USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Litchfield County, Connecticut > Part 11
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William H. Griswold commenced his educa- tion in the common schools and completed it at the State Normal School in New Britain. After teaching for four seasons in Terryville he entered the employ of the Eagle Lock Com- pany as shipping clerk, in which capacity he continued for six years. For the succeeding three years he acted as travelling salesman through the New England and the Southern States, and then resigned his position to be- come superintendent of the case department of the Seth Thomas Clock Company in Thomas- ton. At the expiration of five years he retired
from that concern and engaged in the dry- goods business in Manchester, Hartford County, where he remained for a short time. In 1891 he returned to Thomaston, and, pur- chasing the established boot and shoe business of J. J. McNamara, has since conducted it with the most gratifying results. He carries a large and varied stock of fine footwear of every description, and displays an energy and business ability certain to insure continued success. In politics he is a Republican, and is connected with the fraternity of A. F. & A. M. and that of the Red Men. On June 3, 1887, Mr. Griswold was married to Minnie Thomas, daughter of Aaron Thomas, of Thomaston. They have three children : Grace, Gladys, and Agnes. Mr. and Mrs. Griswold are members of the Congregational church and Sabbath-school.
Aaron Thomas, Mrs. Griswold's father, was born in Plymouth Hollow, now called Thomas- ton, March 13, 1830, and is the third son of Seth and Laura Thomas. He was educated in the public schools and was engaged in team- ing. He was also interested in the manufact- ure of clocks, and in January, 1859, he was chosen President of the Seth Thomas Clock Company, a position which he ably filled for more than thirty years. In October, 1865, a new company was organized under the name of the Seth Thomas's Sons Company. Aaron Thomas was also President of that enterprise until 1879, when the two companies were con- solidated. He presided over the affairs of this well-known concern until 1892, when feeble health caused him to resign; and he is now living in retirement. He is a Republican in politics, and was elected a Representative to the legislature from Thomaston in 1881. On October 4. 1848, he married Phebe A. Iline, and has two children living; namely. Edson and Minnie. Aaron, Jr., the third child, is
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deceased. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Congregational church. He has been first Selectman of Thomaston for a number of years.
ILLIAM L. RANSOM, who is liv- ing in his pleasant home at Litch- field, retired from the active pursuits of life, is an attorney by profession, and for twenty-eight years served most ably and satis- factorily as Clerk of the Court of Litchfield County. He is a native of Massachusetts, born in Granville, Hampden County, March 28, 1822, son of Elisha and Kate (Coe) Ran- som. Elisha Ransom spent the early part of his life in this State, working on a farm in Hartland, and there also learning the shoe- maker's trade, which he followed for some years. When enfeebled by age he settled at Barkhamsted, in this county, making that his permanent abiding-place until called to join the silent majority at the venerable age of ninety-one years. The maiden name of his wife was Kate Coe, a native of Hartland; and, of the family of six children born to them, four are living, and are as follows: Cyrus, a retired business man, residing at Winsted, Conn. ; William L., the subject of this sketch; Timothy C., a lawyer, formerly of Grafton, N. Dak. ; and Sarah C., widow of Jason H. Huyler. The mother's death pre- ceded that of her husband, occurring in Bark- hamsted when she was seventy-five years of age. She was a faithful Christian woman, and, with her life companion, was a sincere member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
William L. Ransom when a boy of five years accompanied his parents from their Mas- sachusetts home to this county, and received his elementary education in the public schools of Barkhamsted. At the age of nineteen years he began working for himself, first as a
tiller of the soil and afterward in a factory. In 1852, being desirous of entering upon a professional career, Mr. Ransom began reading law with Hiram Goodwin, an attorney of that town, and continued to do so until his admis- sion to the bar in October, 1854. After prac- tising for a brief time in Barkhamsted he opened an office in Ansonia, New Haven County. Before long he returned to his early home, and engaged in his profession until 1857, when he located in Litchfield. Here he formed a partnership with the Hon. John H. Hubbard; and the firm carried on a good busi- ness for six years, during which it came to be counted among the leading law firms of the county. In 1860 Mr. Ransom was honored by receiving the appointment of Clerk of the Superior and Supreme Court of Errors, an office which he at once accepted. While filling this position he continued his relations with Mr. Hubbard for three years longer, when the part- nership was dissolved. From the time of his acceptance of it until 1888 Mr. Ransom was a faithful incumbent of his office, and won the respect and good will of every one with whom he was brought in contact. A man of great patience, kind and courteous to all, he was well-deserving of the high regard in which he was held by his associates.
On October 18, 1853, Mr. Ransom was mar- ried to Mary H. Hayward, a daughter of Amasa Hayward, of Conway, Mass. Her father was a tiller of the soil in Western Mas- sachusetts, but spent his declining years at the home of a son in Canaan, Conn. His family consisted of two sons and three daughters ; and, of these, two daughters are yet living. Mrs. Ransom died when seventy-five years old, leav- ing behind her a worthy record of a busy and usefully spent life. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ran- som were ever held in high estimation by their friends and neighbors, and she was a faithful
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member of the Congregational church. Politi- cally, Mr. Ransom was formerly a Whig, but has affiliated with the Republican party since its formation. He is an active worker in his party's ranks, and for two years served his constituents as Warden of the borough. He is a man of strong convictions, well-informed on the current topics, and broad and liberal in all of his views.
IRAM ALPHA SMITH, a well-known agriculturist of the town of Cole- brook and one of the brave de- fenders of the Union in the Civil War, was born in that town, May 3, 1836. He comes from honorable English ancestry, and is a descendant of a pioneer settler of Litchfield County. His grandfather, Joseph Smith, who was born in Simsbury, when twelve years old went with his parents from that place to Nor- folk. He was there reared to maturity, and made his first purchase of land in that town. He subsequently bought a tract of wild land in the western part of Colebrook and made it his permanent abiding-place. He was one of those who acted a patriot's part in the Revolu- tionary War, and preserved a lively recollec- tion of many of its more memorable scenes up to the time of his death, which occurred No- vember 8, 1846, at the remarkable age of ninety-five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Sibyl Wardell, a native of Branford, New Haven County, died at the comparatively carly age of fifty-six years. She bore him seven children ; namely, Humphrey, Josephus, Lois, Betsey, Laura, Evaline, and Hiram G.
Hiram Guy Smith, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Norfolk, July 15, 1797. For a while after reaching manhood he was engaged in the clothier's trade, but finally turned his attention to agriculture. After
working on the parental homestead for a num- ber of years he succeeded to its ownership, and managed it successfully until his decease at the venerable age of fourscore and two years. For a life companion he wooed and won the affections of Clementina Barber, who was born and- bred in Canton, Hartford County, the date of her birth being May 29, 1804. Her father, Michael Barber, Jr., was the son of Michael Barber and Azubah Brown. Azu- bah Brown was the daughter of John Brown, third, and Hannah Owen. John Brown, third, was the son of John Brown, second, and Mary Eggleston. John Brown, second, was the son of John Brown, first, and Elizabeth Loomis. John Brown, first, was the son of Peter Brown, second, and Mary Gillett. Peter Brown, sec- ond, was the son of Peter Brown, the Pilgrim who came over in the "Mayflower," December 22, 1620. Mr. Barber and his wife, Anna (Taylor) Barber, lived in Canton several years after their marriage; but in 1809 they fol- lowed the tide of emigration westward, settling in the present populous State of Ohio. They started for their new home in the fall, making the overland journey with teams, and being six weeks on the way. Mr. Barber bought a tract of timber land in the town of Marlboro, and in the midst of the dense wilderness erected a log cabin for himself and family, and began a clearing for a farm. He had not, however, made much progress when he was taken sick, and, dying soon after, his remains were placed in a log hollowed out for the purpose. His widow, with three little girls, returned to Canton, her native town, where she remained until her decease. Her daughter, Clementina, came to Colebrook when a maiden of ten years, and made her home with Luman Barber until her marriage. She died September 22, 1890, in the eighty- seventh year of her age, having lived to see seven generations, as she distinctly
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remembered Hannah Owen, wife of John Brown, third, who was her great-grandmother.
Hiram Alpha Smith was an early attendant at the district school, and afterward completed his studies at the Norfolk Seminary. At the age of twenty-one he began teaching, a profes- sion which he followed during the winter season for a number of years, devoting the remainder of each year to agricultural employ- ments. In 1876 Mr. Smith began his career as a travelling salesman, representing the Empire Knife Company and the Beardsley Scythe Company for several seasons, afterward being employed in the same capacity by the Thayer Scythe Company. He now represents the Winsted Manufacturing Company, in whose employment he has been since 1887. The territory over which he travels embraces a portion of Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. During the entire time he has been so engaged Mr. Smith's home has been in Colebrook. In 1858 he took up his residence on the beautiful farm where he now lives. He enlisted August 28, 1862, in Com- pany F, Twenty-eighth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, for a term of nine months' service in the Civil War, joining the regiment at Camp Terry. In the fall he was sent South to the Gulf, to join Banks's department of the Nine- teenth Army Corps, wintering at Pensacola, whence he proceeded to Port Hudson. He participated in the siege and capture of that place. He remained with his regiment until its arrival in Memphis, Tenn., where, on ac- count of sickness, he was left in the hospital, August 8, 1863. He remained here until the 19th, when he started for New Haven. At New Haven he was honorably discharged Au- gust 28, and returned then to his native town quite enfeebled in health.
On the 9th of September, 1858, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Harriet North, a
native of Colebrook, born January 12, 1830. Her father, Joel North, was born June 10, 1795, in the same town, son of Rufus North, a native of Torrington, and grandson of Mar- tin North, also born in Torrington. Ebenezer North, father of Martin North and great-great- grandfather of Mrs. Smith, removed from Farmington to Torrington when a young man, being one of the very early settlers of that town, as his son Martin was of Colebrook in after years. Martin was a chair-maker by trade, and also manufactured spinning-wheels, an important industry of his day. He married Abigail Eno, who, without doubt, used a spin- ning-wheel which he made. Rufus North, Mrs. Smith's grandfather, was a skilful wood worker, making churns, tubs, oars, and mould boards, and, in addition thereto, was a pros- perous farmer, his wife, formerly Esther Ro- bards, having been a faithful helpmeet. Joel North learned the trade of a blacksmith, and was also skilful in repairing clocks and watches. He was likewise interested in farm- ing. He first bought a small farm, upon which there was a saw-mill, which he operated until 1834. He then sold that property and bought the homestead where Mr. Smith and his family now reside, and here worked at his trade and engaged in farming until his death, in January, 1855, at the age of fifty-nine years. The maiden name of his wife was Har- riet Taylor, a daughter of Jesse and Polly (Owen) Taylor. She was born in Colebrook, and lived to the age of sixty-three years, rear- ing six children; namely, Emily and Esther (twins), Harriet, Lester, Joel, and Eben. Jesse Taylor was a soldier in the Revolution- ary Army, serving seven years. His wife, Polly, was a daughter of Amos and Mercy (Brown) Owen, who, being the great-grand- mother of Mrs. Smith, was also a lineal de- scendant of Peter Brown, who came over in the
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"Mayflower "; while the North family, her paternal ancestors, came over on a later voy- age. Five children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith ; namely, How- ard, Gertrude C., Lester N., Julian H., and Josephine H. Mr. Smith is a man of un- doubted integrity, well known throughout the community, and is a valued member of Cole- brook society.
RANK M. WHEELER, of Torrington, shipping clerk for the Turner & Sey- mour Manufacturing Company, was born in Avon, Conn., May 27, 1847, son of Amos and Martha (Chidsey) Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler's grandfather, Amos Wheeler, resided in Avon the greater part of his life, where he followed the occupation of a miller in connec- tion with farming. He was prosperous in his business affairs, owned considerable real es- tate, and was a prominent man in the town. He contributed the land for a church and semi- nary in Avon. His generous nature and the deep interest he took in the general welfare of the town were among the most notable traits in his character. He died at the age of forty- five years.
Amos Wheeler, Jr., Mr. Wheeler's father, was born in Avon. He was first employed in driving a team between Avon and Collinsville, carrying produce and merchandise; but later he entered mercantile business as a clerk. Ile afterward conducted a large general store upon his own account, and for some years was a prominent merchant in Avon. He relin- quished store-keeping, and, after selling Yan- kce notions upon the road for a time, became a travelling salesman for a wholesale house in Hartford. In 1869 he took up his residence in Torrington, and later resigned his position with the Hartford concern for the purpose of
entering the employ of the Coe Brothers in Torrington. Amos Wheeler, Jr., died in 1883, aged sixty-two years. His wife, Martha Chidsey before marriage, was a daughter of Jacob Chidsey, of Avon. Her father, who was a prosperous farmer and a representative of an old and highly reputable family, raised a family of six children, of whom but two are now living. They are: Martha, who became Mrs. Amos Wheeler; and her twin sister, Mary, who is now Mrs. Smith, of Avon. Mrs. Amos Wheeler became the mother of seven children, six of whom grew to maturity. and are as follows: Frank M., the subject of this sketch; Perlie; Nellie, wife of Edward H. Haley, of Torrington; Lillie, who married E. T. Coc, Treasurer of the Coe Brass Manu- facturing Company; Homer C., who married Jennie A. Scoville, and is an employee at the Coe Brothers' manufactory; and Leonard D., a brass caster for the same firm. The mother resides in Torrington, and is a member of the Congregational church.
Frank M. Wheeler passed his early boyhood in Avon, and was educated in the schools of that town. At the age of fourteen he went to Farmington, Conn., where he was employed in a drug store for two years. Ile then went to Hartford, and was engaged in the same busi- ness for four years. After this he was drug clerk in Saratoga, N. Y., for eight months, and in Torrington for one year. He was sub sequently in the employ of the Excelsior Needle Company and of the Cce Brass Manu- facturing Company, after which, in 1876, he became connected with the Turner & Seymour Company. The business of this firm, moder ate at this date, developed rapidly thereafter. and is at the present time one of the largest in the manufacture of upholstery trimmings and small iron castings in New England. Mr. Wheeler has held his present responsible posi-
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tion of shipping clerk for nearly twenty years, and his energy and business ability are well appreciated by his employers. Mr. Wheeler is a member of the Knights of Honor, and holds the office of Reporter in the Lodge in Torrington. He is a member and Secretary of the New England Order of Protection in Tor- rington, and was formerly a member and Past Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican in politics.
Mr. Wheeler has been twice married. In 1874 he was united to his first wife, whose maiden name was Helen A. Langdon. She was born in Hartford, daughter of John W. Langdon, a carriage trimmer, who moved to Torrington, where his daughter passed the greater part of her life. She died at the age of thirty-eight years, leaving five children, as follows: Edward C., who is employed in the office of the Register Printing Company, Tor- rington ; Lillian, who is a clerk in a dry-goods store ; Phillip H. ; Clarence P. ; and Grace E. Mr. Wheeler wedded for his second wife Eliza Jones, daughter of David Jones, formerly a shoe- maker of Torrington. She was born in Wel- lington, England, and emigrated with her parents to the United States. They re- sided for a time in Torrington, and later moved to New York State, where her father is engaged in farming. Mrs. Wheeler's par- ents raised a family of five children, and two of her brothers are engaged in the shoe business in Torrington.
Mr. Wheeler has been a member of the Third Congregational Church of Torrington since 1874, and has been connected with the Sunday-school for twenty years, during ten years of which he was the superintendent. He is at the present time a Deacon of the church and a Director and Treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Association. Mrs. Wheeler is also a member of the church.
R OBERT HENDERSON, a highly in- telligent and capable Scotsman, whose portrait is placed in close proxim- ity to the present sketch, has been employed for about twenty-eight years by the Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company as master mechanic of their branch mill at Thomaston, Litchfield County. He was born at Loan- head, about six miles from Edinburgh, Scot- land, on the 29th of January, 1844. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Hunter) Henderson, the father being a native of Penni Cuick, a place nine miles distant from Edin- burgh.
John Henderson's great-grandfather, Deacon John, of the United Presbyterian church, was also a native of Penni Cuick, where he followed the vocation of a millwright. He spent his whole life in that place, living to the age of threescore years and ten. Robert Henderson, the first, son of Deacon John Henderson, learned not only the trade followed by his father, but that of a machinist, or wood and iron worker, as well. He was engaged in work at or near his birthplace until toward the close of his life, when he came to Amer- ica, and settled near the town of Norwich, Conn. He died there at seventy-five years of age.
His son John, the father of the leading sub- ject of this biographical notice, was reared to the vocation of a millwright, at which he worked as a journeyman in Scotland for seven- teen years. He then decided to try his fort- unes in the United States; and, arriving here on August 1, 1860, he settled in Greenville, Coun., near the home of his father. After working there for a time as a machinist, he removed to Waterbury, where he is still em- ployed in the shop of the Waterbury Brass Company, although he is now a man seventy- two years old, and has been actively engaged
ROBERT HENDERSON.
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at his vocation for nearly half a century. His wife, Elizabeth Hunter, daughter of Robert Hunter, a successful blacksmith, was born in Lasswade, Scotland. In that place, not far distant from Edinburgh, for generations her ancestors have engaged in the same vocation ; and a brother is to-day occupying the same stand where their great-grandfather worked at his forge. Mr. and Mrs. John Henderson reared nine children, seven sons and two daughters, as follows: Robert; Elizabeth, the widow of Samuel Geddes; John, who is the proprietor of a machine shop in Waterbury, Conn., where he is a well-known citizen, and for many years has acted as Deacon of the Third Congregational Church; David, a super- intending machinist in the Waterbury Brass Company ; James (deceased); William, a machinist in the employ of the Waterbury Clock Company at Waterbury; Alexander, who works in the machine shop of his brother John; Annie, the wife of William H. Mari- gold, who conducts a printing-office in Bridge- port, Conn., of which city he has served two terms as Mayor, and who has also been a Sen- ator in the State legislature; and Thomas, a machinist in the employ of his brother, John Henderson. Robert Hunter had four sons and four daughters, Mrs. Henderson being the eldest daughter. She died in August, 1875, at fifty-two years of age. Both she and her husband were formerly members of the Presby- terian church of Scotland; but, after coming to America, she united with the Second Con- gregational Church of Waterbury.
Robert Henderson acquired a good practical education in the common schools of his native land. He was sixteen years of age at the time he accompanied his parents to this coun- try, and he remained with his father in Nor- wich for about eighteen months. He then went to South Windham, Conn., where he secured a
position in the machine shop of Smith & Winchester, manufacturers of paper machin- ery ; but six months later he went to Hartford, and was employed during the following year by Woodruff & Beach, builders of engines for war ships. The next year, he worked in Waterbury for the Farrell Foundry and Ma- chine Company, returning the following year to his old position with Woodruff & Beach. He was then employed for a year in Rainbow, Hartford County, Conn., after which he went to Waterbury for six months as a pattern- maker, thence to Holyoke, Mass., for a brief time; and in June, 1867, he returned to Waterbury, and took a position with the Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company, by whom he is still employed at their branch factory in Thomaston. He is superintendent of general repairing at this place, looking after all repairs and additions, and is now among the oldest employees.
In 1865 he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Crawford, who was born in Scotland, and is a daughter of William and Margaret (Glenn) Crawford. Her father afterward came to this country, and settled in Norwich, Conn., where he lived until the time of his death. He and his wife reared the following children : William Crawford ; Agnes, who married Robert Henderson, uncle of our subject ; John Crawford, who served in the Civil War, enlisting in July. 1862, in Company A of the Eighteenth Connecticut Regiment, and died July 2, 1863, at Winches- ter, Va. ; Margaret, now Mrs. Robert Hender- son ; and Mary, who married Charles A. Hatch. The mother died in Norwich at sixty-six years of age. Both parents were connected with the Congregational church ; and the father, who took a keen interest in town affairs, served as Justice of the Peace for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson
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are the parents of eight children, seven of whom are still living, namely: John, a ma- chinist in the employ of the Farrell Foundry and Machine Company at Waterbury, Conn .; Margaret ; William; Annie, who is attending the Normal School at New Britain, Conn. ; Mary; Alfred; and Andrew. Elizabeth died at two years of age.
In politics Mr. Henderson is a Democrat. He has served as Selectman of Thomaston for three terms, and as a member of the Board of Relief two years. He is a prominent Mason, being a member of Union Lodge, No. 96, A. F. & A. M .; Granite Chapter, No. 36, Royal Arch Mason; Clark Commandery, No. 7, Knights Templars, of Waterbury; the Ma- sonic Council at Waterbury; and of the Mys- tic Shrine, Pyramid Temple, of Bridgeport. He is also a member of the Connecticut Past Masters Association, Ancient Order of United Workmen, No. 4, of Thomaston. Mr. Hen- derson is widely known and much respected. They reside on East Main Street, Plymouth Hill, in the pleasant home which he has altered and improved since he purchased the property.
DWIN P. DICKINSON, a prosperous farmer of Litchfield, was born in that town, January 4, 1821, son of Amos and Sally (Perry) Dickinson. Mr. Dickin- son's grandfather, Solomon Dickinson, was formerly a resident of Connecticut, but passed his later years in New York State, where he died. He was twice married, and had four children by his first union. Amos Dickinson, Mr. Dickinson's father, was born in Litch- field, and acquired the trade of a millwright. He followed that occupation through life, and died in Litchfield, aged seventy-seven years. His wife, who was born in Weston, Fairfield County, Conn., became the mother of four
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