USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 60
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Isaac Maine married, at Ashaway, Rhode Island, July 30, 1877, Betsey Ann Maine, born in Ledyard, New London county, Connecticut, April 11, 1858, daughter of Amasa Morgan and Lucy Orey (Frink) Maine. Her father was born in Ledyard, where he engaged in farming, and her mother was born in North Stonington. Mrs. Maine survives her hus- band and continues her residence in North Stoning- ton. Nine children were born to Isaac and Betsey Ann Maine: I. Isaac (2nd) born July 6, 18:3, married Nellie J. Chapman, and died at the home farm, April 7, 1912, leaving two children, Dorothy Evelyn, wife of Edward O'Leary, of Westerly, Rhode Island, and a daughter, Violet Marie Maine. 2. Lucy Maria, born October 4, 1879, died August 22, 1883. 3. Amasa M., born April 13, 1882; mar- ried Nettie Bell Benjamin, a farmer of Preston county, and has five children: Nettie Belle, Ray- mond Park, Clarence, Harold and Estelle Benjamin. 4. James Washington, born June 19, 1883, died August 23 following. 5. Arthur Prentice, born June II, 1885, died October 15 following. 6. Thurman Park, born July 30, 1888, a physician of North Stonington (see sketch elsewhere in this work). 7. Jenny Lind, born April 19, 1891, married Wilbur S. Maine, of North Stonington. 8. Adlai Edward, born August 18, 1892, died November 23, 1893. 9. Daisy Geneva, born October 8, 1894, died December 3, 1894.
CAIUS CASSIUS PALMER-Manufacturing has been very attractive to the Palmers of New Lon- don county, and several valuable patents have been issued to them, one for extracting oil from flax- seed, Andrew Jackson, then president of the United States, signing the letters patent, December 14, 1830. Some have entered the professions, and others have been tillers of the soil and business men, but in whatever walk of life selected the Palmers have been worthy and usually successful. Caius C. Palmer owned and cultivated the old Palmer farm, as did his father before him, the farm lying in North Stonington. He traced descent from Walter Palmer.
(I) Walter Palmer came to the Plymouth Colony in 1629, being on one of the ships that came over under command of John Endicott. He was sworn a freeman of the Massachusetts Colony in May, 1631;
he was one of the founders of Charlestown, Massa- chusetts; he removed in 1642 to Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony. There he purchased large tracts of land, and filled various town offices. He was next recorded in Connecticut purchasing land of Governor Haynes, in 1655. He had 1,191 acres of land-this land situ- ated on the shores of Wequetequock Cove, town of Stonington. He was born in England as early as 1585, died November 10, 1661, and is buried in what is known as the old Wequetequock burial place. He married (first) in England, long before he came to America. He married (second), June 1, 1663, Rebecca Short and they were the parents of Deacon Gershom Palmer, the ancestor of this branch.
(II) Deacon Gershom Palmer located perma- nently ou Pendleton Hill, Stonington, now North Stonington, Connecticut, established the present Palmer homestead, and there died in 1719. He served with Connecticut troops in Colonial wars, and was prominent in the church. His first wife was Ann (Denison) Palmer, daughter of Captain George and Ann (Borodell) Denison, who died in 1693, leaving among other children a son George, head of the third generation, all of whom were born on the Palmer homestead on Pendleton Hill.
(III) George Palmer, born May 29, 1681, in Stonington, Connecticut, married, March 24, 1711, Hannah Palmer. Among their children was a son, Dr. Joseph Palmer, head of the fourth generation.
(IV) Dr. Joseph Palmer practiced medicine in his native town of Stonington, Connecticut, and was famous for his skill as a physician. He was the typical country doctor, the friend and adviser of the families he treated upon every subject, and he was greatly beloved. He was well versed in the common legal processes, and did a large amount of legal work. He was very thrifty, became a large landowner, and built several houses on his farms for his children, on Pendleton Hill. He married Zipperah Billings, and they were the parents of Gershom Palmer, grandfather of Caius C. Palmer, of this review
(V) Gershom Palmer was born on the home farm owned by his father, Dr. Joseph Palmer, there spent his life and died. He was succeeded by his son Abel.
(VI) Abel Palmer was born on the home farm in 1800, spent his life there, and died in the year 1872. He married Sarah Main, born on the Rufus Main farm on Pendleton Hill, and died at the Palmer farm. Abel and Sarah (Main) Palmer were the parents of three children: 1. Alonzo, a physician, practicing in both Connecticut and Rhode Island. 2. George, a prominent physician of Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he maintained a private sanitarium
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for nervous diseases; later he moved to Flint, Michigan, where he died. 3. Caius Cassius, to whose memory this review is dedicated.
(VII) Caius Cassius Palmer was born on the family homstead in North Stonington, Connecticut, January 2, 1846, and died there December 14, 1885. He grew to manhood at the home on Pendleton Hill, attended public school and prepared for col- lege, but the death of his mother caused his return to the farm, his two brothers having both entered professional life as physicians. He continued his father's assistant until the latter's death, then located in Westerly, Rhode Island, where he estab- lished a general mercantile business, which he con- ducted for nine years. His health failing, he sold his store and again returned to the home farm, which he cultivated until his death at the age of thirty-nine years. He was a Democrat in politics, and an attendant and liberal supporter of the First Baptist Church of North Stonington. His early death was lamented by his many friends both in North Stonington and Westerly, Rhode Island, friends he had attracted by his manly character and pleasing personality. He was a man of high intel- ligence, better adapted in many ways for a pro- fessional than a business career, but he filled well his place in the world, and left behind him the record of an honorable life.
Mr. Palmer married, in Mystic, Connecticut, February 25, 1867, Mary Pendleton Billings, born on the Billings farm in the southern part of the town of Griswold, New London county. Mrs. Palmer was a daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Ann Potter (Palmer) Billings, her father born in the town of Griswold, her mother at Pendleton Hill in the town of North Stonington. Mrs. Pal- mer survived her husband, and from his death until her death, which occurred on the homestead, Feb- ruary 17, 1921, managed this old historic Palmer farm, said to be the only one in the town which has never been out of the family name from its first holder. Mrs. Palmer was of ancient Colonial family, tracing her lines to John Alden, of the Plymouth Colony, and to Noyes Billings (Yale, 1819), lieutenant-governor of Connecticut in 1846, son of Coddington Billings, and brother of William Billings (Yale, 1821), a successful New London merchant. She was a lady of education, and dis- played strong business quality in the management of her business affairs during her long widowhood. Four children were born to Caius C. and Mary P. (Billings) Palmer, one of these deceased. The living are: I. Winifred Irene, born on the home- stead, now wife of Charles H. Cottrell, a farmer of Pendleton Hill. 2. Mary Christie, born in Westerly, Rhode Island, resides with her mother on the home farm. 3. Cecil Cassius, born on the
homestead in North Stonington, educated in Rhode Island State Normal School, now a school teacher.
These are hallowed memories and associations which make the old home a place sacred to its occupants. Palmers have always tilled its acres and since the building of the house long years ago, Palmers only have occupied it.
MICHAEL JOSEPH HICKEY, prominent mer- chant of the village of Palmertown, in the town of Montville, Connecticut, and broadly active in the public life of the town, is one of those progressive, forward-looking men who are holding New Lon- don county in the lead in every worthy branch of public endeavor.
Mr. Hickey is a son of James and Catherine (Haley) Hickey, both natives of Ireland. James Hickey came to America as a young man, many years ago, and settled in the Greenville district of the city of Norwich. There he worked in the bleachery plant, which is now known as the United States Dyeing and Finishing Company. He was a hard worker, and later went South, his death occur- ring in Galveston, Texas.
Michael Joseph Hickey was born in Greenville, a part of Norwich, April 5, 1870. He was only a child when his parents died, and from a very early age was obliged to provide for his own necessities. He lived in Norwich until the age of twelve years, then came to Montville, where he made his home with his uncle. He was far from a burden, how- ever. He worked for his uncle about the farm, growing constantly more useful and valuable in the production end of the farm activities, as well as the thousand and one little things that are turned over to the most available small boy. Later he entered the employ of the Palmer Brothers Company, working in their cloth room. He continued at this mill for a period of twenty- five years, resigning from their employ in 1912, having reached the position of overseer of the room in which he first began work. In that year he was appointed assistant superintendent of the Capitol Building of the State of Connecticut, in Hartford, which office he held for one year. In 1913, Mr. Hickey entered upon the business in which he has met with such marked success. He established a grocery store in Palmertown, among the people where he had always lived, and who knew his char- acter. He has been very successful from the begin- ning, commanding the trade of the best people of the vicinity, and becoming one of the most popular merchants of this section. He stands today among the leaders.
Mr. Hickey has for years been in the public serv- ice of the town of Montville. A staunch Democrat, he was long ago sought by the leaders of his party
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for some of the most responsible offices in the gift of the town. He was elected constable of the town of Montville, in 1895, and was repeatedly re-elected, serving continuously until January, 1917, fulfilling his duties to the satisfaction of all concerned. In 1917 Mr. Hickey was appointed deputy sheriff by Sidney A. Brown, which office he still holds. For over twenty-five years he has served continuously in this branch of the town government, and his record is a source of pride to his many friends. Fraternally Mr. Hickey is well known hereabouts. He is a member of Pequot Council, No. 125, Knights of Columbus, in which order he is past grand knight. He is a member of Cochegan Camp, No. 9366, Modern Woodmen of America, of which organization he has been clerk for the past five years. He is also a member of the Second Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of New Lon- don, Connecticut.
On April 5, 1892, Mr. Hickey married Mary Dywer, in Montville, Connecticut. She was born in Norwich, and is the daughter of Michael and Catherine (Brown) Dywer, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Hickey have six children: Agnes Mary, Joseph Lloyd, Teresa Cecelia, Catherine Helen, Frances, and Rose.
Mr. Hickey's son, Joseph Lloyd Hickey, en- listed in the United States navy for the World War, and served on the United States mine layer "San Francisco." For many months he saw the hardest and most hazardous service in the North Sea and in other mine-infested waters of Europe. His return in safety was a matter of congratulation to his family, and the source of great rejoicing among his hosts of friends. All the family are members of St. John's Roman Catholic Church.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BENTLEY, whose death in Preston, Connecticut, February 21, 1920, saddened the hearts of his many friends, was a member of one of the old New London county families, who came to this section from Rhode Island in the eighteenth century.
(I) The family originally came from England, William Bentley sailing from Gravesend, England, in the good ship "Arabella," Captain Richard Sprague, master of the ship, May 27, 1671. William Bentley was a resident of Narragansett, Rhode Island, in January, 1679, records dated on the 29th of that month bearing his name. His will was approved at Kingston, Rhode Island, in 1720.
(II) William (2) Bentley, son of William (1) Bentley, was born in Kingston, Rhode Island, and probably spent his entire lifetime in that vicinity. He married Mary Elliot.
(III) George Bentley, son of William (2) and Mary (Elliot) Bentley, was born in Kingston, N.L .- 2.11.
Rhode Island. He married Ruth Barber, and after his marriage removed to Westerly, Rhode Island.
(IV) George (2) Bentley, son of George (1) and Ruth (Barber) Bentley, was born, undoubtedly, in Westerly, Rhode Island, in 1730, and died October 28, 1814. He married, June 27, 1751, Amy Carter.
(V) Robert Bentley, son of George (2) and Amy (Carter) Bentley, was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, August 6, 1765, and was educated there. He followed farming all his life, and while still a young man came to North Stonington, Connecticut, and bought the farm which for many generations was known as the Bentley Homestead. He died on this farm, his wife surviving him, and later going to Goshen, Connecticut, to live with her son, Adam, at whose home she died. Robert Bentley married Desire Dennison, and they were the parents of eleven children, some of whom went West, and now many descendants of these children trace back to this Bentley line.
(VI) Benjamin Franklin Bentley, one of the eleven children of Robert and Desire (Dennison) Bentley, was born in North Stonington, Connec- ticut. He received his education there, and taking up farming, remained in North Stonington until April 1, 1843. On that date he removed, with his little family, to Preston, where he rented what was then known as the old Dr. Witter Kinney farm, near Preston City. He remained here for three years, but as the owners were unwilling to sell the place, he removed to the town of Franklin. There he rented the Loomis farm, on the top of Franklin Hill, remaining there for a period of five years. At the end of that time he removed to the locality known as the Long Society district, in the town of Preston, Connecticut, renting there for one year. After this delay, which had not been entirely un- profitable, Mr. Bentley was able to negotiate for the farm which was his original choice, and bought the Dr. Witter Kinney farm, in 1852. He conducted this farm until his death, October 24, 1889, a period of thirty-seven years. It was a fine, large farm of four hundred acres, and he was a man of great ambition and skilled in his line of endeavor. He was highly esteemed among his townspeople, one of the leading men of this section. He married Laura Benjamin, of Griswold, who died in 1871. She was a daughter of Elum Benjamin, a prominent farmer of Griswold. Benjamin Franklin and Laura (Benjamin) Bentley were the parents of three chil- dren: 1. Calistia Almira, born in North Stonington, now deceased; married Nathan York, of Westerly, Rhode Island, who was in the Twenty-sixth Infan- try, Connecticut Volunteers, in the Civil War, and is also now deceased. 2. Benjamin Franklin, whose name heads this review. 3. Hannah, born in Frank- lin, who died at the age of four years.
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(VII) Benjamin Franklin (2) Bentley, whose death in 1920 left a gap which will long remain unfilled in the little village of Preston City, was born in North Stonington, New London county, Connecticut, January 27, 1843, and was the second child and only son of Benjamin Franklin (1) and Laura (Benjamin) Bentley. His early education was gained in the Franklin District School, then the boy attended the district schools of Preston, and later the select schools at Jewett City and Preston City. His education was completed at the Connecticut Literary Institution, Suffield, Connec- ticut, after which he returned to the Bentley home- stead and assisted his father on the farm. At his father's death Mr. Bentley inherited the place, which he continued to run until 1900. Then finding it necessary to relieve himself of the heavy work incident to the care of a place of this size, he sold the farm and removed to Preston City, where he made his home for the remainder of his life.
In the public life of the town of Preston, Mr. Bentley was from that time until his death a promi- nent figure. While still on the farm he had served as selectman, and then was made taxx collector, and fulfilled the arduous, and too often thankless, duties of this office with the same thorough conscientious- ness as that which marked every step of his career. He held this office continuously for nineteen years, being re-elected each succeeding year by a large majority. He was a staunch supporter of the Re- publican party.
On March 24, 18SI, Mr. Bentley married Charity Frink, at the old Frink homestead where she was born, in the town of Preston, April 20, 1852. She was a daughter of George Washington and Maria (Williams) Frink, of Preston. Her father was born June 17, 1820, and died in Preston City, in May, 1892. They were one of the old families of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Bentley were the parents of one child, Laura Cornelia, who was born at the Bentley homestead, March 31, 1882. She married William Aaron Bennett, at Preston City, December 26, 1900, and they have one daughter, Dorothy Claire, who was born in Preston City, April 9, 1908. Mrs. Bentley still survives her husband, and resides in Preston City. The family have always been members of the Baptist church, and deeply interested in the social and benevolent activities of the church.
DANIEL SIMMS GUILE-Twenty-five years ago, June 18, 1896, Daniel Simms Guile, one of the well-known, substantial and influential farmers and business men of the town of Preston, New London county, Connecticut, passed away, his death closing a career of great usefulness and honor. The farm which he owned and operated in connection with
his business interests contained two hundred acres, and was formerly known as the John A. Williams farm. Upon the death of her husband, the widow, Mrs. Lydia A. (Crumb) Guile, succeeded to the ownership, and with great ability has managed its various departments.
The Guile family, under various spellings-Guild, Guile, Gile-descends from John Guild, who came to New England in 1636, married Elizabeth Crooke, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, and founded a family now found, through descendants, in every State of the Union.
Harry Guile, father of Daniel Simms Guile, was born June 24, 1804, in Preston, Connecticut, died on the old Guile homestead near the Griswold town line in Preston, February 14, 1880-81. Harry Guile was a son of Nathan Guile, born in Preston, August II, 1750, and his wife, Eunice (Ladd) Guile, whom he married April 9, 1784. Nathan Guile was a son of John and Lydia (Gecr) Guile, of Preston. Harry Guile was a farmer and lumberman, owning a saw mill, and was a good business man. He was a member of what is now the Bethel Methodist Epis- copal Church, a Democrat, and for several years a justice of the peace. He married, in 1825, Eleanor Lewis, daughter of Jesse and Mary (Sheldon) Lewis, and a granddaughter of William Sheldon. Harry and Eleanor (Lewis) Guile were the parents of eleven children, Daniel Simms being the fourth child.
Daniel Simms Guile was born in Preston, New London county, Connecticut, in 1832, and died in his native town, June 18, 1896. He attended the district school known as the Brown School, but when quite young became his father's farm assis- tant, there remaining until reaching legal age. He was started in life with the gift from his father of a farm of two hundred acres, to which he brought his bride, Lydia A. Crumb, in 1856. That farm was his home until his death, and there Mr. Guile con. ducted general farming operations and dealt in stock. He was also engaged in lumber manufac- turing, operating a saw mill on Broad brook, in the town of Preston, and another mill located on Stone Hill in the town of Griswold. At these mills he turned out lumber of all kinds, a great deal of it heavy ship timbers; also manufactured buckets and other articles of wood. He gave employment to many men and teams, and was himself a hard, energetic worker. He was a man of large and portly figure, genial in disposition, and an agree- able companion. He was careless of his own health, his death resulting from rheumatism brought on by exposure. He was highly respected in his com- munity, and his passing was deeply regretted.
In politics a Democrat, Mr. Guile held many town offices and represented his district in the State
Daniel s. Qui'le
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Legislature. He was a member of the First Bap- tist Church, of Preston, and liberal in his support of all good causes.
Mr. Guile married, October 13, 1856, Lydia Ann Crumb, daughter of Nathan and Phoebe (Richard- son) Crumb, of Norwich. Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel S. Guile: Frank Edgar, of whom further; and Henry Daniel, who married Hannah Bacon, and has children, Sarah, Allen Gay, and Clara. Frank Edgar Guile, the eldest son, mar- ried Ida Pierce, of Griswold, and until his death was a farmer of Preston. They were the parents of four children: 1. George Daniel, dicd young. 2. Colonel Daniel S., principal of the Glasgo school, and now a resident of the town of Ledyard; mar- ried Anna Barnes, of Stonington, and has four children: Harry, deceased; Olive, a teacher, who married Dewey Manilla Taylor, of North Stoning- ton; Incz; and Woodrow Wilson Guile. 3. Princess Carrie Alice, wife of Fred Chapman, of Norwich, and mother of two children: Gladys and Doris Chapinan. 4. Flora Victoria, died in infancy. Mrs. Lydia A. Guile, now a great-grandmother, stili re- sides at the old homestead, to which she went a bride sixty-five years ago, in 1856. Since January I, 1897, the Guile farm has been managed by Charles Rufus Greenman, and under his efficient management the farm has been brought to a high state of cultivation.
ROSWELL PARK WOODMANSEE-Among those who have passed on, yet whose memory lives in the hearts of those who still walk the daily paths of finite existence, the name of Roswell Park Woodmansee, of Preston City, Connecticut, stands out as a living inspiration to noble thought and high endeavor. Living near to Nature, and simple and unaffected in all his manners and tastes, he lived near also to the God of all Nature.
Mr. Woodmansee was a son of James and Lu- cinda (Park) Woodmansee. His father was born in Groton, New London county, Connecticut. He was educated there, and in carly life was interested in farming operations in that town, later coming to Preston. Here he occupied various farms until, eventually, he purchased a permanent home near Preston City. This farm he conducted until his death. His wife was born and died in Preston.
Roswell Park Woodmansee was born on the home farm near Preston City, June 14, 1819, and died in the same town, April 3, 1900. Receiving a practical education at the district schools of Preston, he went out upon the farm, and worked side by side with his father. At his father's death he inherited the property, conducting extensive farming opera- tions there until 1865, when he sold the old place, and purchased the Amos Avery farm in the south-
ern part of Preston. Here he remained until 1875, when he rented this place, and removed to the home of his grandfather, buying the place in Preston City, and practically retiring from active farming, rele- gating to other hands the heavier part of the work. He lived out his remaining years on this place, and died here on April 3, 1900.
While Mr. Woodmansee was always deeply inter- ested in the welfare of the public, and a staunch supporter of the policies of the Republican party, he took little interest in the political game, his tastes being of the quiet and home-loving sort. His extensive interests along farming and dairying lines absorbed the greater part of his time, and he found his relaxation in the comfort of the fireside. He was a lifelong member of the Baptist church, and in the work of this organization was ever a dili- gent and devoted laborer. His daily life was en- tirely consistent with the position he held in the church, and many of his friends and neighbors have felt the influence of his upright life and worthy example. Although a new generation is now grow- ing up about the place where he walked, his name is still often spoken with sincere reverence.
Roswell Park Woodmansee married, in Preston City, February 29, 1848, Eunice Crary Morgan, daughter of Erastus and Polly Mary (Meech) Morgan, members of the oldest families of Preston. Mrs. Woodmansee was born on the old Morgan homestead, Preston City, and also died there. Mr. and Mrs. Woodmansee were the parents of three children, all born in North Stonington, Connec- ticut: I. Emily Crary, who became the wife of Dwight Brownley, a prominent North Stonington farmer, in 1873, and died in 1874. 2. Ida, who be- came the wife of James O. Towson, of Baltimore, Maryland, who is now engineer of the Connecticut College for women, at New London; they have two children: i. Mae, who married Joseph Hilton Smith, a native of Plymouth, Massachusetts, now of New London, whose children are: Richard T., Theodore H. and Carlisle F., all born in New London, Con- necticut. ii. Arthur, who married Christine Phillips, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they are the par- ents of one son, James A. 3. Mary Park, whose devoted care, through all the years of their decline, was lavished upon her father and mother. She now resides on the homestead, Preston City.
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