USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 44
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Stephen Fitch, son of Col. Asa Fitch, born August 21, 1790, in Bozrah, Connecticut, married March 23, 1817, Mary I. Rogers, born January 4, 1794, in Nor- wich.
Mr. Fitch was reared on the farm in Bozrah, and to the iron business with his father, and he con- tinued thus occupied until his marriage. He then removed to New Hartford, New York, and was
there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1832, when he returned to his native State, settling in Norwich. Here he remained until after the death of his wife, September 22, 1837. After this event he removed to Bozrah, and for many years was ac- tively engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, associated in business with his brother Asa, at Fitch- ville. Mr. Fitch held a number of town offices, and was a representative in the General Assembly of Connecticut. He was an energetic and active busi- ness man of good ability and judgment and he held the esteem and respect of his fellow townsmen. His political affiliations were with the Democratic party -the party of his forefathers. He died in Bozrah, October 6, 1868.
The children of Mr. Fitch and his wife were:
(1) Sophia Ingraham Fitch, born December 10, 1817, married William S. Cruft, of Boston, and died in Paris, July 1, 1873.
(2) Asa Douglass Fitch was born March 27, 1820, at New Hartford, New York. In early boyhood he attended common and select schools, and later entered Washington Institute in New York State. (where he was a schoolmate of William H. Vander- bilt), from which he was graduated in 1837. After his graduation young Fitch began a business career as a clerk in the New York house of his uncles, Asa and William Fitch, who were then engaged in the wholesale commission business. In 1842 the nephew left New York, and took charge of the stores of his uncle and father, located at Fitchville, New London county, Connecticut. He remained so occu- pied until 1849, when he went to Stockton, Califor- nia, via Cape Horn. After a year's residence in Stockton, he went to Portland, Oregon, where for ten years he was associated with his brother, Wil- liam Huntington Fitch, in mercantile pursuits. True to the family and education, he was a Democrat of the old school. While in the West he held a num- ber of public trusts, and was a prominent citizen of Portland, being a member of the common council of the city and for several terms served as treasurer of the county in which Portland is located. He was also commissioner of the penitentiary during the building of that institution, and while Oregon was yet a territory. He died November 27, 1891, at the home of his brother, William H., in Norwich Town.
(3) Mary Elizabeth Fitch, born July 27, 1827, married (first) Hon. R. H. Winslow, of Westport, Connecticut, and (second) Dr. R. C. M. Page, of Virginia. Mrs. Page is a woman of superior ac- complishments, and has been a liberal contributor to the Episcopal Church of Westport.
Mr. Winslow in his lifetime began the erection of a new church, but he died before he had it fairly started. His widow as a memorial to him built the church (Holy Trinity), and is a most liberal contributor to its support.
(4) William Huntington Fitch is referred to farther on.
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Asa (2) Fitch, son of Col. Asa Fitch, born May 6, 1787, in Bozrah, never married. In youth he was possessed of a delicate constitution and broke down in an attempt to pursue an academic course of study, a clerkship in Norwich, and also to obtain a mechanical tradc. At eighteen years of age, in the hope of bettering his physical condition by a sea voyage, he embarked as a passenger in the brig "Walton," bound on a fishing and trading voyage to Green Island, Newfoundland and Europe. He left the vessel at Lisbon in October, 1805, just prior to receipt of the news there of the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson. Finding the climate invigorating and beneficial he went to Alicante, and for a time was employed in the office of the American consul. Later he engaged in mercantile affairs, and remained some ten years, during which period he made the reputation of a substantial man and merchant. In 1814 he removed to Marseilles, where he established a commission and banking house that soon became recognized as a link in the chain of commerce between France and the United States. At Alicante Mr. Fitch had favored in mone- tary matters certain royal exiles, who, when later returned to power, showed their appreciation of the accommodations, and through them he was wel- comed to the best society in France, and he after- ward entertained at his table nobles, statesmen and literary men of the first reputation in the country.
Mr. Fitch was there joined by his brother, Doug- lass Woodworth Fitch, under the firm name of Fitch Brothers & Co. Vessels from many of the large ports of the United States were consigned to this house. These men were also agents of the United States navy, furnishing supplies and making payments to the government vessels in the Med- iterranean. They executed orders from America for the purchase of French goods, and had corre- spondents in the United States to receive consign- ments of French produce from the merchants and manufacturers in France.
In 1828 Asa Fitch returned to America to take charge of the affairs of the house in this country. The office of the New York house was on Exchange place. In that city Mr. Fitch purchased a number of lots on Broadway, New street and Exchange place, upon which subsequently he built a number of stores which proved most profitable investments. Gradually Mr. Fitch retired from the details of business, and returned to his native place, where he lived; and for more than twenty-five years was fairly occupied in the improvement of a naturally rough country district. He built a mansion house beside the old iron works, where his father and elder brother had labored. Here, too, he built a cotton mill, a grist mill and a church-and even a village itself. He here purchased farm after farm until his domain was measurable by miles, and his outlay of money in these, and his operations, amounted to more than a million of dollars.
In body and mind Asa Fitch was ever alert and
active. He was full of energy, one of his chief characteristics being ceaseless activity. He was a remarkable man in many ways, especially in plan- ning, laying out and constructing work, and few persons have had a more eventful life. His death occurred October 31, 1865. The following reference to Fitchville and its founders is from the "History of Norwich" (1866), by Miss Caulkins:
"No part of the nine miles square has a stronger claim to notice in our history than Fitcliville. It is not only a striking example of what may be done by persevering enterprise in softening the sterile and homely features of nature into productiveness and beauty, but it furnishes a pleasing link to connect our reminiscences with the founders of the town.
The present proprietor, from whom the village derived its name, is a descendant through both parents from the Rev. Mr. Fitch, the first minister of Norwich, of whose parish this was a part; the Abells and Huntingtons, the first owners of the land, were members of the church and congregation of Norwich town plot, etc.
"We cannot close this sketch of Bozrah without adverting to the improvements that have been ef- fected in a portion of the town since 1832, by wealth, energy and perseverance, under the con- trol of Asa Fitch, Esq. The taste and efficiency that have converted an ancient iron works and a rugged farming district into the village of Fitchville, with its large agricultural area, its mansion house beau- tifully embowered and skirted with landscape beauty, its symmetrical, well-built church, its cotton mill, its lines of heavy stone wall, and its two miles of graded road, prepared for a railway, command our unqualified admiration."
Douglass W. Fitch, son of Col. Asa Fitch, born February 18, 1796, in Bozrah, Connecticut, married in October, 1834, Louisa Clemence Beck, of Mar- seilles. Mr. Fitch became associated with his brother at Marseilles, France, and shared with him the development and successful operation of their extensive business. With his wife and family Mr. Fitch visited America in 1838. Of their children, Harold, born October 10, 1837, died in Marseilles; and Charles D., born October 10, 1845, resides in Marseilles. The father died June 1I, 1848.
William Fitch, son of Col. Asa Fitch, born October 27, 1800, in Bozrah, Connecticut, was reared on his father's farm, and there assisted in season in the farming operations, and in the winters attended the neighborhood schools. He had manifested at an early age a desire for study, became deeply inter- ested in books, and at about fifteen years of age furthered his studies at Bacon Academy, Colchester, from which institution he was graduated. He taught several terms of school before he was twenty years of age, entering the New York branch of the Fitch establishment in 1820. There he remained until 1848, and was in charge of the correspondence of the house. Owing to failing health he returned
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in 1848 to his native town, and for several years thereafter was engaged in the manufacturing busi- ness, associated with his brother, Asa. In the sum- mer of 1858 Mr. Fitch settled in the town of Nor- wich, Connecticut, and there resided until his death, December 23, 1880. He was for several years post- master at Fitchville. Mr. Fitch "was a member of Trinity Church and was characterized for benevo- lence among that people. He was a man of gen- erous impulses, and will be missed by many poor families. His was a long and useful life, peacefully closed with a full hope of immortality."
On October 14, 1857, Mr. Fitch was married to Mary E. Williams, born June 23, 1825, in Bethlehem, Connecticut, daughter of Dr. Elias and Mary Ann (Hillhouse) Williams. Six children were born to the marriage, namely: William Asa (who died in infancy), Marian H., Susan L., Elizabeth M., Fanny R., and Sarah G., all born in Norwich.
William Huntington Fitch, son of Stephen Fitch, was born November 4, 1830, in New Hartford, New York. Though a native of the Empire State, he was by inheritance, education and residence a son of New England. When he was two years old his parents and family returned to Connecticut, residing in Norwich until the death of the mother in 1837. In that year the family removed to Fitchville. Wil- liam H. received good common-school advantages in Norwich, and vicinity, and then furthered his studies in the Cheshire Academy, from which he was graduated. When about twenty years of age, in the spring of 1850, he turned his course westward, going to California by way of the Isthmus. There he tarried for a time, and there he joined his brother, Asa D., and thence proceeded on to Portland, Ore- gon, in which place the brothers established a mer- cantile business. Young Fitch was associated in business with his brother until 1859, in which year he returned East, and became associated in a part- nership with his uncle, Asa Fitch, at Fitchville, under the firm title of W. H. Fitch & Co., manu- facturers of cotton goods. This partnership was continued until the death of Asa Fitch, and then conducted by the nephew until 1867, in which year he retired to a farm of some 300 acres, beautifully situated between Fitchville and Yantic. This ex- tensive farm is one of the best in the locality, well- watered and improved, its buildings commodious and modern. Mr. Fitch (as was his father) was fond of blooded and speed horses, and on his farm he had one of the best half-mile tracks in the State. Hc kept some very fine horses. A couple of year ago he disposed of the farm. His late residence is near the Green, in Norwich Town, and there he died October 28, 1904; he was laid to rest in the family burial plot in Bozrah. Mr. Fitch for a number of years past was a director of Uncas National Bank, and in 1903 was elected vice-president of that insti- tution. At a meeting of the directors of the bank the following minutes were entered upon its records:
"Upon the occasion of the death of William H.
Fitch, the vice-president of this bank, his fellow directors desire to place upon record their appre- ciation of his efficient services in the interests of this institution and of those personal qualities which he possessed, and which so well entitled him to the respect and confidence of this community.
"Mr. Fitch has been a director of this bank since 1896, and since 1903 its vice-president. His exten- sive and varied business training and practical knowledge of human nature as well as a prior serv- ice as director in another bank in Norwich and his close touch with many of the financial interests of the city, entitled his judgment to much considera- tion and rendered his services with us of much more than ordinary value.
"He was a man of independent views, positive con- victions and the strictest integrity. With him there was no such thing as any deviation as a matter of policy from what he considered as right. His own rights were no more sacred with him than those of others. His presence upon the board of any insti- tution was an element of safety in its financial man- agement.
"Altogether, Mr. Fitch was a man of rugged and marked personality. He possessed qualities which just entitled him to the regard and respect with which he was held by those who knew him. Such men are too few among us, and seem sometimes to belong, too often only, to the training of a past generation. In his death, not only this institution, but this community has suffered a great loss.
"In his memory we enter this minute upon our records, and direct that this bank be closed at one o'clock on the day of the funeral, and request that its directors attend the services in a body."
Mr. Fitch's political affiliations were with the Democratic party, the party of his forefathers. He never sought political preferment or offices of any kind, but he had various honors bestowed upon him, among them the position of judge of probate for his district. While in Oregon (and, by the way, this was before that territory had assumed State- hood) he served as assistant commissary during the Indian troubles on the frontier. A man of means, Mr. Fitch was also one of influence and power in eastern Connecticut. He ably sustained the reputation made by the earlier generations of the family.
On January 13, 1870, Mr. Fitch was married to Louise C. Smith, born December 3, 1844, in Bozrah, Connecticut, daughter of Captain William Smith, of Norwich. Three children blessed this union, namely: Mary I., now deceased; Stephen D., also deceased; and William D., born October 25, 1879.
COL. CHARLES FARNSWORTH-The Farns- worths in the United States are of English origin, and without doubt derive their names from one of two places in Lancashire, England, and most likely from Farnsworth, in the parish of Dean, not far from Manchester, in Salford Hundred. Mat-
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thias Farnworth, as first written, and pronounced "Farnoth," appears first in America in 1657, at Lynn, Massachusetts, but he is believed to have been here at Lynn some years before that. He was probably married twice, second to Mary Farr, daughter of George Farr, of Lynn. Mr. Farnworth later re- moved to Groton. He died January 21, 1689, at which time he was about seventy-seven years of age. His widow died in 1717. Mr. Farnworth was a member of the church, as were all his children. He filled many town offices, among them those of constable and selectman. He was a weaver by occu- pation. His children were: Elizabeth, Matthias, John, Benjamin, Joseph, Harry, Sarah, Samuel, Abi- gail and Jonathan.
(II) Benjamin Farnsworth, born about 1667, mar- ried in 1695, Mary, born February 3, 1674, daughter of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott. Mr. Farns- worth owned considerable land in Groton. He held several town offices, among them that of selectman. Both himself and wife were members of the church, and their children were all baptized; they were: Mary, Martha, Benjamin, Isaac, Ezra, Amos, Lydia, Aaron, Martha, Jonas and Deborah. The father died August 15, 1733, and the mother passed away October 28, 1735.
(III) Amos Farnsworth, born November 27, 1704, married November 20, 1735, Lydia Longley, born June 26, 1716, daughter of John and Sarah (Prescott) Longley, the latter of whom witnessed the murder of his parents and several of their chil- dren by the Indians, and he himself was captured, taken into Canada and retained five years. Amos Farnsworth was a man six feet, four inches in height, and of striking appearance. He was pos- sessed of much energy and was well educated for a farmer of his time. After the conquest of Canada, when the lands opened for settlement, he went thither, engaged in surveying and received grants of land. He erected buildings thereon and prepared to remove his family there. He placed agents on the property and returned for his wife and children, and took them on, but during his absence the agents had through certain misrepresentations to the offi- cials of the Nova Scotia government had the title to the lands transferred to them. He was crowded out and returned to Groton in 1774 with a part of his family. The Revolutionary War soon followed, in which he took great interest, but on December 5, 1775, he and his youngest son, Benjamin, were both drowned by the upsetting of a boat in the Nashua river. His widow died in 1810. Their children were: Sarah, Rachel, Lydia, Susanna, Lucy, Amos, Jonas, Mary, Amos (2), and Benjamin.
(IV) Major Amos Farnsworth, born April 28, 1754, in Groton, married May 7, 1782, Elizabeth Rockwood, born April 17, 1757, in Groton, daughter of Elisha and Elizabeth (Adams) Rockwood. At the age of eleven years Mr. Farnsworth went with his father to Nova Scotia, and returned with him in 1774. Directly on his return he united himself
with a company of "minute men" that was organized in Groton under the command of Captain Henry Farwell for the defense of popular rights. On the Lexington Alarm young Farnsworth marched with the company for the scene of action, but arrived too late to participate in the fight. Mr. Farnsworth at the battle of Bunker Hill fought behind the breast- works until they were captured by the British forces; in the retreat his right arm was shattered by a ball. In 1776 he was ensign in Captain Shattuck's com- pany at Ticonderoga. The next winter he was in New Jersey. In 1780 he helped to organize the artillery company of Groton, with which he re- mained as lieutenant, captain and major until 1798. Major Farnsworth had the reputation of being an efficient and very popular officer. In addition to his military services he was for several years a deacon of the church in Groton, and he served the church in many business ways until old age diminished his powers. He died October 29, 1847, in his ninety-fourth year, and his widow passed away December 11, of that same year, aged ninety years. Their children, all born in Groton, were: Luke, Amos, Elizabeth, Ralph and Walter.
(V) Ralph Farnsworth, M. D., was born Septem- ber 20, 1795, in Groton, Massachusetts, the fourth child and third son of Major Amos Farnsworth.
After working on his father's farm until he had arrived at the age of twenty-one he determined to acquire a thorough education. His was naturally a strong intellect, and he was able to fit himself for college at the Groton Academy in eleven months, and entered Harvard in 1817. There, by sheer force of intellect and hard work he graduated among the first seven of the noted class of 1821. This was a noted class, inasmuch as many of its members be- came eminent men in their professions, among them being Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher; Edward Kent, LL. D., eminent lawyer, ninth and eleventh Governor of Maine; Robert Woodward Barnwell, a noted Southern lawyer; Josiah Quincy, son of Presi- dent Quiney of Harvard, and fourth mayor of Bos- ton; Oliver Hunter Blood and Cyrus Briggs, emi- nent physicians.
After graduating, Ralph Farnsworth taught school for a time at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he stood so well as an educator that Dartmouth College gave him the honorary degree of A. M. in 1825. He studied medicine with Dr. John C. War- ren, of Boston, and took his degree of M. D. at Har- vard Medical School in 1826, and the thesis which he prepared for the occasion was so well appreciated by the examiners that it was awarded the Boylston prize. He located at Norwich, Connecticut, that same year, and began the practice of medicine, which he pursued with enthusiasm to the end of his life, his death occurring July 16, 1875. He was a splen- didly developed man physically, capable of enduring any amount of continuous work, and he was also as well equipped mentally. Dr. Willard Parker spoke of him as "several men in one." He brought to his
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professional labors a mind fit for the work, thor- oughly equipped with all that was then known to his profession, and he never ceased adding to his knowl- edge by carefully examining all the current medical literature of his time and making it subservient to the wants of his practice. He was unfitted by nature to be a mere routine physician, bringing all new dis- coveries, not only in his profession, but in general science, to assist his work, and he won a reputation for skill and capability as a practitioner throughout the State. He enjoyed one of the best practices of any physician in eastern Connecticut.
The doctor took a strong interest in all public movements, and was a man of very strong opinions. He was among the first to take the position that slavery was a great wrong, and was to be attacked wherever it could be reached. He did not, however, favor the formation of a third political party to secure the desired end, but thought slavery could be best opposed in the old Whig party until the formation, by a sort of natural selection, of the Re- publican party, with which he united, and his strong convictions made him an ardent supporter of it. Such a constitution, with such convictions, usually aroused opposition; they did so in this case. Weaker and less positive minds do not see things with the distinctness with which they appear to the stronger man. But he usually expressed his opinions with such clearness that they could be understood by all, and they were acceded to because his logic was invincible. Yet he was a man of the kindest heart and tenderest sympathies. No man was ever looked to by people of all grades and associations in times of real trouble with more confidence that he would both understand and appreciate their conditions than Dr. Ralph Farnsworth. Dr. Farnsworth was a large and well-proportioned man, six feet in height and weighing nearly two hundred pounds.
Dr. Farnsworth married, November 25, 1828, Miss Eunice Williams Billings, of New London, the daughter of Coddington Billings, Esq., and Eunice (Williams) Billings. Mrs. Farnsworth died Sep- tember 26, 1877, and is buried with her husband in the family lot in Yantic cemetery, Norwich. The children of Dr. Farnsworth, all born in Norwich, were: Coddington Billings, born September 9, 1829; Walter W., born October 10, 1830; Isabella S., born December 11, 1832; William W., born November 4, 1834; Charles, born January 30, 1836; Noyes B., born April 12, 1839; George E., born August 20, 1840; Frederick, born December 5, 1842; and Eliza- beth R., born May 5, 1845. Of this family three sons lived to maturity, Coddington Billings, Charles and Frederick. The first named was a practicing physician and succeeded his father. He died at Norwich, Connecticut, May 5, 1897.
Charles Farnsworth, at the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, enlisted October 18, 1861, in the Ist Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry, and at once was commissioned adjutant by Governor
William A. Buckingham. He was mustered in as captain of Company B, and October 1, 1863, was pro- moted to major, on January 20, 1864, being made lieutenant-colonel. This latter commission was re- voked at his own request, and his resignation as major took place May 17, 1864. In April, 1862, while scouting with twelve men, he was attacked by a strong force of Rebels, and was severely wounded. He halted his men and formed them into line of battle, but fainting from loss of blood he was brought into camp. Recovering from his injuries, he rejoined his command. He was appointed major as a recognition of his valiant services. His regiment had headquarters much of the time at Camp Cheese- borough, Maryland, and Captain Farnsworth had charge of the camp.
On July 14, 1863, at the engagement of Bolivar Heights, he was ordered with forty-nine men to reconnoitre the enemy's position. He did so, charged upon a cavalry picket of two hundred men and drove them within their lines, capturing many prisoners. The enemy, finding that his force was small, rallied, and a hand-to-hand fight followed. His horse was shot, and he, with twenty-six of his men, was taken prisoner and put in Libby prison, where he remained for nine months. He was then appointed lieutenant-colonel, but his health was so broken by wounds and imprisonment that he re- signed, and was honorably discharged May 17, 1864, with the rank of colonel, and with the record of a brave and spirited officer, well adapted to his arm of the service. The report on Rebel prisons says:
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