A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 126

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 960

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY

1692. They were parents of three children, the youngest being Ebenezer Burnham, who was born December 23, 1691, and some time prior to October 20, 1734, removed from Ipswich, Massachusetts, to Hampton, Connecticut, thus founding the family in Hampton. He was married to Dorothy Collins, whose birth occurred in 1697. The death of Ebenezer Burnham occurred March 10, 1746, while his wife passed away June 26, 1760. Their son Ebenezer, who was born November 1, 1722, and died in 1788, made his home at Hampton and on the 1st of January, 1745, married Martha Hebbard, who was born in 1721 and passed away April 10, 1783. He later married Elizabeth Hunt. He had a large family, his children all being of the first marriage. The number included John Burnham, who was born December 20, 1749, and became a successful farmer of the town of Hampton, where he passed away January 8, 1833. For a short time he followed blacksmithing and when America attempted to throw off the yoke of British oppression he joined the Continental army and aided in winning inde- pendence for the nation. He was married October 23, 1777, to Tryphena Robinson, who was born July 20, 1755, and died November 9, 1835. The youngest of their nine chil- dren was Jesse Burnham, who became the grandfather of Lester Holt Burnham of this review. He was born in Hampton, July 12, 1797, and became one of the leading farmers of his native town. He also took a helpful interest in public affairs and in the work of the church and was largely instrumental in the building of the Christian church at Howard Valley. He strongly opposed slavery, supporting the abolition party until the organization of the republican party. In 1864 he represented his dis- trict in the state legislature and for many years was justice of the peace. He married Olivia Burnham, a daughter of James and Tamma (Holt) Burnham. She was born in Hampton, January 23, 1801, and passed away in Scotland, Connecticut, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Henry H. Cary, after surviving her husband for several years.

James A. Burnham, one of the five children of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Burnham, was born April 20, 1832, in Howard Valley, and when eighteen years of age he began team- ing and trucking in Hartford, where he conducted a profitable business for ten years. He then turned his attention to farming on the old homestead. On the 8th of May, 1861, he wedded Mary E. Starkweather, who was born in Hampton, February 13, 1839, a daughter of Ezra and Eliza (Flint) Starkweather. To Mr. and Mrs. James Burnham were born six children: Mary Estella, who was born May 14, 1862, and became a nurse; Lester Holt of this review; Olive Eliza, who was born May 9, 1866; Frank James, born February 20, 1870; Frederick Augustus, December 23, 1871; and Charles Edward, November 7, 1874. About the time of his marriage the father, James A. Burn- ham, purchased a farm near the old family homestead and made many improvements thereon. He also extended the boundaries of his property by additional purchases from time to time and in 1875 his place embraced over two hundred acres of highly cul- tivated and productive land. He afterward gave his attention to cattle raising as well as to general farming and for a number of years went regularly to Vermont, where he purchased stock which he brought to Hampton for sale. He continued to engage actively in farming to the time of his death, which occurred February 16, 1895. He was always a stalwart supporter of the republican party and filled various local offices, serving as selectman for several years and acting for some time as chairman of the board. In 1883 he was made a member of the state legislature and his record in office was in harmony with his record as a man and citizen-distinguished by fidelity to duty and by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution.

Lester Holt Burnham, spending his youthful days upon his father's farm, attended the district school of Howard Valley and in the summer months worked in the fields until he reached the age of nineteen years. After leaving home he was employed at farm labor through one summer and then spent three or four years in cutting timber in the woods. He afterward purchased a span of horses and began teaming on his own account, hauling timber and tie poles and doing other work of that character. At length he took up his abode on the old William Bennett farm on Hampton Hill and carried on both farming and teaming, keeping fifteen head of horses to be used in the latter connection. He also engaged in lumbering on a small scale and devoted some time to the sale of farm implements and fertilizers, each phase of his business bringing to him substantial returns. He likewise purchased several tracts of land until his holdings now embrace several hundred acres. In fact his farm holdings are among the largest in his section of the county and he displays the most progressive methods in the care and development of his property.

On the 16th of February, 1890, Mr. Burnham was united in marriage to Miss Nina Woodward, who was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, February 24, 1871, a daughter of Elisha A. and Julia B. (Millard) Woodward. Mr. and Mrs. Burnham have become the parents of three children. Jesse Lester, born January 16, 1891, was married to Miss Bertha Bennett, of Hampton, and has one child, Ethel. He now follows farming

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY

in the town of Hampton. Harold Woodward, born June 15, 1894, and Mildred, born May 18, 1899, are yet at home.

Politically Mr. Burnham has always been an earnest republican and he has served on the board of selectmen of Hampton and has also filled the office of assessor for several years. He is loyal to the interests intrusted to his care and at all times gives his aid and support to those projects and measures which are intended for the benefit and upbuilding of the district in which he resides.

ANSEL ARNOLD.

Ansel Arnold, manufacturer, merchant and banker, was born in Somers, Connecti- cut, August 8, 1814, a son of Samuel and Amittai (Pomeroy) Arnold and a descendant of John Arnold, a native of England, who came to America prior to 1634, settling first at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later removing to Hartford, Connecticut. From the first American ancestor the line of descent is traced down through his son Joseph, who married Elizabeth Wakeman; their son Samuel, who married Abigail Buck; their son Joseph; his son Samuel, who married Dorcas Hubbard and was the grandfather of Ansel Arnold. On the mother's side the ancestry is traced back to Eltweed Pomeroy, who with his second wife, Margery Rockett, set sail in the Mary and John with a com- pany of one hundred and forty Puritans and after seventy days landed at Matapan. The line comes down through Joseph and Noah to John Pomeroy, the father of Amittai.

Ansel Arnold was educated in the public schools of Connecticut and began his business career as a merchant and manufacturer of Shaker bonnets in his native town. Later he removed to Mansfield and thence to Willimantic, where he established an extensive wholesale and retail flour and grain business, which he conducted for nearly thirty-five years. He was president of the First National Bank of Willimantic, a trustee of the Dime Savings Bank of that city, a trustee of the Mechanics Savings Bank of Hartford and the Savings Bank of Rockville. He was also a director of the Rock- ville National Bank.

Mr. Arnold took an active interest in the civil welfare and local politics of his adopted city. He was the first president of the Willimantic Board of Trade. In politics he was a republican and in 1876 represented the town of Windham in the general assembly, having previously represented the town of Somers in that body in 1858. But such public positions were distasteful to him and he accepted public office only as a duty. Personally he was a man of simple tastes and quiet demeanor, fond of home life, possessing a clear intellect, personal refinement and grace and a sim- plicity of manner which won for him a wide circle of friends throughout the state.

Mr. Arnold was married twice. On the 26th of April, 1842, he wedded Elizabeth Barrows, daughter of Philip and Sophia (Stowell) Barrows, of Mansfield, Connecticut. On the 22d of November, 1871, he married Marie P. Chapman, daughter of Horace M. and Juliann B. (Tiffany) Chapman, of Ellington, Connecticut. The Chapman line is traced from the emigrant ancestor, Captain Robert Chapman, who came to this country with Lyon Gardner in 1636 and settled at Saybrook, Connecticut, where he was a man of influence, representing the town in the general assembly for eighteen sessions. The line comes down through Robert to Robert, Jonathan, Jabez and Parley, who was the father of Horace Mcknight Chapman.

By his second marriage Ansel Arnold had two sons: William A., an attorney of Willimantic and Hartford and for ten years judge of the police court of the city of Willimantic; and Louis H., who is in the insurance business in Willimantic.

WILLIAM ANSEL ARNOLD.

William Ansel Arnold, son of Ansel Arnold, mentioned above, was born in Willi- mantic, Connecticut, May 5, 1874. He attended the public schools and was graduated from the Willimantic high school in the class of 1890 and from Williston Seminary at Easthampton, Massachusetts, in 1892. He then entered Yale College and won the Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation with the class of 1896, while in 1899 he completed a course in the Yale Law School. He has since engaged in the practice of law in Willimantic and Hartford in partnership with Judge Walter H. Clark under the firm name of Clark & Arnold, with offices in the First National Bank building at 50 State street, Hartford. Associated with Judge Clark and ex-Mayor Grant of

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Willimantic, he was a prime mover in obtaining a charter for and in constructing a street railway from Willimantic to Baltic, connecting there with the Norwich Street Railway. The railroad was built by the Willimantic Traction Company, of which Judge Clark was vice president and Mr. Arnold secretary.

In politics the latter is a republican and from 1901 until 1903 was deputy sheriff, while from 1903 until 1913 he was judge of the police court of the city of Willimantic. Mr. Arnold has also been president of the Willimantic Board of Trade, of which his father was the first president, and is a director of the Connecticut State Chamber of Commerce.

On the 22d of May, 1901, Mr. Arnold was married at Hartford, Connecticut, to Miss Kate Warner Hutchinson, who was born at Essex, Connecticut, April 13, 1872, a daughter of John Ira and Cynthia (Starkey) Hutchinson. Her father is now general agent of the Aetna Life Insurance Company. He was formerly sheriff of Middlesex county for twenty-three years and later United States collector of internal revenue. The Hutchinson line is traced from the original emigrant, Ralph Hutchinson, who came to this country before 1650, through John, Joseph, Jonathan, John and Dr. Ira to John Ira Hutchinson.

Judge and Mrs. Arnold have one son, Ansel, born March 27, 1912. Soon after the outbreak of the World war Mr. Arnold was appointed by Governor Holcomb a member of the general committee to supervise the taking of a military census of the resources of the state. During the war Mr. Arnold served as government appeal agent for District No. 17 in the selective service.

JOHN GEORGE JOHNSTON.

In all New England there is perhaps no one better known in connection with silk manufacturing than John George Johnston, the general manager and business agent of the Hammond-Knowlton-Hammond Silk Company of Putnam, the name of the family is usually spelled Johnson but his ancestors in Scotland spelled the name Johns- ton using the t as a distinguishing mark to differentiate their name from that of of other Johnsons of the land of hills and heather. This particular spelling of the name is an indication of the Scotch origin of the family in every known case and wherever the Johnstons are found they have seemed to possess the characteristics of energy, industry and high moral worth that has marked their ancestors through suc- cessive generations. The branch of the Johnston family of which John George John- ston is a representative sprang from one man, who went from Ardnamurchan, Scot- land, in the year 1550 to the island of Coll with a daughter of the chief of Clan Iain, or the Johnstons of that place, this daughter marrying a McLean. This Johnston was sent with her to Coll as a protection and to look after her affairs if need be. He remained a lifelong resident of Coll and was the progenitor of four families, who in 1810 were residents of the island of Coll. These were Angus Johnston and his family of Ballilough, Coll; John Johnston and family, of Arnabost, Coll; Duncan Johnston and family, of Grisipall Coll; and Donald Johnston and family, of Armagour, Coll. The last two emigrated to Nova Scotia, while the first two remained on the island of Coll, but the descendants of John Johnston largely went to Canada, settling about Lake Simcoe, save for one son, who remained on the island, married and had a family. He died in 1896 at the age of ninety years, leaving one son, John, who yet lives upon the island and is now more than eighty years of age. He is the last of the Johnstons residing on the island and at his death the family will there become extinct, he being the last of the family that has figured prominently on the island since 1550. They held to many of the traditions and customs of the Scottish clans.

Hector Johnston, a son of Donald Johnston, mentioned as family No. 4, in the above list, was the family piper to the chief of Coll for many years and was a famous performer, having studied in the best piping college of Scotland-the College of Skye. Piping colleges were in existence in the highlands of Scotland for many generations and Hector Johnston was one of the most famous pipers of the highlands in his day. When his father went to Nova Scotia he accompanied him, taking the bagpipes with him. These pipes were a family heirloom, having been in possession of the Johnstons for many generations. Many of the Johnston family were also famous pipers.

Lauchlan Johnston was a son of Duncan Johnston and, like his father, was a native of Grisipall on the island of Coll, Scotland, where the family was known as Clan Dhronhchidh Ruari. Lauchlan Johnston married Sarah Mckinnon, of Grisipall, and with his family and his brother, Roderick, he followed his father to Nova Scotia in 1819. They settled near the town of River John and became prosperous farming people there.

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Neil Johnston was the son of Lauchlan and Sarah (Mckinnon) Johnston and be- came the father of John George Johnston whose name introduces this record. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1828 and there resided until 1867, when he went to New Brunswick, Canada, where he engaged in the logging and native timber business in the woods of New Brunswick and later of Maine for about twelve years. He had con- tracts to supply the railroad engines in New Brunswick with wood which he cut in con- nection with his logging business. He accumulated some capital in this way and was a very industrious, energetic man. About 1880 he removed to Canton, Massachusetts, where he resided until his death. In young manhood, when engaged in the native tim- ber business in New Brunswick, he met with an accident which incapacitated him for heavy work and ultimately caused his demise. After his removal to Canton, Massa- chusetts, he was there employed in the copper works. His genuine worth was widely recognized by all who knew him and his life was one of activity and usefulness. He

married Mary Mckenzie, who was born in Nova Scotia in 1830, and her death occurred in Canton, Massachusetts, in 1892. To Mr. and Mrs Neil Johnston were born seven children. Sarah, who was born December 31, 1864, is now the wife of Douglas Fenwick. Murdock Mckenzie, born March 15, 1866, is now a machinist of Putnam, Connecticut. John George is the third of the family. Janet, born October 6, 1868, is the wife of Clarence Freeman. Douglas Austin, born February 22, 1870, married Winifred Sherman and her children are Harold, Emily, Neil, Douglas, Frances and Robert. Martha, the sixth member of the family of Mr. and Mrs. Neil Johnston, was born April 25, 1871, and died August 2, 1903. Lena, the youngest of the family, was born February 20, 1876, and departed this life in 1895.

John G. Johnston whose name introduces this review was but three months old when his parents removed from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick, taking up their abode in a small settlement forty miles from St. John. There he attended the district school and was reared to the age of twelve years, when his parents removed with their family to Canton, Massachusetts. When a little lad of thirteen years he began work in the Neponset cotton mills of Canton, where he was employed for two years. He then secured a position in the Revere Copper Works at Canton, in the nail department, and after spending a few years in that connection he obtained a position in the Rising Sun stove polish works at Canton. After a brief period, however, he began work in an oil cloth mill at Canton, but the mill soon closed down and Mr. Johnston then obtained a position in the mills of the Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company, thus taking his initial step in connection with the silk manufacturing business in which he was destined to rise to prominence. He acted as assistant in the shipping department and as a general hand in the Canton mill for a year, after which he was transferred to the finishing department of the mill and in time became assistant foreman of that de- partment. Nine months later he was advanced to the position of foreman and con- tinued to act in that capacity until 1905, when the Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company of Canton was merged into the Hammond & Knowlton Company of Putnam, Connecticut. The Eureka mill was then removed to Putnam in March, 1906, and Mr. Johnston be- came a resident of Putnam, continuing to act as foreman for six months in the old Eureka mill. On the expiration of that period he was transferred to the Hammond & Knowlton mill as foreman of the finishing and spool department, thus continuing until August, 1908, when he became superintendent of the entire business. At that time G. A. Hammond was active in the business and was chief executive of the mills, Mr. Johnston acting as superintendent of production only, but with the latter's retire- ment from active management Mr. Johnston became general manager and business agent of the Hammond & Knowlton Company, which has recently been reorganized and reincorporated under the name of the Hammond-Knowlton-Hammond Silk Com- pany, with C. C. Knowlton as the president, G. A. Driggs, first vice president, Theodore B. Thompson, second vice president, Morton Merriman, treasurer, Frank W. Shaw, secretary, and C. S. Hammond-Knowlton, assistant treasurer. Mr. Johnston is one of the directors of the company and still remains general manager and business agent. Heavy responsibilities devolve upon him in his present position as general manager of the largest silk mill of Putnam and his record is one well worthy of thoughtful and earnest consideration. After the removal of the family to Canton, Massachusetts, when he was a lad of twelve years and he began work in the mills of that city, he attended night school for many years and was also instructed by private tutors, for he realized the worth and value of education and resolved to offset his early lack of school train- ing in that way. He is today a well educated, broad-minded man, conversant not only with the silk trade in every particular, but possessing comprehensive general knowledge, so that association with him means expansion and elevation. When he became con- nected with the silk trade he started at the bottom of the manufacturing business and has a thorough knowledge of every department of silk manufacturing. He is today one of the most prominent men in this business in Connecticut and his knowledge and ex-

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perience are so broad that his opinions are largely accepted as authority in silk man- ufacturing circles throughout New England. Having had considerable experience as a mill hand himself, he knows just what should be good working conditions for mill employes and puts forth every effort to bring about conditions that are satisfactory for mill workers, both from the health standpoint and the standpoint of wages. He is greatly loved by all the employes in the mills which are under his direction and is very popular with the operatives, who recognized that efficiency and faithfulness on their part mean promotion whenever opportunity offers. Mr. Johnston has thus steadily step by step worked his way upward and he is now a director and one of the stock- holders of the Hammond-Knowlton-Hammond Silk Company. He is also a director of the Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company of Putnam and a director of the Putnam Box Corporation, engaged in the manufacture of paper boxes. He is thus identified with some of the most extensive and important corporation interests of the city, interests which have done much to make Windham county a great manufacturing center.

While his business interests have constantly developed in extent and importance, Mr. Johnston has always found time to cooperate in those interests which work for good citizenship and constitute an important element in general progress and im- provement. He is an active member of the Second Congregational church and is serving as assistant superintendent of the Sunday school. He belongs to Blue Hill Lodge, A. F. & A. M. of Canton, Massachusetts, also to the Royal Arch Chapter, of Put- nam Connecticut, and to Montgomery Council, R. & S. M., of Danielson. He is likewise connected with Israel Putnam Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Putnam, Connecticut, and with the Knights of Pythias lodge at Canton, Massachusetts. He is a director of the Putnam Savings Bank, is president of the board of trustees of the Putnam public library and a director of the Putnam Chamber of Commerce. Appreciative of the social amenities of life he is connected with the Putnam Country Club, of which he was one of the organizers and a charter member and of which he is now vice president. Politically Mr. Johnston is a republican and is now representing the first ward in the city council, a position which he has filled for the past six years, having been chosen for the office at each biennial election. He is greatly interested in all civic affairs and devotes much time to progressive city improvements, and that he keeps in touch with the demands of the hour is indicated in the fact that he is now serving as chairman of the Putnam Red Cross district. His life has been one of great usefulness to the community in which he has lived and his record is that of wise development of his native powers and talents and wise use of his time and opportunities.

CHARLES INGLE KEEGAN.

Charles Ingle Keegan, overseer of the dyeing department of the Killingly Worsted Mill at Elmville, Connecticut, was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, July 13, 1872, and is a son of James H. L. and Sarah A. (MacGinety) Keegan. The father was a native of Troy, New York, and was reared in Albany, that state. He was but sixteen years of age when he responded to the country's call for aid to crush out rebellion in the south. He joined the Union army and kept a diary of all events of the war as he saw them. While he was in Finley's Hospital at Wash- ington, D. C., he composed a poem concerning the battle of Gettysburg, in which he had participated, and which he wrote under the title of "The Charge of the Louisiana Tigers on Cemetery Hill." It presents an interesting picture of one of the historic events of the country and is therefore appended.

Upon yon hill they stood, A brave and gallant band. Above them waved the stars and stripes, Fair emblem of our land.

Far down the hill, a maddened host, In countless numbers lay, Who at the sound of treason's call Were ready to obey.

And proud our gallant band that day, Upon our soil to meet Their boasted southern chivalry And traitors' plans defeat.

. .

CHARLES I. KEEGAN

Vol. II-52

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But, hark! A yell these tigers make Like demons in their lair,

Then boldly up yon steep hillside They rush, but ah, with fear.

Up to the cannon's mouth they come With their demoniac cry, And with their hands upon these guns Demand them, "or you die."

But who comes rushing 'mongst these men Upon that bloody field, Oh! Gettysburg shall ne'er forget The glorious name of Meade.

The chieftain stood among that band, Inspiring courage there, "Boys, hold this hill," he cries, "e'en though

The last man perish here."

Down, down that Cemetery Hill,

Those Louisiana braves

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 126

Author: Lincoln, Allen B Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co. Number of Pages: 960

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 960