USA > Connecticut > New London County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of New London County, Connecticut > Part 17
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Deacon since October 4, 1868, and superin- tendent of the Sunday-school since :874. Since 1888 he has been treasurer of the so- ciety and of the church fund, amounting to twenty-five thousand dollars. He lives on a farm which was settled by his father-in-law thirty-five years ago, and carries on a large dairy.
Mr. Williams was married February 4, 1864, to Ann Louisa, a daughter of Nathan S. and Nancy (Dennison) Noyes, of Stoning- ton. They have had eight children, only three of whom are living. Nathan, the eld- est, died in 1892, leaving a widow; Everett and Joseph died in infancy; George passed away in 1876, at the age of seven years ; Eliza Dennison died in 1880, at the age of five; Frank Lincoln, a commercial traveller, is unmarried, and makes his home with his parents; Annie Louise is the wife of Noyes Palmer; and Clarence Henry is a commercial traveller.
APTAIN JAMES F. SMITH, the proprietor of a steamboat line running between New London and the east end of Long Island, and a member of the New London Board of Aldermen, was born in this city, December 17, 1837, son of Franklin F. and Mary C. (Chapel) Smith. He comes of a family of sailors, and is the sixth James Smith, each succeeding generation giving to the world one of that name. His great-grand- father and grandfather, both named James, were seafaring men. The grandfather, who was lost from a privateer when about forty- four years of age, married a Miss Hempstead, who lived to be quite old. They reared six sons and five daughters of whom all but one nearly reached the age of eighty. Only one of this family is living to-day. Five of the sons - Parker, Robert, James, Franklin F.,
and Richard -- were successful ship-masters in the whaling trade. The other, John, was cut off in the flower of young manhood, being lost from the topsail-yard of his vessel off the Cape of Good Hope.
Franklin F. Smith was born in New Lon- don about 1800. He followed the sea during a large part of his life as the captain of a whaler. For some time he was a member of the firm of Perkins & Smith, whaling agents ; and at one time he was quite wealthy. He died in 1872; and his wife died about five years later, in the seventy-fifth year of her age. Five children were born to this couple, four of whom grew to maturity. The latter are: James F., the subject of this sketch; Frank, a seafaring man; and Chelsea and Elias P., who reside in this city.
James F. Smith acquired his education in a district school of New London and at East- hampton (Mass.) Institute. His first voy- age was made to California with his father, who was at that time the captain of the ship "Charles Carroll "; and he first sailed as a hired seaman on the ship "Crystal Palace " in 1855, receiving five dollars a month for seventeen months. In 1865 he was offered a captain's command, but did not undertake such responsibility until 1868, when he took charge of the bark "Peru." He was cap- tain of the "Peru " for two years. Next he took command of the "Paiea," which name signifies the flag of Hawaii. On this vessel he had a unique experience. Having lost her rudder during a typhoon in latitude forty- eight north, longitude one hundred and seventy-eight east, the captain made and shipped a temporary one, with which he suc- ceeded in reaching Honolulu Harbor in forty- eight days. From 1855 to 1868 he was away from home, most of the time on the high seas, successfully weathering the dangers of
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JAMES F. SMITH.
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arctic icebergs and tropical storms. In 1871 he established a home of his own on the land; and on July 4, 1875, he started his steamboat line from New London to the east end of Long Island. He made many friends in his travels. Since 1882 he has resided at I Granite Street, formerly the home of his uncle and aunt, Captain James Smith and sister, who died here.
In 1871 the Captain was united in marriage with Miss Sarah B. Ward, daughter of Cap- tain John L. Ward. Of their three children one is living. This is a promising boy of fif- teen years, the seventh James Smith. Cap- tain Smith takes an active interest in the city government. Elected Alderman on the Re- publican ticket, he has served in the City Council for five years. A veteran Mason, he has taken thirty-two degrees. He is Past Grand of Mohegan Lodge, I. O. O. F .; ex- State Councillor in the Order of United American Mechanics; Past Chancellor of Mistuxet Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of Mystic; Great Sachem in the Improved Order of Red Men; and he belongs to the Daughters of Liberty, the Daughters of Rebecca, and the Daughters of Pocahontas. For some time he has been the vice-president of the Veteran Firemen's Association of New London.
EORGE OSCAR JACKSON, of Col- chester, the present High Sheriff of New London County, was born Jan- uary 13, 1854, in South Coventry, Tolland County, son of John and Mary (Scott) Jack- son. Andrew Jackson, the father of John, was a native of Scotland. He came to this country when a young man, and settled in New York. By trade he was a builder and contractor. He married Margaret Snow, a native of the north of Ireland. Thirteen
children were born to them, two of whom died in childhood. Six sons and five daughters reached maturity.
John Jackson was married about 1852 in Mansfield, Conn., to Mrs. Mary Scott Perry, of Windham, Conn., daughter of William Scott. She is a great-grand-daughter of the William Scott who came over in the English army, subsequently took up the cause of the patriots, and fought against the British in the Revolution and in the War of 1812. By her marriage with Ransom Perry, who died in the prime of life, she had two children, one of whom, P. G. Perry, resides in South Wind- ham, Conn. Two children were born of her union with John Jackson - George Oscar and Lydia. The latter is now the wife of Charles Bullard, and lives at Big Stone City, S. Dak. The father died at Colchester Springs in 1888. Besides carrying on a farm, he con- ducted a tan-yard, which he started in Marl- boro, Conn., in 1858. The mother, now seventy-nine years of age, but still very ac- tive, is living with the son.
George O. Jackson spent his boyhood .with his parents, assisting his father on the farm and in the tan-yard. His education was ac- quired in the old red brick school-house, which is still standing. In 1877 he left home and went to the Black Hills, where for a twelvemonth or more he led an adventurous life, engaging in the hotel and mining busi- ness and as a mounted guard for the express company. He then returned home, and in July, 1879, went to Colchester, and estab- lished himself in the manufacture of har- nesses. Here he did a prosperous business up to the time that he sold out, in January. 1895. For thirteen years he has been a Deputy Sheriff ; and on April 1, 1896. he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of High Sheriff Frank Hawkes, deceased. At present.
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besides attending to his official duties, he is engaged in developing a fruit farm in the village.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1879, Mr. Jackson was united in marriage with Miss Hattie F. Crocker, of Colchester. They lost a son at the age of eight, and three others younger. Three of the deceased died of scarlet fever within a few days of each other. Their living children are: Lila, aged twelve; Alice, seven ; Agnes, five; Ruth, three; and Myron, two years old. The family reside on one of his south village places. In politics Sheriff Jackson is a Republican, and he has served very acceptably for twelve years on the party's State Central Committee. He was a Con- stable for many years, and was also Tax Col- lector and Bailiff for the borough. In the Masonic fraternity he is a Knight Templar Mason, and he belongs to the order of the Knights of Pythias.
HEOPHILUS BROWN, a retired sea captain, who is now engaged in farm- ing in Groton, New London County, Conn., was born in that part of the town which is now Ledyard, on January 12, 1824. His parents were Aaron and Mary (Wilcox) Brown, both of old Colonial stock of English origin. Nathaniel Brown, the earliest known progenitor of Captain Brown on his father's side, married a Miss Haines in Groton, Conn., in 1715. Their son Comfort was the father of Nathaniel, second, the father of Aaron Brown. Nathaniel Brown, second, was one of the minute-men during the Revolutionary War. His wife, whose maiden name was Deborah Morgan, was a native of Groton. They reared two sons - Nathaniel, third, and Aaron ---- and seven daughters, all but one of whom had families. Grandfather Brown
lived to be threescore years and ten. His property at his death was inventoried at twenty-five hundred dollars. His widow, who survived him twelve years, died in 1830, at the age of eighty.
Aaron Brown engaged in farming on part of the original home farm. He married, in 1807, Mary Wilcox, of Groton. They reared seven children - Robert, Eleazer, Sabrina, Allura, Laura, Theophilus, and Jeffrey. Robert Brown, who was a master mariner, went to Seattle, Wash., in 1873, and died there in 1894, at the age of eighty-five. He and his wife reared a family. Eleazer Brown died single, at the age of twenty-two years. Sabrina married Jeremiah Wilcox, had two daughters, and died in 1881. Allura died at the age of eighteen. Laura married Thomas Lanphere, and died, she and her only child, an infant, being buried in the same coffin. Jeffrey died in 1868 on the old farm, at the age of forty-two, leaving two sons and three daughters. The father, Aaron Brown, died in 1871, and the mother, Mary Wilcox Brown, in 1877, at the age of eighty-four. Their remains rest in the Brown burial-ground with several generations of their family, Com- fort, the donor of the ground, being its first occupant.
Theophilus Brown was reared on the home- stead farm, and there remained until he was twenty years of age, receiving a limited dis- trict-school education. In 1843 he shipped as sailor before the mast, with Captain Jona- than Nash, on the bark " Vermont," of Mys- tic. They went round Cape Horn to the Pacific, and were gone twenty-nine months, making a very poor voyage as to profits, oil at the time of their return being only twenty- five cents a gallon, and bone but twenty-seven cents a pound, his entire earnings amounting to but one hundred and twelve dollars. His
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second voyage on the " Vermont" was still more disastrous, the vessel and her cargo being cast away on Amsterdam Island, sev- enty-eight degrees east longitude, and forty- one degrees south latitude, the crew being rescued by the whalers. For sixteen years he was a master mariner, for several years sailing the "Elector." In 1869 Captain Brown settled down on a small farm in Gro- ton, where he now lives. His fine, large mansion-house was built by a Mr. Perry, who died shortly after it was finished. Captain Brown has expended thousands of dollars in clearing and cultivating the grounds, beautify- ing the place by setting out shade, fruit, and ornamental trees and shrubbery. The house can be seen from New London and other points; and it affords a commanding view of the majestic Thames River flowing by, oppo- site Fort Trumbull and the lovely banks and lawns of Pequot and New London. As the eye follows the many sailing and steam craft gliding out of the harbor and river into Long Island Sound, it sees in the distance Fisher's Island and other smaller islands, apparently floating on the waters.
Captain Brown was first married in 1857 to Julia Hallet, a native of that part of Groton now known as Ledyard. She died, childless, two years later, of consumption. In 1868, after leaving the sea, he was united in marriage with Mary Louisa Geer, daughter of Isaac and Experience (Avery) Geer. Cap- tain and Mrs. Brown have two daughters, namely : Alice Experience, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., now living at home; and Clara Louise, who was graduated from Williams Memorial High School in New London in 1895, subse- quently taking a post-graduate course. Mrs. Brown was one of a family of four children. One brother and one sister have passed away.
Isaac Geer, her surviving brother, is now living on the old Geer homestead; and she has nieces and nephews of education and re- finement, who are filling positions of trust and honor.
APC RS. FANNY A. WILCOX, widow of the late Leander Wilcox, of the town of Stonington, is a daughter of Elias and Frances (Wilcox) Davis, and was born in Quinebaug, New London County, Conn., May 10, 1846.
Her father, Elias Davis, a son of Peter Davis, was born in Lisbon, Conn., and is now living in Stonington, not far from the resi- dence of his daughter, Mrs. Wilcox. He was twice married. His first wife, Frances A., a daughter of Lodwick Wilcox, died August 6, 1848, leaving three children, including Fanny A., the subject of this sketch, then an infant. The other two were Elias N. and Benjamin F. I. Elias N., who was a volun- teer in Company C, Twenty-first Connecticut Regiment, enlisting in 1862 and serving six months, died in a hospital in Newport News, Va., in March, 1865, when but nineteen years of age. Benjamin F. I. Davis is now a resident of Westerly, R.I. Mr. Davis's second wife was in maidenhood Julia Ann Wilcox. Five daughters and one son, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Davis, are now living.
Fanny A. Davis received her education in the common schools. Her marriage to Lean- der Wilcox occurred January 1, 1865. She began her married life in the house in which she now lives, being at that time but eighteen years old, and her husband twenty. Mr. Wilcox was a son of Elias Wilcox, a retired fisherman of Stonington, who was born in that town April 3, 1815. He was engaged in the
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fish business, at first in company with others; but for some years before his death he con- ducted business alone. He was a consistent member of the Union Baptist Church of Mys- tic, in which he was also a Deacon. His death, which occurred December 22, 1895, was most tranquil, his last words being, "How beautiful ! how beautiful!" He was a much respected citizen, and his loss was widely regretted.
Mrs. Wilcox has one child, Ella May, who now resides with her mother, and is a student at the Mystic High School. Further infor- mation in regard to the family may be found in the sketch of Captain Elias F. Wilcox, published elsewhere in this volume.
EORGE LOVETT GRISWOLD, Town, City, and School Tax Collector of Norwich, Conn., is a native of Willimantic, this State. He was born Feb- ruary 6, 1858, son of George H. and Lucinda (Cheney) Griswold. His paternal grand- father, Henry Griswold, died early, leaving this one son, George H., above named, who was reared by his grandfather Paige.
George H. Griswold was born in the town of Windham, Conn., in 1826. He became a skilled machinist, and during the Civil War he worked in the Eagle Armory, making guns. His last years were spent here in Norwich, where he died in 1868. Lucinda Cheney, to whom he was married in the year 1845, was born in Windham, and was a daughter of Jo- seph H. and Abigail (Babcock) Cheney.
George Lovett Griswold is the fifth child and second son of the three sons 'and five daughters born to his parents. All of these children except Henry, who died when but two years old, grew to adult age. The living are: Ellen A., wife of William P. Potter, Jr.,
residing at 60 Prospect Street, Norwich; Jo- sephine A., wife of Ripley J. Ramage, of New Britain, Conn .; George Lovett, of Norwich, direct subject of this sketch; and Frank H. and Clara E., who reside with their mother in this city.
George Lovett Griswold, after obtaining a common-school education, learned the carpen- ter's trade. He then worked at type-wood dressing for three years, and subsequently did a contracting business in the manufacture of gun-stocks. In the fall of 1893 he was elected Town Tax Collector; in June, 1894, he was chosen City Collector; and in Septem- ber of that year School Tax Collector. In these several capacities he is now serving.
On May 4, 1894, Mr. Griswold was mar- ried to Miss Angie L. Thompson, daughter of Charles Thompson, of Willimantic. Their home has been brightened by the birth of a daughter, Gladys L., born March 23, 1896.
Mr. Griswold is prominent in fraternal circles, being a member of Franklin Council, No. 3, R. & S. M .; Past Sachem of Mohican Tribe, No. 4, Improved Order of Red Men; a member of the Republican Club; the Arca- num Club; the .R. N. E. Wheel Club; Gardner Lodge, No. 46, Knights of Pythias, of Nor- wich; Captain of C. A. Russell Company, Uni- form Ranks, K. P .; also a member of Uncas Lodge, No. 11, I. O. O. F., of Norwich; and a member of Citizens' Corps of Sedgwick Post, No. 1, G. A. R. He served nearly eight years in the Volunteer Fire Department, and afterward organized the Veteran Firemen's Association, of which he is treasurer. For eleven years he served in the militia, and at the time he resigned he was Captain of Company C, Third Regiment. He resides at 103 River Avenue, Laurel Hill, having bought the estate and settled here in October, 1895.
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GEORGE L. GRISWOLD.
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RRIN EUGENE MINER, M.D., a physician of Noank, Conn., was born in North Stonington, Conn., Sep- tember 29, 1834. He is the son of Denison W. and Clarissa M. (Park) Miner. Thomas Miner, the progenitor of this family, was born in Chew Magna, in the county of Somer- set, England, April 23, 1608, and emigrated to this country with Governor Winthrop and family in 1630, in the good ship " Arbella," arrived in Salem, Mass., June 14, 1630, and settled in Charlestown, Mass. On April 20, 1633, he married Grace, daughter of Walter Palmer, and by this union had twelve chil- dren. In 1635 he removed to Hingham, Mass. ; and in 1646 he came to Connecticut, and settled in New London. His seventh son, Manasseh, was the first male child bern in that town. In 1653 he removed to Stoning- ton (Wequetequoc), thence to Quiambog in the same town, where he spent the remainder of his days, and held about every office in the gift of his townsmen, being elected Deputy Magistrate, Selectman, Chief Military Offi- cer, and also Town Clerk for a number of years; and it is said his peculiar style of writing forms one of the curiosities of the Stonington records. Dying on October 23, 1690, aged eighty-three years, he was buried at Wequetequoc, in Stonington.
Over his grave lies a common pasture stone, about six feet long, the top ten inches wide and about one foot thick, having the following inscription, " Here Lyes the body of Livten- ant Thomas Miner, aged 83, departed 1690." The fifth son, Ephraim, is buried at Taug- wonk, in Stonington; and over the grave is a beautiful and elaborately carved table stone representing the Miner coat of arms and other devices. Near the grave of Thomas are two more finely wrought table stones, which mark the resting-place of Deacon Manasseh (sev-
enth son) and grandson Deacon Thomas Miner, each of these stones having engraved upon it the Miner coat of arms. This coat of arms was conferred on Henry Miner, of Chew, county of Somerset, England, by Ed- ward Ii., in :339, for valorous services ren- dered the king during the French war about that time. The original document was pre- served by bis descendants to the sixth genera- tion -that is, to the time of Asa Miner, and was by him deposited with the Connecti- cut Historical Society for preservation, at Hartford, Conn. The following certificate is appended to the original document : "This Coat of the Miners of Chew, I attest to be entered at Bath in Somersett, by Clarencieux, the 4th of King James the first, which visita- tion is in custody of me 1606, Alex: Cun- ningham."
Isaac Miner, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a farmer of Stonington, where he remained during his life. He mar- ried Keturah Brown, of North Stonington; and they had eight children - four daughters and four sons, all of whom grew up and had families. Isaac Miner died thirty years be- fore his wife, who lived to the advanced age of ninety years.
Their son, Denison W. Miner, the father named above, was born in Stonington in 1808. He was a well-to-do farmer, and he held some offices in the town. He married Clarissa M. Park, daughter of Israel P. Park, in May, 1832, and was the father of five children, as follows: Orrin Eugene, Clarissa, Elmina, Fannie, and Irving W. Clarissa, the second- born, is the wife of Elias II. Miner, a second cousin. They live at Taugwonk. Elmina Miner, the second daughter, died in infancy; and Fannie, the third, died at the age of six- teen years. Irving W. Miner, the younger son, is at present living in Westerly, R. I.
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Their father, Isaac Miner, died in 1886; and their mother died December 29, 1897, aged eighty-three years.
Orrin Eugene Miner, the eldest born of the family, attended the East Greenwich Academy in his youth, and prepared for Brown University, but changed his plans, and entered the University of New York City in 1855, graduating in 1858, in a class of five hundred, receiving a certificate of honor in addition to his diploma. He settled soon after in his present home, and erected his drug store. He has a practice in Noank and the adjoining villages, and also carries on a successful business as a druggist. He has invested considerably in real estate, and owns a number of tenements. Dr. Miner is a mem- ber of the American Pharmacy Association, and of the Connecticut Association, and is an ex-Fellow of the Connecticut Medical Asso- ciation. He is also a Master Mason. In politics he is a Republican, having been a voter with that party since its formation. He has been Notary Public, for over thirty years was Medical Examiner, and has also held the office of Postmaster for seventeen years. He has resigned the duties of Coro- ner, which he performed for some years.
On May 19, 1859, he married Abbie J. Latham, daughter of James A. Latham. The Doctor and his wife have two children -- Orrin E. and Fannie M. Orrin E. Miner, Jr., resides in New London, being employed as mail clerk from New London to Boston. He is also his father's partner in the drug busi- ness. He married Anna Libby, of Noank. Fannie M. Miner was graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1891, and is now living at home with her father and mother. Dr. Miner is at present the oldest physician in his vicin- ity. Descended from an honorable line of ancestry, an eminently useful and worthy citi-
zen, he has the respect of his fellow-towns- people.
ORENZO DOW BEEBE, one of the oldest citizens of New London, re- siding at 86 Shaw Street, where he has lived for nearly half a century, was born in the town of Waterford, three miles from New London, on the 6th of March, 180g. His father, Benjamin Beebe, who was born in the same town in 1775, died in 1813. leaving his wife, Abigail Douglas Beebe and six sons and two daughters. Of his chil- dren, Lorenzo D., the fourth-born, is the only survivor. One of the sons, Dyer Beebe, who died in middle age, before the war, left a daughter, who is now living. The mother died November 23, 1840, and was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.
Lorenzo Dow Beebe was named after the celebrated Lorenzo Dow, whom his mother greatly admired. When a lad, he attended the district school in Waterford, which at that time offered comparatively few advan- tages to the pupils. When twelve years old he was working out on farms in the neighbor- hood. At fourteen he came here to learn the trade of tanner with James Edgerton. After serving three years, in accordance with the good, old-fashioned custom, receiving but slender wages, he worked at tanning as a journeyman for a number of years.
In 1833 Mr. Beebe was married to Nancy Daniels, of Waterford, a daughter of Nathan and Nancy (Chappell) Daniels. Mrs. Beebe's mother was daughter of Peter Chappell. Mr. and Mrs. Beebe have had nine children, of whom six are living. A son and a daughter died in infancy. Horace Beebe, who was always in delicate health, died, aged twenty- six. The remaining children are: Ellen Edgerton Beebe, a spinster, who lives at
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WILLIAM P. BINDLOSS.
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home, and is in frail health; Nathan B., for- merly a mariner, now a painter in this city, who has one son, Horace W. Beebe, a rising musician ; Cordelia A., unmarried, who was a very successful and popular school teacher, and has devoted herself to the care of her aged father and invalid sister since 1887; Eliza- beth S., who married John N. Brown, a car- riage-maker of this city, who died October 16, 1897; Mary L., who is the wife of Alanson Beckwith, of this city; and Henry N., a sales- man in the refrigerator business, who has three children -- Leburton, Bessie, and May. Mr. Beebe has six grandchildren. He is a stanch Republican, and has taken an active interest in city affairs. For several years he was Street Commissioner, and he was seen on the streets with his oxen for many years. He was the first man to light the street lamps in New London. Both he and his wife have been active members of the Methodist Protes- tant church. Although bowed with age, he is still young in feeling, and is active about his home, caring for his farm animals and still in possession of all his faculties. He thinks and works well, appreciates fun as well as some of his grandchildren, and it is the hope of his friends that he may be spared, if not longer, to round out a full century of honored days.
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