USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 52
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63
On December 3, 1902, Dr. Winship was united in marriage with Bessie Margin, and to them have been born three children: Marjorie, Dorothy and Eliza- beth Winship.
JOHN FORD PARKER - Among the highly honored and esteemed citizens of Norwich, Connecticut, is John Ford Parker, who conducts the oldest insurance agency in New London county, and is himself the oldest insurance agent in that county. Mr. Parker comes of a very old family, which for more than a century and a half has held a prominent place in the life of Nor- wich, Connecticut, and in the life of the nation. Cap- tain Timothy Parker was a hero of the Revolution; his son, Captain John Parker, was a commodore in the Mexican navy; and the latter's son, Ebenezer Fitch Parker, was well known in commercial life. Three of the sons of Ebenezer Fitch Parker who remained in Norwich are Henry Lester, Robert Bottum, and John Ford Parker. The family lineage is as follows :
(I) Robert Parker, of Barnstable, Massachusetts, supposed to be a son of William Parker, married (first), on January 28, 1657, Sarah James, and to the marriage were born children, among whom was Joseph Parker, from whom the Norwich branch of the family is descended.
(II) Joseph Parker, son of Robert and Sarah (James) Parker, was born in February, 1672. He mar- ried, June 30, 1697-98, Mercy Whiston, sometimes in- correctly written as Whetstone and Whiton. He died in 1732, and among his children was John, of whom further.
(III) John Parker, son of Joseph Parker, born in 1700, removed to Norwich, Connecticut, about 1745. He was admitted to the church at Falmouth, Massachu- setts, in November, 1741. In 1734 he married Elizabeth Smith, and among their children was Timothy, of whom further.
(IV) Captain Timothy Parker, born May 17, 1735, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, was about ten years of age when the family moved to Norwich, Connecticut. He was a naval commander and remained in the merchant service after the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, returning from a voyage to the West Indies, he was captured and taken to New York, endured much suffering, and when released was commissioned lieuten- ant on the "Oliver Cromwell." Promoted to the com- mand of the "Oliver Cromwell," he captured many British armed vessels, but was himself finally captured by the "Daphne," and again confined in a prison ship, from which he made his escape by way of Long Island, finally reaching Norwich, Connecticut. He was later in command of various privateers, the last of which was the "Scourge," a twenty-gun ship. After the war he resumed service in the merchant marine, and died May
27, 1797. On March 23, 1769, he married Deborah Lester, and among their children was John Parker, of whom further.
(V) John Parker, son of Captain Timothy and De- borah (Lester) Parker, was born March 10, 1772, in Norwich, Connecticut. He became a sea captain, con- tinuing as such until the War of 1812 crippled his line of business, when he went to Mexico, entered the Mexican navy when that country was at war, was com- missioned commodore, and died of a fever aboard his vessel in the Bay of Honduras, being buried ashore, May 27, 1819. For his services in that war he was granted tracts of land by the Mexican government, but they were never claimed by his family. On April 25, 1802, he married Sarah Fitch, born in Norwich, Connecticut, August 10, 1771, daughter of Ebenezer and Mary (Huntington) Fitch, Ebenezer Fitch being a son of Daniel and Anne (Cook) Fitch, and grandson of the Rev. James Fitch, the first minister of Norwich, whose wife was Alice, granddaughter of Governor Wil- liam Bradford, of the "Mayflower." Among the chil- dren of John and Sarah (Fitch) Parker was Ebenezer Fitch Parker, of the sixth generation, of whom further.
(VI) Ebenezer Fitch Parker, son of John and Sarah (Fitch) Parker, was born in Norwich, Connecticut, De- cember 25, 1812. Reared and educated in Norwich, he learned the trade of cabinet maker with Deacon Horace Colton, worked at that trade for two years, and then filled various positions until 1840, when he was made master of transportation, in charge of the freight de- partment of the Norwich & Worcester railroad, which position he held for nearly forty years, resigning in 1877. Later, he was accountant for the Reade Paper Company, and devoted the attention of his later years to the affairs of the New London County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he was president for more than thirty-five years. He died September 21, 1897, and was buried in Yantic Cemetery. On Novem- ber 9, 1836, Ebenezer Fitch Parker married Susan Cross Clark, of Stonington, Connecticut, daughter of James and Lydia (Noyes) Clark. She died January 1, 1879, aged fifty-eight years. Seven children were born of this marriage, all in Norwich: 1. Henry Lester, born Au- gust 21, 1837, died in November, 1908; he married Ann Meech Roath, and has children: Susan May, Elizabeth Roath, Gerard Lester, Ann Meech, deceased, and Henry Fitch. 2. Walter Farnsworth, born August 3, 1839; mar- ried, December 22, 1861, Sarah Catherine Hartt, of Long Island; died in New York City in June, 1918; and their children were: Ella Crane; Carrie H., deceased ; Marco Smith; and Walter F. 3. Robert Bottum, born Octo- ber 21, 1842; married, September 19, 1877, Annie Cor- nelia Kelley, who died May 13, 1879; he was for a number of years ticket agent at Norwich for the Nor- wich & Worcester railroad, later engaged in mercantile business ; he died December 20, 1917, at Norwich, Con- necticut. 4. John Ford, mentioned below. 5. Ebenezer Fitch (2), born October 21, 1854; is married and re- sides in New York. 6. George Brewster, born August 7, 1857; was unmarried, and resided in New York,
123
BIOGRAPHICAL
where he was engaged in the hotel business, and where he died January 14, 1917. 7. Frank Clark, born No- vember 8, 1860, died September 5, 1861.
(VII) John Ford Parker, son of Ebenezer Fitch and Susan Cross (Clark) Parker, was born at Norwich, August 2, 1846, and attended the public schools and the Free Academy, after which he entered the employ of the Norwich & Worcester railroad freight office, where he remained from 1863 to 1865 as clerk. In 1865 he became clerk in the large fire insurance office of Thomas H. Perkins, of Norwich, and continued in that .office until 1877. In that year he entered into partnership with his brother, Henry L., under the firm name of Parker Brothers, and established a fire insurance agency in Norwich. This partnership continued until 1886, when, because of ill licalth, Henry L. withdrew, and John Ford Parker continued alone, he being the oldest insur- ance agent in New London county at the present time (1921). He has a large clientele and is handling a big fire insurance business. Known for years, and trusted by his fellow-citizens, the proprietor of the oldest insurance establishment in the county, he bids fair to continue to increase the prosperity of his enterprise. In 1909 the Shannon building in which he was located was destroyed by fire, and he removed to the Chapman building, where his offices are still located.
Politically, Mr. Parker supported the Democratic party for many years, but now votes independently. During his residence in the Central school district. he served on the Board of Education, and also served several terms as a member of the School Committee of the Falls district. Fraternally, he is a member of St. James Lodge, No. 23, Free and Accepted Masons; Franklin Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; Columbian Commandery, No. 4, Knights Templar ; Franklin Council, No. 4, Royal and Select Masters; and Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Hartford. Mrs. Parker and her daughters are members of the Faith Trumbull Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. The family attend the Park Congre- gational Church.
On February 18, 1869, at New London, Connec- ticut, John Ford Parker married Fannie Treadway Fitch, daughter of Harris T. and Elmira N. (Brown) Fitch, of New London, Connecticut, and they are the parents of one child, Myra Fitch, born in Nor- wich, Connecticut, February 1, 1873; she is a grad- uate of the Free Academy and of the Normal de- partment of that same institution, being now a successful and highly regarded school teacher in Norwich, Connecticut.
GEORGE DANIEL COATS-The Coats family is an old one in the town of Stonington, Connec- ticut, three men of the Coats, or Coates, name having settled in that part of the town now known as North Stonington about the year 1700. Descend- ants have been numerous and prominent in business and professional life. Ansel Coats, grandfather of
George D. Coats, was born in North Stonington, Connecticut, March 14, 1794. He married, January 18, 1821, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. G. B. Perry, Eunice Randall, who was born August II, 1804, and they became the parents of five chil- dren :
I. Asher, a merchant of Binghamton, New York, who married Mrs. Phoebe Bartlett, and died in Binghamton. 2. William, who was a soldier in the Civil War, and married Nettie Grove, of Mon- trose, Pennsylvania. 3. Roswell, a resident of Binghamton, New York, married Julia E. Davis. 4. George Francis, of further mention. 5. John, a college graduate, a soldier in the Civil War, and later a lawyer in New Britain, Connecticut, and judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in Hartford, Connecticut; he married Josephine Walker. All of the above are now deceased (1921).
George Francis Coats, son of Ansel and Eunice (Randall) Coats, and father of George D. Coats, was born in North Stonington, Connecticut, April 7, 1841. He taught school in North Stonington and in other Connecticut towns until 1863, and then, after his marriage, bought a farm, which, while mainly located in North Stonington, extended into the town of Stonington. For a quarter of a century he remained upon this farm, and then moved into the village of North Stonington, where he engaged in the insurance business for a few years before his retirement from active business life. He was a member of the Board of School Directors, and was active in the affairs of the town, serving on the Town Republican Committee, and representing the town of North Stonington in the Connecticut Legis- lature. He died in North Stonington, December 16, 1918. He married Frederica Maria Koopman, who was born in Stonington, and died in North Stonington, June 18, 1918, and they became the parents of two children: George D., of further men- tion; and Nellie Francis, born August 1, 1870, died April 14, 1883.
George Daniel Coats, son of George Francis and Frederica Maria (Koopman) Coats, was born in North Stonington, Connecticut, July 14, 1864, and was educated in the schools of Stonington and North Stonington. He assisted his father on the home farm for a while, and then bought a farm in North Stonington. In March, 1895, he bought his present splendid farm of 235 acres, the Ephraim Wheeler place, situated about one mile north of the village of North Stonington, and there he has spent twenty-five years of his life. He conducts various farming operations, specializing in stock and dairy farming. The energy and ability of Mr. Coats have transformed the old Ephraim Wheeler place into a modern scientific agricultural, stock raising, and dairy plant, all of the buildings of which, with the exception of the dwelling house, have been erected by the present owner. Along with his successful farming operations, Mr. Coats has been active in local civic and political affairs, giving generously of his time and of his ability for the promotion of the
124
NEW LONDON COUNTY
welfare of his community. He was first elected selectman in 1905, and has been a member of that board continuously during the years that have passed since that time, with the exception of one period of two years, still serving in that capacity at the present time (1921). For twelve years he has been first selectman. A member of the Third Bap- tist Church, he has been a liberal supporter of all its work, giving of his means, his time, and his influence.
He is a past master of North Stonington Grange, No. 138, Patrons of Husbandry, and is still an active member. He was president of the North Stonington Fair Association for nine consecutive years, and it was during his term of office that Grange Hall was erected and that the annual fair, now a fixed institution for ten years, was first held. A public-spirited citizen, a friend to trust, Mr. Coats has contributed largely to the prosperity and the welfare of his community. Politically, he is a Re- publican.
Mr. Coats married, at North Stonington, March 16, 1886, Fannie Wheeler Main, born in North Stonington, daughter of John Sands and Frances Abbie (Wheeler) Main, both of whom were also born in North Stonington. George D. and Fannie Wheeler (Main) Coats became the parents of two children, the first of whom died in infancy, the second of whom is Allen Ansel Coats, of further mention.
Allen Ansel Coats, son of George D. and Fannie Wheeler (Main) Coats, was born December 19, 1889, and has been his father's assistant on the farm, taking a large share of responsibility and contributing largely to the prosperity of the estab- lishment. He married, August 10, 1910, Nellie Hen- drick Stedman, daughter of Orrin Richard and Mary Janet (Hendrick) Stedman. Orrin R. Stedman, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, was a carpenter and farmer, and long a resident of North Stoning- ton, where he died April 19, 1913. Mrs. Stedman survives him and continues her residence in North Stonington. Allen Ansel and Nellie Hendrick ( Sted- man) Coats are the parents of three children: Ansel Wheeler, born June 2, 1911; Clifton Thurlow, born August 23, 1914; and Ruth Pauline, born January II, 1918.
CLARA M. (HAMMOND) MCGUIGAN, M.D .- Perhaps no profession offers greater opportunity for valuable service to the human race than does that of the physician. When with thorough train- ing, and a keen, forceful intellect, there is united the intuition and the exquisite sympathy of the finest type of womanhood, the possibilities of the work of the physician cannot be estimated. Such has been the character of the professional work of Clara Maria (Hammond) MeGuigan, M.D. De- scended from a long line of able and cultured ancestors, who have taken their full share of the world's work, Clara M. (Hammond) McGuighn was born with a sense of responsibility for the full and effective use of the powers with which
nature and her ancestors had so richly endowed her.
(I) The Hammond line is traced back to Thomas Hammond, who was baptized at Milford, England. He married Elizabeth Cason, November 12, 1623, and came to the United States in 1636, where, set- tling in Hingham, Massachusetts, he took a free- man's oath in 1636, and was a grand juror in 1637. Removing to the location of the present city of Newton, Massachusetts, he became a pioneer settler in that place and a large landholder, possessing a farm of six hundred acres. He died at Newton, November 5, 1675, his wife dying in the same place at an unknown date. The line of descent runs through his son, Thomas (2).
(II) Thomas (2) Hammond was born in England, and died at Newton, Massachusetts, October 20, 1678. He farmed on his father's estate at Newton, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Stedman, December 17, 1662, and she died in 1715.
(111) Isaac Hammond, son of Thomas (2) and Elizabeth (Stedman) Hammond, was born at New- ton, December 20,. 1668, died at Newton, January I, 1715. He married Ann Kenrick, born July 3, 1672, died in 1719. Isaac Hammond was a farmer in Newton.
(IV) Josiah Hammond, son of Isaac and Ann (Kenrick) Hammond, was born in Newton, March 12, 1700, died October 5, 1793. He married Mary Davis. October 17, 1722. He came to Woodstock, Connecticut, and bought a farm in Pomfret, Wind- ham county.
(V) Josiah (2) Hammond, son of Josiah (1) and Mary (Davis) Hammond, was born January 21, 1724, died in Hampton, Connecticut, August 21, 1802. Ile married Abigail Durkee, born April 14, 1734, died December 28, 1819, daughter of Cap- tain William and Abigail Durkee, the former of Revolutionary fame. Josiah (2) Hammond was also a Revolutionary soldier, fought in the battle of Lexington, and was captain of the Third Battalion. Connecticut Troopers, under the command of Gen- erals Spencer and Wooster.
(VI) Josiah (3) Hammond, son of Josialı (2) and Abigail (Durkee) Hammond, was born in Hampton, Connecticut, January 9, 1760, died March 3. 1844, at Hampton, where he lived all his life. He married, September 28, 1780, Elizabeth Moseley, who was born July 11, 1757, and died September 20, 1839.
(VII) Charles W. Hammond, son of Josiah (3) and Elizabeth (Moseley) Hammond, was born at Hampton, Connecticut, April 27, 1794, died at Ash- ford, Connecticut, November 27, 1851. He was educated in the district schools and at Woodstock Academy. He farmed for a time in Hampton, also studied medicine, but did not finish his course. He later moved to the town of Ashford, where he farmed until he died. He married Artemisia Rindge, April 2, 1818, she born in 1798, and died September 25, 1846.
(VIII) Josiah (4) Hammond, second child of Charles W. and Artemisia (Rindge) Hammond, was
W~ P Bindlif
125
BIOGRAPHICAL
born May 21, 1821, in Ashford, Connecticut. He received his education in the district schools of Ashford, Connecticut, but being slightly deaf he did not attend college like his brothers, but took to farming, in Hampton, where he bought land, and prospered. He later moved to Ledyard, New Lon- don county, where he bought land and farmed, spe- cializing in small fruit raising and especially in strawberries, in which occupation he became fa- mous, and was known as the "Strawberry King." His daughter, Clara M. (Hammond) McGuigan, still owns part of the old farm in Hampton, and also the farm in Ledyard where her father raised his famous strawberries. Josiah (4) Hammond retired in 1885 and moved to Mystic, making his home at the Oral School which his wife conducted for a time. He died at the school, February 25, 1895, his wife dying in Putnam, Connecticut, January 31, 1914, while on a visit there. Josiah (4) Hammond married (first) Ruth Maria Smith; he married (sec- ond) Margaret Whipple, on November 29, 1860, daughter of Noah and Christian (Crouch) Whipple, of Ledyard, New London county, Connecticut. Two children were born of this marriage: Clara Maria, an account of whose life follows; and Freddie Jo- siah, who was born December 1, 1872, and who died May 15, 1873.
(IX) Clara Maria Hammond, daughter of Josiah (4) and Margaret (Whipple) Hammond, was born at Hampton, Windham county, Connecticut, August 21, 1863. She attended the public schools of Led- yard, and after studying under the tutorship of Professor Samuel Lamb, taught school for two terms in Ledyard, Connecticut. Always capable, alert, energetic and ambitious, she continued her studies, and in 1881 graduated from the New Britain Normal School, and then taught school and became principal of the grammar school at Ivoryton, Con- necticut, later taking a classical course at Mystic Valley Institute, graduating in 1884. She entered the Woman's Medical College, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the same year, 1884, and graduated from that institution in 1887, receiving the degree of M. D. For fifteen months after her graduation she was resident physician at the City Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1889 went to Mystic, Connecticut, to supervise the Whipple Home School for deaf and dumb children. This school is a most interesting and valuable one and has per- formed a very great service. The oral method used there in teaching deaf and dumb children to speak, and to read the lip movements of others, was used by Jonathan Whipple, who devised the plan and worked it out step by step in a devoted effort to teach his son, Enoch Whipple, how to speak and to read lip movements, and has been in use there since 1866, the school having been established by Mr. Whipple's grandson, Zerah Colburn Whipple, in order that other deaf and dumb children might receive the benefit of the method which had been of such service to Jonathan Whipple's son, Enoch. Dr. Clara M. (Hammond) McGuigan's mother, Margaret (Whipple) Hammond, purchased the
school and managed it for several years as a private school, and it was as assistant to her mother that Mrs. Dr. McGuigan first took charge of the school work. She remained there until 1891, in which year, on July 21, she married Dr. John I. McGuigan, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. John I. Mc- Guigan, son of Dr. James A. and Ella (Shoemaker) McGuigan, of Philadelphia, was born in that city, garduated from LaSalle College with the degree of A. M., then from Jefferson Medical College, with the degree of M. D., and has since that time been in private practice in Philadelphia. He is now an eye, ear, and nose specialist, practicing in Phila- delphia.
In 1895, the Whipple Home School being in poor condition because of lack of good management, Mrs. Dr. McGuigan went back to Mystic, reor- ganized the school as the Mystic Oral School, financially and otherwise, taking full charge in the capacity of superintendent and manager. In 1921, she sold the school and all its property to the State of Connecticut, and upon the foundation built by her has developed the leading school of its kind in Connecticut, as well as the first of its kind in the world. So efficient has the method devised by Jonathan Whipple for his son proved itself to be that it is now used wherever the deaf and dumb are taught to speak and to read lip movements, practically all over the world. The school has about one hundred students. Its history is given at length in the distorical department of this work.
Politically, Mrs. Dr. McGuigan is a Republican. She is a member of Independence Hall Chapter of Philadelphia, Daughters of the American Revolu- tion, and a life member of the Colonial Dames of America. She is also a member of the Founders and Patriots of America; of the New London County Historical Society; of the Mayflower Society, being a descendant of John Alden; and a member of the Century Club, of Philadelphia. She is a member of the Quaker church, of Ledyard, Connec- ticut.
WILLIAM PARK BINDLOSS-The English seat of the English ancestors of the Bindloss fam- ily of Stonington, Connecticut, was Kendal, a town in Westmoreland, England, in the beautiful valley of the Kent. The Flemings settled there in 1337, and before long the town was noted for its woolens and Kendal green buckram, a line of manufacture which still continues. The population in 1901 was 14,183.
The Bindloss family, of which William P. Bindloss of Stonington, Connecticut, is representative is traced in England to Sir Christopher Bindloss, who was mayor and head of the corporation of the town of Kendal, England, in 1579-80, under a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth. Sir Christopher and his son Robert were engaged in the manufacture of woolens, and to facilitate the delivery of their famous goods they established a regular express service between Kendal and London. Descent is
126
NEW LONDON COUNTY
traced in this branch through his son, Christopher (2) Bindloss, who was baptized in Kendal, in 1570; his son, Peter Bindloss, baptized at Heversham, January 8, 1607; his son, Robert Bindloss, baptized at Heversham, March 27, 1630; his son, Christopher (3) baptized at Heversham, December 4, 1666, and there buried, April 27, 1715, a typical English far- mer; his son, Robert (2) Bindloss, born 1722, died June 15, 1796, and his wife, Jane Park; their son, Philip Bindloss, baptized November 2, 1766, died January 29, 1802, and his wife, Jane Watson; their son, William Bindloss, the founder of the family in Connecticut, and his wife, Margaret Palmer; their son, William (2) Bindloss, and his wife, Mary Ellen Park; their son, William Park Bindloss, of the tenth recorded generation of his family and of the third generation in Connecticut.
William (1) Bindloss, son of Philip and Jane (Watson) Bindloss, was baptized in Kendal, County of Westmoreland, England, March 5, 1795, died at his home farm, just outside the city of New Lon- don, Connecticut, in 1864, and was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery. He passed fifty-three years of his life in Kendal, where he was popular in com- mercial and public life, he holding several offices of the town, and his brother, Thompson Bindloss, was mayor of Kendal for two terms. He married, in Liverpool, England, January 1, 1822, Margaret Palmer, youngest daughter of Thomas Palmer, of Liverpool, and they were the parents of nine chil- dren, four of whom were living in 1905, the eldest in her eighty-fifth year, the youngest in her sixty- fifth year, all living in the United States.
In 1848, William (1) Bindloss and his wife came to the United States, bought a farm just outside New London, Connecticut, and there resided until his death, in 1864. Mrs. Margaret (Palmer) Bind- loss died in 1858, aged sixty-two, and six years later her husband was laid by her side in Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Connecticut. Their chil- dren were: I. Ellen, born in 1823; married, May 12, 1847, Henry Hilliar. 2. William (2), of further mention. 3. Jane, born September 27, 1825; mar- ried, April 9, 1843, Leander Utley Knight, whom she survived, she being the first of the family to come to the United States and make her home near New London, Connecticut. 4. Margaret Ann, born May 17, 1827; married, August 9, 1848, George Elliott, whom she survived, she coming to the United States in 1844, and after her marriage lived near her sister Jane, whom she followed to this country. 5. Esther B., born July 31, 1828, married Daniel Collins, and died April 28, 1897. 6. Thomas Palmer, born December 19, 1829, resided in New London until very old. 7. Mary, born July 13, 1831; married Joseph Scraggie, they both deceased. 8. Philip George, born January 27, 1833; married, October 27, 1858, Irene C. Tatem, and died in New London. 9. Thomas, died aged two years. In England the family were members of the Church of England; in New London all united with the Protestant Episcopal church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.