USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 34
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Henry Woodward Hulbert, son of Rev. Calvin Butler and Mary Elizabeth (Woodward) Hulbert, was born in Sheldon, Vermont, January 26, 1858. He prepared for college at Burr and Burton Semi- nary at Manchester, Vermont, then entered Middle- bury College, whence he was graduated A.B., class of 1879. After graduation, in 1879-80, he was in Eng- land investigating English common schools under authority of the United States Government, to whom his report was made. Upon his return from Eng- land he spent the school year, 1880-81, as teacher in the Academy at Mechanicville, New York, then was for another year, 1881-82, tutor in English literature and history at his alma mater, there receiving his Master's degree in 1882. Three years were then spent in studies in divinity at Union Theological Seminary, New York City, whence he was grad- uated, class of 1885. The next two years, 1886-88, were spent abroad as instructor in church history at the Mission Theological Seminary at Beirut, Syria, then six years were passed at Marietta Col- lege, Marietta, Ohio, 1888-94, as professor of history and political science. In 1889 he was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian church, but continued his work as an educator until 1897. He remained at Marietta until 1894, then accepted the chair of church history at Lane Theological Seminary, Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where he remained until 1897. In that year he accepted a call from the First Presby- terian Church, of Cleveland, Ohio.
His love for the teaching profession caused him to accept the chair of church history at Bangor Theo- logical Seminary, Bangor, Maine, filling that posi- tion, 1902-06. In 1907 he accepted a call from High Street Congregational Church, Portland, Maine, and was there located until 1911. In 1914 he came to the First Church of Christ, Groton, Connecticut, and has there continued in most pleasant pastoral rela- tions until the present (September, 1922). During the interval between leaving Bangor in 1906, and taking the pulpit at Portland in 1907, Dr. Hulbert went abroad on an official mission to investigate religious conditions in Russia. He is the author of "The Church and Her Children," 1012, and is a fre- quent contributor to religious encyclopedias, diction- aries, and theological reviews. During the World War period, 1917-18, he was actively engaged in war work as Young Men's Christian Association educa-
tional secretary, his field being the six forts and bases in the New London district. He is the founder of the "The Children of the Covenant," a member for many years of the American Society of Church History, Delta Upsilon fraternity and the Ariston Club of New London. He received from Middlebury College the degree of D.D. in 1900, and the same year Marietta College conferred the same honor.
Dr. Hulbert married (first), March 31, 1891, in Newark, New Jersey, Eliza Lyman Pinneo, who died June 9, 1905, daughter of Samuel Lyman and Mary (Wilcox) Pinneo. To them were born six children: Winifred Elizabeth, born at Marietta, Ohio, July 4, 1892; Chauncey Pinneo, born at Marietta, Ohio, January 21, 1894; Woodward Dennis, born at Cin- cinnati, Ohio, July 18, 1896; Kathryn, born at Cleve- land, Ohio, June 1, 1898; Ralph Wheelock, born at Bangor, Maine, July 4, 1903, died there, July 24, 1904; Hilda Lyman, born at Bangor, Maine, July 4, 1903. Dr. Hulbert married (second) Annie Eliza McMaster, at Bangor, Maine, July 17, 1907.
In coming to New London county the family was in reality coming back to the home of their ances- tors, being descendants of Christopher Huntington, who was the first boy born in the Norwich, Connec- ticut settlement (1660), and of Eleazar Wheelock, who established Moor's Charity School for Indian boys in connection with his church at North Leb- anon (now Columbia), and later removed to Han- over, New Hampshire, where he founded Dartmouth College. Dr Hulbert was active in the formation of the Federation of Churches of New London and vicinity, of which he has been the secretary from the beginning. The family home is No. 34 Monu- ment street, Groton, Connecticut.
THE SHEFFIELD FAMILY, of whom Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, of New London, Connecticut, was an eminent member, dates back to the time of the Norman Conquest of England. Then one, Edmund Sheffield, accompanied William the Conqueror on his invasion of England. In process of time three brothers, who descended from Edmund Sheffield, came to America and one, Amos Shef- field, settled in Rhode Island.
Amos Sheffield, the immigrant ancestor of the family in America, was born in Sheffield, England, Tune 7. 1602, and came to America in 1630, presum- ably with the Winthrop Colony. The line follows down through his son, Isaiah Sheffield, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, July 10, 1638; Amos (2) Sheffield, son of Isaiah Sheffield, born in Newport, Rhode Island, July 27, 1660; John Shef- field, son of Amos (2) Sheffield, born in Newport, May 3, 1710; and Amos (3) Sheffield, son of John Sheffield, born February 3, 1764. Amos (3) Shef- field married a cousin of the famous Sweet family of New England, and they were the parents of six children: Rev. John, William, Amos (4), Betsey, Hannah and Mary. After the death of Amos (3) Sheffield, his widow married William Merrin, and gave birth to two children: John and Amanda.
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Rev. John Sheffield, eldest son of Amos (3) Shef- field, was born in Exeter, Rhode Island, November 20, 1798. When still a young man he went to Ston- ington, Connecticut, and there engaged in business as a carriage maker, attaining an unusual degree of success, and becoming a prominent figure in the pub- lic life of the town as well as in business. One of the earliest to embrace the principles of the Republi- can party, he served as trial justice of the town, and as chairman of the Board of Education, and also represented the town in the Connecticut State Legis- Jature of 1847. He was always a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and was ordained a minister of this church by Bishop Janes, on July 7, 1844. He married on February 6 1820, Eliza Lewis, and they were the parents of nine children, all born in North Stonington: Frances Eliza, born September 21, 1821; John Franklin, born June 8, 1823; an infant son, who died December 27, 1825, at the age of seven weeks; Washington Wentworth, of whom extended mention follows: Lucius Tracy, born February 20, 1830; Andrew Jackson, born May 12, 1832; Ann Judson, born May 11, 1834; Julia Tracy, born July 31, 1837; Mary Hannah, born July 19, 1839.
Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, fourth child and third son of Rev. John and Eliza (Lewis) Sheffield, was born in North Stonington, Connecti- cut, April 23, 1827. He received his early education in the schools of his native town. For his profes- sional studies he entered one of the leading dental colleges of the day, and after his graduation, supple- mented that 'training by practical experience in the office of Dr. J. A. G. Comstock, of New London, a successful practitioner of that day. Later, for a con- siderable time, he was under the expert tuition of Dr. Potter, of New York City, and through this breadth of learning and experience, Dr. Sheffield became one of the best authorities of his time on dental topics. He returned to New London in April, 1852, and con- tinued practice here for several years before his bril- liant career was ended by death. He was the inven- tor of the crown and bridge work, which is one of the triumphs of modern dentistry. For many years, in his private practice, he used a formula of dental cream, which he had composed. At length, its popu- larity and the universal demand for it led him to crect a laboratory for its production on a commer- cial scale. The business grew steadily, and gave Sheffield's Dentifrice national reputation. Dr. Sheffield's two grandsons, Washington Kyle and Lucius Tracy Sheffield, are today manufacturing on a large scale not only the original formula, but many others for the leading pharmaceutical concerns in the United States and foreign countries. The indus- try is still carried on under the name of the Shef- field Dentifrice Company. In 1911 the New Eng- land Collapsible Tube Company was incorporated by the grandsons for the purpose of satisfying the popular demand for the tin tube containers used for pharmaceutical and toilet preparations. This com- pany is today the largest manufacturer of these
popular containers, and is supplying the leading con- cerns using tin tubes.
Dr. Sheffield married Harriett P. Browne, of Providence, Rhode Island, daughter of Richard and Julia Browne, and they were the parents of one son, Lucius Tracy Sheffield, who was born in New Lon- don, in 1854. He married Mary J. Kyle, and they were the parents of two sons, born in New York City, Lucius Tracy, Jr., and Washington Kyle Shef- field, who are carrying on the business founded by their grandfather, L. Tracy Sheffield being president and treasurer, and W. Kyle Sheffield being vice- president and secretary.
Dr. Washington W. Sheffield died in New London, in 1897, and the following tribute, published in the columns of a local paper at the time, was one of the many expressions of regret among the people who had known and loved this eminent man:
"The death of Dr. Washington W. Sheffield, which took place at his home on Broad street, re- moves from New London one of its most respected citizens. As a citizen and a professional man, he had for fifty years occupied a conspicuous place in the city. Of striking appearance, affable manners, and ready sympathy, he won the respect of all classes."
Mrs. Sheffield survived her husband until July 26, 1903, when she passed away at her home, No. 170 Broad street, New London, Connecticut.
CHARLES ALLEN CHAPMAN-Held in the highest esteem by his contemporaries, and promi- nent in every good work of the town, the death, in 1913, of Charles Allen Chapman, of Montville, Connecticut, was regarded as a great loss to the community.
Politically, Mr. Chapman had been very active, holding at different times every office connected with public affairs. In the business life of Mont- ville he had for many years been a merchant, for the last forty years of his life conducting a successful grocery establishment. His death occurred when seventy-four years of age, and he was buried in the local cemetery.
Charles Allen Chapman married (first) Mary Ed- wards, by whom he had one child, Nellie Evelyn, who died in 1918, at the age of forty-eight years. Mr. Chapman married (second) Laura Comstock, of Montville, a daughter of Nathan and Caroline (Whipple) Comstock, the former named one of the original settlers of Montville. The family of his wife, the Whipples, had been closely identified with the life of New London county since public records have been kept. The Comstock family is one of the oldest in this part of the United States, their origi- nal ancestor coming to this country in 1620 when the "Mayflower" brought the English refugees from Holland. A sister of Mrs. Laura (Comstock) Chap- man is Carrie Comstock, a member of the exclu- sive organization, "The Daughters of the May-
Sila Maison
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BIOGRAPHICAL
flower." Their brother was the late Judge Com- stock, who during his lifetime was a very able law- yer, prominently known throughout the State.
By his second marriage Charles Allen Chapman and his wife, Laura (Comstock) Chapman, had four
children: 1. Charles Everett, born in Montville, February 17, 1878; engaged in the grocery business. 2. Mildred May, born May 29, 1886. 3. Florence Caroline, who during the World War was in the service of her country as an ambulance driver in France; she is now postmistress of Palmertown. 4. Laura Comstock, born June 13, 1900; married Mark Furber, and resides in Montville. The widow of Charles Allen Chapman, Mrs. Laura (Comstock) Chapman, is still residing at her home in Montville, aged sixty-four years. She is a member of the Bap- tist church of Montville.
WILLIAM H. OAT-In Norwich, Connecticut, the name of William H. Oat stands for one of the formative forces of the day, which is always en- listed on the side of sane and righteous civic and national progress, the "Norwich Bulletin." Mr. Oat was born in New London, Connecticut, February 23, 1867, a son of Lewis A. and Jane M. (Colby) Oat, his father for many years a leading contractor of New London county, and a veteran of the Civil War.
As a boy Mr. Oat attended the educational in- stitutions of New London and Norwich, and in April, 1884, he entered the employ of the "Norwich Bulletin," in the capacity of mailing clerk. From that subordinate position he has risen through the various departments of the plant, until at this time he is in the executive offices of the Norwich Bulle- tin Company, as secretary and manager of the cor- poration. The "Bulletin" is one of the oldest news- papers in the State of Connecticut, having been founded in the year 1796, and is one of the eight morning dailies published in the State at the present time (1922). Republican in its political allegiance, the editorial policy is one of fearless advocacy of Repu- lican principles, conservatively expressed. Mr. Oat's personal convictions aligne him with the same party, and his influence in local affairs is definite and al- ways for advance. Fraternally he holds the thirty- second degree in the Masonic order, and he is a member of the Rotary Club, and a life member of the Norwich Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
SILAS MAXSON, SR .- Back to the early days of New England, when the sea offered the great ad- venture and the great opportunity, beyond that, to England and Oliver Cromwell, when religion marched with the sword, and still further into the stirring days of the Norman Conquest, one must go if he would follow the fortunes of the Maxson family from the beginning.
Richard Maxson was one of the early Colonists of New England. He was admitted to the church in Boston, October 2, 1634. In 1638 he and others
were admitted as inhabitants of the Island of Aquid- neck (Rhode Island). On April 30, 1639, he and twenty-eight others signed a compact acknowledg- ing themselves subjects of his Majesty, King Charles, and banding themselves into a civic body politic.
According to family tradition and old church memorials, Richard Maxson was among the first who attempted a landing on the Connecticut shore, and was with the group which settled on Throg's Neck, or Maxson's Point, trading with the Indians until the time of the Pequot War in 1637. An inci- dent of that war is told of this settlement. The Indians, pretending to desire to trade, asked that the dogs be confined. Their request was granted, whereupon they promptly attacked, some of the settlers being killed and others seeking refuge in an open shallop on the Sound. The survivors landed on the Island of Aquidneck, and there, in the spring of 1638, a son was born to Richard Max- son, the first white child to be born on this little island sacred to the principles of religious liberty. In 1661 this son, John Maxson, then twenty-three years old, joined a company which was formed in Newport for the purchase and settlement of a por- tion of the Narragansett country called by the In- dians, Misquamient. The articles of agreement were signed March 22, 1661, and Mr. Maxson soon after removed to this new settlement. At the outbreak of King Philip's War nearly all the pioneer settlers were obliged to flee the region and take shelter in Newport, and for five years no deputies were sent to the General Assembly. King Philip fell at Mt. Hope on August 1, 1676, and soon families returned to build their homes in the wilderness. These carly settlers not only had troubles with the Indians, but Massachusetts and Connecticut, pleading old claims from Indian conquests sought to annex the region to their jurisdiction. Robert Burdick and Tobias Saunders (maternal ancestors in the Maxson fam- ily) were forcibly seized and confined in the prison at Boston until they should pay a fine of £40, and give security for fioo for their future good con- duct. But the purchasers of Misquamient were sus- tained by the royal charter and by the deed of Sosoa.
John Maxson married Mary Mosher, daughter of Hugh Mosher, who later was first pastor of the first church at Dartmouth, Rhode Island. John Maxson took an active interest in and joined the Sabbatanian church organized in Newport. In 1708 a separate church was organized in Misquamient, or Westerly, and John Maxson, Sr., was ordained an elder to the congregation in and about Westerly by fasting and praying and laying on of hands. He died December 17, 1720, and was buried near the Pawtucket river in view of the place where he preached, and later his remains were removed to the minister's circle in the burial ground on the site of the old Hopkinson Meeting House.
John (2) Maxson, son of John (1) and Mary (Mosher) Maxson, born in 1666, was appointed in
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1719, assistant elder to his father, another assistant elder being Thomas Hiscox. This church had a membership at one time of nine hundred. John (2) Maxson married Judith Clarke, niece of John Clarke, the founder of the first church in Newport, and daughter of Joseph and Bethiah (Hubbard) Clarke. John (2) Maxson was an extensive land owner in Westerly, Maxson's purchase, containing 2,684 acres, belonging to a company of which he was one. He was also interested in other grants, accord- ing to Rhode Island records, and had a keen appre- ciation of material prosperity, though he was domi- nated by religious principle. The little colony evi- dently met disapproval on account of this religions belief. The story is told that Dr. George Stillman, passing through Westerly, probably in 1705, on his way from Wethersfield to Boston, saw the Sabbat- anians at work on Sunday and thought they were a deluded sect, he himself being an Episcopalian, re- cently come from London to join his father in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Upon his return from Boston he stopped in Westerly to protest against their irreverance. He obtained an interview with their pastor, Rev. Thomas Hiscox, but instead of convineing them became himself convinced of the rightness of their belief and removed to Westerly, where he hecame one of the family ancestors.
A grandson of Elder John (1) Maxson was pas- tor of the mother chureli at Newport, organized in 1671, and now owned by the Newport Historical Association.
David Maxson, son of John (4) and Thankful (Randall) Maxson, and grandson of Elder John (3) Maxson, was elected deputy to the Rhode Island General Assembly, and served in the Revolutionary War. He married Abigail Greeneman, and they were the parents of Paul Maxson, ot whom further.
Paul Maxson, a boat builder of Westerly, also served in the Revolutionary War. He married Su- sanna Stillman, daughter of Colonel George Still- man; later removed to New York State and took up land under Patroon Van Rensselaer. He was the father of ten children, and it is related that his sons served in the War of 1812, while the crops stood un- harvested in the fields. One of the sons of Paul Maxson was Silas Maxson, of whom further.
Silas Maxson, who remained in Westerly, married Elizabeth Stillman, daughter of John Stillman, and great-granddaughter of Dr. George Stillinan. To Silas and Elizabeth (Stillman) Maxson were born two sons and one daughter, one of the sons being William Ellery Maxson, of whom further.
William Ellery Maxson was born in 1818. He worked on his father's farm, and later learned the ship carpenter's trade under the Greenemans, at Old Mystic. He was a man of high integrity and sterling worth, and went into the ship building busi- ness with Captain William Clift. B. F. Hoxie, and Captain N. G. Fish, at West Mystic, which soon after became the firm of Maxson, Fish & Com- pany. During the Civil War they built many fast vessels and iron vessels, including the "Galena," the
first ironclad built by the government and one of three similar vessels. After the death of Captain Fish, William Ellery Maxson formed a partnership with Alexander Irving and continued the business for many years, being an expert ship builder, de- signing his own models, but when he retired he de- voted his time to gardening. He was a Seventh Day Baptist throughout his life, broad and generous in his views, and a friend to all men. He voted the Abolition ticket for forty years, and stood for pro- hibition, believing in time it would win, and declar- ing that he had seen the time in earlier years when the beginnings of the abolition cause were as small as were the beginnings of the prohibition movement. He married (first) Elizabeth Smith, of Westerly, who lived but a few years, and who bore him two children: Herbert Ellery and Arthur L. He married (second) Maria Fenner, who bore him five children, three of whom are living: Emily Fenner who mar- ried Louis P. Allyn, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this volume; Charles Potter; and Silas, of further mention.
The Fenners came into England with the Nor- mans, their first English estate being called "Atta Fenn." Captain Arthur Fenner, who settled in Provi- dence in 1649, was, before coming to New England, a lieutenant in Cromwell's army, and a man of great ability as a soldier, statesman, expert engineer and surveyor, magistrate of the Colonial Government of Rhode Island, commissioner, governor's assistant, deputy for nine years, and town treasurer. He was chosen to treat with the Indians, to lay boundary lines, to go to England on Colonial business, and to perform almost every kind of public service known to Colonial times. He owned 600 acres of land in and around Providence, including "What Cheer," the first location of Roger Williams, and a lot in the division of land. He later left "What Cheer" and lived in one of Rhode Island's ancient block houses, since known as "Rhode Island's Ancient Castle."
Captain Arthur Fenner built in that part of Provi- dence, which afterward was included in the town of Cranston, upon his Neotoconkonitt purchase on the Pochassett river, a house, not far from his own, for his son, Major Thomas Fenner. Here, in the old Fenner house, Generals Washington and Lafayette were entertained by Governor Ar- thur Fenner and Major Thomas Fenner. Thomas Fenner, son of Major Thomas Fenner, had a grand- son, Stephen Fenner, who was the grandfather of Maria Fenner (Mrs. William Ellery Maxson).
From these two old Colonial families, Maxson and Fenner with their collateral branches, comes Silas Maxson, born in West Mystic, Connecticut, May 3, 1857, son of William Ellery and Maria (Fenner) Maxson. He attended the schools of West Mystic and Mystic Valley Institute, then entered the employ of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, beginning in Mystie Valley territory. Later he was engaged with that company in Norwalk four years, and in Norwich, Connecticut, seven and one-half years. In 1888 he left Norwich, going to Rochester, New
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BIOGRAPHICAL
York, as manager of a large territory for the Singer Sewing Machine Company, remaining until July, 1896. In 1898 hc entered the employ of the Foster- Armstrong Company, piano manufacturers, the larg- est firm in the piano business, of which he became a member. That company controlled the Haynes Brothers, Marshall & Wendell, Brewster Piano Com- pany, Foster & Company, and the Armstrong Piano Company. Later he was with the William Knabe Company of Baltimore, and Chickering & Sons, of Boston, who formed the American Piano Company, well known the world over.
This house of international importance was or- ganized in June, 1908, with an authorized capital of $12,000,000, divided into $6,000,000 preferred 7 per cent cumulative stock and $6,000,000 common stock. It took over the old-established and distinguished houses of William Knabe & Company established 1837, and Chickering & Sons, established 1823, also the well-known and prominent Foster-Armstrong Company, with its various subsidiary companies, which included Haines Brothers, established 1851; Marshall & Wendell Piano Company, established 1835; Foster & Company, established 1881; Arm- strong Piano Company, established 1884; Brewster Piano Company, established 1883; East Rochester Iron Works, and the Ampico Reproducing Piano. Officers: George G. Foster, president; William B. Armstrong, first vice-president and managing direc- tor; George L. Eaton, George L. Nichols and Frank E. Wade, vice-presidents; I. E. Edgar, treasurer; George W. Cobb, secretary, and C. Alfred Wagner, general manager. Directors: C. H. W. Foster, chairman of the board; George G. Foster, William B. Armstrong, George L. Eaton, George L. Nichols, A. B. Boardman, I. E. Edgar, and A. G. Milbank. Owing to the rapid growth of its player business, a special player department was created in 1909. The affiliation of these famous names in the formation of the American Piano Company insured for each a wider scope for musical activity and valuable advan- tages in securing the best the markets offered in ma- terials which enter into piano construction. The ideals and dominating personality of each of the companies forming the American Piano Company remain, however, unimpaired. The foresight and wisdom of this vitally important consolidating of in- terests is apparent to any student of modern Ameri- can business methods which discloses this affilia- tion with other interests of similar ideals. to be the foundation of the present day success of practically every great American institution. This advantage is not merely one of co-operative buying but includes the advantages of co-operative intelligence, market- ing and financing, resulting in the betterment of each member of the affiliaton. As all the officers of the corporation arc practical men of national repu- tation, a guarantee is thus given that the high ar- tistic standard of the principal instruments con- cerned will not only be maintained but carried ever to a higher plane. Practical evidence of this has
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