USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Litchfield County, Connecticut > Part 22
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OHN ANDRUS, a brass caster in the employment of the Coe Brass Company at Torrington, was born in Solon, N. Y., January 29, 1826. On the paternal side he comes of Connecticut stock, his grand- father, Simeon, having been a lifelong resi- dent of this State. Simeon Andrus was a farmer by occupation, and spent his declin- ing years in Naugatuck, where Isaac Andrus, father of John Andrus, the subject of this sketch, was born.
Isaac Andrus remained at home, assisting in clearing and otherwise improving a home- stead, until he attained his majority, when he' began working by the month. Being prudent and industrious, he saved some money, and with a brother went to Cortland County, New York, where they purchased land, and culti- vated it in partnership for eight years. At the expiration of that time they divided the property; and Isaac alone bought another farm, and carried on mixed husbandry there for several years. In 1850 he came to Tor- rington, and lived with his son John until his demise. He married Sarah Holmes, a native
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of Colerain, Mass .; but she was reared in Cortland County. New York, of which her parents were pioneers. She bore her husband six children, three of whom are yet living, namely: John; Leora, the wife of Sheldon F. Potter, of Thomaston; and Erskine, a brass caster, with the Bridgeport Brass and is Copper Company. The mother also spent her last years at the home of her son John, dying at an advanced age.
John Andrus received his education in the district schools of his native town. At the early age of twelve years he began to be self- supporting, working as a farm laborer from that time until eighteen years old. He then came to Connecticut to take care of his aged grandmother and an aunt, who were living at Naugatuck. He was also engaged there in teaming from 1844 until 1850. Thence he went to Waterbury, and began working at his present trade with Mr. E. L. Frisbee, a prom- inent citizen of that town. He was subse- quently employed as a caster for four years with the Brown & Elton Company and for three years with the firm of Holmes, Booth & Hayden. After this he worked in Plymouth, now called Thomaston, until 1861, and then in the navy yard at Brooklyn, N. Y., for six months. Returning then to this county, Mr. Andrus was a resident of Waterbury until 1865, when, early in the month of October, he came to Torrington, and secured work with the Coe Brass Company. This hrm, which at that time gave employment to fifty men, now keeps a force of one thousand men busily at work. He has seen the village grow with the business of the company from a hamlet of fif- teen hundred souls to a thriving town of seven thousand inhabitants. Mr. Andrus has been twice married, both wives having been daughters of Hezekiah Buckingham, a black- smith, of Middlebury. His first wife, Eliza
A., died after ten years of married life, leav- ing five children, four of whom are still living, as follows: Sarah, the wife of Horace Burr and mother of Noah, Horace J., Edith, Alice, Elbert, and Orville Burr: Rollo L. who married Mary F. Treat, of Middlebury, and is father of Mamie, Charlie B., Howard, Jennic, and Emma Andrus; Julia, the wife of Frank A. Cook and mother of Lulu, Tessie, and Ruth Cook; and Ina, wife of William Westerman, the Captain of the Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias, and mother of Laura, Willie, Grace, George, and Ina E. Westerman. Of the union of Mr. Andrus with Mary E. Buckingham two children were born, one of whom died at the age of nine- teen years. The other, Emma L., married Howard C. Doolittle; and they make their home with Mr. and Mrs. Andrus. Most of the children were educated at the district and high schools. Mrs. Doolittle was a success- ful teacher prior to her marriage. In politics Mr. Andrus was formerly a Republican ; but he is now identified with the Prohibitionists, and was for several years a member of the Sons of Temperance. Religiously, both he and his wife are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He united with that organization twenty-eight years ago. although he was reared in the Baptist faith, his parents having been connected with that denomination. He has served as Steward and class leader for many years and taken a prom - inent part in the Sunday-school, and has been a diligent worker in all religious work.
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MOS C. BENTON, a prosperous farmer of Litchfield, was born in the house he now owns and occupies. January 25, 1834, son of George and Harriet B. ( Farnam) Benton. Mr. Benton is a de-
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scendant of Ebenezer Benton, an early settler in Litchfield, who resided, and subsequently died, upon a farm in that part of the town known as South Farms. Mr. Benton's great- grandfather, Ebenezer, second, and his grand- father, Amos Benton, were born upon that farm, and there passed their lives, both hav- ing been prosperous farmers. Grandfather Amos Benton married Rachel Catlin, daugh- ter of Dr. Samuel Catlin, of Litchfield; and she became the mother of four children. Amos Benton died at the age of eighty-eight, and his wife died aged sixty-five years.
George Benton, Mr. Benton's father, was reared to agriculture; and at the age of twenty-four years he came into possession of the farm upon which his son, Amos C. Ben- ton, now resides. He completed the present house, and followed farming successfully until his death, which occurred at the age of forty-nine. His wife, Harriet B. Farnam, was a daughter of Seth Farnam, Jr., who was born in 1777. He was an early settler in the town of Morris and a representative of a prom- inent family of that section. Mr. and Mrs. George Benton were the parents of four chil- dren, three of whom are still living, namely : Amos C., the subject of this sketch; Jane A .; and Phebe F. The mother died at the age of seventy-eight years.
Amos C. Benton at an early age began to assist his father in attending to the farm duties. After his father's death he succeeded to the ownership of the property. In 1887 there was uncovered in a sand-pit on the place an Indian burial-ground and many relics of the aborigines, such as arrow-heads, pipe bowl charms, spear heads, and tomahawks. Mr. Benton has continued to conduct general farming, with satisfactory results. He is a Republican in politics. Mr. Benton is un- married, and his two sisters reside with him.
They are members of the Congregational church.
ETER CORBIN, the venerable gentleman whose portrait is here shown, is without doubt at the pres- ent time, November 14, 1895, the oldest native-born citizen of Colebrook, his birth having occurred January 27, 1808, on the homestead where he now resides. Already has he passed the eighty-seventh milestone of his life; but his mind is yet rich in reminis- cences of his youth, he remembering well the olden times in the century, when rail- roads were unthought of, and when the city of Hartford, some twenty-five miles away, was the most convenient market for the surplus productions of the farmers and the principal depot of supplies. His Christian name, Peter, was borne by his father and his grand- father, the latter of whom was born in Wood- stock, presumably of early French ancestry. Grandfather Corbin spent a few years of his manhood in the town of Danbury, removing from there to this county and becoming one of the pioneers of Winchester. He bought six hundred acres of woodland, and cleared and improved a farm, on which he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives.
Peter Corbin, second, was born during the residence of his parents in Danbury, and was there reared to a vigorous manhood. When the Colonial struggle for independence took definite shape, he was one of the brave patriots who laid down the axe and the plough to take up the musket and the powder-horn, enlisting twice during the Revolution and seeing much actual service. In 1796 he came to Colebrook, and bought a tract of timbered land, which is included in the farm where the subject of this sketch now resides. A plank house, a frame barn, and a few acres of
PETER CORBIN.
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cleared land constituted the only improve- ments of the place. He cleared more land, and before many years erected the house in which his son Peter still lives. It is well built, and having always been kept in excel- lent repair has withstood the ravages of time and weather. Here he carried on his chosen occupation until his death in 1830, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, whose maiden name was Violett Nearing, was an admirable helpmeet and companion, looking well after the ways of her household, and carding, spin- ning, and weaving the home-made garments in which the family were clothed. She bore him five children; namely, Joseph, Uriel, John Starr, Amos, and Peter, the latter being the only one now living.
Peter Corbin, third of that name, has watched the transformation of this section of his native county from a dense forest, with here and there a small hamlet or a solitary farm-house, to a rich and populous agricult- ural and manufacturing region, and takes sat- isfaction in knowing that he has performed his part in assisting in its development. He has long been known as one of the prosperous agriculturists of Colebrook, having diligently and successfully cultivated the parental acres, a part of which he inherited at the death of his father and mother, the remainder coming into his possession by purchase.
He is now passing the golden sunset of his days in retirement from the active cares of business, enjoying the fruit of his early years of industry and thrift. With his kindly face and venerable form, he is a well-known pres- ence in the community where his years have been spent, and is held in high respect by young and old. Mr. Corbin has been for several years a widower, his wife, Caroline Whiting, whom he married in 1834, having passed away at the age of sixty-seven years.
She was a daughter of Seth and Tryphena Whitney.
RI E. WHITING, of Torrington, pro- prietor of the Grand View Farm, was born in this town, August 20, 1851, son of Frank L. and Julia (Bragg) Whiting. Ancestors of Mr. Whiting were among the earliest settlers of Torrington ; and both his great-grandfather, William Whiting, and his grandfather, Uri Whiting, son of William, were farmers and lifelong residents of the place.
Frank L. Whiting, Mr. Whiting's father, resided with his parents until reaching his majority, at which time he went into company with his brother on their father's farm; but, after conducting it for a time, he sold his in- terest to his partner, and purchased another farm near by. He later sold that property; and, after living near the village for two years, he bought a tract of land in Win- chester, upon which he erected a house, and resided there for thirty years, his little farm being a favorite resort for summer boarders. He passed his declining years at the present home of his son, Uri E. Whiting, in Torring- ton, where he died at the age of seventy-four years. Mr. Frank L. Whiting was well known as an intelligent and useful citizen and an active member of the Congregational church, with which he was for many years officially connected. His wife, Julia Bragg. was born in Barkhamsted, where her father. James Bragg, was a hotel-keeper. James Bragg later moved to Winchester, and there passed the remainder of his life as a farmer. He died at the age of eighty-six, and his wife died at the age of seventy-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Frank L. Whiting were the parents of two children, namely: Uri E., the subject of this sketch; and Mariette, who married
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Charles Barnes, of Goshen, Conn., and is no longer living. The mother died in Torring- ton, aged sixty-nine years, and was buried in Winchester.
Uri E. Whiting began his studies in the common schools, and completed his educa- tional course at the Winchester Institute. He resided with his parents until he was four- teen years old, at which time he began life for himself by working on a farm, continuing thus occupied for three years, then being em- ployed by W. S. Lewis for four years in a store in Torrington. After that he bought a small piece of property in Winchester, where he resided for four years, during which time he drove a stage; and from there he moved to North Canaan, where for two years he was en- gaged as a contractor upon the reservoir in connection with farming. He then moved to Cheshire, New Haven County; and, after fol- lowing agriculture there with good results for six years, failing health caused him to return to Winchester, and for the next four years he was engaged in selling hardware upon the road. In 1889 he bought his present prop- erty, which is known as Grand View Farm, consisting of one hundred and twenty-five acres of well-improved land; and he has since conducted general farming and dairying with satisfactory results. He keeps twenty-five cows, and furnishes Conley's Inn in Torring- ton with milk, cream, vegetables, and ice. His farm is valuable on account of its fertil- ity, its healthy location, and its elevation, commanding a fine view of the surrounding country.
In November, 1876, Mr. Whiting was united in marriage with Mary Riggs, who was born in Torrington, October 26, 1854. Her father, Albert Riggs, is a railroad engineer, who has been employed upon various railroads in this country and Mexico. Mr. and Mrs.
Whiting have six children; namely, Blanche, Frank, Julius, Irving, Lena, and Clifford. Blanche was born in Canaan, Conn., May 9, 1878. Frank was born in Cheshire, July 3, 1881; Julius, in Winchester, January 21, 1886; Irving, in Winchester, February 28, 1887; Lena, in Winchester, March 4, 1888; and Clifford, in Torrington, July 26, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Whiting and their daughters are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are actively interested in both church and Sunday-school work.
Mr. Whiting is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and was a dele- gate to the meeting of the Grand Lodge in Boston in 1895. He is connected with the New England Order of Protection, and was formerly a member of the Grange. He is a Republican in politics.
ENRY M. WHITE, proprietor and editor of the Daily and Weekly Register of Torrington, was born in Elba, N. Y., June 24, 1847. He is a son of the late George H. and Eliza (Morgan) White, and is of Colonial and Revolutionary ancestry on both sides, being a direct de- scendant of the Hooker Colony. One original ancestor was a prominent settler of Spring- field, Mass., the other of Hartford.
Mr. White's paternal grandfather, David White, spent the greater part of his life as a farmer in the vicinity of Springfield, but died in Elba, N.Y. George H. White owned a farm in Longmeadow when a young man. He was subsequently engaged in farming in Elba, Genesee County, N. Y., as a mechanic in Shelburne Falls, Mass., and Northampton, and as a farmer in Springfield, the last years of his life being spent in the latter place, where he died at the age of seventy. His
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wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Morgan, was a native of Wilbraham, a daughter of Ebenezer Morgan, a farmer. She reared three children: Robert A., Hattie E., and Henry M. Mrs. George H. White died at the age of seventy-two in Torrington. Both parents attended the Baptist church.
Henry M. White lived with his parents until twenty years of age. He graduated from the high school and from the academy at Shelburne Falls. Entering the cutlery factory at Northampton, he rose from a sub- ordinate position to that of superintendent of three departments. He subsequently entered the employ of C. W. Dunlap & Co., hardware manufacturers in New York City, remaining five years. Mr. White next engaged with the Union Hardware Company, and came to Tor- rington early in 1882. That same year he purchased the paper which he now conducts, which then had a circulation of five hundred and twenty-five. Under his intelligent and efficient management the circulation rapidly increased, soon reaching nine hundred; and in 1889 he added a daily, which in five years attained a circulation of eleven hundred. It is a lively and popular paper, and is univer- sally regarded as a household necessity in Torrington, the day not seeming complete without a visit from the Register. In 1893 Mr. White enlarged his building, which is forty-five by twenty-two feet in dimension, and is fully equipped with all the latest ma- chinery, including a fine large Babcock press. He will enlarge again in 1896. A great amount of job work is done. Mr. White also prints the Tabula, a neat little paper of six- teen pages, published monthly by the high school, and the Trinity Messenger, for Trin- ity l'arish. Mr. White was united in mar- riage in 1879 to H. Minnie Cole, who was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., a daughter of John
B. Cole, an employing carman of that city. Mr. Cole was born in Mahopac, N. Y., and was a well-known man in Brooklyn. Mrs. White is one of four children, three of whom are living. She is an educated lady, a gradu- ate of the Brooklyn public schools and of Packer Institute:
Mr. White votes the Republican ticket. He was in the State legislature in 1891-92. and is a Justice of the Peace. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church, Mr. White being Sunday-school superintendent and his wife a prominent teacher, active in all the societies connected with the church work. Mr. White was super- intendent of the Baptist Sunday-school in Northampton five years. He is a leading member of the Literary Club of Torrington.
EORGE CAMP, who conducts a well- improved farm in the town of Morris, Conn., was born in Kent. an adjacent town in the same county of Litch- field, January 7, 1824. His father, Miles Camp, was a grandson of Jonah Camp, who resided in Milford, New Haven County, Conn., and was the first ancestor of the family to settle in America. His son. Channecy Camp, Mr. Camp's grandfather, was born in Milford, April 11, 1754: and, when a young man, he settled in New Preston, Litchfield County. He engaged in mercantile pursuits and in the manufacture of nails, which he followed with advantageons results. le became a large land owner, and aside from his business enterprise he was a successtul tarmei and merchant. He also ran a saw-mill. and was the first Postmaster of New Preston. He died at the age of ninety years. He and his wife, Sally Baldwin, reared a family of six children: Jeremiah ; Miles; Sheldon ;
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Burr; Clarissa; and Comfort, who became Mrs. Porter. The grandmother lived to reach the advanced age of over ninety years.
Miles Camp was born in New Preston, Sep- tember 12, 1790. He adopted agriculture as an occupation, and resided in New Preston until his marriage, when he moved to Kent Hollow, where he settled upon a farm. He was an energetic and successful farmer, mak- ing various improvements upon his land and buildings; and he lived on one farm for seventy years, or until he was ninety-nine years old, at which time he went to Ohio, where he died in December, 1893, having reached the unusually advanced age of one hundred and three years. He possessed many worthy traits of character, was an intelligent and useful citizen, and was for many years a prominent figure in local public affairs.
His wife, Cyrene Beeman, who was a daughter of Daniel Beeman, of Warren, be- came the mother of eight children, as follows : William J., who died at the age of eight years; Henry P., who married for his first wife Maria Strong, for his second Melissa Thomas, and for his third Mrs. Cornelia Thomas, and had one daughter by his first union, named Frances; Charles, who married Ruth A. Strong, and has two children - Fergus M. and Charles; George, the subject of this sketch; Harriet, who is now Mrs. Newton; Daniel B., who married for his first wife Laura M. Hill and for his second Eliza- beth Brooks; Augustus B., a resident of Warren, who married for his first wife Mary Peet and for his second Julia Strong, and has one child named Mary by his first union; and Augusta, who became Mrs. Kenney, and has had five children, namely - Miles, Winona (deceased), Abner, Wall Lee, and Burton. The mother lived to reach the advanced age of ninety-eight, and died in January, 1889. Mr.
Camp's parents attended the Congregational church.
George Camp acquired his elementary edu- cation in the district schools of his native town; and, after taking a high course of study at the New Preston Academy, he taught school with gratifying success for fourteen seasons. He then settled on his present farm in Morris, where he has now resided for many years, having become one of the most promi- nent and well-to-do farmers in the town. He is an active member of Morris Grange, No. 119, and in his political principles he is a strong Prohibitionist.
In 1850 Mr. Camp was married to Sarah W. Warner, daughter of Niram and Sylvia (At- wood) Warner, of Woodbury. They have two children: Harriet A., who became Mrs. Her- bert S. Babbitt, and had two children - Sadie A. and Arthur J., the latter of whom died aged twenty years; and Ida F., who is now Mrs. Joel W. Skilton, and has one son, named Merritt C. Mrs. Babbitt died at the age of thirty-nine, and her husband died aged thirty- one years. Mr and Mrs. Camp attend the Congregational church.
RANK A. PICKETT, of Torrington, a well-known ice dealer, is an excellent representative of the industrial ele- ment of this part of Litchfield County and one of the substantial business men of the town in which he resides. He is a Pennsyl- vanian by birth and breeding, born June 17, 1867, but is of New England ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Samuel Pickett, having been born and reared on a Connecticut farm. When a young man, Samuel Pickett removed to Pennsylvania, where he purchased land, and worked at farming until his death at an ad- vanced age.
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Anson Pickett, son of Samuel, was born in the Keystone State, and received his educa- tion in the district schools, in the mean time assisting on the home farm. At the age of nineteen years he went to work by the month, finally locating in the town of Rush, Susque- hanna County, Pa., where he purchased a farm, continuing as a tiller of the soil during his years of active life. He died when but forty-five years old. The maiden name of his wife, who is still a resident of Pennsylvania, was Sarah Bennett. She is a native of Tus- carora, Pa., being the daughter of Ferris Ben- nett. Of the seven children born to her and her husband five are now living, as follows: George, who married Flora Baker; Minnie, wife of David Heaney; Frank A., whose name heads this brief record; Merton; and Will- iam. The parents were highly regarded as neighbors, friends, and citizens, and were valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics the father was identified with the Republican party and a warm advo- cate of its principles.
Frank A. Pickett was but eight years of age when he had the misfortune to be left without a father's care. He remained with his mother through his early years, and ac- quired a good common-school education. When old enough to begin manual labor, he secured a place on a neighboring farm, and for three years worked by the month. Com- ing then to Connecticut, Mr. Pickett went to work for a firm of ice dealers at Waterbury, and during the two years he remained in their employ became familiar with the business. The succeeding two years he was engaged in handling the same cool commodity at Birm- ingham, whence he came to Torrington. Pur- chasing the business of E. A. Perkins, who had been for some time dealing in ice in this community, Mr. Pickett has since remained
here, and has built up a large and profitable trade, running three delivery wagons at the present time. He is an industrious, hard- working man, fair and square in his dealings, and has the respect and patronage of the best people in the town, his prompt and strict attention to his - business and his courteous manners making him a most agreeable and popular tradesman.
In 1890 Mr. Pickett married Mrs. Lillie C. Dayton Woodward, daughter of William Dayton, of Woodbury. Mr. and Mrs. Pick- ett are both active members of the Congre- gational church, and are highly esteemed throughout the community. In his political views he is a true-blue Republican, sustain- ing his party by vote and voice.
J AMES T. MORGAN, general manager of the Morgan Silver Plate Company of Winsted, Conn., was born at Had- dam Neck, Conn., July 24, 1839. He is a son of Jarvis A. Morgan and a descendant of Miles Morgan, one of the first settlers of Springfield, Mass., whose bronze statue stands in Court Square in that city to-day.
Jarvis A. Morgan was a native of Marlboro, Conn., where he was born in 1809. lle was a blacksmith by trade, and was a man of more than ordinary ability and intellect, being a great reader and a deep thinker. Though his school advantages were limited, he educated himself to a remarkable extent, and was well versed in law and the sciences; and, like Eli- jah Kellogg, he often had a book for his com panion. He moved from Marlboro to Haddam Neck in 1826, and there established his home. living to be over eighty-one years old. Ilis wife, whom he married in 1828, Fannie A., daughter of Solomon Arnold, lived but one year after his decease. Their graves are in
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