USA > Connecticut > New London County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of New London County, Connecticut > Part 36
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OIIN TYLER BECKWITH, farmer and teamster of Niantic, Conn., is a native of New London, and was born July 10, 1838, his parents being Clement L. and Hannah (Chapel) Beckwith. He comes of a line of brave men whose lives were haz-
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arded in behalf of their native land, his pa- ternal grandfather, Seth Beckwith, having been a soldier of the Revolution, and his father a soldier of the War of 1812. Grand- father Beckwith was born in Waterford, and was a farmer. He married a Miss Esther Leach, who bore him five sons and two daugh- ters. One son died young of lockjaw. Grandmother Beckwith, who survived her hus- band for many years and was a pensioner, died in Montville about 1846, an octogenarian.
Their son, Clement L. Beckwith, above named, was for forty-seven years a tenant farmer on the estate of Dr. Isaac Thompson, of New London, and paid as high as three hundred and fifty dollars a year for rent. The amicable relations which existed for so long a period between him and his landlord were creditable to the character of both men. Mr. Thompson highly valued his tenant, and when dying said, "Let Beckwith stay as long as he wants to." Clement Beckwith's wife, Han- nah Chapel, whom he married in 1816, was born in Montville in 1796. She survived her husband some eighteen years, and died Decem- ber II, 1881, in her eighty-sixth year. They had a large family of children, as follows : Gilbert Russell, who was accidentally killed when six years of age; Miroch, born in 1819, who died in New London, aged sixty-two; Sarah A., who married Francis D. Beckwith, of New London, and is living on Willets Avenue near the house where Mr. John Tyler Beckwith was born; Allen, deceased at the age of nineteen; Anson, who died in 1890, aged sixty-five years; Mary, who died before reaching twenty years of age; Alfred, who died in 1887; and Maria, the wife of Henry T. Squire, living on Ocean Avenue, New London, Conn.
John T. Beckwith in his boyhood received a common-school education. His working
life began at an early age, as he sold milk for his father when he was no higher than a good- sized milk can, and from that time on has been actively employed. He continued to sell milk in New London for some twenty-two years. After marriage he lived on his father's farm for seven years, improving that part of it which his father had bought of Dr. Thompson. He then removed to the White Hall farm in Mystic, in the town of Stoning- ton, and was there for two years, at the end of which time, in March, 1873, he came to the farm of Mrs. Beckwith's father, which he has since purchased. He has been actively en- gaged in farming and in teaming; and, al- though he has but twenty-five acres of land, it is under high cultivation and yields abun- dantly. Three years ago he built his fine large residence in Niantic.
On the 31st of December, 1863, he married Annie T. Beckwith, a daughter of Horace and Mary (Comstock) Beckwith, of Waterford, near East Lyme, where she was born April 14, 1841. Mr. Horace Beckwith was a ship- carpenter at the head of Niantic River. His family consisted of six sons and three daugh- ters. Two of the sons, Turner and Horace, and the three daughters grew to maturity. Turner Beckwith lives in Niantic; but his brother Horace went away, and was never heard from. One daughter is Mrs. Charles Bishop, of New London. Mr. and Mrs. John T. Beckwith have two children : Fred A., who is engaged in the livery business in this place, and is the father of one daughter, Leslie Mott; and Mary H., wife of S. J. Weaver, of Flanders.
Mr. Beckwith is a Republican, and cast his first vote in 1860 for President Lincoln. He is a trustee of the Baptist church, and both he and his wife are devout and active members of that body.
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OHN W. MANWARING, the courte- ous proprietor of the Oswegatchie House in Waterford, New London County, Conn., was born in I.yme, this county, on September 20, 1826, son of Thomas and Mary (Keeney) Manwaring. His paternal grandfather, Thomas, was born near the same place in 1755. When a young man he served his country in the Revolutionary War. His life occupation was farming, which he carried on at the head of the Con- necticut River. He married Katurah Hurl- but, of this town; and they reared four sons and four daughters. He died in 1832, at the age of seventy-seven; and his wife, surviving him ten years, lived to be eighty. Thomas Manwaring, the father of John W., was born in this town, April 17, 1793. He was an able farmer, who owned a good farm of two hundred acres. He also officiated as Justice of the Peace and as Selectman. In 1815 he married Mary Keeney, daughter of William Keeney, her mother's maiden name being Chappell. Her father, William Keeney, was four times married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Gorton, died leaving four sons and one daughter. His second wife left but one child, the mother of the subject of this sketch. By his third and fourth wives he had no children. Thomas and Mary Keeney Manwaring had eight children, but two of whom are living - Mary and John W. Mary is the widow of James R. Moore, of Hartford. She resides with her son, James R., being now eighty years old. The father died June 20, 1862, and his widow several years later, at the age of seventy-four. They were highly respected members of the Baptist church.
John W. Manwaring came to Waterford with his parents at the early age of five years. He acquired a common-school education, and chose farming as an occupation. He began
life on this farm of over a hundred acres in 1849, remaining twenty years. He then re- moved to his present hotel site, only a quarter of a mile distant. At that time the house was small, accommodating only fifteen or twenty guests. The present hotel is situated on the east bank of the Niantic River, overshadowed by the Oswegatchie Hills, and will accommo- date from forty to fifty summer boarders. Besides the hotel and fine barns he has two cottages on the grounds. Three other sum- mer residences have been built by San Fran- cisco gentlemen, the whole forming a select little village.
In politics, since first exercising the right of suffrage, Mr. Manwaring has belonged to the Democratic party. Officially, he has been prominent in the town, serving as Justice of the Peace thirty-five years and on the Board of Education thirty-three years, during twenty-seven of which he was secretary.
Mr. Manwaring was first married in No- vember, 1849, to Cordelia Caulkins, who was born in 1831, daughter of J. C. and Adeline (Averill) Caulkins, of this town. She be- came the mother of two sons, one of whom, named Myron, died at the age of two and a half years. The other, Harvey M .. is a resi- dent of Bridgeport, Conn. Mrs. Cordelia C. Manwaring died at the age of thirty-four. Mr. Manwaring married for his second wife Mary E. Morgan, a daughter of Philip Mor- gan, who lived on Prospect Hill in this town, and who served officially as Selectman for several years, Judge of Prohate, Representa- tive, and State Senator. Her father died in 1861, leaving one son and five daughters, of whom the son and three daughters are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Manwaring's only liv- ing child is Selden B., who was graduated from the Friends' School, Providence, R. I., and is now twenty-three years old. Another
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son died in early manhood. In religion Mr. Manwaring affiliates with the Baptists, having been a church member for fifty-four years.
FREDERICK LESTER GARDNER, one of Norwich's most successful farmers, is a lifelong citizen of the town, having been born here, March 5, 1832, son of Sidney and Fanny Maria (Fanning) Gardner. His father was born in Bozrah, this county, in 1795, and his mother in Gro- ton, April 12, 1790. His paternal grandpar- ents, Lemuel and Jemimah (Lothrop) Gard- ner, were farming people of Bozrah and later of Norwich, where the former died July 16, 1839, and the latter March 16, 1850, at eighty years of age. Sidney Gardner fol- lowed farming throughout his life, which was spent on the old homestead. He died Sep- tember 14, 1840. His wife, Fanny, was a daughter of Thomas and Susanna (Faulkner) Fanning and a grand-daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Capron) Fanning. . Grandfather Fanning and four of his brothers - there were six in all - served in the Revolutionary War. Charles, who held the office of paymaster, was a close friend and companion of Washington and Lafayette. The other three were: Fred- erick, Elkanah, and Frank, one or more of them being officers. The name of the sixth brother was Walter. The family came origi- nally from England, and were prominent among the early colonists. Sidney Gardner and his wife had three sons and two daugh- ters, of whom Frederick Lester was the fourth child and second son. But one other, Charles H., of Norwich, is now living. Sid- ney, Jr., was engaged in farming on the old homestead prior to his death, June 22, 1847, in his twenty-fourth year. Sarah, who mar- ried Alexander Meech, died February 5, 1871,
when nearly forty-five years of age. Frances, who became the wife of David C. Whaley, died in the fortieth year of her age, leaving one son, Chauncey Whaley, now a resident of New London, Conn.
Frederick Lester Gardner spent his early years on his father's farm, and was educated in the common schools of Norwich. For a year he worked as a clerk in Clinton, Mass. In 1855 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and en- gaged in the manufacture of agricultural im- plements, but within two years returned East. He was next employed as a book-keeper in Norwich three and one-half years, and subse- quent to that was engaged in the clothing trade for three years. From 1867 to 1890, a period of twenty-three years, he carried on a prosperous grocery business in the city of Norwich, subsequently retiring to his present home, an excellent farm of one hundred and eight acres, which he has since conducted. December 16, 1883, Mr. Gardner was married to Mrs. Joanna W. Ransall, whose maiden name was Loomis.
HARLES D. WILLIAMS, a pros- perous farmer of Groton, residing near Mystic, was born in Ledyard, New London County, June 26, 1844, son of John D. and Jeanette (Williams) Williams. The grandfather, John Williams, who was a farmer in Ledyard, and lived to be over seventy years old, had five sons and two daughters, of whom the survivors are: Peter, an octogenarian, residing near Norwich; and Patty Williams, who lives in Ledyard with her daughter. The father, after having started in life without capital, by enterprising industry became the owner of a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres. In 1840 he married Jeanette Williams, a daughter of Judge Will- iam Williams; and besides his son Charles he
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had a daughter, Elizabeth, who became the wife of Nelson Williams, of Groton. He died in 1876, and his wife in 1884, aged sixty-nine.
When eighteen years of age Charles D. Williams went to sea with Captain B. F. Noyes on the brig "General Bailey," which was afterward burned at the wharf in New York. In 1861 he was on the "Weybosset," a government transport used for conveying troops to Norfolk, Va., and other places. At the age of twenty-seven he sailed as captain of the schooner "River Queen," which was engaged in the lumber trade, plying between New York and Galveston. Less than a year later he went on the "Cyclone of Boston," a coaster, and about a year afterward took charge of the "Belle of the Bay," of which he had become part owner, and made voyages to Spain, Sicily, and other places, doing a suc- cessful business as a fruit trader. The next vessel that he commanded, which was also his last, was the bark "Silas Fish, " of which he was captain from 1875 to 1884, and which he first took to China. In 1880 he bought the sixty- acre farm lying on the west side of Mystic River, which is now his home, and where he has since built his residence. Besides doing general farming he has a fine orchard of young trees, including apple, pear, and cherry, which he set out and has since carefully tended. His animals include two cows, and a span of horses kept for his personal use.
On August 1, 1882, Mr. Williams married Eliza K. Fish, a daughter of Thomas B. and Isabelle (Cook) Fish. Her father is a farmer in Groton. She has two brothers, Frank and George, who live with their parents. Mr. Fish was a soldier in Company C of the Twenty-first Connecticut Infantry during the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Williams took . their bridal trip on the "Silas Fish " to Val- paraiso, being gone a year. In politics Mr.
Williams is a gold Democrat. He is a Mas- ter Mason and a member of Charity and Relief Lodge of Mystic. His initiatory degrees in Masonry were taken in Brook- lyn, N. Y.
ILMER M. CHADWICK, a prosperous merchant and Postmaster of Salem, was born in this town, April 25, 1873, son of Frederick E. and Mary E. (Kelly) Chadwick. The paternal grandfather, Horace M. Chadwick, was also a native of this county, and died at the age of fifty-eight years, leaving a widow and only son. His wife, whose maiden name was Olmstead, sur- vived her husband but a few months. The son, Frederick E. Chadwick, was born Decem- ber 4, :845, in the house in Salem which was to be his lifelong residence. He became a successful farmer and merchant; but his career of activity and usefulness was prema- turely cut short, August 21, 1888, when he was forty-two years old. While spending a day at the beach, he stepped into treacherous quicksands, which suffocated him before help could arrive. He was highly thought of by his fellow-citizens, and at different times held most of the offices in the gift of the town. He was Judge of Probate, a member of the legislature in 1876, and First Selectman for several years before his death. In politics he voted with the Republican party. He mar- ried Mary E. Kelly, a daughter of Henry M. and Mary A. (Pratt) Kelly, residents of Leb- anon, Conn., the father being a blacksmith by occupation. Mr. Kelly was twice married. His first wife, Mary, died at the age of forty. leaving four children. For his second wife he married Sarah W. Church, a native of Rhode Island, who bore him three children. He died in 1889, at the age of seventy years. In the spring of 1889 Mrs. Chadwick, with
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her son Elmer, moved to Colchester, Conn., where they resided three years, returning to Salem in 1892. She is an Episcopalian in religious belief, as was also her husband.
Elmer M. Chadwick completed his educa- tion at the Bacon Academy in Colchester; and, after leaving school in 1892, he taught one term. He then entered the mercantile business, conducting for several years a general store, in company with William B. Kingsley, under the firm name of W. B. Kingsley & Co. On July 1, 1897, he became sole proprietor of the business, which he is now conducting alone. He was appointed Postmaster at Salem, June 7, 1897. On No- vember 25, 1897, Mr. Chadwick was married to Miss Kathryn M. Merritt, of Chicopee Falls, Mass., but formerly of Salem, Conn., the ceremony taking place at the residence of her mother.
ENISON J. CHAMPLIN, the Jailer of Norwich, was born in Montville, Conn., April 21, 1841. He is a descendant of Jeffrey Champlin, who was made a freeman in Rhode Island in 1640, and who was at that time granted ten acres of land in Newport. Jeffrey Champlin in 1661 was prominent in Westerly. His death occurred in 1695. His sons were: Jeffrey, William, and Christopher. The second Jeffrey, who was born in 1652, bought six hundred acres of land in Kingston, R.I. He was one of three Assessors in that town, and was in the Assembly from 1696 until the time of his death, in 1715, a period of nineteen years.
John Champlin, the grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch,. was born August 10, 1771, and died December 29, 1841. He was a tiller of the soil, and owned a farm in Montville. The maiden name of his wife was Sally Will- iams, a daughter of Peter Williams, who was a
farmer of Ledyard. They had nine children, and reared seven - John, Oliver. Clarissa, Abby, Isaac S., William, and Thomas W. Thomas A. and Mary Ann died in infancy; John was a farmer of Ledyard; Oliver, a farmer and carpenter, was drowned; Clarissa married Lyman Miner, a carpenter; Abby, who took care of her invalid mother for many years, married late in life Sol C. Vibber; Isaac S. was a farmer of Montville; William was a dry-goods merchant and for a long time a member of a prominent firm in New York City. Thomas W. in 1840 married Eth- elinda, a daughter of Willard Wickwire by his second wife, Theoda (Chapel) Wickwire. Their three children were: Denison J., Charles C., and Albert T. Charles C. kept up the old farm where his father and grand- father had lived and died. He died April 14, 1895, at the age of forty-two, leaving a son and daughter in Montville. Albert T. is un- married, and lives on the old farm with his brother's widow. The father held various town offices, and was the legislative Repre- sentative in 1863. He died May 29, 1880, his wife having died the year before, at the age of sixty years.
Denison J. Champlin lived at home until he was twenty-two years old. Then he be- came a turnkey at the county jail on Novem- ber 16, 1863. After spending nearly three years in this position, he resigned to learn the carpenter's trade; and he afterward worked as a carpenter and millwright until 1869. He again filled the position of turnkey at the jail for two years, afterward spending four years in Elkhart, Ind., as clerk of the Elkhart Hotel. He returned to the jail in Norwich in 1875 and became Deputy Jailer under Sheriff O. N. Raymond. Subsequently, after a period of service as steward in the Connecticut State prison, he in 1884 was made Jailer of the
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county jail, which position he has most ably filled for the past thirteen years.
On September 15, 1879, Mr. Champlin married Abbie A. Brown, a daughter of Al- fred F. and Abigail A. (Mason) Brown. of Jewett City. Her father was the Postmaster of Jewett City for nineteen years. Mrs. Champlin has lost an own sister, and has a half-brother living, Alfred F. Brown, Jr. Mr. Champlin is a Mason. of the thirty-second degree. He is a Republican in politics. In appearance he is a typical jailer and turnkey, standing six feet high, and weighing about two hundred and sixty pounds.
ORENZO DOW FAIRBROTHER, Judge of the Town Court of Stoning- ton, was born in Providence, R. I., November 1, 1854, son of Isaac Newton and Emily (Lamb) Fairbrother. His father, who is now in business in Stonington, was born at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., in the year 1813. After his marriage Isaac N. Fairbrother re- sided in New London for a time; but he sub- sequently went to Providence, where for some years he conducted a bakery business. Still later he spent some time in Phoenix, R.I. During the past twenty-six years he has been engaged in business in Stonington. His
wife, Emily Lamb Fairbrother, is a native of Groton; and they were married in Stonington. They are the parents of eleven children, only five of whom reached maturity, namely : Emily, who became the wife of Charles Vaughan, and died at forty years of age, after having lost her only child; James H., a printer and job compositor, who died when forty-five years old, leaving a widow and one daughter; William, who is in business with his father, and has a wife and four children; Harriet, who married Joseph Cornell, died at
the age of thirty, and is survived by one of her two children; and Lorenzo Dow, the sub- ject of this sketch.
Lorenzo Dow Fairbrother received his edu- cation in the schools of Providence, R.I. When a boy he learned the printing business in that city, and for over twenty years was employed in the office of the Stonington Mirror, being a half-owner of the business ten years of that time, during which it was carried on under the style of Anderson & Fairbrother. Besides attending to his official duties, he is a correspondent of the Westerly Sun, and occa- sionally assists in editing that paper.
On April 7, 1886, Judge Fairbrother mar- ried Miss Mary B. Miller, of Brooklyn, N. Y., a daughter of William E. D. and Anna (Chesebro) Miller and great-grand-daughter of Elder Elihu Chesebro. Her father was born in North Hartland, Vt., in 1826, and died in 1866. He was a civil engineer, and surveyed the line of the old Vandalia Road from Terre Haute to St. Louis. He also ran the first engine over the road. His wife survived him many years, dying in December, 1892, when sixty-five years old. They had two children - Mary B. and William E. William E. is an engineer, residing in Terre Haute, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Fairbrother have four children : Anna F., born July 12, 1887 ; James Edward, born Decem- ber 30, 1889; Prudence, born May 11, 1893; and William Dean, born November 25, 1896.
Judge Fairbrother is a Republican politi- cally. He has served in many public offices, including those of Burgess, Treasurer of the School District, Register of Voters (twelve years), and as a member of the Town Commit- tee (fifteen years). He belongs to the Royal Arcanum, being a charter member of Pequot Council, No. 442, which was organized seven- teen years ago. He is also a Past Regent, and has been Collector.
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RIGADIER-GENERAL GEORGE HAVEN, New London's Chief of Police, was born in this city, March 27, 1844. He is a son of Urbane and Sarah (Rogers) Haven, both of whom were members of old Connecticut families. The Havens," who are of Welsh extraction, settled in this country some time in the seventeenth century. Jonathan Haven, General Haven's great- grandfather, was a resident of Groton or Ston- ington, at that time a part of New London. His son, Jonathan, Jr., the grandfather, who resided in Groton, and died in the prime of life, about the year 1846, married Catherine Gallup, of Groton, a daughter of Jesse and a grand-daughter of Benadam Gallup. She died about the year 1855, and lies buried with her husband in the old Mystic cemetery, formerly known as Elder Wightman's burial-ground. They reared four sons and eight daughters. All the sons and six of the daughters brought ยท up families, and are now deceased. The sons were named Edmund F., Urbane, George, and Jonathan.
Urbane Haven, a native of Groton, born in 1819, was a skilled mechanic, and was for some time the foreman for the Wilson Manu- facturing Company. Possessing a natural talent for music, he was a skilled performer on several instruments. He died in East New London in 1867. In June, 1843, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Rogers,. of this city, a daughter of Jonathan Rogers and a descendant of James Rogers, one of the early Quakers. She is still living in the old home in East New London where her hus- band died, and, though over seventy years of age, is active and in possession of her facul- ties. Her children were: George, the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth, the wife of Charles A. Thrall, of Staten Island: Catherine, who was the wife of James L. Eggleston, had two
daughters and one son, and died in Atchison. Kan., at the age of forty-three; Chester, at Prince's Bay, Staten Island, who has two daughters; and Sarah, a young lady living with her mother in East New London.
George Haven acquired his early education in the public schools of New London. The war troubles were fermenting while he was applying himself to his books; and on April 20, 1861, about a month after his seventeenth birthday, he left school to enlist in Company C, Second Connecticut Regiment, under com- mand of Colonel, afterward General. A. H. Terry. When his term of three months ended, he re-enlisted, being enrolled as a pri- vate, November 21, 1861, in Company C. First Connecticut Cavalry. During his sec- ond term he rose to the rank of Corporal. His regiment was in upward of fifty engage- ments; and, though he participated in every battle, he was neither wounded nor taken pris- oner. After receiving his discharge on No- vember 22, 1864, he returned home, and went to work for the Wilson Manufacturing Com- pany, with which he was connected some eigh- teen years, at first with his father and after- ward taking his place as foreman. He left the employ of the Wilson Company about 1886, and the following year was employed by the Quinnipiac Company. In ISSS he was appointed Chief of Police of New London. While working as a machinist and discharging his duties as Chief of Police, he was active in military matters, and was promoted step by step to the rank which he now holds. On April 14, 1865, he became a member of Com- pany D, Third Regiment of National Guards. and was made First Sergeant eight days later. His succeeding promotions were as follows: Second Lieutenant, July 6, 1865; First Lieu- tenant, December 1, 1865; Captain. August 10, 1867; Major of the Third Regiment, Sep-
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tember 3, 1870; Lieutenant Colonel, April 20, 1872. After resigning April 21, 1873, he rejoined the Guards, and was made Captain and Adjutant on February IS, 1879; Major, March 20. 1882; Colonel, July 12, 1886; Brigadier-general, commanding the brigade, May 28, 1892; and Adjutant-general of Con- necticut, January 7, 1897. Since his appoint- ment by Governor Cooke to the post of Chief of Police, he has been in office, with the ex- ception of one year. He had charge of the Connecticut State prison for three months in 1893, during an investigation. He is a man of soldierly bearing, firm and decided, yet in social intercourse of a modest and retiring manner. He has shown himself to be the right man in the right place, commanding the respect and esteem of his subordinates, and in- spiring criminals with a wholesome awe.
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