USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 25
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This position in the business world has placed Mr. Costello in the public eye, and for some time he has been active in political circles. It was not, however, until 1920 that he was induced to accept public of- fice. He was nominated then by the Republican party for State Senator from this district and was elceted by a gratifying majority. This spectacular entrance into politics while still a comparatively young inan is believed by his friends to be only the beginning of a brilliant career. He has served as chairman of the committee on Capitol Furniture and Grounds; chairman of Contingent Expense Com- mittee; Senate member of the Banks Committee, and was appointed judge by the governor for a two years' term, 1921-23, for the town of Groton.
In fraternal eireles Mr. Costello is widely known. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, New London Lodge, No. 360. Hc is a member of the Father Murphy Council, No. 1943, Knights of Columbus, of Mystic; of the Loyal Order of Moose, of New London; and of Pequot Camp, Modern Woodmen of America, of Mystic.
Mr. Costello is a member of the New London Chamber of Commerce, of which body he is second vice-president. He is identified with the fire de-
partment of Mystic, being a member of the B. F. Hoxie Engine Company. Socially, he is a popular member of the Rotary Club of New London, of which organization he is now president. Mr. Cos- tello is a devout member of the Roman Catholic Church.
GILBERT COLLINS, the son of Daniel Prentice and Sarah R. Collins, was born on August 26, 1846, in Stonington borough, Connectient, of English an- cestry, which emigrated from England to Massachu- setts and thence to Connecticut. The Collins coat- of-arms is as follows: Gules, on a bend or three martlets sable.
Daniel Collins, great-great-grandfather of Gilbert Collins, was born in 1710, died July 16, 1797. He was a son or grandson of James Collins, who, with his brothers, John and Robert, came from Kent or Essex in England in 1669 and settled in Massachu- setts. Daniel Collins, in 1731, was of New London, Connecticut, and afterward moved to Stonington. He married (first) February 7, 1731, Alice Pell, of New London, (second) July 7, 1754, Rebecca Stan- ton, of Stonington, widow of Samuel Stanton. By his first wife he had one son, Daniel (2), of whom further.
Daniel (2) Collins, son of Daniel (1) and Alice (Pell) Collins, was born in New London, Connecti- cut, March 10, 1732, and died in Stonington, April 6, 1819. He was the progenitor of a very large family and a man of prominence. His farm was on the old Post Road, opposite the present meeting- house of the First Congregational Society of Ston- ington. He served in the Continental army from 1775 as a first lieutenant in the First Regiment of the Connecticut Line. He married (first) December 26, 1756, Dorothy Wells; (second) Anne Potter (Widow Hillard). Children by his first wife: I. William, born in March, 1759; married Polly Ross. 2. Pell, died unmarried. 3. Hannah. 4. Daniel, died unmarried. 5. Lydia. 6. Polly. 7. Eley, died young. 8. John Wills, born December 5, 1773, married Mercy Langworthy. Children by his second wife: 9. Rob- ert, born April 14, 1788; married Ruth Browning. 10. Gilbert, of whom further. 11. Rebecca, married Henry Worden. 12. Maria, married Justin Denison. 13. Betsy, died young. 14. Anne, married John D. Noyes.
Gilbert Collins, son of Daniel (2) and Anne (Pot- ter-Hillard) Collins, was born April 14, 1790, at Stonington, died there March 24, 1865. He was a farmer, a highly respected citizen, and for several terms represented the town in the State Legislature. He married (first) May 3, 1807, Prudence Frink, of Stonington; (second) April 28, 1916, Lucy Breed; (third) Susan Wells (Widow Dickens). Children by first wife: 1. Benjamin Franklin, born September 10, 1808. 2. Anne, married John Robbins. 3. Daniel Prentice, of whom further. Children by second wife: 4. Gilbert W., born February 19, 1817; died January 19, 1865. 5. Ethan Allen, born November 24, 1818; died in 1896. 6. John Noyes, died young.
Gillet Collino
Collins
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BIOGRAPHICAL
7. Thomas B., born February 10, 1823. 8. Frances Marion, died young. 9. John Pierce, born October 21, 1827; died February 28, 1859.
Daniel Prentice Collins, son of Gilbert and Pru- dence (Frink) Collins, was born August 21, 1813. He became a manufacturer and has an extensive business in the borough of Stonington. He also had business interests in Jersey City. He died in 1862, leaving but a slender estate, which led his son Gilbert to give up a course at Yale College, where he had matriculated. In 1863 the family moved to Jersey City. In 1870 Gilbert Collins mar- ried Harriet Kingsbury Bush, a daughter of John O. Bush. Six children were the fruit of this mar- riage: Walter, who died November 11, 1900, at the age of twenty-eight years, a lawyer of marked abil- ity and great promise, practicing in Jersey City; Blanche and Marjorie, who are still living; and three who died in infancy. Mrs. Collins died on May 15, 1917. Gilbert Collins died in Jersey City, January 29, 1920.
These facts concerning Gilbert Collins' ancestry and family are of signal significance in any con- sideration of his life. His character was a compound of courage, patience, resourcefulness and fine intelli- gence. He seems to have been endowed with all the good qualities of his ancestry and to have turned them to maximum account by a tireless industry and application.
On settling in Jersey City, Mr. Collins read law with Jonathan Dixon, then a rising lawyer there, and afterwards, until his death in 1906, a justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey. After Mr. Collins' admission to the bar, which took place in 1869, Mr. Dixon and Mr. Collins formed a partnership, which lasted until Mr. Dixon's appoint- ment to the bench in 1875. Thereafter, Mr. Collins formed a partnership with Charles L. Corbin, and later with William H. Corbin, under the firm name of Collins & Corbin. Charles L. Corbin was a man of the very highest attainments in the legal pro- fession, and William H. Corbin was a sound lawyer and splendid business man. This partnership was interrupted by the appointment of Mr. Collins as justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey, in 1897, but was re-established in 1903 upon his resignation therefrom, and continued, with changes in its membership, until the death of Mr. Collins, and still continues under that name. Mr. Collins lived a life of most varied richness. He touched a life at many points, and always fruit- fully. He brought to the performance of the duties of every task which he undertook a tireless energy and a resourceful and profound intelligence. He did not confine himself, as so many professional men do, to "treading the shadowy thoroughfares of thought," but mingled largely in the public af- fairs of his time. In 1884 he was nominated on the Republican and Citizens' Association tickets for mayor of Jersey City. The city had seldom elected a Republican mayor, but Mr. Collins car- ried the city by a pronounced majority and con-
ducted a very satisfactory administration. He was a staunch champion of the city's rights in many controversies with large financial interests, and dis- played a wide knowledge of public matters and a fine facility in their administration. He was a dele- gate to the National Republican Convention that re-nominated President Harrison in 1892. He was a candidate on the Republican ticket for Presiden- tial Elector-at-Large in 1912, and ran on that ticket, in the overwhelmingly Democratic county of Hud- son, for Senator and Congressman, but was not elected to any of these offices. So conspicuous was his desirability and fitness for public office that he was frequently besought in later years to allow his name to be used in conventions as a candidate for governor, but he always declined.
Many people seem to entertain the notion that it is unwise to appoint to judicial positions men who have loomed large in political life, but in the case of Mr. Collins it was not so much a politician who had been made a judge as it was a judge who had spent a little time in politics. As a participant in political affairs, Mr. Collins always displayed a fine dignity, a sterling honesty, and a high regard for the public interest. As a justice of the Supreme Court, Mr. Collins was peculiarly in his element. Before going on the bench lie had had a large and varied practice which fitted him to be an ideal judge at Circuit, and such he was. His temperament was judicial, his mind was quick and alert, his legal learning was sound and accurate. He not only achieved a high judicial reputation, but won the love and respect of the people of the whole State, and when he retired from the bench to resume the prac- tice of the law, he was held in such high esteem by the bar that they gave a dinner in his honor, to which flocked all the leading members of the bar of his own State and many of the leaders of the bar from neighboring states. His judicial opinions are models of clearness, brevity and precision. They all bear the peculiar stamp of his mind; they are thorough without being prolix, exhaustive without being exhausting; they are not essays on the law, but clear and concise applications of legal principles to the facts in dispute.
At the bar Judge Collins was easily the best loved of its members. He was the idol of the young lawyers, and the admiration and despair of the old. The scope of his work was tremendous, yet his clear grasp of the facts in each case, and of the law applicable thereto, was as accurate as if he had only one case to try and infinite time for its preparation. Yet he never seemed too busy to place his knowledge and wisdom at the disposal of the young men who sought his counsel in ever-increas- ing numbers. His practice was enormous, and a catalogue of the cases in which he was engaged during his practice would read like an index to the law reports of the State. His dexterity as a trial lawyer and his soundness as counsel were pro- verbial, and the bar of the State lost its brightest ornament when he passed away. He took a very
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NEW LONDON COUNTY
active part in the business and social life of his city. He was a member of numerous clubs and a director in several corporations. Wherever he was, he was never a null figure. His nature was bright and pleasing in the extreme. In manner he was gentle and urbane, and his capacity for friendship and love was boundless. At the bar, on the bench, and in public life, he was a man of extraordinary capacity and personality; in society and in his home he was a constant spring of light and joy; and the record he leaves of a life of faithfulness and full- ness constitutes his enduring monument.
RICHARD ANSON WHEELER, Stonington's "grand old man," former judge of probate, histor- ian, genealogist, legal adviser, writer, public speaker and in all ways an influential and useful citizen of Stonington, New London county, Connecticut, was born there January 29, 1817, and there dicd April 6, 1904, a life of unusual activity, fruitfulness and in- spiration then closing. He was the only son of Richard and Mary (Hewitt) Wheeler, through both of whom he descended from a long line of distin- guished ancestors, including men of marked promi- nence in the making of American history,-soldiers, government officials, and public men of many types.
Thomas Wheeler, born in England, came to Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1635, and was the founder of the Wheeler family in America. William Chesebrough, another early ancestor, came from Lincolnshire, England, with the Winthrop company in 1630, he being the first white resident of Stonington and a deputy to the general courts of both Massachusetts and Connecticut. Thomas Hewitt, an early maternal ancestor, was a mariner who commanded a vessel on the Mystic river, Connecticut, in 1656, and was an early landowner of Stonington. John Gallup, another noteworthy progenitor of Judge Wheeler's, came from England to Massachusetts in 1630, and in 1636 took part in the fight with the Pequot Indians off Block Island, known in history as the first naval battle fought on the Atlantic coast. His son, Cap- tain John Gallup, was killed in the great swamp fight with the Indians forty years later. Another distinguished ancestor was Thomas Stanton, inter- preter-general during the Indian hostilities, while another, Captain George Denison, a deputy to the general court of Connecticut for fifteen sessions, a captain of the Connecticut forces in King Philip's War and a fighter in a number of other encounters with the Indians, was a soldier of unusual distinc- tion.
Soldierly blood ran in the veins of Judge Wheeler's ancestors, and his father although a far- mer was a captain of militia. From him the son in- herited traits of generosity, hospitality and gentle- ness as well as a keen instinct in military tactics. From his mother he inherited many Christian graces and the mental alertness that repeated itself in his keen legal and judicial ability, in his accuracy and aptness as a historian and in his humor and
eloquence as a public speaker and conversationalist. He was reared on the farm tilled by his ancestors and as he was strong, robust and vigorous he had plenty of hard manual labor to perform. He loved to read as well as to play boy's games and he pe- rused history, poetry, law books, biographies, and the newspaper with great eagerness and apprecia- tion. His education was the limited one of the pub- lic schools of the time, supplemented by a three months' course at a private school in Old Mystic when he was seventeen. He was anxious for a col- lege education but felt it his filial duty to remain at home because of his father's ill health. At eighteen he was chosen sergeant of the Sixth Company, of the Eighth Regiment, Third Brigade, Connecticut Militia, and two years later he became captain of that company. He served with great credit for three years, at the end of which period he was hon- orably discharged.
At the close of his military service Richard A. Whiceler settled down on the home farm where so many of his youthful years had been spent and where the foundations of his rugged health and in- dustrious habits had been laid. He remained a farmer of the most solid and prosperous type the rest of his long life, but never to the exclusion of public service or mental activity. He was interester in religion, education, politics, and all social prob- lems and he was both an energetic leader and a faithful servant in public life. He was a member of the Stonington Board of Education for fifteen years, selectman and assessor for several terms each, rep- resentative in the General Assembly in 1851; judge of probate for twenty-three years; justice of the peace for forty years; notary public for fifty-five years, and high sheriff of New London county for twelve years. Though he never desired or obtained admission to the bar, he acquired a thorough legal knowledge and was considered an authority on all matters of probate law. He wrote over six hundred and fifty wills and settled scores of estates. At the time of his death he was president of the Stonington Savings Bank which office he had held for twelve years. In politics he was a steadfast and active supporter of the Republican party. In creed he was a Congregationalist, and was the oldest, in years and membership, of the First Congregational Church of Stonington.
Judge Wheeler was clerk and a member of the standing committee of that church for sixty-six years and he made a conscientious study of the his- tory of the church and parish, resulting in a three hundred page volume, published in 1875, called "The History of the First Congregational Church of Stonington", and containing the records since 1674. He also wrote historical sketches of a number of other churches in New London county. Indeed, it is
as historian and genealogist that Judge Whecler's name is most widely known and will be perpetuated long after those fortunate enough to have known him personally have passed away. In 1900 he published his "History of the Town of
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BIOGRAPHICAL
Stonington" including careful genealogies of eighty- seven families. Many addresses which he made at public and patriotic gatherings have been published in pamphlet form and have become a part of the local history of his county. He was the author of a history of the Pequot Indians and of a most inter- esting paper called "Memories," written at the re- quest of the New England Historical Society and published at the very time of his death.
At one time Judge Wheeler was president of the Connecticut Historical Society and a member of similar societies in Buffalo, N. Y., in Tennessee, and the Pawtucket Valley. He was also a member of the New London County Historical Society and was tendered membership in the Royal Historical Society of London, England. His mind was a storehouse of historical and genealogical informa- tion, the result of painstaking study and keen in- terest.
Judge Wheeler married (first), in 1843, Frances M. Avery. She died in 1855 and he married (sec- ond), Lucy A. Noyes, who died October 27, 1905. Three daughters, Mrs. Henry Tyler, Mrs. Seth N. Williams and Miss Grace D. Wheeler survived their father. Though Judge Wheeler had no sons he was the popular adviser and comrade of young men to whom he was a constant example of cheerfulness, courtesy, unselfishness, modesty, integrity and in- dustry, fittingly called the "grand old man of Ston- ington." The purity of his principles, the soundness of his mind, and the sweetness of his character are best realized in the advice which he himself fol- lowed so admirably. "Be a Christian, love your home and country, cultivate habits of industry and perseverance, study to strengthen and enrich your mind, take an interest in those about you to do them good, use your money in right and proper ways and enjoy each day of life."
GEORGE ELMER PITCHER-The high repu- tation of Mr. Pitcher, who is a resident of Norwich, and his extended professional connections, cover- ing a period of more than a third of a century, ren- der superfluous any introduction other than the in- scription of his name at the head of this article. He has been active in the public life of his com- munity, filling for long terms the offices of city en- gineer and town surveyor.
George W. Pitcher, father of George Elmer Pitcher, was born December 12, 1829, in Norwich- town, called Peck's Corner, and at the age of nine years was bound out to a family named Huntington, in Franklin, Connecticut. At thirteen he ran away and returned to his native place, where he learned the blacksmith's trade at the Sterry Faucet Works. After serving an apprenticeship of five years, he entered the service of the firm of Breed & Wil- liams, who conducted a large blacksmith shop at Central Wharf, Norwich, and after he had been with them about two years, was chosen to take charge of all blacksmith work for the railroad which was then in process of building and known as the New
London, Willimantic & Springfield, but now the Central Vermont railroad. After being associated with Mr. Brced about ten years in all, ill health forced him to resign and he then lived two years on a farm now known as the De Wolf Farm, at Trading Cove, Connecticut. His health being re- stored, he found employment for about a year in a gun shop conducted by Horace Walker, and then entered the service of Dr. Charles Osgood, of Nor- wich, doing the forging for five engines for steam- boats. About 1862 he went to Boston, Massachu- setts, where he was employed by Cheney Brothers, who constructed rifles for use in the Civil War. He enlisted, but so valuable were his services to the
firm that President Lincoln refused to accept his enlistment. He remained with Cheney Brothers un- til the close of the war and then returned to Nor- wich, finding employment with the Mowery Axe- handle Company, with whom he remained until the spring of 1868. He was then sent for by the Wheeler & Wilson Machine Company, of Bridge- port, Connecticut, and remained in their service until October, 1876, when he decided to retire from business and returned to Norwich. His retirement, however, was of short duration. In the spring of 1877 his old employers, Cheney Brothers, sent for him and he went with them to South Manchester, Connectient, remaining until May, 1897, when he again decided to retire. He was a Republican in politics, and an attendant of the Broadway Con- gregational Church of Norwich. Mr. Pitcher married Nancy Ann Thompson, who was born April 6, 1831, at East Haddam, Connecticut, and their children were: 1. Leveret T., born May 10, 1856, in Thamesville, Norwich, and now lives in that town; he married Lillian Harrington, of Green- ville, Connecticut, who died in 1891. 2. George Elmer, mentioned below. 3. Hattie R., who died at the age of four years. In October, 1897, five months after his second retirement from business, Mr. Pitcher passed away, and the death of his widow occurred in May, 1912, in Norwich.
George Elmer Pitcher, son of George W. and Nancy Ann (Thompson) Pitcher, was born May 23, 1865, at Norwich, and received his rudimentary edu- cation in schools of his birthplace, afterward attend- ing Norwich Free Academy for about two years. He was then obliged to relinquish his studies in con- sequence of illness, but having recovered, he began, in October, 1884, to study civil engineering and sur- veying under the preceptorship of C. E. Chandler, of Norwich. After about three years' application he entered, on May 23, 1887, his twenty-second birthday, into business for himself. His office was in the old Platt building on Shetucket street, near the corner of Main, and there he remained until April, 1890, when he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and engaged with the Union Street Railroad Company, which was then substituting electricity for horse-power. He remained with the company until August, 1894, and during this time with the railroad did a large amount of work for the State's
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NEW LONDON COUNTY
Attorney in the criminal courts of Providence county.
It had been Mr. Pitcher's intention to open an office in Providence, but he was eventually per- suaded to return to Norwich and there opened an office in the Chapman building, in Franklin Square. At the end of a year he moved to the Lucas build- ing, at Shetucket and Water streets, where, for sev- enteen years, he carried on a flourishing business. About 1912 the building was destroyed by fire and he then moved to his present quarters on Broadway. On May 20, 1920, he completed thirty-two years of State work for the criminal courts of New London county, and there is no official now connected with the courts who was holding office when he entered upon the discharge of his duties in 1888. During that time there have been three sheriffs, three dis- trict attorneys, and three coroners.
In the sphere of politics Mr. Pitcher adheres to the principles of the Republican party, and in 1902 was elected city engineer, an office which he re- tained continuously until 1910, receiving the tribute of a re-election in 1912 and serving until 1914. For twenty years he has been town surveyor for Mont- ville, Connecticut, and has also filled the same office in most of the surrounding towns. As surveyor he has been sent to several states to render service in connection with law suits and he does most of the surveying required by the Norwich attorneys in the prosecution of their work. He is a member of the United Congregational Church of Norwich and is enrolled in its Brotherhood.
Mr. Pitcher married, December 25, 1888, Mariam S. Greene, born in Providence, Rhode Island, daughter of Ephraim G. and Abbie (Love) Greene, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. Greene was a native of Cape Cod, and his wife was born in War- wick, Rhode Island. Mr. and Mrs. Pitcher are the parents of the following children I. Eva. G., born November 29, 1889, in Norwich; married H. S. Bailey, and has one child, Howell P. 2. Lottie T., born December 6, 1891, in Cranston, Rhode Island; married Gerard L. Ranger, and has two children, George A. and Ilva C. 3. Elmer E., born Novem- ber 21, 1893, who since 1910 has been associated with his father as engineer and surveyor. 4. Mar- iam S., born May 25, 1897, in Norwich, and is now engaged in a telephone office in that place. 5. Nancy A., born May 12, 1914, in Norwich.
In the truest sense of the word Mr. Pitcher has been a successful man. He has built up a strong and prosperous business and in doing so has com- manded the high respect and friendly regard of his fellow-citizens of New London county.
JOHN SANDS SPICER-Until his passing, John S. Spicer was a man of prominence in Norwich, Connecticut, and influential in public life in both Ledyard and Norwich; Ledyard was the family home until 1893, when Mr. Spicer disposed of the business he was then conducting and bought a well
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