USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Meriden > An historic record and pictorial description of the town of Meriden, Connecticut and men who have made it > Part 65
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He was elected representative to the legislature four terms, was justice of the peace three terms, a member of the board of relief and of the city council, an alderman, and was mayor of the city from 1870-'72. He was at the head of the commission ap- pointed in 1865 to build the water works, and the following year was appointed one of the sewer commis- sion.
As a philanthropist he did much for his city. To the City Mission he presented a handsome block, to St. Paul's Universalist church, of which he was an earnest member and active worker, his contribution was a large part of the $100,000 that it cost, as well as giving of his means for the new organ and other features; and he gave freely to many organizations. He was a life-long member of Mer- iden Center Lodge, No. 68, I. O. O. F., and of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Mr. Lewis married May II, 1836, Harriet, daughter of Noah and Nancy (Merriman) Pomeroy, of Meriden, Conn. Six children were born to them: Nancy Melissa, Martha Eu- genia (now Mrs. Charles H. Fales), Henry James, Isaac, Kate Alabama (now Mrs. James Henry Chapin) and Frank, two of whom, Mrs.
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RESIDENCE OF THE LATE ISAAC C. LEWIS.
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Charles Henry Fales and Mrs. James Henry Chapin, are living, and reside in Meriden. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis celebrated their golden wedding May II, 1886.
In 1868 Mr. Lewis erected a cost- ly residence on East Main street, and this is still one of the handsomest in Meriden, as shown in the accom- panying illustration.
Mr. Lewis' death occurred Decem- ber 7, 1893. Of Mr. Lewis' personal characteristics there was a perfect balance of every good quality : public spirit, sound judgment, generosity, prudence, humility, firmness, affec- tion and conscience combined in a complete manhood, to whom one could safely point and exclaim, "Be- hold a Christ-like man!"
AUGUST MASCHMEYER.
Meriden is proud, while celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of her birth as a town, to number among her prominent citizens, not only those who can look back to a long line of Con- necticut and New England ancestry, but also those Americans by adoption who have thrown themselves heart and soul into the social, business and political life of the community.
Mr. Maschmeyer was born near Hildesheim, Hanover, Germany, Jan- uary 14, 1843. His father, Edward Maschmeyer, was born in the same place, and was successfully engaged in a general mercantile business until 1854, when he decided to try to still further enlarge his fortune by coming
to America. Leaving his wife and children until he should have made a home for them in the new land, he came to South Meriden and entered the employ of the Meriden Cutlery Company, and later that of the Par- ker shop at Yalesville. When the Civil war broke out, although he had only been in this country for seven years, he heeded the call to arms and went out to help preserve the Union. He joined Company H, Sixth Connec- ticut V. I., and after proving his bravery and devotion gave up his life for his adopted country, and was bur- ied at Hilton Head, S. C., in Septem- ber, 1862. He never saw his wife and children after leaving his home in Germany. They felt, however, that the land for which he had given up his life was the home for them, and in 1864 August came to this country, followed later by the rest of the family.
August Maschmeyer was fortunate enough to receive a good education in Germany, having been a student in both public and private schools. He learned the trade of a black- smith, and worked at this occupation until he came to America. His jour- ney hither was a long one, consuming six weeks on the sailing vessel Nep- tune. Through the good offices of friends he at once secured employ- ment on his arrival and worked as a mechanic for a month. Relatives of his having previously settled in Yalesville, he decided to follow them, and became an employe of the Meri- den Cutlery Company, with whom he
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August Gauchewayer
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remained for six years. After work- ing for the Charles Parker Company for five years more, he decided to strike out for himself, and according- ly in 1877 began business as a whole- sale and retail dealer in bottled beer and other goods. This enterprise proved very successful, and after eight years he was enabled to sell his business and retire from active work. During these years he had acquired considerable property about the city, the management of which now em- ploys his time. He has a fine resi- dence on North avenue, where he and other members of his family make their home, and where his mother lived up to the time of her death.
Mr. Maschmeyer has always been active in the political life of the city. He was a Republican up to the time of Horace Greeley, and since then has been a Democrat. In 1891 he was elected a member of the Meriden City Council, and has been a member of the Board of Education and the General Assembly of Connecticut. He is at present a police commissioner. He is a member of the German Aid society, the German Order Harugari, and the Saengerbund.
LEVI E. COE.
Levi Elmore Coe, whose influ- ence during a long and varied ca- reer was felt in all the vital problems of this city, was the son of Colonel Levi and Sarah (Ward) Coe. He was born in the town of Middlefield (then Middletown), Conn., June 6, 1828.
He received his education in the com- mon schools of his neighborhood and Post's and Chase's academies. He was ready to teach school at the age of eighteen, a profession which he fol- lowed until he was twenty-five, when he located in Meriden, where he lived until death claimed him November 2, 1903.
In 1854 Mr. Coe was elected treas- urer of the Meriden Savings Bank, which bank recognized his abilities. and honored him with the offices of treasurer, director and president, the last two of which he held until his death.
At the age of seventy-one years he was elected president of the Meriden National Bank and when he died was, therefore, president of that financial institution, and also of the Meriden Savings Bank.
Mr. Coe was a man of great men- tal as well as business capacity and whatever he undertook was character- ized by conscientious care. To this fact was due his ability to carry on his. multifold duties with confidence in their stability and success. For fifty years he was engaged in the real es- tate business, and he rendered to Mer- iden invaluable service in this con- nection.
He was interested in all agricultur- al matters and especially in pet stock, and his interest crystalized in practi- cal form when he became identified' with various agricultural societies. He was secretary of the Farmers" Club ; president of the Meriden Poul- try Association ; secretary, treasurer
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BIOGRAPHIES.
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Lui Eleri
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and president of the Meriden Agricul- tural Society ; secretary and treasur- er of the Connecticut Agricultural Society, and a member of the State Board of Agriculture.
He was elected a grand juror in 1857, was registrar of vital statistics from 1858-63; justice of the peace from 1858 .to 1881 ; trial justice for many years ; first clerk of the city court ; judge of the city court for eighteeen years ; agent of the town to convey real estate; registrar of voters, town clerk, judge of probate, a water com- missioner, an office he held for sev- eral years ; and a member of the board of compensation. These offices all enabled him to advance the city's in- terests ; but it remained for an appre- ciative people to offer him their high- est gift, and he was elected mayor of Meriden in 1894 and re-elected in 1896 and 1897. He planned and ex- ecuted with intense earnestness every project that claimed his time and his logical mind, coupled with his expe- rience in private affairs, combined to give Meriden an administration in which the people had fullest confi- dence.
Judge Coe was a Republican and he served as a member of the town and state central committees. The Secre- tary of the Interior appointed him a town site trustee for. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was a director of the Meriden National Bank from 1862; treasurer of the Meriden Park Com- pany ; director of the Meriden Hospi- tal; trustee of the Curtis Home ; pres- ident of the Meriden Historical So-
ciety ; a member of the Connecticut Historical Society; S. A. R., and of the Home Club. He was author and compiler of the "Coe-Ward Me- morial," a genealogical work pub- lished in 1897.
He was a prominent Mason; was secretary, treasurer and held the of- fice of worshipful master of Meridian Lodge, No. 77; eminent commander of St. Elmo Commandery, Knights Templar, and representative of the Grand Commandery of South Dakota near the Grand Commandery of Con- necticut. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal church and a ves- tryman from 1858. The beautiful public library in Middlefield was a gift of Judge Coe in 1893.
He married Sophia F. Hall, of Mid- dlefield, in 1851, and she now sur- vives him. Their two children died while infants. Mrs. Coe is the au- thor of the Hall family genealogy, a work of great value from its com- pleteness in detail. She still resides in Meriden.
GEORGE COUCH MERRIAM.
Captain George Couch Merriam, born September 17, 1834, was the son of Nelson and Rosetta Merriam. The place of his birth was the old Merriam homestead, built about 1730, which stood on the site now occu- pied by the Home Club. His father was among the founders of one of the oldest manufacturing establish- ments in Meriden.
For over two centuries the Mer-
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Geol Meriam
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riam family have been prominent in Meriden and Wallingford, John Merriam came to Meriden from Lynn, Mass., and from him the Mer- riam family have descended. He died in 1689.
George C. Merriam received a good common school education and in 1851 went to New York City where he re- mained eight years in the wholesale drygoods concern of Hopkins, Allen & Co. In 1859 he went to Wilming- ton, N. C., where he became a men- ber of the business firm of J. M. Mc- Carter & Co.
Shortly after Fort Sumter was fired upon he returned to Meriden and on July 10, 1862, enlisted as a pri- vate in Company A, 15th Conn. Vols. and served throughout the remainder of the war. He was in active service in the battles of Fredericksburg, Edenton Road, siege of Suffolk and Providence Church Road. For gal- lant service he won several promo- tions and retired with the commission of captain of Company K of the 8th Conn. Vols.
At the close of the war he became superintendent of a large lumber bus- iness at St. Johnsbury, Vt. During that period he returned to Meriden and on May 29, 1867, married Helen R. Bradley, daughter of Charles and Sarah (Parker) Bradley. Soon after his marriage he went to Nevada where he spent two years. In 1872 he returned to Meriden and became connected with the Chas. Parker Com- pany.
In 1880, after the death of Albert
Foster, he became secretary and treasurer of Foster, Merriam & Co. and upon the death of James Sutliff, the president, he was elected pres- ident and treasurer, which position he retained until his death. While in Boston on a business trip, he died suddenly on March 23, 1904.
A life-long friend said, upon hear- ing of his death, "One of God's noble- men has passed away. He was my friend and counselor in many a per- plexing situation. He was beloved by all who knew him, rich and poor, high and low, and Meriden is a better city for his having lived here.",
He was a Christian gentleman, a shrewd and careful business man, whose integrity and honesty of pur- pose were unimpeachable, a consist- ent church member who practiced the golden rule, and was always ready at all times to give his money and exert his influence in every good cause. He never shirked his duty to his fellow citizens. He served six years in the Meriden Common Council and two years as alderman. In politics he was a Republican. He was for many years identified with the First M. E. church and was a trustee of the church from 1880 until his death. He was a director of the First Na- tional Bank, a member of Merriam Post, No. 8, G. A. R., and also of Capt. John Couch Branch, Sons of Ameri- can Revolution. He was a member of the Army and Navy Club of Con- necticut, and a life member of the Meriden Y. M. C. A., a member of the Home Club, and of the Meriden
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Hospital corporation of Meriden. He is survived by his widow and by an adopted son and daughter, Rob- ert J., and Ruth K. Merriam, children of his brother, Nelson C. Merriam, Robert J. being the present treasurer of Foster, Merriam & Co.
RATCLIFFE HICKS.
A former resident of Meriden of much renown is Ratcliffe Hicks, and his family holds an honored place in the history of Con- necticut, where for over a century and a half his antecedents have lived.
Born in the town of Tolland, Conn., in 1843, he is the most prominent rep- resentative of his distinguished ances- tors. Thomas Hicks, his first pater- nal antecedent in this country, left London, England, in 1644, and located in Scituate, Mass., and his descend- ants have won success in many of the higher walks of life.
On his mother's side Ratcliffe Hicks is descended from Charles Stearns, born in England, and settled at Wa- tertown, Mass., in 1646, and there ac- quired lands which he sold to his son, Samuel, and in 168I removed to Lynn, Mass. His son, Shubael, born at Cambridge, Mass., in 1655, served in the Narragansett Expedition in the King Philip War, and was stationed at the garrisons at Chelmsford and Groton, Mass., and whose brother, Charles, was slain in the king's ser- vice. Shubael Stearns, second, was one of the original grantees of land in what is now Tolland, where he set-
tled in 1714 and who later became a Baptist preacher, but on account of religious differences with his neigh- bors removed with his own and his sons' families to Virginia, later to Pepper Cotton and finally to Sandy Creek, N. C., where he died. His son, also named Shubael, became a noted preacher of the same faith.
John Stearns, a later ancestor, was born at Lynn, Mass., in 1691, and died at Tolland, March 10, 1787, and his son, John, great-grandfather of Ratcliffe Hicks was born in Tol- land, January II, 1736. He was a physician and practiced most of his life at Wilbraham, Mass., where his children were born. He returned to Tolland on account of his sympathy with the Shay Rebellion and died in 1788. His wife, left a widow with two sons and three daughters, carried on her husband's business, traveling many miles daily on horseback and was thus enabled to send her sons to Yale College. One of them, Dr. John Stearns became a noted practitioner in New York City and the first pres- ident of the New England society. His brother, Judge Elisha Stearns, grandfather of our subject, was born July 12, 1776, at Wilbraham, Mass., but early in life removed to Tolland where he died in 1850. He was a man of much prominence and a valued resident of that town, than whom no man was held in higher esteem in the locality where he lived.
Ratcliffe Hicks, paternal grand- father of Mr. Hicks, and for whom he was named, was a distinguished
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sea-captain and in his day was called "one of New England's brav- est, most daring, and ablest"; whose voyages took him to every part of the globe and whose life was tempestuous, but successful and who left behind him a name which his grandson has ever cherished with ardent love and infinite respect. He was a native of Providence, R. I .; was born June 14, 1784, and died October 26, 1846.
Charles R. Hicks, father of the sub- ject, was born in Providence, R. I., July 1, 1812, and was educated at Plainfield, Conn., where at that time was one of the best seminaries of the state. He, afterwards, and when quite young, engaged in the dry goods trade in Providence and, be- coming a prominent merchant, later continued in the same business in New York City, retiring from active busi- ness in 1842, when he removed to Tol- land and spent his last years. He died July 29, 1878. From his father, Ratcliffe Hicks inherited many of his intellectual attainments ; and that he has won fame and fortune as a law- yer, manufacturer, business man and legislator has been natural.
Ratcliffe Hicks secured his early education at home and prepared for college at Monson Academy. He en- tered Brown University in 1860 and graduated with high honors with the degree of A. B. in 1864. "From his earliest youth he became an omniv- orous and careful reader and the law and sciences of all ages were to him, and are now, what many forms of amusement are to the ordinary young
man," states one of his biographers. While at Brown University he was one of the founders of the Delta Up- silon Chapter, of which he is still a member and to which he has ever been a generous contributor. Early in life he began to take a prominent lead in school and college debates ; and at the commencement exercises, was one of the orators of his graduat- ing class. After leaving college he began the study of law in the office of Judge Loren P. Waldo, which study he pursued only during his leisure hours, and taught school. Admitted to the bar in 1866, he immediately re- moved to Meriden and began the prac- tice of his profession as the law part- ner of the late Hon. O. H. Platt, which partnership continued until 1869, after which Mr. Hicks con- tinued alone until 1882. His natural ability, keen foresight and remarkable judgment, coupled with his self-con- fidence and sanguine disposition, the result of his success in important cases, made him a familiar figure in the higher courts. He was ever well versed in law for he never ceased his study of his chosen profession. His ability as a pleader was remarkable; and his name is found in every vol- ume of the Connecticut Report from 1866 to 1879. While practicing he received large fees and his income in Meriden averaged over $10,000 a year. From 1869 to 1874 he served Meriden as city attorney and from 1873 to 1876 was New Haven county attorney. His public service, how- ever, began in 1886 by his election
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white kicks
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to the state legislature from Tolland, when as the youngest niember of the house, during his first term of ser- vice, he attracted general attention, not only by his activity on the floor, but by the exhibition of rare and ma- ture judgment for one of his years. During his second term, his speeches as a legislator were forceful and of brilliant diction and won him the ad- miration of the members on both sides of the house; although he was most loyal to the Democratic party, of which he has ever been a staunch and, in late years, a prominent factor, his manly and eloquent presentation of his convictions secured him also the respect and admiration of the Repub- licans. His breadth of mind and keen sense of fairness were ever ap- parent, and it was his special delight to debate on questions which rose above party politics. He once stated on the floor of the house that he pre- ferred to stand where the old Romans stood and to do right though the heavens fell. In 1891 he was again a member of the state legislature, as chairman of the committee on Woman Suffrage which reported the bill giv- ing women the right to vote on school matters. During his entire and val- ued service in the legislature, and which was continued until 1895, he introduced many bills of vast import to the people of the commonwealth and he usually accomplished as much if not more than any other member. His prominence in public life has kept him well before the eye of the public ; and he has been prominently men-
tioned in the past, for both lieutenant governor and governor of the state of Connecticut.
In 1882 Mr. Hicks became inter- ested in the Canfield Rubber Company as its president, and which, under his sagacious business head, has grown from a concern of $10,000 capital to one whose capital stock is a quarter of a million ; whose surplus is as much more and whose sales are considerably in excess of $1,000,000 a year. The success of the company has been spoken of as "one of the most re- markable achievements in the history of New England manufacturing"; for the business has not only been the means of making a substantial fortune for Mr. Hicks, but for other promi- nent stockholders whose holdings he has gradually purchased until he has become the sole owner of the vast enterprise. Mr. Hicks is also the owner of the Hicks Realty Company, of Bridgeport, and under this title owns considerable real estate in Mer- iden, Bridgeport and New York. Mr. Hicks has always remained loyal to his native state and, since leaving Mer- iden, claims Tolland as his residence. He has also a fine house in New York City and a comfortable country place at Lakewood, New Jersey, but he still retains his fond interest in Mer- iden where he made his success in professional life. He has contrib- uted liberally of his means to objects of benefit to his former townsmen; and in recent years defrayed the ex- pense, with others, in restoring and modernizing the Congregational
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Church, in Tolland, where his grand- father was also a liberal contributor.
He has also established annual prizes for public speaking at Brown University, Providence; Storrs Agri- cultural College, Mansfield, Tolland County, and at the Meriden High School, all of which have inspired, in a greater measure, the ambition of students. Mr. Hicks has traveled ex- tensively in this country and Europe and has crossed the Atlantic more than fifty times. He is the author of the book "Observations," published in 1889, and during its composition, he has been pleased to state has "Helped him while away hours that otherwise may have been lonely" and in which he presents "the off-hand utterances of a man who for twenty-five years was deeply absorbed in business cares, and who has jotted down the observa- tions for his own amusement and oc- cupation." It is needless to state that this book is well considered by litterateurs as one of the most enter- taining publications on Europe by an American author. He is also the au- thor of a book on California, equally interesting and instructive to the read- er.
Mr. Hicks was married to Lizzie Canfield, now deceased, and has one daughter.
RUFUS HALL.
Rufus Hall, for over forty years a valued resident and leading merchant of Meriden, and whose useful life end-
ed February 3, 1901, was born in Mid- dlefield, October 3, 1839.
A direct descendant of John Hall, Boston 1633, New Haven 1637, one of the original proprietors of the town of Wallingford in 1670, a signer of the original "Covenant" or original agreement of the first planters of Wal- lingford, as were two of his sons, Samuel and Sergeant Thomas, whose marriage to Grace Walker Watson June 5, 1673, was the first marriage in Wallingford. The following an- cestors of Rufus Hall were also sign- ers of the "Covenant": Lieut. John Peck, Sergeant Abraham Doolittle and John Mosse.
He was the youngest of the four children born to Harley Hall [the fifth in descent from John] and Mar- tha Cone Hall. His mother, a native of East Haddam, born April 3, 1805, and died in Meriden April 20, 1880, was directly descended from that John Hall who was one of the first pro- prietors of Middletown in 1650 and who, coming to this country from England, settled in Boston in 1633. She was a granddaughter of Sylvanus Cone, a Revolutionary soldier.
Rufus Hall, as a boy, during his at- tendance at the Middlefield district school, assisted in the work about his father's farm. He left home at the age of nineteen and engaged in the meat business, first at Portland, Conn., later in Middlefield, after- wards at Wallingford, and finally in 1860 came to Meriden and clerked for I. H. Hall & Co. in the old Franklin Hall building up town. The next
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year he engaged in the grocery trade with his brother under the firm name of N. C. Hall & Co. His honorable dealings and energy won him the con- fidence of the townspeople, and his good name, thus early established, he maintained throughout his life.
In 1870 he sold out his interest in the grocery store and engaged in the meat business, in partnership with Charles Grether, under the firm name of Grether & Hall, later buying out Grether, and after a long period of success he sold out to his former part- ner, and again became associated with his brother in the grocery trade. In 1884, however, he again engaged in the meat business, which he conduct- ed with uninterrupted success until he was stricken with pneumonia and died at the age of sixty-one, after which his well established business was con- ducted by his son, Eugene A. Hall, the present treasurer of the Town of Mer- iden.
Mr. Hall, on April 2, 1859, married Esther Asenath Grover, to whom two children were born: Effie Maria, born March 13, 1860 and died March I, 1862, and Eugene Ashley Hall, above mentioned. The wife of Rufus Hall was born in Middletown, January 2, 1837, and died in Meriden, December 18, 1891. She was a daughter of Ar- den and Sarah Maria. (Clark) Grover, her father being a son of Oliver and Asenath (Eaton) Grover. Her grandfather, Daniel Clark, served as a soldier in the Revolution. The wife of Rufus Hall was also descended from William Eaton, who settled in
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