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Ency!
Orville H, Platt
ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF
CONNECTICUT BIOGRAPHY
GENEALOGICAL-MEMORIAL
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
Compiled with assistance of the following
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SAMUEL HART, D.D., D.C.L.
Dean of Berkeley Divinity School; President of Connecticut Historical Society.
THOMAS SNELL WEAVER
Superintendent of City Schools, Hartford; Journalist, former Editor Willimantic Jour- nal, and associated with New Haven Register. Boston Globe, Hartford Post and Hartford Courant. Member of Library Committee Con- necticut Historical Society.
JOSEPH ANDERSON, D.D.
President of Mattatuck Historical Society; forty years pastor of First Congregational Church, Waterbury; Editor Anderson's His- tory of Waterbury.
WALTER RALPH STEINER, M.D.
Member of State Historical Society; Member of State Medical Society; Fellow of American Medical Association; Secretary Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons; Librarian Hartford Medical Society.
HADLAI AUSTIN HULL, LL.B.
Attorney, New London; Major in Spanish- American War.
STORRS OZIAS SEYMOUR, D.D.
President of Litchfield Historical Society ; President of Wolcott and Litchfield Library Association; Rector Emeritus of St. Michael's (P. E.) Church, Litchfield (23 years active rector ).
JOHN GAYLORD DAVENPORT, D.D.
Pastor Emeritus Second Church of Waterbury (30 years active) ; Member of Connecticut His- torical Society; Member of Mattatuck Histori- cal Society; ex-Governor and Chaplain of Con- necticut Society, Sons of Founders and Pa- triots; ex-Deputy Governor National Society, same order.
GEORGE CURTIS WALDO, A.M., LITT.D.
Editor of Bridgeport Standard 49 years; one of Founders of Bridgeport Scientific Society; ex- Vice-President of Fairfield County Histori- cal Society; Author of History of Bridgeport.
FREDERICK BOSTWICK
Librarian New Haven Colony Historical Soci- ety; Register S. A. R., Connecticut; Honorary Member of National Genealogical Society; Member of Connecticut Historical Society, Connecticut Library Association, Mississippi Valley Historical Association; Associate Edi- tor Genealogical History of Connecticut; ex- President New Haven-Chautauqua Union.
GUILFORD SMITH
President of Windham National Bank; Mem- ber of Connecticut Society, Mayflower De- scendants.
LEWIS ELIOT STANTON, A.B.
(Yale, 1855). Member of American Bar Asso- ciation and State Bar Association; Assistant United States Attorney 1870-1885; United States Attorney District of Connecticut 1885- 1888 (resigned) ; Representative Hartford, 1880.
ILLUSTRATED
THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCORPORATED
BOSTON
NEW YORK CHICAGO
1917
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HER ETY YORK PUR_ 2 LIBRARY
ASTOR LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R
1918 L
Foreword
F ACH one of us is "the heir of all the ages, in the foremost files of time." We build upon the solid foundations laid by the strenuous efforts of the fathers who have gone before us. Nothing is more fitting, and indeed more important, than that we should familiarize ourselves with their work and personality ; for it is they who have lifted us up to the lofty positions from which we are working out our separate careers. "Lest we forget," it is important that we gather up the fleeting memories of the past and give them permanent record in well-chosen words of biography, and in such repro- duction of the long lost faces as modern science makes possible.
SAMUEL HART.
BIOGRAPHICAL
F . . .IC LIBRARY
LEVOX
Leve DEgelstore
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
EGGLESTON, Jere Dewey, Physician.
From various ancestors, among the earliest in Connecticut and elsewhere in New England, Dr. Eggleston has derived those characteristics which made useful, popular and successful citizens. The Eggleston coat-of-arms is as follows: Arms: Quarterly, I and 4 argent, a cross sable, in first quarter a fleur-de-lis of the second. 2 and 3 vert, a chevron between three bucks trippant or, in the middle chief point a bezant, on a chief per fess gules and argent an eagle displayed counterchanged. Crest : A magpie proper. Motto: Spero Meliora ("I hope for better things").
The progenitor of the family in this country was Begat Eggleston, born in 1590, or earlier, in England. He made a deposition, June 5, 1645, giving his age as forty-five years, but at the time of his death, September 1, 1674, in Windsor, Connecticut, he was called "near one hundred years old." The family name of his first wife, Mary, is unknown. She died in Windsor, December 8, 1657. They came to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1630, and Mr. Eggleston was admitted a freeman in 1631, was one of the original members of Rev. Mr. Warham's church, with which he removed to Windsor in 1635. He married (second) Mary Tal- cott, of Hartford, who was one of the contributors to the fund for the relief of the poor of the colonies in 1676.
The third son of Begat and Mary Eggleston was James Eggleston, born about 1640. He had a grant of fifty acres of land in Windsor in 1671, as a reward
for services in the Pequot War, and sub- sequently purchased other land. He died December 1, 1679. He married Hester Williams, said to have been the first white female born at Hartford. She married (second) in 1680, James Eno.
Nathaniel Eggleston, fourth son of James and Hester (Williams) Eggleston, was born August 15, 1666, in Windsor, and settled in Westfield, Massachusetts, where he died. He married, September 13, 1694, Hannah Ashley, born December 26, 1675, daughter of David and Hannah (Glover) Ashley, of Westfield.
Nathaniel (2) Eggleston, second son of Nathaniel (1) and Hannah (Ashley) Eggleston, was born in Westfield, April 3, 1712, where he made his home, and died March 7, 1790. He married, August 13, 1741, Esther Wait, of Northampton, Mas- sachusetts.
Eber Eggleston, eldest son of Nathaniel (2) and Esther (Wait) Eggleston, born about 1750, was a soldier of the Revolu- tion, lost three fingers in battle, was a United States pensioner in his old age, and died December 25, 1818. He married Submit Judd, of Southampton, who died July 4, 1821.
Eli Eggleston, eldest son of Eber and Submit (Judd) Eggleston, born in 1784, in Westfield, was a farmer, honest and in- dustrious, a Biblical student. He married, October 1, 1805, Zeruiah Searle, born in August, 1789, in Southampton, died in Westfield, October 3, 1826.
Jere Dewey Eggleston, second son of Eli and Zeruiah (Searle) Eggleston, was born July 11, 1812, in Westfield, lived for some time at Broad Brook, in East Wind- sor, Connecticut, and subsequently in
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Enfield, same State, where he died March 10, 1855. He was a miller by occupation, a man of generous impulses, decided opinions, and strict integrity. He mar- ried, in 1831, Louisa Carew, who survived him several years.
Dr. Jere Dewey (2) Eggleston, fourth son of Jere Dewey (1) and Louisa (Carew) Eggleston, and namesake of his father, was born October 28, 1853, in Long Meadow, Massachusetts, and was bereft of his father in his second year. The death of his mother within a few years thereafter left him without any parental guidance, and he early developed a spirit of inde- pendence and self-reliance which has car- ried him forward through life. At the early age of thirteen years he began work- ing on a farm. He was always studious, and made the most of every educational opportunity within his reach. He early fitted himself for teaching, and by means of his earnings as a teacher was enabled to prepare at Williams College, and in 1879 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at New York City. For a brief time he engaged in practice at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and about 1880 located in the city of Meri- den, Connecticut, where he soon gained rank as a physician of ability and char- acter. Always a student, he has ever kept himself informed in the progress of medi- cal science, and his fine personality and agreeable manners quickly gained the confidence and good will of the commu- nity. For many years he conducted a very large practice, and in recent years has somewhat retired from the burdens incident to that condition. A conserva- tive and safe practitioner, he has been especially successful in his life work. Al- ways energetic, he has kept abreast of the world's progress, and is as well known outside as in his chosen profession. His success has been entirely the result of his own efforts, and his popularity in the
community is due to his high character and effort to fulfill the duties of a good citizen. For several years he served as an alderman of the municipality, and has been ever ready to support any movement calculated to promote the general welfare. He is a director of the Home National Bank, director and trustee of the Meriden Savings Bank, trustee of the State School for Boys of Meriden, member of the board of Meriden City Hospital. Politically he is a Republican, and he is prominently identified with the Masonic and Odd Fel- lows orders, and holds membership in the State and County Medical societies, the American Medical Association, and in the Home, Highland Country and Colonial clubs.
Dr. Eggleston married, May 18, 1881, Elizabeth C. Duncan, descendant of an an- cient Scotch family. Thomas Duncan was an expert paper manufacturer, and was many years identified with that industry in Poquonock and elsewhere in the State. Before the close of the nineteenth century he removed to New York City. His wife, the mother of Mrs. Eggleston, was Grace (Yule) Duncan, born June 14, 1834, died February 15, 1867. Dr. and Mrs. Eggles- ton were the parents of the following chil- dren: Robert D., born March 7, 1882; Ralph B., November 9, 1884, died March 19, 1886; Jeanette L., April 18, 1887; Arthur F., November 19, 1890; Jere Dud- ley, May 29, 1894.
SEYMOUR, Storrs Ozias,
Clergyman.
The Rev. Storrs Ozias Seymour, rector emeritus of St. Michael's Church at Litchfield, Connecticut, was born in Litchfield, January 24, 1836, the son of Origen Storrs and Lucy Morris (Wood- ruff) Seymour, being eighth in direct descent from Richard Seymour, one of the early settlers of Hartford. The Sey-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
mour family is one of great antiquity in England. The seal on the will of Thomas Seymour, eldest son of Richard Seymour, the first settler of the name in this coun- try, bears the impress of two wings con- joined in lure, the device of the English Seymours from the time of William de St. Maur of Penhow. A "Bishop's Bible," printed in 1584, in the possession of the Hon. Morris Woodruff Seymour, of Litchfield, a descendant of Richard Sey- mour, has on one of the fly-leaves a draw- ing of the arms of the Seymours of Bury Pomeroy, viz., two wings conjoined in lure, quartered with the Royal Arms as granted by Henry VIII. to Edward Sey- mour, Duke of Somerset, and the legend : "Richard Seymor, of Berry Pomery, hey- tor hund. in ye Com. Devon, his Booke, Hartford, in ye Collony of Connecticut in Newe England, Annoque Domini 1640." On another page of this Bible there is a memorandum relating to some business transaction, and the name, "John Seimor, Hartford, 1666."
Dr. Storrs O. Seymour received his early education at Litchfield schools and at Phillips (Andover) Academy ; gradu- ated from Yale in 1857, and after a year spent in Germany studied theology at the Berkeley Divinity School at Middletown, Connecticut. He was ordained May 22, 1861, and immediately took charge of St. Peter's Church at Milford, Connecticut, where he remained until 1864. He was rector of St. Thomas's Church, of Bethel, during the following four years, and from 1868 until 1874 was rector of Trinity Church at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. In the latter year he was called to Trinity Church at Norwich, Connecticut, and after a residence of nearly four and a half years in that town was chosen rector of St. Michael's Church at Litchfield, Connecticut. In October, 1883, he be- came rector of Trinity Church at Hart-
ford, and after a service of ten years in that charge returned to Litchfield and again became rector of St. Michael's, which position he held until Easter, 1911, when he retired from the rectorship, hav- ing reached the age of eighty years. This church carries on a great and practically neverceasing work, and its influence upon the spiritual upbuilding of Litchfield has been most marked. Dr. Seymour is a man of clear and logical ideas of what the work of a church in a community should be, and these ideas he carefully put into practice, and he was a preacher of force- fulness and clearness.
Dr. Seymour received the degrees of A. B. and A. M. from Yale in 1857 and 1860, and the degree of Doctor of Divin- ity from Trinity College in 1898. During his residence in Rhode Island he served as chaplain in the Pawtucket Horse Guards of the Rhode Island Militia. He was a member of the Connecticut State Board of Education from 1880 to 1884, and has been a member of the Free Pub- lic Library Committee for Connecticut since its organization in 1893. In 1876 he was elected a member of the standing committee of the Diocese of Connecticut, and since 1895 has been its president. He is also president of the Litchfield Histor- ical Society, a member of the Connecticut Historical Society, and a trustee of the Berkeley Divinity School. He is a Dein- ocrat in politics.
Dr. Seymour married, June 20, 1861, Mary Harrison Browne, of Hastings-on- the-Hudson, New York. They are the parents of one son, Edwin Woodruff Sey- mour.
MILLER, Edward,
Head of Edward Miller & Company, Meriden.
The creation, development and man- agement of the mammoth business known
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
as Edward Miller & Company, one of Meriden's great industrial corporations. Edward Miller made his life work. His motto, "whatever you undertake as a life work, do it thoroughly and stick to it," was strictly adhered to in his own life, and from the time he began working in a factory at the age of fifteen until his death at the age of eighty-two he knew but one business, the manufacture of lamps and lighting accessories. He was a pioneer in the manufacture of kerosone lamp burn- ers in the country, placed the famous Rochester lamp upon the market in 1884, and when its world-wide reputation brought imitations upon the market he brought out that highest achievement in kerosene illumination, The Miller Lamp. When other illuminants appeared, which in a degree destroyed the market for lamps, he added gas and electric fixtures to the list of goods manufactured by Ed- ward Miller & Company, and in that field became preeminent. Just what the loca- tion of this company has meant to Mer- iden and its plan of operation is best told in a descriptive article which is as true now under the executive management of Edward (2) Miller, son of the founder, as when it was written. "The company's prosperity is such that it knows no dull periods or its workmen want of employ- ment. The departments are fully equip- ped with all the most modern machinery that can aid in the rapid and perfect pro- duction of goods. It is the rule in the manufacture of their goods that excel- lence is the grand thing to be attained, and the high esteem in which their products are held by the dealers and con- sumers warrants the assertion that they realize the end sought. Their products are largely exported to foreign lands, and immense as this business is, it is con- stantly increasing. It would be an im- possibility to enumerate the great assort-
ment of articles made by this company. Prominent among them are lamp trim- mings of every variety, tinners' hardware, together with brass and bronze goods. Their designs are thoroughly their own and are selected by those appreciative of the superiority of American styles over those of foreign lands. Yet the company keeps a sharp eye on the centres of artis- tic productions with a view that none shall excel them. The result is that not only are the designs of the art centres equalled, but in most cases excelled by the addition of the American artist."
Edward Miller was of the eighth gen- eration of the family founded in New England by John Miller, who came from Maidstone, Kent, England, to Lynn, Massachusetts, lived also in Salem, and in 1649 settled at Easthampton, Long Island. His wife Mary bore him five sons, among them George Miller, born in Easthampton, who died October 12, 1712, leaving a son, Hezekiah Miller, born about 1680. Hezekiah Miller married, December 1I, 1706, Elizabeth Sherry, the line of descent following through their youngest son, Jacob Miller, who moved from Easthampton to Huntington, Long Island. He married, May 24, 1738, Su- sanna Weeks (or Wickes). Their young- est son, Jacob (2) Miller, was baptized in Huntington, April 24, 1754, followed the sea and was the owner of a whaling ves- sel. During the Revolution he moved to Wallingford, Connecticut, and is believed to have been the Jacob Miller who served in the Second Regiment, Connecticut Line, September to December, 1779. He married Elizabeth Filer and among his children were two ministers, Rev. Samuel and Rev. Thomas Miller.
Rev. Samuel Miller was born on Long Island, April 15, 1773, died November 14, 1829. He was an ordained minister of the Baptist Church, was the first min-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ister of that faith in Meriden, and was pastor of the church there for twenty-six years. He married, April 7, 1796. Vincy Blakeslee, born June 29, 1775, died No- vember 18, 1829, daughter of Joseph and Lois (Ives) Blakeslee. Their son Joel was third of a family of nine.
Joel Miller, son of Rev. Samuel and Vincy (Blakeslee) Miller, was born at Meriden, Connecticut, October 24, 1801, died August 25, 1864. After his marriage he moved to Canastota, Madison county, New York, but after residing there eight years returned to Meriden. The farm, he owned in Meriden is yet resided upon by the family, although Broad street now runs through the old homestead. He married, March 13, 1823, Clarissa Plum, born January 23, 1805, died March 4, 1879, daughter of Seth Doud and Eliza- beth (Hall) Plum, her father a prominent man of his day.
Edward Miller, son of Joel and Clarissa (Plum) Miller, was born in the town of Wallingford, Connecticut, August 10, 1827, died in Meriden, June 11, 1909. He attended public school and Post Academy until fifteen, then entered the factory employ of Horatio N. Howard, of Mer- iden, a manufacturer of lamp screws, hoops and candlestick springs. He also was employed for two years with Sted- man & Clark in the same line of manu- facture, but while still a minor began business for himself, having his father for a partner, continuing the same busi- ness with which he had become familiar. The firm was originally Joel Miller & Son, but after arriving at legal age the son bought his father's interest in the business giving his note for $800. The following year that note was paid from the profits of the business and expansion begun. The wooden factory built on the site of the present works was destroyed by fire in 1856; the financial panic of 1857
played havoc in the business world, but Edward Miller survived both disasters, and in 1858 added to his little line the manufacture of burners for kerosene lamps, a class of goods which had hith- erto been imported. Bronzes, sheet brass and brass utensils followed, and in 1866 the business had increased beyond his financial ability to carry it, and Edward Miller & Company, a stock company, was organized with a capital of $200,000, Ed- ward Miller, president and manager. With this influx of capital and assistants, the great growth of the business began and continued until perhaps one thousand hands are employed. Mr. Miller contin- ued the efficient executive head of the company until his death, although in his later years his capable son took from his shoulders the heavier burdens of manage- ment. He was an honored member of the First Baptist Church of Meriden, and in 1869 gave to the church a handsome pipe organ. He also generously aided the Young Men's Christian Association and the Connecticut Literary Institute, and for years was treasurer of the Connecticut Baptist Educational Society. He served as a member of Common Council for twelve years as a matter of public duty, but otherwise refused all offers of public office.
Edward Miller married, August 30, 1848, Caroline M. Neal, born April 14, 1830, died August 29, 1906, daughter of Joseph and Matilda (Barnes) Neal, of Southington, Connecticut. She was a woman of strong character, and to her counsel and encouragement her husband attributed much of his success. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were the parents of Edward (2), of whom further; Layette Alena, born January 10, 1853, married Charles A. Kendrick ; Arthur Engene, born Sep- tember 12, 1863, died December 31, 1914; was educated in private school, Hartford
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
High School, class of "83," and Brown University ; he was his father's associate in business, and from 1901 superintendent and director of Edward Miller & Com- pany, and at the time of his death vice- president ; he gathered his knowledge of the business from personal, practical con- tact with the factory department and was a most capable official. He was a prom- inent member of the Masonic order, a past master of Meriden Lodge, No. 77, past eminent commander of St. Elmo Commandery, and a thirty-second degree Mason of the Scottish Rite. Two other children of Mr. and Mrs. Miller, Carrie M. and Emma E., died young.
MILLER, Edward, Manufacturer.
Second in Meriden's business world to bear the name, Edward (2) Miller, after a long association with his honored father, was called to succeed him as presi- dent of Edward Miller & Company, a corporation with which he has been iden- tified ever since his University gradua- tion in 1874. He came upon the scene of action prior to the great expansion of the company, and has been a potent factor in the development and prosperity of the great business of which he is the execu- tive head.
Edward Miller, of the ninth American generation of his family, eldest son of Edward and Caroline M. (Neal) Miller, was born in Meriden, Connecticut, Feb- ruary 1, 1851. After completing grade and high school study in Meriden, he fitted for college at the Preparatory Acad- emy, Suffield, Connecticut, class of 1870, then entered Brown University, whence he was graduated with honors, class of "74." The same year he entered the serv- ice of Edward Miller & Company, mas- tering first the details of factory manage-
ment, then as secretary-treasurer, becom- ing a part of the executive staff, an office he filled most efficiently from 1882 until 1909, when upon the death of Edward (1) Miller he succeeded him in executive control. The successful career of the company is the best comment upon the strength of the management, and under the guidance of this twentieth century representative of an honored family its magnitude increases and its fame extends to many lands. He, like Edward (1) Miller, has a few outside business inter- ests, but having chosen his life work bends every energy to its successful pros- ecution. He, however, serves as a trustee of the City Savings Bank, director of the Home National Bank, Meriden Safe, Trust and Deposit Company, and Mer- iden Gas Light Company.
A student by nature, Mr. Miller has de- voted a great deal of time to literature and to the collection of a private library, one of the finest in the State. He main- tains a deep interest in the First Baptist Church, has been in charge of its music, and with his brother, Arthur Eugene, gave as a memorial to his parents a mag- nificent pipe organ to replace the one donated by his father in 1869. He is a director of Meriden Hospital, is a most liberal friend of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, and a generous sup- porter of all good causes. His clubs are the Colonial, Home and Highland Coun- try. He is unmarried.
HOLCOMB, Marcus Hensey, Governor of Connecticut.
When in 1914 the law of the State of Connecticut automatically removed Judge Marcus H. Holcomb from the Supreme Bench, through the operation of its "age limitation" clause, the people of the State at once availing themselves of his ripened
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
judgment, wide experience and well proven ability, elected him their chief executive, and he now sits at Hartford sixty-sixth in the list of Governors of the State of Connecticut.
For forty years Governor Holcomb has been honored with the favor of his people, and his faithfulness in the administration of every trust committed to his care has won their unlimited confidence, that con- fidence being expressed at the polls by elevation to offices in an ascending scale of importance. The call to "come up higher" has been insistent and continuous, and his present office is proof that in no instance has that confidence been be- trayed or misplaced.
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