USA > Connecticut > New London County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of New London County, Connecticut > Part 44
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culturist and one of the substantial and reli- able citizens of his town. He traces his ancestry to Samuel Chester, who came to Con- necticut with Governor John Winthrop, and was one of the original settlers of New Lon- don, taking up land at Groton Bank. He owned a large tract which now forms part of the site of Groton village, that part on which the monument and Fort Griswold stand. His residence was on Fisher's Island with Gov- ernor Winthrop. Of his family of sons and daughters, the one next in line of descent to the subject of this sketch was John, who re- sided in Groton, where he built what was known as the "Square House," which re- mained in possession of the family for many years. John had eight children, of whom Thomas was the great-grandfather of Elisha Starr Chester. Thomas resided at Eastern Point, in Groton, where he built a house that is still occupied by his descendants, and is the place where the annual family gatherings occur. His son Elisha was born at Eastern Point about 1764, and was followed in the line of descent by his son Thomas, who was born at the same place in 1801, and was the father of Elisha S. Mr. Chester can thus take pride in a long line of sturdy New England ancestry, men who have done their share in their walk of life in developing the resources of this section, and whose record is one of which their de- scendants need not be ashamed.
ONATIIAN W. THAYER,* an es- teemed citizen of Stonington, Conn., for many years a railroad employee, was born on October 27, 1822, in Braintree, Mass. His father, William Thayer, born in Marsh- field, Mass., about 1792, was a shoemaker by trade, and carried on the business as a manu- facturer before the days of shoe factories and
machine-made shoes. He died in 1851. His wife, Deborah Wilde, of Braintree, whom he married in 1813, was a remarkable woman of very strong character. Some years after her husband's death she went to live with her daughter in Cleveland, Ohio, where she died in 1879. Mr. and Mrs. William Thayer had seven children, all of whom married and had families. One son is Lyman W. Thayer, who died in 1893, in Detroit, Mich., at the age of fifty-two, leaving a widow and three children. The six survivors of the parental household are: William Frank, living in Cohasset, who has had twelve children, of whom five died; Ezra W., living in Arizona, and now over eighty years of age; Frances, a widow living in Cleveland, Ohio; Jonathan W., of whom we shall speak more fully; Ann, widow of a Mr. Lowd, living in Cleveland; and Justin Edward, also living in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jonathan W. Thayer, subject of this sketch, was named for his uncle, Jonathan Wilde, for many years a skilled physician of Braintree, Mass. He grew to maturity in his native town, receiving but meagre schooling, as dur- ing his youth he spent most of his time work- ing at the shoemaking bench with his father. In 1840 he left home for Stonington, where he and his brother Ezra opened a small bout and shoe store. The town then was not much more than a sailing port, but the two young men made their business a success. Jonathan eventually bought his brother out, and con- ducted the business by himself, employing men and doing custom work until the breaking out of the Civil War, during which for three years or more he was a clerk with a division sutler. After that for twenty-seven years he was employed as a switchman by the Stoning- ton Railroad. The length of his service shows that he was faithful and efficient, always alert and at his post. When the railroad
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company began to make use of the telegraph in running their trains, Mr. Thayer, consider- ing himself too old to learn the new method, resigned his position. Mr. Thayer was at one time Burgess of Stonington. In politics he has always been a strong Republican.
On February 22, 1843, he married Cather- ine E. Stanton, of Stonington, a daughter of James and Desire (Palmer) Stanton, both members of old families, descended, the one from Walter Palmer, and the other from the Stantons of the Revolution, of Fort Griswold fame. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer have four chil. dren, namely : John Henry, an engineer cn the water, who has a wife and two children ; Kate E., who lives at home; Edward D., an accountant and paymaster in the railroad machine-shops at Stonington, who has a wife and one daughter; and Maria Louise, who lives at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer live very happily in their com- modious brick dwelling, which Mr. Thayer bought about nineteen years ago. Mr. Thayer has an honorable record, and both he and his wife are much respected in Stonington.
RS. ELLEN B. MANWARING,* of New London, is the widow of Dr. Robert Alexander Manwar- ing, whose death, September 1, 1890, at the . age of seventy-nine, removed from this city one of her most beloved and honored citizens. Mrs. Manwaring is a daughter of the Hon. Noyes and Mary (Chester) Barber. Her father, who was a member of Congress four- teen years, had many close friends among the leading men of his times; and of those enter- tained in his home the daughter remembers Governors Ellsworth, Peters, and Trumbull, and others. The Hon. Noyes Barber was twice married. His first wife died young,
leaving a son and two daughters, all now de- ceased. Four children were born of his sec- ond union, namely: Noyes, who died in early life; John Starr; Mary E., who became the wife of a Rev. Mr. Whitman, and died, leav- ing two children; and Ellen, Mrs. Manwar- ing. The Hon. Noyes Barber died in 1843, aged sixty-two, and Mrs. Barber three years later. Ellen Barber completed her studies at a boarding-school in New Haven. She was married to Dr. Manwaring, on May 15, 1845, who was born August 11, 1811, son of Christo- pher and Mary (Wolcott) Manwaring.
The Manwaring family in England have had titles and landed estates. Sir Ranulphus Manwaring (or Mesnilwarin) held the office of Justice of Chester in the reign of Richard 1. Oliver Manwaring, the founder of the Connecticut branch, settled in New London in 1664. The representatives of the six succeed- ing generations are Richard, Christopher, Robert, Christopher, Robert Alexander, and Wolcott, the last named the only son and child of Dr. and Mrs. Manwaring.
Christopher, the father of Dr. Manwaring, was prominent in New London, both in busi- ness and political affairs. He was a Democrat of the Jefferson-Jackson school, and held many important public offices. Mary Wolcott Man- waring, his wife, was a grand-daughter of Oliver Wolcott, who was a member of the Continental Congress, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, a Major-general in the Revolutionary War, and Governor of Con- necticut. His father, Roger Wolcott, was a Colonial Governor of Connecticut. We are told that Mary Wolcott was celebrated for her beauty and rare qualities of mind and temper ; and her only son, the late Doctor, inherited, it is said, in a marked degree his mother's patience, gentleness, and absolute inability to
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cherish malice. The house in which Dr. Manwaring died was built hy his father about ninety years ago, and the land on which it was built is a part of the farm once owned by William Thompson, the first missionary to the Indians in this section; but only the lot of two acres where the dwelling stands re- mains in the family, the rest having been sold off for building lots for other homes. The farm was the original grant from the town to George Chappell in 1650. Eight years later he sold to Mr. Thompson. In 1664 it was sold to Joshua Raymond for his brother-in- law, Oliver Manwaring, the first of that fam- ily to come from England. This two-acre lot has ever since been owned by a descendant, and is now the property of Mrs. Manwaring and her son, Wolcott Barber Manwaring.
Robert Alexander Manwaring did not enjoy the advantages of a college training; but breadth of mind, combined with indefatigable toil, compensated in large measure. At the medical school he was a classmate of Oliver Wendell Holmes, and a warm friendship al- ways existed between them. Upon the Auto- crat's eightieth birthday he was the recipient of one of the poet's inimitable letters. To quote from an article that appeared in a local sheet after his death : " At a very early age he entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. Hard as is a doctor's life, it is absolutely easy compared to that of the physi- cian of nearly sixty years ago, who could scarcely count on forty winks or a meal undis- turbed by a summons. The late Doctor was the leading one of Eastern Connecticut, and responded invariably to all calls, no matter how far off or wearisome. It was no uucom- mon occurrence for him to return from an all- night task, and at once begin a round of visits that occupied all day. He was devoted to his profession, in which he held a just pre-emi-
nence. . . . Notwithstanding his laborious life, he was uncommonly vigorous in mind and body, and had looked forward for many years of happy contentment in his ancestral home upon Manwaring Hill, to which he had lately returned, and whence the angel of the Lord summoned him to his reward, after a briet warning, Monday morning.
"Dr. Manwaring possessed a profound and many-sided intellect. His mind was a veri- table storehouse of knowledge. He was a cap- ital companion, an entertaining raconteur, humorous and philosophical in a rare combina- tion, and keenly appreciative of a good thing. Taken all in all, he was one whose like we seldom see, a perfectly upright character, scorning deceit, loving right for Christ Jesus' sake, harboring no resentment, profoundly re- ligious in feeling, yet loving all Christians, shaping every thought and deed by the Golden Rule, seeking only to be the servant of God. Well hath he served Him who has ere this said to him, ' Well done, thou good and faithful servant ! ' "' He had labored as a physician more than half a century.
Mrs. Manwaring and her son, Wolcott Bar- ber Manwaring, now occupy the homestead, the son having charge of the estate left ly Dr. Manwaring. For fifteen years he was engaged in the oil region, putting down wells. Mrs. Manwaring is a member of the Second Congregational Church.
S TEPHEN P. STERLING, * a farmer of Lyme, was born October 15, 1842, on the old homestead where, also, his father Stephen and grandfather Stephen first saw the light. The house was built by his great - great - grandfather, John Sterling, who was a son of Daniel, who was a son of William, the first settler of Lyme,
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coming from Massachusetts about 1700. The family is said to be of Scotch origin, and descended from David, who came to this coun- try in 1650. Daniel Sterling married Mary Ely, by whom he had the following children : Elizabeth, born in 1699; Daniel; John, born in 1703; Joseph; Abigail; and Mary. John, son of Daniel and Mary Sterling, in 1727 married Abigail Pratt, by whom he had two daughters - Elizabeth and Abigail. He married for his second wife, December 30, 1731, Jane Ransom, and by her had twelve children : John, born 1732; Nathan, born 1736; Stephen, from whom Stephen P. is descended, born 1738; Daniel, born 1740; Abigail, born 1742; Jacob, born 1744; Jane, born 1746; Simon, born 1749; Esther, born 1751; Lucy, born 1753; Miriam, born 1755; and Mary, born 1757. Stephen, the great- grandfather, married May 11, 1766, Elizabeth H. Tucker, by whom he had five children : Stephen, born March 22, 1767; Marshfield, born March 13, 1769; Isaac, who died in infancy; Esther, born September 16, 1773; and Elizabeth, born in March, 1777. The father died in 1776, at thirty-nine years of age. His son Stephen married Polly Brown, September 24, 1798, by whom he had : Stephen, born May 5, 1801; and John, born October 16, 1803, who died an infant. The father of these children died in 1845, at the age of seventy-eight years; and their mother attained the age of seventy. Their son, Stephen Sterling, father of the subject of this sketch, married December 9, 1824, Sarah M. Marvin, who was born in Lyme in 1799, daughter of Asahel A. and Azubah (Sill) Marvin. They had four children : Asahel M., born December 27, 1825, who died here April 20, 1868; Mary E., born February 1, 1828; Sarah E., born April 27, 1838; and Stephen P. The two daughters have been successful
teachers, and now reside at the homestead. The father died in 1867, six years after his wife's death.
Stephen P. Sterling is a prominent citizen of his native town. He has served as Grand Juror, and was in the legislature of 1891, dur- ing the memorable deadlock serving on the Committee of Forfeited Rights. He mar- ried October 15, 1868, Annie Warner, of Lyme, a daughter of Jefferson and Sarah (Lay) Warner; and they have one daughter, Sarah W. Sterling, born November 19, 1870.
LFRED C. GUILE,* the well-known wagon-maker of Preston, was born here November 30, 1836, son of Henry and Ellen (Lewis) Guile. Ilis parents were the foster-children of two brothers by the name of Brown. Henry Guile was born in Preston, or Griswold, about 1805, and died in Preston in 1880. He was a farmer, and also made a business of cutting ship timber. He married Ellen Lewis in 1825, and had thir- teen children, 'of whom eight lived to matu- rity, their record being in part as follows: William S., who was a wheelwright and wagon-maker, died May 2, 1879, his mother's death occurring the same year. Daniel, a farmer and miller, died in July, 1896, at the age of sixty-four years. May Ellen married James H. Fitch, of Preston. Ezra is a farmer of Preston, and was formerly proprietor of the saw-mill. Ada married Ira Kinney, and re- sides in Griswold. Jane, the youngest mem- ber of the family, became the wife of Albert Button, and died in Griswold, in the prime of life, leaving four children.
Alfred C. Guile was brought up on his father's farm, and received but a limited schooling, being obliged to assist his father in the mill also. At the age of twenty-one
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he began to make wagons with his brother William. In 1861 he bought his brother's share in the business, and continued the latter in East Preston till 1887, when he removed to his present location in Preston village. Mr. Guile has been a man of great strength and endurance, which qualities he has fostered by continued industry, taking the timber from the stump, and making every part of a vehicle. He has often forty or fifty wagons on hand at one time; and, though the grip and rheuma- tism have seriously affected his health, he is still at the bench.
At the age of twenty-four Mr. Guile mar- ried Sarah Loncom, of Voluntown, Conn. They have lost their first-born, Hattie, who died in 1889, in the twenty-ninth year of her age. Their second child, Albert, who lives in Rhode Island, has been twice married, and has three children. Dora, the youngest, is the wife of George Barber, a farmer of Gris- wold. Mr. Guile is a Democrat politically, and served as Representative to the legislat- ure in 1872 and again in 1876. He is now a Grand Juror of the town.
APTAIN EDMUND R. EWEN,* ship-master, of New London, Conn., was born in Norwich, this State, on February 27, 1827, son of Captain David Ewen and Prudence Carew Ewen. His father was born December 15, 1788, and was mar- ried by the Rev. John Starring, on August 26, 1810, to Miss Carew, who was born April 26, 1791. He spent most of his life upon the water, was a sailor and a mechanic, and was a boat-builder and cabinet-maker in Norwich when not upon the seas. He died November 13, 1864; and his wife died July 22, 1873.
Mr. Ewen is the eighth of eleven children born to his parents, and is now the last sur-
vivor of the family. He was reared to a sailor's life, and when but a lad served as cook upon his father's vessel. He left home at sixteen years of age, and shipped before the mast on board a full-rigged ship, the " India, " Captain Albert Miller. They were gone thirty-two months on a whaling voyage, and brought back forty-four hundred barrels of cil and a large amount of whalebone, of which he was given a share. His next experience was a seven months' coasting cruise on a ship owned by his brother, Henry C. Ewen. After a year or two more of voyaging and coasting he shipped on board the " Charles Carroll," Cap- tain Frank Smith, for San Francisco; but, after rounding the Cape, he and five other volunteers left the ship, for the captain's pleasure boat, the "Chelsea Smith," under the first mate. Reaching San Francisco in sixty-five days, he shortly went to work in the mines, at eight dollars a day and board. He spent some years in California, experiencing the ups and downs of that adventurous country and time.
Mr. Ewen married April 14, 1858, Frances B. Walden, who was born September 15, 1832, daughter of George and Mary Walden, and a distant connection of his family. Their home was in Norwich until 1875, when they built their present dwelling on the Point. No children have been born to them; but they have an adopted daughter, in whom they take pride and comfort, Carrie Welde, who was orphaned at the age of five years. She was graduated from the Young Ladies' High School with honors, is quite musical, and per- forms well upon the pianoforte.
Captain Ewen was on the steamer " City of New London" for six years, four years as wheelman and two years as pilot, with Captain C. H. Luphere. He was on board when she was burned near Norwich, November 22,
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1871, and seventeen men were drowned. He was first captain of the steamer "Lillie" from New London to New York, in the Cen- tral Point Line, for several years. His next command was their steamer " Doris," which he left in December, 1895. He has not per- manently retired from the sea, but is taking a much needed rest. The Captain is a Repub- lican voter. He has long been a member of the First Baptist Church, to which his father belonged. One of his most cherished posses- sions is his father's old Bible, thumbed and worn. This cherished volume was given to his father by the Rev. Ezra Chappell nearly fifty years ago.
AMES BINGHAM, a retired manu- facturer residing at Pleasant Valley, in North Lyme, was born in Scotland, ten miles from Edinburgh, April 16, 1815, son of Thomas and Main (Ketchem) Bingham. His parents came to this country in 1825. They had a family of four daughters and one son.
James Bingham at the age of ten years began to learn the paper-maker's trade, which had been followed by his father and by his maternal grandfather. He worked for sixteen years in the mills at Pennycuick, in Scotland, making the finest of hand-made paper for bank notes and other special purposes. He learned all parts of the business thoroughly, becoming a most skilled workman. In 1845 he came to America, bringing with him his wife and two children. For two years he lived in Pater- son, N. J., but subsequently removed to Water- ford, Conn., in company with his two brothers- in-law, the Robertsons, and started a paper- mill for the manufacture of thin manilla paper, which was carried on most successfully under the name of Robertson & Bingham, Mr. Bingham being the practical man of the busi- ness. During the eighteen years of his stay
in Waterford they built up a plant worth some thirty thousand dollars to forty thousand dollars. Mr. Bingham also helped in the financial department and with the books. The firm made fine tissue papers for patterns, which was sold as high as thirty cents per pound during the war. In prosperous times the receipts were over one hundred thousand dollars a year. At the end of eighteen years Mr. Bingham, sold out his interest in Water- ford, and in 1862 built a mill at Oakdale. This did not prove a very successful venture ; and he afterward gave it up, and started a mill in North Lyme. He came to his present home from Montville seventeen years ago. Mr. Bingham's first wife, Margaret Robert- son, died in Waterford at the age of sixty years. Their son Thomas died when about twenty-two and one-half years old. The liv- ing children of this first union are: Joanna, wife of James Cochran, and mother of five children, living in Tampa, Fla. ; Catherine, who keeps house for her brother James; and Edward, who lives in Waterford, and superin- tends the two paper-mills for the Robertsons. The last-named is married, and the father of two sons and a daughter. Mr. Bingham mar- ried for his second wife Cynthia Ann Scho- field, who was born in Waterford in 1819, not far from the paper-mills. Her father was a manufacturer of woollen cloths. In 1812, when about twenty-one years old, he invented a loom, and in it made the first satinet, a suit of which, made by Mr. Schofield, was worn by President Monroe, on his inaugura- tion. Mr. Schofield died February 14, 1892, nearly one hundred and two years old. His father, John Schofield, came to this country from England with his wife and six children. Hle was a man of large business interests, started his first factory near Boston, about 1793, and later owned four -in Westerly,
£
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Stillmanville, Montville, and Waterford. Mrs. Bingham is the only survivor of three children. During several years past Mr. Bingham has been partially deprived of the use of his lower limbs, and can only walk with the aid of canes.
HARLES P. WILLIAMS,* of New York and of Stonington, his native town, is the only son of the late Charles Phelps Williams, of Stonington, and his wife, Georgia Babcock Williams, now living in New York City.
Ephraim Williams, the father of Charles Phelps, was born in Stonington, May 31, 1756, and died in July, 1804, on his farm three miles from the village. On December 23, 1787, he married Hepsibeth Phelps, daughter of Dr. Charles and Hannah (Deni- son) l'helps. They had two sons and a daugh- ter; namely, Ephraim, Charles Phelps, and Sarah Potter. The daughter died July 24, 1824, at twenty-three. Ephraim Williams, Sr., was a son of William and Martha (Wheeler) Williams, both natives of Stoning- ton. William Williams was born May I, 1716; and his wife, to whom he was married February 15, 1738, was born in 1717. She died in 1784, and he in 1801. He followed ship-building. William Williams, his father, was a son of Colonel John Williams, who was born in 1692, and in 1711 or 1712 married Desire Denison, whose birth occurred in 1693. She died in 1737, and he in 1761. John Williams, the father of Colonel John, and the first of the family to settle in Stonington, was born in Massachusetts in 1667. On January 24, 1687, he married Martha A. Wheeler. She was born in 1669, and died in 1745. Isaac Williams, the father of John, was born in Roxbury, in 1638, and died at what is now Newton, Mass., in 1707. He was married
in 1660 to Martha Park, of Roxbury, his first wife. The father of Isaac Williams was Rob- ert, who came to this country from England in 1637, and settled in Roxbury, Mass., where he was made a freeman in 1638. He died September 15, 1693, at the age of eighty-five. His wife, Elizabeth, died July 28, 1674, aged eighty years.
Charles Phelps Williams, the youngest child of Ephraim Williams, was born June II, 1804, at Wequetequock, in the town of Stonington, and on both sides was connected with the oldest families here. His mother was a daughter of Dr. Charles Phelps, a physi- cian of great influence. Ephraim Williams died shortly after his son's birth; and the family removed soon after to Stonington bor- ough. a place even then much interested in foreign commerce. Charles Phelps Williams passed his boyhood days here, and early devel- oped marked business capacity. In 1821. before he was seventeen, he sailed in the capacity of supercargo to Bilboa, Spain; and, after he had sailed again to the same port, and before he was twenty, he made a voyage to the African coast as master of what was then a large vessel. The seal fisheries next attracted his attention. Establishing himself perma- nently in the village of Stonington, he em- barked in that enterprise, and, before he abandoned it, had laid the foundation of his large fortune. He next tried whaling, and was one of the largest individual ship-owners engaged in that pursuit during its highest development After that business began to fall off, he withdrew from active commercial life.
He was one of the incorporators of the Ocean Bank of Stonington, and, being chosen president, remained in office, administering its affairs till his resignation in 1856, when he went to Europe with his family. On his
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return he was elected first director, a position which he retained after the reorganization of the bank as the First National. He took an active part in the building of the Providence & Stonington Railroad, and was president of the corporation for many years. The manage- ment of his accumulated property required most of his attention in later years. He was well known in business circles throughout the country, and his success gave value to his judgment and opinion on all financial matters. He was one who avoided public life, and was averse to all ostentation. The date of his death was October 28, 1879.
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