USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Litchfield County, Connecticut > Part 61
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alleged that he (the grandfather) at one time had been barricaded by the Indians and forced to run the gauntlet, but succeeded in making his escape with slight injuries after running a distance of five miles. He died on January 7, 1827. His wife, Hannah (Caswell) Berry, to whom he was married in 1759, lived to be but fifty years of age, dying January 2, 1794. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Abijah, born January 4, 1767, contin- ued to live on the old homestead during his life. He died October 3, 1821, fifty-four years of age, six years prior to his father's death and when his children were small. His wife, Deidamia (Beardsley) Berry, was a daughter of David Beardsley, of Stratford, Conn. She lived to the advanced age of ninety-seven years, dying on November 9, 1867. Their three children were: Caroline; Patty Wells; and John C., the latter born August 24, 1806.
Like his predecessors, John C. Berry was one of the leading citizens of the town; and for a number of years he served as Major in the Kent militia. He married Miss Ann Marsh, who was born February 28, 1807, a daughter of Elihu and Urania (Stilson) Marsh. She was a descendant of William Marsh, of Plainfield, Conn., who was wounded at the Narrangansett Swamp fight. They reared eight children; namely, Nathaniel, Edwin, Frederick N., John, Sophia, Charles W., Jerome, and Caroline. The first-named, Na- thaniel, married Johanna Dwight; and they had four children: William G., Eleanor, Lillian, and Sophia. Edwin married Lucy Ames, but both are now deceased. They left one child, John A. Frederick N. married Adaline Northrup, both now Sophia became the wife of a Mr. Gunn, and had two children - Catherine and Charles. Charles W. married Maria Bank; and they
deceased. .
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have one child, Helen. Caroline also mar- ried, and has one son, Henry B. The name of the other child, Jerome, appears at the head of this sketch. John C. Berry died April 26, 1885, aged seventy-eight years, and his wife December 11, 1887, when over eighty years old. He was a member of the Congrega- tional church, and was a Deacon for many years.
Jerome Berry, the present owner of the old homestead, which has been in the possession of the family for upwards of a century and a half, is one of the leading agriculturists of Kent and a highly respected citizen of that place. On October 10, 1871, he was joined in marriage with Miss Flora E. Smith, daugh- ter of Chauncey and Rebecca (Spooner) Smith, of Kent. Her father died at the age of seventy-eight, and her mother when thirty- nine years old. They left five children, namely: Margaret F., now Mrs. Stanton, who has three children - William H., Curtis H., and Samuel W .; William R., who married Ida Thomas, and has five children - Mary L., Flora E., Chauncey, Joseph, and Jessie; Elizabeth S., now Mrs. Dorty, who has two children - Alice and Charles; Flora E. ; and Charles S. One of Mrs. Berry's ancestors, Elizabeth Robinson, came to this country in the "Mayflower." Mr. and Mrs. Berry are the parents of four children; namely, Fred- erick M., Caroline B., Margaret l'., and Mary R.
B YRON W. PEASE, M.D., a promi- nent physician and highly esteemed citizen of Thomaston, Conn., where he has been engaged in practice since com- pleting his medical studies, a period of nearly twenty-five years, was born in Burlington, Conn., on September 29, 1838. He is a son of Sylvanus H. and Emeline ( Roberts) Pease,
and grandson of Henry Roberts, of Torring- ford, Conn.
Sylvanus H. Pease, whose birth occurred in the town of Summers, in State of New York, received a common-school education, and early acquired a practical knowledge of mechanics. When a young man, he came to Connecticut, and went to work at his trade in Burlington. He there contracted marriage. Later on he secured a position in the Gilbert Clock Shop at Winsted, Conn. He worked many years in this clock shop and for the Union Chair Com- pany at Robertsville, Conn. He owned a small place about a mile from Winsted vil- lage, near Robertsville, but in the town of Winchester. In 1864 he sold this place, and purchased a farm in West Granville, Mass., upon which he lived until by reason of age he became unable to work it. Going back to Robertsville, he resumed work in the chair- shop; but, his health failing, he moved to Winsted, and passed the remainder of his days with his son Robert, near by his old place. He died in the eighty-second year of his age, and was buried in Burrville Cemetery, Con- necticut. His wife, Emeline Roberts, was a daughter of Henry Roberts, a successful agri- culturist of Torringford, whose parents were among the early settlers of that locality. Mrs. Pease and her husband reared six manly sons, all of whom were in service in the War of the Rebellion at one time, and all are still living. Henry R. Pease, the eldest, at the time of his enlistment in Ellington, Conn., where he was studying law with Judge Brock- way, was appointed Orderly Sergeant in Com- pany F of the Twenty-fifth Connecticut Regi- ment, but was afterward detached and commis- sioned as Captain: and, after several months spent in the detached service, he became as- sociated with the Freedmen's Bureau. At the close of the war he took up his residence in
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Mississippi, where he held the public posi- tions of State Superintendent Public Educa- tion during the reconstruction period, Post- master at Vicksburg, and United States Senator. Later he was appointed Receiver of Public Moneys at Watertown, So. Dak., where he is now serving as State Senator.
Luman Pease, the second son, entered the Thirteenth Connecticut Regiment, Depart- ment of the Gulf. Franklin Pease, the fourth, served in the Eleventh Connecticut Regiment, Department of the Potomac. Horton, the fifth son, enlisted in Company F of the Twenty-fifth Connecticut Regiment, and is at present living in Thomaston, Conn., an ex- Postmaster and respected citizen thereof; and Robert Pease served in the Army of the Po- tomac. Each of these four brothers acted as musician in their respective positions through- out their service. The sixth son, but the third in order of birth, was Byron W. Pease, the special subject of this sketch. Their mother continued to live in Winsted and with her son Franklin in Barkhamsted, Conn., until just before her death, which occurred at the home of Horton Pease in Thomaston. She lived to be eighty-three years old. Their father was a Universalist in religious belief, and in po- litical views an ardent Democrat.
Byron W. Pease remained with his parents only until he was nine years old, going at that time to live with his uncle, Nelson Roberts, in Torringford, Conn., where he remained until he was fourteen years of age. He ob- tained his early education in the common schools of Winsted and at the high school of Ellington, Conn. He taught school when only seventeen years of age at Colebrook River, Conn., and later at Riverton and Pleasant Valley, also at Morristown, N.J. In 1860 he entered the Ellington school to pre- pare for college. Under the call for nine
months' volunteers he enlisted as a private in Company F, Twenty-fifth Connecticut, his brothers Henry and Horton, together with several other students, enlisting at the same time in this company and regiment.
Upon arrival in New Orleans, La., Byron W. Pease was detached from his regiment, and placed on duty as chief clerk in the Quartermaster Department at General Auger's headquarters, Baton Rouge, La. Later he was appointed Hospital Steward, and served as such until expiration of his term of enlist- ment. Returning North, he resumed the study of medicine with Dr. H. B. Steele, of West Winsted, Conn., with whom he had studied about a year before entering the Ellington school. He entered Bellevue Hos- pital Medical College, New York City, and took a full course in the session of 1863. In the spring of 1864 he was commissioned As- sistant Surgeon, and reported to N. P. Banks, general commanding Department of the Gulf, and was assigned to an engineer regiment at Brazos, Santiago, Tex., was mustered in, and put in charge of a hospital at Brownsville, Tex. Later, although the youngest surgeon in the deparment, he was placed in charge of the post hospital at Brazos, Santiago, where he remained until his regiment was consoli- dated with another.
He was mustered out of service at New Or- leans, and, taking a contract, was placed on duty at the Marine Hospital as Contract Sur- geon, and as such served until June, 1866, when he returned North, bringing with him a wife, one of New Orleans's most beautiful flowers, a daughter of Thaddeus and Margaret (Nelson) Quinn, who formerly lived in Provi- dence, R.I., where this daughter, Marianne L., was born. Her father was a Southern planter. He fell a victim to cholera a few years before the war, in the forty-second year
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of his life. Her mother died at thirty-five years of age. Both parents were members of the Presbyterian church. Upon his return to the North the Doctor settled in Plymouth Hollow, now Thomaston, Conn., and engaged in the drug and grocery business at the old Seth Thomas stand, which he carried on suc- cessfully until 1873. Selling out, he then re- sumed the study of medicine, and graduated at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, in 1875, since which time he has been engaged in the full practice of medi- cine, with a large and increasing patronage. He was Assistant Postmaster for several years, has been Justice of the Peace and Fire Com- missioner, and is one of the substantial citi- zens of Thomaston.
Dr. and Mrs. Pease have had five children. Two died in infancy. Walter B., the eldest, died at twenty-three years of age. He was a medical student in Bellevue Medical College at the time of his death in October, 1893. The two daughters now living are Jessica B. and Ruth C. Pease. Jessica B., the older, is a piano teacher in Thomaston; and Ruth C. is in the Gilbert School in Winsted, Conn., preparing for Wellesley College, which she expects to enter in 1897.
In political affiliation Dr. Pease is a stanch Republican. Among the fraternal orders with which he is connected are the Union Masonic Lodge, No. 96, of which he is Past Master; Granite Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, No. 36, of which he is Past High Priest; and Clark Commandery, Knights Templars, No. 7, of Waterbury. He is Past Standard Bearer of the last named, and has taken the thirty-third degree in the Scottish Rite of Masonry, and is also a member of the Council in Water- bury. In Franklin Lodge, No. 42, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, of Thomaston, he is Past Noble Grand, and has been a promi-
nent member of the Knights of Pythias. Dr. Pease is a man of fine intellect, courteous and affable in manner, and a worthy representa- tive of the independent practice of medicine. He is an attendant of the Congregational church, of which his wife and daughters are members, taking an active part in all church work, the daughters being especially interested in the Christian Endeavor Society.
BEL CALHOUN, a progressive farmer of Washington, Conn., was born on the farm which he now cultivates, July 29, 1822. He is the younger son of Reuben and Hannah (Beers) Calhoun, both natives of Washington, and comes of an an- cient and illustrious family, tracing his lin- cage to the Colquehouns of Scotland, the Lairds of Luss. The original name, Colque- houn, is still retained in Scotland, England, and Ireland, and is pronounced Cahoun.
Buchanan says in his "Inquiry into the Genealogy of Ancient Scottish Surnames ": "The ancestor of the surname of Colquehoun was Humphry Kilpatrick, in whose favor the Earl of Lenox granted a charter of the lands of Colquehoun, in the reign of Alexander II., about the year 1200. The meaning of the town Colquehoun is a sea-coasting common, or port. The first who assumed the name Colquehoun was Ingram, the successor of the above-named Kilpatrick. Three or four gen- erations after, in the year 1374, Humphrey Colquehoun married the daughter of Godfrey, Laird of Luss. Andrew Calhoun, the father of the late William B. Calhoun, of Spring- field, Mass., and the Rev. Simeon Calhoun, D.D., a former missionary in Asia Minor, now deceased, was born in the north of Ire- land in the year 1764, and emigrated to America in 1790. Hle informed his sons that
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many of his relations in Europe still retained the name of Colquehoun; and the following is found in a letter from the Rev. Dr. Simeon Calhoun: 'There are some Calhouns in Ken- tucky who are nearly connected with our fam- ily, having emigrated to this country about the time of the Revolution.' In the same letter it is stated that the writer's great- grandfather, whose name was William, emi- grated from Scotland to Ireland on account of persecution.
"David Calhoun was born in Scotland about 1690. He with his father's family removed from Scotland to the north of Ireland on ac- count of persecution, and settled near London- derry. It is not unlikely that he was brother of William Calhoun, grandfather of the Hon. William B. Calhoun and the Rev. Dr. Simeon Calhoun, and of the ancestor of the Calhouns of Kentucky. At least, they must have been nearly allied. The persecutions which the family experienced in Scotland followed them to Ireland, and caused James, John, and David to emigrate to America in 1714. David Calhoun settled at Stratford, Conn., where he married Mrs. Catherine (Coe) Fair- child, and in 1732 moved to Washington, Litchfield County, and here on the farm now occupied by, his great-grandson, Mr. Abel Calhoun, lived till his death, about the year 1766, at the age of eighty or eighty-five. His brother James settled in Maryland, and his brother John in South Carolina. A son of James was for a long time Mayor of Balti- more. Two of John's sons were members of Congress, and one a member of the Senate. The Hon. J. C. Calhoun is a grandson of John."
The sons of David and Catherine Calhoun were Joseph, David, James, John, Ebenezer, and George. James Calhoun was a farmer in Washington, where he died at the age of
seventy-five. He married Mary Guthrie; and they reared eight children, four of whom were sons - namely, Reuben, James, William, and Elijah. Reuben Calhoun, son of James and Mary, was born on the homestead, and was content to follow the occupation of his father, rounding out a long life of ninety-four years. He and his wife, Hannah Beers, were the par- ents of two sons, Burr and Abel, the latter being the special subject of the present sketch.
Abel Calhoun received a fair education in the district schools of his native town. Reared in a farming district, he was early ini- tiated into the science and practice of agri- culture, and succeeded his father as owner and manager of the home farm. He is very suc- cessful in his chosen pursuit, and occupies. a leading position in the community. Mr. Calhoun was married in 1849 to Mary R. Judson, daughter of Harlow and Sally (Pren- tice) Judson. One child blessed their union, a daughter named Mary A., who died in her twelfth year. In politics Mr. Calhoun is a Republican. He is a well-informed man, possessed of good judgment and clear under- standing. In religious belief he is a Congre- gationalist.
A portrait of Mr. Calhoun will be found on a preceding page.
B URTON H. MATTOON, a promi- nent business man of Watertown, where he is engaged in the real estate and insurance business, was born in Watertown, Conn., October 15, 1850. He is a son of Henry J. and Miranda (Fenn) Mat- toon, and on the paternal side belongs to one of the oldest families in the town, his great- great- grandfather having been one of the first to clear a farm here from the wilderness.
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His son, Amasa, was born on this farm, and also devoted his life to agriculture, dying in Watertown at an advanced age. David Mat- toon, the son of Amasa and grandfather of Burton H., was born in Watertown, Decem- ber 23, 1781, and followed in his father's footsteps, gaining a comfortable livelihood by tilling the soil. He lived to a good old age, having passed the allotted threescore years and ten at the time of his death.
Henry J. Mattoon, the father of our subject, was born on his father's farm in Watertown in 1826. On reaching his majority, he left home, and went to work for the American Suspender Company, subsequently finding em- ployment with the Wheeler & Wilson Manu- facturing Company. In 1871 he went into business in Watertown, and was owner of a general store, which he sold to his sons, and then engaged in the sale of feed and coal. In 1885, having acquired a competency, he retired from active business; and he is now living in Watertown, enjoying the fruits of a well-earned prosperity. Politically a Repub- lican, he has taken an active part in town affairs, serving as Town Treasurer, Collector, and in other capacities. His name appears also on the grand jury list. In religious be- lief an Episcopalian, he has been for some time a Vestryman of Christ Church, and is a prominent member of the parish. He was twice married. His first wife, Miranda Fenn, whose father was a farmer of Plymouth, was born in Plymouth, Conn. She died in 1858, at the age of thirty-two, leaving two children : Alfred H., now a farmer in Watertown; and Burton H. She was a member of the Metho- dist church. The second Mrs. Mattoon, who is yet living, was before marriage Mary M. Scott, of Watertown.
Burton Il. Mattoon received a good educa- tion, attending the common schools and the
academy at Watertown, and leaving home at the age of fourteen to take a course of study at the Stamford Seminary of Stamford, Dela- ware County, N.Y. On graduating from this institution, he returned home, and went into business with his father and brother, and sub- sequently managed a large general store for twenty-one years, witnessing many changes in the business life of the town, which increased materially during that period. In 1892, when he disposed of his business, he had been in trade longer than any other mer- chant in Watertown, and had a successful rec- ord to look back upon. At the present time, besides his real estate and insurance business, he is interested in many other enterprises. He is Secretary and Treasurer of the Water- town Savings Bank, and is Treasurer of the Specialty Manufacturing Company, which has offices in Watertown, New York, and Provi- dence, and is engaged in the manufacture of a valuable heat regulator.
October 10, 1875, Mr. Mattoon was united in marriage with Estelle M., daughter of Henry G. Scott, a respected citizen of Water- town, a mason by trade. Six children com- plete Mr. Mattoon's family circle: Bertha Estelle, Linus Fenn, Sarah Miranda, Mary Scott, Frank Hiram, and Henry Amasa.
Politically, Mr. Mattoon favors the Repub- lican party. He has been Town Treasurer since 1885, Town Clerk since 1888, and was in the legislature in 1893. Socially, he is a Mason, belonging to Federal Lodge, No. 17, of Watertown, and Eureka Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, No. 42, of Waterbury, and a Knight of Pythias, belonging to Columbia Lodge, No. 12, in which he has held nearly all the offices. He is a member of General A. H. Terry Council, No. 60, Order of United American Mechanics, and Court Merritt Heminway, No. 48, Foresters of America.
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In each of these associations he has held office, being Past Master of Federal Lodge, Past Councillor of General A. H. Terry Council, Past Chief Ranger of the Order of Foresters, and Past Chancellor of Knights of Pythias. He is a Vestryman of Christ Church (Episcopal), and his wife and family also are members of that church.
R OYAL B. LAKE, a prominent citizen of Bethlehem, Conn., was born in that town, January 20, 1849, son of Walter and Alma C. (Nettleton) Lake. His great-grandfather, Peter Lake, was an im- portant member of the farming community of Newtown, Conn .; and in that place our sub- ject's grandfather, Amos Lake, was born. He located in Bethlehem when a young man, and, clearing a tract of land, devoted the rest of his life to its cultivation. In religious be- lief he was an Episcopalian, and the first re- ligious society of Bethlehem was organized in his house. He was twice married, his first wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Blackman, leaving three children: Catherine, Norman, and Julia. His second wife, Mary A. Bennett, was the mother of seven: Mary, Walter, Benjamin, Horatio, Peter, Sarah, and Caroline. Walter Lake, father of Royal B., was born on his father's farm in Bethlehem, and reared to agricultural pursuits. He set- tled on a farm about a mile and a half north of the homestead, and engaged in general farming, deriving a comfortable living from the products of the soil. His wife, Alma C. Nettleton, died at the age of twenty-cight, leaving two children: Royal B., the subject of this sketch; and Amos C. Mr. Lake sub- sequently married Mrs. Julia (Stone) Potter, of Bethlehem, who is still living. They are both members of the Episcopal church,
Royal B. Lake acquired his preliminary education in the district school, and finished his studies at Suffield Academy. On leaving school, he taught for three seasons, and then settled down to farming, in which he has been very successful. He is progressive in his methods, and his sound judgment and steady industry have met with their natural reward. He is one of the leading farmers of the local- ity, and is a member of Bethlehem Grange, No. 121. In 1879 Mr. Lake was united in marriage with Josephine Bacon, daughter of Amaziah Bacon, a well-to-do farmer of Bethle- hem; and three children have brightened their home: Edna, Robert, and Eva. Mr. Lake is a Democrat in politics. Both he and his wife are members of the Episcopal church. Representatives of two of the old families of Bethlehem, they are well known and respected in the town, where many of their kindred have lived and died.
DWARD son of Deacon Lewis M. Norton, the historian of Goshen, and of his wife, Laura Foote, of Canton, Conn., was born in Goshen, Conn., on February 20, 1820. Of Mr. Norton's four brothers one alonc remains living, and of his three sisters only one is left. A further rec- ord of his ancestry is appended to this sketch.
In Mr. Norton's childhood and youth there was the usual variety of busy days of toil upon the farm, pleasant school-days and happy home lifc. This last was all that faithful parents and the companionship of four brothers and three sisters could make it. The school-days, always pleasant while in the district and se- lect schools, were far more so during the years spent in Goshen Academy, an institution somewhat famous in its early time, where many young men were fitted for college. Here compositions and declamations were much
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enjoyed, but the climax was reached at the time of the exhibition in the spring at the close of the winter term. He does not re- member ever hearing his parents tell him to be sure to improve all his time either in work or school. It would have seemed as super- fluous as telling him to get ready to go to church when Sabbath mornings came round, for no question was ever raised in regard to that. While he thus pursued the even tenor of his way until manhood, like many others he inherited a taste for what are called hob- bies; and it would be correct to say that his hobbies were music and, later in life, time- keeping as connected with astronomy. Per- haps the first was cultivated by attending the old-time singing schools, so attractive in those days, and by singing in the choir for sixty years, from 1835 to 1895, and also by re- hearsals and chorus singing with singers from neighboring towns at their annual concert. The other hobby found expression in middle life in taking some castaway relics of time- pieces of the past century and making of them regulators good for another century.
In 1849 he married Mary A. Wooster, of Huntington, Conn. Their home life has been brightened by the six children given them : three sons, Wilbert W., Edward M., and Eu- gene P., and three daughters, Mary Alida, Anna L., and Louise W., besides another daughter, who died in infancy, Florence. The six children have all become members of the Congregational church here, of which their father has been a Deacon since 1868, twenty- seven years. One son is a Deacon in a neigh- boring church, and one son an Elder in a Pres- byterian church. Of these children the three sons and one daughter are married, the daugh- ter and two of the sons having children.
About two years before his marriage Mr. Norton formed a partnership with his father,
who had a little earlier established the first cheese factory in this country where they made pineapple cheese. Continuing in company with his father until the death of the latter in 1860, he has since that time carried on the business alone, although for many years he has been ably assisted by his two elder sons, the youngest son having for some years been engaged in the same business in Western New York. For some years one million pounds of milk or more have been converted into these cheeses, making forty-five to forty- eight thousand cheeses annually.
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