  some  six- 
teen years  ago,  and  during  the  last  three 
i  has  especially  devoted  himself  to  caring 
for  his  wife,  who  is  in  failing;  health. 


, 


iHARLES    HENRY    SCHWANER, 

a  successful  marketman,  who  has 
carried  on  his  business  in  New 
London  for  a  score  of  years,  was  born  March 
3,     1849,     in     Germany,     son    of      Frederick 

Sch waner.  Having  lost  his  parents  while 
yet  very  young,  his  childhood  was  spent  in 
Brooklyn,  X.Y.,  among  strangers.  He  first 
came  to  New  London  in  1866.      After  a   three 


years'  stay  he  went  to  Hartford,  and  there  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years  started  in  the 
market  business.  After  conducting  it  for  ten 
years  in  that  place,  he  came  in  1X76  to  New 
London,  and  engaged  in  the  same  line  of 
business,  beginning  on  Bank  Street.  Two 
years  later  he  sold  out  anil  opened  his  present 
market  at  46  Main  Street,  where  he  has  built 
up  a  large  trade,  employs  six  men,  and  has 
one  of  the  finest  markets  in  the  city.  Al- 
though he  started  in  life  without  capital,  he 
now  owns  valuable  property,  and  is  looked 
upon  as  one  of  the  most  worthy  and  substan- 
tial business  men  of  the  city. 

In  1872  Mr.  Schwaner  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Carrie  Louisa  Saunders,  a  na- 
tive of  Germany,  who  came  to  this  country 
with  her  parents  when  a  child.  After  her 
father's  death,  which  occurred  a  few  years 
later,  her  mother  married  Frederick  Heine. 
The  latter  is  now  dead,  and  the  widow  resides 
in  Hartford.  She  is  the  mother  of  two  sons 
ami  four  daughters.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schwaner 
lost  a  son  when  he  was  eighteen  months  old. 
They  have  four  sons  and  a  daughter  living, 
namely:  Fred,  a  bright,  young  man,  in  busi- 
ness with  his  father  in  the  market;  May, 
Harry,  Alfred,  and  Stanley,  all  of  whom,  ex- 
cept May,  are  still  attending  school.  Mr. 
Schwaner  casts  his  vote  with  the  Republican 
party,  but  does  not  participate  further  in  poli- 
tics. He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  Tem- 
plar, the  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Patriai 
Militant. 


TTAAI  TAIN   JOHN    L.    WARD,   of   New 

I  J]  London,  an  aged  seafarer,  who  fol- 
VJ8  ^  lowed  his  calling  until  his  eightieth 
year,  was  born  in  New  London,  Conn.,  No- 
vember 27,  18 1 5,  son  of  John  and  Eliza 
(Beers)  Ward.      The   father,  who  was  a  native 


320 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


of  Liverpool,  England,  born  in  the  year  1780, 
after  serving  his  country  as  a  sailor  on  a  man- 
of-war,  came  to  New  London  about  181 2. 
His  marriage  with  Eliza  Beers,  who  was  a 
native  of  Waterford,  New  London  County, 
took  place  in  either  that  year  or  the  next. 
Three  sons  and  three  daughters  were  born  to 
them,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  namely: 
Ann  Ward,  who  died  about  1866;  John  L., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Abbie,  the  widow 
of  Alonzo  Lewis,  now  living  in  New  London; 
William  Ward,  a  sailor  and  ship  officer,  who 
was  lost  at  sea  when  twenty-four  years  old; 
Captain  Joseph  Ward,  unmarried,  who  died 
on  shipboard,  aged  forty-five,  and  was  buried 
at  sea;  and  Lydia,  who  married  James  Perry, 
and  who,  together  with  her  husband  and  chil- 
dren, is  now  deceased.  The  father  died  in 
1825,  aged  forty-five.  The  mother,  who  sur- 
vived him  twelve  years,  passed  away  in  1837, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years. 

John  L.  Ward,  the  eldest  son  and  second 
child  of  his  parents,  received  only  a  limited 
schooling.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he 
went  to  sea  with  Captain  Frank  Smith. 
Climbing  step  by  step  from  the  lowest  round 
of  the  ladder,  he  became  a  captain  at  twenty- 
four.  His  early  voyages  were  made  on  whal- 
ing-vessels to  the  Pacific  and  Arctic  Oceans. 
His  longest  voyage,  which  was  undertaken 
shortly  after  his  marriage,  was  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  where  he  spent  three  years.  He  has 
been  master  and  part  owner  in  five  different 
vessels.  1  le  made  forty  voyages  to  the  West 
Indies.  For  five  years  he  was  captain  of  a 
merchantman.  In  1849  he  went  to  Califor- 
nia, taking  his  wife  with  him,  and  was  away 
two  years  on  that  trip,  during  which  time  he 
visited  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Afterward  he 
made  a  second  trip  alone  to  California,  going 
this  time  by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  After 
spending    fourteen    years    in    the   government 


employ,  he  lost  his  position  when  the  Demo- 
crats came  into  power.  About  two  years  ago 
he  retired  from  the  sea,  which  he  had  fol- 
lowed all  together  for  nearly  forty  years.  It 
is  claimed  that  he  is  the  oldest  seaman  in  New 
London,  while  it  is  admitted  that  his  old 
shipmate,  Captain  Green,  is  about  the  same 
age,  and  has  been  a  mariner  for  almost  as 
long  a  period. 

On  April  27,  1840,  Captain  Ward  married 
Miss  Anna  Fage,  a  daughter  of  John  Fage,  of 
Norwich,  Conn.  She  died  in  1S84,  aged 
seventy-two,  leaving  two  daughters.  Their 
third  child,  a  daughter,  died  in  infancy. 
Since  Mrs.  Ward's  death,  Flora  Smith  Ward 
has  kept  house  for  her  father.  Sarah,  the 
other  daughter,  is  the  wife  of  Captain  James 
F.  Smith,  of  this  city.  Captain  Ward  has 
been  a  Master  Mason  for  fifty-one  years. 
While  engaged  in  seafaring  he  visited  lodges 
of  the  brethren  in  England,  France,  and  other 
countries.  He  also  belongs  to  the  sailors' 
organization,  the  Jib-boom  Club.  His  resi- 
dence is  the  house,  15  Meridian  Street,  which 
he  purchased  in  1856. 


Xf  REUERICK  P.  LADD,  of  Salem, 
P  s  born  in  Franklin,  Conn.,  March  30, 
1827,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Asa  Spalding 
and  Harriet  (Carey)  Ladd.  In  the  History  of 
Hampshire,  England,  one  William  Ladd  is 
mentioned  as  juryman  in  1294,  during  the 
reign  of  Edward  I.,  and  the  History  of  Sur- 
rey has  a  record  of  the  fact  that  in  1325  Ed- 
ward II.  bought  the  manor  of  Heale  from 
Walter  de  Heale,  of  which  Walter  Ladd  was 
the  custodian.  The  Ladds  came  to  England 
in  the  following  of  William  the  Conqueror. 
A  grant  of  some  one  thousand,  three  hundred 
and  forty-four  acres  was  made  or  transferred 
to  Walter  Ladd,  mentioned  above.      The  name 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


I  !l 


was  formerly  spelled  Lade,  and  afterward 
Lad,  but  was  changed  to  its  present  form  by 
John  I. add.  who  was  a  membei  of  the  British 
Parliament  for  Southwark  in  Surrey  from  1713 
to  1722,  and  was  created  a  baronet  in  1740. 
The  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  America 
was  Daniel  Ladd,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.,  who 
came  from  County  Kent,  England,  in  the 
prime  of  his  youth,  in  1633-4,  on  the  ship 
"Maty  and  John."  (See  the  Ladd  Gene- 
v.) 
The  records  of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  show  that 
Daniel  Ladd,  on  the  5th  day  of  February, 
.  was  granted  six  acres  of  land,  that  he 
subsequently  built  a  dwelling  thereon,  and 
lived  in  it  for  eleven  years.  He  is  described 
as  "a  typical  pioneer  and  frontiersman,  labor- 
ing for  sixty  years,  trusting  in  God,  and  fear- 
in-  nothing."  Festus  Ladd,  the  grandfather 
of  Frederick  P.,  born  in  Franklin,  February 
25>  177*'>'<  descended  in  a  direct  line  from 
Daniel  through  Jonathan,  Daniel,  Samuel, 
Jonathan,  Jeremiah,  David,  and  Abner. 
Festus  died  in  Franklin  in  1848,  aged 
seventy-two.  His  wife,  Ruby  Ladd,  who  was 
born  in  17S2,  daughter  of  Ezekiel  Ladd,  was 
her  husband's  cousin.  She  lived  many  years 
in  widowhood,  and  died  in  1861.  She  had 
three  sons  and  six  daughters.  Asa  Spalding 
Ladd,  son  of  Festus  and  Ruby  Ladd,  was  a 
farmer  in  Franklin,  in  Norwich,  and  Salem, 
and  died  in  the  last-named  place  in  1875,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-two.  His  widow  died  in 
1894,  at  the  age  of  eighty-live.  Of  their 
twelve  children  one  died  in  infancy.  Seven 
married,  and  four  sons  and  two  daughters  had 
children.  One  of  the  sons,  Austin  N.,  was  a 
volunteer  in  the  Civil  War  with  the  First 
Minnesota  Regiment,  and  was  the  third  man  in 
the  regiment  to  fall  at  the  first  Hull  Run,  hav- 
ing been  shot  through  the  body.  He  was  a 
fine   scholar,  and    he    held  a  high    rank    in    the 


Masonic  order.  He  was  taken  from  Libby 
Prison  by  a  brother  Mason,  Vice-Presi- 
dent Stephens,  and  was  cared  for  until  his 
death. 

Frederick  P.  Ladd  left  school  when  four- 
teen years  old.  In  his  sixteenth  year  he  was 
afflicted  with  sciatic  rheumatism,  which 
crippled  him  and  kept  him  in  a  semi-invalid 
state  for  some  time.  In  1861  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Luce  Brothers,  and  re- 
mained with  them  for  eighteen  years,  making 
himself  generally  useful.  He  was  first  mar- 
ried at  the  age  of  thirty-six.  Having  lost  his 
first  wife  and  only  child  by  death,  he  married 
again  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  in  the  year  1S75, 
Miss  Sarah  M.  Winchester,  of  Salem,  a 
daughter  of  Lodowich  Winchester.  Her  only 
child  by  him  is  also  deceased.  They  have  an 
adopted  son,  Willie  1*".,  a  bright  boy  of  seven- 
teen years.  Mr.  Ladd  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics. He  has  been  Constable  and  Tax  Collec- 
tor for  the  past  three  years,  has  served  on  the 
Board  of  Relief  several  times,  is  now  serving 
his  fourth  year  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and 
he  represented  his  district  in  the  legislature 
for  one  term.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Ladd  arc- 
Methodists.  He  has  been  a  trustee  of  the 
church  for  nine  years.  His  present  farm  of 
one  hundred  well -tilled  acres  was  purchased 
by  him  some  nineteen  years  ago.  Consider- 
ing the  misfortunes  of  his  early  life,  when  he 
was  crippled,  in  ill  health,  and  poor,  he  has 
been  remarkably  successful  in  life. 


"fT?)OUIS   P.    ROATH,    a   well-known    rail- 


Jj{jo; 


road   engineer   living   in    retirement    in 


Norwich,  was  born    here,   December 

25,   1833,  son  of  Asa  and   Elizabeth    (Allyn) 

Roath.      The  founder  ol    the  family  came  from 

England   about   the   year    1640,  and  settled  in 

Norwich   on   a   grant  of    land  received    by  him 


322 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


from  the  original  town  proprietors.  He 
owned  at  one  time  about  six  hundred  acres. 
The  house  in  which  he  lived  is  still  standing, 
situated  about  two  hundred  rods  from  the 
home  of  Louis  P.  Roath.  An  antique  writ- 
ing-desk, which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
brought  by  him  from  England,  is  in  Mr. 
Roath's  possession. 

Eleazer  Roath,  the  father  of  Asa,  who  was 
born  here,  spent  his  mature  years  in  farming 
on  the  old  Roath  homestead.  After  his  death 
his  daughters  —  Betsey,  Rebecca,  and  Eunice 
—  continued  to  live  in  the  old  house.  Bet- 
sey, the  last  survivor,  did  not  move  out  until 
the  fall  of  1866.  She  died  December  31, 
iSSo,  aged  one  hundred  years,  three  months, 
and  twenty-seven  days,  retaining  to  the  last 
full  possession  of  her  faculties.  Remarkable 
for  industry  throughout  her  long  life,  her 
nimble  fingers  wove  many  a  carpet  on  the 
hand  carpet  loom  left  there.  On  her  century 
birthday  she  sat  for  the  first  and  only  picture 
ever  taken  of  her.  The  chair  in  which  she 
then  sat  is  preserved  as  an  heirloom.  Re- 
becca lived  to  be  seventy-five,  and  Eunice 
seventy-three  years  of  age. 

Asa  Roath  was  born  March  3,  1790,  and 
died  March  11,  1846.  In  his  early  years  he 
taught  school,  and  subsequently  was  engaged 
in  surveying.  A  Colonel  in  the  State  mili- 
tia, he  served  among  the  defenders  of  New 
London  in  the  War  of  1812.  For  several 
years  he  was  Probate  Judge.  Although  not  a 
college  graduate,  he  was  intellectual  and  ac- 
complished, a  fine  penman,  and  a  most  suc- 
cessful instructor.  In  1820  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Allyn,  who  was  born  in 
Groton,  Conn.,  July  2,  1799,  daughter  of 
General  Stephen  Billings  Allyn.  Nine  chil- 
dren, four  sons  and  five  daughters,  blessed  the 
union.  Of  these  three  died  in  infancy;  Han- 
nah, the  widow  of  Rufus  Fanning,  died  about 


1874,  aged  forty-seven  years,  leaving  no  chil- 
dren; and  Ann  Meach,  the  youngest  child, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Henry  L.  Parker,  died  in 
Norwich  in  1894,  aged  fifty-eight,  leaving 
five  children.  The  survivors  are:  Edwin  A. 
Roath,  an  esteemed  resident  of  Norwich; 
Stephen  B.,  of  Chicago,  111.,  whither  he  went 
in  1855,  who  is  an  eccentric  bachelor,  and 
takes  pride  in  being  wealthier  than  any  Roath 
of  whom  he  has  heard;  Elizabeth,  the  widow 
of  Daniel  M.  Randall,  of  Norwich;  and  Louis 
P.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  father 
died  in  1846,  aged  fifty-six  [years,  and  the 
mother  in  1859,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years. 
Both  were  buried  in  the  Yantic  cemetery, 
while  the  earlier  ancestors  rest  in  the  city 
cemetery. 

His  school  days  having  ended  when  he  was 
fourteen  years  old,  Louis  P.  Roath  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  years  was  employed  on  the  railroad 
as  a  fireman.  In  September,  1850,  fifteen 
months  later,  he  was  given  an  engine,  which 
he  ran  until  December,  1868.  He  had  fol- 
lowed engineering  for  eighteen  years  on  the 
Norwich  &  Worcester  Railroad,  when,  in 
1 868,  he  entered  the  shops,  and  was  there  em- 
ployed until  1892.  In  January,  1895,  here- 
tired  from  active  labor,  and  has  since  lived  in 
his  modest  but  pleasant  home  at  127  Roath 
Street,  built  by  him  in  1869,  on  a  plat  of 
some  eight  acres,  left  by  his  father  to  him 
and  his  brother,  Edwin  A.  Roath. 

On  January  21,  1857,  Mr.  Roath  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Laura  E.  Seagrave,  of  Worces- 
ter, Mass.  She  is  an  adopted  daughter  of 
John  D.  and  Sarah  (Earned)  Seagrave.  The 
former  resides  in  Worcester,  where  his  wile 
died  in  middle  age,  having  hail  no  children. 
Mrs.  Roath  was  left  an  orphan  when  a  small 
child,  and  was  reared  and  educated  by  these 
kind  foster-parents.  She  has  borne  her  hus- 
band  two  children — Clarence  P.  and    Walter. 


Biographical  review 


! 


Clarence  P.,  who  is  a  conductor  on  the  Nor- 
wich division  of  the  New  England  Railroad, 
married  Miss  Frances  E.  Andrews,  a  daughter 
"1  I'.  St.  M.  Andrews,  of  Norwich,  and  who 
died  August  II,  1896;  and  Walter,  an  engi- 
neer on  the  Central  Division  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Railroad,  living  in  Providence,  R.I., 
married  Miss  Ella  F.  Burnham,  of  Scarboro, 
Me.,  ami  has  a  daughter,  Laura  L.,  now 
eleven  years  old.  Mr.  Roath,  Si\,  votes  with 
the  Democratic  party.  He  is  a  Master  Mason 
and  a  member  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomo- 
tive Engineers.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Roath  arc 
members  of  the  Trinity  Episcopal  Church  of 
Norwich. 


S.  WATROUS,*  a  well- 
known  retired  master  mariner  of 
H.*'  V  _,  Mystic.  New  London  County, 
Conn.,  was  bom  in  the  town  of  Ledyard,  this 
county,  January  1,  1841,  son  of  Robert  Goudy 
.md  Lucy  Margaret  (Cunningham)  Watrous. 
The  original  name  of  the  family  was  Water- 
hous<  . 

Jacob  Waterhouse,  the  earliest  progenitor 
in  this  country,  came  from  England  to  Say- 
brook,  Conn.,  removing  from  thence  to  New 
London,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  three 
men.  He  and  his  sons  helped  build  the  dam 
lor  the  old  town  mill.  His  son  Jacob  was  the 
father  of  John;  and  John's  son  Timothy  be- 
came the  father  of  Jabez,  the  grandfathei  ol 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Ledyard,  and  married  Polly 
Goudy,  a  native  of  Poquetanuck,  in  this 
county.  They  had  eleven  children.  Grand- 
father Watrous  died  when  he  was  compara- 
tively young,  while  the  grandmother  lived  to 
be  ninety  years  old.  Their  son  Jabez  is  now 
living  in  Groton,  being  ninety-three  years  of 
age  and  the  only  surviving  member  of  the 
family. 


Robert  Goudy  Watrous,  son  of  Jabez,  Sr., 
was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in  Ledyard  in 
1S08;  and  in  after  life  he  well  remembered 
the  battle  of  Stonington.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried. His  first  wile,  Lucy  Margaret  Cunning- 
ham, who  was  born  in  Norwalk,  Conn.,  in 
[822,  dieil  at  the  age  of  thirty-three,  leaving 
four  of  her  six  children,  only  two  of  whom 
are  now  living — -Robert  S.  and  John  C. 
Watrous.  John  Cunningham,  their  maternal 
grandfather,  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  ol  [8l2j 
and  his  brother  Benjamin  served  in  the  Mexi- 
can War,  and  was  wounded.  While  he  was 
in  the  act  of  shooting,  a  ball  took  away  his 
thumb,  and  came  out  of  his  elbow.  Ro 
Watrous  married  Mrs.  Esther  Crouch  Rogers 
lor  his  second  wife.  She  survived  him,  liv- 
ing to  be  an  octogenarian. 

Robert  S.  Watrous  was  reared  on  the  farm, 
and  attended  the  common  school.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  he  began  a  sailor's  life,  which 
he  continued  to  follow,  with  the  exception  of 
two  and  three-fourths  years,  until  1892,  going 
at  first  in  a  fishing-smack  to  the  Southern 
coast.  He  was  captain  of  a  vessel  for  twenty 
years.  During  the  Civil  War  he  enlisted  as 
private  in  the  Second  United  States  Artillery, 
serving  two  years  and  nine  months.  On  the 
first  clay  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  he  fired 
the  first  gun,  and  was  wounded  in  the  leg  by 
a  minie  ball  and  taken  prisoner.  His  leg  was 
amputated  by  a  rebel  surgeon  on  the  field. 
Being  released  on  parole,  he  spent  three 
months  each  in  Gettysburg,  Philadelphia, 
and  Baltimore  Hospitals,  returning  home  in 
1864.  He  receives  a  pension;  and  he  has 
charge  of  the  drawbridge,  but  does  very  little 
business. 

On  March  24,  [869,  he  married  Sarah 
Melinda  Woodmancy,  ol    Groton,   d  r  of 

Denison    Woodmancy.      Her  father  died    wl 
he    was    fifty-four    years    of    age,    while     her 


324 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


mother  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watrous  have  three  chil- 
dren —  Euretta,  Sadie,  and  Robert.  Euretta 
married  Henry  F.  Leitz,  and  lives  in  Meri- 
den,  Conn.  Sadie  has  studied  vocal  music 
in  New  York  City,  where  she  now  sings  so- 
prano in  one  of  the  leading  churches.  Robert 
is  a  young  man  at  home.  Mrs.  Watrous  has 
a  brother,  Edward  Woodmancy,  living  in 
Noank;  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Charles  New- 
bury, resides  in  Mystic. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Watrous  is  serving  his 
second  year  as  Commander  of  Williams  Post, 
No.  55,  G.  A.  R.  He  also  belongs  to  the 
Odd  Fellows  Lodge  and  Encampment,  and  to 
the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican. 


TTtHARLES  A.  BAILEY,  the  leading 
I  Sp  horse  dealer  in  New  London  County, 
V^£__^'  was  born  in  Groton,  February  20, 
1845.  His  parents  were  Captain  Ezra  and 
Emeline  (Turner)  Bailey;  and  his  paternal 
grandparents  were  Ezra  Bailey,  Sr.,  and  Han- 
nah Bailey,  who  lived  on  a  farm  in  Groton,  and 
who  had  two  sons,  namely,  Captain  Ezra  and 
Captain  William  Bailey,  and  one  daughter. 
Captain  Ezra  Bailey  was  one  of  the  old-time 
Connecticut  whalemen,  and  sailed  the  ship 
"General  Williams."  He  was  drowned  in  the 
Sound  near  Saybrook  about  1857,  in  the  prime 
of  life.  His  wife  was  left  with  two  sons  — 
Charles  A.  and  Isaac  Addison,  the  last  named 
of  whom  is  now  in  California,  where  he  went 
some  nineteen  years  ago.  The  mother,  Mrs. 
Emeline  T.  Bailey,  lived  a  widow  man)' years, 
and  died  in  March,   1885. 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Bailey  began  the  business 
in  which  he  is  now  engaged,  and  in  which  he 
has  made  such  a  wide  reputation,  in  this  city. 
He  has  always  been  very  fond  of  horses,  and 


has  always  had  great  success  in  their  manage- 
ment and  training.  No  animal  is  so  balky 
that  he  cannot  control  it,  and  no  defect  in  the 
most  highly  praised  horse  and  no  strong  point 
of  excellence  can  escape  his  practised  eye. 
The  very  wide  experience  he  has  had  in  han- 
dling horses  of  high  and  low  degree,  truck 
horses  and  those  with  pedigree  yards  long, 
has  made  him  one  of  the  best  judges,  probably 
the  best  judge,  of  horse  flesh  in  the  State. 
He  has  bought  and  sold  thousands  of  animals, 
and  every  month  receives  a  carload  from  the 
West.  Not  only  is  he  a  good  business  man- 
ager and  a  ready  salesman,  but  he  has  a  gen- 
uine appreciation  of  all  the  artistic  details 
connected  with  his  business,  such  as  matching 
a  fine  pair  or  selecting  a  handsome  saddle 
horse  or  a  gentle  and  at  the  same  time  grace- 
ful and  handsome  carriage  horse  for  a  lady. 
He  buys  largely  in  Michigan,  and  sells  in  the 
East.  Among  horsemen  he  is  widely  known, 
and  his  judgment  is  highly  respected.  In  the 
business  community  at  large  he  has  a  reputa- 
tion for  honesty  and  fair  dealing,  and  men 
who  know  him  personally  or  only  from  com- 
mon report  are  never  afraid  to  trust  to  his 
long  experience  and  to  his  well-known  skill 
when  they  wish  to  make  a  purchase  of  a  new 
horse.  He  is  an  unequalled  driver,  and  may 
often  be  seen  behind  a  finely  matched  pair  of 
steeds,  handling  the  ribbons  in  a  manner 
which  shows  him  absolute  master  of  the  situa- 
tion. 

Mr.  Bailey  was  married  when  twenty-one 
years  of  age  to  Sarah  Rockwell,  of  Groton, 
now  deceased.  Four  children  were  born  to 
them,  and  two  survive,  namely:  Eugene 
Bailey,  in  New  London,  who  has  a  wife  and 
two  sons;  and  Jennie  Bailey.  After  the  death 
of  his  first  wife  Mr.  Bailey  married  Nellie 
Conway,  of  Westerly,  R.I.  In  politics  he  is 
an  Independent. 


RIOGRAIMUCAI.    RKVIKW 


327 


TT'tHARLES     SPALDING,     formerly     an 

I  Sp  esteemed  resident  of  Norwich,  was 
V»l£_^-"  born  in  Norwich  Town,  January  31, 
181 2,  son  of  Luther  and  grandson  of  Asa 
Spalding.  Asa  Spalding,  who  was  horn  in 
Canterbury,  Conn.,  in  1757,  graduated  from 
Yale  College  in  1779,  studied  law  with  Judge 
Adams,  of  Litchfield,  and  settled  for  the  prac- 
tice nt  his  profession  in  Norwich  in  [782. 
His  native  ability  and  force  of  character 
formed  his  only  capital ;  but  they  soon  enabled 
him  to  secure  clients,  and  ultimately  to  build 
up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  business  and 
acquire  a  considerable  fortune.  He  held  vari- 
ous offices  of  public  trust  and  honor,  and  at 
his  death  in  1S11  was  one  of  the  most  highly 
esteemed  as  well  as  one  of  the  richest  men  in 
Eastern  Connecticut.  He  had  a  brother, 
Judge  Luther  Spalding,  who' was  his  junior 
by  ten  years,  and  who  settled  in  Norwich  for 
the  practice  of  law  in  1797.  Another  brother 
was  Dr.  Rufus  Spalding,  a  graduate  of  Yale, 
who  practised  medicine  first  in  Nantucket 
and  subsequently  in  Norwich,  to  which  he 
came  in  181 2,  and  died  in  1830.  The  three 
brothers  were  interred  in  the  same  burying- 
ground  at  Norwich.  Luther  Spalding,  above 
named,  had  one  other  son  besides  Charles; 
namely,  George,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College. 

Charles  Spalding  was  first  married  on  June 
6,  1837,  to  Juliette  Hubbard,  a  daughter  of 
Russel  Hubbard,  of  Norwich.  Mr.  Hubbard 
was  a  wealthy  paper  manufacturer.  He  built 
the  house  at  161  Broadway,  where  Mrs. 
Spalding  is  now  residing.  This  was  about 
1825,  before  any  street  was  laid  out:  and  the 
most  of  his  neighbors  thought  he  was  doing  an 
unwise  thing.  The  house,  which  stands  on  a 
sandy  knoll,  is  now  said  to  have  'me  (if  the 
finest  sites  in  town.  Mrs.  Juliette  Spalding 
died  on  April  2,  [N65.  On  June  11,  1874, 
Mr.    Spalding    was    married    to    Mrs.    Amanda 


M.  Haviland,  whose  maiden  name  was  God- 
dard.  She  was  born,  reared,  and  educated  in 
Boston.  Her  first  husband  was  Tlunnas  Havi- 
land, a  worker  in  plaster  and  stucco.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Haviland  resided  in  Boston  on  Chestnut 
Street  until  the  death  of  the  former  on  April 
20,  1873.  Mr.  Spalding  died  July  24,  1885. 
Mrs.  Spalding,  who  survives  her  husband, 
is  the  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah  (Wai 
net)  Goddard,  of  Boston.  Mr.  Goddard  was  a 
carpenter  ami  builder.  His  house  was  situ- 
ated where  the  Boston  post-office  now  stands. 
Beginning  life  in  humble  circumstances,  he 
devoted  himself  with  energy  to  whatever  busi- 
ness came  his  way,  and  in  time  became  a 
wealthy  man.  At  his  death  he  bequeathed 
his  estate  to  his  family,  making  certain  pro- 
visions designed  for  the  improvement  of  the 
property  and  its  retention  by  his  heirs  for 
a  long  period,  until  it  should  have  greatly 
enhanced  in  value.  Scarcely  any  of  these 
provisions  were  carried  out,  however,  owing 
to  the  fact  that,  much  of  the  real  estate  being 
situated  in  the  heart  of  the  business  district, 
it  was  early  taken  by  the  city  at  a  compara- 
tively small  rate  of  compensation,  to  make  way 
for  public  improvements.  Tarts  of  it  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  another  part  was  cut  into 
by  a  railroad.  The  result  was  that  the  heirs 
received  but  a  small  portion  of  what  would 
otherwise  have  been  theirs  had  the  property 
been  allowed  to  remain  intact  and  increase  in 
value.  William  Goddard  died  on  April  14, 
[860,  and  is  buried  in  Mount  Auburn.  Be- 
side him  rests  his  wife,  who,  after  surviving 
him  three  years,  died  at  the  age  "I  eighty-two 
years  and  seven  months.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  nine  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Spald- 
ing was  tin-  youngest  and  the  only  sur- 
vivor. Her  brother,  Thomas  Goddard,  of  the 
firm  of  Goddard  &  Dennis,  was  for  many 
years  a   well-known   carriage  manufacturer  of 


328 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIFAV 


Boston.  An  interesting  Memorial  of  the 
Spalding  Family,  written  by  Samuel  J.  Spald- 
ing, was  published  in  Boston  by  Alfred  Mudge 
&  Son  in  1872. 

«-«•«-* ■ 

MOS  B.  TILLOTSON,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Salem,  was  born  at  Grassy 
Hill,  near  his  present  residence, 
September  9,  1823,  son  of  William  M.  and 
Deborah  (Huntley)  Tillotson.  The  paternal 
grandfather  was  Dr.  George  Tillotson,  a  de- 
scendant of  a  wealthy  English  family.  He 
had  three  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom 
married  and  lived  to  an  advanced  age.  He 
was  a  botanic  physician,  and  practised  very 
successfully,  being  especially  noted  for  his 
skill  in  cases  of  poison  from  snake  bites.  It 
was  his  habit  to  visit  his  patients  on  horse- 
back, with  his  saddle-bags  hanging  on  either 
side.  William  M.  Tillotson  was  born  in 
Lyme  in  1784,  and  died  in  1835.  He  saw 
military  service  in  the  War  of  18  12,  and  sub- 
sequently received  a  pension  on  account  of  in- 
juries received  in  the  war.  He  married  Deb- 
orah Huntley,  daughter  of  Elihu  Huntley,  a 
farmer  of  Lyme.  They  had  seven  children, 
namely:  Ira,  who  was  born  about  1809,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years,  leaving  a 
widow;  Joanna,  who  married  Jabez  Bogue, 
and  died  in  early  womanhood,  leaving  two 
children;  Julia,  who  became  the  wife  of  Al- 
bert Chapel],  and  died  in  May,  1894,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-one,  and  of  whose  four  children 
three  are  now  living;  Harlow,  a  stage  propri- 
etor, who  died  in  1849,  unmarried;  Amos  B., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Franklin,  who 
married,  had  one  child  that  died  in  infancy, 
and  who  himself  died  in  Waterford,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two  years;  and  a  son  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  mother  passed  away  at  the  home 
of  her  son  Amos  in  1S80. 

Amos     B.     Tillotson,     after     pursuing     his 


school  studies  for  the  ordinary  period,  took  up 
farming,  in  which  occupation  he  has  since 
continued.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  good  farm 
in  Salem,  containing  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  acres,  which  he  purchased  in  April,  1881, 
and  on  which  he  is  engaged  in  mixed  husban- 
dry. The  appearance  of  his  estate  gives  evi- 
dence of  prosperity  and  comfort.  He  is  inde- 
pendent in  politics,  and  has  neither  sought 
nor  held  office.  December  3,  1865,  he  mar- 
ried Frances  A.  Bailey,  daughter  of  Lyman 
and  Betsey  (Irish)  Bailey,  well-to-do  farming 
people  of  Preston,  both  parents,  however, 
being  natives  of  Ledyard.  Of  Mrs.  Ti Hot- 
son's  four  brothers  and  three  sisters,  all  are 
living  except  Albert  M.  Bailey,  formerly  a 
police  officer  in  Providence,  R. I.,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-three  years,  leaving  a  wife 
but  no  children. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tillotson's  only  child,  Bessie, 
died  April  21,  1884,  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  just  as  she  was  blossoming  into  a  per- 
fect womanhood.  She  was  an  affectionate 
daughter,  beautiful  and  talented,  and  an  earn- 
est Christian  in  heart  and  life,  and  was  ad- 
mired by  all  who  knew  her.  Her  death  was 
the  occasion  of  some  sincere  tributes  in  verse, 
expressing  the  estimate  in  which  she  was  held 
by  her  friends.  We  reprint  the  following,  by 
S.  D.  Phelps,  which  was  published  in  the 
Christian  Secretary  :  — 

MEMORIAL    OF    AN    ONLY    DAUGHTER. 

BY    S.   D.  PHELPS. 

Playful  darling,  blooming  maiden, 

Bessie  was  our  only  child, 
Dearly  loved  and  beauty-laden  — 
Heaven  upon  our  home  had  smiled. 
Loving  eyes  were  often  glancing 
On  her  winning  ways  entrancing. 
Toward  maturing  years  advancing. 

Who  parental  love  can  measure, 
Tell  its  strength,  its  reaches  know  ? 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Who  can  estimate  the  tri 

Which  the  heart's  affections  show  ? 
When  the  tie  by  death  is  broken, 
When  fades  out  love's  sweetest  token, 

Can  the  sorrow  e'er  be  spoken? 

I  ,i  i\  elj   Bessie  !  fondly  (  hi  i  ish 

How  our  hearts  around  thee  twined  ! 

Brightest  hopes  in  thee  have  perished, 

All  the  world  seems  dumb  and  blind! 

N  ight  upon  out  souls  is  falling, 

Deep  to  solemn  deep  is  calling, 

Ah!  the  gloom  is  dread,  appalling! 

Saviour,  lift  the  cloud  of  sadness. 
Show  us  thy  dear  face  divine; 
Bring  our  hearts  a  ray  of  gladness. 
O'er  them  let  thy  pity  shine. 
Sure,  the  soul  that  deeplj  grieveth, 
Comfort  sweet  and  calm  receiveth, 
As  thy  promise  it  believeth. 

i  ing  gently  at  the  border. 
While  no  fear  her  spirit  vexed. 

Bessie  spoke  her  love's  true  order: 

1  Ji    us  first  and  parents  next." 

I  arewells  given,  forth  she  ventured. 
All  her  hopes  in  Jesus  centred, 
As  within  the  veil  she  entered. 

Passing  through  the  heavenly  portal, 

Fading  from  our  earthly  sight. 
She  has  found  a  home  immortal, 
In  the  world  of  life  and  light  : 
I'll   Eon  ver  tears  and  sighing; 
Blessed  i  hange,  from  pain  and  dving. 
Endless  bliss  the  soul  supplying. 

There,  amid  celestial   splendors. 

Angel  hosts  and  ransomed  throngs, 
Praises  to  the  Lamb  she  renders. 
Joining  in  those  glorious  songs. 

There  she  waits  for  us  to  meet  her. 
When  with  rapture  we  shall  greet  her; 
(  >h.  what  thought  or  hope  is  sweeter? 

Lord,  we  trust  thee:    thou  art  gracious; 

Thou  didst  give  the  jewel  fail  ; 
i  ih.  to  us  how  bright  and  prei  ii 
And  to  thee  what  treasure  rare  ! 

Ours  and  thine.  Lord,  thou  hast  taken; 
We're  bereaved,  but  not  forsaken  ; 
Ibr  from  sleep  thy  voice  shall  waken. 


AMES  WILSON  BIXLER,  A.M., 
B.D.,  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church  of  New  London, 
was  born  in  Hanover,  York  County,  Pa.,  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1S61.  A  son  of  David  1).  and  Al- 
mira  (Wilson)  Bixler,  he  conns  of  German 
and  Swiss  descent.  David  Bixler,  his  grand- 
father, born  in  Hanover,  Pa.,  in  1798,  was  .1 
son  of  Peter  Bixler,  of  Carroll  County,  Mary- 
land. A  merchant  in  trade  in  Hanover  for 
a  number  of  years,  David  acquired  a  com- 
petency, and  left  a  good  estate  at  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Hanover  in  1873,  when  lie 
was  seventy-five  years  old.  Active-  in  local 
affairs,  he  served  in  a  number  of  public 
offices.  He  married  Susan  Long,  of  Hanover. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Long,  who  was 
one  of  the  Revolutionary  soldiers  who  experi- 
enced the  hardships  of  Valley  Forge.  Mrs. 
Susan  Bixler  lived  to  be  ninety-one  years  of 
age,  dying  in  1891.  She  rests  with  her  hus- 
band in  the  cemetery  at  Hanover.  They  were 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Of  the  six 
children  reared  by  them,  three  daughters  and 
three  sons,  four  are  living  to-day. 

David  D.  Bixler  was  born  in  Hanover  in 
1830.  After  spending  some  time  in  business 
with  his  father,  he  became  the  hitter's  suc- 
cessor, and  is  still  conducting  a  store  there. 
IK-  married  Almira  Wilson,  of  York,  Pa.,  a 
daughter  of  John  A.  and  Rachel  (Mantle) 
Wilson.  The  Wilsons  are  of  Scotch-Irish 
origin.  Mrs.  Almira  Bixler's  paternal  grand- 
father, who  was  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ire- 
land, was  educated  for  the  Presbyterian  min- 
istry, and  for  a  number  of  years  was  the 
pastor  of  a  church  in  York  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania. A  close  student,  gifted  with  literary 
tah-nt,  he  was  the  author  of  a  number  ol 
books.  John  A.  Wilson  was  also  educated  for 
the  ministry,  but  his  health  was  too  uncertain 
to  allow  of  his  assuming  pastoral  duties.      II 


33o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


found  employment  as  a  scrivener,  and  was  for 
a  number  of  years  clerk  of  the  York  County 
courts.  His  wife  died  in  February,  1896. 
She  was  the  mother  of  four  children,  namely: 
James  Wilson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Samuel  Lincoln  and  Charles  Saxton,  who  are 
in  business  with  their  father,  the  firm  name 
being  D.  D.  Bixler  &  Sons;  and  David  Her- 
vey  Bixler,  who  graduated  from  Amherst  Col- 
lege in  the  class  of  1896,  and  is  now  in  the 
employ  of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  at 
Proctor,  Vt.  Samuel  L.  Bixler  has  a  wife  and 
one  son. 

James  Wilson  Bixler  attended  school  in 
Williamsport,  Pa.,  and  graduated  from  Am- 
herst in  1882,  an  honor  man  and  one  of  the 
class  officers,  with  a  class  of  sixty-five.  In 
that  college  he  took  several  prizes  for  a 
scholarship,  and  received  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts.  He  then  took  a  divinity  course  at 
Yale,  spending  the  fourth  year  in  fellowship. 
From  Yale  he  received  the  degree  of  Bache- 
lor of  Divinity.  After  finishing  his  college 
course,  he  travelled  and  studied  in  Germany 
for  a  year,  and  then  for  a  year  was  assistant 
to  Dr.  George  L.  Walker,  the  pastor  of  the 
First  Church  in  Hartford,  Conn.  He  was  or- 
dained in  October,  1889,  and  installed  as  pas- 
tor of  the  North  Congregational  Church  in 
Haverhill,  Mass.  This  pastorate  he  resigned 
in  1891  to  take  charge  of  the  Second  Congre- 
gational Church  in  New  London,  which  so- 
ciety, formed  in  1836,  is  one  of  the  oldest 
and  wealthiest  religious  organizations  in  the 
city,  and  has  a  membership  numbering  over 
five  hundred.  The  church  edifice  is  a  granite 
structure,  erected  in  1870,  with  richly  colored 
stained  glass  windows  and  a  fine  granite 
spire.  The  music  is  rendered  by  an  accom- 
plished organist  and  a  cultured  quartette. 
This  church  requires  a  scholarly  and  eloquent 
pastor,  and  Mr.  Bixler  has  acceptably  filled  the 


pulpit  for  five  years.  The  pastoral  residence, 
which  is  a  very  beautiful  one,  was  built  and 
endowed  by  Mrs.  M.  S.  Harris,  in  memory  of 
her  deceased  husband,  the  Hon.  J.  N.  Harris, 
who  was  a  Deacon  of  the  church.  Church, 
chapel,  and  parsonage,  together,  cost  over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  Bixler  was  married  in  Amherst,  Au- 
gust 4,  1891,  to  Elizabeth  James,  a  daughter 
of  President  Julius  H.  Seelye,  of  Amherst 
College.  She  was  a  Smith  College  student 
and  an  accomplished  pianist.  She  died  April 
10,  1894,  leaving  one  son,  Julius  Seelye 
Bixler,  who  was  born  April  4,  1894.  Mr. 
Bixler  is  a  member  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  fra- 
ternity, of  Amherst,  and  is  one  of  the  over- 
seers of  the  charity  fund  of  that  college.  He 
is  a  trustee  of  the  Smith  Memorial  Home, 
which  was  founded  and  richly  endowed  by  the 
late  Dr.  Seth  Smith.  In  1897  he  was  elected 
a  corporate  member  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 


RS.  HARRIET  A.  RATHBONE,* 
a  respected  resident  of  Salem,  was 
born  in  the  house  in  which  she 
now  resides,  daughter  of  William  A.  and 
Emeline  (Morgan)  Strickland.  Her  father 
was  born  January  23,  1S12,  and  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation.  By  his  wife,  Emeline,  who  was 
born  January  17,  181  3,  he  had  three  children: 
William  N.,  a  farmer,  residing  in  Salem; 
James  Morgan,  a  resident  of  Norwich;  and 
Harriet  A.  The  father  died  in  1882,  at  the 
age  of  seventy.  His  wife  passed  away  four 
years  later,  and  both  were  laid  to  rest  in  the 
Congregational  churchyard  at  Salem. 

Harriet  A.  Strickland  was  educated  chiefly 
at  the  Sheffield  Seminary,  and  afterward 
taught  the  district  school  for  some  time.  She 
subsequently  married   Alban  Rathbone,  son  of 


JKI'HTHAH    G.    BILL. 


/ 


^d 


MRS.   JEPHTHAH    G.    H1I.L. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


335 


Alban  and  Harriet  (Boyers)  Rathbone  and  a 
pattern-maker  and  a  master  mechanic.  After 
the    breaking   out  of  the   war   Mr.    Rathbone 

c  n listed  in  Company  C,  Twenty-fourth  Con- 
necticut Regiment.  lie  was  wounded  in  ac- 
tion, and  confined  for  some  time  in  a  hospital 
in  the  South.  lie  died  of  consumption,  Au- 
gust 7,  1876,  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years, 
as  a  result  of  the  hardships  encountered  dur- 
ing service  in  the  army.  He  left  one  son, 
I  Icnrv  A.,  who  grew  up,  married,  and  has  a  wife 
.mil  one  son,  John,  the  latter  still  a  hah)-  boy. 
Except  dining  the  short  period  of  her  mar- 
ried life  Mrs.  Rathbone  has  always  resided 
at  the  old  home  of  her  parents.  Since  her 
father's  death  she  has  carried  on  the  farm, 
and  has  succeeded  by  pluck  and  perseverance 
in  gaining  a  comfortable  livelihood.  Few 
er  examples  could  be  presented  of  the 
enterprising  and  self-reliant  women  of  New 
London  County. 


,'EPHTHAH    G.    BILL,  a  leading  farmer 
of  Griswold,   in   the  north-eastern  part 

of  New  London  County,  was  born  in 
this  town,  September  7,  iXj.,,  son  of  Elisha 
Satterlee  and  Olivel  (Geer)  Hill,  llis  pater- 
nal grandfather  was  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Gr.oton,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county, 
anil  had  a  family  of  five  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. 

His  father,  Elisha  S.  Bill,  a  farmer  and 
shoemaker,  and  a  prominent  man  in  public 
affairs,  was  born  in  1798,  in  that  part  of  the 
old  town  of  Groton  that  is  now  Ledyard,  and 
dieil  in  Griswold,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  He- 
was  twice  married.  His  first  wile,  Olivet,  to 
whom  he  was  united  in  1818,  was  born  in 
Preston  in  1800,  daughter  of  Jephthah  and 
Olivet  (Herrick)  Geer.  She  died  in  March, 
1837,  having  been  the  mother  of  the  following 
children:    Sarah    Maria,    born    1819,    now  de- 


ceased; James  L.,  born  August  16,  i.Sji,  now 
living  at  Clark's  Falls,  Ninth  Stonington ; 
Jephthah  G.,  bom  in  [823;  -Ann  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1825;  Amos  William,  born  in  1827; 
Sidney  \V.  ;  Elisha,  a  farmer  who  died  in 
middle  life  at  North  Stonington;  and  Ezra 
Gardner,  a  blind  teacher,  superintendent  in 
the  Blind  School  at  Hartford.  Amos  W.  Bill 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Twenty-sixth  Connecticut 
Infantry  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and 
was  detailed  as  a  despatch  bearer.  He  was  at 
Port  Hudson.  Only  three  of  these  children 
are  living  today;  namely,  James,  Jephthah, 
and  Ezra.  The  lather  married  for  his  second 
wife  Celestina  Lucy  Ann  Walcott  Shaw, 
witlow  of  Charles  Barber,  who  was  lost  at  sea. 
Six  sons  anil  four  daughters  were  bom  of  this 
union,  and  three  of  the  family  are  now  living, 
namely:  Hibbard,  who  is  in  Massachusetts; 
Nelson,  a  mechanic  in  West  Medway;  and 
Nancy  Ann  Gennett,  now  Alts.  Richmond,  of 
Greenville.  The  second  Mrs.  Bill  survived 
her  husband  some  years,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
liltv.  Benjamin  Shaw  Hill,  one  of  her  sons, 
was  a  volunteer  soldier  from  Connecticut  in 
the  late  war,  and  died  in  Andersonville  Prison. 
Mr.  Jephthah  G.  Bill  received  a  good  com- 
mon-school education,  and  made  his  home  with 
his  father  until  his  marriage,  in  his  twenty- 
fifth  year.  Forty-four  years  ago  he  settled  on 
the  old  Benjamin  farm  of  seventy  acres,  which 
was  owned  and  occupied  in  the  last  century 
by  Ezra  Benjamin,  his  wife's  grandfather,  a 
great-uncle,  John  Benjamin,  having  bought 
a  large  tiact  of  land,  which  was  divided 
among  his  heirs.  Mr.  Hill  owns  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  carries  on  general 
farming  and  dairying,  making  considerable 
butter.  He  has  been  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  many  years,  and  has  had  charge  of  settling 
many  estates.  In  this  responsible  position  he- 
has   shown   great   executive  ability  and   entire 


336 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


fidelity  to  the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  and 
to-day  no  man  in  the  community  has  a  fairer 
reputation  for  integrity  and  absolute  honor. 

Mr.  Bill  was  married  on  February  15, 
1848,  to  Prudence  Powers  Benjamin,  daughter 
of  Karnes  and  Prudence  (Chapman)  Benjamin. 
The  family  annals  furnish  a  striking  instance 
of  longevity,  one  of  Mrs.  Bill's  great-uncles, 
Abiel  Benjamin,  having  lived  to  be  nearly  one 
hundred  and  four  years'old,  and  so  vigorous  on 
his  one  hundredth  anniversary  that  he  walked 
the  distance  of  half  a  mile.  The  early  Benja- 
mins were  Methodists,  and  Mrs.  Bill  was  a 
member  and  active  worker  in  the  Methodist 
church.  She  died  on  the  last  day  of  June, 
1896,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five,  after  forty- 
eight  years  of  wedded  life.  Shortly  after  re- 
tiring for  the  night,  apparently  as  well  as 
ever,  she  was  stricken  with  heart  failure,  and 
expired  almost  instantly.  Mrs.  Bill  was  the 
mother  of  three  children,  of  whom  the  follow- 
ing is  a  brief  record  :  Benjamin  Jephthah,  the 
eldest,  is  a  physician  and  .surgeon  at  Genoa 
Junction,  Wis.,  has  a  lucrative  practice,  stands 
high  in  his  profession,  and  is  active  in  the 
social  and  religious  life  of  the  community, 
lie  lias  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  Harriet 
Prudence  Bill  married  Ransom  H.  Young,  and 
is  the  mother  of  four  children — three  sons 
and  a  daughter.  Ann  Isabella  Bill  died  when 
nearly  fourteen  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Bill  united  with  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  and  has 
ever  since  been  an  active  Christian  worker. 
He  has  been  class  leader  and  steward,  and  is 
associated  with  the  work  of  the  Sunday-school, 
and  with  all  the  benevolent  and  charitable 
activities  of  the  church.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics;  and  in  1870  he  represented  the 
town  of  Griswold  in  the  State  legislature,  run- 
ning far  ahead  of  the  ticket  at  the  time  of  his 
election. 


REDERICK    HOWARD    DART, 

M.D.,*  a  prominent  medical  practi- 
tioner of  Niantic,  was  born  across  the 
river,  in  the  town  of  Waterford,  on  the  6th  of 
March,  i860,  and  is  descended  from  Richard 
Dart,  who  bought  land  in  New  London  at  an 
early  date.  Richard's  son,  William  Dart, 
was  born   September   21,   1762,   in    Waterford. 

William's  son  Leonard,  grandfather  of  Dr. 
Dart,  was  born  May  S,  1802,  and  died  in  1882. 
He  was  in  business  in  New  London  for  many 
years,  and  up  to  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years 
before  his  death.  He  and  his  brother,  Giles 
Dart,  were  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
coffee-mills,  and  were  also  in  company  with 
Mr.  Wilson  in  the  manufacture  of  vises,  Mr. 
Wilson  being  one  of  the  early  and  prominent 
manufacturers,  in  whose  employ  Grandfather 
Dart  was  engaged  for  a  time.  Leonard  Dart 
married  Harriet  Bishop  Watrous,  born  May 
22,  1806,  daughter  of  Deacon  John  Watrous, 
a  prominent  land-owner  at  Lake  Pond. 
Leonard,  the  only  child  by  this  marriage, 
became  father  of  the  Doctor.  He  was  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  business  for  some  years, 
and  was  of  the  firm  of  Stewart  &  Dart.  He 
is  now  employed  in  the  office  of  E.  B.  Pierce, 
mason  and  builder.  His  wife,  Josephine 
Beckwith,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1S54, 
was  born  March  31,  1833,  in  Waterford, 
daughter  of  Daniel  D.  and  Miranda  Beckwith. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dart  are  members  of  the 
Second  Congregational  Church.  The  elder 
son  of  this  marriage,  Leonard  Watrous  Dart, 
Jr.,  born  April  16,  1858,  resides  in  New  Lon- 
don, and  is  book-keeper  for  Palmer  Brothers. 
He  has  one  daughter,  named  Dorothy,  born 
in  1892. 

Dr.  Dart  acquired  his  early  education  at 
Pepper  Box  Hill  and  Montville  and  in  the 
Bulkley  High  School,  New  London,  and 
studied  medicine   in  the  medical  department 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEW 


337 


of  Columbia  College,  New  York,  graduating 
in  the  class  of  1884.  He  opened  practice  in 
this  town  in  1885,  being  associated  with  Dr. 
Munger  for  about  five  years,  and  since  then 
has  had  an  independent  practice.  He  has 
earned  for  himself  an  excellent  reputation  as 
a  physician  and  a  man  of  the  strictest  probity. 
His  field  of  practice  covers  a  wide  area,  and 
he  keeps  four  horses  for  use  in  attending  to 
his  professional  work.  He  is  connected  with 
the  various  medical  societies  of  this  region, 
and  his  skill  is  recognized  by  his  fellow- 
physicians  as  well  as  by  the  public  at  large. 
lie  is  a  member  of  the  State  and  county  medi- 
cal societies,  also  of  the  New  London  Medi- 
cal Society,  and  is  president  of  the  New  Lon- 
don Medical  Club.  He  is  United  States 
Medical  Examiner  of  Pensions  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Xew  London  and  examiner  for  the 
coroner  and  lor  the  Hoard  of  Health  of  the 
town  ol  East  Lyme.  He  is  Post  Surgeon, 
and  he  has  been  on  the  Board  of  School  Visi- 
tors for  four  years,  being  now  chairman.  Fra- 
ternally, he  is  a  Master  Mason. 

Dr.  Dart  took  as  his  life  partner  Maria 
L.  Pond,  daughter  of  Norman  J.  and  Jane 
(Moody)  Pond,  of  East  Lyme,  originally  from 
Yarmouth,  N.S.,  where  Mr.  Pond  had  been 
a  prominent  banker.  Mrs.  Dart's  father  died 
in  this  town  in  18.X4,  leaving  to  his  widow 
and  eight  children  the  fine  property  of  Black 
Point.  He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Bond,  of  Nova 
Scotia.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dart  are  prominent 
Episcopalians  and  members  of  St.  James's 
Parish,  New  London.  They  have  one  son, 
Frederick  Bond  Dart,  born  February  27,  1S96. 


|APTAIN    WILLIAM     II.    SISTARE, 
a  retired  sea  captain  of   New  London, 
Conn.,      was     born      in      this     city 
on    September  9,    183 1,   son    of    William   M. 


and  Martha  (Beebe)  Sistare.  He  is  de- 
scended from  a  Spanish  family.  Don  Gabriel 
Sistare  (also  written  Sistere),  the  earliest 
known  ancestor,  was  born  in  Barcelona,  Spain, 
in  1700.  He  married  Marie  Mitzavila. 
Their  son,  Captain  Gabriel  Sistare,  who  was 
born  in  Barcelona  on  May  1,  [726,  settled  in 
New  London,  October  14,  1 77 1 .  lie  was 
twice  married.  His  first  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Maria  Molas,  died  in  Barcelona, 
leaving  one  child,  also  named  Gabriel,  bom 
in  Barcelona  in  1754,  who  came  to  this  city 
with  Captain  De  Shon  in  177-,  and  subse- 
quently married  Frances  Chew.  The  latter 
was  born  in  1759,  daughter  of  Joseph  ami 
Frances  De  Shon  Chew.  Captain  Gabriel's 
second  marriage  was  made  with  Elizabeth 
Beebe,  who  had  one  child,  Joseph,  born  April 
22,  1774.  Joseph  Sistare  married  Nancy 
Wey,  who  died  in  New  York  City  on  Novem- 
ber 13,  i860.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
George  Wey,  who  was  horn  in  New  London 
in  1630.  Captain  Gabriel  died  February  3, 
1795;  while  his  widow  survived  until  Septem- 
ber ii,  1798.  Gabriel  Sistare  (third)  died 
on  January  11,  1820;  and  his  wife  passed 
away  on  October   11,    1841. 

William  M.  Sistare,  born  in  this  city  on 
July  2,  [794,  was  a  Xew  London  merchant, 
and  served  his  country  as  Quartermaster  in 
the  War  of  181  _\  He  married  Martha  Beebe: 
and  they  had  four  children,  of  whom  William 
II.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. The  others  were:  Joseph  Allen,  who 
was  a  master  mariner,  and  died  in  this  city  in 
1871,  at  the  age  of  forty,  leaving  four  sons; 
James  Morgan  Sistare.  also  a  sea  captain,  who 
died  in  January,  1X92,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
three,  leaving  five  children;  and  Mary  Ellen, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Orrin  Beckwith,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  leaving  three  children. 
The   father   lived   to   be  eighty-seven   years  of 


33§ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


age,  and  the  mother  attained  the  age  of 
seventy-five. 

William  II.  Sistare  acquired  a  good  com- 
mon-school education.  He  had  been  a  clerk 
in  his  father's  store  for  some  time,  when  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  went  in  his  own 
fishing-sloop,  the  "  Harriet,"  from  Cape  May 
to  Chatham,  Cape  Cod,  Mass.  Thereafter  he 
was  engaged  in  the  coasting  trade  for  nearly 
forty  years.  He  retired  in  18S6,  after  a  suc- 
cessful career.  In  politics  he  affiliates  with 
the  Republican  party. 

On  June  9,  1 S 5 9,  Captain  Sistare  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  B.  Paige,  of  this  city.  Her 
parents,  John  S.  and  Harriet  Newell  (Beebe) 
Paige,  now  deceased,  were  natives  respec- 
tively of  North  Brookfield,  Mass.,  and  New 
London.  Of  their  twelve  children  they  reared 
seven,  all  of  whom  ,are  living.  Frank  L. 
Paige,  the  only  brother  of  Mrs.  Sistare,  is 
a  clothier  in  New  York  City.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sistare  have  had  nine  children,  of  whom  three 
died  in  infancy  and  Gabriel  Carlos  in  his 
fifth  year.  The  survivors  are:  Ellen,  John 
Foster,  Mattie  Serena,  Lycurgus^Mackie,  and 
llattie  Breckenridge,  all  of  whom  have  been 
educated  in  New  London.  Lycurgus  is  a 
letter  carrier  in  this  city.  John  Foster,  born 
March  24,  [864,  is  a  member  of  the  well- 
known  firm  Palmer  &  Sistare,  of  New  Lon- 
don. In  religion  Mr.  Sistare  and  his  family 
are  Congregational ists.  They  reside  at  44 
Shaw  Street,  where  William  M.  Sistare  built 
a  house  in  1842.  The  adjoining  lot  has  been 
the  property  of  the  Sistare  family  since  1757. 


"ENRY  !■:.  WEST,  of  New  London, 
now  retired  from  active  business,  at 
one  time  kept  one  of  the  best  livery 
stables  in  the  county.  He  was  born  in  Leb- 
anon, this   State,  June    15,  1821,  son  of  Enos 


and  Nancy  (Latham)  West,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Connecticut.  His  grand- 
father, Joshua  West,  a  farmer  of  Montville, 
Conn.,  residing  near  Gardner's  Lake,  had  a 
family  of  two  daughters  and  two  sons,  the 
boys  being  twins. 

Enos  West,  the  only  child  of  his  parents 
that  reached  maturity,  was  born  in  Montville, 
March  12,  1781.  He,  too,  was  a  farmer,  and 
was  fairly  well-to-do.  His  death  occurred  in 
Colchester,  Conn.,  February  10,  1846.  His 
wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  November 
29,  1808,  was  born  in  Groton,  January  16, 
1789.  She  reared  two  daughters  and  one 
son,  and  died  at  the  home  of  the  latter  in 
New  London,  January  8,  1S80,  eight  days 
prior  to  her  ninety-first  birthday.  The  elder 
daughter,  Hannah  W.,  who  became  the  wife 
of  William  Smith,  of  Walpole,  Mass.,  died  in 
Willimantic,  Conn.,  November  9,  1845,  leav- 
ing one  son,  Frank  Howard  Smith.  Frank 
H.  Smith  lives  in  New  London,  and  has 
one  son,  Herbert  Raymond,  a  young  man  of 
twenty-one,  attending  college  at  New  Haven. 
The  other  daughter,  Mary  Perkins  West, 
married  Waldo  Bingham,  of  Windham,  Conn., 
and  died  in  that  town,  August  27,  1853,  leav- 
ing one  daughter,  Josephine  W.,  who  is  now 
living  in  Windham. 

Henry  E.  West,  who  was  the  only  son  of 
his  parents,  was  reared  on  a  farm,  remaining 
with  his  father  and  mother  until  he  was  eigh- 
teen years  of  age.  After  the  family  moved 
to  Colchester,  he  attended  school  for  a  couple 
of  years.  He  was  then  employed  in  Col- 
chester for  one  year  or  more,  and  in  that  place 
first  engaged  in  the  livery  business.  On 
April  12,  1844,  he  located  in  New  London; 
and  in  February,  1847,  his  brother-in-law, 
William  Smith,  became  his  partner.  To- 
gether they  built  up  a  first-class  trade,  the 
firm     of    West    &    Smith    soon    taking  place 


JOHN    B.    SIZEK 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


34  > 


among  the  best  livery  firms  of  the  county. 
They  were  in  business  until  1890.  Mr. 
Smith  died  November  10,  1S94.  Mr.  West, 
though  now  practically  retired  from  business, 
finds  pleasure  and  occupation  in  dispensing 
a  cure  for  rheumatism  that  he  discovered,  and. 
which  has  become  very  popular. 

On  June  9,  1846,  Mr.  Smith  was  married 
to  Abby  Ann,  daughter  of  William  and  Lucy 
(Bigelow)  Gelston.  Mr.  Gelston,  who  was  a 
farmer  and  a  native  of  East  1  laddam,  died  in 
1875,  at  the  aye  of  eighty-eight.  His  wife, 
a  native  ot  Colchester,  Conn.,  died  in  June, 
[880,  aged  eighty-one  years  and  six  months. 
Four  of  the  six  children  born  to  this  couple 
grew  to  maturity,  namely:  Abby  A.,  now 
Mrs.  West;  Maltby  and  John  Bigelow  Gel- 
ston, who  reside  in  Hast  Haddam  ;  and  Lucy, 
who  makes  her  home  with  Mr.  West.  Mr. 
West  has  no  children.  In  politics  he  is  in- 
dependent, usually  voting  for  the  Democratic 
candidate.  He  has  served  in  the  City  Coun- 
cil. His  religious  belief  is  not  restricted  by 
the  lines  of  creed.  Thirty-seven  years  ago 
he  moved  into  his  pleasant  home'  at  35  Main 
Street,  one  of  the  old  Colonial  houses  of  New 
London,  roomy,  substantial,  and  well  pre- 
ed   in  spite  of   its  age. 


-OIIN  BRUCE  SIZER,  the  steward  of 
the  Old  Ladies'  Home  in  New  London, 
was  born  here,  July  12,  1839.  His 
father  and  paternal  grandfather,  both  named 
Jonathan,  were  also  residents  of  New  London. 
The  Si/ers,  who  are  an  old  and  respected  fam- 
ily, originally  came  from  Salem,  Mass.  The 
father  had  the  first  and  the  only  brass  foundry 
in  Connecticut  at  that  time.  His  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Sarah  Way,  had  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  John  15.  and  Rose — who  is  the 
wife  of  George  Potter,  of   this   city  —  are   liv- 


ing. Mary  married  David  A.  Pollock,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two.  By  a  second 
marriage,  contracted  with  Thomas  II .  Brooks, 
the  mother  had  twins,  Henry  and  Thomas, 
both  now  deceased.  After  Mr.  Brooks's  death 
a  third  marriage  united  her  to  Alfred  Hemp- 
stead, who  survived  her,  and  left  a  noble  rec- 
ord besides  property.  Mr.  Hempstead  was 
much  sought  for  in  the  settlement  of  estates. 
Both  were  kind  to  the  poor,  and  had  a  large 
circle  of  admiring  friends. 

On  November  3,  1 869,  Mr.  Si/er  was  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Mary  Esther  Stevens  Lyons,  a 
native  of  this  city  and  a  daughter  of  Captain 
Daniel  and  Sophia  Rogers  (Holt)  Stevens. 
Her  grandfather,  Giles  Holt,  was  a  well- 
known  sea  captain  of  New  London.  Her 
father  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  was  the  com- 
mander of  a  line  steamer  plying  between  New 
York  and  Liverpool.  Born  in  Saco,  Me.,  he 
was  a  man  of  fine  physique,  measuring  six 
feet,  four  inches,  and  weighing  two  hum  Ire,  I 
and  twenty-five  pounds.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-six.  In  her  childhood  Mrs.  Sizer 
made  several  voyages  abroad.  She  was  first 
married  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen  to  Captain 
Joshua  Lyons,  and  by  him  had  one  child, 
William  Edgar  Lyons,  a  line  young  man,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  Mrs. 
Si/er  has  three  half-brothers  —  Jeremiah 
Slate,  Franklin  Slate,  and  Samuel  Norris 
Shite  —  who  are  all  sea  captains  and  residents 
of  New  London. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sizer  have  held  their  joint 
positions  of  honor  and  responsibility  as  matron 
and  steward  of  the  Old  Ladies'  Home  for  over 
ten  years.  This  institution,  which  was  estab- 
lished almost  thirteen  years  ago,  occupies  a 
three-story  brick  structure,  with  accommoda- 
tions for  thirty  inmates.  The  efficient  Bo 
of  Directors  are:  the  Hon.  Robert  Coit  (presi- 
dent), the  Hon.  Augustus  Brandagee,  the  Hon. 


342 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Thomas  Waller,  Henry  R.  Bond,  Dr.  Bixter, 
and  Dr.  Blake.  Drs.  Bixter  and  Blake  are 
pastors  of  Congregational  churches.  Dr. 
Braman  is  the  attending  physician,  and  Mrs. 
Helen  Spencer  is  the  head  nurse.  Mrs. 
Sizer  has  conducted  her  household  so  harmo- 
niously that  few  changes  have  been  necessary. 
She  settles  her  bills  monthly,  and  is  respon- 
sible to  the  president,  Mr.  Coit,  alone. 


APTAIN      JOSEPH      WARREN 
HOLMES,*    whose    home    is    in    the 


.^ '  village  of   Mystic,    Conn.,  was   born 

here  on  April  i,  1824.  His  parents  were 
Captain  Jeremiah  and  Ann  B.  (Denison) 
Holmes. 

Jeremiah  Holmes,  Sr. ,  the  father  of  Cap- 
tain Jeremiah,  was  a  farmer  in  Stonington. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Deni- 
son, was  a  descendant  of  George  Denison, 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Eng- 
land in  1631  in  the  ship  "Lion,"  and  lived 
for  some  time  at  Roxbury,  Mass. 

Captain  Jeremiah  Holmes  was  born  in  Mill- 
town,  Conn.,  September  6,  1782.  He  was 
but  eight  years  old  when  his  father  died. 
Remaining  with  his  mother  until  fourteen 
years  of  age,  he  then  went  to  live  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Thomas  Crary,  in  Norwich, 
Chenango  County,  N.Y.,  where  he  worked 
and  attended  school.  In  the  winter  of  1800 
he  went  to  New  York  City,  walking  to  Cats- 
kill  on  the  Hudson,  and  going  from  there  by 
a  packet  boat.  Naturally  of  a  restless  spirit 
and  possessing  a  strong  desire  to  see  the 
world,  he  shipped  in  the  schooner  "Four  Sis- 
ters"  for  Falkland  Islands;  but  the  unlawful 
smuggling  scheme  of  her  commander,  Cap- 
tain Peleg  Barker,  landed  them  instead  in 
Para,     Brazil,    in   a    Portuguese   dungeon    that 


was  hot,  dark,  and  damp.  Two  months  later 
they  were  transferred  to  a  frigate,  and  subse- 
quently taken  to  Lisbon  on  a  Portuguese  ves- 
sel, which  was  one  hundred  and  thirty  days  on 
the  way,  though  ordinarily  the  trip  required 
but  fifty.  Lacking  sufficient  food  and  water, 
without  bread  and  meat,  and  suffering  for 
want  of  clothing  and  cleanliness,  their  condi- 
tion can  be  better  imagined  than  described. 
Of  their  treatment  on  reaching  Lisbon,  no  de- 
tails are  given;  but  Jeremiah  Holmes  eventu- 
ally reached  New  York  again,  and,  undaunted 
by  his  experience,  continued  his  seafaring 
life,  and  rose  to  the  position  of  captain. 
One  memory  of  his  adventure  was  always  dear 
to  him,  that  of  his  true  and  generous  sailor 
friend,  Hans,  of  Norway.  For  his  gallant 
service  in  the  War  of  1812,  Captain  Jeremiah 
Holmes  won  the  title  of  Hero  of  Stoning- 
ton. He  lived  to  be  ninety  years  of  age,  and 
his  wife  to  be  ninety-nine.  They  were  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom  four  sons 
and  two  daughters  grew  to  maturity.  One 
son,  Isaac  D.,  is  now  living  in  Mystic;  his 
sister,  Mary  Ann,  wife  of  Randall  Brown, 
died  in  1894;  and  Esther  O,  wife  of  Captain 
Latham,  died  in  1895,  leaving  one  daughter. 

Joseph  Warren  Holmes  attended  school 
here  in  Mystic  until  thirteen  years  old.  He 
then  went  to  sea  as  cabin  boy  on  the  "Ap- 
palachicola, "  commanded  by  Captain  Latham, 
and  was  gone  nine  months.  During  the  next 
three  years  he  went  with  his  father  summers 
in  the  packet  "Leeds"  from  New  York  to 
Mystic,  and  in  the  winter  attended  school. 
The  summer  he  was  sixteen  he  was  mate  of  a 
sloop.  The  following  winter  he  spent  in 
Suffield,  and  in  the  spring  shipped  on  the 
bark  "Leander,"  under  Captain  Bailey,  with 
whom  he  made  his  first  voyage  around  the 
world,  completing  the  circuit  in  twenty-two 
months.      The     "Leander"     was    engaged     in 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


343 


whale  fishery  in  the  South  Atlantic,  Smith 
Pacific,  and  Indian  Oceans.  At  twenty-one 
he  became  master  of  the  same  bark,  on  which 
he  made  three  voyages,  the  second  and  third 
of  twenty  months  each.  Leaving  the  "  Lean- 
der"  in  1847,  lie  went  in  the  "Coriolanus"  on 
a  whaling  trip  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  followed 
by  a  voyage  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  where  the 
ship  was  filled  in  sixty  days.  He  continued 
to  engage  in  the  whale  fishery  until  1854. 

After  leaving  the  "Coriolanus,"  Captain 
Holmes  was  successively  commander  of  the 
"Fanning,"  "Frances,"  "Haze,"  "Twilight," 
and  "'Seminole";  and  for  the  past  ten  years  or 
more  he  has  had  charge  of  the  "Charmer,"  a 
full-rigged  merchantman,  which  sails  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco  and  foreign  ports. 
She  is  of  about  nineteen  hundred  tons' 
burden,  and  when  fully  manned  has  a  crew  of 
twenty-eight  men,  and  in  the  eyes  of  her  cap- 
tain is  as  fine  a  ship  as  sails  from  Xew  York 
Harbor.  She  is  owned  by  John  Rosenfeldt, 
of  San  Francisco;  and  it  is  between  these  two 
ports  that  most  of  her  trips  are  made,  bring- 
ing wine,  wool,  and  other  products  to  New 
York,  and  taking  back  Eastern  manufactures 
for  the  Pacific  coast.  Occasionally,  when  the 
markets  are  favorable,  she  crosses  the  At- 
lantic with  a  cargo  of  grain,  etc.,  for  Euro- 
pean consumption,  and  returns  laden  with 
rare  and  beautiful  as  well  as  useful  wares. 
Many  of  the  furnishings  in  his  home  have 
been  gathered  from  various  quarters  of  the 
globe,  beautiful  rugs,  china,  bric-a-brac,  cabi- 
nets of  shells,  and  other  sea  treasures  making 
it  a  storehouse  of  pleasure  to  the  lover  of 
curios.  Several  very  handsome  centre  tables 
deserve  special  mention.  The  tops  were 
made  by  himself,  with  the  aid  of  a  jig-saw,  in 
his  hours  of  leisure  when  on  board  ship,  and 
consist  of  a  great  variety  of  woods  artisti- 
cally set  together.      He  was  once  offered  three 


hundred  dollars  for  one  of  these  tables,  but 
they  are  more  to  him  than  their  money  value. 
It  is  doubtful  if  Captain  Holmes's  record  as 
a  mariner  is  paralleled  by  that  of  any  other. 
For  nearly  or  quite  sixty  years  he  has  fol- 
lowed the  sea.  No  vessel  under  his  command 
has  ever  been  lost  or  shipwrecked,  and  not  a 
man  of  all  his  crews  was  ever  lost. 

Winds  have  not  always  been  favorable,  how- 
ever, as  the  following,  quoted  from  an  article 
published  in  a  Providence  paper  in  October, 
1896,  will  show:  "Yes,"  replied  the  Captain 
in  answer  to  a  question  as  to  his  experience, 
"I  have  seen  some  pretty  bad  blows.  Let  me 
see,"  and  he  mused  a  moment  with  a  retro- 
spective  look  in  his  eyes.  "About  four  years 
ago  we  ran  into  a  couple  of  typhoons  on  our 
way  out  from  San  Francisco  to  Hong-Kong. 
It  was  about  off  Yokohama  when  they  struck 
us,  one  right  after  the  other:  and  there  were 
lively  times  aboard  the  good  ship  'Charmer" 
for  a  while.  We  lost  our  rudder,  and  were 
in  a  tight  place  for  a  spell:  but,  fortunately, 
the  gales  passed  on  before  we  were  swamped, 
and  we  put  into  port  for  repairs.  On  my  very 
last  trip  from  Japan  two  storms  struck  us  in 
the  Pacific;  but  we  weathered  them  success- 
fully, and  dropped  anchor  off  quarantine 
three  weeks  ago.  When  I  was  in  the  'Semi- 
nole" in  1 868,  we  encountered  a  white  squall 
six  days  out  of  New  York,  and  were  dis- 
masted; but  we  put  back,  and,  after  making 
repairs,  sailed  again,  and  met  with  no  more 
mishaps  that  voyage."  In  his  journeyings 
Captain  Holmes  has  been  three  times  around 
the  world,  has  doubled  ("ape  Horn  seventy- 
three  times  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  six- 
teen times. 

Captain  Holmes  was  married  September  3, 
1847,  to  Miss  Mary  O.  Denison,  his  second 
cousin.  One  son  was  born  to  them,  Edwin 
Warren    Holmes,  who  for  several   years  sailed 


344 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


with  his  father  as  mate.  He  died  of  pneu- 
monia in  1883,  at  the'  age  of  twenty-seven, 
leaving  a  widow  and  one  son,  Edwin  Warren, 
who  reside  in  San  Francisco.  Mrs.  Holmes 
accompanied  her  husband  on  his  voyages. 
She  died  at  their  home  here  in  Mystic  in 
1887,  aged  sixty  years.  Captain  Holmes  pur- 
chased this  place  in  1865.  Many  a  seafarer 
has  had  his  home"  in  this  village,  but  no  name 
will  be  remembered  longer  or  more  pleasantly 
than  that  of  Captain  Holmes. 


ILLIAM  PALMER  SMITH,  a  re- 
tired gentleman  of  New  London, 
was  born  October  19,  1823,  in  a 
house  on  Bank  Street,  a  few  doors  removed 
from  his  present  home.  His  parents  were 
Sabin  King  and  Joanna  (Beckwith)  Smith. 
Joseph  Smith,  of  Montville,  this  county,  the 
paternal  grandfather,  married  Sally  Smith,  a 
daughter  of  Paul  and  a  grand-daughter  of 
Nehemiah  Smith.  By  this  union  there  were 
four  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom 
became  octogenarians.  Anson,  the  last  mem- 
ber of  the  family,  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-six. 
Sabin  King  Smith  was  a  successful  mer- 
chant in  New  London  from  his  youth  to  his 
death.  At  one  time  he  owned  the  valuable 
business  property  extending  from  the  Cronin 
Building  on  State  Street  around  to  Hemp- 
stead's store  on  Bank  Street,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  single  building.  One  of  the  moneyed 
men  of  the  place  from  1830  to  1840,  he  subse- 
quently met  with  heavy  reverses.  He  was  a 
Mason  of  high  degree.  The  maiden  name  of 
his  first  wife  was  Joanna  Beckwith,  who  made 
him  the  father  of  nine  children.  She  died  in 
[829,  leaving  four  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Of  these  the  only  other  survivor  besides 
William  Palmer  is  Sabin,  a  resident  of  Chi- 
cago,   who    is   now   nearly   eighty    years    old. 


By  Sabin's  second  marriage  there  were  two 
children — Joseph  Ledyard  and  Adelaide  Jo- 
anna. Joseph  is  now  deceased.  Adelaide  is 
the  wife  of  P.  G.  Freeman,  of  Indepen- 
dence, la. 

Leaving  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen, 
William  Palmer  Smith  entered  his  brother's 
employ  as  clerk.  Six  years  later  he  was  in 
business  for  himself  within  a  few  doors  of  his 
present  store.  He  continued  in  trade  from 
1S43  to  1850,  when  he  went  to  California  by 
way  of  the  Isthmus,  returning  six  months 
thereafter.  During  the  Civil  War  he  was  en- 
gaged in  New  York  City,  exporting  butter  and 
cheese  to  England  and  Germany.  In  politics 
he  has  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party, 
but  he  voted  for  McKinley  in  1896.  A  prom- 
inent Mason,  he  belongs  to  Union  Lodge  of 
New  London;  to  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  of 
which  he  has  been  High  Priest;  and  to  Pales- 
tine Commandery,  Knights  Templar. 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  twice  married.  On  the 
first  occasion  he  was  united  to  Sarah  Fuller, 
of  Norwich,  who  died  in  1853.  She  left  an 
only  child,  Clarence,  who  died  in  the  South 
in  middle  age.  The  second  marriage  was 
contracted  with  Sophia  Peck  Marsh,  a 
widow,  who  had  three  sons  by  her  first  mar- 
riage. The  latter  are:  Daniel  S.  Marsh,  who 
is  a  music  dealer  in  New  London,  and  has  two 
children;  P"rank  A.  Marsh,  of  Chicago,  a 
wealthy  man  and  unmarried,  who  is  the  pur- 
chasing agent  for  the  Rock  Island  Railroad; 
and  P'ben  J.  Marsh,  a  lumber  manufacturer  in 
Georgetown,  S.  C,  who  is  married  and  has 
one  daughter.  The  second  Mrs.  Snfith  died 
in  1893,  at  tne  aSe  °f  seventy-four  years. 
Mr.  Smith  retired  from  business  over  twenty 
years  ago,  and  resides  over  his  stores  at  52, 
54,  and  56  State  Street,  which  have  a  frontage 
of  forty  feet,  and  were  purchased  by  him  in 
1855.    ' 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


345 


"ON.  JOHN  U.  PARK,  ex-Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  died  at  his 
home  on  River  Avenue  in  Norwich,  New 
London  Counts',  on  the  fourth  day  of  August, 
1896.  He  was  horn  in  the  town  of  Preston, 
in  the  same  county,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day 
of  April,  A.D.  1819.  He  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  Sir  Robert  Parke,  who,  with  his 
wife  and  three  sons,  came  from  Preston,  Lan- 
cashire, England,  to  Massachusetts  in  1630, 
and  later  removed  to  New  London,  Conn. 

He  had  three  sons.  In  England  the  gene- 
alogy of  the  Parke  family  has  been  traced  with 
the  line  of  the  late  Earl  of  Wensleydale,  who 
was  of  the  English  Parke  ancestry.  Sir 
Robert  Parke's  youngest  son  was  Thomas 
Parke,  who  was  the  father  of  Robert  Parke, 
who  was  the  father  of  Hezekiah  Parke,  who 
was  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Paul  Park  (the 
great-grandfather  of  the  Hon.  John  D.  Park), 
who  was  born  in  Preston,  and  lived  and  died 
in  the  same  town.  The  family  name  was 
spelled  with  an  "e"  (Parke)  until  the  Rev. 
Paul  Park  dropped  that  letter.  He  was  a  man 
of  large  intellect,  broad-minded  in  his  views 
and  very  influential.  lie  became  a  preacher, 
and  for  over  half  a  century  he  preached  in  the 
parish  where  he  was  born,  receiving  no  re- 
muneration for  his  labors;  and  he  also  was  as- 
sessed for  the  standing  order  of  the  clergy. 

Elisha,  son  of  the  Rev.  Paul  Park,  was  also 
born  in  Preston.  He  married  Miss  Margaret 
Avery,  of  Groton,  Conn.,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children  —  Ephraim  and  Lucy,  both  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity  and  married.  For  his  second 
wife  Elisha  Park  married  Miss  Hannah  Helton, 
who  lived  to  be  over  eight}-  years  old.  Their 
union  was  blessed  by  four  children  —  Niles, 
Margaret,  Joseph,  and  Benjamin  Franklin. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Park,  father  of  John  D., 
was  born  January  17,   1782.      He  was  a  success- 


ful farmer  of  Preston;  and  be  also  conducted  a 
country  store,  where  he  dealt  in  general  mer- 
chandise. He  married  Miss  Hannah  A\ 
daughter  of  Colonel  David  Avery,  a  farmer  of 
Preston.  Of  this  marriage  eight  children 
were  horn,  all  of  whom  reached  adult  years; 
and  lor  many  years  there  was  no  death  in  this 
family  of  ten  persons.  Only  .two  of  its  mem- 
bers, however,  are  now  living:  Albert  Frank- 
lin, the  second  child  and  eldest  son,  born  De- 
cember ii,  1814,  and  a  resident  oi  Norwich; 
and  Hannah  Cornelia,  wife  of  James  \V 
man,  who  resides  on  a  part  of  the  old  farm,  at 
a  place  where  one  of  the  earliest  American 
progenitors  of  the  family  settled  about  1630, 
coming  thither  from  Boston.  The  mother 
died  January  17,  1855,  in  her  sixty-second 
year,  being  the  first  to  pass  away.  The  fat  bet 
survived  her  some  years,  dying  October  8, 
1863,  in  his  eighty-second  year. 

John  D.  Park  passed  his  boyhood  on  his 
father's  farm.  At  sixteen  he  taught  his  first 
term  of  school,  and  he  followed  teaching  sev- 
eral winters.  In  1845,  when  twenty-six  years 
of  age,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  the  Hon. 
Lafayette  S.  Foster,  the  lawyer  and  statesman 
who  held  the  office  of  Vice  President  after 
Lincoln's  death.  Mr.  Park  pursued  the  study 
of  law  with  such  diligence  that  in  Febru- 
ary, 1S47,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  at 
once  opened  an  office  in  Norwich,  and  engaged 
in  practice.  In  1853  he  was  nominated  as 
Senator  to  the  General  Assembly,  and  the 
following  year  was  elected  Judge  of  the 
County  Court,  New  London  Count)-.  In  1S55 
he  represented  the  town  of  Norwich  in  the 
State  legislature,  and  served  with  distinction 
in  the  controversy  between  rival  gas  com- 
panies. During  this  session  of  the  legislat- 
ure there  was  a  radical  change  in  the  courts  of 
the  State,  the  county  courts  being  abolish 
and  their  business  transferred  to  the   Superior 


34^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Courts ;  and  Mr.  Park  was  elected  one  of  the 
Superior  Court  Judges.  In  1863  he  was  re- 
elected Judge  of  the_  Superior  Court  for  the 
regulation  term  of  eight  years,  and  in  1864 
he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Errors,  being  re-elected  to  that  office  in  1872. 
The  same  year  he  was  made  a  Chief  Justice  of 
the  State.  This  office  he  held  for  fifteen 
years  and  seven  months,  and  on  his  retire- 
ment from  the  Supreme  Court,  having  reached 
the  age  limit,  seventy  years,  he  was  appointed 
State  Referee,  an  office  created  for  him.  The 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  Yale  College  in  1861,  and  that  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  in  1878.  His  death  brought 
to  a  close  one  of  the  most  brilliant  legal 
careers  that  has  ever  been  wrought  out  in  this 
State.  The  high  mark  attained  in  his  profes- 
sion was  gained  by  an  industry  that  overcame 
all  obstacles.  He  was  a  clear  and  logical  rea- 
soner,  weighing  well  every  detail;  and  his  de- 
cisions in  matters  of  law  will  stand  as  a  mon- 
ument to  his  ability. 

On  July  6,  1864,  Judge  Park  was  married 
to  Emma  Wainwright  Allen,  of  Middlebury, 
Vt.  Their  four  children  all  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  Park  died  September  17,  18S4,  at  forty- 
four  years  of  age.  In  politics  Judge  Park  was 
first  a  Whig  and  later  a  Republican.  In  re- 
ligious views  he  was  an  Episcopalian. 


/^A II ESTER  W.  BARNES,  an  enterpris- 
I  \r       ing   grocer   of    Preston,    was    bom    in 

XJ8  ^  Norwich,  March  16,  1841,  son  of 
Avery  YV.  and  Lucy  (Sherman)  Barnes.  His 
grandfather,  Avery  Barnes,  who  was  born  in 
Groton,  married  in  1S04  Abigail  Cook,  a 
daughter  of  Elisha  Cook,  of  Preston.  In  the 
following  year  they  settled  on  their  farm. 
They  had  eleven  children,  of  whom  six  are 
now    living.       Nabby,   the    first-born,    became 


the  wife  of  Reuben  Cook,  and  died  when 
ninety  years  of  age.  Eunice  married  Albert 
Holmes,  and  died  in  1887,  at  the  age  of 
eighty.  Lucy  is  an  octogenarian,  and  resides 
in  Preston  City.  Prudence  is  the  wife  of 
Hiram  Browning,  of  this  place.  Ruth  Ann 
is  the  widow  of  Charles  Eaton,  and  lives  in 
Norwich.  Almeda,  born  in  1824,  is  the 
widow  of  Neheminh  Cook,  and  lives  in 
Franklin,  Conn.  Chester  M.,  born  June  6, 
1826,  owns  a  farm  adjoining  the  old  home- 
stead. Mrs.  Avery  Barnes,  after  surviving 
her  husband  three  years,  died  December  21, 
1878,  in  the  ninety-fourth  year  of  her  age. 
Some  time  before  a  family  reunion  took  place 
in  celebration  of  the  eighty-ninth  birthday  of 
Avery  Barnes,  when  he  and  his  wife  had  then 
been  united  in  matrimony  for  sixty-six  years, 
when  their  first-born  was  sixty-five  years  old, 
and  seven  of  their  children,  twenty-three  of 
their  grandchildren,  and  fourteen  great-grand- 
children were  present,  the  sum  of  whose  ages, 
with  those  of  their  eleven  children,  was  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-nine  years.  Two  inter- 
esting poems,  previously  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose, were  read  on  this  occasion. 

Avery  W.  Barnes  in  1833  married  Lucy, 
daughter  of  Moses  Sherman.  She  died  in 
1869,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven,  leaving  three 
children.  Their  daughter  Harriet  had  died  at 
the  age  of  eighteen.  Those  now  living  are 
Lucy,  Chester  W. ,  and  George.  Lucy  is  the 
widow  of  Harley  A.  Bromley,  and  resides  in 
the  neighborhood.  George  has  lived  for 
twenty  years  in  the  South.  The  father  is  now 
in  his  eighty-ninth  year. 

Chester  VV.  Barnes  was  reared  to  farm  life, 
living  with  his  grandparents  until  fifteen  years 
old.  When  twenty-seven  years  old  he  mar- 
ried Emily  Dean  Le  Noir,  the  widow  of 
Henry  Le  Noir,  and  a  daughter  of  Nathan  and 
Emily    Hovey    Dean,    the    ceremony    taking 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEW 


'.(7 


])lace  December  15,  1868.  They  have  had  six 
children,  as  follows:  Harriet,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  rive  years;  Charles,  born  February  7, 
1873,  who  assists  his  father  in  his  grocery 
business;  Frank,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Eleanor  Hell,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Nor- 
wich Broadway  School;  Philo,  a  youth  of  six- 
teen, who  is  also  in  his  father's  store;  and 
Minnie,  a  bright  girl  of  twelve  years. 

Mr.  Barnes  is  a  Mason  of  the  thirty-second 
degree,  and  he  has  taken  all  the  degrees  in  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  Democrat,  as  all  his 
forefathers  hive  been.  He  has  served  as  Con- 
stable, was  First  Selectman  and  Town  Treas- 
urer for  one  year  each,  and  was  re-elected  to 
the  latter  office,  but  resigned.  He  has  been 
a  grand  juror,  ami  was  a  Representative  in  the 
State  legislature  in  1S82,  and  in  1883  and 
1884  was  State  Senator.  Mr.  Haines  has 
been  a  very  successful  business  man.  He  has 
been  in  the  grocery  business  for  thirty-one 
years  in  his  own  name;  and  he  is  a  large 
dealer  in  fish,  including  oysters  and  clams. 
He  has  his  own  fishing-smacks  and  seines,  and 
supplies  all  the  local  trade. 


(«J>r'LMARIN  T.  HALF,  the  genial  and 
JLLi  popular  landlord  of  the  Crocker 
/-  ®v^.  House,  New  London,  is  a  native  of 
Norwich,  Conn.  Horn  September  1,  1853, 
he  is  a  son  of  Almarin  R.  Hale,  who  was  a 
native  of  Glastonbury,  Conn.,  born  in  the  year 
1822.  The  mother,  who  was  a  native  of  Nor- 
wich, had  four  sons,  of  whom  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  is  the  eldest.  The  others  are: 
Henry,  William,  and  Wallace,  all  residing 
at  Watch  Hill,  R.I.  The  father  owned  the 
Watch  Hill  House,  a  favorite  summer  resort 
since  1872,  and  enlarged  it  three  times. 
Since  his  death  in  May,  1894,  his  widow  and 
the  three  younger  sons  have  had  charge  of  it. 


Almarin  T.  Hale  spent  his  boyhood  in  Nor- 
wich and  Hridgeport.  He  was  educated  in 
the  town  schools  and  at  a  boarding-school. 
Since  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age  he  has 
been  interested  in  a  number  of  hostelries,  in- 
cluding the  Union  House  of  Green  Cove 
Springs,  Fla.,  the  Florida  House  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, and  the  Sanford  House  of  Sanford, 
Fla.  For  many  years  he  was  the  managing 
clerk  of  the  Watch  Hill  House  for  his  father. 
In  18S1  he  anil  his  father  came  to  New  Lon- 
don, and  purchased  the  Crocker  House,  which 
they  conducted  together  until  1890,  when  the 
elder  Mr.  Hale  retired.  Of  this  hostelry  a 
local  sheet  speaks  as  follows:  "The  largest 
and  best  hotel  in  the  city,  and  one  of  the 
best  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  is  the  es- 
tablishment known  as  the  Crocker  House,  oi 
which  Mr.  A.  T.  Hale  is  proprietor.  The 
building  is  a  handsome  structure,  five  stories 
in  height.  It  is  constructed  in  a  thoroughly 
modern  manner,  and  is  as  complete  in  all  its 
appointments  as  the  requirements  of  the 
hotel-frequenting  public  at  the  present  day 
demand.  The  Crocker  House  is  most  eligibly 
situated  on  State  Street,  the  principal  busi- 
ness street  of  the  city,  at  a  convenient  dis- 
tance from  the  railroad  depot  and  within  easy 
reach  of  all  points  of  interest  to  visitors, 
whether  on  business  or  pleasure  bent.  It  is 
only  three  minutes'  distance  from  the  Union 
Railroad  Station;  and  electric  cars,  which 
provide  excellent  street  transportation  service, 
pass  the  doors  every  few  minutes.  The  city 
post-office  is  on  the  ground  floor  in  the  hotel 
building,  affording  advantages  which  will 
readily  suggest  themselves.  The  office  of  the 
hotel,  the  bar,  and  billiard,  writing,  and  smok- 
ing rooms  are  also  on  the  ground  floor;  while 
the  dining-room  and  parlors  are  on  the  second 
floor.  All  the  public  and  private  rooms  are 
tastefully   furnished,    and   an    air    oi    elegance 


34§ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  comfort  pervades  the  entire  establishment. 
.  .  .  The  establishment  has  grown  steadily 
in  public  favor,  and  it  may  safely  be  said  that 
there  is  no  hotel  anywhere  that  possesses  a 
more  cheerful  or  home-like  atmosphere.  It  is 
the  headquarters  of  the  college  crews  and  their 
admirers  during  the  race  season  each  summer, 
and  is  a  favorite  resort  for  commercial  trav- 
ellers and  business  men  all  the  year  round." 
Mr.  Hale  is  also  the  manager  for  the  owners 
of  the  Munnatauket  and  Mansion  Hotels  at 
Fisher's  Island  and  of  the  Mitchell  House  of 
Thomasville,  Ga. 

In  1S77  Almarin  T.  Hale  married  Hattie 
A.  Wallace,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  a  daughter 
of  A.  VV.  Wallace,  of  that  place.  Their  only 
child,  a  son,  died  in  infancy.  In  politics  Mr. 
Hale  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  Town  Committee.  In 
March,  1894,  President  Cleveland  appointed 
him  Collector  of  Customs  for  the  New  Lon- 
don port,  with  jurisdiction  extending  from 
Noank  to  the  Connecticut  River.  He  is  a 
Master  Mason.  In  the  Odd  Fellows  he  is  a 
member  of  the  encampment.  He  is  connected 
with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  and  a 
member  of  the  Great  Council  of  the  State. 
For  two  seasons  he  was  manager  of  the  Ly- 
ceum Theatre  without  pay,  and  he  has  also 
been  the  president  of  the  Thames  Club.  Ren- 
dered eligible  in  more  than  one  line,  on  his 
mother's  side  through  Lieutenant  Thomas 
Tracy,  who  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors 
and  settlers  of  Norwich,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Sons  of  the  Revolution. 


T^AHARLFS  HEBER  WALDFN,  su- 
I  Sj^     perintendent  of  the  almshouse  at  New 

vJ8  ^  London,  was  born  in  Montville, 
Conn.,  June  4,  1839.  He  is  a  son  of  the  late 
Rev.  Hiram  and  Rebecca  (Bird)  Walden,  and 


claims  among  his  kindred  many  who  have 
taken  an  active  part  in  American  history. 
William  Walden,  his  great-grandfather,  who 
was  born  in  Bristol,  England,  married  on 
August  5,  1754,  Ruamis,  daughter  of  Elenar 
and  Rebecca  (Chapman)  Simons,  and  by  this 
union  had  the  following  children:  Elenar, 
John,  Elizabeth,  William,  Robert,  Simon, 
Mary,  Amy,  Edward,  and   David. 

William  Walden,  Jr.,  the  fourth  child,  was 
Charles  H.  Walden's  grandfather.  He  was 
born  in  New  London,  Conn.,  September  13, 
1762,  and  came  to  this  country  in  childhood. 
Though  only  in  his  teens  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  he  served  in  the  patriot  forces, 
and  captured  an  English  soldier,  whom  he 
took  on  horseback  to  the  camp.  He  died 
from  an  injury  at  the  age  of  thirty-three. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden,  name  was  Elizabeth 
McFall,  was  a  daughter  of  William  and  Deb- 
orah (Chapman)  McFall,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  partly  of  Welsh  blood.  Her  father, 
William  McFall,  also  was  a  Revolutionary 
soldier.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  McFall  Walden  lived 
to  be  nearly  fourscore.  Her  children  were: 
Grace,  William,  Eliza,  Hannah,  and  Hiram, 
above  named. 

The  following  account  of  the  Rev.  Hiram 
Walden's  life  was  written  by  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Ellen  Walden  Darrow. 

Hiram  Walden,  the  youngest  child  of  Will- 
iam and  Elizabeth  (McFall)  Walden,  was  born 
in  Montville,  May  13,  1804.  He  was  a 
thoughtful  child,  learning  easily  and  having 
a  retentive  memory.  His  first  teacher  said 
that  he  learned  the  whole  alphabet  during  the 
first  day.  His  boyhood  clays  were  spent  with 
his  parents  in  Montville.  When  but  a  lad 
he  became  an  earnest  Christian,  and  united 
with  the  Congregational  church  in  that  town. 
Although  so  young,  he  asked  for  baptism  by 
immersion,   seldom   practised   at   that   time  by 


CHARLES    II.   WALDEN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIF.W 


35' 


that  denomination;  and  it  was  granted.  The 
Rev.  Abisbai  Alden  was  his  faithful  pastor 
and  firm  friend.  With  him  he  studied  foi 
a  time.  His  parents  not  being  aide  to  give 
him  a  libera]  education,  the  church,  through 
the  influence  of  that  kind  pastor,  offered  to 
pay  his  expenses  in  getting  the  education  he 
craved.  While  at  school  in  the  eastern  part 
of  Massachusetts  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  Methodist  teachings;  and,  finding  them 
more  like  his  own  views,  he  decided  to  with- 
draw from  the  Congregational  church  and 
unite  with  the  Methodist,  his  earnings  shortly 
enabling  him  to  repay  the  money  so  kindly 
advanced  him  by  the  Congregational  church. 
He  was  a  good  Greek,  Latin,  and  French 
scholar,  and  often  taught  those  languages. 

When  about  twenty  years  ol  age  he  com- 
menced preaching  the  gospel,  lie  was  a  cir- 
cuit preacher  for  about  fourteen  years,  and 
after  that  was  pastor  of  different  churches, 
mostly  in  Massachusetts,  the  rules  of  the 
Methodist  church  then  being  that  no  pastor 
could  remain  with  a  church  more  than  two 
years.  For  nearly  thirty  years  Mr.  Walden 
faithfully  preached  the  gospel,  then  his  health 
failed.  The  Methodist  preachers  of  his  day  re- 
ceived but  small  salaries;  and,  his  family  being 
large,  he  helped  provide  for  them  by  teaching 
in  public  and  select  schools  besides  perform- 
ing his  duties  as  pastor.  When  about  fifty 
years  of  age,  lingering  consumption  marked 
him  for  its  victim.  He  then  settled  on  a 
farm  in  his  native  town,  and  passed  the  rest 
of  his  days  in  quiet,  ever  loving  and  enjoying 
his  books.  He  was  even  then  often  called  to 
supply  a  pulpit  during  the  absence  of  the  pas- 
tor and  to  conduct  funeral  services.  lie  took 
but  little  part  in  politics,  but  his  townsmen 
honored  him  with  the  offices  of  Selectman  and 
Town  Registrar.  He  was  also  chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Education   for  years,  as  long  as 


his    failing    health    would    permit.      He    died 
Jul)    lo.    187I,   aged  sixty-seven  yens. 

Rev.  Hiram  Walden  was  married  in  Jan- 
uary, [827,  at  Stoughton,  Mass.,  to  Rein 
daughter  of  Abnei  and  Polly  (Gay)  Bird. 
She  was  born  in  Stoughton,  January  31,  1 
Roth  of  her  grandfathers,  Private  John  Bird 
and  Lieutenant  Lemuel  Gay,  rendered  val- 
uable services  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Through  different  branches  of  her  family  she 
was  connected  with  Major-general  Humphrey 
Atherton,  who  commanded  the  military  forces 
at  Boston  in  1^54 —  ■'  member  of  the  younger 
blanch  of  the  Athertons,  of  Atherton  in  Lan- 
caster, England,  whose  family  records  run 
back  to  1112A.D.;  with  the  Tupper  brothers, 
"obstinate  Lutherans,"  who  in  1522,  in  con- 
sequence of  persecutions  by  Charles  V.,  fled 
from  Hesse-Cassel,  Saxony,  losing  their  prop- 
erty; with  Captain  Roger  Clap]),  one  of  the 
first  settlers  in  Dorchester.  Mass.,  who  held 
several  important  military  and  civil  offices; 
with  Thomas  Mayhew,  who  preached  to  the 
Indians  some  thirty-three  years,  and  who  was 
Governor  of  Martha's  Vineyard  in  1647;  with 
Thomas  Wells,  Governor  of  Connecticut  in 
1655  and  165S;  with  Richard  Williams  — 
said  to  have  been  a  relative  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well, their  grandfathers  in  the  fourth  remove 
being  brothers  —  one  of  the  chief  men  ol  Taun- 
ton, Mass.,  where  he  located  in  (637,  one  of  the 
first  to  purchase  land  of  the  Indians,  and  Rep- 
resentative from  Taunton  in  the  Colonial 
Court  for  twelve  years,  between  1645  and 
1665;  and  with  Mary  Towne,  Mrs.  Isaac 
Esty,  who  was  executed  as  a  witch,  Septem- 
ber 22,  [692,  and  to  whose  husband  some 
twenty  years  after  her  execution  tw< 
pounds'  damages  were  paid  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts. 

Hiram  and  Rebecca  (Bird)  Walden  hail    the 
following    children:     Elvira,    born     July    30, 


352 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


1828,  in  Marshfield,  Mass.,  who  married 
Travis  P.  Douglas,  of  Waterford,  Conn.  ; 
Mary  Fletcher,  born  June  29,  1830,  in  Som- 
erset, Mass.,  now  wife  of  George  P.  Rogers, 
of  Montville,  Conn.;  Edwin  Hiram,  born 
August  4,  [832,  a  physician  in  practice  for 
some  time  in  Ohio,  who  married  first  Kate 
Sanderson,  second  Mary  Lovejoy;  Ellen  Re- 
becca, born  September  19,  1S34,  in  Waterford, 
Conn.,  now  wife  of  the  Rev.  Edmund  Dar- 
row,  of  Waterford;  William  Bramwell,  born 
January  19,  1837,  in  Montville,  who  married 
first  Caroline  Rogers,  second  Adella  Gadbois; 
Charles  Heber,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Lucinda  Jane,  born  November  6,  1841,  in 
Montville,  who  died  young;  Nathan  Warren, 
born  November  12,  1844,  in  Montville,  who 
was  married  first  to  Ella  Scott,  second  to 
Mrs.  Laura  Oliver,  and  who  died  in  Decem- 
ber, 1X94;  Albert  Henry,  born  March  14, 
1S47,  in  Montville,  Conn.,  who  died  young; 
John  Wesley,  born  May  31,  1850,  in  Mont- 
ville, who  married  Adella  Manwaring,  of 
Niantic,  Conn.  ;  and  Nelson  Bird,  born  March 
'3>  '853,  in  Montville,  who  died  young. 
The  mother,  Mrs.  Rebecca  15.  Walden,  died 
March  10,   1880. 

Charles  II.  Walden  remained  at  home  with 
his  parents  until  nineteen  years  of  age,  ac- 
quiring his  education  in  the  public  schools. 
He  then  taught  in  a  district  school  for  a 
while;  and  subsequently,  during  the  war,  he 
was  employed  for  two  years  with  John  W. 
Deiter,  getting  out  timber  for  the  government. 
For  eleven  years  he  had  charge  of  Thomas 
Fitch's  stock  farm  in  New  London,  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  State,  noted  for  its  blooded 
li"isrs  and  cattle,  especially  Jersey  and  Al. 
demey  cows.  /Appointed  superintendent  of 
the  county  almshouse  at  New  London  in  1881, 
lie  immediately  began  to  develop  the  resources 
of  the   farm   connected   with    the    institution. 


This  consists  of  twenty  acres  of  choice  land, 
which  under  Mr.  Walden's  supervision  is 
well  tilled,  and  produces  bountiful  crops. 
When  he  was  installed  as  superintendent,  the 
almshouse  was  a  brick  building,  fifty  by  one 
hundred  feet  in  dimension,  and  had  twelve 
inmates.  The  number  of  inmates  now  ranges 
from  forty  to  sixty-nine;  and  the  building  has 
been  enlarged,  being  at  present  fifty  by  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  dimension  and  from 
two  to  four  stories  in  height.  Good  order 
prevails,  and  the  whole  place  bears  evidence 
of  wise  and  capable  management.  Politi- 
cally, Mr.  Walden  favors  the  Republican 
party. 

He  was  married  in  1863  to  Emily  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Hannah  (Beebe)  Mor- 
gan, of  Waterford,  Conn.  The  following 
children  have  blessed  their  union:  Augusta 
E. ,  wife  of  Spencer  J.  Comstock,  of  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.;  Lillian  Bird,  wife  of  Jesse  A.  Moon, 
of  New  London,  and  mother  of  two  sons; 
Frank  C,  of  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  who  married 
Eva  V.,  daughter  of  William  Ferris,  of 
Brooklyn,  and  has  two  sons  and  one  daughter; 
and  Nellie  R.,  who  lived  but  eighteen 
months. 


— ^•••-* 


W: 


LLIAM  S.  C.  PERKINS,  M.D, 
for  over  a  quarter-century  has  min- 
istered to  the  bodily  ailments  of  the 
residents  of  Norwich,  by  whom  he  is  held  in 
the  highest  esteem.  Born  in  East  Lyme,  New 
London  County,  February  1,  1837,  son  of 
Austin  Freeman  Perkins,  he  comes  of 
French  origin.  Rufus  Perkins,  the  father  of 
Austin  Freeman,  and  an  old-time  innkeeper 
of  Groton,  Conn.,  was  a  son  of  John  and 
Polly  (Freeman)  Perkins.  Mrs.  Rufus  Per- 
kins, who  outlived  her  husband  many  years, 
died  about  the  year  1847,  at  a  venerable  age. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    KKVIKW 


353 


She    bore    her    husband    two     sons     and    two 
daughters. 

Austin  Freeman  Perkins,  who  was  born  in 
Groton  about  the  year  1804,  acquired  his  rudi- 
mentary education  in  the  common  schools. 
He  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Minor,  and  subse 
quently  attended  Berkshire  Medical  College, 
which  was  then  in  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  graduating 
therefrom  about  1830.  On  receiving  his  di- 
ploma, he  set  up  in  practice  in  that  portion  of 
Lyme  known  as  East  Lyme  and  Flanders  vil- 
lage. In  the  same  year  lie  was  married  to 
Mary  Moore  Way,  of  Lyme,  a  daughter  of 
Klisha  Way,  a  pensioner,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  eighty-five  years.  Five  of  their  eight  chil- 
dren reached  adult  life,  namely:  Eunice  C, 
who  died  at  twenty-five;  William  S.  C,  the 
subject  of  this  biography;  Thomas  A.,  a  suc- 
cessful Norwich  merchant,  a  member  of  the 
city  government  and  a  Deacon  of  the  Baptist 
church;  Julia  B.,  the  wife  of  Sylvester  G. 
Jerome,  residing  in  Waterford,  Conn.  ;  and 
Mary  A.,  the  wife  of  Joseph  1'.  Morgan,  liv- 
ing at  Fort  Scott,  Ark.  The  mother  died  in 
1852,  when  forty-six  years  of  age.  Their 
father  afterward  married  Miss  Louisa  Wight- 
man,  who  bore  him  two  sons,  namely:  Austin 
F.,  now  connected  with  the  Norwich  Carpet 
Lining  Company  of  this  city;  and  George 
Anson,  a  box  manufacturer  here.  After  the 
mother's  death  Dr.  Austin  Perkins  formed  .1 
third  union  with  Miss  Harriet  Moore.  lie 
died  in  1876,  and  she  in  1890. 

William  S.  C.  Perkins  attended  the  com- 
mon and  select  schools  of  Last  Lyme,  also  the 
Connecticut  Literary  Institute  at  Suffield, 
Conn.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  medi- 
cine under  his  father's  tuition,  was  subse- 
quently a  student  in  the  medical  department 
of  Vale  College,  and  in  i860  was  graduated 
from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
in    New    York    City.      In    the    same    year    he 


an  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Mont- 
ville,  this  count)',  remaining  there  until  the 
fall  of  1869,  the  date  of  his  location  here  in 
Norwich,  where  he  lias  been  in  active  and 
very  successful  practice  since.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  staff  of  the  William  W.  Backus 
Hospital.  This  institution,  which  is  fully 
equipped  and  has  about  seventy  beds,  was 
founded  by  William  S.  Slater  and  William 
W.  Backus. 

On  Ma)-  29,  1861,  Dr.  Perkins  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Amelia  J.  Jerome,  of 
Montville,  Conn.,  a  daughter  of  George  D. 
and  Hannah  (Darrow)  Jerome.  A  son  and 
daughter  live  to  bless  their  union,  namely: 
Florence  A.,  who  married  Frank  W.  Brown- 
ing, of  Norwich,  and  has  four  children;  and 
Charles  II.  Perkins,  M.D.,  a  graduate  of  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New 
York  City  in  the  class  of  1891,  now  prac- 
tising in  Norwich,  and  a  member  of  the 
county  and  State  medical  societies.  Dr. 
William  S.  C.  Perkins  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  A  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  he- 
is  a  member  of  Somerset  Lodge,  No.  34,  F.  & 
A.  M.;  of  Franklin  Chapter,  No.  4,  R.  A.  M.; 
of  Columbian  Commandery,  K.  T.  ;  and  of 
Connecticut  Sovereign  Consistory,  Grand 
East.  Like  his  son,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
county  and  State  medical  societies,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1896  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
former.  He  resides  at  50  Broad  Street,  in 
the  home  that  he  purchased  in  1880,  moving 
there  from  his  former  residence,  42  Main 
Street,   in  August  of  that  year. 


EN  \<Y    BISHI  )!',  a  former  well-known 

resident  of  New  London,  who  died 
at  his  home,  4  Jay  Street,  on  Janu- 
ary 25,  i8<j2,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years, 
was  born   in  Chesterfield,  this  county,  s I 


354 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Charles  and  Charlotte  (Lattimer)  Bishop. 
The  following  obituary  of  his  father  appeared 
in  a  local  journal: — ■ 

"On  the  18th  of  April,  1866,  died  in  New 
London,  Charles  Bishop,  Esq.,  at  the  vener- 
able age  of  eighty-two  years.  He  was  a  most 
worthy  member  of  the  Huntington  Street  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  his  remains  were  borne  to  the 
tomb  by  seven  sons  as  pall-bearers.  On  Sab- 
bath afternoon,  December  15,  1867,  his 
widow,  Charlotte  Bishop,  departed  this  life, 
aged  eighty-four;  and  her  lifeless  form  was 
laid  to  rest  beside  her  husband  by  the  same 
seven  sons,  with  a  commendable  filial  love  and 
reverence,  and  tenderly  and  carefully,  as 
they  had  their  father's  one  and  one-half  years 
ago.  These  two  occasions  were  most  impres- 
sive, and  events  full  of  interest  and  sugges- 
tion —  reminiscences  worth  cherishing,  which 
will  never  fade  from  the  memory  of  these 
sons.  The  one  who  had  borne  them,  guarded 
and  watched  over  them  from  the  cradle  to 
manhood,  was  now  being  borne  by  them,  ten- 
derly and  tearfully,  and  laid  to  rest  in  that 
long  and  dreamless  sleep  which  knows  no  wak- 
ing. And  what  is  most  significant  is  that 
she  was  the  mother  of  eight  children,  seven 
sons  and  one  daughter,  and  all  were  there  to 
pay  their  last  tribute.  And  those  standing 
around  the  grave  of  the  father  represented  an 
aggregate  of  life  of  over  four  hundred  years." 
Further  information  in  regard  to  the  family 
may  be  found  in  the  sketch  of  Charles  Bishop, 
brother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  published 
elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  Henry  Bishop  came  to 
this  city,  ami  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
with  his  older  brother,  John  Bishop.  After- 
ward In-  worked  as  a  journeyman  many  years. 
Then,  without  capital,  he  started  in  business 
with  the  firm  of  Bishop  Brothers,  lumber 
dealers     and    builders.     The    firm     comprised 


Charles,  Henry,  and  Gilbert  Bishop,  until 
some  five  years  before  the  death  of  Henry, 
when  Charles  withdrew,  leaving  the  other  two 
to  constitute  the  firm.  Mr.  Bishop  was  an 
honored  citizen  of  New  London,  and  had  con- 
tributed his  full  share  to  the  prosperity  and 
growth  of  the  city  by  his  industry  and  busi- 
ness sagacity.  The  public  press  of  the  city 
gave  words  of  warmest  commendation  upon  his 
life  and  character,  speaking  of  him  as  one  of  the 
leading  and  honored  business  men  of  the  town. 
February  22,  1842,  Mr.  Bishop  married 
Mary  S.  Howard,  who  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Waterford,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Hannah 
(Smith)  Howard.  Her  mother,  who  was  born 
in  Niantic,  and  was  married  February  22, 
1822,  died  when  Mary  S.,  the  youngest  of  the 
children,  was  only  two  years  and  one-half  old. 
The  latter  was  brought  up  in  the  family  of 
her  uncle,  Captain  Jonathan  Smith,  who  re- 
moved to  New  London  when  his  niece  was 
nine  years  old.  She  now  lives  in  the  fine 
large  house  built  by  her  husband  over  fifty 
years  ago.  She  has  three  children:  Jonathan 
S.  Bishop,  residing  at  2  Jay  Street,  married, 
and  the  father  of  one  child;  Henry  Bishop, 
who  succeeded  his  father  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness; and  Mary,  the  wife  of  Nathan  Wood- 
worth,  of  New  London,  and  the  mother  of 
three  children. 


LVAH  MORGAN,  a  prosperous  farmer 
of  Salem  and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil 
War,  was  born  in  the  neighborhood 
of  his  present  home,  August  3,  1840,  son  of 
Sidney  and  Harriet  (Stoddard)  Morgan.  His 
grandfather,  Theophilus  Morgan,  a  farmer  of 
Groton,  Conn.,  married  Mary  Hinckley, 
daughter  of  Abel  Hinckley,  of  Stonington, 
and  by  her  had  a  large  family,  of  whom  but 
two  sons  and  four  daughters  lived  to  maturity. 
The  eldest  son,   Alvah,  born  June  7,   1798,  be- 


L 


BIOGRA I'F I [CAL    R EV I EW 


355 


came  a  resident  of  Hoi  ley,  Orleans  County, 
N.Y.  lie  married  March  3,  1822,  Dolly 
Stratton,  of  Glastonbury.  In  1S32  he  settled 
in  Murray,  Orleans  Count}-,  where  he  died 
March  1  1,  [862,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years, 
leaving  a  wile  and  an  only  son,  Alvah  S. 
Morgan,  who  still  resides  in  Holley. 

Sidney  Morgan,  the  father  of  the  subject  oi 
this  sketch,  was  born  August  30,  1800.  He 
occupied  the  old  Morgan  farm,  which  he  sub- 
sequently sold  to  Aaron  Niles  in  1835  for  the 
sum  of  eighty-five  hundred  dollars.  He  then 
['in,  based  a  farm  of  three  bundled  acres  in 
Salem,  which  he  sold  in  1857  for  five  thou- 
sand dollars.  With  this  capital  in  hand,  in 
company  with  his  four  sons,  he  went  West, 
Mttling  in  Loda,  Iroquois  County,  111.,  where 
he  bought  si\  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land, 
and  where  his  sons,  Theophilus  and  Enoch, 
took  up  one  section.  With  the  exception  of 
rheophilus,  the  entire  family  returned  East 
in  1860.  On  his  return  Mr.  Morgan  pur- 
chased the  farm  oi  two  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  adjoining  the  original  homestead,  where 
he  lived  until  his  death,  which  occurred  March 
J 1,  1870.  He  was  much  in  public  life,  fill- 
ing various  town  offices,  and  representing  the 
town  in  tin-  legislature  three  years,  the  last 
time  in  [866.  Me  was  a  Master  Mason. 
["hough  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  he 
attended  and  helped  to  support  the  Congrega- 
tional  church,  and  was  a  practical  Christian 
philanthropist.  February  27,  1823,  he  mar- 
ried Harriet  Stoddard,  who  was  born  February 
28,  1802,  daughter  of  Vine  Stoddard.  She 
survived  him  eleven  years,  and  died  April  15, 
[881,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  her  age.  Their 
children  were  as  follows:  Theophilus,  who 
was  born  in  1823,  accumulated  a  comfortable 
fortune,  and  retired  from  business,  and  is  a 
widower  with  one  son;  John  Wesley,  who  was 
born    in    1821,    and    has   been    a    merchant    in 


New  London  for  the  past  fifty  years;  Enoch 
Sidney,  born  in  1828,  who  is  an  engineer  and 
machinist,  residing  in  Mystic;  and  Albert 
Hinckley,  who  is  a  farmer  and  public-spirited 
citizen  of  Redwood  County,  Minnesota,  where 
he  holds  the  offices  of  Postmaster  and  Town 
Clerk. 

Alvah  Morgan  was  reared  upon  his  father's 
farm.  He  accompanied  him  West,  and  subse- 
quently returned  with  him.  In  August,  [862, 
he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-sixth  Connecticut 
Regiment,  Company  A.  Of  the  twenty-one 
young  men  who  responded  to  their  country's 
call  at  that  time  with  Mr.  Morgan,  five  lost 
their  lives  and  eight  were  wounded.  Mr. 
Morgan  was  wounded  at  Port  Hudson,  shot 
just  below  the  knee  by  a  minie  ball,  which  he 
still  carries  in  the  bone.  Another  bullet 
marked  his  forehead.  During  this  engage- 
ment fourteen  of  his  comrades  fell  with  him, 
four  of  whom  were  killed.  He  was  dis- 
charged in  August,  1863,  and  is  now  a  pen- 
sioner. He  married  December  3,  1865,  Sarah 
!•'..,  daughter  of  Lyman  and  Betsey  E.  (Irish) 
Bailey.  Her  father,  who  was  a  farmer,  dud 
in  1870,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years;  and 
her  mother  died  in  the  same  year,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-nine  years.  They  had  eight  children, 
of  whom  Albert  M.  died  October  10,  [876,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-three  years,  leaving  a  widow. 
The  living  are  as  follows:  Susan  E.,  widow 
of  Charles  Tiffany;  Charles  H. ;  Robert  A.; 
Hattie  G. ;  Frances  A.,  wife  of  Amos  15.  Til- 
lotson ;  Sarah  E.  (Mrs.  Morgan);  and  Ben- 
jamin  P. —  all   residents  of  Salem. 

Since  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morgan 
have  resided  on  their  pleasant  farm,  which 
consists  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
good  land  highly  cultivated.  Their  poultry 
and  butter  bring  the  highesl  prices  in  the 
market.  A  Democrat  politically,  Mr.  Mor- 
gan has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  town  affairs. 


356 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


He  served  as  Town  Clerk  and  Treasurer  four 
years  in  the  seventies,  and  is  now  serving  the 
third  year  on  his  second  term.  He  has  also 
been  First  Selectman,  Assessor,  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Education  (for  ten  years),  and 
was  in  the  legislature  in  1 891  and  again  in 
1895.  He  and  his  wife  are  both  members  of 
the  Congregational   church. 


/UTS, 


EORGE  WASHINGTON  ROGERS, 
\J^>  I  a  retired  boat -builder  of  New  Lon- 
don, Conn.,  the  son  of  William  and 
Polly  (Chapman)  Rogers,  was  born  in  this 
city,  October  21,  1815.  He  is  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  James  Rogers,  who  left  England 
in  1635,  a  young  man  of  twenty,  crossed  the 
Atlantic,  and  settled  at  first  in  Stratford, 
Conn.,  then  in  Milford,  and  at  some  time 
between  1656  and  1660  came  to  New  London. 
Here  James  Rogers  spent  the  rest  of  his  life, 
a  prosperous  merchant  engaged  in  the  grain 
and  flour  business.  He  married  Elizabeth 
l'olland,  and  built  for  their  family  residence 
a  stone  house  near  the  old  town  mill,  upon 
land  that  was  given  him  by  Governor  Win- 
throp.      They  had  five  sons. 

George  Rogers,  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  a  cooper  by  trade.  He 
served  in  the  War  of  18 12.  lie  was  taken 
sick  with  billions  fever,  from  which,  however, 
he  was  recovering,  when,  the  news  of  peace  ar- 
riving, he  was  so  elated  that  he  went  down 
street  and  took  a  cold  that  resulted  in  his 
death.  He  married  February  14,  1755,  Mary 
Tinker,  and  had  four  children,  one  daughter, 
who  died  in  childhood,  and  three  sons,  two  of 
whom,  George  and  Josiah,  were  fishermen,  the 
third  being  William,  the  father  above  named, 
who  was  born  in  New  London,  January  16, 
1792.  He  was  a  seafaring  man,  and  served  for 
many  years  as  captain  of  a  fast  packet  between 


New  London  and  New  York.  He  died  Octo- 
ber 27,  1850,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight.  His 
wife,  Polly,  whom  he  married  December  25, 
1 8 14,  died  in  1876,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  James  Chapman,  whose 
father,  Major  James  Chapman,  was  one  of  the 
first  volunteers  in  the  Revolution,  and  re- 
ceived at  the  time  a  Captain's  commission. 
Major  Chapman  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Harlem  Heights,  while  trying  to  rally  the 
retreating  soldiers.  Dying,  he  bequeathed 
his  sword,  with  the  injunction  never  to  dis- 
honor it,  to  his  son,  James  Chapman,  who 
served  as  drummer-boy  in  the  same  battle, 
and  was  with  him  when  he  fell.  Polly  Chap- 
man's mother  was  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Holt, 
who  owned  the  place  known  as  the  Samuel 
Coit  place,  and  was  one  of  the  old  settlers. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Rogers  had  five  chil- 
dren —  George  W.,  Mary  Ann,  Charlotte, 
William,  and  James.  Mary  Ann  (deceased) 
was  the  wife  of  David  Coit,  and  had  five  chil- 
dren. Charlotte's  first  husband  was  John 
Hegeman,  a  merchant  of  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 
She  had  three  children  by  this  marriage;  and 
by  her  second  husband,  John  Comstock,  also 
of  Brooklyn,  she  had  one  child.  William 
Rogers  (deceased)  married  Adeline  Haynes, 
of  Niantic,  and  was  the  father  of  five  children. 
James  married  Nancy  H.  Beckwith,  of  East 
Lyme,  and  had  five  children. 

George  Washington  Rogers,  the  special 
subject  of  this  sketch,  belongs  to  the  eighth 
generation  of  the  Rogers  family  in  New  Lon- 
don. He  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  began  the 
trade  of  boat-building,  which  he  has  followed 
for  more  than  sixty  years.  He  has  the  repu- 
tation of  being  the  oldest  boat-builder  in  New 
London,  as  well  as  one  of  the  oldest  inhabi- 
tants of  the  city.  The  house  where  he  now 
lives  he  built  in  1852. 


GEORGE    \V.    ROGERS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


359 


Mr.  Rogers  married  Susan  Geer  Kwen, 
daughter  of  Captain  John  and  Mary  (Wilson) 
Ewen,  who  have  lived  in  New  London  for 
over  eighty  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers  have 
two  children:  Mary  K. ,  wife  of  Philo  B. 
Hovey,  of  New  London;  and  George  \Y\,  who 
is  superintendent  of  supplies  for  the  Metro 
politan  Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers  have  belonged  to  the 
Baptist  church  in  New  London  for  sixty-four 
years,  and  Mr.  Rogers  has  been  a  Master 
Mason  for  more  than  half  a  century.  Mr. 
Rogers  remembers  the  "Fulton,"  the  first 
steamboat    that    ever  came  to    New    London. 

lie  is  a  survivor  of  the  wreck  of  the  "At- 
lantic," which  was  sunk  off  Fisher's  Island, 
with  such  a  tremendous  loss  of  life,  November 
27,  1846.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers  celebrated 
their  golden  wedding  the  16th  of  October, 
iSSS.  They  are  still  young  in  spirit,  and 
delight  to  entertain  their  many  friends  with 
stories  of  interesting  events  which  happened 
fifty  years  or  more  ago. 


'AMI'S  BULKLEY,  a  farmer  of  Salem, 
son  of  James  and  Sarah  Ann  (Abell) 
Bulk  ley,  was  born  December  24,   [838, 

on  his  lather's  farm,  now  owned  and   occupied 
by  himself  and  his  brother  Enoch. 

The  original  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  was 
settled  upon  by  his  great-grandfather  Bulkley, 
whose  ancestors  came  from  England.  The 
house,  though  not  the  original  dwelling  on 
the  place,  has  the  old  hewn  rafters  and  tim- 
bers, and  is  one  of  the  oldest  buildings  in  the 
country.  It  is  well  preserved,  and  is  substan- 
tial and  somewhat  modern  in  appearance- 
Prentice  Bulkley,  the  grandfather  of  James 
Bulkley,  fought  in  the  War  of  181  2.  He  was 
a  descendant  of  Major  Charles  Bulkley,  son  of 
the    Rev.  John   and    Patience  (Prentice)  Bulk- 


ley,  the  former  the  first  minister  at  Colches- 
ter. Prentice  Bulkley  married  Dimis  Holies, 
of  (Goshen  Society)  Lebanon.  lie  died  June 
4,  1849,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four.  She  died 
June  12,    1865,  aged  seventy-nine  years. 

The  father,  James  Bulkley,  was  bom  on  the 
homestead,  September  20,  1807.  lie  married 
Sarah  A.  Abell,  who  was  born  in  Cob  luster, 
June  20,  1807.  The  ceremony  was  performed 
by  Dr.  Nott  in  Franklin.  James  Bulkley, 
Sr.,  was  a  man  ol  sound  judgment,  strict  in- 
tegrity, tender-hearted,  showing  always  a 
strong  sympathy  lor  the  afflicted.  He  died 
much  lamented  by  his  family  and  greatly 
missed  by  the  community  in  which  he  re- 
sided. His  wile  was  a  daughter  0!  Hezekiah 
Abell  and  Eunice  Hill,  a  descendant  ol  John 
and  Dorothy  Rill,  who  came  from  England 
and  settled  at  Boston  about  [632,  .Mrs. 
Bulkley  was  a  lady  oi  more  than  ordinary  re- 
finement, much  energy,  and  decision  ol  1  harac- 
ter.  Active  and  diligent  herself,  she  incul- 
cated the  same  principles  in  her  children. 
Although  living  to  a  great  age,  she  retained 
her  youthful  cheerfulness  and  mental  abilities 
until  the  last. 

Of  their  bun'  sons  and  two  daughters  the 
fourth-born  died  in  infancy  in  1N45,  and  two 
others  in  mature  life.  The  surviving  chil- 
dren are:  Abbie,  James,  and  Enoch.  Abbie, 
witlow  of  George  Miller,  of  Colchester,  is  now 
living  at  Gale's  Ferry  with  her  daughter 
Minnie,  who  married  Frank  Hurlbutt,  an  en- 
gineer, in  1886.  Her  other  child,  a  son. 
George  Miller,  married  Annie  Foote,  and 
lives  on  the  homestead  at  Colchester.  Lucy 
Adelia,  wife  of  Enoch  I!.  Worthington,  lived 
in  ( lolchester,  and  died  (  h  tober  io,  1 
without  issue.      Her  death  wa  re  afflic- 

tion to  her  relatives  and  many  friends.     Will- 
iam   A.    died    March    13,     [879,   at    the 
twenty-nine,  unmarried.      lie  was  a  studenl  -1 


36° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Bacon  Academy,  and  taught  a  number  of  terms 
of  school  successfully.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Salem  Baptist  Church  and  an  active 
worker  in  the  Sabbath-school.  The  father 
died  March  2,  1878,  aged  seventy  years,  his 
widow  surviving  until  February  16,  1894, 
when  she  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  They 
lie  beside  the  paternal  grandparents  in  Lin- 
wood  Cemetery  in  Colchester. 

The  large  farm  of  six  hundred  acres  was 
inherited  by  the  two  brothers,.  James  and 
Enoch ;  and  both  reside  on  the  old  .place. 
Each  had  a  district  schooling,  and  was  reared 
to  farm  life.  James  Kulkley  is  a  Democrat, 
and  has  served  the  town  as  Selectman  for  two 
terms  and  as  a  member  of  the  Relief  Board 
for  three  terms.  The  brothers  are  enterpris- 
ing and  successful  farmers.  Besides  tilling 
the  soil,  they  get  out  lumber  from  the  timber 
land  upon  the  farm,  keep  a  dairy  of  some  fif- 
teen or  twenty  cows,  Devon  stock,  and  raise 
cattle,  horses,  ami  sheep.  They  use  six  yoke 
of  oxen  on  the  place. 

Enoch  Bolles  Bulkley  was  born  March  3, 
1841.  He  married  November  15,  1870,  Lucy 
J.  Raymond,  daughter  of  William  ami  Eunice 
B.  Raymond,  distant  cousins.  Richard  Ray- 
mond, first  of  Salem,  Mass.,  was  made  a  free- 
man, May  14,  1634,  and  in  ]6$6  was  granted 
a  tract  of  land,  sixty  acres  in  extent,  at  Jeffer- 
son Creek,  now  Manchester.  He  was  a  mari- 
ner, in  the  coast  trade  with  the  Dutch  on 
Manhattan  Island.  He  died  in  1696.  His 
third  son,  Joshua,  went  to  New  London, 
where  he  was  a  landholder,  and  was  one  of  a 
committee  to  plan  the  road  from  Norwich  to 
New  London.  Lor  his  services  he  received 
the  nucleus  of  a  tract  of  one  thousand  acres 
of  land  that  was  owned  by  his  descendants. 
It  is  located  eight  miles  from  New  London,  and 
was  known  as  the  New  London   North    Parish. 

He  married  in    1659   Elizabeth,  daughter  oi 


Nehemiah  Smith,  and  had  eight  children,  one 
being  Joshua,  who  married  Mercy,  daughter  of 
James  Sands,  of  Block  Island,  and  died  in 
1704,  his  wife,  Mercy,  living  till  1743. 
Their  son,  the  third  Joshua,  was  of  Block 
Island  and  later  of  New  London.  He  mar- 
ried in  1 7 19  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Mulford)  Christophers.  She  died 
May  12,  1730;  and  he  died  in  1763.  John 
Raymond,  one  of  the  six  children  of  Joshua 
and  Elizabeth  Raymond,  was  born  in  1725, 
and  married  in  1747  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  George  and  Hannah  (Lynde)  Gris- 
wold.  Their  ten  children  were  born  in  Mont- 
ville.  The  eldest,  John,  second,  was  Lieu- 
tenant under  Colonel  Whitney  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War,  and  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Griswold.  He  marched  to  Boston  in  1775, 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 
He  died  May  7,  1789,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
four  years  in  Montville,  where  he  lies  buried. 
His  wife  died  of  small-pox  in  1779,  at  the 
age  of  fifty. 

John  Raymond,  third,  son  of  the  second 
John,  and  the  paternal  great-grandfather  of 
Mis.  Bulkley,  served  as  First  Lieutenant 
under  General  Spencer  from  1776  to  1777. 
He  married  in  Montville,  May  26,  1774, 
Mercy  Raymond,  a  cousin.  Their  three  chil- 
dren were:  William,  Nathan,  and  Mary. 
William,  born  May  3,  1778,  married  June  22, 
1800,  Elizabeth  Manwaring.  He  died  July 
29,  1842.  His  wife  died  in  1854.  Their 
children  were:  Mercy,  Richard,  and  William 
(Mrs.  Bulkley's  father).  He  was  born  April 
21,  1806.  He  married  July  5,  1829,  Eunice 
Burnham  Raymond,  and  settled  on  Raymond 
Hill,  where  the  family  had  lived  for  several 
generations.  They  had  six  children,  of  whom 
they  lost  two  infant  sons.  The  four  daugh- 
ters were:  Elizabeth,  Eunice  A.,  Adelaide 
L. ,  and   Lucy  J.     Elizabeth   married  Allison 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


36i 


B.  I. add,  and  died  childless,  April  14,  1N72; 
Eunice  Ann  married  Calvin  Allyn,  resided  in 
Norwich,  and  died  April  [9,  1896;  Adelaide 
I..,  who  married  Henry  W.  Rogers,  died 
in  Montville,  April  4,  1X74.  leaving  one 
daughter,  Lena  A.,  wife  of  W.  C.  Hogaboom, 
of  Los  Angeles,  Oil.,  an  editor,  connected 
with  the  Associated  Press. 

Lucy  J.  (Mrs.  Bulkley),  the  youngest  child, 
was  educated  in  the  best  schools  of  her  native 
town.  She  taught  her  first  school  at  the  age 
of  sixteen,  and  continued  teaching  until  her 
marriage.  Mrs.  Bulkley  has  a  valuable  heir- 
loom, which  has  been  handed  down  from  Eng- 
land through  the  Lynde  family.  It  is  a  silver 
mug  or  tankard  which  was  presented  by 
en  Elizabeth  to  a  member  of  the  family, 
and  is  inscribed  "F.  M.  \Y.  I.  E.  Francis 
and  Margaret  Willoughby  and  H.  R.,"  the 
latter  initials  being  those  of  a  great-aunt, 
Hannah  Raymond.  This  ancient  treasure  was 
owned  by  Sarah  Lynde,  the  second  wife  of 
Joshua  Raymond,  and  her  sister  Hannah,  who 
married  the  Rev.  George  Griswold,  and  was 
handed  down  to  John  Raymond,  and  from  him 
through  Hannah  to  George  Raymond,  from 
whom  it  passed  to  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Bulk- 
ley.  She  is  also  in  possession  of  the  original 
manuscript  deed  given  by  Mercy  Sands  Ray- 
mond, of  Block  Island,  June  24,  1725,  to  her 
son  Joshua. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Enoch  B. 
Bulkley  may  be  briefly  mentioned,  as  follows: 
James  Raymond  Bulkley,  died  April  25,  1876; 
Sarah  Burnham,  born  March  16,  1879,  an 
undergraduate  of  the  Bacon  Academy,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1899,  is  a  young  lady  of 
promise,  with  fine  intellectual  endowments  and 
studious  habits ;  Willie  Enoch,  born  June  25, 
1881,  is  a  brilliant  scholar,  and  will  graduate 
in  1900  from  the  same  school ;  Arthur  Jewett 
died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  months,  July  8, 1887. 


^ATILAX    DENNISON    1! ATI'S,    a    re- 
tired business  man  and  owner  of    real 

-  N^  -  estate  in  Preston,  Conn.,  was  born 
in  the  adjoining  town  of  Griswold,  New  Lon- 
don County,  November  13,  1829,  son  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Elizabeth  (Hawkins)  Bates.  He 
is  a  descendant  of  Caleb  Pairs,  of  Scituate, 
Mass.,  who  removed  to  Kingston,  R.I.,in  1701, 
settling  in  what  is  now  Exeter.  The  family 
name  was  formerly  Bate,  the  present  form  hav- 
ing been  adopted  within  the  last  hundred  years. 

Nichols  Bates,  the  grandfather  of  Mr. 
Bates  of  Preston,  was  born  in  Exeter  about 
the  year  1775,  and  died  in  1845.  His  wife, 
Susanna  Wethers,  who  belonged  to  a  family 
ol  French  Huguenots,  and  was  born  in  1777, 
survived  him  ten  years,  and  died  in  1S55. 
Their  children  were:  Benjamin,  Nichols, 
John,  Silas,  Daniel,  Arnold,  and  three  daugh- 
ters, all  of  whom  had  families.  Nichols 
Bates,  Jr.,  went  to  Ohio,  where  many  of  his 
descendants  now  live. 

Benjamin  Bates,  the  father  of  Nathan  D. , 
was  a  shoemaker  by  trade.  In  1827  he  re- 
moved from  Rhode  Island  to  the  town  of 
Griswold.  He  married  Elizabeth  Hawkins, 
of  South  Kingston,  R.I.,  in  1817.  Her 
ancestor.  Captain  Thomas  Hawkin,  settled 
in  Dorchester  in  1630.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  London  Artillery  Company  and  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company 
of  Boston,  and  was  in  charge  of  the  big  guns 
at  Savin  Hill,  Dorchester.  His  son,  Richard 
Hawkins,  removed  from  Boston  to  Ports- 
mouth, R.I.  ;  Christopher,  the  second  son, 
settled  in  Kingston,  R.I.:  and  Thomas,  from 
whom  Mrs.  Bates  descended,  married  Ann 
Torrey,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Torrey, 
of  Tower  Hill,  R.I.  Captain  William  Tor- 
rey, who  came  to  New  England  in  1632  and 
settled  at  Weymouth,  Mass.,  was  for  many 
years  a  Representative  to  the  General  Court, 


36z 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  served  as  Clerk  of  the  house.  Johnson, 
the  historian  of  Massachusetts,  says  he  was 
famed  for  his  fine  penmanship.  His  son, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Torrey,  was  invited  in 
1686,  it  is  said,  to  the  presidency  of  Har- 
vard College,  President  Oakes  having  died 
in  1 68 1,  and  his  immediate  successor,  John 
Rogers,  in  16S4.  This  honor  Mr.  Torrey 
declined,  but  he  was  a  fellow  of  the  cor- 
poration from  1697  to  1705.  He  was  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Weymouth  fifty-one  years, 
and  preached  the  election  sermon  in  Boston 
in  1674,  16S3,  and  1689.  He  married  Mary 
Rawson,  daughter  of  Sir  Edward  Rawson, 
who  was  Secretary  of  the  Colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Clerk  of  the  Probate  Court  of 
Suffolk  County.  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth 
(Hawkins)  Bates  had  four  children:  Henry,  a 
machinist  and  mechanical  engineer,  who  died 
in  i860,  at  the  age  of  forty-two  years;  Nich- 
ols B.,  a  marine  engineer,  who  died  at 
Ulysses,  Neb.,  in  1887,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven:  Hannah  H.,  who  married  Isaac  P. 
Sims,  ami  died  at  sixty-three  years  of  age; 
and  Nathan  D.,  who  lives  in  Preston.  The 
mother  died  in  November,  1865;  and  the 
father  died  in  June,  18S1.  The  eldest  son 
was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Cranston  &  Bates, 
of  Norwich,  manufacturers  of  engine  boilers 
and  general  machinery,  also  a  member  of  the 
New  London  Foundry  and  Machine  Company. 
He  was  a  fine  mechanic,  and  inventor  of  and 
patentee  on  stem  valves  and  a  bomb  lance  for 
taking  whales,  as  well  as  of  a  new  steam  gauge. 
Naturally  an  investigator,  he  made  and  owned 
one  of  the  largest  telescopes  in  the  United 
States,  the  instrument  in  Harvard  University 
Observatory  being  then  the  only  larger  one. 

Nathan  D.  Bates  acquired  his  elementary 
education  in  the  little,  old  brown  school- 
house  in  his  native  district,  afterward  pursu- 
ing his  studies  two  terms  in  the  village  select 


school.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  started 
out  for  himself  on  a  tin  pedler's  cart,  and  six 
months  later  he  was  employed  for  a  short 
time  in  running  a  stationary  engine  at  Wes- 
terly, R.I.  He  then  learned  the  machinist's 
trade,  and  in  1848  took  the  position  of  ma- 
chinist and  engineer  with  Cranston  &  Bates, 
of  Norwich,  Conn.  Four  years  later  he  be- 
came fireman  of  the  steam  ferry-boat  which 
carried  cars  across  the  Connecticut  River; 
and  in  1853  he  went  as  fireman  again  with 
his  brother  Nichols,  then  the  engineer  on  the 
"Agawam,"  plying  between  Sag  Harbor  and 
Greenport.  In  June  of  that  year  he  ob- 
tained a  United  States  license  as  engineer, 
and  early  in  1854  he  became  his  brother's 
successor  on  the  "Agawam,"  as  master  en- 
gineer. During  the  summer  he  went  to  Prov- 
idence as  engineer  of  an  excursion  steamer, 
the  "Blackstone."  After  that  he  was  in  dif- 
ferent ways  engaged  in  business  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed chief  engineer  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  and  served  on  the  steamship  "Hetsel," 
the  "Hatteras,"  the  monitor  "Nantucket," 
and  the  steamship  "Dawn."  From  the  latter 
he  was  transferred  to  the  prize  ship  "Princess 
Royal,'"  which  he  took  from  Port  Royal  to 
Philadelphia.  After  a  short  leave  of  absence 
given  him  on  account  of  his  state  of  health, 
he  was  ordered  to  the  Boston  navy  yard  as 
chief  engineer  of  the  "Mercideti,"  in  which 
he  went  to  the  West  India  Islands.  His  last 
period  of  service  was  at  the  Philadelphia  navy 
yard.  He  left  the  United  States  Navy  in 
1864,  and  was  variously  occupied  in  connec- 
tion with  his  profession,  finally  forming  a  part- 
nership with  Elijah  J.  Green,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Bates  &  Co.  The  firm  dissolved  in 
1871;  and  Mr.  Bates  continued  in  business 
alone  until  the  spring  of  1878,  when  he  retired. 
He  was  elected  Sheriff  in  1877,  and  was  in 


BIOGR  U'lIlCAI.     RKV1KW 


363 


office  from  1878  until  1881,  being  the  second 
Democratic  Sheriff  of  the  county.  He  was 
made  an  elector,  April,  1S51,  and  was 
elected  Constable  that  year.  Appointed  Jus- 
ii  the  Peace  in  [864,  he  served  in  that 
capacity  lor  eighteen  years.  He  has  been  a 
Selectman  and  Trial  Justice,  and  has  repre- 
sented his  town  at  the  General  Assembly. 
He  was  a  County  Commissioner  for  three 
years,  1874-77,  and  in  1886  was  appointed 
by  Grover  Cleveland  United  States  Marshal, 
which  office  he  ably  filled  for  tour  years; 
and  has  held  many  other  honorable  positions 
in  service  of  State,  county,  or  town.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution, 
and  was  Second  Lieutenant  oi  the  Fourth  Rifle 
ipany,  Third  Regiment,  Quarter-master  of 
the  Third  Regiment,  and  held  the  rank  of  Ma- 
jor as  Aide-de-camp  to  Major-general  James 
J.  McCord.  Mr.  Bates  also  served  in  the  fire 
department  for  three  years. 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1854  that  he  married 
Sarah  Emily  Nickerson,  daughter  of  Thomas 
H.  and  Susan  (Currin)  Nickerson,  of  Sag 
Harbor,  the  nuptials  taking  place  November 
15.  They  began  domestic  life  at  Preston 
City,  and,  with  the  exception  ot  a  year  at 
Mystic  Bridge,  made  that  city  their  home 
until  1.871.  Mrs.  Sarah  K.  Hates  died  Au- 
gust 21,  1893,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight.  She 
left  two  children  —  Addison  G.  and  Katherine 
Browning  Hates.  Addison  G.  Hates  is  fore- 
man of  the  sewer  department  in  Providence. 
He  married  Minnie  H.  Ilille,  of  Harvard,  la., 
and  has  two  daughters  —  Grace  Land  Laura 
Nickerson.  Katherine  Browning  Bates  is  the 
wile  of  John  1-'.  Bennett,  of  Huston,  and  has 
one  son,  Henry  Bates  Bennett,  a  bright  boy 
about  twelve  years  old. 

Mr.  Hates  married  second,  April  3,  1S95, 
Sophia  A.  Council,  of  Preston,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Sophia  Bromley  Connell. 


LIJAH  A.  MORGAN,  who  has  been  an 
ice  dealer  in  Old  Mystic,  Stonington, 
for  thirty-seven  years  was  horn  in 
Centre  Groton,  Conn.,  August  it,  1836. 
His  father,  Elijah  B.  Morgan,  who  was  born 
in  Groton,  near  New  London,  in  1809,  in 
early  youth  went  to  sea,  serving  as  ship's  boy. 
Elijah  B.  rose  steadily,  and  in  [843  held  the 
position  of  captain  in  the  old  ship  "Herald" 
of  Stonington.  He  was  concerned  wholly 
with  whaling  vessels,  except  during  the  period 
between  1849  and  1851,  when  he  was  in  Cali- 
fornia, to  which  he  had  gone  by  way  of  the 
Straits  of  Magellan.  He  was  a  mate  with 
Captain  George  Brewster,  of  Stonington,  and 
a  sailor  with  Captain  Billings  Burch.  His 
first  marriage  was  contracted  with  Mary  Per- 
kins, whose  only  child  was  Elijah  A.,  and  who 
died  in  184 1.  His  second  marriage  united 
him  to  Jane  M.,  daughter  ol  the  Rev.  John 
G.  Wightman,  a  prominent  and  able  Baptist 
minister.  She  survives  him,  and  is  now  an 
active  lady.  She  had  five  children.  She 
spends  portions  ol  her  time  with  three  ot 
them,  namely:  John  C.  Fremont  Morgan,  of 
Elroy,  Wis.;  Anna,  the  wile  of  Charles 
Chapman,  residing  near  Centre  Groton;  and 
Myron  Morgan,  of  Norwich.  Captain  Mor- 
gan, while  in  command  of  the  ship  "Contest" 
of  New  Bedford,  off  the  coast  oi  Brazil,  died 
suddenly  of  heart-disease  in  [861.  He 
been  a  prosperous  man,  and  left  a  very  com- 
fortable competency. 

The  early  boyhood  ot  Elijah  A.  Morgan 
wis  passed  in  Groton,  attending  the  common 
school.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  lie  went  with 
his  father  on  a  t\\  voyage  to  Desolation 

Island,  afterward  called  Berghland's  Lands, 
which  was  discovered  by  Captain  Cooke. 
Later  he  spent  a  year  in  the  Suffield  (Conn.) 
Literary  Institute.  Then,  lor  a  tew  months, 
he   was   in    business    at    the    Fulton    Market, 


364 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


New  York  City.  In  1852  he  came  to  Old 
Mystic  to  close  out  a  stock  of  goods.  During 
the  next  eight  years  he  kept  a  store.  In 
i860  he  started  in  the  ice  business,  which  he 
has  followed  since,  supplying  the  Mystic 
valley  people  with  ice,  and  putting  up  about 
fifteen  hundred  tons.  In  1873  he  erected  one 
of  the  finest  dwellings  in  Mystic,  and  it  has 
been  a  most  pleasant  home  for  the  family  ever 
since.  He  has  a  well-built  barn  and  sheds, 
and  keeps  six  horses. 

Mr.  Morgan  is  a  Master  Mason.  He  has 
been  twice  in  the  State  legislature,  has  been 
County  Commissioner  for  six  years  and  Se- 
lectman for  seven  years.  He  was  First  Se- 
lectman in  the  first  year  of  the  time  he  has 
served  in  the  latter  capacity.  In  1858  he 
married  Mary  F.,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Mary  (Heath)  Davis,  the  latter  now  living  in 
Clinton,  Conn.  Mrs.  Morgan  died  in  1886, 
leaving  two  of  her  three  children.  These  are: 
Elijah  D.  Morgan,  of  New  York  City;  and 
Fannie  M. ,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  E.  Hart, 
of  Elroy,  Wis.,  and  has  two  children  —  Jean- 
ette  and  Raymond.  In  1888  Sarah  Lawton, 
of  Newport,  R.I.,  became  Mr.  Morgan's  sec- 
ond wife.  The  offspring  of  this  marriage  is 
Earle,  a  bright  boy  of  seven  years.  Mr.  Mor- 
gan is  a  Methodist  and  an  official  in  the 
church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He 
is  one  of  the  leading  residents,  is  agreeable 
and  genial  in  his  business  relations  as  well  as 
in  his  social  life,  and  he  is  devoted  to  his 
family. 


--«-•••-*— 


LIAS  WILLIAMS,  a  practical  and  pro- 
gressive agriculturist  of  Stonington, 
Conn.,  was  born  January  19,  1830, 
not  far  from  Mystic  village,  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides,  which  formerly  be- 
longed to  his  Stanton  ancestors.  He  is  of 
the  eighth  generation  to  own  this  estate,  and 


has  in  his  possession  a  deed  dated  January  2, 
1656,  given  to  Thomas  Stanton,  an  early 
colonist,  by  a  Mr.  Beebe,  no  price  or  compen- 
sation for  the  property  being  mentioned  in 
the  deed,  which  was  written  by  Thomas  Stan- 
ton. The  deed  was  recorded  in  the  Stoning- 
ton book  of  records  for  land  (in  folio  four), 
June  22,  1704,  Elnathan  Miror,  recorder. 
Mr.  Williams's  grandfather,  Elias  Williams, 
first,  who  was  a  native  of  Stonington,  was  a 
seafaring  man,  and  was  a  master  mariner  for 
some  years.  He  married  Thankful  Stanton, 
and  died,  while  yet  a  young  man,  in  i8ro,  in 
North  Carolina,  leaving  her  with  four  chil- 
dren, two  of  them  sons;  namely,  William 
Stanton  Williams  and  Joseph  Stanton  Will- 
iams. The  former,  who  was  born  in  1800, 
lived  in  this  locality  until  1830,  when  he  fol- 
lowed the  tide  of  emigration  Westward,  going 
as  far  as  the  Territory  of  Michigan.  He  set- 
tled there,  but  did  not  live  many  years,  his 
death  occurring  in  1834.  He  left  a  widow 
and  one  daughter,  both  of  whom  have  passed 
to  the  life  beyond.  Mrs.  Thankful  Stanton 
Williams,  who  was  the  daughter  of  William 
and  Hannah  (Williams)  Stanton  and  grand- 
daughter of  John  Williams,  of  Mystic  village, 
lived  a  widow  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
dying  during  the  late  Civil  War,  in  her  native 
town,  past  fourscore  years  of  age. 

Joseph  Stanton  Williams  succeeded  to  the 
ownership  of  the  ancestral  homestead,  where 
he  was  born  in  March,  1802,  and  where  he 
spent  his  long  life  of  eighty-six  years,  his 
death  occurring  on  February  21,  1889.  A 
wise  and  willing  worker,  he  toiled  early  and 
late  in  clearing  the  land  and  placing  it  in  a 
state  of  cultivation.  He  made  many  substan- 
tial improvements,  among  others  being  the 
erection  in  1830,  some  six  years  after  his 
marriage,  of  the  present  dwelling-house,  which 
stands  on  the  site  of  the  original   residence. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


36S 


In  1824  he  married  Miss  Julia  A.  Gallup,  of 
Ledyard,  a  daughter  of  Christopher  Gallup, 
whose  wife  was  .1  Mrs.  Prentiss,  bom  Stan- 
ton. Eight  children  were  born  of  their 
union,  namely:  Joseph  Stanton,  who  died  in 
1834,  aged  eight  years;  William,  who  went,  to 
California  in  1849,  was  fairly  successful  as  a 
miner  during  the  four  years  he  spent  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  died  in  1857,  leaving  a 
widow  and  one  daughter;  Klias,  the  special 
subject  of  this  brief  sketch;  Julia,  wife  oi 
Salmon  C.  Foote,  of  Mystic;  Joseph  Stanton, 
ill  Mystic;  Charles,  who  died  at  Mystic  in 
1865,  leaving  his  widow  with  two  sons  and  a 
daughter;  Warren,  who  died  in  Stonington  in 
1 868,  unmarried;  and  Ellen  G.,  who  lived  hut 
twelve  years.  The  mother  died  in  May,  [883, 
aged  seventy-six  years.  Both  parents  were 
devoted  members  of  the  Congregational 
church.  Their  bodies  were  laid  to  rest  in 
Elm  Grove  Cemetery,  which  is  beautifully 
located  between  the  river  and  highway. 
(Further  ancestral  history  may  be  found  in 
connection  with  the  sketch  of  Joseph  S.  Will- 
iams.) 

Elias  Williams  was  reared  to  man's  estate 
on  the  home  farm,  receiving  his  education  in 
the  district  school  ;  and  for  four  or  five  years 
thereafter  he  was  engaged  in  carrying  on  a 
meat  market.  In  1856  he  embarked  in  the 
lumber  business  in  Canada;  but  subsequently 
he  went  West,  locating  first  in  Dubuque,  la., 
and  later  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  re- 
mained five  years  oul  oi  the  fifteen  that  he 
was  away.  During  the  Rebellion  he  was  em- 
ployed by  the  government  as  wagon  master, 
being  in  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  New  Mex- 
ico. After  the  war  he  was  one  of  the  survey- 
ing party  that  accompanied  General  Palmer 
through  to  California.  In  18711  Mr.  Williams 
returned  to  the  scenes  of  his  childhood  days, 
and  has  since  carried   on  general  farming  with 


most  satisfactory  pecuniary  results,  the  tine 
appearance  of  the  homestead  property  giving 
evidence  of  his  wise  management  and  thrift. 

On  February  26,  1885,  Mr.  Williams  mar- 
ried Miss  Sarah  Palmer,  daughter  of  Randall 
and  Mary  A.  (Holmes)  Browne,  of  Stoning- 
ton. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  are  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Mystic  Congregational  Church,  in 
which  he  is  Deacon;  and  both  are  active 
workers  in  the  denomination.  Mr.  Williams 
is  an  active  Republican  in  his  political  affili- 
ations, and  has  served  as  chairman  of  the 
Town  Republican  Committee  for  twenty  years, 
being  also  chairman  of  the  Senatorial  Com- 
mittee. He  has  always  been  a  useful  and  in- 
fluential citizen,  and  has  filled  various  posi- 
tions of  trust.  He  represented  Stonington  in 
the  State  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1896.  lie  has  also  served  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace  and  as  Grand  Juror. 

The  foresight  and  generosity  of  this  public- 
spirited  citizen  are  strikingly  evidenced  by 
his  recent  gift,  in  November,  1897,  of  two 
acres  of  the  ancestral  estate  covered  by  the 
above-mentioned  deed  of  two  hundred  and 
forty-two  years  ago  to  the  Mystic  Industrial 
Company,  which  was  organized  with  a  capital 
of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  to  erect  a  plant, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-two  by  one  hundred 
and  fifty-one  feet,  with  boiler-room  twenty  by 
forty  feet,  for  the  manufacturing  of  textile 
fabrics,  or  a  velvet  mill,  the  property  being 
leased  to  the  Rossie  Brothers,  of  German}'. 
A  thousand  dollars  would  not  have  induced 
Mr.  Williams  to  sell  the  land  lor  house  lots, 
but  to  establish  a  new  business  and  promote 
the  prosperity  of  his  native  town  he  was  will- 
ing to  part  with  it  without  price.  The  ad- 
vantages that  the  place  will  derive  from  the 
new  industry  may  be  inferred  from  the  facl 
that  employment  will  be  given  to  from  five  hun- 
dred to  six   hundred    persons,  men  and  women. 


366 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


HOMAS  B.  ALEXANDER,  a  well- 
known  contractor  of  New  London,  was 
born  in  North  Groton,  Conn.,  in  1836, 
son  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Mary  Ann 
(Miner)  Alexander.  The  father,  a  native  of 
the  same  town,  was  a  sea  captain,  making 
voyages  between  New  York  and  Appalachi- 
cola.  He  died  at  the  last-named  place  in 
early  manhood  of  small-pox,  leaving  a  widow, 
who  still  lives  in  Ledyard,  Conn.,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-six  years,  and  two  chil- 
dren—  Thomas  B.  and  Mary.  Mary  married 
John  Williams,  of  Ledyard. 

Thomas  B.  Alexander  was  reared  on  the 
home  farm,  and  acquired  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  He  subsequently  went  to 
Rhode  Island,  where  he  worked  for  some  time 
in  a  woollen-mill.  Still  later  he  came  to 
New  London,  and  engaged  in  his  present 
business,  in  which  he  has  been  quite  success- 
ful. In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  has  been  six  times  appointed 
Street  Commissioner  for  terms  of  one  year 
each.  On  October  14,  1855,  he  married 
Frances  A.  Hempstead,  daughter  of  Edward 
and  Fannie  (Whittlesey)  Hempstead.  Mrs. 
Alexander's  great  -  great  -  grandparents  were 
Joshua  and  Lydia  (Burch)  Hempstead,  both  of 
whom  lived  and  died  in  New  London.  Her 
great-great-grandfather  Joshua  was  born  here 
in  the  old  historic  Hempstead  House,  which  is 
still  occupied  by  one  of  the  family.  Edward 
Hempstead,  the  grandfather,  was  a  native  of 
Stonington,  Conn.  Mrs.  Alexander's  father 
was  a  farmer,  who  died  in  middle  life.  Her 
mother  lived  a  widow  many  years,  dying  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three.  They  had 
ten  children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  grow  up, 
marry,  and  rear  families.  Seven  of  the  num- 
ber are  still  living,  namely:  Sarah,  wife  of 
A.  J.  Bliven,  of  Colorado;  Eunice  Crary,  now 
the   wife   of   William   Cranston,   of   New  Lon- 


don; Henry  S.,  of  Waterford,  Conn.;  Hiram, 
a  resident  of  Ledyard;  Mary  Anne,  wife  of 
William  Hancock,  of  Mystic;  Simeon,  who 
resides  at  Clarke  Falls  Corner,  R.I. ;  and 
Frances  A.,  now  Mrs.  Alexander.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  has  one  daughter,  Jennie 
A.,  who  was  graduated  with  honor,  at  the  age 
of  seventeen,  at  the  Young  Ladies'  High 
School,  before  it  became  the  Williams  Me- 
morial. She  married  Stanley  A.  Smith,  a 
yard-master  of  the  Central  Vermont  Railroad. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  traces  her  ancestry 
back,  maternally,  to  Sir  Robert  Hempstead, 
and  paternally  to  John  Alden  of  the  "May- 
flower." In  1888  Mr.  Alexander  built  his 
present  fine  residence  at  29  North  Main 
Street. 


(sTr-LBERT  W.  PERKINS,  the  leading 
fcA  dry-goods  merchant  of  Noank,  in  the 
•^  "  V^^  town  of  Groton,  was  born  here,  Oc- 
tober 3,  1835,  son  of  Sevilian  and  Lucy  B. 
(Potter)  Perkins.  His  paternal  grandfather 
was  Phineas,  a  farmer,  who  took  part  in  the 
action  at  Groton  Heights  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  Sevilian  Perkins,  who  was 
born  in  Groton  in  1808,  was  a  sailor  and  fish- 
erman. In  1849  he  went  with  a  party  to 
California,  where  he  was  engaged  in  specu- 
lating for  a  few  years.  Returning  subse- 
quently to  Connecticut,  he  bought  a  fishing 
sloop,  in  which  he  went  after  cod  to  George's 
Banks.  His  wife,  in  maidenhood  Lucy  B. 
Potter,  and  a  native  of  Noank,  was  a  descend- 
ant of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  this 
county.  She  became  the  mother  of  nine  chil- 
dren, seven  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of 
whom  grew  to  mature  years,  married,  and  had 
families,  there  being  at  the  present  time 
twenty-five  living  grand-children.  The  six 
children  now  living  are  widely  scattered,  some 


ALBERT    W.    PERKINS. 


. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3<>9 


ni  them  having  homes  in  the  West.  The 
mother  died  at  the  age  of  forty-two  years,  and 
the  father  at  seventy-one  years.  They  were 
interred  in  Noank  cemetery. 

When  but  ten  years  old  Albert  W.  Perkins 
began  to  accompany  his  father  on  his  fishing 
and  coasting  expeditions,  and  lie  subsequently 
continued  in  this  employment  for  twenty-four 
years.  On  April  1,  1S70,  he  began  mercan- 
tile business  in  his  present  store.  He  carries 
a  good  assortment  of  general  dry  goods  and 
notions,  and  has  been  very  successful.  The 
busy  little  village  of  Noank  counts  him  as 
one  of  her  most  substantial  and  reliable  busi- 
ness men. 

On  January  22,  185S,  Mr.  Perkins  married 
Miss  Julia  Avery  Burrows,  of  Groton  Bank, 
and  a  (laughter  of  Austin  and  Almira  (Hill) 
Burrows.  Her  mother  is  a  daughter  of  Moses 
Hill,  whose  father,  Samuel  B.  Hill,  was 
among  the  slain  at  the  battle  of  Groton 
Heights.  Austin  Burrows  died  in  1892, 
aged  eighty-one  years,  leaving  a  son  and  two 
daughters.  Six  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perkins,  namely:  Lucy,  wife 
11I  Charles  I.  Fitch,  of  Noank,  and  the  mothi  r 
i'f  tour  children;  C.  C.  Perkins,  a  prominent 
merchant  in  New  London,  Conn.  ;  Myra,  wife 
of  Otto  W.  Monroe,  of  Providence,  R.I.,  and 
the  mother  of  three  children ;  Warren  C.  Per- 
kins, who  married  Flora  Stanton,  of  Stoning- 
ton,  Conn.,  resides  in  that  place,  and  has  one 
daughter;  Albert  W.,  Jr.,  sixteen  years  old, 
who  attends  school  and  assists  his  father  in 
the  store;  and  Abbie  1L,  two  years  younger, 
who  also  is  attending  school. 

Mr.  Perkins  i>  a  loyal  supporter  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  lias  served  the  town  in 
minor  offices.  He  is  a  Master  Mason,  and 
the  first  charter  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 
oi  Noank,  now  Mystic.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  historic  Baptist  church  in  Noank.      About 


the  time  of  his  marriage  he  built  a  hi. use,  but 
sold  it  three  years  later,  and  moved  into  his 
present  residence  at  58  Main  Street,  in  which 
he  and  his  wife  have  spent  thirty-seven  oi  the 
forty  years  of  their  married  life. 


D 


ANIEL  K.  LOOSLEY,  the  oldest 
newsdealer  and  stationer  of  New 
London,  where  he  began  in  the 
business  nearly  thirty  years  ago,  is  a  native 
of  England.  He  was  born  January  11,  1833, 
son  of  William  and  Ann  (Rogers)  Loosley. 
William  Loosley  died  in  England,  when  about 
forty  years  of  age.  His  widow  was  an  octo- 
genarian wdien  she  died  in  1893.  They  had 
twelve  children,  of  whom  three  sons  and  eight 
daughters  grew  to  maturity. 

Daniel  R.  Loosley  left  England  for  Amer- 
ica in  a  sailing-vessel  when  a  youth  of  six- 
teen or  seventeen  years.  When  he  landed  in 
Philadelphia,  he  had  only  a  small  amount  of 
cash;  but,  having  received  a  good  common- 
school  education,  he  was  aide  to  secure  a  po- 
sition as  clerk,  and  he  followed  that  occupa- 
tion some  five  years.  From  Philadelphia  he 
drifted  to  Boston,  where  in  1S55  he  enlisted 
in  the  regular  army.  In  his  twelve  years' 
service  he  rose  in  the  regular  order  of  promo- 
tion to  the  rank  of  Captain,  which  he  held  for 
three  years;  and  he  was  a  commissioned  officer 
some  five  years.  His  first  active  service  wis 
on  the  North-west  coast  at  Puget  Sound. 
When  the  "Star  of  the  West"  went  to  Fort 
Sumter,  he  was  one  of  the  two  hundred  men 
aboard,  of  whom,  so  far  as  is  known,  he  is  the 
only  survivor.  Later  he  was  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  with  which  he  participated  in 
some  fort)-  engagements,  escaping  without  in- 
jury or  capture.  Before  he  resigned,  in  1867, 
he  was  brevetted  Major.  Soon  after  he  came 
to   New  London,  and   established   his  present 


37° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


business  at  110  State  Street,  where  he  has 
been  in  trade  for  twenty-eight  years.  In  pol- 
itics he  is  a  stanch  Republican. 

In  1864  Mr.  Loosley  was  married  in  this 
city  to  Miss  Jeanette  Crandall,  a  daughter  of 
Joshua  and  Emeline  (Tinker)  Crandall,  both 
of  whom  are  now  deceased.  Of  his  four  chil- 
dren, two  sons  died  in  infancy,  and  Frederick 
died  when  eight  years  of  age.  The  only 
daughter,  Louise,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Young- 
Ladies'  High  School  of  this  city,  and  has  also 
received  a  musical  education.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Loosley  and  their  daughter  are  members  of 
the  Episcopal  church.  They  reside  at  19 
Brainard  Street,  in  the  house  which  he  built 
twenty  years  ago. 

<^»»> 

'AMUEL  H.  CHESEBRO,  a  pros- 
perous grocer  of  Stonington,  was 
born  in  his  present  home  on  De- 
cember 8,  1838.  His  parents,  Samuel  and 
Harriet  (Pollard)  Chesebro,  were  of  English 
ancestry.  The  family  commenced  with  Will- 
iam Chesebrough,  who.  was  born  in  England 
in  1594-  In  1620  he  was  married  in  Boston, 
Lincolnshire,  England,  to  Anna  Stevenson. 
They  undoubtedly  came  hither  with  the  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop  party,  as  his  name  is  enrolled 
in  the  membership  of  the  First  Church  in  Bos- 
ton, Mass.;  while  his  mother,  Sarah  Chese- 
brough, was  the  seventy-eighth  member  of 
the  same  church.  Pie  removed  to  Mount 
Wollaston,  now  Ouincy,  Mass.,  where  he 
owned  a  valuable  estate.  He  served  as  Con- 
stable, and  was  one  of  sixteen  freemen  elected 
under  the  order  of  the  Court  in  May,  1632, 
that  "there  shall  be  two  of  every  plantation 
to  confer  with  the  Court  about  raising  a  public 
stock."  This  measure  is  recorded  by  Prince, 
with  the  remark,  "And  this  seems  to  pave  the 
way  for  a  House  of  Representatives  in  the 
General    Court."      In   October,    1640,    he  was 


the  Deputy  of  Braintree.  Later  he  was  Gov- 
ernor Trumbull's  first  planter  in  Stonington, 
Conn.,  to  which  he  came  from  Rehoboth, 
Mass.,  in  1649.  At  that  time  Stonington 
was  part  of  New  London.  He  was  several 
times  a  Deputy  to  the  General  Court  in  Hart- 
ford. His  son,  Samuel,  first,  was  baptized  in 
Boston,  England,  in  1627.  Samuel,  second, 
the  next  in  line  of  descent,  born  November 
20,  1660,  had  a  son  Joseph,  who  was  baptized 
April  12,  1703.  Joseph's  son,  Samuel,  third, 
the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biog- 
raphy, was  born  March  25,  1743.  He  married 
Submit  Palmer,  of  this  town;  and  they  had 
seven  sons  and  six  daughters,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity.  Rhoda  died  first,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen.  The  other  twelve  children 
all  married,  and  are  scattered.  Jesse,  the  eld- 
est, went  to  New  York  State,  settling  in  Man- 
lius,  Onondaga  County,  in  1788.  He  mar- 
ried, became  the  father  of  thirteen  children, 
and  died  June  24,  1830,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five.  Samuel,  third,  died  September  9,  181 1. 
His  widow,  who  survived  him  until  1835, 
reached  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one. 
They  were  highly  respected  members  of  the 
Baptist  church. 

Samuel  Chesebro,  fourth,  the  youngest 
child  of  the  third  Samuel,  was  born  in  Ston- 
ington, November  25,  1788.  In  early  life  he 
worked  at  clock  and  wagon  making  in  Glas- 
tonbury and  Marlboro,  Conn.  He  was  a  car- 
penter and  builder  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
lie  was  also  engaged  in  the  grocery  business 
for  twenty-one  years.  In  politics  he  affiliated 
with  the  Democratic  party.  He  was  officially 
prominent,  serving  as  Selectman  and  Repre- 
sentative, going  to  the  legislature  in  1832 
and  1836.  His  first  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Sally  Robinson,  was  born  in  July,  1799. 
They  were  married  December  25,  18 14.  She 
died    April    30,    1830,    leaving    six    children, 


HIOCRAI'HICAL    RF.V1KW 


37> 


namely:  John  R. ,  of  this  city;  Dudley  R., 
who  died  here  in  1879,  at  tin-  age  of  sixty- 
one;  Ann  E.  Ashby,  a  resident  of  this  city; 
Frances  M.,  now  the  widow  Dickinson,  who 
resides  with  her  hall-brother,  Samuel  H.; 
Samuel,  who  died  at  the  age  of  live;  and 
Sarah  Jane,  now  the  widow  Wolfe,  of  Mystic. 
On  December  5,  1830,  a  second  marriage 
united  the  father  to  Harriet  Pollard,  who  was 
born  in  Preston,  Conn.,  on  August  3,  1796. 
She  had  four  children,  of  whom  Samuel  II., 
th.'  subject  of  this  sketch,  grew  to  maturity. 
She  died  December  II,  1855.  On  March  19, 
1857,  I.vdia  Fellows  became  the  third  wile  of 
the  fourth  Samuel  Chesebro.  Born  March  5, 
1790,  she  died  in  1881.  llis  death  occurred 
in   [858. 

After  acquiring  a  common-school  education, 
Samuel  II.  Chesebro  began  to  serve  as  clerk 
in  his  father's  grocery  store  when  he  was  thir- 
teen years  of  age.  His  present  place  of  busi- 
ness, which  was  erected  by  his  father  in  1836, 
when  the  ground  about  it  was  a  rough  pasture, 
is  now  in  the  central  part  ol  the  business  dis- 
trict. In  politics  Mr.  Chesebro  is  a  Demo- 
crat. Like  his  worth}'  lather,  he  has  been  a 
prominent  office-holder.  In  1871,  1877,  and 
187S  he  served  the  town  as  Selectman.  He 
was  Warden  of  the  borough  in  1892  and  1894, 
alter  which  he  declined  re-election.  In  1874 
he  was  a  legislative  Representative.  He  has 
been  the  president  of  the  Stonington  Building 
Company  since  its  organization  in   1892. 

On  September  26,  1865,  Mr.  Chesebro  was 
married  to  Lucretia  Maria  Babcock,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Elias  and  Lueretia  (Davis)  Babcock. 
Her  lather,  who  was  a  farmer  and  a  merchant, 
dieil  March  19,  188 1,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
five.  Her  mother,  who  was  born  June  22, 
181S,  and  is  still  living,  lost  an  infant  daugh- 
ter and  her  son,  Klias  Babcock,  Jr.,  who 
served  in  the  Civil  War,  and  died    in    1888,  at 


the  age  of  forty-three.  Mrs.  Chesebro  was  a 
pupil  of  Mrs.  Draper,  of  Hartford.  She  sub- 
sequently studied  music  at  the  Music  Vale 
Seminary,  and  became  a  proficient  teacher. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chesebro  have  only  one  child, 
Pauline,  a  young  lady  who  is  still  under  the 
paternal  roof. 

YgTON.    JOHN   BREWSTER,  now  living 
f^H       in    retirement    at    the    old    Brewster 

J-®  V „   homestead   in    Ledyard,    Conn.,  was 

born   in   the  adjoining  town   of    Preston,  May 

13,  1 8 1 6,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Morgan  1 
Brewster.  He  is  descended  from  the  distin- 
guished Pilgrim  leader,  William  Brewster, 
"the  excellent  Cider  of  Plymouth,"  whose  son 
Jonathan  was  the  first  Town  Clerk  of  New 
London. 

Jabez  Brewster,  the  father  of  John,  Sr. , 
was  a  native  New  London  County  farmer. 
He  had  four  sons  and  one  daughter.  The 
latter  was  the  wife  of  Jeremiah  S.  Halsey  (de- 
ceased). John  Brewster,  Sr.,  born  in  Pres- 
ton, December  15,  1782,  died  November  12, 
1848,  at  nearly  sixty- six  years  of  age.  He 
had  been  to  the  polls  only  a  few  days  before 
and  voted  for  President  and  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States.  In  1820  he  bought  and 
settled  on  this  farm,  then  the  Captain  Israel 
Morgan  farm.  His  marriage  with  Mary  Mor- 
gan was  solemnized  February  6,  1806.  She 
was  born  in  this  house,  and  was  a  daughter  of 
Captain  Israel  and  Elizabeth  (Brewster)  Mor- 
gan. Her  father  was  a  son  of  William 
.Morgan  and  a  lineal  descendant  ol  James 
Morgan,  born  in  Wales  in  C><>7,  who  settled 
in  Pecpiot,  now  New  London,  about  1652. 
Captain  Israel  Morgan  departed  this  life  on 
June  4,  1816,  his  death  being  accidental, 
caused  by  choking.  John,  Sr. ,  and  Mary 
(Morgan)  Brewster  had  three  sons  and  a 
daughter,    three    of   whom    have   passed    away. 


372 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


The    daughter,    who   married   a    Crary,   left   a 

family. 

John  Brewster,  the  only  survivor  of  the 
family,  grew  to  manhood  on  this  place,  and 
here  brought  his  bride  shortly  after  their  mar- 
riage. The  farm,  which  is  about  four  miles 
from  Norwich,  contains  one  hundred  and  forty 
acres;  and  he  keeps  from  fourteen  to  twenty 
cows,  besides  horses,  sheep,  hogs,  and  other 
stock.  The  house  is  nearly  two  hundred  years 
old.  A  new  barn  was  built  here  twenty-five 
years  ago,  but  about  fifteen  years  later  was 
struck  by  lightning,  and  with  its  contents  was 
a  total  loss.  The  one  now  standing,  which  is 
a  fine  modern  structure,  sixty  feet  long  by 
thirty  wide,  was  built  in  1891. 

When  eighteen  years  old,  Mr.  Brewster  en- 
listed in  the  Rifle  Company,  which  was  made 
up  largely  of  Groton  and  Stonington  boys;  and 
during  his  six  or  seven  years'  membership  he 
rose  by  regular  promotion  to  the  captaincy. 
He  was  subsequently  honorably  retired,  and 
has  ever  since  been  known  as  Captain  Brews- 
ter. In  addition  to  carrying  on  his  farm, 
during  the  past  twenty-five  years  he  has  been 
a  wool  buyer  in  company  with  L.  W.  Cornell: 
and  for  the  past  three  years  he  has  been  buyer 
for  the  Yantic  Wool  Company.  In  the  capac- 
ity of  appraiser,  trustee,  or  administrator  he 
has  also  often  assisted  in  settling  estates, 
some  of  them  requiring  the  handling  of  large 
amounts  of  property  and  involving  knotty  ami 
troublesome  problems,  of  which  the  solution 
was  only  reached  after  years  of  anxious  care. 
But,  even  with  such  difficulties  attending  his 
duties  in  such  cases,  he  has  never  charged 
more  than  a  nominal  fee  for  his  services.  As 
a  man  of  broad  intelligence  and  sound  judg- 
ment, honest,  kind-hearted,  and  generous  to 
a  fault,  he  commands  the  esteem  and  confi- 
dence of  the  community. 

On  April    2,   1840,  Mr.    Brewster   was   mar- 


ried to  Miss  Mary  E.  Williams,  daughter  of 
Dennison  B.  Williams,  of  Stonington.  Mrs. 
Brewster,  who  is  almost  seventy-nine  years 
old,  was  the  eldest-born  of  nine  children,- 
eight  of  whom  grew  to  mature  years;  but  only 
two  are  now  living,  the  other  being  her  sister 
Eunice,  wife  of  Richard  Roberts,  of  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.,  twelve  years  younger.  Five  children 
have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brewster; 
namely,  a  daughter  who  died  at  the  age 
of  eighteen  months,  John  Dennison,  Fanny 
Halsey,  Phebe  Esther,  and  Frank  William. 
John  Dennison  died  in  1894,  aged  fifty  years, 
leaving  a  son  and  daughter:  Clara  Brewster,  a 
young  lady  of  eighteen;  and  Arthur  Morgan 
Brewster,  two  years  younger  —  both  of  whom 
live  with  their  mother  in  Norwich.  Fanny, 
the  wife  of  Thomas  II.  Geer,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  has  one  daughter,  Mary  Brewster. 
Phebe  Esther  is  the  wife  of  Benjamin  F. 
Lewis,  Jr.,  in  Norwich.  Frank  W.  Brewster 
has  charge  of  the  home  farm  and  a  milk  route 
in  the  villages  of  Poquetanock  ami  Hal lville. 
lie  married  Mary  Brown,  daughter  of  L.  R. 
and  lilizabeth  Brown,  and  has  two  children: 
Hannah  Elizabeth,  twelve  years  old:  and 
Phoebe  Esther,  nine  years  old. 

Captain  Brewster  is  a  stanch  Republican. 
He  has  for  several  years  held  the  office  of  Se- 
lectman, First  and  Second,  and  has  served 
some  years  as  Judge  and  Clerk  of  the  Probate 
Court.  In  1S60  and  in  18S5-86  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Connecticut  Senate.  He  had 
previously  served  three  terms,  1847,  185  1,  and 
1878,  in  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature. 
For  twelve  years  he  was  president  of  the  Mer- 
chants' National  Bank  of  Norwich  ;  and  he  is 
now  vice-president  of  the  Norwich  Savings 
Bank,  being  the  oldest  member  of  its  Board  of 
Directors.  He  was  for  years  president  of  the 
Henry  Bell  Library,  but  has  now  resigned  that 
position. 


i 


FREDERICK    SYMINGTON. 


I  I 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


375 


'REDERICK  SYMINGTON,  the  super- 
intendent nt  the  William  W.  Backus 
Hospital  at  Norwich,  is  a  native 
of  Now  Bedford,  Mass.,  born  August  14, 
1859.  Ili>  father,  Hugh  Symington,  born 
in  1832,  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  whence  he 
came  to  America  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years.  With  the  latter  came  his  wile,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Sarah  Cluckson,  and  one 
sun,  William.  They  settled  in  New  York 
City,  where  Hugh  was  successfully  enga  ;ed 
in  his  profession  of  veterinary  surgeon,  lie 
died  in  1882,  ami  his  wife  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
two,  in  [891.  Both  lie  buried  in  Woodlawn 
Cemetery,  New  York.  Of  their  four  sons  and 
four  daughters,  Eudora,  Sarah  Ann,  and  Ida 
reside  in  Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Frederick  Symington  was  the  youngest  son 
and  fourth  child  of  his  parents.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  New  York  City. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  became  a  book-keepei 
there,  and  was  thus  employed  for  three  years, 
lie  then  went  to  the  Winchester  Repeating 
Arms  Company  as  a  mechanic,  and  learned 
the  gun-making  business,  in  which  he  became 
a  very  proficient  workman.  In  [888  he  ac- 
Cl  pted  a  position  in  the  factory  of  Hopkins  & 
Allen,  for  whom  he  worked  up  to  1S93.  He 
left  that  place  to  take  up  the  duties  of 
superintendent  of  the  William  W.  Backus 
Hospital,  in  which  capacity,  as  already 
stated,  he  is  now  serving.  This  hospital  is 
one  of  the  best  of  its  size  in  this  country,  and 
its  superintendent  takes  a  personal  interest 
and  pride  in  seeing  that  everything  under  his 
care  is  properly  conducted. 

Mr.  Symington  has  been  twice  married. 
His  first  union  was  made  with  Miss  Rose 
Hanson,  whose  children  are:  Robert,  aged 
sixteen;  and  Alice,  aged  thirteen  years.  The 
second  marriage,  contracted  on  January  [8, 
1893,  with   Mi^s  Clara  Stanton,   of   Norwich, 


has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  one  son. 
Frederick  Stanton.  Mrs.  Symington  is  a 
daughter  >>!  the  Rev.  Robert  and  Harriet 
(Jones)  Stanton.  Through  her  father,  who  is 
a  retired  Congregational  pastor,  she  is  a  di- 
rect descendant  of  Thomas  Stanton,  <,l  Lon- 
don, England,  who  embarked  January  2,  1635, 
on  the  merchantman  "  Bonaventura  "  lor  Vir- 
ginia, whence  he  afterward  went  to  Boston. 
In  1637  he  settled  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and 
was  subsequently  married  to  Miss  Ann  Lord, 
of  that  place,  lie  established  a  trading  house 
in  Stonington,  Conn.,  in  1650.  The  wile  ol 
the  Rev.  Robert  Stanton  was  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Timothy  Jones,  one  of  five  brothers  who 
were  educated  at  Yale  College.  An  ancestor 
of  the  Jones  family,  who  are  of  English  ori- 
gin, Colonel  John  Jones,  was  one  of  the  regi- 
cides who  were  held  responsible  for  the  exe- 
cution of  Charles  I.,  and  executed  at  Charing 
Cross,  London,  October  17,  1660.  William 
Jones,  son  of  Colonel  John  Jones,  came  to  New 
England  in  the  same  ship  with  the  two  regi- 
cides, Whally  and  Goffe,  who  were  at  one 
time  secreted  in  a  cave  in  New  Haven,  Conn. 
Dr.  Timothy  Jones,  born  in  17S4,  graduated 
from  Yale  College  in  [804,  Four  years  later 
he  settled  in  Southington.  In  r8l0  he 
wedded  Miss  Rhoda  Lewis,  a  daughter  ol 
Seth  Lewis.  Nine  children  were  born  to 
them,  of  whom  six  grew  to  maturity;  and 
Mis.  Stanton  is  now  fhe  only  survivor.  Mr. 
Symington  is  a  loyal  Republican  in  politics. 
He  is  a  Master  Mason,  a  Knight  Templar, 
and  a  member  of  the  A.   <  >.    U.   W. 


*jjr      LEROY     BLAKE,     D.D.,     pastor 

jy\       °f  the  First  Church  of  Christ  r 

gregational),  New  London,  Conn., 
since  March  30,  1887,  was  born  in  Cornwall, 
Vt.,    December   5,   1K34.    a   son   uf   Myron    M. 


37<) 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  Lucy  (Stone)  Blake.  His  first  ancestor 
in  this  country,  it  is  said,  was  John  Blake,  of 
Maiden,  England,  who  settled  in  Middletown, 
Conn.,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  died 
there  in  1690. 

The  descendants  of  John  Blake  are  numer- 
ous, and  include  many  distinguished  men. 
Stephen  Blake,  great-grandfather  of  Dr. 
Blake,  was  born  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  April 
27,  1767;  and  Myron  Blake,  his  grandfather, 
was  born  November  5.  1790.  The  latter  mar- 
ried Laura  Hopkins,  of  Pittsford,  Vt.,  a  sec- 
ond cousin  of  President  Millard  Fillmore,  and 
reared  one  daughter  and  seven  sons. 

Myron  M.  Blake,  son  of  Myron,  was  born  in 
Castleton,  Rutland  County,  Vt.,  April  12, 
18 1 2,  and  died  in  Salisbury,  Conn.,  Septem- 
ber 20,  1893.  The  greater  part  of  his  life 
was  devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  agriculture.  In 
March,  1834,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Lucy  Stone,  a  native  of  Cornwall,  Vt.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Eli  and  Polly  Stone  and 
grand-daughter  of  Silas  Stone,  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier,  who  died  on  the  march  from  Ben- 
nington to  Troy.  Mrs.  Lucy  S.  Blake  died 
April  22,  1894,  in  Westfield,  Mass.,  aged 
eighty-three  years,  six  months,  and  is  buried 
with  her  husband  in  Salisbury,  Conn.  They 
were  members  of  the  Congregational  church. 
Four  children  were  born  to  this  couple,  three 
of  whom  are  now  living:  S.  Leroy,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Lyman  H.,  pastor  of  the 
Second  Congregational  Church  of  Westfield, 
Mass.  ;  and  Clarence  E.  Blake,  Ph.D.,  a  suc- 
cessful teacher. 

S.  Leroy  Blake  fitted  for  college  at  Burn  & 
Burton  Seminary,  Manchester,  Vt.,  and  en- 
tered Middlebury  College  in  the  fall  of  1855, 
graduating  in  1859.  For  some  time  after  his 
graduation  he  was  engaged  in  teaching:  in 
Wist  Randolph,  Vt.,  in  1859  and  i860;  at 
Lancaster,  Mass.,  about  a  year;    and  at  Pem- 


broke, N.H.,  in  1861  and  1862.  In  the 
spring  of  1862  he  entered  Andover  Seminary, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1864;  and  on  De- 
cember 7,  1864,  he  was  ordained  and  installed 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Pep- 
perell,  Mass.  His  succeeding  charges  were: 
the  South  Church,  Concord,  N.H.,  where  he 
began  work  in  January,  1869;  the  Woodland 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  November,  1877;  the  Calvinistic  Con- 
gregational Church,  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  April, 
1880;  and  the  church  in  New  London,  which 
is  his  present  charge.  He  received  his  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  1883  from  Iowa  Col- 
lege. The  Rev.  Dr.  Blake  is  an  able 
preacher,  a  zealous  worker  for  the  interests  of 
his  congregation,  and  wields  a  facile  and 
powerful  pen.  He  is  the  author  of  the  book, 
"By  Whom  and  When  was  the  Bible  Writ- 
ten?" (published  in  Boston  in  1886  by  the 
Congregational  Publishing  Company),  and 
"After  Death,  What?"  (1890),  "The  Early 
History  of  the  First  Church,  New  London, 
1897,"  besides  a  number  of  pamphlets  and 
published  sermons. 

The  church  of  which  he  is  pastor  has  an  in- 
teresting history,  and  the  roll  of  its  ministers 
includes  some  illustrious  names.  It  was 
organized  in  Gloucester,  Mass.,  in  May,  1642, 
by  Richard  Blinman,  who  was  driven  from 
Cheapstone,  England,  by  Archbishop  Laud  in 
1640.  The  Rev.  Richard  Blinman  settled 
first  in  Marshfield,  Mass.,  and  went  thence  to 
Gloucester.  In  1650,  and  with*  the  majority 
of  his  congregation,  he  moved  to  New  Lon- 
don, where  he  was  settled  on  a  salary  of  sixty 
pounds  per  year.  Eight  years  later  he  left 
this  place,  and  in  1660  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land. He  died  in  Bristol  in  1679  or  1680. 
His  successor  was  Gershom  Bulkeley,  a  son 
of  Peter  Bulkeley,  of  Concord,  Mass.  This 
gentleman  settled   here   in    1661,  and,  leaving 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


377 


in  1664,  was  succeeded  in  1666  by  the  Rev. 
Simon  Bradstreet,  son  of  the  Governor  of  the 
Massachusetts    Colony    and     his    wife,     Ann 

Dudley,  famous  as  the  first  poetess  of  Amer- 
ica. The  Rev.  Mr.  Bradstreet  died  in  Au- 
gust,  [683.  I  lis  successor,  Gurdon  Salton- 
stall,  took  charge  of  the  church  in  [688.  He 
was  ordained  here  in  [691,  and  was  pastor 
until  1 70S,  when  he  was  chosen  Governor  of 
Connecticut;  and  he  occupied  the  gubernato- 
rial  chair  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1724. 
During  the  pastorates  of  Bradstreet  and  Sal- 
tonstall  the  church  was  disturbed  by  the 
Rogerine  movement,  which  was  confined 
mostly   to    this    county. 

Mr.  Saltonstall's  successor,  Eliphalet 
Adams,  "I  Dedham,  Mass.,  was  ordained  and 
placed  in  charge  of  the  church  in  1709.  In 
1740,  during  his  ministry,  occurred  the  great 
revival  in  New  London;  and  his  congregation 
was  decreased  by  the  defection  of  about  one 
hundred  members  who  fid  lowed  the  lead  of  Jo- 
seph Davenport,  of  Southold,  L.I.,  the  inau- 
gurator  of  the  Separatist  movement.  These 
Separatists  established  a  theological  seminary 
in  New  London.  Mr.  Adams  died  in  Octo- 
ber,  1753,  closing  a  pastorate  of  more  than 
forty  years.  His  successor,  the  Rev.  Mather 
Byles,  of  Boston,  settled  here  November  18, 
1757  ami  ten  years  later  was  made  rector  of 
an  Episcopal  church  in  Boston.  The  next  in- 
cumbent was  Ephraim  Woodbridge,  of  Groton, 
Conn.  He  took  charge  of  the  church, 
October  11,  1769,  and  died  September  6, 
1776. 

In  1  7S7  Henry  Channing,  of  Newport,  uncle 
of  William  Ellery  Channing,  D.D.,  was 
installed  as  pastor.  Mr.  Channing,  who  wis 
a  kind  and  scholarly  man,  became  imbued  with 
Unitarian  sentiments,  which  were  distasteful 
i"  his  congregation;  and  in  May,  1806,  here- 
signed.      In  October  of  the  same  year  the  Rev. 


Abel  McEwen  took  charge;  and  in  the  fifty- 
four  years  of  his  ministry  several  t  hanges  took 
place,  and  the  church  membership  was 
mented  by  a  series  of  revivals.  In  1835  the 
Second  Congregational  Church  was  colonized; 
and  in  June,  1S56,  the  Rev.  Thomas  1'.  Field 
was  installed  as  associate  pastor  to  Dr.  Mc- 
Ewen. Dr.  Field  resigned  in  the  autumn  of 
[876  to  accept  a  professorship  in  Amherst 
College.  He  was  succeeded  by  Edward  VV. 
Bacon,  son  of  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  of  New 
Haven,  who  was  active  in  ministerial  work 
until  October,  1886.  He  resigned  on  account 
of  ill  health,  and  died  in  California  in  June, 
18S7. 

This  church  began  worship  in  Robert 
Farks's  barn,  which,  fitted  for  the  purpose, 
was  used  until  1655.  Then  the  building 
known  as  the  Blinman  Church  was  erected; 
and  in  1680  the  second  house  of  worship, 
known  as  the  Bradstreet  Church,  was  first 
used.  All  these  buildings  were  on  Meeting- 
house Hill.  The  first  church,  sold  to  James 
Avery,  was  moved  to  Poquonnock  Plain,  and 
used  as  a  dwelling-house  until  July  20,  1 
when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  Brad- 
street house  also  was  burned,  and  a  new  one 
completed  on  the  same  site  in  [698  was  called 
the  Saltonstall  Church.  This  was  in  use 
until  1785,  when  the  fourth  house  of  worship 
was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  presenl  church. 
The  last  structure  erected,  which  was  finished 
in  1S50,  is  a  large  and  handsome  edifice  of 
solid  granite. 


T|<»I1X     TYLER      BECKWITH,    farmer 

and  teamster  of  Niantic,  Conn.,  is  a 
native  of  New  London,  and  was  born 
July  IO,  1838,  his  parents  being  Clement  I., 
and  Hannah  (Chapel)  Beckwith.  He  comes 
of  a  line   of   brave  men  whose    lives  were    ha/.- 


37§ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIF.W 


arded  in  behalf  of  their  native  land,  his  pa- 
ternal grandfather,  Seth  Beckwith,  having 
been  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  his 
father  a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812.  Grand- 
father Beckwith  was  horn  in  Waterford,  and 
was  a  farmer.  He  married  a  Miss  Ksther 
Leach,  who  bore  him  five  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. One  son  died  young  of  lockjaw. 
Grandmother  Beckwith,  who  survived  her  hus- 
band for  many  years  and  was  a  pensioner,  died 
in  Montville  about  1846,  an  octogenarian. 

Their  son,  Clement  L.  Beckwith,  above 
named,  was  for  forty-seven  years  a  tenant 
farmer  on  the  estate  of  Dr.  Isaac  Thompson, 
of  New  London,  and  paid  as  high  as  three 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year  for  rent.  The 
amicable  relations  which  existed  for  so  long  a 
period  between  him  and  his  landlord  were 
creditable  to  the  character  of  both  men.  Mr. 
Thompson  highly  valued  his  tenant,  and  when 
dying  said,  "Let  Beckwith  stay  as  long  as  he 
wants  to."  Clement  Beckwith's  wife,  Han- 
nah Chapel,  whom  he  married  in  18 16,  was 
born  in  Montville  in  1796.  She  survived  her 
husband  some  eighteen  years,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 11,  1881,  in  her  eighty-sixth  year.  They 
had  a  large  family  of  children,  as  follows: 
Gilbert  Russell,  who  was  accidentally  killed 
when  six  years  of  age;  Miroch,  born  in  1 819, 
who  died  in  New  London,  aged  sixty-two; 
Sarah  A.,  who  married  Francis  D.  Beckwith, 
of  Xew  London,  and  is  living  on  Willets 
Avenue  near  the  house  where  Mr.  John  Tyler 
Beckwith  was  born;  Allen,  deceased  at  the 
age  of  nineteen;  Anson,  who  died  in  1890, 
aged  sixty-five  years;  Mary,  who  died  before 
reaching  twenty  years  of  age;  Alfred,  who 
died  in  1887;  and  Maria,  the  wife  of  Henry 
T.  Squire,  living  on  Ocean  Avenue,  Xew 
London,  Conn. 

John  T.  Beckwith  in  his  boyhood  received 
a    common-school    education.       His     working 


life  began  at  an  early  age,  as  he  sold  milk  for 
his  father  wdien  he  was  no  higher  than  a  good- 
sized  milk  can,  and  from  that  time  on  has 
been  actively  employed.  He  continued  to 
sell  milk  in  New  London  for  some  twenty-two 
years.  After  marriage  he  lived  on  his 
father's  farm  for  seven  years,  improving  that 
part  of  it  which  his  father  had  bought  of  Dr. 
Thompson.  He  then  removed  to  the  White 
Hall  farm  in  Mystic,  in  the  town  of  Stoning- 
ton,  and  was  there  for  two  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  time,  in  March,  1873,  he  came  to  the 
farm  of  Mrs.  Beckwith's  father,  which  he  has 
since  purchased.  He  has  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  in  teaming;  and,  al- 
though he  has  but  twenty-five  acres  of  land,  it 
is  under  high  cultivation  and  yields  abun- 
dantly. Three  years  ago  he  built  his  fine 
large  residence  in  Niantic. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  1863,  he  married 
Annie  T.  Beckwith,  a  daughter  of  Horace  and 
Mary  (Comstock)  Beckwith,  of  Waterford, 
near  East  Lyme,  where  she  was  born  April 
14,  1 84 1 .  Mr.  Horace  Beckwith  was  a  ship- 
carpenter  at  the  head  of  Niantic  River.  His 
family  consisted  of  six  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. Two  of  the  sons,  Turner  and  Horace, 
and  the  three  daughters  grew  to  maturity. 
Turner  Beckwith  lives  in  Niantic;  but  his 
brother  Horace  went  away,  and  was  never 
heard  from.  One  daughter  is  Mrs.  Charles 
Bishop,  of  New  London.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
T.  Beckwith  have  two  children:  Fred  A.,  who 
is  engaged  in  the  livery  business  in  this 
place,  and  is  the  father  of  one  daughter, 
Leslie  Mott;  and  Mary  H.,  wife  of  S.  J. 
Weaver,  of  Flanders. 

Mr.  Beckwith  is  a  Republican,  and  cast  his 
first  vote  in  i860  for  President  Lincoln.  He 
is  a  trustee  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  both  he 
and  his  wife  are  devout  and  active  members  of 
that  body. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


379 


(Sft-OHN  W-  MANWARING,  the  courte- 
ous proprietor  of  the  Oswegatchie 
House  in  Waterford,  New  London 
County,  Conn.,  was  born  in  Lyme,  this 
county,  on  September  20,  1826,  son  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Keeney)  Manwaring.  His 
paternal  grandfather,  Thomas,  was  horn  near 
the  same  place  in  1755.  When  a  young  man 
he  served  his  country  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  His  life  occupation  was  farming, 
which  he  carried  on  at  the  head  of  the  Con- 
necticut River.  He  married  Katurah  Hurl- 
but,  of  this  town;  and  they  reared  four  sons 
and  four  daughters.  He  died  in  [832,  at  the 
age  of  seventy- seven  ;  and  his  wife,  surviving 
him  ten  years,  lived  to  be  eighty.  Thomas 
Manwaring.  the  father  of  John  W. ,  was  born 
in  this  town,  April  17,  1793.  He  was  an 
able  farmer,  who  owned  a  good  farm  of  two 
hundred  acres.  He  also  officiated  as  Justice 
of  the  Peace  and  as  Selectman.  In  1815  he 
married  Mary  Keeney,  daughter  of  William 
Keeney,  her  mother's  maiden  name  being 
Chappell.  Her  father,  William  Keeney,  was 
four  times  married.  His  first  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Gorton,  died  leaving  four 
sons  .md  one  daughter.  His  second  wife  left 
but  one  child,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  By  his  third  and  fourth  wives  he 
had  no  children.  Thomas  and  Mary  Keeney 
Manwaring  bad  eight  children,  but  two  of 
whom  are  living  —  Mary  and  John  W.  Man- 
is  the  widow  of  James  R.  Moore,  of  Hartford, 
She  resides  with  her  son,  James  R..  being 
now  eighty  years  old.  The  father  died  June 
20,  1862,  and  his  widow  several  years  later, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four.  They  were  highly 
respected  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 

John  W.  Manwaring  came  to  Waterford 
with  his  parents  at  the  early  age  of  five  years. 
He  acquired  a  common-school  education,  and 
chose  farming  as  an  occupation.      He   began 


life  on  this  farm  oi   over  a  hundi  es   in 

1849,  remaining  twenty  years,  lie  then  re- 
moved to  his  presi  nl  hotel  site,  only  a  qu 
oi  a  mile  distant.  At  that  time  the  house  was 
small,  accommodating  only  fifteen  or  twenty 
guests.  The  present  hotel  is  situated  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Xiantic  River,  overshadowed 
by  the  Oswegatchie  Hills,  and  will  accommo- 
date from  forty  to  fifty-  summer  boarders. 
B(  -ides  the  hotel  and  fine  bams  he  has  two 
cottages  on  the  grounds.  Three  other  sum- 
mer residences  have  been  built  by  San  I-'ran- 
cisco  gentlemen,  the  whole  forming  a  select 
little  village. 

In  politics,  since  first  exercising  the  right 
of  suffrage,  Mr.  Manwaring  has  belonged  to 
the  Democratic  party.  Officially,  he  has  been 
prominent  in  the  town,  serving  as  Justice 
of  the  Peace  thirty-five  years  and  on  the 
Board  of  Education  thirty-three  years,  during 
twenty-seven  of  which  he  was  secretary. 

Mr.  Manwaring  was  first  married  in  No- 
vember, 1849,  to  Cordelia  Caulkins,  who  was 
horn  in  1831.  daughter  of  J.  C.  and  Adeline 
(Averill)  Caulkins,  of  this  town.  She  be- 
came the  mother  of  two  sons,  one  of  wh 
named  Myron,  died  at  tin-  age-  of  two  and  a 
half  years.  The  other,  Harvey  M-.  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Bridgeport,  Conn.  Mrs.  Cordelia  C. 
Manwaring  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-four. 
Mr.  Manwaring  married  for  his  second  wife 
Mary  E.  Morgan,  a  daughter  of  Philip  Mor- 
gan, who  lived  on  Prospecl  Hill  in  this  town, 
and  who  served  officially  as  Selectman  for 
several  years,  Judge  of  Probate,  Representa- 
tive, and  State  Senator.  Her  father  died  in 
i.'n.  leaving  one  son  and  five  daughters,  of 
whom  the  son  and  three  daughters  are  now- 
living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  M anwaring's  only  liv- 
ing child  is  Selden  1'..  who  was  graduated 
from  the  Friends'  School,  Providence,  R.I., 
and  is   now  twenty-three  years  old.      Another 


38o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


son  died  in  early  manhood.  In  religion  Mr. 
Manwaring  affiliates  with  the  Baptists,  having 
been  a  church  member  for  fifty-four  years. 


REDERICK  LESTER  GARDNER, 
one  of  Norwich's  most  successful 
farmers,  is  a  lifelong  citizen  of  the 
town,  having  been  born  here,  March  5,  1832, 
son  of  Sidney  and  Fanny  Maria  (Fanning) 
Gardner.  His  father  was  born  in  Bozrah, 
this  county,  in  1795,  and  his  mother  in  Gro- 
ton,  April  12,  1790.  His  paternal  grandpar- 
ents, Lemuel  and  Jemimah  (Lothrop)  Gard- 
ner, were  farming  people  of  Bozrah  and  later 
of  Norwich,  where  the  former  died  July  16, 
1839,  and  the  latter  March  16,  1850,  at 
eighty  years  of  age.  Sidney  Gardner  fol- 
lowed farming  throughout  his  life,  which  was 
spent  on  the  old  homestead.  He  died  Sep- 
tember 14,  1840.  His  wife,  Fanny,  was  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Susanna  (Faulkner) 
Fanning  and  a  grand-daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  (Capron)  Fanning.  Grandfather 
Fanning  and  four  of  his  brothers  —  there  were 
six  in  all — served  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Charles,  who  held  the  office  of  paymaster,  was 
a  close  friend  and  companion  of  Washington 
and  Lafayette.  The  other  three  were:  Fred- 
erick, Elkanah,  and  Frank,  one  or  more  of 
them  Deing  officers.  The  name  of  the  sixth 
brother  was  Walter.  The  family  came  origi- 
nally from  England,  and  were  prominent 
among  the  early  colonists.  Sidney  Gardner 
and  his  wife  had  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  Frederick  Lester  was  the  fourth 
child  and  second  son.  Hut  one  other, 
Charles  H.,  of  Norwich,  is  now  living.  Sid- 
ney, Jr.,  was  engaged  in  fanning  on  the  old 
homestead  prior  to  his  death,  June  22,  1847, 
in  his  twenty-fourth  year.  Sarah,  who  mar- 
ried Alexander  Meech,  died  February  5,  1871, 


when  nearly  forty-five  years  of  age.  Frances, 
who  became  the  wife  of  David  C.  Whaley, 
died  in  the  fortieth  year  of  her  age,  leaving 
one  son,  Chauncey  Whaley,  now  a  resident  of 
New  London,  Conn. 

Frederick  Lester  Gardner  spent  his  early- 
years  on  his  father's  farm,  and  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  Norwich.  For  a 
year  he  worked  as  a  clerk  in  Clinton,  Mass. 
In  1855  ne  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  im- 
plements, but  within  two  years  returned  East. 
He  was  next  employed  as  a  book-keeper  in 
Norwich  three  and  one-half  years,  and  subse- 
quent to  that  was  engaged  in  the  clothing 
trade  for  three  years.  From  1867  to  1 890,  a 
period  of  twenty-three  years,  he  carried  on  a 
prosperous  grocery  business  in  the  city  of 
Norwich,  subsequently  retiring  to  his  present 
home,  an  excellent  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
eight  acres,  which  he  has  since  conducted. 
December  16,  1883,  Mr.  Gardner  was  married 
to  Mrs.  Joanna  W.  Ransall,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Loomis. 


7^\HARLES  D.  WILLIAMS,  a  pros- 
it jj         perous    farmer    of     Groton,     residing 

^i?  ^  near  Mystic,  was  born  in  Ledyard, 
Xew  London  County,  June  26,  1844,  son  of 
John  D.  and  Jeanette  (Williams)  Williams. 
The  grandfather,  John  Williams,  who  was  a 
farmer  in  Ledyard.  and  lived  to  be  over 
seventy  years  old,  had  five  sons  and  two 
daughters,  of  whom  the  survivors  are:  Peter, 
an  octogenarian,  residing  near  Norwich;  and 
Patty  Williams,  who  lives  in  Ledyard  with  her 
daughter.  The  father,  after  having  started  in 
life  without  capital,  by  enterprising  industry 
became  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  acres.  In  1840  he  married 
Jeanette  Williams,  a  daughter  of  Judge  Will- 
iam Williams;  and  besides  his  son  Charles  he 


BIOGR  M'MICAI,    REVIEW 


had  a  daughter,  Elizabeth,  who  became  the 
wile  of  Nelson  Williams,  of  Groton.  He  died 
in  1876,  and  his  wife  in  1884,  aged  sixty-nine. 
When  eighteen  years  of  age  Charles  D. 
Williams  went  to  sea  with  Captain  15.  I-'. 
Noyes  on  the  brig  "General  Bailey,"  which 
was  afterward  burned  at  the  wharl  in  New 
York.     In   i«S6i    he  was  on  the  "  Weybosset, " 

overnment  transport  used  for  conveying 
troops  to  Norfolk,  Va. ,  and  other  places.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  sailed  as  captain 
of  the    schooner    "River    Queen,"    which    was 

iged  in  the  lumber  trade,  plying  between 
New  York  and  Galveston.  Less  than  a 
later  he  went  on  the  "Cyclone  of  Boston,"  a 
coaster,  and  about  a  year  afterward  took 
charge  of  the  "Belle  of  the  Hay,"  of  which  he- 
had  become  part  owner,  and   made   voyages  to 

in,  Sicily,  and   other  places,  doing  a   suc- 

1  nl  business  as  a  fruit  trader.  The  next 
1  that  he  commanded,  which  was  also  his 
last,  was  the  bark  "Silas  Fish,"  of  which  he  was 
captain  from  1875  t0  1884,  and  which  he  first 
took  to  China.  In  18S0  he  bought  the  sixty- 
acre  farm  lying  on  the  west  side  of  .Mystic 
River,  which  is  now  his  home,  and  where  he 
has  since  built  his  residence.  Besides  doing 
general  farming  he  has  a  fine  orchard  of  young 

>.  including  apple,  pear,  ami  cherry,  which 
he  set  out  and  has  since  carefully  tended. 
His  animals  include  two  cows,  and  a  span  of 
horses  kept  lor  his  personal  use. 

On  August  1,  [882,  Mr.  Williams  married 
Eliza  K.  Fish,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  R. 
Isabelle  (Cook)  Fish.  Her  father  is  a  farmer 
in  Groton.  She  has  two  brothers,  Frank  and 
who  live  with  their  parents.  Mi. 
Fish  was  a  soldier  in  Company  C  of  the 
Twi  nty-first  Connecticut  Infantry  during  the 
Civil  War.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  took 
their  bridal  trip  on  the  "Silas  Fish"  to  Val- 
paraiso, being  gone   a   year.      In   politics   Mr. 


Williams  is  a  gold  Democrat.  He  is  a  Mas- 
ind  a  member  of  Charity  and 
Relief  Lodge  of  Mystic.  His  initiatory 
degrees  in  Masonry  were  taken  in  Brook- 
lyn,   N.Y. 

TdLMKR    M.    CHADWICK,    a    prosperous 

Jl2     merchant     and     Postmaster    of     Salem, 

was    born    in    this   town,    April    25, 

1873,    son     of     Frederick     E.    and    Mary    E. 

(Kelly)  Chadwick.     The  paternal  grandfather, 

1  forace  M.  Chadwick,  was  also  a  native  of  this 
county,  ami  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight 
years,  leaving  a  widow  and  only  son.  His 
wile,  whose  maiden  name  was  Olmstead,  sur- 
vived her  husband  but  a  fewr  months.  The 
son,  Frederick  E.  Chadwick.  was  born  Decem- 
ber 4,  1845,  in  the  house  in  Salem  which  was 
to  be  his  lifelong  residence.  He  became  a 
successful  farmer  anil  merchant;  but  his 
career  of  activity  and  usefulness  was  prei 
turely  cut  short,  August  21,  1888,  when  he 
was  forty-two  years  old.  While  spending  a 
day  at  the  beach,  he  stopped  into  treacherous 
quicksands,  which  suffocated  him  before  help 
could  arrive.  He  was  highly  thought  of  by 
his  fellow-citizens,  and  at  different  times  held 
most  of  the  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  town. 
He  was  Judge  of  Probate,  a  member  of  the 
legislature  in  1876,  and  First  Selectman  for 
several  years  before  his  death.  In  politics  he 
voted  with  the  Republican  party.  He  mar- 
ried Mar)-  I"..  Kelly,  a  daughter  of  Henry  M. 
and  Mary  A.  (Pratt)  Kelly,  residents  of  Leb- 
anon. Conn.,  the  father  being  a  blacksmith 
by  occupation.  Mr.  Kelly  was  twice  married. 
His  first  wife.  Mary,  died  at  the  age  of  forty, 
leaving  four  children.  For  his  second  wife- 
he  married  Sarah  W.  Church,  a  native  of 
Rhode  Island,  who  bore  him  three  children. 
He  died  in  1889,  at  tl  of  seventy  years. 

In   the   spring  of    1889   Mrs.    Chadwick,  with 


382 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


her  son  Elmer,  moved  to  Colchester,  Conn., 
where  they  resided  three  years,  returning  to 
Salem  in  1892.  She  is  an  Episcopalian  in 
religious  belief,  as  was  also  her  husband. 

Elmer  M.  Chadwick  completed  his  educa- 
tion at  the  Bacon  Academy  in  Colchester; 
and,  after  leaving  school  in  1892,  he  taught 
one  term.  He  then  entered  the  mercantile 
business,  conducting  for  several  years  a 
general  store,  in  company  with  William  B. 
Kingsley,  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  B. 
Kingslev  &  Co.  On  July  1,  1897,  he  became 
sole  proprietor  of  the  .business,  which  he  is 
now  conducting  alone.  He  was  appointed 
Postmaster  at  Salem,  June  7,  1897.  On  No- 
vember 25,  1897,  Mr.  Chadwick  was  married 
to  Miss  Kathryn  M.  Merritt,  of  Chicopee 
Falls,  Mass.,  but  formerly  of  Salem,  Conn., 
the  ceremony  taking  place  at  the  residence  of 
her  mother. 


ENISON  J.    CHAMPLIN,  the  Jailer 
of  Norwich,  was  born  in  Montville, 


B 

f-*^*/  Conn.,  April  21,  1841.  He  is  a 
descendant  of  Jeffrey  Champlin,  who  was 
made  a  freeman  in  Rhode  Island  in  1640,  and 
who  was  at  that  time  granted  ten  acres  of  land 
in  Newport.  Jeffrey  Champlin  in  1661  was 
prominent  in  Westerly.  His  death  occurred 
in  1695.  His  sons  were:  Jeffrey,  William, 
and  Christopher.  The  second  Jeffrey,  who 
was  born  in  1652,  bought  six  hundred  acres 
of  land  in  Kingston,  R.I.  He  was  one  of 
three  Assessors  in  that  town,  and  was  in  the 
Assembly  from  1696  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  171  5,  a  period  of  nineteen  years. 

John  Champlin,  the  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  August  10,  1 77 1 , 
and  died  December  29,  1841.  He  was  a  tiller 
of  the  soil,  and  owned  a  farm  in  Montville. 
The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Sally  Will- 
iams, a  daughter  of  Peter  Williams,  who  was  a 


farmer  of  Ledyard.  They  had  nine  children, 
and  reared  seven  —  John,  Oliver,  Clarissa, 
Abby,  Isaac  S.,  William,  and  Thomas  W. 
Thomas  A.  and  Mary  Ann  died  in  infancy; 
John  was  a  farmer  of  Ledyard;  Oliver,  a 
farmer  and  carpenter,  was  drowned;  Clarissa 
married  Lyman  Miner,  a  carpenter;  Abby, 
who  took  care  of  her  invalid  mother  for  many 
years,  married  late  in  life  Sol  C.  Vibber; 
Isaac  S.  was  a  farmer  of  Montville;  William 
was  a  dry-goods  merchant  and  for  a  long  time 
a  member  of  a  prominent  firm  in  New  York 
City.  Thomas  W.  in  1840  married  Eth- 
elinda,  a  daughter  of  Willard  Wickwire  by  his 
second  wife,  Theoda  (Chapel)  Wickwire. 
Their  three  children  were:  Denison  ]., 
Charles  C,  and  Albert  T.  Charles  C.  kept 
up  the  old  farm  where  his  father  and  grand- 
father had  lived  and  died.  He  died  April  14, 
1895,  at  the  age  of  forty-two,  leaving  a  son 
and  daughter  in  Montville.  Albert  T.  is  un- 
married, and  lives  on  the  old  farm  with  his 
brother's  widow.  The  father  held  various 
town  offices,  and  was  the  legislative  Repre- 
sentative in  1863.  He  died  May  29,  1880, 
his  wife  having  died  the  year  before,  at  the 
age  of  sixty  years. 

Denison  J.  Champlin  lived  at  home  until 
he  was  twenty-two  years  old.  Then  he  be- 
came a  turnkey  at  the  county  jail  on  Novem- 
ber 16,  1863.  After  spending  nearly  three 
years  in  this  position,  he  resigned  to  learn  the 
carpenter's  trade;  and  he  afterward  worked  as 
a  carpenter  and  millwright  until  1869.  He 
again  filled  the  position  of  turnkey  at  the  jail 
for  two  years,  afterward  spending  four  years  in 
Elkhart,  Ind.,  as  clerk  of  the  Elkhart  Hotel. 
He  returned  to  the  jail  in  Norwich  in  1875 
and  became  Deputy  Jailer  under  Sheriff  O.  N. 
Raymond.  Subsequently,  after  a  period  of 
service  as  steward  in  the  Connecticut  State 
prison,    he    in    1SS4  was   made  Jailer   of  the 


DENISON    J.   CHAMPLIN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


385 


ity  jail,  which  position   he  has  most  ably 
filled  for  the  past  thirteen  years. 

On     September    15,     [879,     Mr.    Champlin 

married   Abbie  A.    Brown,  a  daughter  of  Al- 

I-'.   and   Abigail    A.    (Mason)    Brown,   of 

Jewett  City.     Her  lather  was  the  Postmaster 

of    Jewett    City    for     nineteen     years.       Mrs. 

mplin   has   lost   an   own    sister,   and   has  a 

half-brother     living,  Alfred      F.     Brown,     Jr. 

Mr.  Champlin  is  a  Mason  oi   the  thirty-second 

He  is  a  Republican    in   politics.      In 

nance  he  is  a  typical  jailer   and   turnkey, 

I    high,    and   weighing  about 

two  hundred  and  sixty  pounds. 


LORENZO      DOW      FAIRBROTHER, 

e  of  the  Town   Court  of  Stoning- 

ton,  was   born    in    Providence,   R.I., 

ember  1,    1*54,  son   of    Isaac    Newton   and 

Emily  (Lamb)  Fairbrother.      His  father,  who 

iw  in  business  in   Stonington,  was  born  at 

ett's    Harbor,    N.Y.,    in    the    year    1813. 

r  his  marriage   Isaac    X.    Fairbrother  re- 

1  in  New  London   for  a  time;    but  he  sub- 

lently  went  to  Providence,  where  for  some 

conducted   a  bakery  business.     Still 

later    he    spent    some    time    in    Phoenix,     R.I. 

During  the  past  twenty-six  years   he  has   been 

iged    in     business     in     Stonington.       His 

wile,  Emily  Lamb   Fairbrother,  is  a  native  of 

11:  and  they  were  married  in  Stonington. 

They  are  the  parents  of  eleven   children,  only 

five     of     whom     reached     maturity,     namely: 

Emily,    who     became     the    wife    of     Charles 

1  dieil  at  forty  years  of  age,  after 

having    lost    her    only    child;    James     IL,    a 

printer   and   job   compositor,    who    died    when 

forty-five  years  old,  leaving  a  widow  and  one 

iiter:   William,   who    is    in    business   with 

his  lather,  and  has  a   wile   and   four  children: 

Harriet,  who  married   Joseph    Cornell,  died  at 


the  age  of  thirty,  and  is  survived  by  one  of 
her  two  children  ;  and  Lorenzo  Dow,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Lorenzo  Dow  Fairbrother  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  Providence,  R.I. 
When  a  boy  he  learned  the  printing  business 
in  that  city,  and  for  over  twenty  years  was 
employed  in  the  office  of  the  Stonington 
.Minor,  being  a  half-owner  of  the  business  ten 
years  of  that  time,  during  which  it  was  cai 
on  under  the  style  of  Anderson  &  Fairbrother. 
Resides  attending  to  his  official  duties,  he  is 
a  correspondent  of  the  Westerly  Sun,  and  occa- 
sional!)' assists  in  editing  that  paper. 

On  April  7,  1886,  Judge  Fairbrother  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  B.  Miller,  of  Brooklyn,  N.Y., 
a  daughter  of  William  1-;.  D.  and  Anna 
(Chesebro)  Miller  and  great-grand-daughter  of 
Llder  Elihu  Chesebro.  Her  lather  was  born 
in  North  Hartland,  Vt.,  in  1S26,  and  died  in 
[866.  He  was  a  civil  engineer,  and  surveyed 
the  line  of  the  old  Vandalia  Road  from  Terre 
Haute  to  St.  Louis.  He  also  ran  the  first 
engine  over  the  road.  His  wife  survived  him 
many  years,  dying  in  December,  1892,  when 
sixty-five  years  old.  They  had  two  children 
— ■  Mary  B.  and  William  E.  William  E.  is  an 
engineer, residing  in  Terre  Haute,  Ind.  Mr. and 
Mrs.  Fairbrother  have  four  children:  Anna  !•'., 
born  July  12, 1887  ;  James  Edward,  born  Dei 
ber  30,  1889;  Prudence,  born  May  it,  1893; 
and  William  Dean,  born  November  25,  1896. 

Judge  Fairbrother  is  a  Republican  politi- 
cally. He  has  served  in  many  public  offices, 
including  those  of  Burgess,  Treasurer  of  the 
School  District,  Register  of  Voters  (twelve 
years),  and  as  a  member  of  the  Town  Commit- 
tee (fifteen  years).  He  belongs  to  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  being  a  charter  member  of  Pequot 
Council,  No.  442,  which  was  organized  seven- 
teen years  ago.  He  is  also  a  Past  Regent, 
and  has  been  Collector. 


386 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


RIGADIER-GENERAL  GEORGE 
HAVEN,  New  London's  Chief  of 
Police,  was  born  in  this  city,  March 
27,  1844.  He  is  a  son  of  Urbane  and  Sarah 
(Rogers)  Haven,  both  of  whom  were  members 
of  old  Connecticut  families.  The  Havens, 
who  are  of  Welsh  extraction,  settled  in  this 
country  some  time  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
Jonathan  Haven,  General  Haven's  great- 
grandfather, was  a  resident  of  Groton  or  Ston- 
ington,  at  that  time  a  part  of  New  London. 
His  son,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  the  grandfather,  who 
resided  in  Groton,  and  died  in  the  prime  of 
life,  about  the  year  1846,  married  Catherine 
Gallup,  of  Groton,  a  daughter  of  Jesse  and  a 
grand-daughter  of  Benadam  Gallup.  She  died 
about  the  year  1855,  and  lies  buried  with  her 
husband  in  the  old  Mystic  cemetery,  formerly 
known  as  Elder  Wightman's  burial-ground. 
They  reared  four  sons  and  eight  daughters. 
All  the  sons  and  six  of  the  daughters  brought 
up  families,  and  are  now  deceased.  The  sons 
were  named  Edmund  F.,  Urbane,  George,  and 
Jonathan. 

Urbane  Haven,  a  native  of  Groton,  born  in 
1 819,  was  a  skilled  mechanic,  and  was  for 
some  time  the  foreman  for  the  Wilson  Manu- 
facturing Company.  Possessing  a  natural 
talent  for  music,  he  was  a  skilled  performer 
on  several  instruments.  He  died  in  East 
New  London  in  1867.  In  June,  1843,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  Rogers, 
of  this  city,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Rogers 
and  a  descendant  of  James  Rogers,  one  of  the 
early  Quakers.  She  is  still  living  in  the  old 
home  in  East  New  London  where  her  hus- 
band died,  and,  though  over  seventy  years  of 
age,  is  active  and  in  possession  of  her  facul- 
ties. Her  children  were:  George,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Charles 
A.  Thrall,  of  Staten  Island;  Catherine,  who 
was  the  wife  of  James  L.  Eggleston,  had  two 


daughters  and  one  son,  and  died  in  Atchison, 
Kan.,  at  the  age  of  forty-three;  Chester,  at 
Prince's  Bay,  Staten  Island,  who  has  two 
daughters;  and  Sarah,  a  young  lady  living 
with  her  mother  in  East  New  London. 

George  Haven  acquired  his  early  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  New  London.  The 
war  troubles  were  fermenting  while  he  was 
applying  himself  to  his  books;  and  on  April 
20,  1861,  about  a  month  after  his  seventeenth 
birthday,  he  left  school  to  enlist  in  Company 
C,  Second  Connecticut  Regiment,  under  com- 
mand of  Colonel,  afterward  General,  A.  H. 
Terry.  When  his  term  of  three  months 
ended,  he  re-enlisted,  being  enrolled  as  a  pri- 
vate, November  21,  1861,  in  Company  C, 
First  Connecticut  Cavalry.  During  his  sec- 
ond term  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  Corporal. 
His  regiment  was  in  upward  of  fifty  engage- 
ments; and,  though  he  participated  in  every 
battle,  he  was  neither  wounded  nor  taken  pris- 
oner. After  receiving  his  discharge  on  No- 
vember 22,  1864,  he  returned  home,  and  went 
to  work  for  the  Wilson  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, with  which  he  was  connected  some  eigh- 
teen years,  at  first  with  his  father  and  after- 
ward taking  his  place  as  foreman.  He  left 
the  employ  of  the  Wilson  Company  about 
1 886,  and  the  following  year  was  employed  by 
the  Quinnipiac  Company.  In  1888  he  was 
appointed  Chief  of  Police  of  New  London. 
While  working  as  a  machinist  and  discharging 
his  duties  as  Chief  of  Police,  he  was  active  in 
military  matters,  and  was  promoted  step  by 
step  to  the  rank  which  he  now  holds.  On 
April  14,  1865,  he  became  a  member  of  Com- 
pany D,  Third  Regiment  of  National  Guards, 
and  was  made  First  Sergeant  eight  clays  later. 
His  succeeding  promotions  were  as  follows: 
Second  Lieutenant,  July  6,  1865;  First  Lieu- 
tenant, December  1,  1865;  Captain,  August 
io,  1867;  Major  of  the  Third  Regiment,  Sep- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


tetnber  3,  1870;  Lieutenant  Colonel,  April 
jo,  1872.  After  resigning  April  21,  1X73, 
be  rejoined  the  Guards,  and  was  made  Captain 
and  Adjutant  on  February  (8,  [879;  Major, 
March  jo,  [882;  Colonel,  July  12,  (886; 
Brigadier-general,  commanding  the  brigade, 
May  28,  [892;  and  Adjutant-general  of  Con- 
necticut,  January  7,  1897.  Since  his  appoint- 
ment by  Governor  Cooke  to  the  post  of  Chief 
of  Police,  he  has  been  in  office,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  year.  He  had  charge  of  the 
Connecticut  State  prison  for  three  months  in 
I,  during  an  investigation.  He  is  a  man 
of  soldierly  bearing,  firm  and  decided,  yet  in 
social  intercourse  of  a  modest  and  retiring 
manner.  He  has  shown  himself  to  be  the 
right  man  in  the  right  place,  commanding  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  his  subordinates,  and  in- 
spiring criminals  with  a  wholesome  awe. 

Hrigadier-general  Haven  was  married  in 
October,  1870,  to  Miss  Ella  A.  Beckwith, 
who  died  in  1877.  She  was  the  mother  of  a 
son  and  a  daughter,  who  died  young.  He 
contracted  a  second  marriage  in  October, 
[882,  with  Miss  Mattie  A.  Comstock,  of  New 
London,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Horace  Com- 
stock. By  this  union  he  has  one  son,  Morgan 
B.,  born  February  4,  1893.  General  Haven 
served  the  city  for  six  years  as  Alderman  and 
Councilman.  An  active  member  of  the  Grand 
Army,  he  was  the  father  of  W.  W.  Perkins 
Post,  No.  47,  and  has  filled  its  principal 
s,  serving  as  Commander  for  three  terms. 
He  is  a  Master  Mason;  and  he  has  passed  the 
chairs  in  Mohegan  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. 


KREDERICK  II.  BREWER,  a  well- 
known  citizen  of  the  town  of  Groton 
and  a  Justice  of  the  was  bom  in 

Norwich,  Conn.,  May  24,   1834,  son  of  Lyman 
and  Harriet  (Tyler)  Brewer.      (An  account  of 


his  ancestry   ma}    bi    found    in   the  sketch   oi 

Louisa  J.  Brewer,  published  elsewhere  in  this 
work.)  The  lather  was  born  in  Wilbraham, 
Mass.,  about  1785,  and  died  in  Norwich  in 
June,  [857.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  John  Tyler,  rector  of  Christ's  Church 
for  fifty-four  years.  They  had  eleven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
the  youngest. 

Frederick  H.  Brewer  was  educated  in  the 
school  of  Dr.  Roswell  Park  at  Pomfret,  where 
he  studied  for  six  years.  In  1852  he  went  to 
Buffalo,  where  he  was  engaged  for  sixteen 
years  in  the  Cuban  shook  trade,  as  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Story  &  Polhemus. 

In  1869  he  returned  to  Norwich,  and  settled 
upon  his  small  farm  of  twenty  acres,  near 
West  Mystic  station.  He  has  been  proprie- 
tor for  seven  years  of  the  Nawyang  House,  on 
Mystic  Island,  now  called  the  Mystic  Island 
House,  which  was  built  in  1857,  and  was 
owned  by  his  brother  William.  This  brother, 
who  was  Clerk  of  the  Court  in  Norwich  for 
many  years,  died  in  California.  Judge 
Brewer  is  a  Democrat  politically.  He  lias 
served  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  twelve 
years,  and  has  also  been  Registrar  of  Voters. 
lie  is  a  Master  Mason  of  Buffalo  Lodge.  He 
is  a  communicant  of  the  l^piscopal  church,  in 
which  he  serves  as  vestryman  and  clerk  of  the 
parish.  Judge  Brewer  was  married  in  Buffalo 
in  1859  to  Rebecca  Holmes,  daughter  of  Rob- 
ert Holmes,  of  that  place.  He  has  five  chil- 
dren, namely:  Lyman,  a  banker  in  California, 
who  is  married  and  has  two  sons  and  two 
daughters;  Harriet  I..,  who  resides  with  her 
brother;  Julia  E.,  Ellen  T,  and  Fran 
Hale,  who  at   home  with   their  parents. 

These    children    were    educated    in    the    high 
school  at  Mystic. 

Judge  Brewer's    home,  on  the   banks   of   the 
Sound,  commands  a  line  view  of  the  ocean  and 


388 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


neighboring  islands  to  the  east  and  south. 
With  a  plenteous  supply  of  bivalves  and  fish 
in  every  variety  fresh  from  the  water,  with 
vegetables  from  the  garden  and  abundant  sup- 
plies from  the  dairy  and  poultry  yard,  they 
are  in  no  danger  of  wanting  the  necessaries 
or  even  many  of  the  comforts  of  life. 


"ENRY  HASKELL  GALLUP,  a 
prominent  manufacturer  of  Norwich, 
li9  ^  _  was  born  in  the  town  of  Preston, 
this  county,  June  2,  1846.  He  traces  his 
ancestry  through  many  generations,  in  which 
credit  and  honor  have  been  associated  with  the 
name,  to  John  Gallup,  a  native  of  Dorsetshire, 
England,  who  sailed  from  Plymouth,  Eng- 
land, in  the  ship  "Mary  and  John,"  and  ar- 
rived at  Nantasket  on  May  30,  1630.  This 
ancestor,  who  settled  in  Massachusetts,  was  a 
mariner  and  the  captain  of  a  vessel.  While 
not  a  man  of  property,  he  was  held  in  high 
esteem.  He  received  Gallup's  Island  as  a 
present  from  Governor  Winthrop.  John 
Mason  was  also  a  close  friend  of  his.  In 
1636  Captain  Gallup's  name  appeared  in  the 
town  records.  The  family  coat  of  arms  bore 
the  motto,  "Be  bold,  be  wise."  The  gene- 
alogy of  the  family,  which  was  published  in 
1893  by  John  B,  Gallup,  of  Agawam,  Mass., 
contains  many  interesting  facts  concerning  its 
early  American  progenitors. 

Benadam  Gallup,  the  great -great-grand- 
father of  Henry  Haskell  Gallup,  born  in  Gro- 
ton,  Conn.,  in  1716,  died  in  1800.  He  served 
in  the  Revolutionary  War  as  Major  in  the 
Second  Battalion  of  Wadsworth's  brigade,  and 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nel, his  commission  being  signed  by  Governor 
Jonathan  Trumbull,  and  bearing  the  date  of 
December  2,  1776.  Isaac  Gallup,  son  of 
Benadam,  also  won  distinction  in  the  struggle 


for  independence.  He  was  a  Lieutenant  in 
the  Sixth  Regiment,  Tenth  Company,  under 
Colonel  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  this  regiment 
being  one  of  those  raised  at  the  Lexington 
alarm  in  April,  1775.  Until  June  17  the 
regiment  was  on  duty  at  New  London,  and 
was  then  ordered  by  the  Governor's  Council 
to  Boston.  Afterward  it  was  stationed  at 
Roxbury,  and  formed  a  part  of  General  Spen- 
cer's brigade  until  December  10,  1775,  when 
its  term  of  service  expired.  By  this  time 
Isaac  Gallup  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Captain.  The  regiment  was  reorganized 
under  Colonel  Parsons  in  1776  for  service  in 
the  Continental  army;  and  after  the  siege  of 
Boston  it  was  ordered  to  New  York  City, 
whither  it  went  by  way  of  New  London  and 
the  Long  Island  Sound.  It  was  there  en- 
gaged in  fortifying  the  city  until  the  close  of 
the  year,  participating  in  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  August  27,  1776,  and  in  the  retreat  on 
August  29.  It  subsequently  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  White  Plains,  after  which  it  was  sta- 
tioned on  the  Hudson,  near  Peekskill,  under 
General  Heath,  until  its  term  of  service  ex- 
pired, on  December  31,  1776.  Captain  Isaac 
Gallup  married  Anna  Smith,  a  daughter  of 
Nehemiah  Smith,  of  Groton. 

Isaac  Gallup,  son  of  Captain  Isaac  and  the 
grandfather  of  Henry  H.,  took  part  in  the 
War  of  1812.  By  trade  he  was  a  carpenter 
and  builder.  He  also  owned  and  profitably 
conducted  a  good  farm,  which  is  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  son.  He  was  a  man  of 
influence  in  town  and  general  affairs.  On 
March  12,  18 12,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Pru- 
dence Geer,  of  Ledyard,  who,  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  David  and  Mary  (Stanton)  Geer,  traced 
her  family  history  to  England.  Of  his  five 
children,  a  son  and  four  daughters,  1 
Gallup,  who  was  born  near  Poquetanuck,  No- 
vember 13,   1820,  and  now  resides   on  the  old 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


389 


homestead   in    Preston,   is   the   only   survivor. 

He  married  on  March  23,  1845,  Miss  Ma- 
ria Theresa  Davis,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Shaw)  Davis,  of  Preston,  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  Peter  and   Lucretia  (Pellingham) 

Shaw,  of  Westerly,  R.I.  On  March  23, 
1895,  he  and  his  wife  celebrated  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  their  marriage.  Although  he 
is  now  seventy-seven  and  she  is  seventy-three 
years  of  age,  the)'  retain  their  mental  and 
physical  activity  remarkably.  Three  children 
blessed  their  union,  namely:  Henry  Haskell, 
the  subject  of  this  biography;  Ella  Maria,  the 
wife  of  Avery  U.  Wheeler,  of  Cliff  Street, 
Norwich;  and  Charles  Davis,  of  Norwich, 
who  married  Grace  Rogers  Aldrich,  and  is 
associated  with  his  brother  in  the  belt  busi- 
m  ss. 

After  receiving  a  good  education  in  both 
common  and  select  schools,  Henry  Haskell 
Gallup  was  engaged  in  teaching  for  four 
winters.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  came 
to  Norwich,  and  went  to  work  as  a  clerk  in  a 
hat  store.  Soon  after  he  became  book-keeper 
tor  Barstow  &  Palmer,  with  whom  he  remained 
three  years.  On  March  1,  1871,  he  started 
out  tor  himself  in  company  with  George  S. 
Smith,  forming  the  firm  of  Smith  &  Gallup, 
which  did  a  prosperous  business  in  leather  and 
findings.  In  1873,  together  with  Frank 
Ulmer,  they  purchased  the  tannery  of  the  late 
Charles  X.  Farnam,  of  the  Norwich  Belt 
Manufacturing  Company.  Mr.  Smith  retired 
in  1885,  and  Mr.  Ulmer  in  1892,  leaving  Mr. 
Gallup  the  sole  owner  of  the  tannery  at  Green- 
ville  and  of  the  factory  in  Norwich.  He  is 
now  doing  a  very  extensive  business,  employ- 
ing one  hundred  and  ten  men,  including  seven 
travelling  salesmen,  and  having  a  branch 
house  in  Chicago,  under  the  management  of 
Roswell  Allen  Breed,  by  whom  it  was  estab- 
lished in  1887. 


On  September  jr.,  [871,  Mr.  Gallup  was 
married  to  Miss  [rena  II.  Breed,  of  this  city. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Edward  and  Harriet  Lee 
(Hebard)  Breed  and  a  grand-daughter  of  Ros- 
well and  Sarah  (Hancox)  Breed.  Her  ma- 
ternal grandparents  were  Gurdon  Hebard, 
born  at  Windham,  Conn.,  October  31,  1770, 
and  [rena  (Frink)  Hebard,  born  May  19, 
1775.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Breed  buried 
their  first-born,  Charles  E.,  who  was  a  young 
man  in  the  navy,  and  a  daughter,  Fanny 
Miner,  who  died  when  fifteen  years  of  age. 
Their  son  Andrew  resides  in  Norwich;  while 
Roswell,  as  above  intimated,  lives  in  Chicago. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gallup  have  lost  an  infant  son 
and  daughter:  Fanny  Ella,  in  1876,  when 
twenty-one  months  old;  and  Clarence  Breed 
in  1 88 1,  at  the  age  of  six  months.  Their 
living  children  are:  Walter  Henry,  born 
April  13,  1S73,  now  at  home,  having  left  the 
Norwich  Free  Academy  to  go  into  business 
with  his  father;  and  Susie  Lena,  thirteen 
years  old. 

In  politics  Mr.  Gallup  is  a  Republican. 
He  was  the  second  president  of  the  Hoard  of 
Trade,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  two 
years.  Since  18S8  he  has  been  a  director  oi 
the  Thames  Rank,  and  the  president  of  the 
Norwich  Industrial  Building  Company  since 
its  organization.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the 
Chelsea  Savings  Bank,  the  president  of  the 
Crescent  Fire-arms  Company,  and  the  treas- 
urer of  the  W.  II.  Davenport  Fire-arms 
Company.  His  religious  creed  is  the  Epis- 
copalian, and  he  is  a  warden  ol  the  Christ 
Lpiscopal  Church.  The  family  reside  at  127 
Washington  Street,   in  thi  il    home   that 

he  purchased  in  1890.  It  was  built  by  the 
late  James  Lloyd  Greene  at  a  considerably 
large  expense,  being  constructed  of  brick  and 
finished  in  a  very  thorough  and  attractive 
manner.        It    stands    well     back     from     three 


39° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


streets,  occupying  nearly  half  of  a  block,  with 
the  large  lawn  sloping  to  Washington  Street, 
and  the  garden  extending  back  to  Cedar 
Street.  There  is,  however,  no  ostentatious 
display;  while  refinement,  intelligence,  and 
cordiality  rule  within. 


|RS.  ELIZABETH  M.  HOWARD, 
an  esteemed  resident  of  Old 
Lyme,  was  born  in  1S23,  the 
youngest  of  the  twelve  children,  seven  sons 
and  five  daughters,  of  Robert  and  Anstice 
(Manwaring)  Hough.  Her  parents  were  mar- 
ried about  1806;  and,  the  mother  dying  when 
her  daughter  Elizabeth  was  six  months  old, 
the  latter  was  brought  up  in  the  family  of  her 
uncle,  Josiah  Manwaring,  at  Niantic.  All 
the  members  of  this  family  have  passed  away 
except  Mrs.  Howard  and  her  brother,  Latham 
M.  Hough,  of  Springfield,  Mass. 

Elizabeth  M.  Hough  was  married  in  1840, 
when  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  to  Charles 
S.  Howard,  son  of  Daniel  and  Hannah 
(Smith)  Howard,  of  Waterford.  His  father 
was  at  different  periods  of  his  life  a  farmer 
and  seafaring  man;  and  the  children  consisted 
of  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  two 
sons  and  one  daughter  are  now  living. 
Daniel  Howard,  who  was  twice  married,  died 
in  1867.  Charles  S.  Howard  went  to  sea 
when  he  was  but  fourteen  years  old;  and  by 
application  to  his  duties  he  gradually  rose 
until  he  became  captain  of  a  vessel  and  later 
on  part  owner  of  twenty-three  fishing-smacks. 
He  also  at  one  time  carried  on  a  mercantile 
business  in  Niantic.  About  1865  he  settled 
on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
which  he  conducted  prosperously  for  the  rest 
of  his  life,  his  death  occurring  April  24, 
1890.  lie  was  a  man  of  affairs  in  Niantic, 
ami    served    as    Selectman.      In    religion    his 


opinions  led  him  to  affiliate  with  the  Baptists, 
and  he  was  a  member  of  the  church  of  that 
denomination.  Politically,  he  was  a  Republi- 
can. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howard  had  a  family  of 
eleven  children,  all  of  whom  are  living  but 
two.  Their  names  respectively  are:  Charles 
R.,  Mary  E.,  Josiah,  Hannah,  Mary  E.  (sec- 
ond of  the  name),  Daniel,  Palmer,  Edwin, 
Franklin  J.,  Lucy  E.,  and  Alfred.  Charles 
R.  is  a  merchant  in  Everett,  Mass.,  and  a 
widower  with  one  child.  Mary  E.  (first)  died 
when  she  was  five  years  old.  Josiah  died  at 
the  age  of  fourteen.  Hannah  is  the  wife  of 
Frederick  Harding,  of  Lyme,  and  has  one 
daughter.  Mary  E.  (second)  is  the  wife  of 
Pierce  Littlefield,  of  East  Lyme,  and  has  one 
child.  Daniel,  a  merchant  in  Hartford,  is 
married  and  has  two  children,  a  son  and  a 
daughter.  Palmer  resides  in  Lyme,  is  mar- 
ried, and  has  one  son.  Edwin  has  a  wife  and 
one  son.  Franklin  J.  is  married,  and  has  two 
sons  and  one  daughter.  Lucy  E.  is  the  wife 
of  E.  D.  Caulkins,  a  farmer.  Alfred,  who 
cares  for  the  old  farm,  married  Lizzie  M. 
Riddle.  The  last  four  are  all  residents  of 
Lyme. 


JB 


LYSTED  GATES,  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Gates  Brothers,  of  Ni- 
antic, dealers  in  general  merchan- 
dise, was  born  in  this  village,  February  22, 
1857,  son  of  Daniel  C.  and  Lydia  M.  (Parm- 
lee)  Gates.  His  grandfather,  Behri  Gates, 
who  resided  in  East  Haddam  and  subse- 
quently in  Niantic,  was  a  carpenter  by  trade. 
He  was  born  in  one  of  the  last  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  died  in  1877.  His 
wife,  a  Manwaring,  was  born  in  1  Soo,  and 
died  in  18S6.  They  reared  a  large  family  of 
children,  of  whom  three  sons  and  one  daughter 
are  now  living.  Daniel  C.  Gates  was  born  in 
East   Haddam,    Conn.      He   was  a   blacksmith 


CHARLES    S.    Ill  (WARD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    Rl'A  II    ' 


by  trade,  and  came  to  Niantic  from  New  York 
City  shortly  after  his  marriage,  opening  here 
the  first  blacksmith  shop  in  the  town.  A  nat- 
ural mechanic,  he  could  mend  a  watch  or  pull 
a  tooth  with  equal  skill,  and  was  a  master  of 
his  trade,  lie  was  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  an  active 
supporter  of  its  varied  benevolent  and  chari- 
table enterprises.  In  [849  he  married  Lydia 
M.  Parmlee,  of  Killingworth,  who  bore  him 
five  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  the  sub- 
ject  of  this  sketch  is  the  fourth  son  and  child. 
The  first  son  was  Walter,  who  was  acciden- 
tally drowned:  the  second  is  Walton,  of  the 
firm  of  Gates  Brothers;  Charles,  the  third 
child,  resides  in  Niantic;  Jacob  G.  lives  in 
Guilford,  Conn.;  Eugenia  died  at  the  a- 
twelve;  and  Pauline,  at  the  age  of  two  years. 
The  mother  passed  away  in  June,  1876.  The 
father  subsequently  married  for  his  second 
wife  a  lady  from  Maine,  who  survives  him. 

D.  Lysl  es  was  educated   in  the  dis- 

trict schools.  In  April,  1S81,  he  began  his 
working  life  by  becoming  a  clerk  for  W.  I'. 
Beckwith.  Two  years  later  he  began  business 
for  himself  under  the  firm  name  of  Gates  & 
Ray.  The  firm  continued  for  twenty-six 
months,  when  it  became  Gates  Brothers, 
under  which  name  it  has  since  done  a  large 
and  growing  business,  the  largest  of  the  kind 
in  Niantic,  this  result  being  obtained  by  t.tii 
dealing  and  courteous  treatment  of  patrons. 

Mr.  Gates  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
I.  O.  0.  !•'..  and  has  served  in  ail  the  offices 
in  the  gift  of  the  order.  In  politics  he  is  a 
stanch  Republican;  and  in  18S7  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature,  in  which  he  served 
creditably  for  two  terms,  reflecting  honor 
upon  his  constituents.  He  is  interested  in 
the  educational  affairs  of  the  town,  ami  has 
been  a  member  of  the  School  Hoard  for  six 
years  and   its  chairman    for  five  years.      In  all 


public  positions  he  has  Keen  faithful  to  his 
constituents,  and  has  never  used  official  posi- 
tion for  the  furtherance  of  Ins  personal  inter- 
ests, but  has  considered  himsell  merely  as  the 
servant  of  the  public.  On  the  22d  of  Novem- 
ber, 1896,  Mr.  (iates  was  united  in  man 
with  Mrs.  Rachie  M.   Reilly. 


'*>  EORGE     G.      BROMLEY,"    a    well- 
known  farmer  and   influential  citizen 

of  Lisbon,  Conn.,  was  horn  about  a 
half-mile  distant  from  his  present  residence 
on  October  8,  1844,  son  oi  Sanford  and  Re- 
becca (Rose)  Bromley.  His  grandfather 
Bromley  was  a  farmer,  and  came  to  Lisbon 
about  1826.  He  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Nancy  Y.  Errington,  had  eleven 
children,  all  of  whom  are  now  decea   1  d. 

Sanford  Bromley,  above  named,  was  born  in 
1812,  probably  at  Stonington,  and  died  in 
Lisbon  in  July,  1870.  He  was  a  stone-cutter, 
and  worked  at  stone  and  brick  masonry.  A 
Democrat  in  politics,  lie  was  active  in  all 
public  affairs,  was  a  man  of  prominence  and 
influence,  and  commanded  universal  respect. 
He  served  as  Town  Clerk  for  seventeen  years, 
as  Selectman,  as  School  Visitor,  and  as  Rep- 
resentative to  the  legislature  for  two  terms. 
He  was  married  in  1834  to  Rebecca,  daughter 
of  Captain  Russell  Rose,  of  Lisbon.  She  was 
born  in  18 12,  and  died  in  [890,  about  twenty 
years  after  her  husband.  Sanford  and  Re- 
becca (Rose)  Bromley  had  four  children.  A 
daughter  named  Nancy  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-nine  years,  and  a  son,  Frederick,  when 
an  infant.  George  and  Eliza  Frances  are  the 
living,  the  latter  being  the  wife  of  Frank 
Fitch,  of  Norwich  Falls. 

Mr.  George  C.  Bromley  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  ,t  select  school,  and  a  busi- 
ness college  in  Hartford.      In   i8;<>  he  went  to 


394 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Arizona  as  clerk  in  the  quartermaster's  de- 
partment, and  was  there  for  nine  years.  On 
his  way  home,  he  stayed  in  Los  Angeles 
nearly  a  year.  He  studied  the  conditions 
of  climate  and  vegetation  there,  and  believed 
it  to  be,  what  has  since  been  so  strikingly 
demonstrated,  a  section  of  country  containing 
marvellous  agricultural  resources,  and  capable 
of  almost  unlimited  development  in  agricult- 
ural lines. 

In  1870  Mr.  Bromley  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  his  first  wife,  Jessie  Ross.  In 
December,  1887,  he  was  married  to  his  pres- 
ent wife,  Elvira  B.,  daughter  of  H.  and  Mary 
E.  (Boyne)  Rogers,  of  this  town.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bromley  have  a  family  of  three  children, 
namely:  Mabel,  aged  seven;  Ida,  aged  five; 
and  George  Lester,  aged  three.  Mr.  Bromley 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  actively  in- 
terested in  the  public  affairs  of  the  town. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Relief, 
and  has  served  the  town  as  Constable  for 
years,  also  as  Town  Clerk,  being  now  on  his 
fourth  term  in  the  last-named  position.  He 
has  been  prominently  connected  with  the  edu- 
cational work  of  the  town,  and  as  a  member  of 
the  School  Board  has  given  evidence  of  his 
practical  and  broad  ideas  in  regard  to  the 
management  of  the  local  schools.  Mr.  Brom- 
ley's farm  consists  of  seventy  acres.  Besides 
carrying  on  general  farming,  he  has  always 
done,  and  still  continues  to  do,  considerable 
carpentering. 

ILLIAM  H.  CARDWELL,*  a 
well-known  grocer  of  Norwich,  was 
born  in  Montville,  Conn.,  a  son  of 
Samuel  Cardwell,  his  paternal  grandfather 
being  William  Cardwell,  a  Revolutionary 
soldier.  After  completing  his  school  educa- 
tion he  became  clerk  in  his  father's  store,  and 
later  worked    in    similar  positions   for    others 


until  he  had  laid  by  a  small  capital  with 
which  to  establish  himself  in  business.  This 
he  did  in  Norwich  about  forty  years  ago,  and 
Mr.  Ransom  is  the  only  one  here  who  has 
been  engaged  in  trade  in  this  town  for  a 
longer  period. 

In  1859  Mr  Cardwell  married  Miss  Lucy 
Leffingwell  Morgan,  a  daughter  of  Guerdon 
and  Mabel  Bushnell  Morgan,  of  Norwich. 
Mrs.  Cardwell  traces  her  ancestry  directly  to 
Governor  William  Bradford  and  his  wife, 
Alice  (Southworth)  Bradford.  Her  paternal 
great-grandfather  was  Darius  Morgan,  of  Nor- 
wich, and  her  grandparents,  Peter  and  Han- 
nah (Leach)  Morgan,  also  of  Norwich.  Her 
father,  Guerdon  Morgan,  was  a  farmer,  whose 
farm  came  down  to  him  by  inheritance  through 
seven  generations,  and  is  still  in  possession  of 
the  family.  Mrs.  Cardwell  is  eligible  for 
membership  in  the  Society  of  Colonial  Dames. 
Her  four  children  are  descendants  in  the 
ninth  generation  of  Francis  Bushnell,  one  of 
the  thirty-five  proprietors  who  came  from 
England  and  settled  in  Guilford  in  1639, 
where  he  died  in  1646.  His  son,  Richard, 
born  in  England  in  1620,  married  October  11, 
1648,  Mary  Marvin,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  a 
daughter  of  Matthew  Marvin,  who  was  born  in 
England  in  1600.  Richard  Bushnell,  second, 
the  next  lineal  representative,  married  Eliza- 
beth Adgate,  daughter  of  Thomas  Adgate. 
Caleb,  the  son  of  Richard  and  Elizabeth  Bush- 
nell, married  Ann  Leffingwell,  of  Norwich; 
and  their  son  Richard  married  Lucy  Perkins. 
Caleb,  the  son  of  Richard  and  Lucy  Bushnell, 
married  Mabel  Pitkin,  of  Hartford,  a  descend- 
ant of  William  Pitkin, -of  that  place.  Their 
son  Richard  married  Annie  Bellows,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Groton  branch  of  the  Bellows  fam- 
ily. Guerdon  Morgan,  father  of  Mrs.  Card- 
well,  died  at  thirty-nine  years  of  age.  His 
widow  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-six. 


GEORGE    A.   AVER. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


397 


Mrs.  Cardwell  was  educated  in  the  Norwich 
She  lias  borne  her  husband  four 
children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters;  namely, 
Mabel,  George,  Harry,  and  Alice.  Mabel, 
who  studied  at  Waterbury  under  Professor 
Russell,  is  proficient  in  art  and  music; 
iduate  ol  the  Norwich  Free    V  ad 

.  is  a  merchant  in  Denver;  Harry,  who 
was  graduated  from  the  Norwich  Academy, 
and  afterward  spent  three  years  in  the  Poly- 
technic S  I  Worcester,  resides  with  his 
parents;  and  Alice,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Norwich  free  Academy,  has  also  distinguished 
herself  as  a  student,  receiving  a  prize  and  a 
free     scholarship.       The    family    live    in    the 

e  brick  residence,  313  Main  Street,  which 
was  built  by  Mr.  Cardwell  eighteen  years  ago. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Episcopal  church,  in 
which  he  is  a  vestryman.  He  is  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Mason. 


/©To 


EORGE   ALBERT   AVER,   a   promi- 
\J5  I       nent  farmer  of  the  town  of  Preston 
and  one  of   the  youngest   landed   pro- 
prietors in  the  county,  was   born   at   the   Ayer 
homestead,  June   8,   1S75,    son   of   George   Al- 
bert,    Si.,    and     Hannah    M.     (Arnold)    Aver. 
He  owns  the  farm  that  has  been  in  the    family 
for   nearly   two  hundred  years,  and  it  is  one  of 
most   extensive   and    highly   cultivated    in 
this    region.      It    was   originally   a   part   of    a 
large  tract  of   land   bought   of   the   Indians   by 
John  Ayer,  the  ancestor  of  this  branch  of  the 
1   family,  who  was  born    in    England,  it    is 
,   in  1680,  and  died  here   on    February  20, 
I750. 

John  Ayer's  wife,  Sarah,  whose  family 
name  is  unknown,  died  in  l~C>0,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-eight  years,  having  been  the  mother  of 
ten  children.      John  Ayer,  Jr.,  was   the   fourth 


child  and  the  first  son.  He  was  born  in  1718. 
His  wife,  Abigail,  bore  him  nine  children, 
Jonas,  born  February  6,  1750,  being  the  sixth 
child  and  the  second  son.  Jonas  Ayer  was  a 
man  of  extensive  possessions  and  of  great  in- 
fluence. He  served  as  a  member  ol  the  legis- 
lature for  several  years,  lie  married  Abigail 
Morgan,  of  Preston,  who  died  at  the  age  ol 
fifty-eight  years,  leaving  the  following-named 
six  children:  Louise,  born  March  2,  1814; 
Albert  G.,  born  October  2,  1815;  John,  bom 
in  April,  18 17;  James  \\\,  born  in  18 19: 
Abby  Ann,  born  June  10,  1821  ;  and  Jonas 
Morgan,  born  March  29,   1824. 

Albert  G.  Ayer,  who  was  the  grandfather  of 
Mr.  George  Albert  Ayer,  was  one  of  the  rep- 
resentative men  of  his  generation.  He  mar- 
ried on  September  23,  1845,  Jane  Pendleton, 
born  June  3,  1823,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Pendle- 
ton, of  Oxford,  N.Y.,  and  was  the  father  of 
two  children:  Abbie  J.,  who  was  born  on  July 
7,  1846,  and  died  on  March  5,  1873;  and 
George  A.,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

George  Albert  Aver.  Sr.,  was  born  on  the 
old  homestead.  April  22,  1849,  ;m'l  died  on 
October  22,  1874.  He  was  educated  in 
Suffield  and  in  East  Greenwich,  and  was  a 
man  of  broad  views  and  well  informed  on  cur- 
rent topics.  He  was  in  the  legislature  fi 
number  of  terms,  and  up  to  1873  was  the 
youngest  man  who  had  ever  occupied  a  scat  in 
the  house.  He  was  a  deeply  religious  man, 
and    was    a    member    of    the  ional 

church  at  Preston  City.  He  was  married  on 
Christmas  Day,  1873,  to  Hannah  M.,  daughter 
of  Peleg  A.  and  Hannah  W.  (Browning)  Ar- 
nold. Mr.  Arnold  died  on  October  11,  1894, 
at   the    age    of    fifty-eight  his 

widow  and  three  children:  Hannah  M.; 
Emily  C,  wife  of  Carder  II.  Tucker,  ol  Wake- 
field,  R.  I.  :   and  Mar)  Arnold. 


398 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Mrs.  Hannah  M.  Ayer  was  married  a  sec- 
ond time  on  December  14,  1881,  to  Fred  S. 
Brown,  son  of  Shepherd  and  Martha  (Brown- 
ing)  Brown,  and  is  living  on  the  Brown  home- 
stead, which  has  been  in  the  family  for  several 
generations.  By  this  second  marriage  there 
are  two  sons :  Shepherd  F.  Brown,  born  Feb- 
ruary 29,  1884,  the  fourth  Shepherd  Brown 
who  has  lived  here;  and  Arnold  P.,  born  July 
31,  1886.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  Democrat,  and  has 
been  Selectman  for  four  years.  He  owns  a 
fine  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  and  carries  on 
general  farming  and  dairying,  having  a  herd 
of  some  twenty-two  cows.  He  also  deals 
quite  largely  in  cattle  and  poultry,  shipping 
poultry  to  the  Eastern  markets. 

George  Albert  Ayer,  only  son  of  the  elder 
George  Albert,  was  born  some  months  after 
the  death  of  his  father;  and  his  education  and 
training  was  under  the  competent  direction  of 
his  mother.  The  estate  of  three  hundred  acres 
that  has  come  down  to  him  from  his  grand- 
father Ayer  is  a  heritage  with  which  any  man 
might  be  satisfied,  and  the  family  associations 
connected  with  the  place  doubly  enhance  its 
value  to  the  present  owner.  A  few  weeks 
ago,  on  January  5,  1898,  Mr.  Ayer  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Mabel  E.  Tattersall, 
daughter  of  John  and  Eleanor  (Handy)  Tat- 
tersall, of  Jewett  City,  Conn. 


(£f|-OHN    E.    McDONALD,*  of  Noank,  for 

mi irr  than  a  quarter-century  general 
foreman  of  the  business  now  conducted 
under  the  name  of  the  Robert  Palmer  Com- 
pany, a  ship-building  and  marine  railway  con- 
cern, was  born  March  14,  1844,  on  Prince  Ed- 
ward Island,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Chris- 
tina (Sutherland)   McDonald. 

Allan  McDonald,  his  grandfather,  was  born 
in    the   north    of    Scotland,    whence    he    immi- 


grated to  Prince  Edward  Island  in  1780.  He 
was  a  farmer  by  vocation,  and  lived  to  be 
eighty-five  years  old.  P"or  his  first  wife  he 
married  a  Miss  McKinnon,  and  he  was  mar- 
ried twice  afterward.  John  McDonald  was 
born  on  Prince  Edward  Island  about  the  year 
1806,  and  is  still  living  there.  He  is  a  ship- 
builder. John  and  Christina  McDonald 
reared  nine  children,  two  sons  and  seven 
daughters.  Both  sons  now  reside  in  Connect- 
icut, M.  B.  in  New  London,  and  John  E.  in 
the  village  of  Noank. 

John  E.  McDonald  grew  to  manhood  in  his 
native  town.  He  received  a  common-school 
education,  then  learned  the  ship-builder's 
trade  of  his  father,  beginning  his  apprentice- 
ship at  the  age  of  sixteen.  In  1865  he  went 
to  Boston,  Mass.,  and  on  June  1  of  the  follow- 
ing year  came  to  Noank,  where  he  entered  the 
employ  of  Robert  Palmer  in  the  ship-yard  in 
which  he  has  now  been  the  foreman  for  over 
twenty-six  years.  When  the  Robert  Palmer 
Company  was  organized,  about  four  years  ago, 
he  became  one  of  the  stockholders,  so  that  he 
has  since  been  doubly  interested  in  its  suc- 
cessful  operation,  though  at  all  times  a  faith- 
ful employee. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  McDonald  and  Miss 
Sarah  McEachen,  of  Prince  Edward  Island, 
took  place  in  Boston,  Mass.  They  have  an 
interesting  family  of  four  children,  two  sons 
and  two  daughters,  namely:  Annie  Christina, 
in  the  Meriden  Convent  of  Mercy,  where  she 
is  known  by  the  name  of  Sister  Mary  Rose; 
John  Francis,  attending  the  Holy  Cross  Col- 
lege, Worcester,  Mass.,  class  of  1897;  James 
Alfred,  in  the  Bulkley  High  School,  of  which 
his  brother  is  a  graduate;  and  Gertie  M., 
thirteen  years  old,  in  school  in  Noank. 

Mr.  McDonald  is  a  Democratic  voter.  He 
is  connected  with  the  American  Order  of 
United  Workmen.      He  and  his  wife  are  mem- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


399 


bcrs  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  at  Mystic.  Thi  \ 
reside  on  Church  Street,  in  the  house  which 
has  been  their  home  since  1882,  about  fifteen 
years. 


■*-*•»-» 


lHARLES  ALLYN,  who  died  at  his 
home  in  New  London,  September  6, 
[888,  aged  forty-five,  was  .1  worthy 
representative  of  an  old  New  London  Count)' 
family,  being  a  lineal  descendant  of  Robert 
Allyn,  the  early  settler  at  Allyn's  Point. 
Charles  Allyn  was  born  in  Wilbraham,  Mass., 
and  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Robert  and  Eme- 
tine (Denison)  Allyn,  the  former  of  whom 
was  a  Methodist  divine. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  Rev.  Robert 
Allyn  was  prominent  in  educational  work  in 
Illinois,  first  as  president  of  McKendrie  Col- 
lege  at  Lebanon  and  later  of  the  State  Nor- 
mal School  at  Carbondale.  He  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  Wilbraham  Academy  and  of  the 
Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Conn. 
He  was  a  man  oi  superior  mental  powers  and 
attainments,  and  stood  very  high  both  as  a 
preacher  and  teacher.  Many  aide  articles 
were  written  by  him  tor  leading  Methodi  I 
papers  and  educational  periodicals.  His  first 
wile,  Emeline  Denison,  died  young,  leaving 
him  with  an  infant  son  and  daughter  — 
Charles  and  Emeline.  lie  subsequently  mar- 
ried Mary  Budington,  of  Franklin  County, 
Massachusetts,  who  bore  him  four  children. 
The  Rev.  Robert  Allyn  died  at  Carbondale, 
111.,  January  7,  [894,  aged  seventy-seven 
He  had  previously  been  bereft  of  his 
second  wife  and  two  of  their  children.  Put 
three  of  his  six  children  are  now  living, 
namely:  Emeline,  the  widow  of  William 
Hypes,  of  Lebanon,  111.;  Joseph,  a  mining 
ineer  in  Chicago,  111.;  and  Ellen  S. 
Allyn,  residing  in  Carbondale. 

Mr.  Charles  Allyn  is  survived   by  his  wife, 


whose  maiden  name  was  Helen  L.  Starr.  She 
was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  daughter  ol 
William  Holt  and  Freelove  Hurlbut  (Will- 
iams) Stan.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  Gro- 
ton,  and  her  mother  of  Stonington,  Conn. 
Mr.  Starr  at  one  time  carried  on  a  large  manu- 
facturing business  in  Brooklyn,  and  he  was 
also  a  writer  and  publisher.  IK-  was  a  man  of 
influence  in  public  affairs,  serving  two  terms 
in  the  Connecticut  State  legislature.  He 
died  at  his  home  in  Xew  London  in  1884, 
aged  seventy-six,  in  the  house  that  he  built  in 
the  winter  of  1853-  54,  forty-four  years  ago,  on 
Front  Street,  near  the  historic  old  mill,  it 
being  one  of  the  first  residences  erected  in 
this  part  of  the  town.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Starr 
had  five  children;  namely,  William  II., 
Charles  P.,  Eliza  D. ,  Helen  L. ,  and  Sarah  J. 
William  II.  Starr  is  a  Congregational  minis- 
ter in  Providence,  R.I.;  Charles  F.  lives  on 
Post  Hill;  Eliza  U.  Starr  lives  with  Mrs. 
Allyn;  and  Sarah  J.  is  the  wife  of  Henry  C. 
PuUer. 

Charles  Allyn  and  Miss  Helen  Starr  were 
married  on  November  18,  1867.  The  first  six 
years  of  their  wedded  life  were  spent  in 
Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  where  he  held  a  position  in 
the  custom-house  office.  In  1873  they  left 
Brooklyn  and  came  to  Xew  London;  and  a 
year  or  two  before  his  death  they  removed  to 
Mrs.  Allyn's  old  home  at  4  Fronl  Street, 
corner  of  Crystal  Avenue,  where  she  has  con- 
tinued to  live.  In  New  London  Mi.  Allyn 
engaged  in  the  book  trade.  lie  was  the  pub- 
lisher of  the  History  of  the  Rattle  of  Groton 
Heights,  which  appears  in  a  fine  quarto  vol- 
ume with  illustrations;  and  for  several  \ 
he  published  the  Daboll  Almanac.  Four 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allyn, 
namely:  Charles,  who  sixteen;    Louise, 

a  graduate  ol  the  Emerson  College  of  Oratory, 
Boston,  in  the  class  of  1895,  and  now  engaged 


4oo 


I'.IOCRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


as  a  teacher  of  elocution  and  physical  culture; 
Robert,  who  is  studying  in  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  oi  Technology;  and  Harriet  May, 
thirteen  years  old,  who  is  attending  the  gram- 
mar school. 

"  kRS.  MARCIA  PALMER  STAN- 
TON, of  Stonington,  daughter  of 
Oliver  and  Nancy  D.  (Noyes) 
Denison,  and  widow  of  the  late  Paul  Burdick 
Stanton,  is  a  native  of  this  town.  Her  father, 
who  was  born  January  2,  17S7,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 8,  1873.  was  one  of  the  nine  children, 
five  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  Oliver,  Sr., 
and  Martha  (Williams)  Denison.  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton's grandfather,  Oliver  Denison,  Sr.,  was 
of  the  fifth  generation  in  descent  from  Cap- 
tain George  Denison,  who  was  born  in  Eng- 
land about  16 1 8,  and  came  to  this  country  in 
1631  with  his  brothers,  Daniel  and  Edward, 
and  their  father,  William  Denison,  who  set- 
tled at  Roxbury,  Mass.  Captain  George 
Denison  removed  with  his  family  from  Massa- 
chusetts to  the  New  London  Colony  in  165 1, 
and  in  1654  took  up  his  abode  in  what  is  now 
Stonington.  He  was  prominent  in  civil  and 
military  affairs,  and  has  been  called  "the 
Miles  Standish  of  the  settlement."  Of  his 
extensive  landed  estate  less  than  a  hundred 
acres  now  remain,  but  it  is  still  held  under 
its  first  title  deed. 

Oliver  Denison,  Jr.,  was  twice  married. 
His  first  wife,  Nancy  Graves,  died  young, 
leaving  one  daughter,  born  in  1S13,  now  Mrs. 
Nathaniel  Clift,  of  Mystic.  His  second  wife 
was  Nancy  Dean  Noyes,  daughter  of  Nathan 
Noyes.  The  date  of  their  marriage  was  No- 
vember 24,  1825.  They  had  seven  children, 
namely:  Emma  J.,  who  married  Asa  F.  Ken- 
drick;  Oliver,  who  married  Harriet  A.  Wil- 
1  in  [886;  Marcia  P.,  now  Mrs. 
Stanton;    Edgar,    whose    first  wife  was    Mar- 


garet E.  Mandeville,  and  his  second,  Phebe  J. 
Green;  Sarah,  who  died  unmarried;  Nathan 
X.,  who  married  Sarah  A.  Green;  Phebe  M., 
who  married  Reuben  Ford,  and  still  lives  on 
the  old  place  where  Captain  George  Denison, 
the  immigrant  ancestor,  first  settled.  The 
mother,  Mrs.  Nancy  D.  Denison,  died  June 
10,  1870. 

The  marriage  of  Marcia  Palmer  Denison 
and  Paul  Burdick  Stanton  was  solemnized 
May  25,  1864.  Mr.  Stanton  was  born  Novem- 
ber 28,  1824.  He  was  the  fourth  son  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  and  Maria  (Davis)  Stanton,  both  of 
Stonington,  and  a  lineal  descendant  of  Robert 
Stanton,  who  was  born  in  England  in  1599, 
settled  in  Newport,  R.I.,  in  1638,  and  died 
there  August  5,  1672.  Robert's  son,  John 
Stanton,  a  merchant  and  a  member  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  born  in  1645,  was  married 
in  Quaker  meeting  to  Mary  Horndale.  John, 
Jr.,  born  in  1673,  the  fourth  of  their  seven 
children,  settled  in  Westerly,  R.I.,  in  1733. 
He  had  twelve  children  by  his  first  wife, 
Elizabeth  Clark,  and  thirteen  by  his  second, 
Susannah  Lamphere,  whom  he  married  in 
1734,  when  she  was  nineteen  years  of  age. 
His  son  Job,  grandfather  of  Paul  B.  Stanton, 
was  born  at  Westerly  in  1737.  He  married 
first  Elizabeth  Belcher,  who  died  in  1773; 
and  in  June,  1774,  he  married  Mrs.  Annie 
Williams  Bell,  widow  of  John  Bell  and  daugh- 
ter of  Nathaniel  and  Annie  (Hewitt)  Will- 
iams. She  was  a  sister  of  the  wife  of  Colonel 
Ledyard,  who  fell  at  Fort  Griswold.  Job 
Stanton  had  three  children  by  his  first  wife, 
and  four  by  the  second,  Benjamin  F. ,  above 
named,  being  the  youngest. 

Benjamin  F.  Stanton  and  his  wife,  Maria, 
had  nine  children — -John  Davis,  Abby  J., 
Emma  A.,  Daniel  D.,  Benjamin  F.,  Maria, 
Fanny,  Paul  B.,  and  Mason  Manning.  His 
parents,  Job  and  Annie  W.  B.  Stanton,  spent 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


401 


their  last  years  on  this  farm,  which  he  pur- 
chased. Paul  Burdick  Stanton  brought  his 
bride  here,  and  it  has  since  been  her  home. 
Two  of  his  brothers,  John  and  Daniel,  lived 
with  him.  The  other  brothers,  Benjamin  and 
Mason,  neither  of  whom  ever  married,  lived 
on  the  adjoining  farm.  The  entire  family  of 
live  sons  and  lour  daughters  have  now  all 
passed  away.  Mr.  Paul  Burdick  Stanton 
spent  his  life  quietly  as  a  farmer.  He  died 
July  8,  1884,  in  his  sixtieth  year.  Since 
then  Mrs.  Stanton  has  had  a  good  tenant  to 
carry  on  the  place.  Their  only  child,  a 
daughter,  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Stanton  is  a 
member  of  the  First  Congregational  Church, 
the   Road   Church. 


fS^fOSEPH  D.  HERR,  A.M.,  D.D.,  the 
pastor  of  the  Central  Baptist  Church  of 
Norwich  and  a  worthy  representative  of 
an  old  and  distinguished  family,  was  born  in 
Sharpsburg,  Pa.,  February  23,  1837.  A  son 
of  Daniel  and  Ann  (Snivel))  Herr,  he  traces 
his  ancestry  back  to  a.d.  1009,  and  clearly 
shows  that  his  family  is  connected  with  the 
royal  house  of  Austria.  The  coat  of  arms  in- 
dicates that  the  family  is  a  very  ancient  one, 
of  royal  origin  and  pure  descent,  that  it  pro- 
duced knights  who  fought  the  Saracens  in 
the  Crusades,  and  men  of  naval  prominence, 
and  distinguished  philanthropists.  Though 
the  male  members  of  the  family  were  remark- 
able for  ability,  they  had  little  desire  for 
I  preferment,  whether  in  statecraft  or  war. 
Dr.  Michael  Herr.  of  Hagenau,  Alsatia,  who 
was  a  contemporary  of  Martin  Luther,  was  one 
of  the  creators  of  the  High  German  language. 
His  book  on  the  travels  of  Marco  Polo,  Co- 
lumbus's  discovery  of  America,  and  its  de- 
scription by  Amerigo  Vespucci,  is  one  of  the 
registered  old  works   in   America.      The  book 


is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  from  the  first 
century  of  the  printing  art,  and  is  ninety-six 
years  younger  than  the  first  print  of  Guten- 
berg. There  are  but  three  copies  in  this 
country;  and  the  best  preserved,  which  was 
in  the  possession  of  Dr.  E.  F.  Leyh,  of  Haiti- 
more,  Md.,  was  purchased  by  the  Tilden- 
Astor  Library  of  New  York.  The  catalogue 
of  the  famous  Brown  Library  in  Providence, 
R.I.,  gives  a  full  page  to  the  description  of 
this  work. 

Hans  Herr,  Dr.  Hen's  great-great-great- 
grandfather, who  is  described  in  history  as 
the  founder  ami  leader  of  the  Mennonites  in 
Pennsylvania,  was  a  resident  of  the  Pequea 
Valley  in  that  State  and  an  intimate  friend 
of  William  Penn.  His  descendants  in  this 
country  are  very  numerous,  the  minimum 
estimate  being  thirty  thousand.  A  number 
of  these  descendants,  including  Dr.  Herr. 
have  formed  the  Hans  Herr  Memorial  Asso- 
ciation, whose  headquarters  are  at  Lancaster, 
Pa.,  "with  a  view  to  commemorating  the 
exodus  of  Swiss  Mennonites  to  America 
nearly  two  hundred  years  ago  and  his  leader- 
ship in  the  movement  by  erecting  some  suit- 
able permanent  hall,  school,  or  monument." 
In  this  association,  embracing  many  men  and 
women  of  ability,  all  tin-  learned  professions 
are  represented.  From  Hans  Herr,  Dr.  Herr 
traces  his  descent  through  Abraham,  Chris- 
tian, David,  and  Benjamin,  who  was  born  in 
Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1766.  Benjamin  Herr, 
who  was  the  Doctor's  grandfather  and  on,  1  1 
the  earliest  merchants  of  Pittsburg,  trans- 
ported his  goods  on  pack  mules  over  the 
mountains  from  Philadelphia.  He  was  thrifty 
and  enterprising,  and  accumulated  quite  a 
fortune.  His  death  occurred  in  Pittsburg  in 
1846,  in  his  eightieth  year.  In  17S0  he 
went  to  Germany  for  a  wife,  and  brought 
home  a  comely  frau,  who  was  a  member 


4<52 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


wealthy  and  noble  family,  and  whose  name 
before  marriage  was  Magdalena  Lichte.  She 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two;  and  her  re- 
mains lie  beside  those  of  her  husband  in  the 
Troy  Hill  Cemetery,  near  Herr's  Island. 
Thc\'  reared  seven  children,  three  daughters 
and  four  sons.  Of  the  sons  —  Benjamin, 
Henry,  Daniel,  and  John — John,  the  young- 
est, is  living  near  Cleveland,  Ohio,  nearly 
ninety  years  old.  He  has  been  engaged  in 
agriculture  and  banking,  and  is  a  man  of 
prominence. 

Daniel  Herr,  Dr.  Herr's  father,  was  born 
on  Herr's  Island,  in  the  Alleghany  River, 
just  above  Pittsburg,  in  1808.  He  was  en- 
gaged in  horticulture  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
seven.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  Alleghany 
County,  Pennsylvania,  about  ten  miles  from 
Pittsburg,  was  a  daughter  of  David  and  Mary 
Snively.  The  Snivelys  also  are  an  old  Penn- 
sylvania family.  David  Snively  was  a  promi- 
nent man.  His  brother,  Christian,  served  in 
the  Pennsylvania  legislature;  and  Christian's 
son  Whitmer  was  an  eminent  physician. 
Mrs.  Ann  Herr  is  now  living  in  Philadelphia 
with  her  daughter,  and,  though  eighty-eight 
years  old,  is  in  possession  of  ,her  faculties, 
and  still  bright  and  active.  At  her  husband's 
death  she  was  left  with  four  children,  namely: 
Mary,  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  Jacob  Stewart,  of 
Moline,  111.  ;  Magdalene,  who  is  the  widow  of 
the  Rev.  David  Williams  and  resides  in  Phil- 
adelphia; Sarah,  who  is  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
David  Jones,  D.D.,  the  rector  of  the  Epis- 
copal church  in  Rochester,  Pa. ;  and  Joseph 
D.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

After  receiving  a  thorough  training  in  the 
common-school  branches,  Joseph  D.  Herr  ob- 
tained  employment  as  a  clerk  in  Sharpsburg, 
Pa.,  when  fifteen  years  old,  and  soon  made 
himself  indispensable.      At  the  age   of  seven- 


teen he   was  converted,  and  decided   to  study 
for  the  ministry;  and  in  the  year  of  his  ma- 
jority   he    graduated    from    Madison  College, 
Pennsylvania.        Before     his     graduation     he 
began  to  preach    in   West  Virginia,  and  about 
three   years   later  he   was    installed    as   pastor 
of  a  large  church  in  Pittsburg.      Subsequently 
he    had   a   call    to    Cincinnati,    and   about    the 
year  1870  returned  to  Pittsburg  to  take  charge 
of  another  church.      In  1875  ne  became  pastor 
of  the  Central   Baptist  Church  of  New  York 
City.      Ill     health    in    his    family    occasioned 
his  removal  to   Norwich,  Conn.,  in  1881.      In 
Norwich  he  had  charge  of  the  Central  Baptist 
Church,  his  present  charge,  until    1886,  when 
he    was    called    to    Milwaukee,    Wis.  ;  and   in 
that   place   he    built    the    Tabernacle    Baptist 
Church,    a   handsome   brick   edifice.       After  a 
stay  of  five  years  in  Milwaukee  he  received  an 
urgent  and   enthusiastic  call  to  return  to  Nor- 
wich;   and    in    January,    1 891,    he   was    again 
occupying  his  old  pulpit.      Since  then  he  has 
erected  the  fine  brick  church,  with  solid  gran- 
ite foundation,   which  is  one   of  the   handsom- 
est   buildings    in    the    town.       The     style     is 
Romanesque;    and    the    situation,    under   the 
shadow  of  the  rocks  of  Norwich,  is  most  pleas- 
ing.     Thus  five  societies   have   lasting   monu- 
ments of  his  ability  in  building  and  repairing 
churches.      That  Dr.  Herr's   ability   has   been 
recognized  may   be  gleaned    from   the  few  fol- 
lowing   facts    concerning    his    work;     he    has 
served    on   the    Board   of   Trustees   of    Adrian 
College,  and  in  connection  with  the  president 
thereof,  Dr.  Mahan,  was   largely   instrumental 
in  raising  an   endowment   for  the   institution. 
During  his   pastorate   in    New   York   City,  on 
one  memorable  Sunday  morning,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  his  fervent   leadership  twenty-four 
thousand  dollars  was  raised  in  a  few  moments, 
toward  paying  off  the  mortgage  of  the  church. 
While  pastor  there  he  had  the  great  privilege 


JAMES    PENDLETON. 


I'.inCk  M'lllCAI.    REVIEW 


4°5 


of  receiving  into  membership  with  the  church 
four  hundred  and  forty-live,  more  than  half  of 
whom  were  added  by  baptism.  While  a  pas- 
tor in  Wisconsin  he  occupied  a  [imminent 
place  in  the  denomination,  and  exercised  a 
wide  influence  throughout  the  State,  in  the 
cause  of  religion  and  education.  Since  his 
return  to  Connecticut  Dr.  Heir  has  occupied 
man)-  positions  of  honor  and  trust.  He 
holds,  among  others,  the  position  of  a  member 
of  the, New  England  Board  of  Education,  also 
of  the  Hoard  of  the  State  Baptist  Convention. 
He  is  well  known  throughout  the  State  for  his 
zeal  in  the  promotion  of  religion  and  educa- 
tion. He  is  a  popular  and  vigorous  speaker, 
and  has  few  equals  in  his  ability  to  present 
truth  and  as  a  vocal  interpreter  of  the  Bible. 
natters  of  public  welfare  he  has  the  cour- 
ol  his  convictions,  and  never  hesitates  to 
speak  them:  that  he  is  interested  in  the 
progress  of  his  adopted  home  is  proven  by 
the  fact  that  he  is  an  active  member  of  the 
local  Hoard  of  Trade. 

Dr.  Herr  was  married  in  1S59  in  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  to  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Captain  Ben- 
jamin I.,  and  Anna  (Boker)  Wood,  both  of 
whom  are  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Herr 
died  within  eighteen  months  after  her  mar- 
riage, leaving  an  infant  son,  now  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  L.  Herr,  who  was  recently  the  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Baptist  Church  at  Bingham- 
ton,  N.Y.  Dr.  Herr  contracted  a  second 
marriage  in  1863  with  Miss  Annie  M.  Given, 
oi  Huntingdon  County.  Pennsylvania,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Captain  John  W.  and  Nancy 
in)  Given.  By  this  union  he  has  had 
three  children,  one  of  whom  has  passed  away. 
The  others  are:  Mary  Lillian  and  Joseph  D., 
Jr.  The  former,  a  graduate  of  the  Female 
College  at  Milwaukee  and  the  business  col- 
there,  is  a  young  lady  of  considerable 
literary  talent.      Under  the   nont   de  pinna  of 


Laisdell  Mitchell  she  has  written  several 
books;  and  her  "  rony,  the  Story  of  a  Waif," 
has  passed  through  a  remarkably  large  edi- 
tion. "Niram:  a  Dusky  Idyl,"  is  also  quite 
popular.  Miss  Herr  lives  with  her  parents 
when  not  travelling.  Joseph  D.  Herr,  Jr., 
graduated  from  the  Free  Academy  oi  Norwich 
in  1895;  and  he  is  now  in  the  employ  of  the 
Uncas  Paper  Company  of  the  same  place. 


AMI'S  PENDLET<  >N,  a  prosperous  mer- 
chant of  Stonington,  was  born  in  this 
borough,  July  29,  1X54,  son  of  Harris 
anil  Sarah  (Chester)  Pendleton.  He  comes 
of  an  old  American  family,  many  members  of 
which  have  distin  Ives    in    the 

service  of  the  State  or  in  the  various  civic 
professions.  The  first  progenitor  of  the  fam- 
ily in  this  county  was  Major  Bryan  Pendli 
who  was  born  in  England  in  1599,  and  who 
came  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Roxbury, 
Mass.,  near  Boston,  as  early  as  1635.  He 
filled  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust  in  the 
infant  colony,  and  became  one  of  its  leading 
men.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council  for  five  or  six  years,  and  was  subse- 
quently Deputy  Governor  of  the  Province  of 
Maine.  His  only  son,  James,  served  with  the 
rank  of  Captain  in  the  war  with  the  Narragan- 
sett  Indians,  and  distinguished  himself  by  his 
bravery  and  other  soldierly  qualities.  Harris 
Pendleton,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  ski 
was  a  lifelong  resident  of  Stonington.  His 
wife,  Sarah,  was  a  daughter  of  Josiah  Che 
They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  all 
of  whom  are  living  except  Virginia,  who  died 
in  childhood.  A  sketch  of  one  of  their  sons, 
Harris,  brother  of  James,  may  be  found  on 
another  page  of  this  volume. 

James     Pendleton      attended     the     common 
schools    until    about    nineteen    years  of    age. 


4o6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


He  subsequently  entered  the  office  of  Russell 
Hinckley,  a  contractor  and  builder,  for  whom 
he  worked  two  years  or  more.  From  1878 
to  1880  he  conducted  a  market,  which  busi- 
ness, however,  he  gave  up  upon  his  appoint- 
ment as  Postmaster  of  Stonington,  which 
occurred  near  the  close  of  President  Arthur's 
administration.  This  office  he  held  for  five 
years,  being  removed  by  President  Cleveland. 
He  then  remained  out  of  business  about  a 
year,  during  which  he  erected  his  present  fine 
residence  on  Elm  Street,  and  also  the  Potter 
Block,  where  he  opened  a  grocery  store  and 
later,  in  1894,  his  bakery.  The  block,  which 
is  three  stories  high,  is  sixty  by  sixty-four 
feet  in  ground  area,  and  contains  three  fine 
stores  with  offices  above.  After  conducting 
the  grocery  and  bakery  together  for  two  years, 
in  May,  1896,  he  sold  out  his  groceries,  and 
divided  the  large  store  into  a  salesroom, 
office,  and  storage  room,  making  it  a  part 
of  his  bakery.  He  has  four  delivery  teams, 
which  deliver  goods  in  Westerly  and  Mystic 
as  well  as  in  Stonington.  His  store  is  noted 
for  the  excellent  cpiality  of  its  bread,  cake, 
and  pastry. 

On  June  12,  1884,  Mr.  Pendleton  married 
Miss  Sarah  E.  Potter,  daughter  of  William 
and  Olive  B.  Potter.  Her  father,  a  native  of 
Stonington,  and  a  carpenter  and  builder  by 
occupation,  died  in  middle  life,  leaving  his 
widow  with  two  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Pen- 
dleton was  the  younger.  Her  mother  was  born 
in  Norwich,  Conn.,  and  died  in  Stonington 
in  1890,  aged  about  sixty-five  years.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Pendleton  have  three  sons:  Frank  Ray- 
mond, now  eleven  years  old;  Carrol  Chester, 
aged  nine;    and  William  Clifford,  aged   seven. 

Mr.  Pendleton  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
He  has  been  Selectman  four  years,  served 
fourteen  years  on  the  Board  of  Burgesses,  and 
is  now  serving  his  third  term  as  Warden.      In 


1894  he  was  elected  as  Representative  to  the 
Connecticut  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  to 
the  same  office  in  1896.  He  is  a  Master 
Mason  and  a  charter  member  of  the  Royal 
Arcanum.  He  is  also  a  life  member  of  the 
Grand  Council,  R.  A.,  of  Connecticut. 


^Frederick  m.  tibbetts,  who  re- 

P^  sides  on  his  large  farm,  distant  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  Salem,  was 
born  at  Chesterfield,  October  19,  1840, 
son  of  Benjamin  B.  and  Hannah  (Stapeling) 
Tibbetts.  His  grandfather,  Henry  H.  Tib- 
betts, resided  in  East  Greenwich,  R.I. ,  where 
he  carried  on  a  large  farm,  and  reared  a  family 
of  six  sons  and  six  daughters,  all  of  whom 
married.  The  only  survivor  is  Henry,  resid- 
ing in  East  Greenwich,  near  the  old  home, 
who  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  is  still  an  active 
worker,  and  able  to  cut  wood  and  build  stone 
walls.  Benjamin  B.,  who  was  born  in  East 
Greenwich  about  1797,  went  to  California 
during  the  gold  fever  of  1849,  and  was  acci- 
dentally shot  in  185 1.  His  widow,  after  sur- 
viving him  many  years,  died  from  the  effects 
of  a  fall  at  the  age  of  ninety.  Of  their  ten 
children  there  are  now  living  three  sons  and 
two  daughters,  namely:  John  Tibbetts,  a 
farmer  in  Rhode  Island,  who  served  for  five 
years  in  the  Civil  War;  Samuel  W.,  who  re- 
sides in  Newsneck  Hill,  R.I. ;  Lucy  Ann, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Richard  Arnold,  of  Fall 
River,  Mass.  ;  Dorcas  R.,  who  is  living  in 
Providence,  R.I.;  and  Frederick  M.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Frederick  M.  Tibbetts  joined  the  Union 
army  in  1863  from  Syracuse,  N.Y.  He  be- 
longed to  the  Eleventh  New  York  Cavalry, 
Company  F,  served  eighteen  months,  was 
wounded  in  the  right  knee  at  White  Lord,  and 
was    discharged    for   physical    disability.       A 


BIOCKAI'IIK  M.    REVIEW 


4°7 


cough,  contracted  during  his  period  of  service, 
has  never  left  him  since.  He  was  formerly  a 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R.  in  Providence,  R.I. 
His  religious  belief  is  that  of  the  Congrega- 

tionalist  denomination.  In  1880  he  bought 
his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  acres,  upon  which  he  has  erected  his 
e  and  barn.  The  home  is  perched  up  on 
the  hillside,  under  the  shelter  of  rocky  bluffs 
on  the  west  side,  and  commanding  a  beautiful 
view  of  the  farms  and  distant  hills  to  the  east- 
ward. On  the  farm  are  a  flourishing  orchard 
and  garden.  The  property,  at  one  time 
known  as  the  Calvin  Daniels  place,  was  first 
settled  at  an  early  period.  To  purchase  it, 
Mr.  Tibbetts  spent  the  entire  sum  of  his  sav- 
,  which  were  earned  by  himself,  his  wife, 
and  children  in  a  factory.  It  has  been 
largely  improved  since  it  came  into  his  pos- 
ion.  Besides  replacing  the  old  residence 
with  the  present  modern  structure,  although 
constantly  suffering  from  poor  health,  he  has 
erected  a  wall  about  the  entile  farm,  that  adds 
much  to  its  appearance.  He  has  a  small 
dairy,  keeps  five  yoke  of  oxen  constantly  at 
work,  owns  horses  and  sheep,  and  grows  pota- 
toes, com,  and  oats  for  his  own  use.  Though 
an  invalid  for  years,  he  has  survived  many  of 
his  neighbors  who  were  stronger  men  than  lie. 
On  March  31,  [866,  Mr.  Tibbetts  married 
Sylvia  A.  1'otter,  who  was  born  in  West 
enwich.  They  have  reared  eight  children, 
including  an  adopted  child,  Ambrose  B. 
Tibbetts,  a  son  of  Mrs.  Tibbetts's  sister. 
Their  own  children  are:  Phebe  I'"..,  the  wife 
ot  William  II.  Robison,  residing  in  Franklin, 
and  the  mother  of  one  daughter:  Elmer  G.,  I 
farmer  of  Salem,  and  unmarried;  Benjamin  B. 
Tibbetts,  who  has  a  wife  and  two  sons,  and 
resides  in  West  Greenwich;  William  M.,  who 
is  unmarried  and  resides  in  Norwich;  Fred- 
erick A.,  who  lives  at  home;   Richard  B.,  who 


is   part   owner   of   his    father's   farm,  now  con- 
sisting of  five  hundred  acres ;  I  Mabel  I 

young  lady  of  seventeen,    who  resides  at   home. 


-•-*  •  •-» 


HOMAS  FRANKLIN  MORGAN,  a 
former  wealthy  resident  of  Groton,  was 
born  in  Newport,  R.I.,  February  28, 
1848,  son  of  Captain  Ebenezer  and  Ann  Eliz- 
abeth (Price)  Morgan.  The  family  are  of 
Welsh  extraction.  James,  the  earliest  known 
paternal  ancestor,  who  was  born  in  Wales  in 
1607,  in  March,  1636,  accompanied  by  his 
brother,  emigrated    from    Brisl  .land,  to 

America,  coming  to  Boston,  Mass.  Ebenezer 
Morgan  (first),  the  great-great-grandfather  of 
Thomas  F.,  was  born  September  21,  [719. 
His  son  Nathan  was  the  next  in  line  of  de- 
scent. Ebenezer  (second),  son  of  Nathan 
the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  August  9,  1791.  The  second  Eben- 
ezer was  twice  married.  By  the  first  cere- 
mony, which  was  performed  October  28,  1  S 14, 
Lavinia  Newbury  became  his  wife.  She  was 
a  native  of  Groton,  Conn.,  and  had"  two  chil- 
dren—  Julia  Ann  and  Ebenezer  (third).  By 
his  second  marriage  there  were  three  children. 
Captain  Ebenezer  Morgan,  the  father  of 
Thomas  I'".,  was  born  in  Groton,  July  22, 
1817.  He  began  his  unusually  successful 
career  by  shipping  as  cabin  boy  on  a  whaling- 
vessel.  His  experience  as  mariner  covet 
period   of    thirty  i  irs,    during   which   he 

was  captain  and  part  owner  of  many  ves: 
Later  he  abandoned  whaling,  being  one  of  the 
first  to  go  to  Alaskan  waters  and  engage  in 
seal  fishing,  in  command  of  the  bark  "Peru." 
He  made  his  last  sea  voyage  in  1868.  The 
first  of  his  two  marriages  was  contracted  on 
May  24,  1843,  with  Ann  Elizabeth  Price,  of 
Newport,  R.I.  The  children  of  this  union 
were:  Thomas   Franklin,   the  subject  of  this 


4oS 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


sketch;  William  H.,  of  Groton ;  Lavinia,  the 
wife  of  Frank  P.  Marsh,  of  Providence,  R.  I. ; 
and  a  son  who  died  in  infancy.  The  mother 
died  January  29,  1888,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one 
years.  Mary  J.  Strong,  of  Vernon,  Conn., 
became  the  Captain's  second  wife.  She  sur- 
vives him,  and  is  now  a  resident  of  Provi- 
dence, R.I.  The  Captain  died  August  11, 
1890,  leaving  an  estate  worth  half  a  million 
dollars,  of  which  his  son,  Thomas  Frank- 
lin, was  appointed  the  executor. 

While  his  father  and  mother  were  at  sea, 
Thomas  Franklin  Morgan  lived  with  his 
grandfather  Price  in  Newport,  R.I.,  where  he 
received  his  early  education.  In  1857  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  Groton,  where  he 
continued  his  school  life,  being  further  men- 
tally equipped  in  New  London.  The  family 
resided  on  Coon  Hill  until  1869,  when  it 
moved  to  its  present  residence  on  Monument 
Street,  which  fine  piece  of  property  belonged 
to  the  estate  of  Mr.  Morgan's  mother.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  went  before  the  mast, 
continuing  a  sailor's  life  on  his  father's  vessel 
until  he  was  made  second  mate.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Republican.  Following  in  the  foot- 
steps of  his  father,  he  became  a  Royal  Arch 
Mason.  His  later  years  were  spent  as  a 
gentleman  of  wealth  and  leisure,  having  no 
business  but  the  care  of  his  father's  estate. 
He  owned  a  good  yacht,  in  which  he  enjoyed 
many  a  sail  and  fishing  excursion. 

On  February  6,  1870,  Mr.  Morgan  was  mar- 
ried to  Frances  A.  Crumb,  of  Mystic,  Conn. 
Her  parents,  Albert  and  Amanda  (Davis) 
Crumb,  are  now  residents  of  Groton.  Her 
brother,  Theodore  Crumb,  died  in  early  man- 
hood; and  her  sister  is  now  Mrs.  Charles  Fair- 
banks, of  Groton.  The  only  child  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Morgan,  Emma  L.,  now  the  wife  of 
Harry  A.  La  Montagne,  resides  in  New  York 
City.      Mr.  Morgan   died   May  24,   1897.      He 


was  a  man  of  fine  physique,  and  he  was  much 
esteemed  by  the  community  for  his  kindness 
and  generosity. 

HARLES  E.  MAINE,  the  well-known 
contractor  and  builder,  of  Voluntown, 
Conn.,  now  serving  as  Representa- 
tive to  the  State  legislature,  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Ledyard,  New  London  County,  on 
February  1,  1827,  son  of  Samuel  and  Patty 
(Tift)    Maine. 

Samuel  Maine,  Sr.,  father  of  Samuel,  above 
named,  is  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Ledyard. 
His  wife,  Sally  Chapman,  who  was  a  native 
of  Rhode  Island,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty; 
and  he,  surviving  her  some  five  years,  died  at 
the  age  of  eighty-five  or  eighry-six.  Their 
remains  rest  in  the  family  burial-ground,  near 
the  farm  in  Ledyard.  Of  their  eight  chil- 
dren, six  grew  to  mature  years,  and  two  are 
living.  One  son,  Warren  Maine,  is  a  farmer 
at  Ledyard,  living  near  the  old  homestead; 
and  Sally  Ann  Maine,  his  sister,  resides  in 
South   Stonington. 

Samuel  Maine,  second,  father  of  Mr. 
Charles  E.  Maine,  was  born  in  1803,  and  died 
in  1S85.  His  grave  is  at  Milltown.  He  was 
a  man  of  prominence  and  active  in  town 
affairs,  serving  in  various  official  capacities 
and  with  rare  fidelity  and  ability.  His  wife, 
Patty,  who  died  in  1880,  at  the  age  of 
seventy,  was  born  in  South  Stonington,  and 
was  about  his  age.  They  were  married  in 
1823,  and  had  a  family  of  three  sons  and  three 
daughters  —  Samuel  L.,  Charles  E.,  Eliza, 
Susan,  Orrin,  and  Orilla.  Samuel  L. ,  the 
eldest  child,  born  in  1824,  is  a  farmer  resid- 
ing in  North  Stonington.  Eliza  is  the  widow 
of  Daniel  Holderidge.  She  has  a  number  of 
children,  and  is  still  living  in  her  native 
town.  Susan,  who  has  no  children,  is  the 
wife  of   Erastus   Park,   and    resides   at    North 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


409 


Stonington.  The  two  youngesl  children  were 
twins,  and  arc  now  deceased.  Orrin  died  on 
September  15.  (889,  and  his  widow  is  living  in 
this  town.      Orilla  was  the  wife  of  John  Frink. 

Alter  obtaining  a  fair  education  in  the 
public  schools,  Mr.  Charles  E.  Maine  taught 
school  for  one  winter  term  in  Voluntown. 
He  subsequently  made  his  home  in  Norwich 
until  1859,  when  he  bought  at  auction  the 
residence  property  at  Voluntown  where  he 
now  makes  his  home.  He  has  decided  me- 
chanical ability;  and  for  twenty  years  he  has 
had  charge  of  the  mechanical  department  of 
the  Briggs  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Vol- 
untown, at  a  good  salary. 

When  twenty-three  years  of  aye  Mr.  Maine 
married  Sarah  Crary.  whose  father,  James 
Crary,  had  died  when  she  was  very  young. 
Six  children  were  horn  of  this  marriage.  A 
dan- liter,  Martha,  died  at  the  age  of  two 
-:  and  twin  children,  Byron  and  Bertha, 
died  at  the  age  of  a  year  and  a  half.  The 
three  now  living  are:  Mis.  Elizabeth  Tyler, 
who  has  lost  one  daughter,  and  has  living  a 
son  and  a  daughter;  Charles  Edwin  Maine. 
who  has  a  wile  and  a  son,  Charles  Edwin, 
Jr.  :  and  Lucy,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Hazard,  of  Rhode  Island,  and  is  residing  in 
Bayonne,  N.J.  Four  of  the  eight  children 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hazard  are  living.  Mr. 
Mi i ne's  two  eldest  children,  Elizabeth  and 
Charles,  live  near  him.  Their  mother  died 
in  1875,  at  forty-four  years  of  age;  and  on 
February  7,  1876,  Mr.  Maine  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mary  E.  Colgrove,  of  Volun- 
town, daughter  of  Christopher  ami  Lydia 
(Rouse)  Colgrove.  Mrs.  Maine  comes  of  an 
educated  and  talented  family,  and  was  a 
her  before  her  marriage.  Her  eldest 
brother,  Dr.  Charles  H.  Col-rove,  is  a 
cessful  and  prominent  physician  of  Williman- 
tic,  and  has  accumulated  a  handsome  fortune. 


Mr.  Maine  is  nominally  a  Democrat,  hut 
was  elected  to  office  by  many  Republican 
votes  when  John  E.  Lewis  received  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  Republican  majority.  He  has 
been   Seh  lor   many  years,  Town   Clerk 

for  ten  years,  and  for  many  years  he  has  been 
on  the  Board  of  Reliei  and  a  Justice  of  the 
I'M,.  He  lias  made  out  a  large  number  of 
.  and  has  married  many  couples. 
He  was  in  the  legislature  in  [861  and  1874, 
and  is  now  serving  for  the  term  of   1897. 


USTIN  J.  BUSH,  lawyer,  farmer,  and 
miller,  now  serving  his  third  term  as 
Probate  Judge,  was  bom  on  April 
7,  1853,  on  the  farm  in  East  Lyme  upon 
which  he  now  resides,  son  of  Ira  A.  and  Ma- 
tilda P.  (Austin)  Bush.  The  family  is  of 
English  origin;  and  its  early  representatives 
in  America  were  among  the  first  settlers  of 
Wethersfield,  Conn.  On  the  maternal  side, 
it  is  said,  the  Judge  is  of  German  descent. 

Amaziah  Bush,  great-grandfather  of  Judge 
Bush,  married  first  Miss  Lay;  for  his  second 
wife,  a  Smith,  sister  of  Captain  Simon  Smith; 
and  for  his  third  wife,  Dorothy  Dennison,  of 
Essex,  the  mother  of  the  Judge's  grandfather, 
Amasa,  who  was  her  only  child.  Grandfather 
Amasa  Bush,  born  May  21,  1742,  was  a 
tanner  and  miller,  owning  the  old  mill  built 
in  1690,  the  earliest  in  the  county  with  the 
exception  of  the  old  mill  in  New  London  built 
in  1650.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty -six  yi 
His  wife  was  before  marriage  Lucretia  May- 
nard,  of  Norwich.  She  bore  him  eight  chil- 
dren, namely:  B  born  in  1804,  who 
West  and  is  supposed  to  be  still  living: 
Ira  A.,  the  Judge's  lather,  who  was  the  sec- 
ond child:  Abide;  Jerry  I'".;  Nancy,  who 
married  Solomon  Adams,  ami    went   to   Michi- 


4io 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


gan ;   Maria;   Angeline;  and   Emmeline.     All 

married,  and  nearly  all  had  families.  Ira  and 
Abbie  are  now  deceased.  Ira  A.  Bush  was  a 
farmer,  owning  one  hundred  acres  with  the 
mill  site  and  pond  on  Pattagansett  Creek, 
where  the  dam  was  built  in  1690.  He  died 
in  1888,  a  man  universally  respected  and  hav- 
ing the  good  will  of  his  townsmen.  His  wife, 
who  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  was  a  native  of  New  Bedford,  Mass., 
born  April  27,  18 14,  and  married  September 
20,  1832.  She  died  January  28,  1890,  and  is 
buried  in  the  churchyard  at  Niantic.  Of  her 
eight  children  four  sons  and  two  daughters 
grew  to  maturity.  One  son,  William  P. 
Bush,  studied  medicine  at  the  Albany  Medical 
School,  and  was  surgeon  in  the  Sixty-first 
New  York  Regiment  during  the  Civil  War 
until  his  death  at  Georgetown  from  overwork 
at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  He  was  only 
thirty  years  of  age.  He  left  a  wife  and  one 
son.  The  living  children  of  Ira  A.  and  Ma- 
tilda P.  Bush  are:  Mary  L.,  widow  of  Francis 
E.  Morgan,  residing  in  Niantic  at  the  old 
home;  Julius  M.,  in  Pasadena,  Cal.  ;  and 
Judge  Bush,  of  East  Lyme. 

Austin  J.  Bush  attended  the  district  schools 
until  twelve  years  of  age,  when  he  was  sent  to 
the  grammar  and  high  schools  at  New  Lon- 
don. Later  he  studied  for  a  year  in  Suffield 
and  for  two  years  at  Williston  Seminary  in 
Easthampton,  Mass.  He  then  read  law  for  a 
year  with  Pettis  &  Davis,  of  Meadville,  Pa., 
and  after  returning  home  read  a  year  with 
T.  C.  Coogan  at  Enfield,  Conn.  Entering 
Vale  Law  School  in  the  fall  of  1878,  he  took 
the  course  in  one  year;  and  in  June,  1879,  he 
was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  the  Connecticut  and  United  States  courts. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  1878,  Judge 
Bush  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary  Jo- 
sephine Stine,  of    Philadelphia,  Pa.,  daughter 


of  Charles  Stine.  He  has  lived  in  different 
places,  having  spent  some  time  in  Colorado 
and  in  Florida.  I^rom  1882  to  1887  he  was 
Special  Examiner  of  Pensions  in  the  New 
England  and  Middle  States,  and  since  1887 
he  and  his  family  have  lived  at  the  old  home- 
stead. They  have  lost  two  children,  an  in- 
fant son  and  infant  daughter.  The  living 
children  are:  Mary  Josephine  Bush,  who  is  at 
home  and  attending  school ;  and  Wait  Bush,  a 
maiden  of  thirteen,  who  was  named  for  Colo- 
nel John  T.  Wait,  and  is  now  a  pupil  in  the 
high  school. 

Judge  Bush  is  a  Republican.  In  1888  he 
was  elected  Town  Clerk,  and  in  1892  Judge 
of  Probate.  Having  been  twice  re-elected 
since,  he  is  now  serving  on  his  third  term. 
He  is  interested  in  agriculture,  and  carries  on 
considerable  farming.  He  also  operates  the 
mill.  As  a  legal  adviser  he  has  the  confi- 
dence of  a  wide  circle  of  clients,  and  he  is  one 
of  the  most  respected  and  influential  citizens 
of  the  town. 


jRS.  LYDIA  WILLIAMS  NOYES, 

of  Mystic,  Conn.,  whose  hus- 
band, Captain  Benjamin  Franklin 
Noyes,  died  in  Savannah,  Ga.,  June  18,  1879, 
is  the  daughter  of  Sanford  Avery  and  Lucy 
(Stanton)  Williams,  and  comes  from  old  and 
substantial  Colonial  stock,  one  line  of  her  an- 
cestry reaching  back  to  the  "Mayflower"  Pil- 
grims, and  several  lines  including  notable 
Revolutionary  patriots.  One  of  her  great- 
great-grar.dfathers,  Elnathan  Perkins,  perished 
in  the  P"ort  Griswold  massacre.  He  went  to 
the  fort  with  his  four  sons;  and  all  were  killed 
but  one  son,  who  was  one  of  the  few  rescued. 
Two  of  her  great-grandfathers,  Captain  John 
Williams  and  Captain  Amos  Stanton,  were 
also  killed  the  same  day.  Mrs.  Noyes  is  in 
possession  of  the  muster-roll  of  Captain  Amos 


BENJAMIN'    F.   NOYES. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


4'3 


Stanton  in  the  original  handwriting,  < 
November  9,  1777.  She  takes  much  interesl 
in  tracing  back  and  preserving  the  family 
history.  Her  great -grandmother,  Eunice 
Williams,  wife  of  Richard  Williams,  reared 
four  suns;  namely,  Paul,  Barnabus,  Sanford, 
Silas;  and  one  daughter,  named  Prudence, 
who  married  a  Halsey.  Barnabus  and  Paul 
Williams  settled  in  Akron,  Ohio;  Sanford 
was  wounded  at  Fort  Griswold;  Silas  Will- 
iams was  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Noyes.  Her 
lather,  Sanford  Avery  Williams,  was  a  farmer 
in  Groton.  He  died  in  1871,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five;  and  her  mother  died  in  1 S77,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-six.  Of  their  four  daughters, 
Lydia,  Betsey,  Prudence,  and  Mary,  the  third 
died  at  the  age  of  four;  Betsey  married  Amos 
Giles  Stanton,  and  died  at  the  old  home  in 
Groton  in  September,  1894,  in  the  fifty-ninth 
year  of  her  age,  leaving  three  sons  and  two 
daughters;  and  Mai)'  Prudence,  the  youngest, 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years. 

Lydia,  the  eldest,  was  married  to  Benjamin 
F.  Noyes  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  August, 
[N54,  at  her  father's  home.  Mr.  Noyes  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Stonington.  Until  six- 
teen years  old  he  lived  on  a  farm.  lie  then 
shipped  before  the  mast  on  a  whaling-vessel 
called  the  "Coriolanus,"  of  Mystic,  Captain 
Gustavus  Appleman,  and  made  a  three  years' 
voyage.  His  next  trip  was  as  boat  steerer  on 
the  bark  '•United  States,"  Captain  Barnum, 
out  for  sea  elephants,  for  eighteen  months. 
From  this  time  on  he  was  promoted  until  he 
became  master  and  part  owner  of  the  vessels 
in  which  he  sailed.  At  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  at  the  age  of  fifty-one,  Captain 
s  was  in  charge  of  the  schooner 
"Chainer."  He  was  a  Master  Mason  in  Nor- 
wich and  afterward  in  Mystic.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Mrs.    Noyes  accompanied    her   husband    on 


three  different    voyages,    two   South,    and   one 
across  the   Atlantic  to  Bordeaux,   France;    but 

all  seemed  long  to  her,  as  she  was  unable  to 
overcome  her  seasickness.  She  lost  her  eld- 
on,  Sanford  Frank,  at  tin  two 
She  has  two  living  children:  Edith 
May,  wife  of  Christophei  Morgan,  who  has 
two  children;  and  Charles  Williams  Noyes, 
who  married  Miry  T.  Foote,  of  Mystic,  and 
who  now  owns  and  manages  a  greenhouse  in 
Prophetstown,  Whiteside  Count},   111. 

Mrs.  Noyes  is  a  communicant  of  the  Epis- 
copal church.  While  not  in  robust  health, 
except  for  her  healing,  which  has  been  im- 
paired of  late,  she  preserves  a  good  degree  of 
youthful  vigor.  Her  intelligence  and  loveli- 
ness of  character  have  endeared  her  to  many 
friends.  Mrs.  Noyes  and  her  daughter  are 
both  members  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  and  Mrs.  Morgan  for  the 
past  two  years  has  held  the  office  of  Regent  of 
the  Fanny  Ledyard  Chapter.  These  ladies 
are  also  numbered  among  the  posterity  of  two 
of  the  most  famous  of  the  Pilgrims  who 
landed  on  Plymouth  Rock  on  Forefathers' 
Day,  1620  —  John  Alden  and  Priscilla  Mul- 
lins  —  Mrs.  Noyes  tracing  her  lineage  to  the 
historic  pair  through  her  mother,  Lucy  Stan- 
ton Williams.  Mrs.  Morgan  is  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  Mayflower  Descendants. 


1I.I.IAM      HERBERT     BUSH,*     a 

talented  musician  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  the  sou  of  Aaron  and  Hen- 
rietta (Parkhurst)  Hush,  is  a  native  of  this 
city.  His  grandfather,  Anson  Bush,  was  born 
in  Connecticut.  He  was  a  boss  ship-rL 
and  worked  for  the  old  established  firm  of 
llovens  &  Williams.  lie  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  church  in  New  London,  wdiere 
he  died  in    1880. 


4M 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Mis  son  Aaron  was  born  in  1832,  and  died 
on  Easter  Sunday  in  1893.  He  married 
Henrietta,  a  daughter  of  John  Parkhurst. 
Her  grandfather  Parkhurst  was  a  bearer  of 
despatches  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Both 
Mr.  and  Airs.  Aaron  Bush  were  Methodists  in 
religious  belief,  and  Mr.  Bush  was  an  active 
worker  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
New  London.  They  had  eight  children,  only 
three  of  whom  attained  maturity,  namely: 
William  Herbert,  the  second-born  son  and  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Ida  M.,  a  graduate  of 
the  high  school,  living  in  this  city;  and 
Charles. 

William  Herbert,  the  elder  of  the  two 
brothers  now  living,  received  a  general  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools,  which  he  attended 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  his 
musical  education  began  under  the  direction 
of  Charles  B.  Jennings,  of  New  London.  He 
afterward  took  lessons  on  both  organ  and 
piano  of  Charles  S.  Elliot,  who  had  been  a 
pupil  of  the  great  Guilmant,  of  Paris;  and 
later  he  went  to  New  York  to  study,  where  his 
her  was  Samuel  P.  Warren,  for  twenty- 
five  years  the  organist  of  Trinity  Church. 
He  continued  under  the  instruction  of  Mr. 
Warren  for  three  years;  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  he  returned  to  New  London,  where  he 
has  been  a  successful  teacher  of  both  organ 
and  piano  ever  since.  He  has  been  the  organ- 
ist of  the  Second  Congregational  Church  for 
eleven  years  and  master  of  the  choir  for  three 
years.  Mr.  Bush  has  given  recitals  in  his  na- 
tive city  and  in  other  places,  which  have  been 
most  successful,  his  interpretation  of  the  great 
masters  being  sympathetic  and  impressive. 
He  married  Julia  De  Sant,  of  New  London, 
February  14,  [887.  Mrs.  Bush  is  a  woman  of 
an  artistic  temperament  and  much  musical 
ability.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bush  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Second  Congregational   Church. 


/^TeORGE  E.  FELLOWS,*  of  Nor- 
\ [3  I  wich,  Superintendent  of  Streets,  was 
born  in  New  London,  August  9, 
1853,  his  parents  being  Joshua  E.  and  Eunice 
H.  (Hempstead)  Fellows.  His  grandfather, 
Robert  Fellows,  was  Sheriff  of  New  London 
County,  and  ran  the  old  grist-mill  in  New 
London.  Robert  was  a  man  of  magnificent 
physique,  standing  six  feet,  two  inches,  and 
with  a  bod\-  perfectly  proportioned.  He  died 
about  1859.  His  wife,  whose  name  in 
maidenhood  was  Hannah  Williams,  died  at  an 
advanced  age;  and  both  are  buried  in  Cedar 
Grove  Cemetery  in  New  London.  They  had  a 
family  of  eight  sons  and  one  daughter,  most  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity.  Joshua  E.  Fellows 
was  born  in  Stonington  in  1825,  and  came  to 
this  town  about  1888.  He  was  a  mason  and 
contractor,  and  built  several  brick  churches 
and  other  edifices  in  New  London  and  Nor- 
wich, among  them  the  Broadway  Congrega- 
tional Church,  with  its  steeple  two  hundred 
feet  high,  the  Catholic  school-house,  and  the 
annex  to  the  Broadway  school-house.  He 
was  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  the  Volun- 
teer Infantry  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
served  for  a  year.  He  died  February  2,  1885. 
His  wife,  Eunice,  whom  he  married  about 
1845,  was  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  first  fam- 
ilies of  this  section.  She  is  now  residing 
with  her  two  daughters  in  Norwich.  Of  her 
family  of  six  children  three  are  living, 
namely:  Anna  E.,  who  has  been  for  several 
years  a  teacher  in  Norwich;  George  E.,  whose 
name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  sketch;  and 
Elizabeth  Hannah,  a  stenographer  and  type- 
writer, now  filling  an  important  position  with 
the  Norwich  Bleachery  Company.  Joshua 
Fellows  was  a  Methodist  in  religious  faith, 
and  his  wife  and  daughters  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

George    E.    Fellows    learned    the    mason's 


niOGR  A  P 1 1 1 CA L    R  K.VI E\V 


■I  "5 


trade  in  his  youth,  and  subsequently  worked 
with  his  father.  After  the  death  of  the  latter 
he  carried  on  the  business  until  1894,  when 
he  was  appointed  to  the  responsible  position 
he  now  holds.  He  has  some  forty  miles  ol 
t  under  his  charge,  and  employs  from 
thirty-nine  to  one  hundred  men  and  from  five 
to  ten  double  teams.  Mr.  Fellows  is  a 
Mason,  and  has  advanced  as  far  as  the  Coun- 
cil. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  has 
never  sought  office  nor  held  it  until  being 
nmissioner. 
On  November  25.  i S 7 5 ,  Mr.  Fellows  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lila  E.  Harvey,  of 
Preston,  daughter  of  Henry  Harvey,  now  de- 
d.  Mrs.  Fellows  has  one  sister  and  two 
brothers,  namely:  Isabella,  wife  of  John  E. 
Sherman,  of  Norwich;  Frederick  A.,  living  in 
Preston;  and  Clinton  A.,  of  Norwich.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fellows  have  lost  a  daughter,  Alice, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years.  They  have 
three  living  children:  Edith  A.,  who  is  now 
pin  suing  a  course  in  stenography  and  t 
writing;  Lillic  Louise,  residing  at  home  and 
attending  school:  and  George  Robert,  a  lad  ol 
nine  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fellows  reside  in 
the  large  frame  house  at  343  Franklin  Street, 
the  erection  of  which  was  begun  by  Mr. 
Joshua  Fellows. 


AJOR  EUGENF  A.  BANCROFT,* 
of  New  London,  formerly  of  the 
Fourth  Artillery  Corps  of  the 
United  States  Army,  was  born  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  June  17,  1825,  the  son  of  Thomas  and 
Betsey  (Tileston)  Bancroft.  His  great-grand- 
father was  Thomas  Bancroft,  and  his  grand- 
father. Aaron  Bancroft,  of  Boston.  At  hast 
one  member  of  the  family  fought  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  Captain  Bancroft,  who  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 


Thomas  Bam  roft,  the  Major's  father,  was 
bom  in  Boston  in  1798,  and  died  there  in 
[886.  His  first  wife,  Betsey  Tileston,  died 
in   her   twenty-second    year   in    1828,    leaving 

two  children  —  Eugene  and  an  infanl  daugh- 
ter. The  daughter  died  in  early  married  life. 
Mr.  Bancroft  and  his  second  wile,  Eliza  Os- 
born,  reared  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Of 
this  family  three  are  living,  namely:  the  two 
daughters;  and  a  son.  Thomas  J.,  who  is  an 
Assessor  in  Boston. 

Major  Eugene  A.  Bancroft  was  given  gi 
educational  advantages,  finishing  his  com 
study  at  the  Chauncy  Hall  School.  Boston. 
From  1849  to  1856  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  Adams  Express  Company  in  California. 
going  via  New  Oilcans  and  Texas,  the  jour- 
ney consuming  six  months;  and  in  1S61  he 
began  his  military  career,  enlisting  in  the 
Sturgis  Rifles  in  Chicago.  On  October  24  of 
that  year  he  was  commissioned  Second  Lieu- 
tenant in  the  regular  army;  on  June  25.  1 
he  was  brevetted  First  Lieutenant  for  gallan- 
try near  Fair  Oaks,  Va. ;  on  L 
1862,  he  was  commissioned  First  Lieutenant: 
and  on  July  3,  1863,  brevet  was  conferred 
upon  him  for  bravery  at  Gettysburg.  Though 
not  a  physically  strong  man,  Majot  Bancroft 
has  the  resolute  will,  the  nerve  and  fire,  that 
characterize  leaders  of  men;  and.  whem 
danger  was  to  be  faced,  he  was  found  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fray.  The  rank  of  Captain  of 
the  Fifteenth  Infantry  was  offered  him  Janu- 
ary 22,  1867;  but  he  declined  it-  'ting, 
however,  the  Captaincy  of  the  Fourth  Artil- 
lery, April  26,  1873.  He  was  in  active 
vice  against  the  Indians  in  the  West  and  at 
Clear  Water,  Idaho,  was  severely  wounded  by  a 
gunshot  in  the  left  arm.  left  lung,  and  thorax. 
For  gallant  conduct  at  this  time  he  received 
his  major's  brevet.  He  went  to  Europe  on  a 
pleasure     trip     in     1873,    but     within    a    few 


4i  6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


months  was  recalled,  and  ordered  to  join  the 
army  in  the  West.  Stationed  for  some  time 
in  California,  he  was  two  years  in  Sitka  and 
different  parts  of  Alaska,  spending  nine  years 
in  all  in  the  Far  West.  On  June  17,  1889, 
his  sixty-fourth  birthday,  he  was  honorably 
discharged,  having  attained  the  age  limit  for 
active  military  service.  Though  not  a  con- 
firmed invalid.  Major  Bancroft  suffers  from 
physical  disability  to  some  extent,  caused  by 
the  hardships  and  exposure  of  army  life,  and 
his  hearing  is  impaired  by  climatic  causes; 
but  he  is  constitutionally  cheerful,  keen,  and 
witty,  and  enjoys  heartily  a  good  joke  or 
story.  In  all  things  he  is  a  typical  Yankee 
soldier. 

Major  Bancroft  was  married  June  19,  1861, 
to  Miss  Eleanor  Croes,  a  native  of  St. 
Charles,  111.,  daughter  of  Ralph  V.  M.  and 
Anna  N.  (Blanchard)  Croes.  Mr.  Croes  died 
in  Chicago  in  1855.  His  widow  is  yet  living. 
Ten  children  have  been  given  to  Major  Ban- 
croft and  his  wife,  and  nine  of  them  are  liv- 
ing: Anna  B.,  wife  of  William  D.  Coit,  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  New  London;  Thomas 
Eugene,  in  New  York  City,  unmarried; 
Eleanor,  a  graduate  of  the  New  London  High 
School;  Henry  Edward,  Mary  Edith,  Bessie 
Tileston,  Charlotte  J.,  Helen  McDowell,  and 
George  Croes.  ten  years  of  age,  all  with  their 
parents.  In  politics  the  Major  favors  the  Re- 
publican side.      He  is  a  Master  Mason. 


LLEN  TIFFANY,*  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  now  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing, was  born  at  his  present  home 
in  Salem,  New  London  County,  Conn.,  Au- 
gust 25,  [843.  His  parents  were  William  S. 
and  Maria  (IX-  Wolf)  Tiffany-  His  paternal 
grandfather  was  Eleazer  Tiffany,  a  farmer  of 
this    place,    who    died    in     1S51,    past    eighty 


years  of  age.  He  had  five  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  of  whom  lived  to  an  old  age. 
The  last  of  the  family  was  Mrs.  Palmer,  of 
Stonington,  a  widow,  now  deceased. 

William  S.  Tiffany  married  first  a  Miss 
Atwater.  She  died  leaving  one  daughter. 
By  his  second  wife,  who  was  a  sister  of  Ed- 
ward De  Wolf,  he  had  five  children,  namely : 
Allen  and  his  sister,  Ellen  E. ,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Joshua  Enos;  Martha  M.,  wife  of 
George  Priest;  John  F.,  who  is  a  widower, 
and  makes  his  home  with  his  brother  Allen; 
and  Joseph  F.,  who  died  in  1870,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one.  The  mother  died  February  15, 
1885,  in  her  seventy-sixth  year,  and  the  father 
died  in  September,  1891,  after  leading  the 
life  of  an  invalid  for  twenty  years.  In  relig- 
ious belief  and  affiliation  both  parents  were 
Congregationalists. 

Allen  Tiffany  received  a  common-school  ed- 
ucation, and  remained  at  home  until  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  He  worked  at  carpentering 
under  his  father,  who  was  also  a  wheelwright; 
and  he  afterward  was  engaged  for  fourteen 
years  in  constructing  the  wood-work  of  steam 
printing  presses  in  Norwich.  He  returned  to 
the  home  farm  in  December  of  the  year  1884; 
and  since  his  father's  death  he  has  carried  on 
the  farm,  which  was  his  inheritance,  keeping 
the  [dace  up  in  good  style,  the  new  buildings 
being  of  his  own  erection. 

He  married  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  1871. 
Ann  E.  Stanton,  of  Ledyard,  daughter  of 
Henry  W.  and  Lydia  E.  Chesebro,  of  Ston- 
ington. Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tiffany,  as  follows:  Nellie  M.,  of 
New  London;  Jennie  M.,  who  is  still  at  home 
and  is  her  mother's  right  hand  helper;  George 
1'".  A.,  who.  though  but  sixteen  years  old,  is 
six  feet  in  stature,  like  his  father;  and  Mattie 
E.,  the  youngest,  a  bright  child  of  seven 
years.     In  politics  Mr.  Tiffany  is  a  Republican. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIEW 


419 


6 1  HOMAS    DRUMMOND,   a   well-known 
I       steam    boiler    manufacturer    of     New 
London,     who     resides     at      10     Pear] 
Street,    was    horn    in    Ireland,    September    16, 
[833,  son  of  Joseph   and   Catherine  (Caffrey) 
Drummond.      The  parents,  who  were   in   hum- 
circumstances,    came    to    America    practi- 
cally without    means,  bringing  with    them  two 
of   their    seven    children,    five    of    whom    were 
--"us;   namely,  Thomas.    Joseph,    James,  Will- 
iam, and  George.      Settling   in    Rhode  Island, 
Joseph     Drummond     turned    his    attention    to 
farming,    which    occupation    he    followed    for 
twenty  years.      He  died  in   1.S85,  at  the    1 

ty-thre'e,  surviving  his  wife,  who  lived  to 
he  seventy-five,  three  years.  Of  his  five  sons 
I'll  has  been  a  resident  of  San  Francisco 
since  [856;  James  is  a  house  carpenter  in 
Providence,  R.I.  ;  William  is  also  a  resilient 
of  that  city:  and  George  is  a  farmer  in  Ash- 
ford,  Conn. 

Thomas  Drummond  attended  the  public 
"ds,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  began  to 
Karn  the  boiler-making  trade  with  Thurston, 
ne  &  Co.,  of  Providence,  R.I.  After 
working  then-  fur  some  years  and  acquiring  a 
good  knowledge  of  tile  trade,  he  came  to  New- 
London,  and  for  ten  years  was  foreman  of  the 
Albertson  &  Douglas  firm  in  this  city,  later 
serving  two  vears  in  a  similar  capacity  for  the 
Burden  Iron  Works,  where  he  had  the  super- 
vision of  nearly  one  hundred  men.  He  was 
one  of  tin-  skilled  mechanics  employed  on  the 
Last  River  Bridge  in  [856.  In  1S72  he 
in  business  on  his  own  account  in  Nor- 
wich. Conn.,  where  he  remained  some  years, 
returning  to  New  London  in  December,  1XN5. 
For  the  past  twelve  years  he  has  condui 
business  at  53  Water  Street,  where  he  em- 
ploys from  ten  to  fifty  men  according  to  the 
times.  I  I,-  is  also  a  director  of  the  Connecti- 
cut  Loom  Company.      In   politics   he   is  a  Re- 


publican, having   been    previous    to   the   Civil 
War  a  radical  abolitionist.       He  has  served    as 
State  Boiler   tnspectoi  for  eleven   years,      lb- 
belongs  to  the  .Masonic  order,  being  a  mei 
of  the  Chapter.   R.   A.    M. 

Mr.  Drummond  married  Mary  A.  Kneff,  "I 
Eastport,  Me.,  and  she  became  tin-  mother  ol 
eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  Rebecca  Frances;  Sarah  Charlotte, 
now  Mrs.  Andrew  Welton,  of  Springfield, 
Mass.;  Mary  A.,  a  trained  nurse;  Emma  W., 
an  employee  in  the  R.  H.  White  store,  Bos- 
ton; and  Joseph  Johnson  Drummond,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Stockton,  Cal.  Two  eh i  Mien  died 
in  infancy:  and  Thomas  R.,  who  was  unmar- 
ried, was  drowned  when  twenty-eight  \ 
old  at  Fort  Townsend,  Wash.,  in  1888. 
The  mother  died  in  Somerville,  Mass.,  in 
1871.  In  May,  [884,  Mr.  Drummond  mar- 
ried for  his  second  wife  Mrs.  Charlotte  A. 
(Beckwith)  Collins,  of  this  city. 


AMES    HOWLAND    STIVERS,*    one 

of  the  leading  merchants  of  Stonington 
borough,  was  born  in  the  town  of  St 
ington,  Conn.,  May  22,  1861,  and  is  a  son  of 
the  late  Captain  John  Randall  Stivers.  The 
family  is  of  German  origin,  and  its  represent- 
atives in  this  country  have  been  possi  ssed  of 
many  of  the  solid  and  enduring  qualities  for 
which  the  German  race  is  so  widely  known. 

Daniel  Stivers,  grandfather  oi  Captain 
Stivers,  lived  in  New  Jersey.  His  son  I 
born  at  Newark,  N.J.,  was  a  pioneer  settler 
in  one  of  the  Middle  Western  States.  John 
Randall  Stivers,  father  of  James  I  low  land, 
was  born  near  Utica.  N.Y.,  on  January  S, 
1825,  and  died  April  1.  [893.  When  he- 
was  but  a  small  child,  his  parents  removed 
to  the  West;  and  tins'  remained  there  until 
the  death  of  the  father  a  few  years  later.      The 


420 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


widow  then  returned  with  her  young  children 
to  New  York  State;  and  John,  being  the  eld- 
est, helped  to  support  the  family  until  his 
mother  married  again.  This  was  in  1843; 
and  the  youth,  then  nearly  eighteen  years  of 
age,  decided  to  strike  out  for  himself.  He 
went  to  New  York  City,  and  shipped  for  a 
whaling  voyage,  and  at  that  time  met  Mr. 
Horace  Trumbull,  who  was  in  New  York  on 
business  for  his  father.  Young  Stivers  came 
to  Stonington  to  join  his  vessel,  which  was 
the  old  "United  States,"  then  being  fitted  out 
for  a  cruise  by  the  firm  of  Stanton  &  Trum- 
bull. 

He  continued  in  the  whaling  business  for 
nearly  forty  years,  until  1880,  in  the  employ 
of  Stanton  &  Trumbull  or  of  Tabor,  Gordon  & 
Co.,  of  New  Bedford,  occupying  the  position 
of  either  chief  or  first  officer  on  nearly  every 
voyage.  Captain  Stivers  had  many  exciting 
and  hazardous  experiences,  being  at  one  time 
caught  and  shut  up  in  one  of  the  ice  floes 
in  the  Arctic  Ocean.  He  was  on  the  bark 
"Henry  Tabor,"  of  New  Bedford,  and  was  a 
very  popular  captain.  In  the  year  1880  he 
retired  from  the  whaling  business,  and  went 
to  New  Britain,  where  his  family  had  lived 
for  some  time.  A  few  months  afterward  he 
came  to  the  borough,  and  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business.  In  this  he  was  remarkably 
successful,  and  in  a  few  years  managed,  by 
fair  dealing  and  courteous  manners,  aided  by 
his  amiable  and  genial  personality,  to  build 
up  a  large  and  paying  business.  Captain 
Stivers  was  not  a  member  of  any  social  order 
or  fraternity,  but  was  a  vestryman  of  Calvary 
Episcopal  Chinch.  His  death  was  a  severe 
loss  to  the  church  as  well  as  to  the  com- 
munity. 

One  of  Captain  Stivers's  brothers,  Edwin  J. 
Stivers,  now  in  New  York  City,  was  a  volun- 
teer soldier   in   the   Civil   War,  having  previ- 


ously been  a  locomotive  engineer.  He  went 
to  the  front  in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  and 
rose  from  the  rank  of  private  to  that  of  First 
Lieutenant.  He  remained  in  the  regular 
army  for  several  years  after  the  close  of  the 
war,  receiving  a  Captain's  commission,  and 
was  stationed  at  Fort  Snelling.  He  was  re- 
tired about  1888. 

Mr.  James  Howland  Stivers  is  the  second 
of  the  three  sons  of  Captain  Stivers.  The 
eldest-born,  John  Orrin  Stivers,  is  engaged  in 
mining  in  Denver,  Col.,  and  is  married,  and 
has  a  family.  The  youngest  is  Francis 
Edwin,  of  West  Haven,  Conn.,  who  is  in  the 
auditor's  department  of  the  railroad.  James 
attended  the  common  schools  here  for  some 
years  and  later  the  New  Britain  High  School, 
from  which  he  was  graduated.  He  then  en- 
tered the  grocery  of  his  father,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  the  business  to  the  present  time, 
taking  full  charge  since  the  death  of  his 
father. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  1893,  Mr.  Stivers  mar- 
ried Lucy  Annie,  daughter  of  John  F.  and 
Eliza  A.  (Sherman)  Sherman,  her  father  and 
mother  having  the  same  name,  but  belong- 
ing to  different  families.  Both  were  born  in 
the  township  of  Kingston,  R.I.  They  were 
married  there  in  1864,  and  settled  at  James- 
town, R.I.,  on  Conanticut  Island,  where  Mr. 
Sherman  became  owner  of  a  large  farm.  He 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  enlisting  for 
nine  months  in  the  Twelfth  Regiment  of 
Rhode  Island  Volunteer  Infantry,  Company 
K.  and  serving  for  thirteen  months.  Fie  was 
in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and,  though 
receiving  shot  in  his  clothing  and  being 
stunned  by  flying  sods,  he  was  personally  un- 
injured. His  health  was  impaired,  however, 
by  exposure  and  hardship;  and  he  is  now  a 
pensioner. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherman  have  three  children: 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


•(-> 


John  F.,  Jr.,  in  Lebanon,  Conn.  ;  Mrs. 
Stivers;  and  Isaac  Sherman,  now  in  Westerly, 
R.I.  On  her  mother's  side  .Mis.  Stivers  is 
descended,  it  is  said,  from  General  Nathaniel 
Greene  and  Governor  Benedict  Arnold,  of 
Rhode  Island.  Two  of  her  direct  ancestors 
were  commissioned  officers  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War.  She  is  thus  eligible  for  member- 
ship in  the  Society  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
Revolution. 


7""\IIARI.F.S  N.   CHAMPLIN,*  a  promi- 

I  Sj         nent    citizen   of    Norwich,    Conn.,  re- 

vi9    ^  siding  near  Thamesville,  is  a  native 

of  this  city,  and  was  born  in  1849,  his 
parents  being  Joseph  anil  Louise  (Dewey) 
Champlin.  The  Champlin  family  came  to 
this  part  of  the  country  from  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island  in  1784.  Nathan  Champlin 
was  brought  here  when  four  years  old  by  his 
parents,  Rowland  and  Anna  (Babcock) 
Champlin,  who  settled  at  Greenville,  and  kept 
a  large  boarding-house. 

Nathan  married  I.ydia  Woodward,  of  Can- 
terbury, Conn.,  and  began  life  in  a  humble 
and  primitive  way  in  his  new  ami  unfinished 
house  on  West  .Main  Street.  He  was  a  car- 
penter,  and  became  a  prosperous  contractor 
and  builder.  His  family  consisted  of  seven 
sons  and  five  daughters.  One  son  is  living, 
and  resides  at  255  West  .Main  Street,  on  the 
land  where  his  father  settled. 

Joseph  Champlin,  father  of  Mr.  Charles  N. , 
was  born  in  Norwich  about  1S22,  and  died  in 
1851.  His  wife  was  left  a  widow  with  three 
children,  and  never  remarried.  She  died  in 
1S77,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight.  The  children 
were:  Maria,  who  married  Thomas  Potter,  and 
died  in  1870,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years ; 
Charles  N.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
Lydia,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 

Charles     Champlin     attended    the    common 


schools,  but  received  only  a  limited  education, 
as  at  the  age  of  ten  years  he  was  obliged  1" 
work  dining  the'  summer:  anil  when  fir 
years  of  age  he  left  school  altogether,  and  was 
obliged  to  become  self-supporting.  Winn  he 
was  ten  years  old  he  went  to  live  in  the  fam- 
ily of  Ira  Gifford,  a  farmer  of  this  town,  and 
remained  with  him  seven  years.  He  1 
the  business  in  which  he  is  at  present  en- 
gaged twenty-six  years  ago,  driving  a  bone 
wagon  for  his  wife's  father,  and  some  sixteen 
years  since  succeeded  to  the  management  of 
the  business.  The  factory  on  his  farm  has 
live  kettles.  He  runs  some  three  or  four 
wagons,  and  keeps  ten  horses  in  use.  Mr. 
Champlin  has  enlarged  and  improved  both  the 
house  and  the  barn  on  his  estate,  and  has  now 
a  most  pleasant  and  comfortable  home.  His 
farm  consists  of  seventy  acres,  and  is  mostly 
in  grass  and  pasture  land.  Mr.  Champlin  is 
known  as  one  of  the  progressive  and  thrifty 
citizens  of  this  town,  and  enjoys  unusual  es- 
teem.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

On  September  16,  1874,  Mr.  Champlin 
united  in  marriage  with  Nellie  F.,  daughter 
of  E.  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Howard)  Dudley. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Champlin  have  one  child,  Addie 
L.,  a  rosy-cheeked  young  lady  "I  fourteen 
years  and  a  student  in  the  Norwich  Free 
School. 


ATTAIN    GEORGE    W.    BECK 
WITH,*    keeper   of    the  light-house 

on  Stonington   Breakwater,  was  horn 
April  1,  1845,  in  Salem.  Conn.,  a  son 
P.     Beckwith.        His     grandfather,     William 
Beckwith,  was  a  lifelong  farmer  in  Watcrluiry, 
this  State. 

Ezra  P.  Beckwith  was  born  in  New  London, 
Conn.,  in  1S17,  and  died  at  Willimantic, 
Conn.,  in  1884.  He  was  a  stone-cutter  by 
trade,  expert   in   the   use  of  tools,  and  worked 


1-- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


at  his  chosen  occupation  in  Norwich  and 
Wester]}'.  In  1842  he  married  Harriet  De 
Wolfe,  of  Hadlyme,  in  the  town  of  Lyme, 
New  London  County,  Conn.,  a  daughter  of 
William  De  Wolfe,  a  quarryman.  Her  father 
was  one  of  a  family  of  seven  children  born  to 
his  mother,  who  attained  the  venerable  age  of 
ninety-six  years,  and  was  full  of  life  and  vigor 
to  the  close  of  her  days.  Her  maiden  name 
was  Betsey  Woods.  William  De  Wolfe  mar- 
ried Hannah  Bailey,  and  had  four  children, 
all  of  whom  are  living,  namely:  William  De 
Wolfe,  of  Salem,  Conn.,  now  seventy-four 
years  old ;  Albert,  also  a  farmer  in  the  same 
town,  seventy-two  years  of  age;  Harriet,  for- 
merly Mrs.  Beckwith,  now  Mrs.  Hibbard, 
nearly  seventy  years  old ;  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
Minor,  the  youngest  of  the  family.  Ezra  P. 
and  Harriet  (De  Wolfe)  Beckwith  reared  three 
children,  namely:  Dr.  Beckwith,  a  practising 
physician,  who  died  in  1886,  aged  thirty-five 
years,  leaving  four  orphan  children,  his  wife 
having  died  previously;  George  W. ,  the 
special  subject  of  this  brief  biography;  and 
Hattie,  wife  of  Thomas  Turner,  of  Oakdale, 
Mass.  The  mother,  after  living  a  widow  for 
some  time,  married  for  her  second  husband 
John  Hibbard,  who  died  in  1885,  after  five 
years  of  acute  suffering  from  rheumatism. 
He  was  a  son  of  Andrew  Hibbard,  of  Nor- 
wich, Conn.  John  Hibbard  was  a  mechanical 
engineer,  and  during  and  after  the  Civil  War 
was  an  engineer  in  the  United  States  navy. 
His  widow  now  draws  a  pension. 

George  W.  Beckwith  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Salem,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  shipped  in  the  cabin  as  steward  of 
a  vessel,  a  capacity  in  which  he  served  twenty 
years.  Previous  to  this  time,  however,  he 
served  nine  months  as  a  private  in  Company 
G,  Twenty-seventh  Connecticut  Volunteer  In- 
fantry,    having    enlisted    in    October,     1862. 


He  was  an  active  participant  in  two  battles, 
but  was  neither  wounded  nor  captured. 
While  a  steward  Mr.  Beckwith  visited  every 
clime  and  zone,  going  twice,  in  1874  and 
1876,  to  Greenland,  where  he  spent  sixteen 
months  among  the  Esquimaux  for  his  health. 
For  the  past  nine  years  he  has  been  in  the 
government  service,  at  first  as  keeper  of  the 
Penfield  Light -house  and  in  recent  years 
keeper  of  the  Stonington  Breakwater  Light- 
house, where  he  is  discharging  the  duties  of 
his  responsible  position  with  conscientious 
fidelity  and  ability.  Captain  Beckwith  is  a 
member  of  Sedgwick  Post,  No.  1,  G.  A.  R., 
and  is  a  pensioner  of  the  government. 


JB 


ANIEL  FRASER,  a  retired  black- 
smith of  New  London,  Conn.,  is  a 
native  of  Scotland.  He  was  born 
in  Dunkeld,  Perthshire,  June  23,  1824,  and  is 
descended  from  a  line  of  men  sturdy  and 
strong,  his  ancestors  for  twelve  generations 
having  been  blacksmiths.  His  parents  were 
Alexander  Fraser  and  Betsey  Newton  Lang- 
lands  Fraser.  The  family  genealogy  traces 
back  to  the  Fraser  who  fought  on  the  field  of 
Bannockburn  in  13 14. 

Donald  Fraser,  great-grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  biographical  sketch,  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  rebellion  of  1745,  and  lost 
his  life  in  the  prime  of  manhood  by  being 
drowned  in  Loch  Ness  in  a  gallant  attempt 
to  carry  provisions  to  Prince  Charles  Stuart. 
Grandfather  Fraser  was  his  son,  Donald,  Jr., 
a  blacksmith,  who  had  a  family  of  seven  sons 
and  four  daughters.  It  is  said  that  the  Mayor 
of  Perth  caused  the  bells  of  the  city  to  be  rung 
one  evening  in  honor  of  Donald  and  his  seven 
stalwart  sons,  who  were  walking  together  after 
supper,  all  fine-looking  men  —  a  sight  worth 
seeing.       Grandfather    Fraser     lived     to     be 


WIXF1ELD    S.    DeWOLF 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


1-5 


ninety-six  years  old.  His  grave  is  in  Perth, 
in  Gray  Friars'  Churchyard.  Alexander 
Fraser,  above  named,  one  of  his  seven  sons, 
died  in  1845,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two,  having 
contracted  the  cholera.  His  wife  was  the 
liter  of  Andrew  Langlands,  from  the  bor- 
ders ol  England. 

Daniel  Fraser  left  school  when  only  twelve 
old,  and  at  that  age  began  to  learn  his 
trade,  serving  a  regular  apprenticeship  of 
seven  years  in  a  large  shop  in  Dundee,  receiv- 
ing the  first  year  sixty-two  and  one-half  cents 
week,  and  the  last  year  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  week.  In  [842,  when  but  nineteen 
years  old,  he  married,  his  bride  being  but 
seventeen.  In  1850  they  came  to  America, 
sailing  on  the  ship  "Hudson  "  from  Glasgow 
to  New  York  City,  and  being  ten  weeks  and 
two  days  on  the  passage,  Mr.  Fraser  settled 
in  Mast  New  London  on  Winthrop  Point, 
where  he  bought  some  land,  on  which  he  has 
now  three  buildings.  For  thirty -two  years  he 
worked  in  one  shop,  for  Albertson  &  Douglass, 
and  at  one  forge.  Some  ten  years  ago  he 
built  his  shop  on  his  own  land. 

Mr.  Fraser's  wile  was  before  marriage  Isa- 
bella Procter.  Her  parents  were  John  Procter, 
a  farmer  of  Dundee,  Scotland,  and  his  wife, 
Mary  Ann  Baker.  Peter  Baker,  Mrs.  Fraser's 
maternal  grandfather,  was  an  officer  in  the 
battle  of  Waterloo.  Mr.  Procter  died  at  the 
age  of  forty-eight,  leaving  his  widow  with 
three  children  —  Mrs.  Fraser  and  her  two 
brothers  —  James  Procter  living  in  New  I. cm- 
don,  and  Alexander  in  Peck  Street,  Norwich. 
The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fraser  are: 
Donald,  a  farmer  and  blacksmith,  and  father 
of  three  children;  Isabella,  living  near  her 
parents,  widow  oi  James  Hutchinson  and 
mother  of  one  son  and  two  daughters;  Jane, 
wife  of  Alexander  YVaite,  of  blast  New  Lon- 
don;  Alexander,    a   blacksmith    in   this   place, 


unmarried:  Margaret,  wife  of  Andrew  Mc- 
Laughlin,   oi    this   city,   and   mothei    oi     four 

children:  James,  living  at  home,  unmarried; 
Elizabeth,  now  Mrs.  William  (leer,  of  New 
London,  and  mother  of  three  children;  and 
Almira,  living  at  home.  Donald  Frasei  was 
a  volunteer  soldier  in  the  late  war,  enlisting 
for  nine  months  and  serving  a  year.  He  was 
wounded  three  times  at  Port  Hudson  -  in  the 
mouth,  losing  eleven  teeth  ami  a  part  of  his 
jaw,  and  in  the  shoulder  and  knee.  He  is 
married  to  Almira  Maynard,  and  has  three 
children  now  living,  namely:  Daniel;  Ida, 
now  Mrs.  Havens,  of  Niantic;  and  Almira, 
who  is  at  home  with  her  parents.  Their 
daughter  Anna  Isabel,  wife  of  Elmer  Beck- 
with,  of  Niantic,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
nine,  leaving  two  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Daniel  Fraser  have  til  teen  grandchildren  and 
four  great-grandchildren. 

I7raternally,  Mr.  Fraser  is  a  Master  Mason. 
He  is  an  independent  voter,  and  has  been 
prominently  connected  with  the  public  affairs 
of  the  city.  He  was  Alderman  for  eight 
years,  Selectman  for  four  years,  Common 
Councilman  for  two  years,  and  Grand  Juror 
three  terms.  During  the  small-pox  scare  he 
was  on  the  Board  of  Health,  and  took  active 
measures  lor  the  securing  of  proper  sanitary 
conditions.  In  religious  belief  Mr.  Fraser  is 
a  Presbyterian,  while  his  wife  is  an  Episco- 
palian. 

INFIELD  SCOTT  DE  WOLF,  a 
well-known  dairy  farmer  of  Preston, 
was  born  in  Montville,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river  which  divides  New  London 
County,  on  January  8,  [862.  His  parents 
were  Orrin  R.  and  Mary  (Latimer)  De  V. 
and  his  paternal  grandparents,  Ephraim  and 
Elizabeth  De  Wolf.  His  lather.  Orrin  R.  He 
Wolf,  who  was  born  in  Montville  in  1828,  was 


426 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


a  farmer  living  near  Chesterfield,  in  the 
south-west  part  of  the  town,  and  doing  busi- 
ness on  a  large  scale.  He  owned  two  farms, 
comprising  over  four  hundred  acres  of  land, 
and  kept  from  forty  to  fifty  cattle,  about  four 
hundred  sheep,  and  from  seven  to  twelve  horses 
of  good  breed.  He  died  in  March,  1895,  and 
is  buried  in  Willimantic.  His  wife,  Mary,  who 
died  in  1868,  at  the  age  of  forty,  is  buried  at 
Chesterfield.  The  children  of  their  marriage 
numbered  twelve,  five  sons  and  seven  daugh- 
ters. A  son  named  Wellington  died  at  seven 
years  as  the  result  of  a  scalding  accident. 
The  five  daughters  and  two  sons  now  living 
maybe  briefly  mentioned  as  follows:  Alfred 
is  in  Tolland  County;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin A.  Fox,  resides  in  East  Lyme;  Emma, 
the  wife  of  Charles  VV.  Worthington,  resides 
in  Preston;  Ellen  is  the  wife  of  George  Bach- 
elder,  of  Norwich ;  Frances  is  the  wife  of 
Herbert  Wheelock,  of  Willimantic;  Winfield 
Scott  is  the  special  subject  of  this  biography; 
and  Susan  is  Mrs.  Charles  Prentiss,  of  New 
London.  Ellen's  sister  Eleanor,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Charles  Smith,  of  Willimantic,  died  in 
the  prime  of  life,  leaving  one  son. 

Winfield  S.  De  Wolf  lived  on  the  home 
farm  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  his  eldest 
sister,  Elizabeth,  keeping  house  and  taking 
charge  of  the  family  after  the  death  of  the 
mother.  He  subsequently  went  to  live  with 
his  father's  sisters,  Emily  De  Wolf,  a  maiden 
lady,  Lucretia,  widow  of  Jeremiah  Harris,  and 
Betsey  De  Wolf,  with  whom  he  remained 
three  years.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he 
n  to  work  out  by  the  month  at  farm  labor, 
continuing  this  from  1879  to  1889.  He  re- 
ceived at  first  ten  dollars  per  month  for  seven 
months,  and  he  then  worked  for  his  board  with 
the  privilege  of  attending  school.  During 
the  latter  years  of  his  experience  as  a  farm 
hand   he   received   as    high    as    three    hundred 


dollars  a  year  wages.  On  April  1,  1889,  he 
bought  two  farms  of  two  hundred  acres  fur  five 
thousand,  five  hundred  dollars,  going  heavily 
in  debt.  A  year  later  he  sold  a  hundred  acres 
to  Dr.  Harris,  and  has  now  a  hundred  acres  in 
his  own  farm.  On  this  he  has  built  a  pleas- 
ant and  comfortable  dwelling  and  a  fine  set  of 
outbuildings. 

In  1889  Mr.  De  Wolf  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Mary  Jane  Story,  daughter  of 
Ebenezer  and  Mary  Esther  (Avery)  Story. 
Mr.  Story  died  in  1875,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
four  years;  and  Mrs.  Story  died  May  14,  1894, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-eight,  leaving  one  son 
and  four  daughters,  one  of  these  Mrs.  De 
Wolf,  all  living  in  this  town.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
De  Wolf  have  two  children:  Elsie  May,  born 
May  2  1,  1890,  now  in  her  eighth  year:  and 
Ebenezer  Story  De  Wolf,  born  May  18,  1896, 
a  beautiful  and  intelligent  little  child.  In 
politics  Mr.  De  Wolf  is  a  Republican;  but  he 
has  never  cared  to  be  an  office  seeker  or 
holder,  the  details  of  his  personal  affairs  hav- 
ing absorbed  his  attention.  He  keeps  twenty- 
five  head  of  cattle,  including  fifteen  cows,  and 
sells  milk  to  families  in  Norwich,  keeping 
three  horses  and  delivering  the  milk  himself. 


ILLIAM  E.  PENDLETON,  well 
known  in  New  London,  Conn.,  as  a 
skilful  florist,  is  a  native  of  Mystic, 
in  the  same  county.  He  was  born  September 
3.  1854,  son  of  William  Dennis  and  Mary 
(Thurston)  Pendleton.  His  ancestors  came 
from  England,  and  were  among  the  leading 
Colonial  families.  William  Pendleton,  his 
great-grandfather,  was  a  tavern-keeper  and 
farmer  in  good  circumstances.  William  Pen- 
dleton, Jr.,  the  youngest  son  of  William,  was 
born  in  Rhode  Island  about  1790.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Lamphere,  by  whom  he  had  eight 


I'.KKMi AI'IIIC  \I,    REVIEW 


l-V 


children,  five  sons  and  three  daughters.      He 
died  in  1850,  and  was  survived  about  twenty- 
five  years   by  his  widow,  who   lived   to  b< 
tw<  nty  and  eighty  years  oi    1  je. 

William     Dennis    Pendleton    was    born     in 
Mystic,  Conn.,    and   for  several   years  carried 

icrcantile  business  in  Old  Mystic.  Fol- 
lowing that  he  went  to  California,  journeying 
by    way   of    the    Isthmus,    and    during    a    two 

>'  stay  successfully  engaged  in  mining. 
He  died  in  1855,  when  but  thirty-three  years 
Mary  Thurston  Pendleton,  his  wife, 
was  born  in  Westerly,  R.I.,  daughter  of  John 
C.  and  Mary  (Miller)  Thurston.  She  was  a 
l-daughter  of  John  and  Martha  (Clark) 
Thurston.  Her  grandfather  was  one  of  four 
brothers  who  came  from  England.  He  was  an 
innkeeper  in  Westerly  for  many  years,  and 
retired  with  a  competency.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  I).  Pendleton  had  two  children,  a 
son  and  daughter:  William  E.  ;  and  Ida,  the 
wife  of  John  Newbury  at  Bay  Shore,  I.. I.  In 
1861  their  mother  married  a  second  time,  be- 
coming the  wife  of  H.  Pascal  Beckwith,  of 
Waterford,    Conn.        For     the     past     fourteen 

-  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beckwith  have  resided  in 
Now  London.  They  lost  an  infant  son,  and 
have  one  son  living,  Daniel  P.  Beckwith,  a 
young  man  of  tine  mechanical  and  business 
ability,  employed  in  New  York  City  as  superin- 
tendent of  an  incandescent  arc  light  company. 
William  E.  Pendleton  obtained  his  educa- 
in  the  common  schools  of  Waterford. 
His  early  boyhood  was  spent  on  a  farm;  ami 
when  but  sixteen  he  shipped  before  the  mast 
on  a  fishing-smack  that  sailed  from  Noank, 
Conn.,  and  was  gone  six  years.  Later  on  he 
became  a  government  employee  on  board  the 
revenue  cutter  "Active"  of  New  Bedfi 
Returning  to  a  land  life,  he   1  111  farm- 

ing until   1892  as  manager  of   the    Red    House 
stock  farm,  then  established   himself    in   busi- 


ness as   a    florist    in    New    London,    beginning 

with  but  two  greenhouses,  and   gradually   in- 

>ing  the  number  .   and    employing 

from  three  to  six    men,  making   a   special! 
cut  (lowers  ami  ornamental    plants    for    borders 
and  other  decorative  purpi 

At  twenty-  .    February    16, 

1S-6,  Mr.  Pendleton  was  married  to  Miss 
Amelia  E.  Braman  'known  to  her  friends  by 
the  familiar  name  of  "Millie'"),  a  daughti 
John  Braman,  of  Waterford,  Conn.  Their 
only  daughter.  Agnes,  died  at  two  \. 
They  have  two  sons  living:  John  B.,  a  young 
man  of  twenty,  engaged  in  the  greenhouse 
business;  and   Frank,  aged  fifteen. 

Mr.  Pendleton  is  a  member  of  the  National 
Guard,  Third  Connecticut  Infantry.  From  a 
private  he  has  risen  by  regular  promotion  to 
the  rank  of  Captain  of  Company  1).  which  he 
has  held  for  two  years,  and  is  now  Captain 
and  Aide-de-camp  on  the  Brigade  Staff.  He- 
is  a  member  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Lid 
Men,  also  of  the  American  Order  of  United 
Workmen. 

(We  have  recently  learned  that,  owing  to 
the  business  depression,  Mr.  Pendleton,  a  few 
months  ago,  gave  up  the  florist's  business  fof 
a  time  at  least,  and  has  since  gone  to  Alaska.) 


ENRY    W.    BRANCHE,  er  oi 

the    Boston    and     Norwich    Clothing 
Company    of    Norwich,    Conn.,   was 
born  in  Lisbon,  Conn.,  August  9.  [860.      His 

father,  Levi  J.  Branche,  was  born  in  Lisbon, 
August  19,  1 8 19;  and  his  mother,  Sarah  L. 
Williams  Branche.  was  a  native  of  Canter- 
bury, Conn.  Elisha  Branche,  father  of  Levi 
].,    was   a    son    of   Stephen,    who  was    born    in 

first    ancestor    in    ( 
necticut  was  Peter  Branch,  who  came  to   Pres- 
ton from  Scituate,  Mass.,  or  1 


t2« 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Peter  Branch,  of  Kent,  England,  sailed 
from  his  native  land  in  the  ship  "Castle" 
between  the  years  1620  and  1640,  but  did  not 
live  to  see  the  new  world  for  which  he  had  set 
out.  His  son  John  was  bound  out  at  ten 
years  of  age  for  the  remainder  of  his  minority. 
Branch  Island,  near  Brant  Rock,  referred  to 
above,  was  named  for  him;  and  his  will  shows 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  property.  During 
the  Indian  War  one  of  his  sons  was  killed  at 
Rehoboth,  and  is  buried  there. 

Stephen  Branch,  the  great-grandfather  of 
Henry  W.,  of  this  sketch,  was  a  non-commis- 
sioned officer  in  a  company  of  militia  that  re- 
sponded to  the  Lexington  alarm  in  April, 
1775.  His  brother,  Captain  Moses  Branch, 
was  in  command  of  a  company  at  Groton 
Heights.  Elisha  Branche,  the  grandfather  of 
Henry  \V.,  was  the  father  of  three  sons  — 
Elisha  P.;  Levi  J.;  and  William,  who  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Atwood,  and  went  to  Utah  to  live 
—  and  three  daughters. 

Levi  J.  Branche  engaged  in  farming  in  his 
younger  days,  then  became  a  paper  manufact- 
urer, being  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Reed 
Paper  Company.  He  was  one  of  the  incorpo- 
rators of  the  Jewett  City  Savings  Bank.  Two 
years,  1882-84,  he  was  a  member  of  the  State 
legislature.  He  was  active  and  influential  in 
the  town  affairs  of  Sprague,  to  which  place  he 
removed  at  the  close  of  the  war.  In  i860 
Mr.  Branche  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah 
L.  Williams,  daughter  of  Merritt  Williams, 
of  Canterbury,  Conn.  Four  children  were 
the  fruit  of  this  union,  namely:  Henry  W. ; 
Ida,  wife  of  a  Mr.  Blanding,  of  Providence, 
R.  I.  ;  Herbert  R. ,  a  yard-master  in  Provi- 
dence for  the  New  England  Railroad;  and 
Leone  L.,  a  salesman  in  a  clothing  store  in 
Providence.  Their  mother  died  in  November, 
1S75,  at  thirty-seven  years  of  age.  Their 
father  subsequently  married  a  second   wife,  by 


whom  he  had  two  children.  His  third  and 
last  wife  was  a  Miss  Bromley,  who  survives 
him,  and  is  living  in  Sterling,  Conn.  He 
died  in  March,   1886. 

Henry  W.  Branche,  after  attending  the 
common  schools  and  a  boarding-school  at 
Providence,  began  his  business  career  at  six- 
teen, as  a  clerk  in  a  clothing  store  in  Win- 
chendon,  and  afterward  went  to  school  for 
another  year.  He  tried  working  in  a  woollen- 
mill  and  at  other  employments  until  1883, 
when  he  entered  the  New  York  Clothing 
House  in  Norwich  as  a  clerk,  remaining  there 
until  the  spring  of  1887,  when  he  started  in 
business  for  himself  at  go  Main  Street,  in 
company  with  a  Mr.  Reeves,  firm  of  Reeves  & 
Branche.  After  carrying  on  the  business  to- 
gether for  seven  years,  they  dissolved  partner- 
ship; and  Mr.  Branche  became  manager  of  the 
Boston  and  Norwich  Clothing  Company. 

In  December,  1886,  Mr.  Branche  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Miss  Fannie  Bottom- 
ley,  of  this  city,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Bot- 
tomley.  They  have  three  children  —  Harry, 
Herbert,  and  Fannie. 

As  was  his  father  before  him,  Mr.  Branche 
is  a  Republican.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  and  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution.  Mrs.  Branche  is  an  Episco- 
palian. The  family  reside  on  Laurel  Hill,  in 
the  house  which  Mr.  Branche  purchased  in 
the  fall  of  1895. 


T^HARLES  H.  COTTRELL,*  a  well- 
I    jp        known    lumberman  of   Mystic,  Conn., 

Vfci£_^-  successor  to  the  business  established 
by  his  late  father,  Joseph  Cottrell,  was  born 
in  the  house  which  he  now  occupies,  January 
27,   1843. 

The  Cottrells  are  of   English  origin.      Sir 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


429 


Charles  Cottrell,  born  in  161 5,  son  of  Sir 
Clement  Cottrell,  of  Lincolnshire,  lived  at 
Westminster,  and  was  prominent  at  the  court 
ceremonies  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  The 
emigrant  ancestor  was  Nicholas  Cottrell,  who 
was  living  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  as  early  as  1639, 
and  later  at  Westerly. 

Joseph  Cottrell,  born  in  Mystic,  July  7, 
1777,  was  the  only  son  of  Charles  and  Esther 
(Denison)  Cottrell.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
enterprise  and  business  tact,  establishing 
more  than  seventy-five  years  ago  the  first  and 
only  lumber  yard  and  planing-mill  in  Mystic. 
By  means  of  industrious  thrift  and  wise  man- 
agement he  accumulated  a  competency,  leav- 
ing his  seven  children  then  living  a  goodly  es- 
tate to  be  divided  among  them,  making  no 
will,  but  depending  upon  their  honor  and  fra- 
ternal affection  to  settle  affairs  harmoniously, 
which  they  surely  did.  He  was  not  a  poli- 
tician, but  was  a  radical  Republican,  and  at 
one  time  was  a  Representative  to  the  State 
legislature. 

On  October  3,  1826,  he  married  Fanny 
Stanton,  daughter  of  Jabez  and  Fanny  (Potter) 
Stanton,  who  on  her  mother's  side  was  de- 
scended from  the  Potter  family  of  Rhode 
Island.  They  became  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  all  but  one  of  whom  were  born  in 
the  house  erected  by  the  father  soon  after  his 
marriage,  probably  seventy  years  ago.  Two 
sons  and  five  daughters  grew  to  mature  years, 
and  the  following  are  now  living:  Mary  Ann, 
who  is  now  abroad  with  her  husband,  Charles 
II.  Denison,  visiting  the  principal  cities  of 
the  Old  World,  having  recently  been  in 
Japan;  Harriet  Shaw,  widow  of  George  Har- 
ris, of  Providence,  R.I.  ;  Fanny,  wife  of 
Joseph  Griswold,  a  cotton  manufacturer  in 
Greenfield,  Mass.:  and  Charles  Henry,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  One  son,  Joseph 
Oscar,  who  spent  most  of  his  life   in   Mystic, 


died  January  2,  1890,  in  Providence,  having 
one  daughter  by  his  first  wife,  and  four  sons 
and  one  daughter  of  his  second  marriage. 
Neither  of  the  parents  is  living,  the  father 
bavin-'  died  April  19,  1865,  and  the  mother 
just  three  months  later,  July  hi.  1865.  Loth 
were  members  of  the  Congregational  church, 
and  their  family  pew  is  now  occupied  every 
Sunday  by  their  son  Charles  and  his  wife 

Charles  II.  Cottrell  was  educated  in  board- 
ing-schools at  Providence,  R.I.,  and  Middle- 
boro,  Mass.  When  a  young  man  he  entered 
in  business  with  his  father,  and  he  is  now  ex- 
tensively and  profitably  engaged  as  a  lumber 
manufacturer  and  dealer.  He  is  highly  es- 
teemed as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and,  though  not  an 
office-seeker,  has  served  as  Selectman  of  the 
town.      Fraternally,  he  is  a  Master  Mason. 

Mr.  Cottrell  was  married  November  if>, 
1865,  to  Miss  Georgia  A.  Crary,  who  was  born 
in  Groton,  this  county,  a  daughter  of  George 
B.  and  Catherine  (Latham)  Crary  and  a  sister 
of  Captain  Jesse  Dayton  Crary,  who  for  many 
years  ran  a  freight  and  passenger  packet  be- 
tween Mystic  and  New  York  City.  Mrs.  Cot- 
trell is  said  to  be  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Charlemagne,  tracing  hei  ancestry  through 
Peter  Crary,  who  was  born  in  Scotland  in 
1635.  Peter  Crary  emigrated  from  Scotland 
to    America    when    a   youn  .    coming    to 

Groton,  Conn.,  where  he  married  in  Decem- 
ber, 1677,  Christobel  Gallup.  On  March  17, 
1679,  he  and  his  wife  joined  the  church,  of 
which  James  Noyes  was  pastor.  Peter  Crary 
died  in  170S.  His  wife's  father,  Captain 
John  Gallup,  Jr.,  was  a  son  of  Captain  John 
Gallup,  Sr.,  of  Boston,  Mass.;  and  both 
father  and  son  were  noted  Indian  lighters,  the 
son  losing  his  life  in  the  famous  swamp  fight. 
Mrs.  Cottrell's  grandfather  Crary  married 
Catherine    Burrows,    a   descendant    of    Robert 


43° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Burrows,  who  was  given  the  first  grant  to 
cross  the  Mystic  River.  His  son,  John  Bur- 
rows, born  in  1642,  is  buried  under  a  slab  in 
the  Wightman  burial-ground.  George  B. 
Crary  and  his  wife  are  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, of  whom  three  are  living,  namely:  Jesse 
Dayton,  a  merchant  in  New  York  City; 
Nellie  Crosby  Crary,  at  home  with  her  par- 
ents; and  Georgia  A.,  now  Mrs.  Cottrell. 
Mrs.  Cottrell's  maternal  great-grandmother, 
Catherine  Haley,  was  descended  from  John 
Haley,  who  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England, 
and  was  buried  on  Fisher's  Island. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cottrell  have  lost  three  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  a  daughter  having  died  in 
infancy.  They  have  one  child  living; 
namely,  Fanny  Stanton,  wife  of  John  L. 
Dodge,  Jr.,  of  Groton.  Mrs.  Dodge  has  three 
children,  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  the  latter 
being  of  the  fifth  generation  to  bear  the  name 
of  Fanny  Stanton.  Mr.  Cottrell  has  many 
valuable  relies,  one  that  attracts  universal  at- 
tention being  an  old-fashioned  solid  mahogany 
writing-desk,  formerly  owned  by  his  great- 
grandmother. 


ISS  RUTH  ELIZABETH  ALLEN, 
a  well-known  resident  of  the  town 


of  Sprague,  Conn.,  living  on  the 
Allen  farm,  near  the  village  of  Hanover,  is 
the  only  daughter  of  the  late  John  and  Ruth 
Waldo  (Bingham)  Allen.  The  family  to 
which  she  belongs  is  an' old  and  honored  one 
in  New  England,  and  has  produced  men  and 
women  of  influence  and  of  solid  worth  and 
Christian  character. 

Among  the  different  emigrants  bearing  this 
surname  that  came  over  in  the  first  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century  was  Samuel  Allen,  who 
settled  at  Braintree,  Mass.,  near  Boston. 
From  him  the  line  of  descent  to  John,  father 


of  Miss  Ruth  E.  Allen,  is  as  follows:  Sam- 
uel, second,  born  about  1632;  Samuel,  third, 
born  in  1660;  Joseph,  born  in  1701;  Asahel, 
born  in  1742  or  1743,  who  married  Desire 
Eames,  and  was  the  father  of  Enoch  and 
grandfather  of  John  Allen. 

Enoch  Allen,  Miss  Allen's  grandfather, 
who  was  born  in  the  eastern  part  of  Windham, 
now  Scotland,  Conn.,  in  1768,  was  a  farmer 
and  stone-mason  and  a  man  universally  es- 
teemed. He  died  in  1840.  His  wife,  for- 
merly Betsey  Witter,  of  Canterbury,  long  sur- 
viving him,  lived  to  be  eighty-five  years  of 
age.  Their  only  daughter  died  in  infancy; 
but  their  four  sons — -Asa  W.,  John,  Martin, 
and  David  —  grew  to  maturity  and  married, 
and  all  lived  to  be  very  advanced  in  years. 
Asa  W.,  the  eldest,  in  his  youth  was  a  mem- 
ber of  a  militia  company,  and  was  called  out 
at  the  time  of  the  attack  on  Stonington  Point 
in  the  War  of  1812.  In  1819,  shortly  after 
his  marriage,  he  removed  to  Ohio.  In  his 
later  years  he  devoted  himself  with  character- 
istic "unyielding  perseverance"  to  study  of 
the  history  of  his  ancestors,  and  compiled  a 
brief  but  valuable  genealogy  of  the  Allen  and 
Witter  families,  which  was  published  in 
Salem,  Ohio,  in  1872.  Martin  Allen  re- 
moved to  Ohio  in  1829;  and  David,  the 
youngest  brother,  settled  at  Salem,  Ohio,  in 
1864.  Miss  Allen's  uncles  were  all  teachers, 
church  members,  and  devoted  Christian 
workers. 

Her  father,  John  Allen,  was  born  in  1797, 
and  was  educated  in  the  district  school.  He 
was  married  March  9,  1835,  to  Ruth  Waldo 
Bingham,  daughter  of  Captain  John  and 
Talitha  (Waldo)  Bingham,  both  lifelong  resi- 
dents of  Connecticut.  Mr.  Allen,  having  in- 
herited some  property,  had  previously  bought 
a  farm,  and  hod  finished  building  the  house 
which  has   now  come  down  to  his  daughter, 


J 


5      '/ 


// 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■U3 


site  having  been   chosen    b<  I    the 

abundance  of  pure  spring  water.      By  his  own 
industry  and  business  ability  he  added  to  his 

possessions,    so  that   at    his   death,    which    oc- 
curred "ii  February  22,   1875,  he  left  an  estate 

mated    at    thirty    thousand     dollars.      His 

.  Ruth,  was  a  teacher  before  her  marriage, 
and  was  a  woman  of  cultivation  and  refinement. 
She  was  born  in  1800,  and  died  July  12, 
[882.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen  were  Con- 
malists  in  religion. 
Miss  Allen  is  the  only  child  of  her  parents. 
She  was  educated  in  Dr.  Webster's  School  at 
Norwich,  and  was  brought  up  from  childhood 
with  the  most  loving  and  thoughtful  care. 
She  has  always  clung  with  attachment  to  her 
home,  and  prefers  a  quiet  and  domestic  life 
here  to  any  other.  She  is  deeply  interested 
in  all  the  affairs  of  her  native  town,  and  is 
always  ready  to  lend  her  influence  for  the 
furtherance  of  any  movement  looking  to  the 
general    good     or    to    assist     in     any    worthy 

me   of   benevolence.      She  is  a  member  of 
the   Hanover   Congregational    Church,  and  be- 

-  also  to  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union. 


/TVXrTAIX   REUBEN    LORD,*  a  farmer 

V  J|        anc'     ret're<'     ship-master    of     Salem, 

V»C_-^    Conn.,  was   bom    in    Lyme,  at    Ilam- 

.     April     20,      [8l2,     son     11I      Joseph      and 

l'hebe    (Burnham)    Lord.      Thomas    Lord,    the 

estoi    oi    this   branch   of    the  family  in 

idea,    was    born     in     1585,     and,    with    his 

wife    Dorothy,    came    from    England    in    1 

settling   in    Newtowne,    as   Cambridge,    M 

was     then     called,      and  to     Hartford, 

Conn.,   in     [636    or    1637.       His    son    William, 

born  about  1623,  settled  at  Saybrook,  and  died 

in    [678.      William's   son,    Thomas,    was   born 

in    1645.      He    married    Mary    Lee,    and    died 


in  1730.  Their  son  Joseph,  born  in 
settled  at  Lyme,  married  Abigail  Cnnist.uk, 
and  died  in  1736.  Their  son  Joseph  also 
lived  in  Lyme.  lie  married  Sarah  Wade, 
son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  Lord,  settled  in 
Lyme,  married  Elizabeth  Selden,  and  died 
in  1804.  Joseph,  their  son,  the  Captain's 
father,  born  in  1781,  died  in  [836.  lie  had 
five  sons  and  six  daughters,  a  brief  record 
of  some  of  them  being  as  follows:  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Lord,  a  Congregational  minister  in 
Michigan,  is  now  ninety  years  of  age,  and  at- 
tends divine  service  every  Sunday  of  his  life ; 
Judah  resides  in  Hamburg,  Lyme,  at  tin 
of  seventy-nine.  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Jede- 
diah  Brockway,  is  in  Hamburg;  another  sister 
married  Captain  James  A.  Bill;   1  land 

lives  in  Colchester.      The  father  held   some   of 
the    minor    town        fi  II  is    wife    survived 

him  twenty-five  ye 

Captain  Lord  was  brought  up  on  his  lather's 
farm,  and  attended  the  Bacon  Academy  and 
Bristol  School.  He  remained  at  home  until 
his  marriage  to  Sarah  Weaver,  of  New  York 
State,  which  occurred  when  he  was  twenty- 
three  years  of  age.  lie  was  for  ten  years 
lin  of  his  vessel.  He  has  been  a  mer- 
chant in  La  Porte,  Ohio;  and  at  one  time  he 
kept  a  hotel  there,  and  also  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  potash  and  pearlash.  He  is 
a  Democrat,  and  has  been  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  He  served  as  Assessor  fifteen  years 
and  on  the  Hoard  of  Relief  thirteen  yi 
He  was  in  the  legislature  in  1878.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church 
at  Hamburg  for  half  a  century.  He  has  lived 
at  his  present  home  in  Salem  since  1881, 
having  then  bought  his  farm  of  sixty-five  a 

Captain  Lord's  first  wife,  who  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Weaver,  died  November  18, 
1876,  aged  sixty-nine.  She  had  ben  the 
mother  of  seven   children,  of   whom    two,  who 


434 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


were  twins,  a  son  and  daughter,  died  young, 
in  Ohio.  The  survivors  are:  Joseph,  living 
in  Tampa,  Fla.  ;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Mr. 
Moon,  and  accompanied  him  South,  where  he 
and  one  daughter  died  of  yellow  fever;  Henry, 
who  is  an  orange-grower  near  the  city  of 
Tampa,  Fla.  ;  Reuben,  Jr.,  a  lawyer  in  New 
London;  and  Walter  A.,  a  farmer  in  Ham- 
burg. Captain  Lord  has  five  grandchildren. 
He  was  again  married,  in  1878,  to  Mrs. 
Matilda  S.  Wheeler,  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
daughter  of  Hugh  Chambers,  and  the  widow 
of  Hiram  Wheeler.  Her  only  daughter,  Net- 
tie E.,  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Lord,  and  has 
a  daughter,  Edith  May  Lord,  aged  eleven. 

Mrs.  Matilda  S.  Lord  was  born  in  Dover, 
England.  Her  father's  family  came  from 
Dundee,  Scotland.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the 
British  army;  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Shaw 
Chambers,  always  accompanied  him.  Their 
eighteen  children  were  born  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  —  one,  for  instance,  in  the  West 
Indies,  one  in  the  East  Indies,  one  on  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  one  on  the  Island  of  St. 
Helena,  one  in  Dover  Castle,  and  one  on  the 
ocean.  Mrs.  Lord  has  two  brothers  in  Aus- 
tralia, whither  they  emigrated  from  Califor- 
nia. Another  brother,  the  Rev.  Adam  Cham- 
bers, a  Baptist  minister,  is  settled  over  one  of 
the  best  churches  in  Philadelphia.  He  has 
an  illustrated  lecture  on  "  Pilgrim's  Progress," 
which  he  has  delivered  twenty-six  hundred 
times  in  various  countries.  Another  brother 
is  in  business  in  New  York  City,  and  has 
a  summer  home  in  Salem.  Her  sister,  the 
wife  of  Ralph  Hughes,  who  belongs  to  the 
famous  Hughes  family,  is  in  Buffalo.  Hugh 
Chambers  died  in  England  in  1840,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-four.  His  wife  died  at  the  home  of 
her  son  in  Philadelphia,  about  1867,  at  sixty- 
three  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Lord  was  educated 
in  New  York  City  and  at  the  Quaker  Boarding 


School  in  Springport.  She  has  taught  school, 
and  was  for  twenty-five  years  the  superin- 
tendent of  mission  schools  in  New  York  City, 
and  in  Hartford  was  the  city  missionary  of 
Warburton  Chapel,  a  position  which  she  held 
for  ten  years,  at  a  salary  of  one  thousand 
dollars. 

Before  her  second  marriage  Mrs.  Lord  spent 
five  months  abroad,  visiting  London,  Roches- 
ter, and  Dover,  England;  Glasgow  and  Edin- 
burgh in  Scotland;  Belfast,  Ireland;  Boulogne, 
France;  and  Brussels,  Belgium.  She  went 
in  the  interests  and  under  the  auspices  of  the 
New  York  City  Female  Bible  Readers'  So- 
ciety, whose  president  at  that  time  was  Mrs. 
Lorimer  Graham.  During  her  tour  she  at- 
tended the  World's  Congress  of  Deaconesses, 
of  which  order  she  is  a  member.  Her  mis- 
sion was  to  obtain  up-to-date  methods  of  mis- 
sionary work,  and  she  gave  lectures  on  this 
subject  in  Belfast.  She  was  the  guest  of  .Mr. 
Spurgeon,  and  saw  the  darkest  and  brightest 
phases  of  London  life  before  returning  to  her 
work  in  Hartford.  Her  life  has  been  full  of 
activity  and  usefulness. 


HOMAS  PENDLETON  WILCOX,*  of 
Ouiambaug,  Stonington,  Conn.,  a  son 
of  Thomas,  Jr.,  and  Lavinia  (Fish) 
Wilcox,  was  born  April  5,  1844.  His  grand- 
father, Thomas  Wilcox,  Sr.,  was  a  seafaring 
man,  and  was  engaged  in  many  whaling  expe- 
ditions. He  married  Abbie  Pendleton,  who 
bore  him  seven  children,  four  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  of  whom  are  now  dead. 

His  son  Thomas,  Jr.,  who  was  born  in 
1806,  was  the  master  of  a  whaler  for  a  number 
of  years,  making  many  expeditions.  He 
bought  twenty  acres  of  land  in  Stonington, 
at  the  head  of  Ouiambaug  Cove,  where  he 
built   the   house    in  which    his   son    now    lives. 


CHARLES    P.    HEWITT. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


He  was  married  in  1836,  and  died  while  on 
.1  voyage,  in  1854,  and  was  buried  al 
1 1  is  wife,  Lavinia  Fish,  daughter  of  John 
Fish,  "1  Noank,  survived  him  but  four  years. 
They  had  two  suns.  The  elder,  George  W., 
was  by  01  on   a   sailor.      In    1861    he  en- 

listed in  Company  G  of  the  Fifth  Connecticut 
Infantry,  and  was  appointed  Sergeant.  Hav- 
ing served  his  full  term,  he  enlisted  again, 
anil  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Atlanta  in 
1  864. 

Thomas  Pendleton  Wilcox,  the  younger  son, 
came  to  his  present  home  with  his  parents 
when  about  two  ami  a  half  years  old.  He 
attended   the   district    schools  for  a  time  in  his 

d,    but    very   early    began    to   follow    the 

Now  he  (Joes  a  good  business,  catching 
lobsters,  also  fishing  with  hand  lines  dur- 
ing the  summer,  and  in  winter  taking  oysters, 
large  anil  of  excellent  quality,  from  his  fine 
oyster  beds,  where  he  plants  from  four  hun- 
dred to  five  hundred  bushels  every  spring. 
IK-  has  served  on  the  School  Committee,  and 
has  been  a  trustee  of  the  free  chapel  near  his 
home,  lie  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church 
and  in  politics  a  Democrat. 

December  17,  [863,  he  married  Angelina 
R.  Champlain,  a  daughter  of  Benadam  and 
Rebecca  Champlain.  Seven  children  have 
been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilcox,  and  six 
of  them  are  living,  namely:  George  R.,  who 
is  married,  and  has  a  daughter  and  a  son  ; 
William  C,  who  is  married,  and  has  two 
daughters;  Thomas  1'.,  Jr.,  living  at  home; 
Henry  M.,  also  living  at  home,  and  in  busi- 
with  his  father;  Frank  G.,  a  boy  of  fif- 
teen; and  Lavinia,  a  child  of  seven. 

Although  Mr.  Wilcox  is  not  strong  physi- 
cally, always  having  been  a  sufferer  from 
asthma,  he  is  a  man  of  great  patience  and 
perseverance,  and  has  accomplished  much  in 
a  quiet,  unobtrusive  way. 


'I 


HARLES    PALMER    HEWITT, 
of  the  most  industrious  and  enterpris- 
ing farmers  of  Preston,  was  bom   in 

his  present  abode,  March  8,  1853,  son  of 
Stanton  and  Harriet  (Roy)  Hewitt.  His 
grandfather,  1  Hewitt,  owned  a  farm  in 

this  vicinity;  and  the  house  which  he  built  is 
still  standing.  Stanton  Hewitt  was  born  in 
1817,  and  spent  his  life  on  the  farm.  lie 
married  in  1.S50  Harriet  Roy,  of  Lisbon, 
who  was  bom  in  1S30.  They  had  three  chil- 
dren :  Stanton,  a  farmer  residing  in  this 
vicinity;  Charles  Palmer;  and  Hattie  Eggles- 
ton,  wife  of  Oliver  Eggleston.  The  mother 
died  in  1873,  at  the  age  of  forty-three,  her 
husband  having  passed  away  eleven  years  pre- 
viously. He  was  a  Democrat  politically,  be- 
sides  serving  the  town  as  Selectman  many 
years.  lie  was  also  elected  at  diffinn! 
times   to   both   houses  of  the   legislature. 

Charles  P.  Hewitt  was  brought  up  on  the 
farm,  where  he  remained  until  twentj 
years  of  age.  He  then  went  to  Hartford, 
where  he  was  employed  as  an  assistant  book- 
keeper for  some  years.  He  also  pursued  a 
course  of  study  at  Greenwich  Academy.  Re- 
turning subsequently  to  the  farm,  lie  was 
married  January  8,  1870,  to  Addie  11.  An- 
drews, oi  Pn  :  in,  daughter  of  Gustavus  D. 
and  Sarah  (Millard)  Andrews,  the  mother, 
previous  to  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Andrew.-, 
having  been  the  widow  of  a  Mr.  Hakes.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hewitt  lost  their  only  son,  Millard 
II.,  who  died  when  eighteen  months  old. 
Mi.  Hewitt,  who  is  a  Democrat  politically, 
represented  his  district  in  1882.  He  is  the 
owner  of  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  acre 
land,  which  was  purchased  by  his  mother,  and 
on*  which  he  has  paid  the  mortgage.  His 
fine  old  house,  which  has  been  standing  for 
a  hundred   ye  11  -.  ha  -   been   rei  I  her- 

wise  improved  by  him;  and  in  1  8y6  he  erected 


43» 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


a  large  horse  barn.  Besides  general  farming, 
Mr.  Hewitt  keeps  from  twelve  to  fifteen  cows, 
the  milk  from  which  he  sells  personally  in 
Norwich.  Besides  making  his  daily  round, 
he  carries  on  his  farm  almost  without  assist- 
ance. He  enjoys  the  best  of  health,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  wide-awake  farmers  in  the 
town. 

Mll> 

|p)TERMAN    ATWOOD,*    Postmaster    of 
[— -rl       Stonington,     Conn.,      was     born     in 

li9  V, _,  Brooklyn,    Windham    County,    this 

State,  June  12,  1862,  son  of  L.  S.  and  Elvira 
(Cooley)  Atwood.  His  father  was  born  in 
Mansfield,  Conn.,  July  22,  1812.  He  died 
on  October  10,  1888,  in  Brooklyn,  where  for 
a  number  of  years  he  kept  a  grocery.  He  was 
twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Elvira 
Cooley,  of  Brooklyn.  She  died  in  1862, 
leaving  three  children:  Juliet,  wife  of  Prank 
L.  Martin,  of  Providence,  R.I.  ;  Arvilla,  who 
married  Charles  G.  Williams,  of  Providence; 
and  Herman,  who  was  only  six  weeks  old  at 
the  time  of  her  death.  The  second  partner  of 
the  father's  joys  and  sorrows  was  Margaret 
Fuller,  by  whom  he  had  one  son  —  Oscar  F. 
Atwood,  of  Brooklyn,  Conn. 

Herman  Atwood,  the  elder  of  the  two  sons 
of  L.  S.  Atwood,  was  reared  in  his  native 
town,  and  there  acquired  a  common-school 
education.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  learned 
the  machinist's  trade,  which  he  followed 
twelve  years  in  this  place,  being  employed  by 
the  Atwood  Machine  Company,  whose  leading 
members  are  cousins  of  his  father.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  sound-money  Democrat,  like  his 
father  before  him.  He  was  appointed  Post- 
master by  President  Grover  Cleveland  on  Jan- 
uary 21,  (895,  and  has  since  continued  to  dis- 
charge efficiently  the  duties  of  his  position, 
lie  has  many  warm  friends. 

On    December    24,     1891,    Mr.    Atwood    was 


united  in  marriage  with  Clara  Belle  Pendle- 
ton, an  accomplished  pianist  and  music  teacher 
of  this  place.  Her  parents  are  B.  F.  and 
Mary  Jane  (Oliver)  Pendleton,  of  Stonington, 
Conn.  They  have  seven  children,  including 
five  sons,  who  are  in  New  York  City,  and 
another  daughter,  who  resides  in  Stonington. 
Mrs.  Atwood  has  a  large  music  class,  with 
whom  she  is  very  successful  and  popular.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Atwood  are  highly  respected  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Baptist  Church. 


ILLIAM  A.  HOLT,*  a  well-known 
grocer  of  New  London,  was  born  in 
this  city  February  23,  1829,  son  of 
Nathaniel  and  Esther  (Morrison)  Holt.  He 
belongs  to  an  old  Connecticut  family,  the  first 
representative  of  which,  William  Holt,  an 
Englishman,  was  a  member  of  the  New  Haven 
Colony  in  1643,  and  was  one  of  the  first  pro- 
prietors to  whom  a  lot  was  apportioned.  Will- 
iam Holt  was  a  dish-turner  by  trade  —  that  is, 
a  maker  of  pewter  plates  and  dishes.  In  his 
old  age  he  removed  with  a  son  to  Walling- 
ford,  Conn.  ;  and  he  was  the  first  white  man 
buried  in  that  place.  His  grave  is  to  be  seen 
to-day,  marked  by  a  rude,  unpolished  field 
stone,  bearing  the  inscription,  "  William 
Holt,    1683." 

Nathaniel,  his  second  son,  settled  in  New 
London  in  1673.  He  was  in  the  swamp 
fight  with  King  Philip,  acting  as  Sergeant  of 
a  company,  and,  being  seriously  wounded 
December  19,  1675,  received  the  small  com- 
pensation of  twenty-five  dollars,  all  that  the 
colony  was  able  to  pay.  In  1689  he  removed 
to  Newport,  R.I.  In  April,  1680,  he  was 
married  to  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Beebe.  The  Beebes  were  remarkable  men, 
strong,  wealthy,  and  influential.  Two  sons  of 
Nathaniel    and    Rebecca    (Beebe)    Holt    inher- 


BIOGRAPHIC  \l.    REVIEW 


439 


ited  from  their  maternal  grandfather  and  their 
uncle  a  fine  property  in  New  London. 

James    Holt,    grandfather    of    William    A., 
a   calker  bv  trade,  and  was   for  a   number 
in     New     London    with 
Samuel   Coit.      I  le   died    oi    i  holera    in    1824, 
aged    fort)  seven   years.       His   wile,    formerly 
Mis.  Jerusha  Caffrey,  a  widow,  whom   lie  mar- 
ried in  1707,  also  died   oi   cholera.      Six   chil- 
dren were  born  to  this   couple,  three    of    whom 
namely,  the  son   Nathaniel   and  two  daugh- 

married. 
Nathaniel,    William    A.    Holt's   father,    was 
horn    in    New    London    in    1804.      He    was   en- 
I    in  the  whaling  industry  tor  a  number  of 
3,   and  had  risen  to  the   rank    of    mate  when 
he     left     the     sea.        In     (832,     when    he    was 
twenty-eight   years  old,  he  was   stricken  down 
by  cholera,   the   dread  disease  which  carried  off 
of   his   family,  and   died    in   a  short  time. 
He  was  married  about   1826,  to   Esther   Morri- 
son, of   Waterford,  Conn.,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Morrison,    a    Scotchman.      Two   children    were 
born   of    this   union  —  William    A.    and   a    son 
who  died  in  infancy.      The  widow  of  Nathaniel 
Holt   married   Jefferson    Avery.      She   died    in 
.   in  her  fifty-first  year,   leaving   one  child 
I  husband  —  a  daughter,  Adelaide, 
now  the  wile  of  J.  G.  Cavcrly,  ol   New  London. 
William  A.    Holt,  having  acquired   his   edu 
on    in   the  common  schools,  began  to  work 
at   the  early  age  of  twelve  years  in  a  grocery 
Store,    and,    before    he    attained     his    majority, 
was    familiar    with    the    ways    and    methods    of 
In    1S50  he  went  to  California,  sailing 
around    Cape    Horn    in   the   schooner  "Cyno- 
sure," stalling   in    M  1  d  arriving  in  Sep- 
for  eight  years  he  was  engaged 
in  trade  in  < '..                County,  being  employed 
as  a   salaried  agent  to  sell   miners'   supplies. 
He  returned  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  oi    Pan 
in    1858,  and    established    his   present  business 


as  a  dealer   in  ies  with   Jefferson   Avery 

as    partner,    under    the    firm    1  Holt   & 

Avery.      They  were  located  at  first  at   16  .Main 
Street,  and  about  twenty-two  years  ago  n 
to    the    present     stand,    511    Main    Street.       Mr. 
Avery  died    in    1884,  and    Mi.    Holt    his 
been   without    a    business    ass 
been  very  successful,  and    has   the    respect    and 
confidence  ol  the  community. 

In  1858,  soon  altei  his  return  from  Cali 
nia,  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Skinner,  of 
Massachusetts,  daughter  oi  Deacon  Joseph 
Skinner  and  his  wife,  who  was  formerly  a 
Miss  Searles,  of  Groton,  Conn.  Deai 
Skinner  was  in  the  truck  business  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  retiring  a  few  years  prior  to  his 
death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  seventy- 
eight  years  old.  His  wife  died  at  New  1  on 
don  in  i860,  aged  about  fifty.  Of  their  chil- 
dren, one  besides  Mrs.  Holt  is  living  Mrs. 
Laura  A.  Mead,  oi  New  London.  Six  chil- 
dren have  blessed  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Holt.  A  son  died  in  infancy,  and  a  daughter 
at  the  tender  age  of  three  years.  The  others 
arc  :  Edward,  his  lather's  assistant  in  the 
-tore;  Emma  I..,  residing  with  her  parents; 
Nellie  M.,  wife  oi  Frank  McGammon,  in 
Boston;  and  William  A.,  of  Harvard,   18. ,;. 

Mr.    Holt,   who  has  long  been  identified  with 
the   Democratic   party,  In  er  ol 

the  city  government  lor  twenty-two  ye 
is  at  present  a  member  of  the  Board  oi    A] 
men.      He   is  a  Master  Mason.      His  1 
at   42    Main    Street,  where   he   has    livi 
twenty-two  years,  is  one  oi   the  historii 
of   the   city.      It  was    built   about   one  bundled 
and    thirty-five    yi  id    the    walls    are 

lined  with  brick.       Erected  by  direction  of   the 
authorities  oi    tin-   Church   of    England    in  old 
London,   it  was  the  home  of  the  first  Epis< 
bishop  in  America,  Samuel  Seabury,  and  is  an 
object  of  great  interest  to  Epi  ns. 


44° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


|  R  S .  E M E  L I N  E  FORDHAM 
DAWES*  is  the  widow  of  Henry 
C.  Dawes,  who  died  October  29, 
18SS,  in  his  fifty-ninth  year.  He  was  born 
on  a  sea  voyage,  when  his  parents,  William 
and  Sarah  (Lansdal)  Dawes,  were  coming 
from  England  to  this  country.  His  paternal 
grandfather  came  over  to  America  later,  with 
Roger  Griswold's  father.  William  Dawes, 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Dawes's  husband,  came  to 
New  London  by  vessel,  and  settled  with  the 
Griswold  family.  In  the  spring  they  went 
West  to  Ohio,  where  other  members  of  the 
Dawes  family  had  located  themselves.  He 
remained  there  several  years,  and  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming.  Afterward  he  re- 
turned to  Clinton,  Conn.,  and  subsequently 
removed  to  Lyme.  After  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  he  again  went  to  Ohio,  and  married 
a  widow  lady,  a  Mrs.  Powers,  who  owned 
farming  land  in  both  Iowa  and  Ohio.  He 
then  settled  in  New  Hampton,  la.,  where  he 
carried  on  farming.  Mrs.  Dawes's  husband 
was  the  third  of  four  children  —  William, 
Mary,  Henry  C,  and  Louise  Robins.  The 
first  of  these,  William  Dawes,  is  now  a  resi- 
lient of  Saybrook,  Conn.  Mary  is  the  widow 
of  Samuel  Warner  Frisbie,  and  lives  in  West 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  Louise  Robins  is  not  liv- 
ing. 

Henry  C.  Dawes  shipped  as  a  cook  on  a 
fishing-smack  when  a  mere  boy,  and  he  was 
;i  seafaring  man  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 
He  made  voyages  to  England,  South  America, 
Cuba,  and  California,  the  latter  trip  being 
made  on  a  merchantman.  He  was  one  of  the 
"forty-niners"  to  California,  and  became 
captain  and  part  owner  of  three  vessels,  one 
of  which  he  sold  in  that  State.  The 
"Scotia"  was  a  fast  schooner  for  halibut 
fishing,  and  was  built  at  Noank.  The  "  Kate 
Church  "  was  another  craft  in  which   he  sailed 


for  some   years,    and   he   also  owned  a  stanch 
boat  by  the  name  of  the  "  Susan  Eldridge. " 

Mr.  Dawes  was  married  December  3,  1854, 
to  Emeline,  the  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Mahala  (Beckwith)  Tinker,  the  latter  being 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  Beckwith  and  his  wife, 
Esther  Wait,  who  was  of  the  same  family  as 
Chief  Justice  Morrison  R.  Waite.  Mrs. 
Dawes's  grandfather,  Benjamin  Tinker,  mar- 
ried Lucy  Beckwith,  and  had  three  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Mrs.  Dawes  and  her  brother 
Horace,  a  resident  of  Mystic,  Conn.,  are  all 
that  are  left  of  a  family  of  five  children,  she 
being  next  to  the  youngest.  Her  brother 
Charles  was  lost  at  sea  when  a  young  man. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dawes  lived  in  New  London  for 
a  time  after  their  marriage,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1865  they  came  to  the  place  where  she  still 
makes  her  home.  It  is  an  excellent  farm  of 
about  thirty  acres,  with  a  fine  dwelling-house 
and  two  large  bams,  all  kept  in  the  best  of 
order,  and  an  abundance  of  all  kinds  of  fruit 
suited  to  the  climate  and  soil.  Mrs.  Dawes 
has  one  daughter,  Louise  Marian,  who,  since 
completing  her  education  at  New  London,  has 
resided  at  home. 


iNRY  BISHOP  DOWNER,*  a  re- 
ared railroad  conductor,  residing  in 
New  London,  Conn.,  was  born  at 
Bozrahville,  this  county,  November  IS,  1818, 
son  of  John  and  Lovisa  (Bishop)  Downer. 
His  paternal  grandfather,  also  named  John, 
was  a  farmer.  He  married,  and  reared  a  fam- 
ily of  sons  and  daughters. 

John  Downer,  the  father  of  Henry  B.,  was 
born  on  the  home  farm  in  1796.  Lie  married 
Lovisa  Bishop,  who  was  born  in  Griswold, 
Conn.  They  had  seven  children:  Mary; 
Lucinda;  Harriet;  Rev.  John  Camden 
Downer;    Olive;     Henry    B.  ;    and     Edmund, 


BIOGRA  l'H  I C  A  L    REV  I  E\V 


i  ;  i 


who  died  at  the  early  age  of  four  years.  The 
parents  were  in  humble  circumstances,  and 
bravely  struggled  to  bring  up  their  family. 
The  mother  died  at  the  age  of  sixty  live; 
while  the  father,  who  died  in  1.S71,  lived  to 
be  seventy-five. 

Henry  Bishop  Downer  began  active  life 
with  but  limited  educational  advantages, 
being  obliged  to  work  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years.  He  was  at  first  employed  on  a  farm 
fur  four  dollars  a  month.  Six  years  later  it 
was  decided  that  farm  labor  was  too  hard  for 
him,  and  be  became  a  wool-sorter  in  the  fac- 
tory. He  subsequently  went  to  Norwich, 
Conn.,  where  he  served  as  hotel  clerk  for  Mr. 
Kinney.  In  1839  he  went  to  Colchester,  and 
established  a  hotel,  the  principal  one  in  the 
place,  which  he  managed  successfully  for  six 
ears.  He  then  returned  to  Norwich,  becom- 
ing clerk  in  the  old  Merchants'  Hotel  for  Mr. 
trell.  Later  on  he  bought  out  Henry  I.. 
Clark,  and  for  six  years  thereafter  he  was 
proprietor  of  the  American  House.  Mr. 
Downer  then  assumed  the  management  of  the 
Union  House  in  New  London;  but  at  the 
expiration  of  three  years  he  was  burned  ont, 
having  only  a  light  insurance.  The  next 
month  he  began  serving  as  express  messenger 
Mr.  Turner.  In  April,  1856,  he  was  ap- 
pointed conductor  of  a  passenger  train  on  the 
New  London  &  Norwich  Railroad.  This  po- 
sition he  faithfully  filled  for  thirty-seven 
years,  retiring  in   1893. 

Upon  attaining  his  majority  in  1839,  Mr. 
Downer  was  married  in  Montville,  this 
county,  to  Matilda  Chamberlain,  a  native  of 
Killingly.  Mis.  Downer  died  November  3, 
1893.  For  twelve  years  they  had  resided  at 
8  Granite  Street,  in  this  city,  where  they  set- 
tled in  [881.  In  politics  Mr.  Downer  is  a 
Democrat.  In  religion  he  affiliates  with  the 
itionalists,    having    joined    the    First 


Congregational  Church  ol  New  London  fifteen 
or  more  years  ago.  His  estimable-  wile  was 
also  a  highly  respected  member  ol  the  same 
church. 


SiY  A  M  E  S      HAMILTON      LA  N  G- 
\Y<  IRT1 1  Y. '   an  enterprising 

Stonington,  Conn.,  son  of  the  late- 
Henry  Davis  and  Maria  Pierce  'Clark)  Lang- 
worthy,  was  born  June  16,  1847,  on  his 
father's  farm,  the  greater  put  ol  which  lie  now 
owns  and  occupies.  He  traces  his  Hi:, 
back  to  Samuel  Langworthy,  bis  great-grand- 
father, who  came  from  England. 

The  immigrant's  son,  Samuel,  was  bom  in 
Hopkinton,  R.I.,  September  11,  1771,  and 
about  1820  settled  in  Stonington,  where  he 
owned  a  farm  of  three  hundred  acres,  upon 
which  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was 
a  Baptist  Deacon.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Kthelintla  Davis,  was  bom  in  V 
terly,  R.I.,  in  1767,  and  died  here  November 
20,  1835.  They  bad  three  sons  —  Samuel, 
George  I-'.,  and  Henry  Davis. 

Their  third  son,  Henry  Davis   Langworthy, 
was  born  in  August,    1809.      He  married   Sep 
tember  29,   1839,  Maria    Pierce   Clark,  and    by 
this   union    was    the    father    <>f    four    children, 
namely:   Irving   Newton,  who  died    at   the  age 
of  seventeen;  Ethelinda,  who  died   Noven 
11,  1867,  at  the  age  ol   twenty-seven;  Henry 
Courtland  Langworthy,  of   Mystic;  ami  James 
Hamilton,    of    Stonington.      'I  be    father 
March  8,   1S84,  leaving  a  farm  ol    one  hundred 
and    seventy   acres.       His    wife,    who   was 
April  iS,   1821,  died  April   18,    [8< 

James  II.  Langworthy  acquired  an  excellent 
education,  attending  public  schools  in  Ston- 
ington and  the  Polytechnic  Institute  at  1 
X.Y.,  making  a  specialty  of  civil  engineering. 
In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Democratic 
party ;    and    he    b  ited    as   an    A 


442 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


three  years  and  as  member  of  the  Board  of 
Relief  for  two  terms.  Fraternally,  he  be- 
longs to  Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge  and  the 
American  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

Mr.  Langworthy  was  first  married  on  Jan- 
uary ii,  1 88 1 ,  to  Hannah  Bell  Briggs,  of 
Quonochontaug,  R.I.  She  died  June  23, 
1.S.S7,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  leaving  one 
daughter,  Maria  Pierce,  now  a  bright  little 
girl  of  ten  years.  On  May  7,  1896,  he  was 
married  to  his  second  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Matilda  Clark  Stanton.  Her  par- 
ents were  Samuel  M.  and  Lucretia  (Chesebro) 
Stanton,  of  Poquetanuck,  Conn.  Mrs.  Lang- 
worthy  has  one  brother,  Lewis  Sager  Stan- 
ton.     Her  mother  died  in  December,   1895. 

In  1S91  Mr.  Langworthy  sold  to  Charles 
P.  Williams,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  thirty  acres 
of  his  ancestral  farm,  and  to  Samuel  Doughty, 
of  the  same  city,  five  acres,  with  the  old  house 
and  barn  which  his  father  built.  In  1895  he 
erected  a  new  house  and  modern  barn.  He  is 
still  investing  time  and  money  in  improve- 
ments, burying  bowlders,  and  making  solid 
driveways  that  will  defy  the  ravages  of  time. 
The  place  commands  a  most  extensive  view  of 
the  surrounding  country,  including,  also,  the 
waters  of  the  Atlantic  on  the  south  and  of 
Loner  Island  Sound  on  the  west. 


ir\ANIKL   CALKINS,    M.D.,   the  ven- 

I 1     erable    and     honored    physician     of 

t — KLiS  East  Lyme,  Conn.,  was  born  Au- 
gust 23,  1825,  in  the  house  in  which  he  now 
resides,  in  the  village  of  Flanders,  the  house 
now  about  two  hundred  years  old,  in  which 
his  father,  Elisha  Cadwallader  Colden  Cal- 
kins, was  born,  and  in  which  his  grandfather, 
Dr.  Daniel,  first,  lived  and  died.  He  has  the 
old-fashioned  journal  kept  by  his  grandfather 
from  1776  to  1779,  which  contains  many  inter- 


esting entries,  and  is  a  valuable  relic. 
Grandfather  Calkins  owned  over  three  hundred 
acres  of  land  here,  and  had  a  valuable  farm. 
His  death,  when  only  forty-five  years  old,  was 
caused  by  a  kick  by  a  horse.  He  was  born  in 
New  London,  and  was  twice  married.  By  his 
first  wife,  Mary  Chappell,  he  had  one  child, 
Esther,  who  married  John  Wood.  By  his  sec- 
ond wife,  Elizabeth  Smith,  his  children  were: 
Daniel;  William  S. ;  Amos;  Betsey;  Etha- 
linda,  wife  of  Thomas  Griswold;  Elisha 
C.  C.  ;  and  Sally.  Elisha  C.  C.  Calkins,  the 
Doctor's  father,  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  at 
the  old  homestead.  He  married  March  6, 
1 8 16,  Abbie  Chapman,  who  was  born  Novem- 
ber 23,  1794,  and  was  a  daughter  of  the  Hon. 
Isaac  Chapman,  of  East  Haddam,  Conn. 
Seven  children  were  the  fruit  of  this  union, 
namely:  Elizabeth  Abbie  Calkins,  bom  Sep- 
tember 19,  1 8 1 7,  is  the  wife  of  Benjamin  F. 
Smith,  M.D.  ;  Epaphras  Chapman  Calkins, 
for  a  number  of  years  a  sailor  and  master 
mariner,  died  in  Boston  at  the  early  age  of 
thirty-five  years,  leaving  considerable  prop- 
erty; Juliet  G.  Calkins,  born  February  23, 
1820,  died  at  the  age  of  six  or  eight  years; 
Sarah  Louisa,  born  February  22,  1828,  is  the 
wife  of  Nathaniel  S.  Lee,  of  Lyme,  Conn., 
and  mother  of  one  daughter;  Caroline  Smith 
Calkins,  born  October  8,  1830,  married  Fran- 
cis J.  Calkins,  August  11,  KS50;  and  Frances 
Anna  is  the  wife  of  William  Storrs  Lee,  of 
Hanover,  whom  she  married  April  4,   i860. 

Daniel,  the  younger  son,  obtained  his  gen- 
eral education  in  the  public  schools  of  Lyme 
and  at  Bacon  Academy  at  Colchester.  When 
about  fifteen  years  of  age  he  was  persuaded  by 
a  romantic  friend  to  ship  before  the  mast  on 
board  the  whaling-vessel  "Avis,"  Captain 
Gilbert  Pendleton.  The  craft  was  beached  on 
the  coast  of  Two  People's  Bay,  New  Holland: 
and    the  young  adventurer   was   left   destitute, 


/ 


DANIEL    CALKINS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


445 


without  friends  and  without  money.  He 
shipped  again  to  Hobart  Town,  Tasmania,  and 
at  that  place  was  taken  in  charge  by  the 
American  Consul.  After  staying  thereabout 
four  years  he  shipped  in  the  company  of  Two 
People's  1!)\  whalers.  lie  was  in  Honolulu 
tor  a  time,  and  was  absent  from  home  about 
five  years  in  all.  After  his  return  he  studied 
medicine  at  the  College  of  Physicians  anil 
Surgeons,  New  York  City.  Dr.  Calkins  has 
been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
this  town  since  1850,  and  in  that  time  has 
probably  visited  nearly  every  family  in  the 
town;  and  by  most  of  the  inhabitants  he  is 
looked  upon  as  a  personal  friend.  Early  in 
his  practice  he  showed  himself  not  only  well 
trained  for  bis  profession,  but  as  having  the 
inal  qualities  which  would  be  sure  to  win 
for  him  the  confidence  of  his  patients  and  ulti- 
mate success  in  his  chosen  line  of  effort. 

In  October,  1850,  he  married  Elizabeth  M. 
Calkins,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  and  grand- 
daughter of  Jonathan  Calkins.  Three  sons 
were  born  of  this  union,  two  of  whom  died  in 
infancy.  The  remaining  son  is  Arthur  B. 
Calkins,  an  attorney,  and  at  present  serving 
his  second  term  as  a  member  of  the  lower 
branch  of  the  State  legislature,  where  he  is 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Judiciar\p. 
lie    /.  'if   the    few  Democrats  elected  in 

Hi-    is    a    prominent    Knight  Templar 
and    a    member   of    the   order    of    the    Mystic 
Shrine.       Dr.    Calkins    became    a    Mason     in 
1853,    and    has    been    a     Knight    Templar    for 
forty  years,   one  of  the  first  in  this  encamp- 
ment,     lie    has    taken    thirty-two    degrees    in 
.Masonry,    and    is    Past    Grand    Commander   of 
the  Grand    Commandery  of   Connecticut.      In 
'    he   went    to   the   Grand    Encampment    in 
irado,    and    he   has   attended    several    other 
impments  in   various   parts   of   the    United 
States.     The  Doctor  was  a  Republican   until 


the  third  time  of  Grant's  candidacy.      He  has 

["own  Clerk  for  fifteen  years,  and   is  still 

holding   that  position;    has  been  Justice  of  the 

ighteen   \  of   Pro- 

n    years  :    ami  at  present   is  No 
Public    of     Flanders,     Conn.      He     has    also 
been    on    the    School    Committ 


^§> 


EORGE  (..  YOUNG,*  who  resides  on 
\JS>T       i  farm  in  Lisbon,  near  Jewett   City, 

was  born  in  Killingly,  Conn.,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1840,  son  of  Stephen  Graves  and 
Mary  (Hill)  Young.  The  father  was  a  ma- 
chinist, employed  successively  at  Moosup  and 
Killingly,  and  was  in  good  financial  circum- 
stances. He  was  born  in  Sterling,  Decci 
20,  1810,  and  died  in  November,  1885.  His 
wife,  Mary,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  [834, 
was  born  in  Sterling  on  May  14,  1810,  and 
died    May   19,   1895,  at   tli  ij    eighty-five 

years.  Their  two  children  were:  George  G. 
and  Henry  Allen  Young,  the  latter  residing  in 
Plainfield  on  the  farm  on  which  his  parents  died. 
George  G.  Young  attended  school  when  six- 
teen years  of  age.  He  then  began  to  learn 
the  machinist's  trade  with  his  father,  who  was 
then  engaged  in  making  repairs  in  a  cotton- 
mill,  lie  worked  at  bis  trade  until  [876, 
when  he  bought  a  farm  at  Black  Hill,  Plain- 
field,  which  he  cultivated  for  two  years,  but 
subsequently  exchanged  for  property  on  Plain- 
field  Street.  He  then  returned  to  the  mill  for 
five  years.  In  1S84  be  came  to  Lisbon,  and 
bought  tin-  old  Tracy  Inn:  oi  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  [n  politics  a  Democrat,  Mr. 
Young  has  served  the  town  as  Selectman  and 
in  1889  as  its  Representative  to  the  legislat- 
ure. He  is  an  official  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  of  which  his  wife  and 
daughter  are  members.  For  eight  years  he 
red  much  with  asthma. 


446 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


On  September  3,  1872,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Eliza  Jane  Weaver,  who  was 
born  November  18,  1848,  daughter  of  Eben- 
ezer  and  Emmarilla  (Lewis)  Weaver.  Eben- 
ezer  Weaver  was  born  in  Griswold,  August  9, 
1 8 10,  and  died  in  1884.  He  lost  his  father 
early,  and  was  bound  out  at  seven  years  of 
age.  He  was  "a  self-made  man,"  and  when 
twenty-one  years  of  age  was  making  a  good 
living  and  supporting  a  wife  and  child  by  run- 
ning a  small  cotton-mill  in  Canterbury  on  his 
own  account.  Although  he  had  little  school- 
ing, he  was  a  fine  mathematician.  He  was 
both  a  reader  and  thinker,  and  was  besides 
a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity.  His  wife, 
Emmarilla,  who  was  born  in  Canterbury,  Au- 
gust 21,  18 10,  lived  to  be  fifty-nine  years  of 
age.  They  reared  seven  of  their  eight  chil- 
dren. Cordelia  died  in  childhood.  John 
died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  Maria  and 
Sarah  are  both  living.  Lewis  and  George  are 
deceased. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young  have  been  the  parents 
of  four  children,  namely:  Frederick  Arthur, 
who  died  in  infancy  in  1873;  Grace  E.,  who 
was  born  in  1876,  and  died  at  the  age  of  eight 
years;  Alice  M.,  who  resides  at  home  with 
her  parents,  is  a  graduate  of  Norwich  Acad- 
emy, and  a  fine  pianist;  and  Henry  S.,  who 
was  born  in  1886,  and  died  the  same  year. 


APTAIN  GEORGE  W.  HOWARD,* 
formerly  a  master  mariner,  sailing 
from  Niantic,  where  he  is  now  en- 
]  in  carpentering,  was  born  in  this  village, 
July  13,  183S,  being  the  eldest  son  of  Daniel 
and  Cordelia  (Dowset)  Howard.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  Daniel  Howard,  Sr. ,  was  a 
farmer  of  Waterford.  He  married  a  Miss 
Smith,  of  that  town,  and  had  a  family  of  four 
sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of   whom  are  now 


deceased  excepting  Edwin,  who  is  a  retired 
farmer  and  fisherman  of  Niantic. 

The  Howard  brothers  —  namely:  Daniel, 
Jr.;  Charles;  Jonathan;  and  Edwin  —  were 
the  founders  of  Niantic,  starting  here  about 
fifty-two  years  ago,  or  in  1845,  in  the  busi- 
ness of  catching  lobsters  and  mackerel.  As 
fast  as  they  accumulated  money,  they  invested 
it  in  fishing-vessels,  which  were  built  here 
and  at  New  London ;  and  eventually  they 
owned  most  of  the  fleet  of  over  twenty  vessels 
that  sailed  from  Niantic.  Daniel  Howard, 
Jr.,  who  was  born  in  Waterford,  this  county, 
in  1814,  fished  for  halibut  and  cod  on  George's 
Banks,  and  was  very  successful  both  as  a  fish- 
erman and  as  a  business  man.  He  retired 
when  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  at  his  death 
in  1892  left  a  substantial  property.  His 
wife,  Cordelia,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Dowset, 
was  born  at  East  Lyme,  and  is  living,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-five  years,  with  her  son,  George 
W. ,  at  Niantic.  She  is  the  mother  of  five 
children,  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  namely: 
George  W.,  of  Niantic;  Emma,  who  married 
William  E.  Clarke,  and  died  in  middle  life, 
leaving  no  children;  John  C,  who  lives  in 
Niantic;  Daniel,  who  died  in  early  childhood; 
and  James,  who  is  now  at  Millstone  Point, 
managing  a  store. 

At  eleven  years  of  age  George  Howard 
went  on  the  water  occasionally  during  the 
summer.  When  fourteen  years  old  he  began 
to  go  regularly,  and  at  twenty-one  he  was 
captain.  Although  always  successful  as  a 
mariner,  he  left  going  to  the  Banks  for  fishing 
in  1878,  and  since  that  time  has  been  a  car- 
penter in  Niantic.  He  still  retains  his  fond- 
ness for  the  water,  and  owns  a  sloop,  in  which 
he  carries  out  fishing  parties  during  the  sum- 
mer. There  are  many  who  remember  with 
lasting  pleasure  a  clay's  sail  in  the  Sound 
and   a   good   catch   of    fish    secured    under    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RFATF.YY 


I  V) 


skilful  pilotage  of  Captain  Howard.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  fraternal  order  known  as  American 
Mechanics. 

On  November  19,  1867,  Captain  Howard 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  1).  Bei 
of  Hast  Lyme,  daughter  of  William  and  Maria 
(Harding)  Beebe,  both  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased. Mis.  Howard  is  one  of  a  family  of 
nine  children,  two  boys  and  seven  girls,  born 
to  her  parents.  She  has  five  sisters  and  one 
brother  living.  Captain  and  Mrs.  Howard 
settled  in  their  pleasant  home  soon  after  their 
marriage.  They  have  two  sons:  William  1)., 
a  stone-cutter ;  and  George  Avery,  who  keeps 
the  Niantic  Hotel  and  livery  stable.  Both 
are  young  men  of  merit,  and  well  known  here. 
Captain  Howard  has  one  little  grand-daughter, 
the  child  of  Mr.   William  D.  Howard. 


iRS.  MARIA  E.  WARREN,*  a 
resident  of  the  town  of  Lyme,  is  a 
daughter  of  Ezra  M.  and  Eunice 
(Clark)  Peck.  Her  father,  who  was  a  farmer 
of  Old  Lyme,  had  five  sons  and  one  daughter. 
The  only  members  of  this  family  now  living- 
are:  Chatles  Clark,  now  in  his  eighty-seventh 
year,  a  retired  merchant,  formerly  of  New  Or- 
leans, but  now  residing  in  New  York  City; 
Eleazer,  eighty-one  years  old,  who  lives  on 
the  old  farm,  near  Nile  Creek  in  Old  Lyme; 
and  Maria  E.   (Mrs.  Warren). 

Maria  E.  Peck  in  her  girlhood  received  all 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  careful, 
old-fashioned  Now  England  training,  which 
fitted  her  for  the  practical  every-day  duties  of 
life.  On  November  2,  1841,  she  was  married 
to  Dr.  William  W.  J.  Warren,  a  son  of 
Joshua  R.  and  Harriet  (Way)  Warren  and  a 
descendant  of  Captain  Moses  Warren,  the  line 
of  descent  being:   Captain   Moses,  Moses  (sec- 


ond), Joshua  R.,  William  W.  H.  The  Doc- 
tor's father  was  a  farmer  and  merchant  of 
Flanders;  and  that  he  was  well  thought  of  by 
his  fellow-townsmen  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  elected  by  them  to  the  office 
of  Town  Clerk,  and  also  as  Representative  to 
the  legislature.  Soon  after  his  marriage  Dr. 
Warren  purchased  the  sixty-acre  farm  where 
his  widow  now  resides,  and  built  the  present 
comfortable  and  substantial  house.  He  be- 
longed to  the  old  school  of  medicine,  and  en- 
joyed a  good  practice:  but  his  career  of  useful- 
ness was  prematurely  cut  short,  his  death 
occurring  in  1858,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine 
years.  He  and  his  wife  had  live  children: 
namely,  Walter  S.,  William  Dudley,  Maria 
Elizabeth,  Joshua  Raymond,  and  Jeanie  Ellen. 

Walter  S.  and  William  D.  are  in  business 
together,  being  members  of  the  firm  of  Stew- 
art, Warren  &  Co.,  manufacturing  stationers. 
Maria  Elizabeth,  who  is  a  twin  sister  of  Will- 
iam D.,  is  a  successful  school  teacher,  and  is 
unmarried.  Joshua  Raymi  nd  is  a  hotel  stew- 
ard and  caterer.  He  was  employed  at  Long 
Branch  for  ten  years,  and  has  also  followed 
his  calling  in  New  London  and  other  places. 
He  married  Carrie  Royce,  and  makes  his  home 
in  Lyme  when  not  called  elsewhere  by  busi- 
ness engagements.  Jeanie  Ellen  is  the  wile 
of  Dr.  Raymond  Morgan,  of  Providence,  K.I. 

Mrs.  Warren  is  a  member  of  the  Congn 
tional  chinch.      With  her  daughter  Maria  she 
lives  quiet  and    retired    in    her   pleasant    home 
in  the  hamlet  oi   Pleasant  Valley,  where  she  is 
much  respected. 


Y^/lU.IAM     r. 

V*  V         leading  mea 


BROUGHTON,     the 

meat  merchant  of  Stoning- 
ton,  was  born  in  Providence,  R.I., 
April  19,  [857,  son  of  James  Broughton. 
The    father,    who    was    born     in    Manche 


45° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


England,  December  10,  1833,  came  to  this 
country  in  1856,  and  sent  for  his  wife  six 
months  later.  She  arrived  in  Providence, 
R.I.,  on  April  16,  1857,  three  days  before 
giving  birth  to  William  F.  Of  her  five  chil- 
dren  four  were  born  in  this  country,  and  three 
are  living.  The  first,  James,  died  in  infancy 
in  England.  The  others  are:  William  F., 
the  subject  of  this  biography;  Walter  M., 
who  is  now  deceased;  Charles  W.,  a  machinist 
in  Worcester,  Mass.  ;  and  George  E.,  a  butcher 
in  Brooklyn,  N.Y.  James  Broughton,  the 
father,  is  a  master  mechanic  in  Hope  Valley, 
R.I.,  and  has  the  enviable  record  of  having 
been  with  one  firm,  the  Nichols  &  Langworthy 
Machine  Company,  for  thirty-two  years,  en- 
tering their  employ  in  August,  1866. 

William  F.  Broughton  was  educated  in  Hope 
Valley  and  in  a  Bryant  &  Stratton  business 
college  of  Providence.  Afterward  he  entered 
the  meat  business,  in  which  he  has  since  pros- 
perously continued.  His  residence  and  place 
of  business  are  61  to  67  Water  Street,  a  valu- 
able piece  of  property,  with  a  frontage  of  some 
eighty  feet,  embracing  his  market  and  a  drug 
store,  which  he  rents.  The  market  is  well 
arranged,  and  has  a  perfect  cold-storage  house 
oi  large  capacity  and  perfect  ventilation.  By 
the  compressed  ammonia  method  of  reducing 
temperature  Mr.  Broughton  is  able  to  keep 
beel  sweet  for  sixteen  months.  In  1S84  he 
st.nted  in  the  fish  business  with  a  partner, 
under  the  name  of  Broughton  &  Lawlor. 
Three  months  later  he  bought  his  partner's  in- 
t,  and  continued  for  two  years  with  his 
fish  market  in  the  Old  Sail  Loft.  Then  he 
removed  to  his  present  location  in  1886,  pur- 
chasing it  July  3,  1888,  and  going  in  debt  for 
the  larger  part  of  it.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  this  debt  has  been  long  since  cancelled. 

Mr.    Broughton    is  a    Mason,    a   member   of 
Palestine    Commandery,    No.    6,    K.    T.,   and 


the  Master  of  the  Asylum  Lodge,  No.  57, 
at  Stonington.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  has  held  the  position  of  Constable 
for  three  years,  is  a  Burgess  of  the  borough, 
and  also  Deputy  Sheriff.  At  the  age  oi 
t  went)'  he  was  married  to  Frances  T.  James, 
daughter  of  Peleg  W.  and  Sally  (Lewis) 
James,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
Mrs.  Broughton  has  three  brothers  and  one 
sister.  Three  children  have  blessed  her 
union,  namely:  Maud  I.,  now  a  young  lady 
of  seventeen  years  and  an  accomplished  per- 
former on  the  piano;  Mabel  Gertrude,  fif- 
teen years  of  age,  who  is  also  musical;  and 
William  F.,  Jr.,  now  thirteen  years  of  age,  a 
violinist  of  more  than  ordinary  ability.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Broughton  do  not  regret  their  early 
start  in  life,  and  they  are  to  be  congratulated 
for  their  bright  and  most  interesting  trio  of 
children. 


RS.  JULIA  ANN  HEMPSTEAD,' 
widow  of  Orlando  Hallem  Hemp- 
stead, who  died  at  their  farm- 
house in  North  Waterford,  New  London 
County,  Conn.,  April  19,  1874,  was  Dorn  in 
June,  1809,  over  eighty-eight  years  ago,  a 
daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Sarah  (Rogers) 
Rogers,  who  were  second  cousins. 

The  founder  of  the  Rogers  family  came  here 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  Of  the  original 
large  estate,  which  was  settled  over  two  hun- 
dred years  ago,  only  the  twenty-acre  farm  be- 
longing to  Mrs.  Hempstead  remains.  Her 
paternal  grandfather,  who  was  a  Tory,  was  a 
wealthy  man  for  those  days;  and  it  is  probable 
that  he  served  in  office.  Julia  Ann  Rogers 
and  Orlando  Hallem  Hempstead  were  married 
on  New  Year's  Day,  1832.  He  was  a  son  of 
George  and  grandson  of  Robert  Hempstead. 
The  family  is  of  English  origin,  and  it  has 
been  identified  with   the  history  of  Connecti- 


BIOGR  MMIh'AI.    REVIEW 


45' 


cut  since  the  early  Colonial  days.  Robert, 
who  was  a  farmer,  also  followed  the  trade 
shoemaker  to  some  extent.  Orlando  11.  and 
his  brother  Alfred  came  to  New  London  when 
young  men,  and  established  a  blacksmith  shop 
on  the  Neck,  where  they  carried  on  a  success- 
ful business  in  general  blacksmithing  and  the 
ironing  of  vessels.  Of  the  children  born  to 
Julia  Ann  and  Orlando  Hempstead,  two  sons 
died  in  infancy,  and  seven  sons  and  a  daughter 
lived  to  mature  years.  Four  of  the  number 
still  survive:  namely,  Elizabeth,  George,  An- 
drew Jackson,  and  Kzra  J.  Elizabeth  is  the 
wile  of  Stephen  C.  Comstock.  George 
Hempstead  resides  at  124  Main  Street,  New 
London.  Andrew  Jackson  Hempstead,  who 
is  unmarried,  lives  on  the  old  home  farm.  A 
raphical  sketch  of  Ezra  J.  Hempstead, 
the  seventh  son,  may  be  found  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  Francis  Alexander  Hempstead 
died  at  twenty-six  years  of  age. 

During  the  latter  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Or- 
lando 11.  Hempstead  supported  the  Republi- 
can party,  but  was  formerly  a  Democrat.  He 
served  in  many  of  the  town  offices.  The 
house  in  which  Mrs.  Hempstead  resides  was 
built  by  him  over  half  a  century  ago.  She  is 
the  oldest  living  member  of  the  Second  Con- 
itional  Church,  which  she  joined  in  [836, 
sixty  years  ago.  Many  members  of  the 
Rogers  family  were  Quakers,  and  this  part  of 
tin'  town  has  been  locally  known  as  Quaker 
Hill. 


•EREMIAH  DAVIS,*  a  boat-builder  of 
wide  reputation  residing  in  Xoank, 
New  London  County,  was  born  on 
I  ong  fsland,  June  5,  1831,  son  of  Gilbert 
and  Nancy  (Petitt)  Davis. 

Jeremiah  Davis,  father  of  Gilbert,  was  a 
shoemaker  by  trade,  and  followed  it  all  his 
life,    the    last    years    of     which     were     spent 


on  Long  Island.  He  had  four  sons  and  a 
daughter.  One  son  is  living,  Salem  Davis,  a 
house  and  ship  painter,  residing  in  Greenport, 
L.I.  Gilbert  Davis  was  born  in  New  York 
City  about  the  year  [818,  and  died  in  • 
at  his  home  on  Long  Island,  to  which  he 
rime  in  his  early  years.  He  was  a  ship-car- 
penter and  mariner.  Nancy  l'etitt  Davis,  his 
wife,  also  died  in  1893,  a  short  time  bi 
his  death.  They  were  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  and  three  sons  and  four  daugh 
grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  Those 
now  living  are:  Sarah,  wife  of  Joshua  Perry, 
residing  on  Long  Island;  Jeremiah:  Nancy 
Melvina  Davis,  in  Brooklyn,  N.Y. ; -Mary, 
wife  of  Austin  Hempstead,  oi  Brooklyn;  and 
Maria,  wife  of  Mr.  Ketchell,  of  Rockaway, 
N.J. 

Jeremiah  Davis  received  a  fair  schooling  in 
his  native  place  on  Long  Island.  When  nine- 
teen years  old  he  began  learning  the  shoe- 
maker's trade ;  and  later  on  he  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  his  father  at  ship-carpentry, 
following  that  occupation  up  to  1861,  when  he 
took  up  his  present  employment  of  a  boat- 
builder,  in  which  he  has  met  with  marked  suc- 
cess. He  came  to  Xoank  in  1859.  For  a 
few  years  he  worked  in  the  Palmer  ship-yard, 
and  then  engaged  in  business  for  himself. 
He  has  built  several  hundred  boats  of  me- 
dium size,  principally  row-boats  and  yachts, 
some  of  them  prize  winners.  The  "Nellie," 
built  for  Colonel  Tyler,  of  New  London,  was 
one  of  the  fastest  sail-boats  in  this  section. 
lie  carries  on  his  business  the  year  round,  and 
in  busy  times  employs  three  or  four  men.  In 
addition  to   this   he   does   a   commission    busi- 

in  buying  and   selling   boats,  having 
or  six  on   hand   at  a  time.      Some   oi    those    he 
builds   are   shipped   to    Pensacola,    Fla..    some 
also  to  New  Orleans,  and  other  distanl 

In   June,   1S59,    Mr.    Davis  was  married  to 


4S2 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Julia  A.  Wilbur,  daughter  of  Calvin  Wilbur, 
of  Noank.  They  lost  two  children  in  infancy, 
and  have  one  daughter  living,  Hattie,  wife  of 
Arthur  Cox,  of  this  place. 

Mr.  Davis  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but 
has  always  declined  official  honors.  He  and 
his  wife  and  daughter  are  members  of  the 
Noank  Baptist  Church,  which  has  had  a  re- 
markable history,  being  noted  for  its  piety 
and  revivals.  Mr.  Davis  is  a  member  of  the 
Prudential  Committee. 


M 


ANIEL  I.  LAY,*  Judge  of  Probate, 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Old  Lyme, 
New  London  County,  Conn.,  the 
son  of  Oliver  I.  and  Mary  (Whittlesey)  Lay, 
was  born  in  1840,  in  the  house  where  he  now 
lives.  I  The  Lay  family  came  originally  from 
England.  Eight  generations  have  lived  in 
Lyme.  John  Lay,  the  first  ancestor  of  whom 
there  is  record,  settled  at  Old  Lyme  as  early 
as  1648,  and  died  here  in  January,  1674-5. 
He  was  twice  married,  and  by  each  wife  had  a 
son  named  John.  John  Lay,  Jr.,  born  in  1654, 
married,  and  lived  in  Old  Lyme  until  his 
death.  His  son  John  was  born  in  1696,  and 
died  in  1788.  He  also  had  a  son  John,  who 
was  born  in  171 2,  and  who  became  a  very 
prominent  man  in  the  town,  being  the  owner 
of  several  thousand  acres  of  land,  and  taking  a 
leading  part  in  public  affairs.  He  served  as 
Town  Clerk  for  forty-five  years,  and  was  also 
a  member  of  the  General  Court  and  Justice  of 
the  Peace.  By  his  wife,  Hannah,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Lee,  he  had  fifteen  children, 
en  sons  and  eight  daughters.  His  son 
John,  born  in  1737,  served  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  and,  being  taken  by  the  British,  was 
for  some  time  confined  on  the  prison  ship 
"Jersey." 
David  Lay,  son  of  the  last-named  John  and 


grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  on  Meeting-house  Hill,  Old  Lyme, 
April  28,  1769.  His  wife,  Lucy  Ingraham, 
was  also  a  native  of  Old  Lyme.  They  had 
four  children,  namely:  Oliver  I.,  father  of 
Judge  Lay;  Laura,  who  married  and  died 
without  issue;  Lucy,  living  in  Old  Lyme, 
widow  of  the  artist,  William  J.  Banning;  and 
George,  a  banker  in  New  York  City.  The 
father  died  in  1843.  The  mother  lived  to  the 
age  of  eighty-nine. 

Oliver  I.  Lay  was  born  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Lyme  in  1799.  He  became  a  wool  manu- 
facturer, and  erected  the  solid  stone  factory 
at  the  dam  of  Spring  Brook,  which  was  built 
by  Edward  De  Wolf  in  1701.  A  capable 
business  man,  he  also  took  part  in  public  life, 
serving  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Judge  of  Pro- 
bate, and  as  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He 
died  in  1S76.  His  wife,  in  maidenhood  Mary 
Whittlesey,  was  of  English  descent.  She 
died  in  1874.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver  I.  Lay 
had  seven  children,  namely:  one  son,  Daniel 
I.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  six  daughters. 
The  five  daughters  now  living  are:  Sarah, 
wife  of  Samuel  H.  Selden,  a  civil  engineer  of 
Escanaba,  Mich.;  Adeline,  widow  of  Walter 
Chadwick,  a  ship-master  who  was  lost  at  sea; 
Marietta,  who  resides  at  the  old  home  with 
her  brother  and  two  sisters;  Evelyn  H.,  wife 
of  Dr.  Cushman  A.  Sears,  of  Portland,  Conn.  ; 
and  Aurelia,  who  is  at  the  parental  home. 

Daniel  I.  Lay  completed  his  education  at 
Williston  Seminary.  He  went  West  with  a 
surveying  party  at  the  age  of  twenty-three, 
and  spent  about  twenty  years  in  Michigan, 
being  employed  for  some  time  in  the  United 
States  land  office  at  Marquette  and  for  three 
years  in  prospecting  for  iron  ore.  Returning 
to  Lyme  in  1889,  he  was  engaged  three  years 
in  the  milling  business.  He  has  also  been 
largely  interested  in   fire   insurance.     He  has 


IUOGR  AI'HICAL    REVIEW 


served  ;is  Selectman  of  the  town,  and  in  1896 
he  was  elected  Judge  of  Probate.  lie  is  a 
Master  Mason  and  in  politics  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican. Judge  Lay  makes  his  home  with  his 
sisters  in  the  house  which  their  lather  built  in 
[830.  Few  residents  of  Old  Lyme  are  1> 
n  or  more  respected. 


T^VIARLKS   H.   COWAN.'   superintend- 

(   J|         cut    of    the    Atwood    Silk    Machinery 

VN~__^   Works    in    Stonington,    Conn.,    was 

in     December,     1850,    in     Bangor,    Me. 

His  paternal  grandfather  was  Thomas   Cowan, 

oi    Hampden,   Me.      Me  was  a  farmer,  and  was 

blessed  with  a  family  of  three   sons  and   one 

liter,    two   of    whom,    William    and   John, 

are    now    residing    in    Hampden.      The    other 

son,    Thomas,    the   father  of   Mr.   Charles   H. 

Cowan,    was    engaged    in    the    manufacture   of 

wagons    and     carriages.        By    his     first    wife, 

Charlotte   Folsom,    of   Dixmont,  Me.,    he  had 

three  daughters  and  this  one  son,  Charles  H., 

the  youngest-born. 

The  mother  dying  when  he  was  an  infant 
one  day  old,  he  was  tenderly  reared  by  his 
grandmother  Folsom  until  her  death,  and  after 
that  by  his  uncle,  with  whom  he  went  to 
live  when  a  lad  of  twelve  years.  He  received 
the  ordinary  education  afforded  by  the  district 
school  of  the  county,  and  at  the  age  of  eigh- 
teen went  into  tin.-  Muzzy  lion  Works  in  Ban- 
gor, Me.,  to  learn  the  trade  of  machinist. 
This  apprenticeship  occupied  three  \ 
He  then  remained  there  another  year,  and 
still  later  was  with  the  same  company  at 
Lewiston,  Me.,  for  three  years.  He  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Atwood  firm  in  Williman- 
tic,  Conn.,  in  1874.  beginning  at  the  bench 
as  .1  common  workman.  His  taste  and  genius 
for  invention  made  him  extremely  useful,  and 
advanced  him   rapidly  to   the   foremost  place, 


that  of  superintendent.  For  the  past  ten  or 
fifteen  years  his  entire  time  and  energy  have 
been  given  to  the  care  of  this  large  establish- 
ment. 

In    1877,  on    September    C>,   Mr.    Cowan    was 
married   to    Lucy  Bun  ty,    R.I., 

laughter  of  the  late  William  and  Aurilla 
Burdick.  Mrs.  Cowan  has  lour  brothers  and 
two  sisters.  She  has  had  three  children,  one 
of  whom  died  when  eighteen  months  old.  Tin- 
others  are:  Grace,  a  young  lady  now  finishing 
her  education  in  the  high  school,  and  also 
studying  music;  and  Charles  II.,  Jr.,  a  youth 
of  fifteen  years,  also  in  school.  Mr.  Cowan 
belongs  to  no  fraternal  order  and  no  church, 
and  has  subscribed  to  no  creed. 


^NATHAN      SANDS      FISH,'     a    well- 


known  and  highly  esteemed  citizen  of 
i9  V^i  „  Groton,  residing  on  his  farm  near 
Poquonnock  Bridge,  was  born  in  this  town, 
April  11,  1828,  son  of  Simeon  and  Eliza 
(Randall)   Fish. 

Sands  Fish,  father  of  Simeon  and  son  of 
Nathan,  was  born  at  the  old  Fish  homestead,  a 
mile  above  Mystic.  A  portion  of  the  farm 
owned  by  Nathan  Fish  is  still  held  by  some  of 
his  lineal  descendants.  The  pioneer  ancestor 
of  the  Fish  family  of  Groton  was  passing 
through  this  section  prospecting,  and  at 
Mystic  village  called  on  a  settler  named  Bur- 
rows,  and  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land. 
The  call  resulted  in  Mr.  Fish  receiving  the 
offer  of  a   portion   of   it,    provide  vould 

settle  upon  it.  He  did  so,  and  the  farm  men- 
tioned above  is  part  of  that  grant.  Nathan 
Fish,  who  spent  his  life  thereon,  attained  the 
venerable  age  of  ninety-six  years.  Sands 
Fish  married  Bridget  Gallup,  daughter  of 
on  Benadam  Gallup  and  grand-daughter 
of  Colonel  .Benadam   Gallup,  who  was 


454 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


an  Avery.  Her  mother's  name  was  Palmer. 
Sands  and  Bridget  Fish  had  nine  children,  as 
follows:  Hannah,  who  was  born  about  1790, 
and  died  in  young  womanhood;  Lavina,  wife 
of  Isaac  Denison;  Asa  Fish,  who  held  the  po- 
sition of  Probate  Judge  some  thirty  years,  or 
until  disqualified  by  age;  Simeon,  father  of 
Nathan  S.  ;  Sands,  Jr.,  who  died  in  young 
manhood,  unmarried;  Charles,  whose  son 
William  was  a  Colonel  in  the  Civil  War; 
Nathan  G.,  a  ship-builder;  Alden,  an  octo- 
genarian living  on  the  old  farm;  and  Bridget, 
wife  of  William  Clift.  Sands  Fish  died  in 
the  thirties,  at  about  seventy-five  years  of  age, 
and  his  wife  several  years  later.  They  rest 
in  the  Fish  Cemetery  on  Pequot  Hill,  which 
was  dedicated  to  the  family  by  Roswell  Fish. 
Sands  Fish  was  a  Deacon  of  the  first  Baptist 
church  in  Connecticut.  The  house  of  worship, 
located  about  one  mile  east  of  Centre  Groton, 
is  still  standing,  but  is  not  occupied  by  the 
society. 

Simeon  Fish  was  a  merchant  in  Mystic 
some  forty  years.  He  was  a  man  of  good 
business  ability  and  sterling  integrity.  In 
earlier  days  he  was  a  Whig  and  later  a  Re- 
publican, one  of  those  who  voted  for  Abraham 
Lincoln.  His  wife,  Eliza  Randall  before 
marriage,  was  born  about  1S03  at  North  Ston- 
ington,  or  Mill  Town,  but  spent  her  girlhood 
in  Mystic.  Simeon  and  Kliza  Fish  were  the 
parents  of  three  children:  William  Randall 
Fish,  who  died  in  1889,  leaving  a  widow  and 
three  children,  a  son  and  two  daughters;  Na- 
than Sands,  of  whom  more  is  given  below; 
and  Jedediah  Randall,  a  retired  merchant  liv- 
ing in  New  London,  Conn. 

Nathan  Sands  Fish  supplemented  a  good 
district  schooling  by  two  terms  of  study  at 
a  school  in  Suffield,  Conn.  When  hardly 
seventeen  years  old  he  entered  his  father's 
store  as  clerk.     He  was  subsequently  received 


into  partnership,  and  finally  succeeded  his 
father  in  the  business.  For  two  years  he 
owned  and  operated  a  glass  furnace  in  New 
London,  and  in  1872  ran  a  hotel  in  Madison, 
Ga.  It  is  now  twenty-eight  years  since  he 
settled  on  his  farm  of  over  one  hundred  acres 
on  the  west  side  of  Poquonnock  Plains. 

Mr.  Fish  was  married  on  April  22,  1850,  to 
Jennett  Morgan,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Caro- 
line Morgan,  of  Salem.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren living:  E.  Bertha,  living  at  Poquonnock, 
wife  of  Charles  L.  Burrows  and  mother  of  one 
son;  and  Donald  M.  Fish,  unmarried,  who 
lives  on  the  farm  with  his  father.  One 
daughter  died  in  infancy;  and  Frank,  who 
was  born  in  1852,  died  in  1S89,  leaving  a 
widow  and  four  children. 

In  political  views  and  affiliation  Mr.  Fish 
is  a  stanch  Republican.  He  has  served  as 
Grand  Juror,  Selectman,  Assessor,  Town 
Clerk,  and  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  about  eight 
years.  While  living  in  New  London,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Common  Council.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Equaliza- 
tion, the  Board  of  Relief,  and  the  Board  of 
Health.  Since  1880  he  has  been  one  of  the 
Executive  Committee  in  charge  of  the  Groton 
monument,  and  he  had  charge  of  the  letting 
of  the  contracts  for  the  repairs  of  1881  and 
1893. 


rmc 


EORGE  WASHINGTON  HEMP- 
\J5  I  STEAD,*  of  New  London,  a  mason 
by  trade  and  a  pensioned  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War,  was  born  May  12,  1837.  His 
father,  Orlando  Hempstead,  died  in  Water- 
ford,  aged  sixty-five:  and  his  mother,  Julia  A. 
Rogers  Hempstead,  who  is  now  eighty-eight 
years  old,  is  well  preserved  both  in  mind  and 
body.  She  has  been  bereft  of  four  sons,  and 
has   three   sons   living  and  a   daughter,  Alma 


BENJAMIN    H.    LEE. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Elizabeth,    who    is    the    wife    of    Stephen    C. 
Comstock,  a  farmer  near  by. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  George  W. 
Hempstead  began  his  business  career  as  a 
butcher,  and  worked  at  that  trade  until  Octo- 
ber,  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Twelfth 
Connecticut  Volunteer  Infantry,  Company  B, 
and  served  for  two  years,  being  honorably  dis- 
charged in  [863  at  New  Orleans,  after  six 
months'  illness.  Upon  his  recovery  he  re- 
turned to  New  Orleans  with  his  brother  Or- 
lando, with  whom  he  was  in  the  saw-mill 
business  for  a  year.  Returning  to  New  Lon- 
don in  1865,  he  took  up  masonry,  which  he 
in  to  learn  when  he  was  twenty  years  old, 
and  followed  his  trade  until  he  gave  up  regu- 
lar work.  He  still  does  now  and  then  a  job 
for  his  old  customers,  but  undertakes  no  new 
business.  lie  is  a  pensioner  on  account  of 
his  army  service. 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1866,  Mr.  Hempstead 
married  Julia  E.  Reed,  of  New  London.  His 
lent  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  in 
May.  [889,  was  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Tefft,  daughter 
of  I'eter  and  Mary  (Lasrue)  Libbie.  Her 
father  died  when  she  was  a  small  child.  She 
was  married  at  nineteen  to  Mr.  Tefft,  by 
whom  she  has  three  children:  Dwight  1 1. 
Tefft,  a  railroad  man.  who  is  married  and  lives 
in  New  London:  Delia,  wife  oi  Leonard  Gib- 
son,  Jr.,  of  this  city,  who  has  throe  children; 
and  Minnie  Tefft,  living  with  her  mother. 
Mr.  Tefft  died  two  years  before  her  marriage 
to  Mr.  Hempstead.  The  house  at  [22  Main 
Street,  which  is  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hempstead,  he  built  in  1890.  His  tenement 
house,  (24  Main  Street,  is  the  old  R 
dwelling,  erected  in  1795  by  an  own  cousin  of 
Mr.  Hempstead's  mother,  and  stands  on  land 
thai  has  been  handed  down  from  generation  to 
generation.  Though  through  early  influences 
Mr.   Hempstead   was  for  a   time  a  Jacksonian 


Democrat,    he    has    for    many    years    been  a 

stanch     Republican.       Fraternally,     he     is  a 

Master     Mason,    and     in     religious    beliei  a 
Methodist. 


ON.        BENJAMIN        HEMPSTEAD 
LEE,"  .1  well-known  citizen  oi    New 

London,  was  born  in  his  present 
residence  on  Ocean  Avenue,  I  >■  -  ember  7, 
1852,  son  of  Daniel  and  Harriet  (Hempsti 
Lee.  His  paternal  grandfather,  I'eter  Lee, 
was  a  native  of  New  London,  bom  December 
L3,  1773-  A  carpenter  by  trade,  he  met  his 
death  September  16,  1S41,  as  the  result  of  a 
fall  which  he  sustained  some  three  months 
before  the  birth  of  his  second  child. 

Daniel  Lee  was  born  in  Waterford,  May  9, 
1808.  He  was  a  member  for  more  than  forty 
years  of  the  old  and  leading  grocer}-  firm  of 
Treadway  &  Lee.  Beginning  the  active  work 
of  life  without  either  cash  capital  or  influen- 
tial friends,  by  foresight  and  industry  he  ac- 
cumulated a  considerable  property.  A  Re- 
publican in  politics,  he  served  the  town  many 
years  as  Selectman,  and  at  various  times  held 
other  offices  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow-towns- 
men. He  was  a  Master  Mason,  and  in  his  re- 
ligions affiliations  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  His  death  occurred  October  25, 
1885.  February  21,  1831,  he  married  Al- 
mira  Beckwith,  who  was  born  June  6,  181  1, 
and  died  February  25.  1851.  Of  their  six 
children  five  lived  to  maturity,  and  those  now 
living  are:  .Augusta,  wife  of  Samuel  I'. 
Swoncie,  of  Meriden,  Conn.:  Daniel  Morti- 
mer Lee,  who  was  one  of  the  first  volunl 
in  the  late  Civil  War,  rose  to  a  Lieutenancy 
in  the  regular  army,  and  now  resides  in  Hos- 
ton,  retired  from  active  service:  and  Sarah, 
who  married  Edward  T.  Brown,  secretary  and 
surer  of  the  Cotton  Gin  Company.  The 
father  married   for  his   second   wife,   February 


45§ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


29,  1852,  Miss  Harriet  Hempstead,  of  New 
London,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Nancy 
(Baber)  Hempstead.  The  first  American  pro- 
genitor of  the  Hempstead  family  was  Sir 
Robert,  who  came  from  England  to  this  coun- 
try with  Governor  Winthrop  in  1645.  He  mar- 
ried Joanna  Willie,  settled  in  Pequot,  Conn., 
and  died  in  1655.  His  son  Joshua,  born  June 
16,  1649,  had  a  son  Joshua,  who  was  born  in 
1678,  and  died  in  December,  1758.  Nathan- 
iel, son  of  the  second  Joshua,  was  born  in 
1700,  had  a  son  Joshua,  who  was  born  prob- 
ably about  1724,  and  died  in  1806.  This 
third  Joshua  was  the  father  of  thirteen  chil- 
dren, eight  sons  and  five  daughters.  Ben- 
jamin Hempstead,  born  in  1753,  and  the  next 
in  the  line  of  descent,  married  Lydia  Burch, 
and  died  of  yellow  fever  in  1798,  at  the  age  of 
forty-five  years.  Henry,  son  of  Benjamin 
and  father  of  Harriet,  the  second  wife  of 
Daniel  Lee,  was  born  April  26,  1788,  and 
died  February  5,  1883.  His  wife,  Nancy, 
died  January  13,  1873,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three,  after  more  than  sixty  years  of  wedded 
life.  Their  children,  nine  of  whom  attained 
maturity,  were:  Henry  P.,  born  July  3,  1S09; 
Nancy,  August  3,  181 1;  Benjamin,  August 
29,  1 8 1  3  ;  John  P.,  October  21,  1 8 1  5  ;  Denni- 
son,  October  3,  1S17;  Harriet,  January  ig, 
1820;  Elias,  December  1,  1823;  Caius, 
March  20,  1827;  Wolcott,  June  10,  1832; 
George  W.,  January  5,  1S35.  Mrs.  Lee  is 
now  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  family. 
Daniel  Lee  died  October  24,  1885,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-seven  years.  By  his  wife,  Harriet, 
he  had  one  son,  Benjamin  Hempstead,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

Benjamin  II.  Lee  attended  the  public 
schools  of  New  London,  and  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen years  was  graduated  at  the  Bartlett  High 
School  with  the  class  of  1869.  He  began  his 
business  experience  as  a  clerk  in  the  stoic  of 


Harris  &  Rowe.  Two  years  later  he  went  to 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  where  he  was  employed  in 
the  hardware  house  of  Honey  &  Co.  for  two 
years.  During  his  first  summer  in  that  city 
he  was  stroke  oarsman  of  the  Tyson  Club 
crew  in  a  match  with  the  Mitchell  Club. 
Returning  to  New  London  in  1873,  he  entered 
the  office  of  the  Brown  Cotton  Gin  Company 
as  book-keeper,  and  remained  there  for  three 
years.  Since  then  he  has  been  engaged  in 
mercantile  life,  with  the  exception  of  five 
years  spent  in  the  railway  mail  service  be- 
tween New  York  and  Boston. 

June  16,  1874,  Mr.  Lee  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Emma  Mower,  daughter  of 
General  Joseph  A.  and  Betsey  (Bailey) 
Mower.  Her  father,  who  was  a  native  of 
Vermont  and  began  active  life  as  a  ship-car- 
penter, subsequently  gained  distinction  as  an 
officer,  both  in  the  Mexican  and  the  Civil 
War.  General  Sherman  in  his  Memoirs 
mentions  him  in  terms  of  highest  praise.  He 
died  in  January,  1870,  at  the  age  of  forty-four 
years.  He  was  the  father  of  four  daughters 
and  one  son.  His  widow  resides  in  Washing- 
ton, D.C.  Four  of  their  five  children  are  liv- 
ing, namely:  Josephine;  Emma;  Edward, 
who  holds  a  government  position  in  the  Post- 
office  Department  at  Washington  ;  and  Kate. 
Maud,  the  other  child,  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lee  have  two  children:  Harry 
Mower,  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  in  New  York  City;  and 
Rowena  Mossette,  who  was  graduated  at  the 
high  school  in  New  London,  and  is  an  accom- 
plished musician. 

Mr.  Lee  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason. 
He  is  a  Republican  politically,  and  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  politics  during  the  last  ten 
years.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  between  the  years  [888  and 
1 89 1,  and    in    the   latter   year    was    elected    an 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REV  I  EW 


459 


Alderman.  The  year  following  he  was  .1 
candidate  for  Representative,  but  was  defeated 
with  must  of  the  candidates  of  his  party  that 
year.  In  [894  he  was  elected  to  the  Connect- 
icut Senate,  being  the  first  Republican  Sen- 
ator to  be  elected  from  this  district  within  the 
twelve  years  previous  to  that  time.  Two 
rs  later  he  was  re-elected  to  the  Senate, 
and  both  terms  he  served  his  constituents 
faithfully  and  well.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Appropriation  Committee,  his  report  being  re- 
ceived most  favorably  by  Governor  Cook,  who 
indorsed  in  the  strongest  terms  the  action  of 
the  committee.  He  was  also  chairman  of  the 
Military  Committee,  and  served  on  the  Com- 
mittee on  New  Towns  and  Probate  Districts. 
With  respect  to  the  former,  his  experience  as 
a  member  of  the  National  Guard  for  many 
years  made  him  particularly  eligible.  His 
services  while  in  the  Senate  were  highly  ap- 
preciated, and  received  honorable  mention  in 
the  Hartford  and  Norwich  press.  Mr.  Lee 
inherited  from  his  lather  the  pleasant  house 
and  grounds  where  the  elder  Lee  settled  more 
than  liltv  years  before.  The  small  dwellings 
which  the  latter  purchased  with  three  or  four 
n  res  nl  land  on  the  commons,  and  which  was 
the  first  house  erected  in  this  part  of  the  town, 
is  still  standing,  ami  forms  pan  of  Mr.  I 
nt  home. 


HESTER  S.  MAINE51  is  a  farmer  of 
North  Stonington,  Conn.,  where  he 
was  born  on  December  16,  i860. 
His  paternal  grandfather  was  John  Ma 
whose  wife  was  a  Brown.  They  had  a  family 
of  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  the  only  one 
now  living  being  a  daughter,  Elizabeth, 
widow  ot  John  Clark,  of  Stonington. 

John  S.  Maine,  one  of  the  four  sons,  father 
of  Chester  S.,  was  born  in  Stonington  in 
1832.      He  was  engaged   for  some  years  as  a 


dealer  in  live  I  on  In-  was  a  gen- 

eral farmer,  lie  married  Frances  Wheeler. 
They  had  four  children,  and  brought  up  three, 
as  follows:  Chester  S.  Maine;  Fannie,  wife 
of  George  1).  Coats,  nt  Stonington;  and 
Annie  M.  Maine,  living  with  her  mother  in 
the  same  town.  The  lather  died  March  25, 
.    mi    the    farm    where    he    had    settled    in 

is;.). 

1  Tester   S.   had  a  g I   common-school    edu- 

iii'in,  supplemented  by  a  term  at  Ashaway 
Ai  nlemy.  Since  his  father's  death  he  has  re- 
mained at  home  and  managed  the  farm,  which 
emit  tins  three  hundred  acres.  lie  keeps  a 
dairy  of  fifteen  to  twenty-five  grade  Jersey 
cows,  and  has  a  milk  route  in  Westerly,  R.I. 
His  barn  is  commodious  and  convenient,  hav- 
ing a  splendid  capacity  for  a  large  stock  of 
cattle,  horses,  and  hay.  The  old  farm-h 
was  erected  at  leasl  a  century  ago. 

Mr.  Maine  was  married  July  7,  1S86,  to 
Abigail  Newton,  of  Hartford,  daughter  of 
William  Newton.  She  was  educated  in  Hart- 
ford and  in  the  State  Normal  School  at  New 
Britain,  Conn.;  ami  she  taught  school  a  few 
terms  before  her  marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Maine  have  one  child,  Carrol  Chester,  a  prom- 
ising lad  of  eight  years.  Mrs.  Maine  is  one 
of  the  three  ladies  who  compose  the  School 
Board  of  the  town.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church.  Mr.  Maine  has  been  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  and  some  years  ago  was  a 
Selectman,  but  in  general  has  neither  sought 
nor  filled  any  office. 


I.ISIIA  STARR   CHESTER*   is  a  well- 
known    resident   ot    the   town    of    Water- 
ford,    and    was    born    on    his    pre 
lain),   which  lies  about  three  and    a   half   miles 
west    of    New    I  tober   3,    1 843,  being 

a   son    ot    Thomas    Chester.       Mr.    Chester    is 
gnized    as   an   energetic  and    skilful    agri- 


460 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


culturist  and  one  of  the  substantial  and  reli- 
able citizens  of  his  town.  He  traces  his 
ancestry  to  Samuel  Chester,  who  came  to  Con- 
necticut with  Governor  John  Winthrop,  and 
was  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  New  Lon- 
don, taking  up  land  at  Groton  Bank.  He 
owned  a  large  tract  which  now  forms  part  of 
the  site  of  Groton  village,  that  part  on  which 
the  monument  and  Fort  Griswold  stand.  His 
residence  was  on  Fisher's  Island  with  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop.  Of  his  family  of  sons  and 
daughters,  the  one  next  in  line  of  descent  to 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  John,  who  re- 
sided in  Groton,  where  he  built  what  was 
known  as  the  "Square  House,"  which  re- 
mained in  possession  of  the  family  for  many 
years.  John  had  eight  children,  of  whom 
Thomas  was  the  great-grandfather  of  Elisha 
Starr  Chester.  Thomas  resided  at  Eastern 
Point,  in  Groton,  where  he  built  a  house  that 
is  still  occupied  by  his  descendants,  and  is  the 
place  where  the  annual  family  gatherings 
occur.  His  son  Elisha  was  born  at  Eastern 
Point  about  1764,  and  was  followed  in  the  line 
of  descent  by  his  son  Thomas,  who  was  born  at 
the  same  place  in  1801,  and  was  the  father  of 
Elisha  S.  Mr.  Chester  can  thus  take  pride  in 
a  long  line  of  sturdy  New  England  ancestry, 
men  who  have  done  their  share  in  their  walk  of 
life  in  developing  the  resources  of  this  section, 
and  whose  record  is  one  of  which  their  de- 
scendants need  not  be  ashamed. 


ONATHAN  W.  THAYER,*  an  es- 
teemed citizen  of  Stonington,  Conn., 
for  many  years  a  railroad  employee,  was 
born  (in  October  27,  1822,  in  Braintree,  Mass. 
His  father,  William  Thayer,  born  in  Marsh- 
field,  Mass.,  about  1792,  was  a  shoemaker  by 
trade,  and  carried  on  the  business  as  a  manu- 
facturer before  the  days  of  shoe  factories   and 


machine-made  shoes.  He  died  in  185 1.  His 
wife,  Deborah  Wilde,  of  Braintree,  whom  he 
married  in  181 3,  was  a  remarkable  woman  of 
very  strong  character.  Some  years  after  her 
husband's  death  she  went  to  live  with  her 
daughter  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  she  died 
in  1879.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Thayer  had 
seven  children,  all  of  whom  married  and  had 
families.  One  son  is  Lyman  W.  Thayer,  who 
died  in  1893,  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-two,  leaving  a  widow  and  three  children. 
The  six  survivors  of  the  parental  household 
are:  William  Frank,  living  in  Cohasset,  who 
has  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  five  died; 
Ezra  W.,  living  in  Arizona,  and  now  over 
eighty  years  of  age;  Frances,  a  widow  living 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Jonathan  W.,  of  whom 
we  shall  speak  more  fully;  Ann,  widow  of 
a  Mr.  Lowd,  living  in  Cleveland;  and  Justin 
Edward,  also  living  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Jonathan  W.  Thayer,  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  named  for  his  uncle,  Jonathan  Wilde,  for 
many  years  a  skilled  physician  of  Braintree, 
Mass.  He  grew  to  maturity  in  his  native 
town,  receiving  but  meagre  schooling,  as  dur- 
ing his  youth  he  spent  most  of  his  time  work- 
ing at  the  shoemaking  bench  with  his  father. 
In  1840  he  left  home  for  Stonington,  where 
he  and  his  brother  Ezra  opened  a  small  boot 
and  shoe  store.  The  town  then  was  not  much 
more  than  a  sailing  port,  but  the  two  young 
men  made  their  business  a  success.  Jonathan 
eventually  bought  his  brother  out,  and  con- 
ducted the  business  by  himself,  employing 
men  and  doing  custom  work  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  War,  during  which  for  three 
years  or  more  he  was  a  clerk  with  a  division 
sutler.  After  that  for  twenty-seven  years  he 
was  employed  as  a  switchman  by  the  Stoning- 
ton Railroad.  The  length  of  his  service 
shows  that  he  was  faithful  and  efficient,  always 
alert    and    at    his    post.        When    the    railroad 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


461 


1  ompany  began  to  make  use  of  the  telegraph 
in  running  their  trains,  Mr.  Thayer,  consider- 
ing  himself   too   old    to  learn  the  new  method, 

jned  his  position.      Mr.  Thayer  was  at  one 
time   Burgess   oi    Stonington.      In   politics  he 

always  been  a  strong  Republican. 
On  February  22,  [843,  he  married  Cather- 
ine J-l.  Stanton,  of  Stonington,  a  daughter  of 
James  and  Desire  (Palmer)  Stanton,  both 
members  ol  old  families,  descended,  the  one 
from  Walter  Palmer,  and  the  other  from  the 
Stantons  of  the  Revolution,  of  Fort  Griswold 
fame.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thayer  have  four  chil- 
dren, namely:  John  Henry,  an  engineer  on 
the  water,  who  has  a  wife  and  two  children; 
Kate  E.,  who  lives  at  home;  Edward  1).,  an 
accountant  and  paymaster  in  the  railroad 
machine  shops  at  Stonington,  who  has  a  wife 
and  one  daughter;  and  Maria  Louise,  who 
lives  at  home  with  her  parents.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Thayer  live  very  happily  in  their  com- 
modious brick  dwelling,  which  Mr.  Thayer 
bought  about  nineteen  years  ago.  Mr.  Thayer 
has  an  honorable  record,  and  both  he  and  his 
wife  are  much  respected  in  Stonington. 


iRS.    ELLEN    B.    MANWARING,* 

of  Xew  London,  is  the  widow  ol 
Dr.  Robert  Alexander  Manwar- 
ing,  whose  death,  September  1,  1890,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-nine,  removed  from  this  city 
one  of  her  most  beloved  ami  honored  citizens. 
Mrs.  Manwaring  is  a  daughter  of  the  Hon. 
Noyes  and  Mary  (Chester)  Barber.  Her 
father,  who  was  a  member  of  Congress  four- 
teen years,  had  many  close  friends  among  the 
leading  men  of  his  times;  and  of  those  enter 
tained  in  his  home  the  daughter  remembers 
mors  Ellsworth,  Peters,  and  Trumbull, 
and  others.  The  Hon.  Noyes  Barber  was 
twite    married.       His    first    wife    died    young, 


leaving  a  son  and  two  daughters,  all  now  de- 
ceased. Four  children  were  born  of  his  sec- 
ond union,  namely:  Noyes,  who  died  in  early 
life;    John    Stari';    Mary    E.,    who  the 

wife  of  a  Rev.  Mr.  Whitman,  ami  died,  leav- 
ing two  children;  and  Ellen,  Mrs.  Manwar- 
ing. The  Hmi.  Noyes  Barber  died  in  1S43, 
aged  sixty-two,  and  Mrs.  Barber  three  years 
later.  Ellen  Barber  completed  her  studies  at 
a  boarding-school  in  Xew  Haven.  She  was 
married  to  Dr.  Manwaring,  on  May  15,  [845, 
who  was  born  August  11,  1811,  son  'I  I  hri 
pher  and  Mary  i\\  olcotl  I  Manwai  1 

The  Manwaring  family  in  England  have 
had  titles  and  landed  estates.  Sir  Ranulphus 
Manwaring  (or  Mesnilwarin)  held  the  office 
of  Justice  of  Chester  in  the  reign  oi  Richard 
I.  Oliver  Manwaring,  the  founder  of  the 
Connecticut  branch,  settled  in  Xew  London  in 
1664.  The  representatives  of  the  six  sun 
ing  generations  are  Richard,  ChristO] 
Robert,  Christopher,  Robert  Alexander,  and 
Wolcott,  the  last  named  the  only  son  and 
child  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.   Manwaring. 

Christopher,    the   father  of    Dr.   Manwari 
was  prominent  in    Xew  London,  both    in    1 
ness  and  political  affairs.      He  was  a  Democrat 
of  the  Jefferson-Jackson  school,  and  held  many 
important  public  offices.      Mary  Wolcott  Man- 
waring,   his    wife,    was    a    grand  daughter    of 
Oliver    Wolcott,    who   was    a   member    of    the 
Continental    Congress,    one  of    the  si 
the    Declaration     of     Independence     and     the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  a  Major-general   in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  1 . 
necticut.      His  father,    Roger   Wolcott,   was  .1 
Colonial    Governoi    ol    I  lonnecl  i<  ut.      We   are 
told  thai   Mary  Wol<  ott  was  cell  1  rated  for  her 
ity  and  rare  qualities  of   mind  and  temper; 
and    her    only   son,    the    la!       Doctor,   inl     I  ited, 
it    is    said,    in   a    marked    degree    bis    mother's 
patience,   gentleness,   and    absolute    inability  to 


462 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


cherish  malice.  The  house  in  which  Dr. 
Man  waring  died  was  built  by  his  father  about 
ninety  years  ago,  and  the  land  on  which  it 
was  built  is  a  part  of  the  farm  once  owned  by 
William  Thompson,  the  first  missionary  to 
the  Indians  in  this  section;  but  only  the  lot 
of  two  acres  where  the  dwelling  stands  re- 
mains in  the  family,  the  rest  having  been  sold 
off  for  building  lots  for  other  homes.  The 
farm  was  the  original  grant  from  the  town  to 
George  Chappell  in  1650.  Eight  years  later 
he  sold  to  Mr.  Thompson.  In  1664  it  was 
sold  to  Joshua  Raymond  for  his  brother-in- 
law,  Oliver  Manwaring,  the  first  of  that  fam- 
ily to  come  from  England.  This  two-acre  lot 
has  ever  since  been  owned  by  a  descendant, 
and  is  now  the  property  of  Mrs.  Manwaring 
and  her  son,  Wolcott  Barber  Manwaring. 

Robert  Alexander  Manwaring  did  not  enjoy 
the  advantages  of  a  college  training;  but 
breadth  of  mind,  combined  with  indefatigable 
toil,  compensated  in  large  measure.  At  the 
medical  school  he  was  a  classmate  of  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes,  and  a  warm  friendship  al- 
ways existed  between  them.  Upon  the  Auto- 
crat's eightieth  birthday  he  was  the  recipient 
of  one  of  the  poet's  inimitable  letters.  To 
quote  from  an  article  that  appeared  in  a  local 
sheet  after  his  death:  "At  a  very  early  age 
he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession.  Hard  as  is  a  doctor's  life,  it  is 
absolutely  easy  compared  to  that  of  the  physi- 
cian of  nearly  sixty  years  ago,  who  could 
scarcely  count  on  forty  winks  or  a  meal  undis- 
turbed by  a  summons.  The  late  Doctor  was 
the  leading  one  of  Eastern  Connecticut,  and 
responded  invariably  to  all  calls,  no  matter 
how  far  off  or  wearisome.  It  was  no  uncom- 
mon occurrence  for  him  to  return  from  an  all- 
night  task,  and  at  once  begin  a  round  of  visits 
that  occupied  all  day.  He  was  devoted  to  his 
profession,   in    which    he   held   a   just   pre-emi- 


nence. .  .  .  Notwithstanding  his  laborious 
life,  he  was  uncommonly  vigorous  in  mind  and 
body,  and  had  looked  forward  for  many  years 
of  happy  contentment  in  his  ancestral  home 
upon  Manwaring  Hill,  to  which  he  had  lately 
returned,  and  whence  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
summoned  him  to  his  reward,  after  a  brief 
warning,  Monday  morning. 

"  Dr.  Manwaring  possessed  a  profound  and 
many-sided  intellect.  His  mind  was  a  veri- 
table storehouse  of  knowledge.  He  was  a  cap- 
ital companion,  an  entertaining  raconteur, 
humorous  and  philosophical  in  a  rare  combina- 
tion, and  keenly  appreciative  of  a  good  thing. 
Taken  all  in  all,  he  was  one  whose  like  we 
seldom  see,  a  perfectly  upright  character, 
scorning  deceit,  loving  right  for  Christ  Jesus' 
sake,  harboring  no  resentment,  profoundly  re- 
ligious in  feeling,  yet  loving  all  Christians, 
shaping  every  thought  and  deed  by  the  Golden 
Rule,  seeking  only  to  be  the  servant  of  God. 
Well  hath  he  served  Him  who  has  ere  this  said 
to  him,  '  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful 
servant!'"  He  had  labored  as  a  physician 
more  than  half  a  century. 

Mrs.  Manwaring  and  her  son,  Wolcott  Bar- 
ber Manwaring,  now  occupy  the  homestead, 
the  son  having  charge  of  the  estate  left  by 
Dr.  Manwaring.  For  fifteen  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  oil  region,  putting  clown  wells. 
Mis.  Manwaring  is  a  member  of  the  Second 
Congregational  Church. 


cr/TEI'IIEN  P.  STERLING,*  a  farmer 
of  Lyme,  was  born  October  15, 
1N42,  mi  the  old  homestead  where, 
also,  his  father  Stephen  and  grandfather 
Stephen  first  saw  the  light.  The  house  was 
built  by  his  great  -  great  -  grandfather,  John 
Sterling,  who  was  a  son  of  Daniel,  who  was 
a   son   of    William,  the   first    settler   of   Lyme, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


lr>3 


ing  from  Massachusetts  about  1700.  The 
family  is  said  to  be  of  Scotch  origin,  and 
descended  from  David,  who  came  to  this  coun- 
try in  1650.  Daniel  Sterling  married  Mary 
Ely,  by  whom  he  bad  the  following  children : 
Elizabeth,  born  in  1699;  Daniel;  John,  born 
in  1703;  Joseph;  Abigail;  and  Mary. 
John,  son  of  Daniel  and  Mary  Sterling,  in 
1727  married  .Abigail  Pratt,  by  whom  he  had 
two  (laughters  Elizabeth  and  Abigail.  He 
married  for  his  second  wife,  December  30, 
1731,  Jane  Ransom,  and  by  her  had  twelve 
children:     John,      bom      1 7  3  J  ;     Nathan,     bom 

;  Stephen,  from  whom  Stephen  P.  is 
descended,  born  1738;  Daniel,  born  1740; 
Abigail,  bom  1742;  Jacob,  bom  1744;  Jane, 
bom  1746;  Simon,  bom  1749;  Esther,  born 
1751;  Lucy,  bom  1753;  Miriam,  born  1755; 
and  Mary,  bom  1 757.  Stephen,  the  great- 
grandfather, married  May  II,  1766,  Elizabeth 
II.  Tucker,  by  whom  he  had  five  children: 
Stephen,  bom  March  22,  1767;  Marshlicld, 
bom  March  13,  17(19;  Isaac,  who  died  in 
infancy;  Esther,  born  September  16,  1773; 
and  Elizabeth,  bom  in  March,  1777.  The 
father  died  in  1776,  at  thirty-nine  years  of 
His  son  Stephen  married  Polly  Brown, 
September  24,  1798,  by  whom  he  had: 
Stephen,    bom    May    5,    1801  ;   and    John,  born 

ber  16,  1803,  who  died  an  infant.  The 
father  of  these  children  died  in  1845,  at  the 
eventy-eight  years;  and  their  mother 
attained  the  i\^c  of  seventy.  Their  son, 
.ben  Sterling,  father  ol  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  married  December  9,  1N24,  Sarah  M. 
Marvin,  who  was  bom  in  Lyme  in  1 
daughter  of  Asahel  A.  and  Azubah  (Sill) 
Marvin.  They  had  four  children  :  Asahel  M., 
born  December  27,  [825,  who  died  here  April 
20,  1868;  Mary  E.,  bom  February  1,  1828; 
Sarah  E.,  bom  April  27,  1838;  and  Stephen 
P.      The   two   daughters   have   been    successful 


hers,  and  now  reside  at  the  homestead. 
The  father  died  in  1867,  si\  years  alter  bis 
wife's  death. 

Stephen  I'.  Sterling  is  a  prominent  citizen 
of  his  native  town.  He  has  served  as  Grand 
Juror,  and  was  in  the  legislature  of  iSm,  dm 
ing  the  memorable  deadlock  serving  mi  the 
Committee  ol  Forfeited  Rights.  He  mar- 
ried October  15,  1868,  Annie  Warner,  <i 
Lyme  daughter   ol     Jefferson    and     Sarah 

(Lay)   Warner;    and   they   have  one  daugh 
Sarah   W.  Sterling,  bom   November    19,   1N70. 


r  LFRED   C.    GUILE,1'    the   well-known 
wagon-maker    ol     Preston,    was    born 

here     November    30,     1836,     S 
Henry  and  Ellen  (Lewis)  Guile.      His  parents 

the  foster-children  of  two  brothers  by  the 
name  .it  Brown.  Henry  Guile  was  bom  in 
Preston,  or  Griswold,  about  1805,  and  died  in 
Preston  in  1880.  He  was  a  tanner,  and 
made  a  business  of  cutting  ship  timber.  He 
married  Ellen  Lewis  in  1S25,  and  had  thir- 
teen children,  of  whom  eight  lived  to  matu- 
rity, their  record  being  in  pait  as  follows: 
William     S. ,    who    was     a     wheelwright     and 

n-maker,  died  May  2,  1879,  his  mother's 
death  occurring  the  same  year.  Daniel,  a 
farmer  and  miller,  died  in  July,  1896,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-four  years.  May  Ellen  married 
Junes  II.  Fitch,  of  Preston.  Ezra  is  a  farmer 
of  Preston,  and  was  formerly  proprietor  of  the 
saw-mill.  Ada  married  Ira  Kinney,  and  re- 
sides in  Griswold.  Jane,  tin  -t  mem- 
ber of  the  family,  became  the  wife  "i  Albert 
Button,  and  died  in  Griswold,  in  the  prime 
of  life,  lca\  ing  four  children. 

Alfred    C.    Guile  tight    up   on    his 

r's     farm,    and  but    a    limited 

schooling,    being  obliged   to  assist   bis   father 
in  the  mill  also.      At  th  I    twenty 


4r't 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


he  began  to  make  wagons  with  his  brother 
William.  In  i S6i  he  bought  his  brother's 
share  in  the  business,  and  continued  the  latter 
in  East  Preston  till  [887,  when  he  removed  to 
his  present  location  in  Preston  village.  Mr. 
Guile  has  been  a  man  of  great  strength  and 
endurance,  which  qualities  he  has  fostered  by 
continued  industry,  taking  the  timber  from  the 
stump,  and  making  every  part  of  a  vehicle. 
He  has  often  forty  or  fifty  wagons  on  hand  at 
one  time;  and,  though  the  grip  and  rheuma- 
tism have  seriously  affected  his  health,  he  is 
still  at  the  bench. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  Mr.  Guile  mar- 
ried Sarah  Loncom,  of  Voluntown,  Conn. 
They  have  lost  their  first-born,  Hattie,  who 
died  in  1889,  in  the  twenty-ninth  year  of  her 
age.  Their  second  child,  Albert,  who  lives 
in  Rhode  Island,  has  been  twice  married,  and 
has  three  children.  Dora,  the  youngest,  is 
the  wife  of  George  Barber,  a  farmer  of  Gris- 
wold.  Mr.  Guile  is  a  Democrat  politically, 
and  served  as  Representative  to  the  legislat- 
ure in  1872  and  again  in  1876.  He  is  now 
a  Grand  Juror  of  the  town. 


7~AAPTAIN  EDMUND  R.  LWEN,* 
\J\        ship-master,    of    New    London,  Conn., 

^i8  ^  was  born  in  Norwich,  this  State,  on 
February  27,  1827,  son  of  Captain  David 
Ewen  and  Prudence  Carew  Ewen.  His  father 
was  born  December  15,  17N8,  and  was  mar- 
ried by  the  Rev.  John  Stalling,  "it  August 
26,  1 8 10,  to  Miss  Carew,  who  was  born  April 
26,  1  791.  He  spent  most  of  his  life  upon  the 
water,  was  a  sailor  and  a  mechanic,  and  was 
a  boat-builder  and  cabinet-maker  in  Norwich 
when  not  upon  the  seas.  He  died  November 
13,    1864;   and  his  wife  died  July  22,    1873. 

Mr.   Ewen   is   the  eighth   of   eleven   children 
bull)    to  his   parents,  and    is   now  the   last  sur- 


vivor  of  the  family.  He  was  reared  to  a 
sailor's  life,  and  when  but  a  lad  served  as 
cook  upon  his  father's  vessel.  He  left  home 
at  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  shipped  before  the 
mast  on  board  a  full-rigged  ship,  the  "  India," 
Captain  Albert  Miller.  They  were  gone 
thirty-two  months  on  a  whaling  voyage,  and 
brought  back  forty-four  hundred  barrels  of  oil 
and  a  large  amount  of  whalebone,  of  which  he 
was  given  a  share.  His  next  experience  was 
a  seven  months'  coasting  cruise  on  a  ship 
owned  by  his  brother,  Henry  C.  Ewen.  After 
a  year  or  two  more  of  voyaging  and  coasting  he 
shipped  on  board  the  "  Charles  Carroll,"  Cap- 
tain Frank  Smith,  for  San  PTancisco;  but, 
after  rounding  the  Cape,  he  and  five  other 
volunteers  left  the  ship,  for  the  captain's 
pleasure  boat,  the  "Chelsea  Smith,"  under 
the  first  mate.  Reaching  San  Francisco  in 
sixty-five  days,  he  shortly  went  to  work  in  the 
mines,  at  eight  dollars  a  day  and  board.  He 
spent  some  years  in  California,  experiencing 
the  ups  and  downs  of  that  adventurous  country 
and  time. 

Mr.  Ewen  married  April  14,  1S58,  Frances 
P.  Walden,  who  was  bom  September  15, 
1832,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  Walden, 
and  a  distant  connection  of  his  family.  Their 
home  was  in  Norwich  until  1875,  when  they 
built  their  present  dwelling  on  the  Point.  No 
children  have  been  born  to  them;  but  they 
have  an  adopted  daughter,  in  whom  they  take 
pride  and  comfort,  Carrie  Welde,  who  was 
orphaned  at  the  age  of  five  years.  She  was 
graduated  from  the  Young  Ladies'  High 
School  with  honors,  is  quite  musical,  and  per- 
forms well  upon  the  pianoforte. 

Captain  Ewen  was  on  the  steamer  "  City  of 
New  London"  fur  six  years,  four  years  as 
wheelman  and  two  years  as  pilot,  with  Captain 
C.  II.  Luphere.  He  was  on  board  when  she 
was    burned     near     Norwich,     November     22, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


4r>5 


1 87 1,  and  seventeen  men  were  drowned.  lie- 
was  first  captain  of  the  steamer  "  I.illie  " 
from  New  London  to  New  York,  in  the  Cen- 
tral Point  Line,  for  several  years.  His  next 
command  was  their  steamer  "  Doris, "  which 
he  left  in  December,  1895.  He  has  not  per- 
manently retired  from  the  sea,  but  is  taking 
a  much  needed  rest.  The  Captain  is  a  Repub- 
lican voter.  lie  has  long  been  a  member  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church,  to  which  his  father 
belonged.  One  oi  his  most  cherished  [losses 
sions  is  his  father's  old  Bible,  thumbed  and 
worn.  This  cherished  volume  was  given  to 
his  lather  by  the  Rev.  Ezra  Cbappell  nearly 
fifty  years  ago. 

•AMES  BINGHAM,*  a  retired  manu- 
facturer residing  at  Pleasant  Valley,  in 
North  Lyme,  was  born  in  Scotland, 
ten  miles  from  Edinburgh,  April  16,  181 5, 
son  of  Thomas  and  Alain  (Ketchem)  Bingham. 
His  parents  came  to  this  country  in  1825. 
They  had  a  family  of  four  daughters  and  one  son. 
James    Bingham    at    the    age    of    ten    years 

in  to  learn  the  paper-maker's  trade,  which 
had  been  fid  lowed  by  his  father  and  by  his 
maternal  grandfather.  He  worked  for  sixteen 
years  in  the  mills  at  I'ennycuick,  in  Scotland, 
making  the  finest  of  hand-made  paper  for  bank 
notes  and  other  special  purposes.  lie  learned 
all  parts  of  the  business  thoroughly,  becoming 
a  most  skilled  workman.  In  1  S 4 5  he  came  to 
America,  bringing  with  him  his  wife  and  two 
children.  For  two  years  he  lived  in  Pater- 
son,  N.J.,  but  subsequently  removed  to  Water- 
ford,  Conn.,  in  company  with  his  two  brothers- 
in-law,  the  Robertsons,  and  started  a  pa 
mill     for     the     manufacture    of     thin    manilla 

1,  which  was   carried   on  most  successfully 
under  tin   name  oi    Robertson  &  Bingham,  Mr. 

ham  being  the  practical  man  of   the   busi- 
ness.     During  the  eighteen   years  of  his   stay 


in  Waterford  they  built  up  a  plant  \\ 
some  thirty  thousand  dollars  to  forty  thousand 
dollars.  Mr.  Bingham  also  helped  in  the 
financial  department  and  with  the  bunks. 
The  firm  made  fine  tissue  papers  for  patterns, 
which  was  sold  as  high  as  thirty  cents  pet- 
pound  during  the  war.  In  prosperous  limes 
the  receipts  wne  over  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  At  the  end  of  eighteen  -, 
Mr.  Bingham  sold  out  his  interest  in  Water- 
ford,  and  in  [862  built  a  mill  at  Oakdale. 
This  did  not  prove  a  very  successful  venture; 
and  he  afterward  gave  it  up,  and  started  a 
mill  in  North  Lyme.  He  came  to  his  present 
home  from  Montville  seventeen  years  ago. 
.Mr.  Bingham's  first  wife,  Margaret  Rol 
son,  died  in  Waterford  at  the  age  of  sixty 
years.  Their  son  Thomas  died  when  about 
twenty-two  and  one-hall  years  old.  The  liv- 
ing children  of  this  first  union  aie:  Joanna, 
wife  of  James  Cochran,  and  mother  of  five- 
children,  living  in  Tampa,  I-'la.  ;  Catherine, 
who  keeps  house  for  her  brother  James;  and 
Edward,  who  lives  in  Waterford,  and  superin- 
tends the  two  paper-mills  for  the  Robertsons. 
The  last-named  is  married,  and  the  fathei  ol 
two  sons  and  a  daughter.  .Mr.  Bingham  mar- 
ried for  his  second  wife  Cynthia  -Ann  Scho- 
field,  who  was  born  in  Waterford  in  [819,  not 
far  from  the  paper-mills.  Her  father  was  a 
manufacturer  of  woollen  cloths.  In  r8l2, 
when  about  twenty-one  years  old,  he  invented 
a  loom,  and  in  it  made  the  first  satini  I 
suit  of  which,  made  by  Mr.  Schofield,  was 
worn  by  President  Monroe,  on  his  inaugura- 
tion. Mr.  Schofield  died  February  14,  [892, 
nearly  one  hundred  and  two  years  old.  His 
father,    John    Schofieli  to   this   country 

from    England  with   his  wife  and  six  children, 
lie    was    a     man     of     large     busi  ness     interi 
started    his    first    factory    near    Boston,    about 
1793,    and    later    owned    four       in    Westerly, 


466 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Stillmanville,  Montville,  and  Waterford. 
Mrs.  Bingham  is  the  only  survivor  of  three 
children.  During  several  years  past  Mr. 
Bingham  has  been  partially  deprived  of  the 
use  of  his  lower  limbs,  and  can  only  walk  with 
the  aid  of  canes. 


HARLES  P.  WILLIAMS,*  of  New 
York  and  of  Stonington,  his  native 
town,  is  the  only  son  of  the  late 
Charles  Phelps  Williams,  of  Stonington,  and 
his  wife,  Georgia  Babcock  Williams,  now 
living  in  New  York  City. 

Ephraim  Williams,  the  father  of  Charles 
Phelps,  was  born  in  Stonington,  May  31, 
1756,  and  died  in  July,  1804,  on  his  farm 
three  miles  from  the  village.  On  December 
23<  l7^7<  he  married  Hepsibeth  Phelps, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Charles  and  Hannah  (Deni- 
son)  Phelps.  They  had  two  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter; namely,  Ephraim,  Charles  Phelps,  and 
Sai  di  Potter.  The  daughter  died  July  24, 
[824,  at  twenty-three.  Ephraim  Williams, 
Sr.,  was  a  son  of  William  and  Martha 
(Wheeler)  Williams,  both  natives  of  Stoning- 
ton. William  Williams  was  born  May  1, 
1716;  and  his  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married 
February  15,  1 738,  was  born  in  1717.  She 
died  in  1784,  and  he  in  1S01.  He  followed 
ship-building.  William  Williams,  his  father, 
was  a  son  of  Colonel  John  Williams,  who  was 
bom  in  1692,  and  in  171 1  or  1712  married 
Desire  Denison,  whose  birth  occurred  in  1693. 
She  died  in  1737,  and  he  in  1761.  John 
Williams,  the  father  of  Colonel  John,  and  the 
first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Stonington,  was 
born  in  Massachusetts  in  1667.  On  January 
24,  1687,  he  married  Martha  A.  Wheeler. 
She  was  born  in  1669,  and  died  in  1745. 
Isaac  Williams,  the  father  of  John,  was  born 
in  Roxbury,  in  1638,  and  died  at  what  is  now 
Newton,    Mass.,    in    1707.       He   was    married 


in  1660  to  Martha  Park,  of  Roxbury,  his  first 
wife.  The  father  of  Isaac  Williams  was  Rob- 
ert, who  came  to  this  country  from  England 
in  1637,  and  settled  in  Roxbury,  Mass.,  where 
he  was  made  a  freeman  in  1638.  He  died 
September  15,  1693,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five. 
His  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  July  28,  1674,  aged 
eighty  years. 

Charles  Phelps  Williams,  the  youngest 
child  of  Ephraim  Williams,  was  born  June 
11,  1804,  at  Wequetequock,  in  the  town  of 
Stonington,  and  on  both  sides  was  connected 
with  the  oldest  families  here.  His  mother 
was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Charles  Phelps,  a  physi- 
cian of  great  influence.  Ephraim  Williams 
died  shortly  after  his  son's  birth;  and  the 
family  removed  soon  after  to  Stonington  bor- 
ough, a  place  even  then  much  interested  in 
foreign  commerce.  Charles  Phelps  Williams 
passed  his  boyhood  days  here,  and  earl}-  devel- 
oped marked  business  capacity.  In  1821, 
before  he  was  seventeen,  he  sailed  in  the 
capacity  of  supercargo  to  Bilboa,  Spain;  and, 
after  be  bad  sailed  again  to  the  same  port,  and 
before  he  was  twenty,  he  made  a  voyage  to  the 
African  coast  as  master  of  what  was  then  a 
large  vessel.  The  seal  fisheries  next  attracted 
his  attention.  Establishing  himself  perma- 
nently in  the  village  of  Stonington,  he  em- 
barked in  that  enterprise,  and,  before  he 
abandoned  it,  had  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
large  fortune.  He  next  tried  whaling,  and 
was  one  of  the  largest  individual  ship-owners 
engaged  in  that  pursuit  during  its  highest 
development  After  that  business  began  to 
fall  off,  he  withdrew  from  active  commercial 
life. 

He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Ocean  Bank  of  Stonington,  and,  being  chosen 
president,  remained  in  office,  administering 
its  affairs  till  his  resignation  in  1856,  when 
he  went   to   Europe  with  his  family.      On   his 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


lr'7 


return  he  was  elected  first  director,  a  position 
which  he  retained  after  the  reorganization  of 
the  hank  as  the  First  National.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  building  of  the  Providence 
&  Stonington  Railroad,  .mil  was  president  of 
the  corporation  for  many  years.  The  manage- 
ment of  his  accumulated  property  requ 
must  nt  his  attention  in  later  years.  He  was 
well  known  in  business  circles  throughout  the 
itry,  and  his  success  gave  value  to.  his 
judgment  and  opinion  on  all  financial  matters. 
lie  was  one  who  avoided  public  life,  and  was 
averse  to  all  ostentation.  The  date  of  his 
ii  was  October  28,   1 N79. 

Charles  Phelps  Williams  was  twice  married. 
II  is  first  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Smith, 
left  one  daughter.  On  June  11,  1S61,  he 
married  Georgia  P.  Babcock,  daughter  of 
Courtland  and  Elizabeth  C.  Babcock,  of  Phil- 
adelphia. Her  father  was  born  March  25, 
1806,  and  died  here  February  10,  1853.  Her 
parents  were  married  August  5,  1834.  They 
had  five  children.  Courtland  Babcock,  one  of 
their  two  sons,  died  in  Stonington  in  April, 
[896,     leaving    a    widow    and    four    children. 

daughter,  Louise  Babcock,  is  the  wii 
a  Mr.  Tillinghast,  of  New  York.  Her  sis- 
.  Amelia  C.  Babcock  and  Elizabeth  (Mrs. 
Williams),  also  live  in  that  city.  A  son  and 
daughter  were  horn  to  Charles  Phelps  and 
Georgia  P.  Williams,  namely:  Georgia,  wife 
of  George  Henry  Warren,  residing  in  New 
York  City,  and  having  two  children — Con- 
stance and  George;  and  Charles  P.,  the  special 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

Charles  P.  Williams  completed  his  educa- 
tion abroad.  The  beautiful  place  where  he 
lives,  containing  one  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
is  a  part  of  his  father's  large  estate.  About 
five  miles  from  here  he  has  a  large  stock  farm 
known  as  Highland  barm,  where  he  keeps  a 
dairy   of   one    hundred    cows.      He    also    owns 


from  twenty  to  thirty  horses.       In    the   past    he 
has  done  a  large  retail   business   in    live   si 
and    he    purposes    going     into     the    wholi 
and  shipping  in  I'm',  idei 

Mr.  Williams  was  married  in  1889,  in  New 
Vi  rk  City,  to  .Miss  Elizabeth  P.  Brooks,  of 
Minneapolis,  Minn.  Her  father,  William  1-'. 
ks,  was  a  merchant  in  that  city;  and  her 
widowed  mother,  Annie  Oakley  Brooks,  still 
lives  there.  Mr.  and  Mis.  Williams  have  two 
children:  Elizabeth,  six  years  old;  and 
Georgia,  aged  three. 

Mr.    Williams    is  a   member   of    Union    and 
Calumet   Clubs,    of    New    York    City,   the   fust 
named    the    oldest    in    the    country.      He    was 
also  at   one  time  a  member   of   the    Metropoli 
tan   Club.      "Stone   Ridge,"    Mr.    Williams's 
beautiful  residence,   stands  upon    an    eminence, 
and  may  be  seen  miles  away.      It  affords  a  fine 
view  of    the    Sound  from  two  sides;   and  on  the 
other  two  long  rows  of   hills   tower,  one   above 
the   other,    losing   themselves    in    the    Inn  1 
The  approaches  are  by  two  beautiful   g 
the  first  from  the  highway  as  one  conns   from 
Stonington,    from    which    a    length}',    circular 
drive  leads  to  the   front   entrance   of   the   i 
sion,  the  other,  at   some  distance  below,  lead- 
ing to  the  fit)'  barns  and  carriage-house. 
The  massive  stone  pillars  of   these  broad   g 
ways    are    noteworthy    for    their    architectural 
design. 

f    SJeORGE  W.   FENGAR,"  a  retired  I 
V  [3  I       chant,  residing  at  10  Williams  Street, 
New    London,    Conn.,    was    born    in 
this   city  in    1826.      His   parents  were   Gei 
W.    ami    Fannie    (Boulton)    Fengar.      His 
tenia!    grandfather    was    an     Englishman     1  v 
birth.      Lie   came   to   Connecticut    at   the  time 
of     the     Revolutionary    War,    and    settled     in 
Waterford.      At    his  death   he    left   thn 
and    three   daughters.      .All    of    these  chil 


468 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


lived    to    be   married    and  have  families,   and 
some  survived  to  old  age. 

The  senior  George  W.  Fengar  was  a  native 
of  Waterford.  He  married  Fannie  Boulton, 
who  was  born  in  New  London  in  1809. 
Three  children  were  the  fruit  of  their  union, 
namely:  George  W. ,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Oliver  Fengar,  who  died  here  in  1873,  at  the 
age  of  forty-four,  leaving  three  children;  and 
Frances,  widow  of  Peter  Bromley,  also  of  this 
city.  George  W.  Fengar,  the  father,  died  in 
[ 831  ;  and  the  mother,  who  was  left  a  widow 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  lived  to  the  age  of 
sixty-seven,  dying  in  1876.  The  children 
were  all  very  young  when  they  were  left 
fatherless. 

George  W.,  the  elder  of  the  two  sons,  had 
limited  educational  advantages  in  his  child- 
hood, attending  school  but  one  term.  At  the 
age  of  nine  years,  being  obliged  to  begin 
work,  he  went  into  the  livery  stable  of  the  old 
City  Hotel;  and  from  that  time  on  he  earned 
his  own  living.  When  he  was  eighteen  years 
old,  he  entered  the  employ  of  Hobron  &r  Den- 
nis in  the  meat  business;  and  after  twelve 
years'  experience  with  them  he  began  driving 
a  meat  wagon  for  himself.  For  twenty-five 
years  he  was  located  at  14  Main  Street,  being 
for  eighteen  years  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
John  Dennis  &  Co.,  later  known  under  the 
style  of  G.  \V.  Fengar  &  Co.,  and  for  seven 
years  with  Roswell  W.  Tinker.  During  the 
war  he  furnished  meat  to  a  garrison,  having  as 
many  as  fifteen  hundred  to  feed  at  one  time. 
After  he  had  made  a  contract  to  furnish  meat 
at  twelve  and  a  half  cents  a  pound,  prices 
advanced,  causing  him  to  lose  money.  In 
1878  he  retired  from  business.  In  politics 
he  votes  independently.  He  has  had  a  good 
pnlitical  record,  but   he   has   never  held  office. 

On  October  24,  1854,  Mr.  Fengar  was 
united    in    marriage   with    Mary    Rixford,    who 


was  born  here  June  14,  1830.  Her  father, 
Flijah  Rixford,  was  a  stone-mason,  and  died 
in  this  city  at  the  age  of  sixty  years;  and  her 
mother,  Mary  Dart  Rixford,  died  January  1, 
1889,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rixford  had  reared  but  two  of  their 
four  children  :  Harriet,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Charles  Bentley,  and  died  in  1883,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-nine,  without  children;  and  Mrs. 
Fengar,  who  is  now  almost  entirely  bereft  of 
relatives,  having  but  three  cousins  living. 
During  the  forty-two  years  of  her  wedded  life 
she  has  moved  but  once,  when  her  husband 
purchased  their  pleasant  house,  thirty-eight 
years  ago,  on  the  corner  of  Williams  and 
Chappell  Streets.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fengar 
joined  the  Hunting  Street  Baptist  Church 
forty-seven  years  ago,  and  are  now  the  oldest 
living  members.  For  thirty  years  they  have 
officiated  on  various  committees. 


AMES  E.  DeWOLF,*  of  Norwich,  wis 
born  in  Salem,  Conn.,  December  5, 
1K42,  son  of  Edward  and  Sophia  Jane 
(Latimer)  DeWolf,  and  on  the  paternal  side 
is  of  French  descent.  His  grandparents, 
Ephraim  and  Elizabeth  E.  (Wood)  DeWolf, 
were  both  of  Lyme,  Conn.  His  father,  Ed- 
ward DeWolf,  was  born  in  Salem,  where  he 
died  in  April,  1893,  in  the  eighty-third  year 
of  his  age.  He  married  in  1836  Sophia 
Jane  Latimer,  of  Chesterfield,  by  whom  he 
had  six  sons  and  one  daughter — Thomas  E., 
John,  George  P.,  Frank,  Henry  P.,  Evelyn. 
Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  the 
four  elder  sons  enlisted  as  defenders  of  the 
Union  with  the  free  consent  of  their  father, 
who  said  that  he  might  as  well  lose  his  sons 
as  his  country.  Thomas  lost  his  life  in  1864, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  He  was  mortally 
wounded    in    the    battle    of    Winchester,    was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


taken  prisoner  with  Lieutenant  John  T.  Ma- 
ginnis,  and  was  exchanged  from  Libby  Prison. 
|ohn  F.  participated  in  General  Sheridan's 
raid,  and,  while  at  Petersburg,  fell  sick 
died.  He  fills  an  unknown  grave.  George 
served  with  his  brother  John  in  the  first  Con- 

icut  Cavalry.  He  was  afterward  a  paint 
dealer  in  Spencer,  Mass.  Frank  is  a  fanner, 
and  lives  upon  the  homestead  in  Salem. 
Henry  1'.  is  a  farmer  in  Norwich.  Evelyn 
married  Frank  Rogers. 

James  K.,  the  second  son  of  his  parents  and 

the  special    subject   of   this   sketch,  was  under 

eral    Hanks   at    Port    Hudson,  and    saw  fif- 

months   of   service    in    the    Union    army. 

Upon   his   return    from    the   war    he   became  a 

ilman  on  the  Norwich  police  force.  Dur- 
ing the  two  years  in  which  he  held  the  position 
he  made  some  important  arrests,  and  he  after- 
ward  served  on  the  special  police  force  for 
several  years.      In  July,   1869,  he   became  en- 

d  in  the  business  of  undertaking,  in  part- 
nership with  Henry  Allen,  Sr.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Allen,  his  son  Amos  took  his 
place  in  the  firm,  and  with  Mr.  DeWolf  con- 
tinued to  carry  on  the  business  a  number  of 
years.  In  18114  Amos  Alien  went  to  Califor- 
nia, and  from  that  time  till  May.  [897,  when 
Mr.  DeWolf  retired  to  his  farm,  a  third  part- 
ner was  associated  with  him.  Mr.  DeWolf's 
place  is  situated  just  outsid(  the  town  limits, 
on  the  Thomasville  road,  at  the  famous  old 
[Yadiri     Cove. 

Mr.  DeWplf  married  his  second  wife,  for- 
merly Lizzie  H.  Lucas,  in  May,  1877.  She 
was  born  and    reared   on    this   farm,  being   the 

liter  of  Joseph  Lucas,  who  was  a  steam- 
boat engineer  employed  on  the  Connecticut 
River.  Mis.  DeWolf  was  one  of  a  family 
comprising  eight  daughters  arid  one  son,  of 
whom  six  daughters  and  the  son  are  living. 
Their  mother  died  at  the  age  of  eighty.     The 


er  survived   until    he    reached    his   nin 
ind  year.       Mr.   I  leWoli    I)  lifelong 

student  of  natural  history,  and  is  lover 

ol   dogs  and  horses,    b( 

■  us  to  whom  tin-  sagacious  animals  are  in- 
stinctively attracted,  and  whom  they  love  and 
il  :  ikes  the  greatest  care  -1  his  ani- 
mals, and  keeps  them  always  in  excellent  1 
dition.  Mr.  DeWoli  is  one  of  a  plucky  and 
persevering  family  who  have  always  shown  a 
public  spirit  and  a  strong  sense  of  the  respon- 
sibility of  life. 

LIVER      WOLCOTT     SISSON,*     of 

Colchester,  a  retired  contractor  and 
builder,  was  born  in  Ellington,  Tol- 
land County,  Conn.,  December  9,  1820,  son 
of  Oliver  and  Lucretia  (Tiffany)  Sisson.  He 
belongs  to  the  Rhode  Island  Sissons,  an  old 
Colonial  family. 

Mr.  Sisson's  grandfather,  Jonathan  Sisson, 
born  in  1750,  came  to  Lyme  in  the  year  1800 
with  his  brother  Thomas,  and  died  in  that 
town  about  1832.  Thomas  Sisson  went  to 
Hartford,  where  his  son  Thomas  is  to-day  a 
druggist.  Grandfather  Sisson  owned  a  farm 
of  one  hundred  acres  or  more  two  miles  from 
ant  Valley  on  Eight  Mile  River,  on 
which  he  had  a  grist-mill  and  a  saw-mill. 
His  wife  was  a  Bliven,  ami  bore  bin 
children,  five  sons  and  six  daughters.  They, 
ther  with  the  Ransoms  and  Loomises,  had 
thirty  children,  all  told.  Grandmother  Sisson 
lived  to  be  about  eighty  years  old.  and  was 
the  beloved  and  delightful  friend  of  all  her 
grandchildren,  of  whom  there  was  a  1 
number.  She  had  sparkling  black  eyes  and  a 
vivacious  and  always  cheerful  nature.  Two  of 
her  sons,  Oliver  and  Nathan,  were  sailors;  and 
Nathan  was  lost  at  sea,  going  down,  it  was 
supposed,  with   his  vi  I   all  on  board,  as 

nothing  was  ever  heard  from  any  of  the  crew. 


470 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Oliver,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  at  Hopkinton,  R.I.  In  his  youth 
and  early  manhood  he  went  across  the  Atlan- 
tic to  Liverpool  several  times,  when  it  took 
at  least  three  months  to  make  the  round  trip. 
He  left  the  water  when  he  married,  in  1817, 
and  began  as  a  farmer  on  rented  land  in 
Ellington,  where  his  first  three  children  were 
born.  His  wife  was  Lucretia  Tiffany,  of 
Salem,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Tiffany.  She 
died  in  18S1,  at  the  advanced  age  of  nearly 
ninety-one  years.  She  was  a  noble-hearted 
woman  and  a  model  mother.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Willard  said  the  last  ten  years  of  her  life 
were  a  perpetual  Sabbath.  Her  children 
were:  'Allen,  born  1 8 1 7  ;  William,  born  1818; 
Oliver,  born  1820;  Ebenezer,  born  in  Salem; 
and  Catherine  Tiffany,  born  in  Lyme  in  1S25, 
now  the  widow  of  William  Patten,  to  whom 
she  was  married  February  22,  1853.  Mr. 
Patten  died  in  Colchester,  September,  1877, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  He  began 
business  with  but  little  capital,  but  by  energy 
and  good  management  accumulated  a  comfort- 
able property,  and  at  his  death  left  a  pleasant 
home  and  thirty  acres  of  land  in  the  borough 
of  Colchester  to  his  widow. 

Oliver  Wolcott  Sisson,  when  eight  years 
old,  went  to  Northern  Vermont  with  his  great- 
uncle,  John  Corning,  a  noted  horse  jockey 
and  dealer,  who  had  a  large  trade  in  Boston, 
Hartford,  and  New  Haven.  Riding  horses 
and  making  himself  generally  useful,  Mr. 
Sisson  remained  in  Vermont  six  years.  In 
1834,  a  youth  of  fourteen,  he  went  to  Stoning- 
ton,  where  he  served  five  years  as  an  appren- 
tice to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  had  a 
hard  time  of  it,  his  needs  as  to  food  and  cloth- 
ing being  but  scantily  supplied.  In  1849  -^'r- 
Sisson  caught  the  "'gold  fever,"  and  in  No- 
vember he  started  from  New  York  to  go  via 
the    Isthmus    of    Panama    to    San    Francisco. 


Upon  the  evening  of  his  arrival,  in  February, 
1850,  he  went  ashore;  and  the  next  morning 
he  began  work  at  his  trade  at  fourteen  dollars 
a  day.  During  the  whole  of  the  time  he  was 
in  California  he  never  worked  for  less  than 
twelve  dollars  a  day,  and  sometimes  he  made 
as  high  as  twenty  dollars  by  working  over 
time.  In  1S51  he  came  home  to  Connecticut 
via  the  Isthmus,  the  journey  occupying  about 
twenty  days. 

In  1853  he  was  married  to  Mary  Ann, 
daughter  of  John  A.  Niles,  of  Salem.  She 
died  six  years  later,  leaving  one  son,  John 
Sisson,  who  resides  in  Wallingford.  He  is 
employed  by  the  Silver  Plate  Manufactory  as 
a  travelling  agent,  and  has  been  all  over 
America  and  Europe.  He  married  Janette 
Watrous,  of  Essex.  She  died  in  the  summer 
of  1895  in  San  Francisco,  where  she  had  gone 
with  her  son  for  her  health.  The  son,  Elli- 
son Cooper  Sisson,  is  in  the  West  in   Oregon. 

Mr.  Oliver  W.  Sisson  has  been  a  con- 
tractor and  builder  in  Norwich,  Hartford, 
and  Salem,  and  has  built  many  large  and  im- 
portant structures  in  this  section  of  the  State. 
As  a  politician  he  has  always  voted  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Democratic  party.  For  the  last 
ten  years  he  has  made  his  home  with  his 
sister. 


ENRY  AUGUSTUS  BROWN,*  of 
the  well-known  Brown  Paint  Com- 
pany, of  New  London,  Conn.,  was 
born  in  the  adjoining  town  of  Waterford 
on  December  28,  1830.  His  parents  were 
Henry  and  Lucretia  (Smith)  Brown.  Charles 
Brown,  his  paternal  grandfather,  also  a  native 
of  this  county,  was  a  mariner  in  early  life, 
attaining  the  position  of  mate  on  a  deep  sea 
merchantman.  Later  lie  was  for  many  years 
engaged  in  farming  on  Jordan  Cone.  He 
married,  and  lie  and  his  wife  reared  four  sons 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■17' 


lughters.      With   the  exceptii 
one  daughter,  they  all   married   and   had   fam- 
ilies.     All    have    now   passed   away.     Grand- 
father  Brown  died    in   middle  life;  while  his 
wife  lived  to  be  an  old  lady,  dying  in  1836. 
Their  son  Henry  was  horn  at  the  homesl 
in   1799,  and    became  a  prosperous    tanner,  ac- 
quiring   a   good    estate.      He   was   twice   mar- 
ried.    His   first   wife,  Lucy   Prentiss,  died   in 
the  prime  of   life,  leaving  live  children,  three 
ot  whom  are  now  living,  namely:   Charles  A., 
who    resides    on    Town    Hill;    J.    1'.,   who    is    a 
Baptist   preacher    in    this   city,     and    Frances, 
who     also     live     on     Town     Hill.       Lucretia 
Smith,  who  became  his  second   wife,  had   four 
and   three   daughters,    four  of   whom   are 
now   living:    Ellen    C,  Mrs.    Perkins,    of  this 
city,    a   widow:    Henry    Augustus;    John    X., 
of  this  city:  and    Phoebe,   wife  of  Albert   G. 
Langham,    of    Waterford.       The   father    died 
about    1876,  and    the   mother   in    1884,    at  the 
age  of   eighty  years.      They  were    both    highly 
respected   members   of  the   Waterford    Baptist 
Church. 

Henry  A.   Brown  was  educated   in   the   corn- 
school,  and  worked   on   his   father's   farm 
until  he  was  seventeen   years  ot    age,  when  lie 
am    the    sail -maker's    trade    with 
rhomas    Holstrom,    with    whom 

wars.  Me  went  into  business  for  him- 
self in  New  London  in  1853,  and  was  prosper- 
ously engaged  in  sail-making  till  1868,  when 
obi  out,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to 
ship-chandlery.  The  firm  of  H.  A.  Brown 
&  Co.  also  engaged  in  canning  fruit  and  \ 
tables,  running  the  plant  until  (883,  when 
the)  thers.      For  three 

years  th  At.  brow  n  mmercial 

traveller  for  Nichols  &   Harris,  introducing  1 
ialty    in    New    York,     Pennsylvania, 
England.      I  le  is  now  m 
company  organized    to  carry  on  the  whol 


il  paint  busini  ;s.       I  heir  plant,  al 
comer   of    State  and  Bradley,   has  been  a  paint 
'   for  a   quarter   of   a   century,   Mr.    Brown 
having  bought  G  Damon's  interest. 

In  October,  1S53,  at  the  age  ot  twenty- 
.  he  married  Susan  C,  daughter  of  Alvin 
B.  Chappell.  Her  father  was  captain  ■ 
coasting-vessel,  lie  died  in  18.S4,  at  the  age 
oi  seventy-live,  having  long  survived  his  wile, 
who  died  at  th  -i\,  leaving  one- 

child.  Mis.  Brown.  The  pleasant  homi 
Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Brown  is  at  17  Franklin  Street. 
Their  only  child,  a  son  named  Elmer  Brown, 
died  at  the  age  of  two  and  a  half  years.  Mr. 
Brown  is  a  highly  respected  member  of  the 
Second  Baptist  Church,  in  which  he  offici 
as  chairman  of  the  Society  and  Church  Com- 
mittee. In  politics  he  is  an  independent 
voter. 


OSEPH  A.  DOAM:. '  Postmaster  of 
ton  City,  was  born  here,  An 
23,  1820.  He  is  a  descendant  in  the 
ninth  generation  from  John  1  )oane.  who  came 
from  England  a  few  years  after  the  "May- 
flower" Pilgri  -  living  at  Plymouth  in 
1630  and  1633,  and  was  afterward  one  of  the 
founders  of  Eastham,   Mass.,  where  he  died    in 

The  family  coat   of  arms   is   still 
served.      The  lineage  i-  traced  from  the  immi- 
grant ancestor   through   John.  Jr.,   born    1 
who  died   in    1 70S :  John,    third;    Elisha;  Jo- 
seph; Joseph,   Jr.;    Captain  John    and   Joseph 
II.    Doane    to    Joseph    A.     The    grandfather, 

tain    John    I  >o  ine,    son    ot     foseph,     f 
prominent    resident  Cod.    was    born 

Jul_\-    23,     1773,    and     removed     to     Norwich, 
Conn.,  in  [805.      He  Eunice,  daugh- 

ter of   Joseph    Howes,    of   Chatham,    Mass.,    a 
memb  '1  -known    Cape    '  lily. 

in     I  '  iring    man,    and 

sailed   to  is.      His   ship   was   sunk 


472 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


off  Charleston  by  the  British.  He  was  at  one 
time  a  man  of  wealth,  and  built  the  first 
steamboat  of  Norwich;  but  he  met  with  heavy- 
reverses,  and  left  only  a  moderate  fortune  at 
his  decease.  He  died  in  New  York  City, 
April  13,  1818.  Mrs.  Doane  died  in  Massa- 
chusetts, August  9,  1855,  in  the  seventy- 
ninth  year  of  her  age.  Both  rest  in  the  old 
Norwich  Town  cemetery.  They  had  nine 
children,  as  follows:  Marrinet,  born  in 
Chatham,  October  2,  1794;  Joseph  H.,  born 
March  31,  1797,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Eunice,  born  in  1803;  John  G.,  born 
in  1805;  Elisha,  born  in  Norwich,  December 
29,  1807;  Elizabeth,  born  in  18 10;  Emily, 
born  in  1813;  an  infant  daughter,  who  died  in 
1800:  and  Harriet,  who  died  in  infancy  in  18  17. 
Joseph  H.  Doane,  the  second  son,  started 
in  life  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  James  Treat, 
and  became  a  prominent  merchant  and  manu- 
facturer, the  firm  name  of  Treat  &  Doane, 
afterward  Doane  &  Treat,  being  long  well 
known  in  this  section.  He  married  F ranees 
Treat,  born  in  Preston  City,  January  13,  1799, 
daughter  of  James  and  Polly  (Stanton)  Treat. 
She  was  descended  from  Richard  Treat,  born, 
it  is  said,  in  Pitminster,  Somerset  County, 
England,  in  1584,  who  died  soon  after  his  ar- 
rival in  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  October  ir, 
1669.  He  left  three  sons:  Richard,  Jr.; 
Robert  Treat,  who  became  the  Governor  of 
Connecticut;  and  James  Treat,  whose  son,  the 
Rev.  Salmon,  was  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Treat,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Doane. 
The  eight  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  H. 
Doane  were:  Joseph,  James,  John,  Emily, 
William,  Eunice,  Henry,  Juliet.  The  only 
members  of  the  family  now  living  are:  Will- 
iam, who  resides  in  Cincinnati:  Juiiet,  who 
is  in  Cincinnati  with  her  brother;  Henry,  who 
resides  in  Brooklyn,  and  is  in  business  in 
New  York   City;  and   Joseph    A.,  the   subject 


of  this  sketch.  The  father  died  October  22, 
1854;  and  the  mother  died  April  15,  1881,  in 
the  eighty-third  year  of  her  age. 

Joseph  A.  Doane,  the  eldest  son  of  his  par- 
ents, received  a  common-school  education, 
with  the  additional  advantage  of  six  months' 
study  at  the  Plainfield  Academy.  Entering 
his  father's  store  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  for 
many  years  he  led  an  active  mercantile  life. 
When  the  war  broke  out,  he  went  to  the  front 
as  sutler  in  the  Sixteenth  Connecticut  Regi- 
ment. He  was  captured  by  the  Confederates 
at  Plymouth,  N.C.,  April  20,  1863.  The 
garrison  was  marched  to  Tarboro,  N.C.,  and 
thence  went  by  rail  to  Atlanta  Prison.  From 
that  place  he  was  taken  to  Savannah,  and  then 
to  Charleston,  and  from  that  city  to  the  race 
course  and  the  stockade.  He  was  held  a 
prisoner  five  months. 

Mr.  Doane  married  December  8,  1886,  Mrs. 
Lucy  L.  Elliot,  widow  of  Calvin  P.  Elliot, 
and  daughter  of  Robert  P.  and  Polly  C.  Chase, 
natives  of  the  State  of  Maine.  Mrs.  Elliot 
lost  her  first  husband,  December  30,  1872, 
and  was  left  with  two  children  —  Mary  Ella 
and  Arthur  C.  Mary  Ella  married  Frank  G. 
Pope,  and  has  one  daughter,  Mabel  Alice, 
wife  of  Burt  Smith.  The  Popes  reside  in 
Somerville,  Mass.  Arthur  C.  Elliot  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Brooklyn  and  Montclair.  He  married 
Emily  E.  Ponderhoof,  and  has  two  children  — 
Mildred  and  Arthur  C,  Jr.  Mrs.  Doane  had 
three  brothers,  who  were  all  officers  in  the 
Civil  War,  namely  :  Alonzo  Chase,  who  was  shot 
on  the  field;  Henry  H.,  who  was  wounded  at 
Baton  Rouge,  and  died  in  New  Orleans;  and 
Leonard  Chase,  who  had  three  horses  killed 
under  him,  and  who  died  in  Kentucky,  where 
he  was  a  band  leader.  Their  father  was  a  ship- 
builder and  a  teacher  of  band  music. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doane  are  both  members  oi 
tin-  Baptist  church.      Mr.  Doane  is  a  Republi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


473 


can,  and,  as  mentioned  above,  is  Postmaster  of 
the  town.  He  has  served  several  terms  in 
the  State  legislature.  He  now  lives  retired 
on  the  farm  which  his  lather  settled  in  1825. 
It  was  here  that  the  Rev.  Samuel  Treat,  his 
ancestor,  was  ordained  in  1698.  Preston  City 
is  not  only  one  of  the  smallest  cities  in  the 
world,  but  is  a  place  of  historic  interest. 
Here  was  the  home  oi  Edward  Mott,  one  of 
the  prime  movers  in  the  taking  of  Fort  Ticon- 
deroga;  and  the  house  in  which  he  lived  is 
still  standing,  now  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  old.  The  house  in  which  George  Wash- 
ington was  entertained  by  Samuel  Mott,  of 
Hunker  Hill  renown,  was  torn  down  about  fif- 
teen years  ago.  Some  of  the  legal  lights  of 
the  State  here  read  law  with  Judge  Peters  and 
with  John  M.  Niles,  and  many  other  promi- 
nent names  are  connected  with  the  town. 


Qri.FKKI)      FANNING      BROWN,*    of 

f^X       Jewett     City,    dealer    in    newspapers, 

J   ™  V«_^  periodicals,    notions,    and    jewelry, 

was  bom  in  the  town  of  Lisbon,  February  17, 
1822,  his  parents  being  John  II.  and  Emme- 
line  (Freeman)  Brown.  His  paternal  grand- 
lather,  who  was  a  sea  captain  born  in  Eng- 
land, died  in  middle  life,  leaving  two  sons  — 
John  II.  and  Abijah  —  and  two  daughters. 
John  II.  Brown  was  bom  in  Warwick,  R.I., 
in  1 800.  and  died  in  Jewett  City  in  1859. 
He  came  to  this  place  in  1828,  moving  into  a 
new  house  he  had  built,  and  in  which  he  lived 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  This  house  is 
now  owned  by  Alfred  F.  Brown,  who  lias  re- 
built and  repaired  it,  and  leases  it  to  tenants. 
John  II.  Brown  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  and 
was  known  as  conscientious  and  faithful  in 
the  performance  oi  all  life's  duties.  His 
wife,  Emmeline,  who  survived  him  eighteen 
-.   dying    in    1878,  was   the   daughter   of   a 


French  gentleman  who  came  to  America  with 
General    Lafayette,   and   fought   for   American 

independence.  He  married  a  lady  of  Ameri- 
can birth.  John  and  Emmeline  Brown,  who 
were    within    three    months    of    the    same 

married  young,  and  reared  a  family  of 
eleven  children.  The  eldest,  John  II.  Brown, 
Jr.,  born  in  August,  1820,  was  eighteen 
months  older  than  Alfred  F.  All  oi  this  fam- 
ily are  now  deceased  except  Alfred  P., 
Charles  W.  (the  third  child),  and  Mary,  who 
is  the  wile    oi    Washington    Smith  itcr- 

bury,  Conn. 

Alfred  P.  Brown  received  his  elementary 
education  in  the  public  schools,  and  subse- 
quently attended  a  select  school  lor  two 
terms.  He  taught  during  three  winters,  be- 
ginning when  only  fifteen  years  old.  At  ten 
years  of  age  he  began  to  work  out  by  the 
month,  receiving  three  dollars  per  month 
seven  months,  and  bringing  home  twenty-one 
dollars.  He  continued  working  out  summers 
lor  nine  ceiving  five  dollars  per  month 

the  second  season,  seven  dollars  the  third,  and 
tor  the  last  two  seasons  twelve  dollars  per 
month.  At  twenty  years  oi  ago,  in  1842,  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Slater  Mill  Com- 
pany as  -  and  loom  fixer.  Ten  j 
later  he  caught  the  "gold  lever,"  and  went  to 
California,  sailing  round  the  Horn  in  the  new- 
clipper  ship  "North  America,"  with  five  hun- 
dred passengers,  and  being  five  months  on  the 
passage  from  New  York  to  San  Pi  In 
1855  he  returned  home,  but  in  four  months 
went  back  to  California,  where  he  remained 
seven  years  longer.  liming  the  ten  years  "I 
his  residence  there,  he  mined  for  gold  on  his 
own  account  in  all  kino  iggings.  He 
made  no  big  strikes,  but  came  home-  with 
than  he  had  when  he  went  away.  He 
has  been  engaged  in  business  at  his  pn 
stand  for  thirty  years. 


■17  I 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


At  the  age  of  twenty  years  Mr.  Brown  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Abigail  Mason,  of 
Jewett  City,  who  bore  him  two  children  — 
Abby  E.  and  Mary  15.  Abby  is  the  wife  of 
Denison  J.  Champlin,  the  jailer  of  Norwich. 
Mary  died  in  middle  life,  the  wife  of  Alonzo 
Allen.  Mr.  Brown  married  for  his  second 
wife,  in  1865,  Betsey  E.  Brown;  and  by  this 
union  there  is  one  son,  Alfred  Fanning 
Brown,  Jr.  For  nineteen  years  Mr.  Brown 
served  his  fellow-townsmen  as  Postmaster,  the 
only  public  position  he  has  held,  as,  although 
a  royal  Republican  and  actively  interested  in 
town  affairs,  he  has  not  generally  cared  to  be  a 
candidate. 


,KV.  CHARLES  J.  HILL,*  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  church  in  Ston- 
ington,  Conn.,  was  born  in  Port- 
land, Me.,  February  2,  1830.  His  parents, 
George  and  Priscilla  (Griffin)  Hill,  were  both 
of  English  descent.  George  Hill,  his  father, 
was  born  in  Portsmouth  in  1786.  When  a 
young  man,  he  was  the  Captain  of  an  artillery 
company,  and  was  ready  with  his  associates  to 
receive  the  British  in  1814.  lie  was  a  mer- 
chant in  Portland  and  afterward  in  Philadel- 
phia, where  he  carried  on  business  until  his 
death,  January  1  1,  1857.  He  had  nine 
children,  seven  sons  and  two  daughters,  of 
a  four  sons  and  one  daughter  are  still 
living. 

Charles  J.  was  the  sixth-born  son.  lie- 
was  fitted  tor  college  at  the  high  school  in 
Philadelphia,  and  then  spent  a  year  in  the 
e  oi  the  city  gas  company,  where  he  gained 
a  most  valuable  experience.  He  was  gradu- 
ated at  Williams  College  in  the  class  of  1852, 
and    studied    for    the    ministry    the    next    two 

at    the    Union   Theological    Seminary  in 
New  York   and  during  the  two  years  following 


at  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary.  He 
was  ordained  a  Congregational  minister.  Janu- 
ary 28,  1857.  His  first  pastorate  was  in 
Nashua,  N.H.,  where  he  remained  from  1S57 
to  1864.  While  in  that  city  he  met  with  a 
slight  accident,  on  account  of  which  he  gave 
up  his  charge,  and  for  six  months  devoted 
himself  to  the  stud)1  of  medicine  in  the  Berk- 
shire School,  where  he  was  visiting.  The 
knowledge  that  he  gained  during  those  few 
months  has  since  been  of  the  greatest  service 
to  him.  Once  he  was  wrecked  on  Lake  Erie 
with  a  number  of  others;  and,  as  he  was  the 
only  one  in  the  party  who  had  any  knowledge 
of  medicine,  he  was  able  to  render  valuable 
assistance.  His  second  settlement  was  in 
1S65  at  Gloversville,  N.Y. ,  where  he  stayed 
three  years.  In  1868  he  accepted  a  call  to  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Whitehall,  N.Y.  He 
stayed  there  four  years,  then  moved  to  An- 
sonia,  in  Derby  township,  where  he  became 
the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church.  In 
1875  he  went  abroad,  making  a  short  trip  on 
the  continent :  and  on  his  return  he  accepted 
a  call  to  Middleton,  Conn.,  where  he  stayed 
eight  years.  In  1885  he  went  abroad  again, 
this  time  to  visit  England  and  Scotland. 
When  he  came  hack,  he  was  settled  over  the 
Congregational  church  in  Stonington,  where 
he  has  been  ever  since. 

He  married  March  u,  1857,  Martha  O.,  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  John  Todd,  D.D., 
for  thirty  years  pastor  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Pittsfield,  Mass.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hill  have  three  children:  Annie  W., 
the  wile  of  William  W.  Harper,  of  Orleans, 
Va.  :  John  Todd,  a  sculptor  of  New  York;  and 
Miriam,  a  young  girl  living  at  home.  Air. 
and  Mrs.  Hill  were  among  tin-  forwarders  of 
the  Stonington  Liberals,  and  Mr.  Hill  has 
been  president  and  is  now  treasurer  of  the 
organization. 


INDEX. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


A. 

Alexander,  Charles  P 76 

Alexander,   Thomas  B.        ...  366 

Allen.  Mary  E 269 

Allen,  Ruth  E 430 

Allyn,  Calvin 225 

Allyn,  Charles 399 

Allyn,  Guidon  F 254 

Allyn.  James 134 

Allyn,  John  T 116 

Atwo  id,  Herman 438 

Avery,  Christopher  1 2S5 

Ayer,  George  A 397 

Aver.  Nathan  II 13S 


B. 

s  H 241 

Backus,  Asa 27 

Morris  W 56 

\ 37 

Bailey,  Benjamin  F 77 

larles  A 324 

Bancn        I          le  A 415 

er,  '  >scar  M 253 

Barnes.  Chester  W 346 

Bartlett.  Charles  G 165 

.  Nathan  1 ) 361 

itl ,  C\  rus  1  ■ 18 

Beckv.         1           e  W 421 

Beckwitl.,  John  T 377 

tries  G 69 

11 1 90 

Benham,  William  H i<j4 

Bentley,  William  H 220 


Bigelow,  Asa  K 33 

Bill,  Jephthah  G 335 

Bill,  Palmer 63 

Billings,  Sanford  X 16 

Bindloss,  T.  Palmer       ....  3S 

Bindloss,  William  P [93 

Bingham,  James 465 

Bishop,  Charles 263 

Bishop.  Henry       353 

Bixler,  Janus  W 329 

Blake,  S.  Leroy 375 

1,  John  A 104 

Braman,  Francis  N 30 

I  Iran)  he.  Henry  W 427 

Brand,  Dudley  A 286 

I         ton,  Charles  E 51 

Brewer,  Edward  P 218 

er,  Frederick  H 3S7 

1.  Louisa  J 78 

er,  John 371 

way,  Joshua  E 291 

Broml  G.       ... 

hton,  William  F.        .      .     .  449 

Brown,   Alfred  F 473 

Brown,  llenrv  A 470 

Brown,  Israel  F 72 

.  James  A [54 

Brown,  I  u<  ius  D 20S 

:.  Theophilus 184 

Brown,  William  J 301 

.-.  James  F 1  73 

Bulkley,  James 359 

liurch,  Billings 146 

1,  Horace  0 2S3 

Burdick,  William  II 133 

Bush,  Austin  J 409 

Hush,  William  H 413 


C. 

Calkins,  Daniel 442 

Campbell,  David  R 126 

Cardwell,  William  H 394 

Caulkins.  Herbert  M 82 

Chadwick,  Elmer  M 3S1 

Chadwick,  Richard  W.       ...  302 

Champion,  Ann  R 140 

Champion.  Roger  B 289 

Champion,  Wallace  K.       .     .     .  159 

Champlin,  Char!         421 

Champlin,  Denison  J 382 

Chesebro,  Frederick  D.     .     .     . 

( Ihesebro,  1  (liver  D 9S 

Chesebro.  Samuel  H 370 

Chester,  Daniel  W 171 

( Chester,  Elisha  S 4;^ 

Clark,  Matthew  S \-s 

Coit,  Robert 276 

Congdon,  Robert  R 157 

Cottrell,  Charles  II 42S 

(  harles  H 453 

Crandall,  S.  Ashbel 308 

Crandall,  Stiles     ... 

Crane,  Stephen 233 

Crocker.  I  dw  ird  N 48 


D. 

Harrow.  Edmund 

Dart.  Frederick  II 336 

Davis,  Jeremiah  I 45! 

Dawes,  Emeline  F 440 

I  )awley,  A.  1 227 

Dawley,  1 1.  F 

De  Wolf,  James  E 


) 


476 


INDEX 


DeWolf,  Winfield  S. 
Doane,  Joseph  A. 
Douglass,  J.  Raymond 
1  (ovi  ner,  Henry  B.     . 
Drummond,  'J'homas 


E. 


Eldredge,  George 
Ewen,  Edmund  R. 


Fairbrother,  Lorenzo  D. 
Farnsworth,  Frederick  . 
Fellows,  George  E.  .  . 
Fengar,  George  W.  .  . 
Fish,  Nathan  S.  .  .  . 
Fish,  Walter  .... 
Fitch,  Mary  E.  .  .  . 
Fitch,  William  .  .  . 
Fitzmaurice,  Walter .  . 
Forsyth,  George    .     .     . 

.  th,  Julia  A.  Latham 
Fraser,  Daniel       .     .     . 
Fr.iser,  William  A.    .     . 
Freeman,  Victor  O.  .     . 
Fuller,  Joseph  J.  .     .     . 


Gallup,  Austin  O. 
Gallup,  Henry  H. 
Gardner,  Frederick  L. 

I).  Lysted 
i  ravin,  James  C.  .  . 
Gillet,  Louisa  B.  .  . 
Gillette,  Isaac  .  .  . 
Greene,  William  P.  . 
i.  Oliver  C.  .  . 
Griswold,  George  L. 
( iriswold,  Richard  S. 
Guile,  Alfred  C.  .  . 
Gulliver,  Daniel  F.    . 


PAGB 
425 

47' 
101 

M 
I.19 


121 
464 


335 

35 

414 

467 

453 

■74 

1 1 

10 

87 
60 
60 
422 
306 
277 
274 


100 
388 
3S0 
39o 

22'J 

'32 
21  I 


65 

36 
463 

I46 


Hall,  Stephen  H.       .  . 

Harris,  Alonzo  H.     .  . 

Harris,  George  R.     .  . 
Harris,  Jonathan  N. 
Harris,  Nathaniel  O. 

Harris,  Orrin  F.    .     .  . 

Harvey,  Elijah  B.      .  •  . 

Haven,  George     .     .  . 

Hazen,  Curtis  L.  .     .  . 

Hempstead,  Ezra  J.  .  . 
Hempstead,  George  W. 
Hempstead,  Julia  A. 

Hempsted,  Daniel  B.  . 

Herr,  Joseph  D.    .     .  . 

Hewitt,  Charles  P.    .  . 

Hill,  Charles  J.     .     .  . 

Hill,  Mason  C.      .     .  . 

Hilliar,  Bindloss  H.  .  . 

Hinckley,  Abel  H.     .  . 

Hinckley,  Elias  B.     .  . 

Hobron,  Daniel  N.    .  . 

Holmes,  Joseph  W.  .  . 

Holt,  William  A.  .     .  . 

Hough,  Jabez  B.  .     .  . 

Howard,  Elizabeth  M.  . 
Howard,  George  W. 

Hubbard,  Harriet      .  . 

Hull,  Latham    .     .     .  . 


PAGE 
I69 

241 

92 

'44 
85 
3" 
7' 
386 
226 
265 

454 
450 

94 
401 

437 
474 
297 

151 
'59 
"4 
"3 
342 
438 
52 
39° 
44'' 
178 
238 


Jackson,  George  O.  . 
Jenkins,  Benjamin  W. 
Johnson,  Henry  C.     . 


H. 


Hale,  Almarin  T. 
I  [all  v,  Joshua  . 
Hall,  Joseph     . 


Keefe,  Edward 
Keeney,  John  M. 
Keeney,  John  W. 
Keeney,  Nathan    . 
Keeney,  Lydia  A. 
Kegwin,  Erastus  C. 
Kidder,  Albert  A. 


347 

>< ,    I. add,  Frederick  P. 
244    Ladd,  William 


'83 
166 
300 


306 
81 
248 
148 
3'4 
235 
205 


320 
214 


Langworthy,  James  H 
Lathrop,  Jabez  S. 
Lathrop,  John  M.  N. 
Lawson,  Otto    .     . 
Lay,  Daniel  I.  .     . 
Lee,  Benjamin  H. 
Lee,  William  S.    . 
Leffingwell,  Joshua  C 
Lennen,  James 
Leonard,  Joseph  E 
Lewis,  Ira  F.    .     . 
Loosley,  Daniel  R. 
Lord,  Reuben  .     . 
Luce,  James  V. 


M. 

Maine,  Charles  E. 
Maine,  Charles  O. 
Maine,  Chester  S. 
Mansfield,  William  H 
Manwaring,  David  C. 
Manwaring,  Ellen  B 
Manwaring,  John  W 
Martin,  Ira  J.   .     . 
McDonald,  John  E. 
Merritt,  Francis  E. 
Miner,  Orrin  E.    . 
Miner,  Richard  K. 
Miner,  Sidney  .     . 
Minor,  George  M. 
.Mitchell,  John  .     . 
Moore,  Egbert  N. 
Moran,  John     .     . 
Morgan,  Alvah 
Morgan,  Elijah  A. 
Morgan,  Mary  E. 
Morgan,  Nelson    . 
Morgan,  Sarah  M. 
Morgan,  Thomas  F". 
Moss,  William  D. 
Muller,  August 
Murray,  Thomas  . 


N. 

Niantic  Manufacturing 
Norris,  David  A.  .     . 
Noyes,  Eliza  P.     .     . 
Noyes,  Lydia  W. .     . 


'5 
08 
10 


INDEX 


IT 


Noyes,  Nathan  D. 
s,  Nathaniel  1'. 


25" 


P 

i ,  Daniel  F 33 

Packer,  Thomas  E 206 

Palmer,  Henry  C 64 

Palmer,  Mollis  H.                  ...  249 

Palmer,  Jonathan  J 151 

Palmer,  Robert,  Jr 237 

Palmer,  Robert,  Sr 

Park,  Angus 126 

Park,  John  D 345 

Park.  William 126 

,  |. ihn  L 66 

Pendleton.  Harris 133 

Pendleton.  James 405 

Pendleton.  William  E 42f> 

Perkins.  Albert  W 366 

Perkins,  Charles  C.  .     ...     .     .  230 

Perkins,  William  S.  C 352 

Elisha 125 

Powers,  Theodore  F 243 

Pratt,  Lewellyn 212 

Prest,  Edward 217 

Prest,  George 

R. 

all,  Elias  P > 

Rathbone,  Harriet  A 330 

Roath,  Edwin  A 313 

Roath,  Louis  P 321 

Robinson,  Myron  W 140 


-.  George  W 356 

Rogers,  William  D 305 

Rowland,  James  A [95 

Rudd,  Arnold 153 


Schwaner,  Charles  H.   ...  319 

Scott,  Thomas  A 1 1 1 

Sisson,  Oliver  W 469 

Sistare,  William  II 337 

B 341 

Slate,   I  'hat  leS    1 201 

Smith.  James  F [80 

Smith,  Not  man 29 

Smith,  William  P 344 

Spalding,  Charles 327 

ing,  Daniel  B 21 

Spicer,  Edward  E 130 

Stanton,  Marcia  P 400 

risen,  Peter      .... 

Sterling,  Stephen  P 462 

Stivers.  James  H 419 

Symington,  Frederick    ....  375 


1 ,  Abel  P 55 

1.  Asahel 290 

r,  Jonathan  W 460 

Thompson,  Thomas  O.      .    .    .  312 

Tibbetts,  Frederick  M.      ...  406 

Tiffany,  Allen 416 

Tillotson,   \m.  5  B 328 

Tinker,  Horace  W 160 


Vaughn,  Alfred  II 207 

Carl  J 15 


W 

Wait,  John  T 1  2.S 

II 348 

Ward,  John  1 319 

Warren.  Maria  E 149 

Watroiis.  Robert  S 323 

Way,  Willard  J 270 

West.  Henry  E 338 

Wheeler,  J.  0 122 

1  r,  Silas  11 172 

IS   W [23 

Whiton,  David  E 

Wilbur,  Robert  P 43 

Wilcox,  Elias  F 1 

Wilcox,  Fanny  A 

Wilcox.  Thomas  P 

Willi. o:               min  F.      .     .     .  1  -') 
Willian              les  I).    .     .     . 

Williams,  Charles  P 401. 

Williams,  Iilias 

Williams.  1  [ezekiah  U. 

Williams.  James  S 127 

Williams,  Joseph  S 103 


York,  Horai 

Young,  Geoi 


445 


PORTRAITS. 


Allen,  Ruth  E.  (steel)    ....  431 
Allyn,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Calvin.     222.  223 

Allyn.  Gurdon  F 255 

Allyn,  James 135 

Allyn,  John  T 117 

Aver.  George  A 396 

Backus,  Asa 26 

Bacon,  Morris  W 57 

Beckwith,  Cyrus  G 19 

Beebe,  Charles  G 68 

Bill,  Mr.  ant!  Mrs.Jephthah  G.,  332, 333 

Bill,  Palmer 62 

Bindloss,  T.  Palmer  (steel)     .     .  39 

Bindloss,  William 191 

Bindloss,  William  P 192 

Bishop,  Charles 262 

Bowen,  John  A 105 

Iiraman,  Francis  X 31 

Brand,  Dudley    *                      .     .  287 

.     .  50 

•     • 
•  448 
■  '55 
209 


PAGE 

Calkins,  Daniel 44-5 

Chadwick,  Richard  W 303 

Champlin,  Denison  J 383 

Crandall,  S.  Ashbel 309 

De  Wolf,  Winfield  S 424 

Fish,  Walter 175 

Griswold,  George  L 187 

Griswold,  Richard  S.     .     .     facing  36 

Hall,  Joseph 245 

Stephen  H 168 

Harris.  Nathaniel  0 84 

Hewitt,  Charles  P 436 

Howard,  Charles  S 391 

Hull,  Latham 239 

Keeney,  Nathan 149 

Ladd,  William 215 

Lathrop,  John  M.  N 74 

Lee,  Benjamin  H 456 

Luce,  James  V 2ii 

Maine,  Charles  0 46 

Mansfield,  William  H 279 

Manwaring,       Mr.      and      Mrs 

David  C 317 

Miner,  Richard  K 199 


Miner,  Sidney  (steel)      ....  S 

Mitchell,  John 13 

Morgan,  Nelson 96 

M  tiller,  August 203 

Noyes,  Benjamin  F 411 

Pendleton,  James 404 

Perkins,  Albert  W 367 

Perkins,  Charles  C 231 

Robinson.  Myron  W 141 

Rogers,  George  W 357 

Scott,  Thomas  A 110 

Sizer,  John  B 340 

Smith,  James  F 1S1 

Steffensen,  Peter 294 

Symington,  Frederick    ....  374 
Tinker,   Mr.  and    Mrs.    Horace 

W 162,  163 

Wait,  John  T 129 

Walden,  Charles  H 349 

Way,  Willard  J 271 

Wheeler,  Thomas  W 123 

Williams,  Hezekiah  U.      ...  89