Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1, Part 112

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1336

USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1 > Part 112

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Mr. Carter has been twice married, his first wife having been Miss Sarah E. Bird, a daughter of George and Betsey (Stanley) Bird, of New Haven, and by that union two children were born:

Braswell Cantos

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George S., who married Clara Gilbert; and Sarah E., wife of Ransom Baker. For his second wife Mr. Carter married Miss Achsah Talmadge, a daughter of David and Rebecca ( Bailey) Talmadge, of Torringford, Conn., and by this marriage he also has two children: Lucas H., who married Emma Cook; and Edward T., who married Lizzie Jordan.

Mr. and Mrs. Carter are earnest members of the Congregational Church, and he belongs to Fred- erick Lodge, No. 14, F. & A. M., of Plainville, and Phoenix Lodge, I. O. O. F., of New Britain. In his political views he is a stanch Republican, and he is a recognized leader of the party in his com- munity, having served as chairman of the Plain- ville Republican committee for many years. He has also been honored with important official posi- tions, the duties of which he has most capably and satisfactorily discharged. He has been a grand juror several terms; first selectman one year ; and represented Plainville in the State Legislature dur- ing the sessions of 1874-75, 1897-98 and 1899- 1900.

HON. JAMES T. COOGAN, manager of the Anchor Mills Paper Co., Windsor Locks, is a busi- ness man of rare ability and sagacity, and since he has taken personal charge of the interests of the Anchor Mills, in which he is a large stockholder, the prosperity of the enterprise has greatly ad- vanced. His sound judgment and energetic com- pletion of any plan once adopted make his co-opera- tion valuable in any line of effort, and he has fre- quently been called to serve the community in offi- cial positions of prominence, including that of rep- resentative in the General Assembly.

Mr. Coogan comes of a notably able and intelli- gent family, whose members have achieved distinc- tion in various lines of effort. James Coogan, his father, was born May 1, 1808, in Dublin, Ireland, where his youth was spent. He learned the paper- maker's trade, and on coming to the United States in 1830 followed same for many years in different places, being at one time employed in the Anchor Mills. Having decided to settle permanently in Windsor Locks, he engaged in the general mercan- tile business. He was a man of fine abilities, and a character which commanded the respect and ad- miration of all classes. In religious faith he was a Catholic, and as one of the first trustees of St. Mary's Church, at Windsor Locks, he did much to build up the parish. Politically he was also active, and at one time served as representative of the State Legislature, being the first Catholic ever elected to that body. In 1840 he was married, at Brooklyn, N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth Byrne, a native of Dublin, Ireland, who died in 1867, and he sur- vived her until 1879. Of their seven children, the eldest, Edward D., born April 2, 1841, is a prom- inent business man of Windsor Locks, and has been a conspicuous figure there in politics for several years. He is a leading Democrat, has held all the

local offices, served his town in the State Legisla- ture, and in 1896 was a delegate to the National Convention at Chicago that nominated W. J. Bryan for the Presidency. He is president of the Wind- sor Locks Water Works, and a stockholder in the Electric Light Co. (2) James T., our subject, is mentioned more fully below. (3) Timothy C., born Oct. 8, 1847, at Windsor Locks, practiced law in Thompsonville and Hartford in early manhood and is now a successful lawyer in San Francisco, his residence being in Oakland, Cal. He is prom- inent in political movements. (4) Joseph A., a prominent physician of Windsor Locks, was born Sept. 14, 1849, and after receiving a common-school education there attended Holy Cross College, and St. John's College, at Fordham, N. Y. In 1873 he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, where he was graduated three years later with honors. For ten years he practiced in Hartford, securing a large remunerative patronage, but his health failed as a consequence of two attacks of pneumonia, and he was compelled to give up his professional work and seek renewed strength in a trip to Europe, fol- lowed by a winter at Los Angeles, Cal. He then spent a year in post-graduate work at Bellevue, un- der the direction of his friend, the noted Prof. Ed- ward Janeway, and in April, 1888, he located at his native town, where his skill and ability won ready recognition. He takes an active interest in public affairs, and during his residence in Hartford he was a member of the high school committee and of the board of health; was also physician and surgeon to all the Roman Catholic institutions of the city, in- cluding St. Augustine's College and the Old Peo- ple's Home of West Hartford. He was also president of the Order of Knights of St. Patrick, surgeon of the First Company of Governor's Horse Guards, and chairman of the Democratic city and town committees. For two successive years he was a Fellow of the State Medical So- ciety, and censor of the County Medical Society ; at present he is health officer of the town of Windsor Locks, and president of the Hartford County Medical Association. (5) Ann Eliza, eld- est daughter of James and Elizabeth Coogan, mar- ried J. B. Benson, of Windsor Locks. (6) John W. is a successful lawyer in Hartford. (7) Mary, known as Sister Laurentia, is in a convent in Bridgeport.

James T. Coogan was born Feb. 14, 1843, at Lee, Mass., but his boyhood was spent chiefly in Windsor Locks, where he attended the public schools for a time. At the age of nine years he was employed in the stockinet factory, and he after- ward worked on a farm in Suffield, but later be- came a clerk in his father's store. In 1867 he and his brother Edward engaged in general mercantile business at the present site of the post office, after three years removing to the corner of Main and Bridge streets, where they continued until the brother withdrew from the firm. Our subject re-

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mained in charge of the store at Main and Bridge streets until 1884, when he was appointed post- master by President Cleveland, and for some years his attention was devoted to the duties of that po- sition. In 1890 he became connected with the Whittlesey Mills, at Windsor Locks, under the firm name of Coogan & Pusey, and engaged in the manu- facture of tissue and toilet paper. Soon afterward a joint-stock company, known as the Anchor Mills Co., was formed, of which Mr. Coogan became a member, and until 1895 he was connected with both enterprises. Since 1897 he has held his pres- ent position of manager of the Anchor Mills, the establishment being at present devoted to the manu- facture of tissue copying papers. He has been in- terested at times in other corporate enterprises, hav- ing been a director in the Windsor Locks Savings Bank and the Windsor Locks & Warehouse Point Bridge Co., but notwithstanding his business cares he finds time for active work in local affairs. He lias served as selectman, and for many years was secretary of the local board of education, while in 1880 he represented his town in the State Legisla- ture, doing especially good work as a member of the committee on Insurance. Socially he is popular with all classes.

JOHN GAYLORD STODDARD is a repre- sentative of one of the oldest Connecticut families, one which for seven generations has lived within the confines of Hartford county, and which has been intimately associated with the life and de- velopment of this prosperous region. The mental activity of our subject in his younger days is evinced by the fact that for eleven years he taught school in the neighboring towns. Latterly he has been identified with the material interests of the county, in an agricultural way.

The ancestor of the Stoddard family in Con- necticut was John Stoddard. The records of Wethersfield show that in 1664 several parcels of land were awarded to him in that locality, in ac- cordance with the customs of the times. Mr. Stod- dard seems to have been a settler in that vicinity some years prior to this award. John Stoddard, his son, settled on the land where our subject now lives, having acquired it in the latter part of the seventeenth century. His son, Jonathan Stod- dard, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, was married, in 1717, to Abigail Wickham. Their son, Jonathan Stoddard, great-grandfather of John G. Stoddard, was born in Wethersfield Jan. 18, 1738. He was a soldier in the French and Revo- lutionary wars, bearing the title of captain, and would often, when he was old, tell the boys what Washington said and did in the retreat from Long Island and at Valley Forge-those "times that tried men's souls." His son, likewise named Jonathan, was born July 24, 1772. He was a farmer by oc- cupation, and became quite prominent in local af- fairs. Strong in physique and active in manner,

he exerted considerable influence among his fellow townsmen. He was for some years captain of militia. He married Candace Peck, who was born in Bristol, Conn., Jan. 16, 1771, and seven chil- dren were born to them: Jonathan; Hiram Ed- wards, father of our subject; Sabra, who first mar- ried Ira Andrews, and later Jehiel Noble; Nathan Fenn; Candace, who was twice married, first to Edward Howard, and later to James E. Loveland, by whom she had a son, Charles Munn Loveland ; Joseph; and Abigail Honor, who married Justus Griswold.

Hiram E. Stoddard was born in 1796 in New- ington, was reared in that vicinity, and was wel educated for those times, receiving common-schoo advantages, by which he successfully mastered the "three r's," which, in most cases, was the ultime Thule of his day and generation; in addition he attended a select school, taught by the wise ministe: of the parish, Rev. Joab Brace. Adopting the oc cupation of farming, he supplemented it in hi younger years by teaching school for a number o winters, and later in life he engaged in selling dry. goods, etc., in the South, as was the custom among the more enterprising young men of the county dur ing the early years of the present century. He wa remarkably well informed and enterprising. At time when Newington was a part of Wethersfiel he was a selectman of the town. In farming h prospered to a fair degree. He was a member c the Congregational Church. Mr. Stoddard mai ried Fanny Filley, daughter of Sylvanus Filley, c East Windsor, now South Windsor, a representa tive of one of the old Windsor families. The fam ily of Hiram E. and Fanny Stoddard consisted ( five children: John G., the subject of this sketch Heman Francis, who died aged five years Mary Jane, who was married, March 19, 1857, .1 William W. Clark; Hiram Hudson, born in 183: who married (first) Martha Ann Goodwin, ar (second) Elma A. Pratt, of Granville, Mass. (1

is now a resident of Kearney, Neb. He er listed in 1861 in the 5th Conn. V. I .; he wa editor for many years of the "Poultry World" and Fanny Eliza, who died when nine years ol Hiram Edwards Stoddard died Oct. 26, 1883, ag‹ eighty-seven. He was struck by a train whi crossing the New York, New Haven & Hartfor railroad with an ox-team, hauling wood. His wi died April 18, 1877.

John G. Stoddard, whose name introduces the lines, was born in Wethersfield (now Newington. Conn., Sept. 6, 1827. He attended the distri. schools, and also the academy which then flourish. in the town. He possessed a retentive memor, was devoted to history and general reading, an remained in school, during the winter, until : reached his eighteenth year. When nineteen N. Stoddard began teaching in the neighboring towi, at West Hartford, Southington and East Hartfoi, becoming well-known as one of the efficient j-

LG Stoddard

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structors of his time, excelling in the educational requirements of that day. During the summers, while teaching school, Mr. Stoddard followed farm- ing, and he finally adopted this occupation per- manently in a small way, devoting special atten- tion to tobacco raising, which he has followed for forty years. Mr. Stoddard has been a careful, con- servative business man, and has been quite suc- cessful. In politics he was formerly a Whig, and he has been a Republican since the formation of that party, active in public affairs. He was elected selectman of Wethersfield before Newington was set off as a separate town, and in 1868 he was elected representative. In 1888 he was elected selectman of Newington, and in 1899 was elected first selectman, serving one year and declining re- election. Mr. Stoddard has always been interested in the public schools, and a more zealous advocate for their efficiency and steady improvement it would be difficult to find. For eight or ten years he has been a school visitor. When a boy he became a member of the Congregational Church, to which his wife also belongs.

On Sept. 6, 1854, Mr. Stoddard was married to Caroline Sarah Rice, of Charlemont, Mass., who was born Nov. 7, 1825, daughter of Roswell and Sarah (Hathaway) Rice, the former a descendant of Capt. Moses Rice, one of the first settlers of Charlemont ; he was shot by the Indians in his corn- field. Mrs. Stoddard was but five years of age when her mother died, leaving five children: Harriet N., Harvey D., Caroline S., Charles H. and Hart A., the last named now living on the old homestead. The father subsequently married Amy Avery, daughter of Jonathan Avery, a Revolutionary soldier, but to this union no children were born. Mrs. Stoddard taught eleven terms of school pre- vious to her marriage. To our subject and wife have been born four children : (I) John Ros- well, born Aug. 9, 1855, is a machinist by trade, and is assistant superintendent for the Russell & Er- win Co., of New Britain. On April 30, 1878, he married Lila M. Steele, and they have had seven children-Louise B., born Feb. 20, 1879, now a teacher in East Hartford; John Elias, born Dec. 27, 1880, engaged as shipping clerk with the Pope Manufacturing Co .; Hart A., born Sept. 4, 1883; Ruth and Ruby, twins, born July 19, 1885, the latter of whom died when six weeks of age; Ralph R., born Dec. 23, 1888; and Lila A., born Dec. 10, 1893. (2) Harriet Eliza, born May 17, 1857, is a graduate of the Connecticut Normal School. She is the widow of John T. Cochrane, and for four- teen years has been in the office of the State board of education. She has one son, Harry H., now a student in Trinity College. (3) Hart Avery died in infancy. (4) Frederick Hudson, born Aug. 23, 1862, died in January, 1876.

Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard have a fine home. Every member of the family has musical talent, each playing some instrument well, and Mr. Stod-

dard has acquired quite a reputation for his articles on poultry, and as a writer of verse. For many years he was a frequent contributor to the pages of the "Poultry World," a monthy, formerly published by H. H. Stoddard, of Hartford. He gave much attention to the breeding of fine poultry, and his strain of, Plymouth Rock fowls is known and valued in every State of the Union. He has always been noted for his industry, and is a self-made man, having received no aid on the road to prosperity, but he has been blessed with good health, and has improved every opportunity in his path, as the rec- ord of his career shows.

WILLIAM WALTER NORTON (deceased), during his lifetime one of the prominent and in- fluential citizens of Kensington, was born in that village Oct. 5, 1819. There, too, he died, Sept. 30, 1894, at the ripe old age of seventy-five years, and there he was buried, in West Lane cemetery.

The district schools of his native town afforded Mr. Norton his only opportunities for education, and his deficiencies in this regard constituted a source of poignant regret to him in later years. He found life on the paternal farm circumscribed and prosaic, and while yet a young man went West to seek his fortune. There he engaged in business and invested in mining stock, but ultimately gravitated back to Berlin. Shortly after his return he was tendered the position of agent for the New York, New Haven Hartford Railway and the Adams Express Companies, which he accepted, and this position of grave responsibility he filled for nearly thirty years, discharging the duties at- taching thereto with that mental acumen and un- swerving fidelity which were his salient character- istics throughout life. The high regard in which he was held by his fellow citizens was attested by their repeatedly honoring him with offices of high honor and grave trust. At various times he was grand juror, judge of probate, and first selectman, besides holding various minor offices.

Mr. Norton was twice married. His first wife, Miss Harriet E. Brown, to whom he was married on Jan. 2, 1841, was born Sept. 7, 1821, and died in june, 1891. In November, 1892, he married Miss Nellie Emma Lyman Hunt, daughter of Willard and Augusta Hunt, well-known and respected resi- dents of Berlin. She was born Nov. 22, 1862, in Berlin, and died Dec. 15, 1899. She was a mem- ber of the Congregational Church of Berlin, where she lived from childhood until her marriage, and was an active church worker, beloved and respected by all.

The late Mr. Norton was of a genial, whole- souled disposition, always ready to aid his neigh- bors, and universally popular. His advice was con- stantly sought, frequently on matters of grave im- portance, and always freely and cheerfully given. For many years he was a Republican in politics, but toward the close of his life affiliated with the

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Democratic party. In both politics and public af- fairs he was always influential, and the grief with which the community learned the news of his death was deep, sincere and widespread. He was long an attendant at the Methodist Church, but in later years was to be seen among the Congregationalists. His character was beyond reproach, his mind keen and active, and his sympathies broad and tender.

The issue of his second marriage was one son, William Stephen Marcus, born Sept. 19, 1894. The child is unusually bright, and it was his mother's hope that he might study the profession of law.

ROBERT CORNWELL DUNHAM, a well- to-do farmer and influential citizen of Southington, was born on the farm which he now occupies Oct. 4, 1827, a son of Harvey Dunham, who lived in Shuttle Meadow. The father was born Feb. 5, 1799, and was married, Oct. 2, 1822, to Miss Julia A. Cornwell, by whom he had four children, who reached maturity ; Angeline, wife of Henry K. W. Dickinson, who has three children, Sidney, Ed- ward and Charles; Robert C .; Truman, now de- ceased, who is survived by six children, El'a ( Mrs. Albion Dyer), Tryon G. (who has one son, Tryon Hunt), Mary. Katherine, Bell and Alice; and Sarah Elizabeth, wife of George Loomis, who has two children, Carrie and George. The father died March 23, 1869.

Harvey Dunham, Sr., the grandfather of our subject, lived east of Shuttle Meadow, where his son Harvey lived and died. He was married, Feb. 9, 1795, to Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. William and Catherine (Codner) Tryon, of Middletown. He died July 15, 1836, and his wife June 23, 1865, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. His fa- ther, Sylvanus Dunham, was born in 1742, and lived on the west side of Shuttle Meadow, where he died Sept. 1, 1818. He married Rebecca Wood- ruff, daughter of Hezekiah and Sarah (Macon) Woodruff. Sylvanus Dunham was a son of Gideon Dunham, of Southington, who was the founder of the family in this county, and is supposed to have come from Martha's Vineyard. He died April 27, 1762.

Robert C. Dunham, our subject, has spent his entire life upon the old homestead, engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits. During his boyhood he became thoroughly familiar with all the duties which fall to the lot of the farmer, and acquired his literary education in the common schools, and at Hopkins Academy, Hadley, Mass. On March 1I, 1851, he was united in marriage with Miss Josephine M. Park, born Nov. 2, 1830, a daughter of Chauncey (born Oct. 16, 1807) and Emeline ( Field) (born Feb. 2, 1808) Park, of West Northfield, Mass., and granddaughter of Levi Park, who was born Dec. 30, 1786. To Mr. and Mrs. Dunham were born five children: George C. married Charlotte Davis, of Stoneboro, Penn., and they have had five children, Bertha E., Edna B., Robert A., Ruth

May, and Charles (deceased). William N. mar- ried Mary B. Smith, of New Britain, and they have three children, Myrtle C., Leroy N. and Josephine M. Frederick P. married (first) Jennie Woodruff, of Southington, who died leaving two children, Paul C. and Dana W .; his second wife, Elizabeth Whiting, of Southington, also died leav- ing two children, Clarence W. and Jennie M., and for his third wife he married Grace Dayton, of Southington; they have two children, Halstead F. and Gladys M. Mary J. is the wife of Edwin G. Lewis, and has one daughter, Marion. Julia E. is the wife of Lewis Shepard. By his ballot Mr. Dunham supports the men and measures of the Republican party, and he has served one term as grand juror.

CASE. The Case family is one of the oldest in this section, and is connected with many other prominent pioneer lines, notably the Cornish, Hum- phrey and Adams families.

John Case, from whom the Cases in Simsbury, Canton and Barkhamsted trace their descent, is said to have come from Gravesend, England, in the ship "Dorset," Sept. 3, 1635. He was at Newtown, L. I., in 1656, and later spent some time at Hartford and Windsor, but finally located at Weatogue, where the site of his old homestead can still be located. Phelps' "History of Simsbury" says of him that in 1669 he was appointed by the General Court con- ; stable of Massawe, the first person to be invested with any office in the town. He was elected repre- sentative in the May session of the General As- sembly with Joshua Holcomb, they being the first two persons holding that office, and he also served subsequently in the years 1674, 1675 and 1691. In 1656 he married Sarah Spencer, of Hartford, who was born in 1636, and died in 1691. Her father, William Spencer, had his home lot granted to him in Hartford, the land where the Union depot now stands. He was the founder of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and was appointed one to revise the laws of the Colony. At his death in 1640, he left an estate valued at 291 pounds. John Case died in 1704. His will, made in 1700, is a lengthy document, filling eight foolscap pages with fine writing. The inventory appended to the will shows him possessed of seventeen parcels of land, a cornmill and sawmill. Some items in the inventory are a broadcloth coat, table linen and napkins, blue trucking cloth, sheets, linen sheets, tow sheets, Bibles and divinity books, a short gun, a musket, three pounds of powder, eight and one- half pounds of lead, a rapier, a back sword, a cutlass, six and a half barrels of cider, two stocks beer, 160 pounds tobacco, two pairs breeches, two breeches, bedding, bolsters, pillows, shag rug, green rug, wainscot bedstead, coverlids, twenty-one and a half yards linsey woolsey, twenty-six yards tow cloth, nine yards linen cloth, twenty-two run of linen yarn, ten and a half run tow yarn, pewter platters, pew-

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ter flagon, three brass kettles, smoothing irons, cheese press ; inventory of all the estate 562 pounds, Mr. Case being a man of wealth for those times. He had six sons and four daughters, and four of his sons settled near him.

(II) Joseph Case, sixth son of John, born April 6, 1674, married Anna Eno, April 6, 1699. She died June 10, 1760, aged sixty-one, and he died in 1748, aged seventy-four. He resided at Meadow Plain, Simsbury, and served twenty sessions in the Legislature.

(III) Josiah Case, son of Joseph, born Feb. I, 1716, married Mary Hoskins July 22, 1742, and re- moved to Cases Farm, Simsbury, where he owned and conducted a sawmill. The date of his death is not known. His children were Hezekiah, born Aug. II, 1743, died Dec. 26, 1761 ; Mary, born Sept. IG, 1745, married David Goodhue; Ezra, born Sept. 15, 1747, settled in Barkhamsted ; Andrew, born July 10, 1749, died Aug. 19, 1749; Andrew, born Aug. 15, 1750, settled in Barkhamsted; Josiah, born Feb. 19, 1753; Ozias, born Nov. 2, 1755, settled in Bur- lington, Conn .; Abel, born Nov. 3, 1758, is men- tioned below; Oliver, born June, 1761, settled in Barkhamsted.

(IV) Abel Case, Sr., born Nov. 3, 1758, died Oct. 30, 1843, aged eighty-five. He married Anna Tuller, it is supposed a daughter of Ezekiel Tuller, of Simsbury. She died Dec. 10, 1844, aged eighty- seven. Their children were Abel, Jr., mentioned be- low ; Ezekiel; Gaylord, who married Aurelia Foote ; Sabrina, who married Samuel Booth, of Avon, Conn .; Savilla, wife of Oliver Case, of Barkham- sted; Betsey, wife of Roswell Nobles, of Sims- bury ; Harriet, wife of Jarvis Bacon, of Simsbury ; Anna, wife of Arunah Moore, of Bloomfield; Me- hitable, who never married.

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Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1, Part 112

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1336

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1336