USA > Connecticut > New London County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of New London County, Connecticut > Part 29
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William A. Fraser received his education in the common and high schools of New Lon- don. He assumed the duties of his present position with the Palmer Company a little more than eight years ago, in 1889. Five years before, on December 3, 1884, he mar- ried Miss Lena Brown, of Noank, daughter of George and Harriet (Cromwell) Brown. Her father is master of a fishing schooner, of. which he is half-owner. She has one brother, Wilfrid Brown. Mr. and Mrs. Fraser have one child, Lloyd Wilfrid.
Politically, Mr. Fraser is a Prohibitionist from the ranks of the Democratic party. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, in which he is a Deacon, the clerk, and a teacher in the Sunday-school. The church has been a very active and prosperous one, and a year or two ago Mr. Fraser wrote a comprehensive and interesting history of its work in this community. Mr. Fraser is deeply interested in the welfare of the village. He was the president of the Village Improve- ment Association for a term of years, was one
of the organizers of the fire department in the village, and for the first two years after organ- ization was its executive head.
ABEZ S. LATHROP, a veteran teacher, now retired and residing in North Washington Street, Norwich, was born May 28, 1824, in Bozrah, this county, son of Simeon and Phæbe (Peckham) Lathrop. The paternal great-grandfather, who was also named Simeon, lived on the farm on Blue Hill. This estate, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of land, was settled by an earlier ancestor, to whom it was granted by the Colonial authorities, and is now owned by Mrs. Jane Smith, a sister of Jabez S. Lathrop. The great-grandfather was ninety-eight years of age when he died. His son Andrew, who was born on the Lathrop homestead, there spent his life, principally engaged in farming, and died at the age of seventy-nine years, from injuries inflicted by an enraged ram. The first of Andrew's two marriages was con- tracted with Lucretia Smith, who died in the prime of life. She had two sons and four daughters. The son Azariah, who died in Vernon, Tolland County, in 1891, nearly eighty years of age, married a Miss Hunting- ton. Andrew's second wife was Zerviah Polly Lathrop.
Simeon Lathrop, the father of Jabez S., lived to be nearly ninety-three years of age, and was in the full possession of his mental powers up to the time of his death in 1886. He was twice married. By the first marriage there was one son, William, who volunteered from Pembroke for service in the late war, and who was mortally wounded while in a skirmish just before the battle of Bull Run. Ile died during the battle on Sunday, and is buried in an unknown grave. Ilis captain
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said that he was a typical soldier, and that no braver one had ever been known. By his marriage with Phoebe Peckham, who died about 1850, at the age of fifty-one, he had five sons and five daughters, all of whom grew to maturity. They were: Andrew, Lucy, Jabez S., Alanson, Peckham, Jane, David A., Lydia, Ann Hasseltine, and Phoebe Calista. Andrew Lathrop, born in 1822, was a carriage builder in Belvidere, Ill., and died there at the age of seventy. Lucy is the widow of John Ashcroft, and resides in Franklin with her sister, Mrs. Lydia Smith. Alanson died in 1867, leaving a widow. Jane is the widow of Lucien H. Smith, and, as above intimated, resides in Franklin. David went to Michi- gan, and is there living in Chase, Lake County. Lydia, the twin sister of David, is the widow of Henry Smith. Ann married A. F. Park, a brother of the late Judge J. D. Park. She died in 1892, leaving one daugh- ter, Miss Annie Park, a graduate of the Nor- wich Free Academy and a most competent teacher in this town. Phoebe, who lived to be about twenty years of age, was the first of the family to die.
Jabez S. Lathrop was educated in the com- mon schools under Martin Pomeroy Wells, who was afterward the able vice-president of Marietta College. Mr. Lathrop was subse- quently a student at an academy. When eighteen years of age he began to teach school. This profession he afterward fol- lowed for nearly forty-seven years, meeting with rare success as an instructor. He is now one of the twelve trustees of the State School for Boys, and is the acting chairman of the board. Though not a church member, he is an energetic worker in the First Congrega- tional Church of Norwich, which dates back to 1660; and he has for many years sung in the choir. On coming to Norwich forty
years ago, he rented the comfortable and pleasant dwelling which is now his home, and shortly afterward bought it. He has served the town as Selectman for five years, and was in the legislature in 1879, 1881, and 1884, where he showed himself thoroughly in- formed on all questions of public importance. Besides this he was also County Treasurer for nine years. In politics he is a Republican, and his first Presidential vote was cast for Henry Clay. Not long since a partial stroke of paralysis obliged him to give up teaching.
On December 4, 1848, Mr. Lathrop was united in marriage with Julia, a daughter of Elijah J. and Joanna R. (Ellis) Backus and a grand-daughter of Asa Backus, who was the third Asa Backus in this town. The fourth Asa is Asa William Backus, of Toledo, Ohio. Besides an infant daughter Mr. and Mrs. Lathrop have lost a son, Joseph Backus La- throp, who left a wife and two daughters -- Julia B. and Helen W., both residents of Columbus, Ohio. Four of their children are living. Their daughter Helen M. is a grad- uate of the Norwich Free Academy and a highly successful teacher of Norwich. Her sister, Julia L., is the wife of Walter H. Potter and the mother of one daughter, Ruth Lathrop Potter. Alanson P. Lathrop is the secretary and treasurer of the gas company in Columbus, Ohio. He married Ella Farquhar, and has two children - Grayson F. and Ger- trude. Gertrude L., the youngest child of Jabez S. Lathrop, is now the wife of Alonzo M. Luther, of Norwich.
ON. S. ASHIBEL CRANDALL, a prominent Norwich lawyer, was born in Ledyard, October 12, 1851, son of Stiles and Caroline L. (Greene) Crandall, and grandson of Welles and Sally (Wood-
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ridge) Crandall. Welles Crandall, who was 4 native of Rhode Island, followed the trade i tanner in Preston. His wife, who was born : Groton, lived to be sixty years of age; and Le died in middle life. They are buried in Ledyard. They had a son and three daugh- :ers.
Stiles Crandall, the only son of Welles Crandall, was born in Groton, November 25, 1313. He is a highly esteemed and successful farmer of Ledyard, where he and his wife still reside on their farm. Although advanced in years, they are remarkably active. Mrs. Caroline L. Crandall is a daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Bolles) Greene, of Waterford, Conn. Her marriage with Stiles Crandall was performed in 1844. Of their two sons and a daughter, S. Ashbel is the only sur- vivor. Caroline Augusta died at eight years of age, and Stiles lived to be but thirteen months old. Beginning soon after attaining his legal majority, the father served the town in different offices until he was seventy years old. He was Assessor for thirty consecutive years. In 1860 he was elected to the State legislature by the largest majority ever given in his district.
S. Ashbel Crandall spent his boyhood on the farm, and his early education was acquired in the district school. When eighteen years old, he engaged in school teaching, and after- ward followed that calling until he was twenty- five. Shortly after, he began to read law in lowa City, Ia., at the State University, from which he was graduated in 1878. In the fol- lowing year he was admitted to the bar at Norwich, and immediately engaged in prac- tice. His career as a lawyer has been at- tended with marked and well-deserved success. In 1880, on the Democratic ticket, he was elected as Representative to the lower house of the State legislature from Ledyard. From
1888 to 1892 he was Mayor of Norwich, and from 1893 to 1895 he was a State Senator and City Attorney. He has also been a member of the Board of Education six years. He is Judge Advocate and a member of Brigadier- general Haven's staff, with the rank of Major. Fraternally, he is a Master Mason, a Past Grand Conductor in the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and a Forester.
On April 25, 1883, Mr. Crandall was joined in marriage with Miss Jane F. Stod- dard, of Ledyard, a daughter of Sanford B. and Mary Stoddard, both of whom are now deceased. She died June 18, 1885, when thirty-four years of age, leaving two children. The latter are: Mary S., twelve years old; and Billings F. S., eleven years old. For the past seven years Mr. Crandall has made his home in the Wauregan House.
RRIN F. HARRIS, M.D., a popu- lar physician of Norwich, is a native and a resident of Preston. He was born May 31, 1843, son of Robert B. and Betsey (Brewster) Harris. The father, who died in 1863, about fifty-six years of age, was a cabinet-maker of Preston and a man of solid worth. His wife, who was the daughter of Erastus Brewster and a sister of Augustus and Frank Brewster, survived until 1895, and at- tained the age of eighty years. Besides Orrin F. she had three other children. Charles R. Harris, the eldest, who died in Hoboken, N. J., in 1896, aged sixty-two years, was a mariner, and, though modest and retir- ing, was a man of merit and of influence. He left a widow and two sons. Lucretia Harris is now Mrs. Elias M. Brewster, of Norwich. George II., now residing in Preston, was for
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years the agent of the Norwich & Worcester Transportation Company in Norwich.
Orrin F. Harris, the youngest child of his parents, received his elementary education in the common schools. Subsequently he en- tered the medical department of Columbia College. Believing that he could be of ser- vice to his country and at the same time gain valuable experience, he volunteered in 1863 in the medical department of the army, and was appointed to the hospital at Alexandria under General Surgeon Edward Bentley, a personal friend. After the war Dr. Harris returned to Columbia to complete his medical studies, and graduated in 1865. He began practice in Norwich, opening his present office in March, 1865. He has well earned his rep- utation of a skilful and conscientious phy- sician.
The Doctor was married in August, 1890, to Mary A., daughter of Daniel W. and Sarah (Woodward) Tracy, of Preston. The cere- mony was performed in a house that he had previously erected* in Preston, and which has since been the family residence. Besides a little son, the Doctor and his wife have been bereft of twin boys, who lived but a few hours. They have one infant son, Orrin F., who is the object of their tenderest care and affection. Essentially a domestic man, the Doctor is devotedly attached to his home and family. His greatest pleasure in life is to return home after a tiresome day, and enjoy the quiet rest of his own fireside and the com- panionship of his home circle and family friends. In politics he is a loyal Republican, but he has never cared to hold public office. During the years of the anti-slavery agitation he was an abolitionist. The estate upon which Dr. Harris resides comprises about one hundred and twenty acres of good land. On it is a peach orchard of fifteen hundred trees,
recently set out, which promises to become one of the finest orchards of the kind in this section of the State. Dr. Harris relies more on nature than on drugs, and is never afraid to prescribe in accordance with this principle.
HOMAS O. THOMPSON, a well- known insurance dealer in New Lon- don, was born in New York City, April 14, 1864, son of Francis and Adelaide (Owen) Thompson. Alexander, the paternal grandfather, emigrated from Ballantragh, Londonderry, in the north of Ireland, in ISI0, bringing his wife and children. He was a wealthy retired sea captain, who subsequently engaged as a shipping merchant. His first marriage was contracted with Ann Corscod- den. who died June 12, 1809, leaving two of her four children. In February, 1810, he married Margaret Burney, of New York, who had ten children. She died October 30, 1838, leaving eight children. He reared ten of his fourteen children, and three of his daughters are still living.
Francis Thompson, son of Alexander, was a wholesale hardware merchant of the firm A. R. Van Ness & Co., one of the largest concerns of the city at that time. He married Adelaide Owen in New York City, June 1, 1847, and they had six children -- Adelaide M., Eliza- beth O., Carrie N., Francis G. A., Thomas O., and Mary N. Adelaide was twice mar- ried, the first time to Lieutenant Commodore Walter Abbott, of the United States navy. She is now the widow of Dr. H. C. Nelson. Elizabeth O. married Captain J. E. Sawyer, of the United States army. Carrie N. is the wife of Edwin Van Hornstein, who is a Major in the German army at Strasburg. Francis G. A. is in Chicago, Ill. Mary N. is the wife of Dallas Goodwin, of New York City.
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The father died January 1, 1869, and the mother, at the age of fifty-three, in 1880, hav- ing survived her husband eleven years. She was a daughter of Thomas Owen, of this city. Her grandfather, John Owen, was the first City Clerk in New London, and filled that office from 1784 to 1824, a period of forty years. Previously he was a successful teacher for many years, and was familiarly known as Master Owen. IIe was married three times, and became the father of eighteen children, of whom Thomas was the youngest.
Thomas O. Thompson was a student in the schools of Heidelberg and Baden-Baden, Ger- many, from the time he was nine years of age until 1880, when he came to New London. He has served in the militia for fifteen years, being promoted from the rank of private to that of Captain. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party. On March 26, 1888, he married Jeanette Allender in New York City. Her parents, William and Mrs. (Gar- rett) Allender, who married young, subse- quently went to the diamond mines near Cape Town, South Africa, where the father was em- ployed in civil engineering, leaving her and her brother William in New London to be ed- ucated. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have one son, Thomas O., yet a babe. They reside at 1 Nathan Hale Street, where Mr. Thompson built his fine house on Post Hill in 1892. Personally, Mr. Thompson is pleasant and re- fined, and stands high in the social and com- mercial circles of New London.
.JDWIN A. ROATH, a highly respected citizen of Norwich, living in retire- ment at 20 Spalding Street, was born on Union Street, this city, November 2, 1823. Asa Roath, his father, was born March 3, 1790, on Roath Street, Norwich, in
the old Roath house, which was erected by a member of the family over two hundred years ago, and which is now the property of the sub- ject of this sketch. Eleazer Roath, the father of Asa and a son of Stephen, was born in the same house in 1747, and died in 1835. He was a farmer, and owned a large and valuable estate, a portion of which is still in the fam- ily. He married Hannah Killam, of Nor- wich, who bore him four sons and four daugh- ters. Of these, three sons and three daughters lived to a good age. Stephen Roath died in 1808, at an advanced age, leaving considera- ble property. Robert Roath, a native of England and the first to settle in America, came here about the year 1640, and estab- lished a home on Plain Hill or Wawacus Hill, Norwich, a portion of a grant of land received from the town proprietors. According to family tradition these early ancestors were men of magnificent physique, some of them standing six feet or more in height.
Asa Roath, who was five feet, eleven and one-half inches tall, and weighed about two hundred and ninety pounds, was a Colonel in the State militia. In the War of IS12 he served in the defence of New London. In 1820 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Allyn. of Groton, now Ledyard, Conn., where her birth occurred in May, 1799. She was a daughter of General Billings Allyn. Nine children were the fruit of their union, as fol- lows: Edwin and Ann, both of whom died in childhood, of scarlet fever, within a very short period; Edwin A .; Hannah, the widow of Ruphus Leeds Fanning, who died in middle age; Stephen, who resides in Chicago, Ill. ; Elizabeth, the widow of David M. Randall. now living on Franklin Street, Norwich, and who has one daughter: Louis Phillip, named by his aunt, Mary Allyn Clarke, whose hus- band was the captain of a merchantmian, re-
talibt .
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siding in Norwich; Ann Meach, who was the wife of Henry L. Parker, resided at 431 Franklin Street, Norwich, and who died in the fall of 1894, aged fifty-eight years, leav- ing two sons and three daughters; and Hen- rietta Louisa, who died in infancy. The father died March 11, 1846, when fifty-six years of age, and the mother on May 20, 1859, aged sixty years.
Edwin A. Roath was graduated from Nor- wich Academy when eighteen years of age. Soon after he began his business career in the Norwich & Worcester Railroad, covering a period of over fifty years. For twenty-four years of that time he was an engineer and for twenty-one years a station agent. He ran a special train into Boston at the time of the dedication of Bunker Hill Monument. His present home, where he has lived since Janu- ary, 1870, was purchased by him in 1868. He also owns two other places on North Main Street, built in 1839, that were formerly owned by his father; also his grandfather's place on Roath Street, which was built about two centuries ago, a home in which the red man always received kindly treatment, and from which he was never turned away.
On February 21, 1849, Mr. Roath was united in marriage with Miss Frances M. Rathbone, of Norwich. They have had two sons, namely : Francis Edwin, who died when but two years old; and Frank Allyn Roath. The latter, who resides on Otis Street, Nor- wich, is the purser of the steamer "City of Worcester," which runs between New London and New York City. On June 28, 1894, he was married to Miss Gertrude Hakes, of Worcester, a very capable business woman, who was formerly book-keeper of a large con- cern in her native city. In politics Mr. Roath is a Democrat, while as a rule he de- clines all official honors.
RS. LYDIA A. KEENEY, of New London, the widow of Sam- uel C. Keeney, was born here, September 25, 1817, daughter of Josiah and Lydia (Lester) Keeney and a grand-daughter of Daniel Keeney. The family are an old and numerous one, who trace back their an- cestry in this section for two hundred years. The early ancestor, John Keeney, occupied the front part of the Alfred Mitchell man- sion, where he reared his family. The house is undoubtedly one hundred and fifty years old. Among the descendants who were born in this house were Mrs. Keeney and her hus- band, and they were second cousins.
Josiah Keeney, the father of Mrs. Keeney, died in April, 1817, before she was born, leaving a widow, two sons and two daughters. The widow was again married to her hus- band's brother, Richard, by whom she also had two sons and two daughters. After sur- viving her second husband, she died in Ches- terfield, Conn., in August, 1881, in her eighty-ninth year. Two children by the sec- ond marriage still survive, namely: Erastus Keeney, of this city : and the widow Fox, of Chesterfield.
Mrs. Keeney was twice married. Her first husband, to whom she was united in 1836, was Harris Lewis, of this city. He lived but four years thereafter, dying at the age of thirty-one. Mrs. Lewis had one child by him, Harry, who was born after the father's death. He died at the age of three years. In 1843 she was married to Mr. Keeney, by whom she became the mother of seven chil- dren, the youngest of whom died in infancy. The survivors are: Joseph Keeney, of Wash- ington, D.C., who is married; Harriet, who married George H. Johnson, of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Emma J., the wife of Charles Burdell. of New Haven, Conn. ; Ulyssus, a single
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gentleman, living at home with his mother; Hiram H., of this city; and Lilian, who mar- ried Charles Tarbox, a blacking manufacturer of this city. Mrs. Keeney has four grand- children.
Samuel C. Keeney, a former resident of this city, was born here in 1813, son of Giles and Theresa (Chappell) Keeney and grandson of John Keeney, of this place. His father and grandfather were fishermen. His parents had seven children, only two of whom are now living. These are: Captain John, who is eighty-four years of age; and his sister, Caroline, now Mrs. Samuel Lester, who lives on Shelter Island, New York. Samuel C. Keeney shipped on a merchantman in early life, and went to foreign countries. Having begun as a common sailor, he was the captain of a fishing-smack at the age of eighteen. He was also engaged in wrecking off the coast of Florida, making and losing a great deal of money thereby. When he died in 1887, at the age of seventy-four, he left his widow with a comfortable competency. She sold her house on Blinman Street, and built a smaller one, 92 Willetts Avenue, in 1888.
AVID A. NORRIS, a retired com- mercial traveller of Norwich, liv- ing at Yantic, was born in Hanover, Morris County, N. J., November 8, 1826, son of David and Joanna (Burnet) Norris. The father, who was born in 1791, was a black-
smith, and followed his trade in Whippany until he was sixty-five years of age. Then he removed to Bridgeport, Conn., where he died at the age of seventy-five. A whole-souled, benevolent man, he seldom lost an oppor- tunity to do a kindness for a neighbor or friend. As a workman he was skilled in all parts of his craft, and could match his work
with that of any other man in the trade. His wife, Joanna, who was a daughter of a Revo- lutionary soldier, born in 1801, died in New Haven, at the age of seventy-five years.
David A. Norris received a common-school education, and when fourteen years of age began to learn the blacksmith's trade in his father's shop. When eighteen years old he came to Bridgeport, this State, and there re- mained for six years, working as a blacksmith. He then learned to make wagon springs, and followed that trade in Bridgeport for four years. In 1856 he went to Greenville, and entered the employ of the Mowrey Spring and Axle Company. For nearly twenty years he had charge of their shop. At the end of that time the constant confinement of indoor labor had so affected his health that he felt the need of a protracted rest and change. He therefore went to Suffolk, Va., and rusticated on a farm there for a year, from Christmas to Christmas, living as much as possible in the open air, and going about minus hat and shoes. In this way he regained his health, and at the end of the year was able to take a position as travelling agent for enamelled ware. He travelled in the interests of this business, from Portland, Me., to Portland, Ore., and from British Columbia to the Gulf of Mexico, covering forty-six States and Terri- tories. In the course of these journeyings he became familiar with all sorts and conditions of men, and gained a wide experience of hu- man nature. He also gained extensive in- formation on a variety of subjects, and is to-day one of the best informed men a traveller is likely to encounter. In 1895 Mr. Norris retired from active business, having been at- tacked with rheumatism, which at times made it impossible for him to prosecute his work. The value of his services to the firm for which he travelled, and their appreciation of his
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worth, may be inferred from the fact that on this occasion they settled on him a comfort- able annuity for the rest of his life.
In the spring of 1887 Mr. Norris bought the forty-acre farm which is his present home; and he now spends his time in outdoor pur- suits - hunting, fishing, or driving. He has a fine horse and a handsome Gordon setter, which are his companions on many a pleasant excursion. The fishing-rod, in the use of which he is an expert, whiles away many an hour. Mr. Norris is a very genial man and, on account of his wide knowledge, at all times a most interesting and instructive com- panion. He is not a member of any religions organization; but, appreciating the value of Christian benevolence, he delights in making generous contributions to a worthy cause. He voted for John C. Fremont in 1856, and has ever since been a stanch Republican. Since 1873 he has been a Master Mason. He has been twice married. On the first occa- sion, in 1848, he wedded Sarah A. Seeley, of Bridgeport, Conn. She became the mother of a daughter, Hattie S., who was born in 1850. Mrs. Sarah Norris died in 1864, at the age of thirty-one. On May 24, 1865, Mr. Norris entered his second marriage with Mrs. Mary E. Prentice, the widow of Leonard Prentice and a daughter of Harlan Hyde, of the distinguished Hyde family, of which a fine genealogy has been published. There are no children by this marriage.
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