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 139

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 139

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ator, one of the foremost lawyers of his day in Connecticut, and judge of the Supreme Court for many years, belonged to this branch of the family.

Mr. Smith is descended, on his mother's side, from a very ancient family. Henry Minor, of Eng- land, who died in 1359, received the name and a coat of arms from King Edward III, in recogni- tion of loyalty in providing a fine escort of a hun- dred men, his own servants and retainers, for the safety of the sovereign in passing through Somer- setshire to the coast en route for France. The founder of the family in America was Thomas, who was born in 1608, and came to New England in 1630. He was married to Grace, daughter of Walter Palmer, 1634. He and his wife both died in the year 1690. Thomas Minor died in Stoning- ton, Conn. His granddaughter, Grace, daughter of John Minor, one of the very first settlers of Wood- bury, was married, in 1688, to Samuel Grant, Jr., of Windsor, an ancestor of the late Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States.

Mr. Smith is a grandson of the venerable dea- con, Matthew Minor, who was greatly respected for his integrity, and of eminent piety, and held the office of deacon in the First Congregational Church of Woodbury for forty-two years-the sixth in a line of seven deacons of the name.

To Mr. and Mrs. Smith one child has been born, Lillian Winslow, who has graduated from McLean Seminary, Simsbury, and is now a student at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. For a few years after his marriage Mr. Smith remained in Wood- bury, then the family removed to Chicago, Ill., and he was in business in that city until his health be- came impaired by the climate, when he returned to the East, and they are now located at Weatogue. (2) Lillian, second daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Horace Winslow, was born at New Britain, Conn., and was the first child baptized in the new Con- gregational church of New Britain. She attended the Natchaug High School, at Willimantic, also the New Britain Seminary. She possessed an affec- tionate and lovable nature, and, with other personal attractions, it is not strange that she gathered friends from every circle in which she moved. With fine sensibilities and a taste for art, her health. how- ever, never permitted her to develop greatly the talent which was evidently hers. She united with the church when young, and was interested in all its work. Though reserved in speaking of her in- most feelings, vet her religious experience gave di- rection and control to her outward life. As long as she was able to do so, she visited the homes of the sick and the afflicted. Lillian was married. May 18, 1887, to Charles James Fox, M. D., a lead- ing physician, of Willimantic, Conn., who was surgeon-general on the staff of Gov. Phineas C. Lounsbury, brother of the late governor of Con- necticut. Dr. Fox is a son of the late Roswell Fox, M. D., for many years a valued citizen and emi- nent physician of Wethersfield, Conn. Mrs. Fox

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died Sept. 28, 1888, at Willimantic, and was buried at Simsbury.

(3) Mary, youngest daughter of Rev. H. Wins- low, was born in Great Barrington, Berkshire Co., Mass., in the house which is now occupied as the public library, at Great Barrington, and was the first child baptized in the new Congregational church, where her father preached. She was graduated from the Natchaug (now Willimantic) High School of Willimantic, Conn., is a young lady of intellectual tastes, and interested in Sunday school work. She is a charter member and the present historian of Abigail Phelps Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, attended for four years the congress of the order at Washing- ton, and was elected delegate to the congress one year, was for several years historian of Willimantic Alumni Association. Miss Winslow is a member of the Connecticut Forestry Association, in which she takes great interest, and of which, with her father, she was one of the founders.

An elder sister of Mr. Winslow, Miss Philinda, resided witlí him for several years previous to her death, which occurred in 1893. Mrs. Winslow was a lady of intelligence, amiable, warm-hearted and an active and consistent Christian. For more than fifty years she was a faithful teacher in the Sun- day-schools with which she was connected, and only retired from the service when compelled to do so by the infirmities of age. She was also greatly inter- ested in Missions.

Rev. Mr. Winslow, our subject, is a member and was one of the founders of the Connecticut Forestry Association, which was organized at his home in Weatogue, Dec. 30, 1895. He is a mem- ber of Joseph R. Toy Post, No. 83, G. A. R., of Simsbury, and was its chaplain from its organiza- tion until 1897, when he was elected commander. He is also a member of the Society of the Army of the Potomoc. Mr. Winslow has hosts of friends of all shades of political and religious belief, for his sterling qualities as a man and as an advocate of the spiritual, mental and material betterment of his fellowmen are too conspicuous to be unseen.

FREDERICK A. SEYMOUR, of West Hart- ford, is a veteran of the Civil war, and bears an honorable record for brave service in the cause of freedom and union, and in the paths of peace he has also won an enviable reputation through the sterling qualities which go to the making of a good citizen. The greater part of his life has been spent in Hart- ford county, and has been devoted to agricultural pursuits.

Mr. Seymour was born March 12, 1819, in the house built by his great-grandfather, Capt. John Seymour, in Park avenue, West Hartford. He can trace his ancestry to Richard Seymour, of Chelms- ford, County of Essex, England, who was one of the first settlers of Hartford in 1636, though he did not come with Rev. Mr. Hooker's congregation, made

up in England, but soon afterward. In 1639 he was appointed chimney viewer for Hartford, and he was also allowed special privileges, such as cutting wood and keeping cattle on the commons; was chosen selectman in 1655.

Capt. John Seymour served in the Indian war in 1746 (at which time he was twenty years of age), in the French and Indian war, and throughout the Revolution as captain. He married Lydia Wads- worth, daughter of Capt. Wadsworth, of Charter Oak fame, and thirteen children were born to them : John (I), who was killed on a man-of-war (never married) ; James; Alexander, who died at sea; Rogers; Asa, who died in Granville, Mass .; Na- thaniel, grandfather of our subject; John (2) ; Syl- via ; Lydia ; Lucy ; Lucretia ; Lucina ; Anna Cynthia. James married Hannah Collins, of West Hartford, where he lived and died, leaving one son, Henry, who married Rebecca Hunt, of Lenox, Mass. ; hie lived in Hartford, where he died.

Nathaniel Seymour was born Aug. 23, 1763, and resided where our subject now lives, being en- gaged in the pottery business here. He was a very public-spirited and enterprising citizen, and served as first selectman of the town of Hartford for many years. He was also an officer in a militia company. He married Sarah Kellogg, who was born Dec. 6, 1761, and they had five children, whose names and dates of birth were as follows: Emma, Jan. 18, 1790 ; Horace, Oct. 21, 1791 ; Edwin, June 23, 1793 ; Mason, Dec. 15, 1794; and Nathan, Sept. 18, 1798.

Edwin Seymour, father of our subject, was born in West Hartford, and was reared and educated there. He married Miss Fannie Merrill, a daughter of William Merrill, and to them were born six chil- dren : Henry Thornton, Frederick A., Helen F., Francis L., William S. and Charlotte M., all of whom lived and died in Ohio with the exception of our subject. The family removed to that State about 1853, and there the father departed this life in 1855 ; the mother died in 1870, in Indiana.

Frederick A. Seymour attended school in West Hartford, and made his home with his grandparents from the age of eleven years until he attained his majority, when he, too, went to Ohio, locating in Ravenna, Portage county. There he married Miss Elvira Curtiss, and to them was born one child, Nathan W., now a builder of West Hartford, who married Rachel Fullin, and had two children, but both died in infancy.

While Mr. Seymour was residing in Ohio the Civil war broke out, and he enlisted, at Ravenna, in 1861, in Company G, 7th O. V. 1., of which he was immediately made captain. He remained in the service for three years, during which time he was promoted to the rank of major, and as such was mustered out at Washington, D. C., in June, 1865. Returning to Ravenna, he continued to reside there until 1869, engaged in mercantile business, and he also served as supervisor of his township. In 1869 he returned to this county, and has since resided

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on the old homestead in West Hartford. He is a man of considerable prominence in his community, and has been honored with several important of- ficial positions, having served as selectman of West Hartford three years, deputy sheriff one term, and a representative to the State Legislature one term. Socially he is an honored member of the Grand Army Post in Hartford, and of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., of which he is past master; and while a resident of Ohio he affiliated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Lodge of that order.

HON. JOHN C. E. HUMPHREY. The Humphrey family is one of the most prominent in the annals of Simsbury. It is one of the oldest, and representatives for more than two centuries have been conspicuous in the growth and advance- ment of the community. The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, one of its living rep- resentatives, is an enterprising and successful busi- ness man.

Michael Humphrey was the original settler of the family in Simsbury. The family has an ancient and honorable history both in England and on the continent of Europe, and Michael Humphrey was probably descended from the branch which settled in southwestern England soon after the Norman Conquest. It is supposed he was born in Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, England, son of Samuel and Susannah Humphrey, probably natives of that place. Michael had a taste for enterprise and trade, and, the sea affording the best opportunities, with his brother Samuel he became a merchant and ship- owner, and before 1643 sailed from England for America, settling at Windsor, Conn. At Massa- coe (or Massaco), now Simsbury, he engaged with John Griffin and John Tinker in the manufacture of pitch and tar, which was shipped to his brother Samuel and to Henry Rose, partners in business at St. Malo, France, the ships returning to America with goods consigned to Michael Humphrey. The early records of Hartford county reveal something of the character and standing of this founder. On May 21, 1657, Michael Humphrey was admitted a freeman of Windsor. In 1662 he was still engaged in trade with his brother Samuel and with Henry Rose at St. Malo, France. In 1664, as a member of the Church of England, he, together with James Eno and others, protested against paying taxes for the support of the ministry of Windsor. In 1667 he was one of the Windsor dragoons. About 1669 he became one of the original thirteen settlers of Massacoe, now Simsbury, and one of its most pron- inent, settling in the East Weatogue District, where he became a large land owner and extensive farmer. Corn was his principal crop. He settled on the farm, a part of which is now known as the Bradley place, obtaining a grant of land over one mile in length, reaching to the top of the Mountain. In both civil and ecclesiastical affairs he was a lead-

ing spirit. On Oct. 14, 1674, he married Priscilla, daughter of Matthew and Priscilla Grant, and she bore him children as follows: (1) John, born June 7, 1650, is mentioned below. (2) Mary, born Oct. 24, 1653, married June 16, 1675, John Lewis, of Windsor. (3) Samuel, born May 15, 1656, mar- ried Mary Mills, and died June 15, 1736. (4) Sarah, born March 6, 1659, married June II, 1680, Richard Burnham, of South Windsor. (5) Mar- tha, born Oct. 5, 1663, married John Shipman. (6) Abigail, born March 23, 1666, married Lieut. Ben- jamin Graham, of Hartford, and died June 27, 1697. (7) Hannah, born Oct. 21, 1669, became the second wife of Capt. John Bull, of Hartford. Michael Humphrey died on his farm in Simsbury previous to 1696. His father-in-law, Matthew Grant, was the founder of the Grant family in the United States, Gen. Grant being one of his descend- ants. "The town surveyor was another important office. Matthew Grant, whose name is so conspicu- ous in the early history of the town (Windsor), discharged the duties of this office. He was also the second town clerk, and continued measuring of land and getting-out of lots to men" for a period of forty years. He is called by the historian, Stiles, the "model town clerk," and his ancient manuscript record of the old Dorchester and Windsor Church is now among the treasures of the Connecticut His- torical Society.

(II) John Humphrey, who was born in Windsor June 7, 1650, removed with his parents to Simsbury, and there became a lifelong farmer, dying Jan. 14, 1698. "He was a prominent and respected citizen , was the owner of considerable land, and frequently engaged in the town's business." He married Han- nah Griffin, daughter of Sergt. John and Anna (Bancroft) Griffin, John Griffin being his father's partner in the manufacture of tar and pitch, and the family born to them consisted of the following children: (1) John, born Nov. 18, 1671, is men- tioned below. (2) Mary, born April 14, 1674, probably married a Mr. Wadsworth. (3) Thomas, born Sept. 1, 1676, married Hannah Ilillyer, and died Oct. 23, 1714. (4) Abigail, born Nov. 8, 1678, married a Mr. Gridley, of Farmington. (5) Nathaniel, born March 3, 1680, married Agnes Spen- cer, and died in December. 171I. (6) Samuel, born 1684, married Mary, daughter of James and Abigail Bissell Eno, and died Sept. 20, 1725. (7) Joseph married Abigail Griffin. Regarding Sergt. John Griffin, father-in-law of John Humphrey, we have the following: "Manahannoose, a Massaco Indian, 'did wittingly kindle a fire' which consumed a large quantity of tar belonging to Griffin." For this he was condemned by the court at Hartford, and, to escape being shipped to Barbadoes or becoming a slave, he and other Indians, proprietors of Massaco, gave to Griffin a deed of all lands in Massaco. "In 1663 a grant was made to John Griffin by the General Court of two hundred acres, for his services in per- fecting the art of making pitch and tar. This grant,

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

with another subsequently made by the town in 1672, of about a mile and a half square, given in part consideration of his resigning and relinquish- ing his Indian deeds, to the proprietors of the town, constituted what was known as Griffin's Lordship." From Simsbury, with Michael Humphrey, he was a member of the General Court of Connecticut, Oc- tober session of 1670, and several times after- ward.

(III) John Humphrey (2), son of John and Hannah Humphrey, was born Nov. 18, 1671, and died Dec. 31, 1732. He was a man of education and character, like his father followed farming through life, and also practiced the profession of surveying. He was a deacon in the Congregational Church, served as town clerk, and filled many other positions of responsibility and trust. Ile married a widow, Mrs. Sarah ( Pettibone) Mills, daughter of John Pettibone, and she bore him five children, as follows : (I) John and (2) Hannah (twins) were born March 17, 1700-I [the first three months of any year were then marked in that way, until the change in the calendar in the middle of the eight- eenth century]. John married Lydia Reed, of Windsor, and died Nov. 2, 1760. Hannah married Deacon Joseph Case, of Simsbury. (3) Benajah, born Dec. 20, 1701, is mentioned below. (4) Michael, born Nov. 20, 1703, married Mercy Hum- phrey, and died in 1778. Mercy Humphrey was a descendant of Gov. Thomas Dudley, of Massachu- setts, and of Gov. William Leete, of Connecticut. (5) Daniel, born in 1707, was educated at Yale College, and was for fifty years a minister of the Congregational Church at Derby, Conn. He mar- ried Sarah Riggs, and died Sept. 2, 1787. His son David was a colonel in the Revolutionary war, and a general in the war of 1812; was also aid to Gen. Putnam and subsequently to Gen. Washington, served as the latter's private secretary, living with him at Mt. Vernon, and was afterwards minister to Spain and Portugal. He wrote several volumes of history and poetry. John Pettibone, father of Mrs. John (2) Humphrey, settled first in Windsor, then at Simsbury. The family has furnished many men prominent in town affairs, and gave a large number of officers and men for the Revolutionary army. John Pettibone's wife, Sarah Eggleston, was a daughter of Begat Eggleston, a first settler of Dorchester, Mass., and also of Windsor.

(IV) Benajah Humphrey, born Dec. 20, 1701, continued the agricultural vocation of his ancestors, lived a prosperous life in Simsbury, where he passed away Aug. 4, 1772, and was buried there. His wife, Thankful Hoskins, perhaps daughter of Rob- ert Hoskins, bore him nine children: (1) Benajah, born July 22, 1728, married Caroline Humphrey, and died Aug. 8, 1761. (2) Elisha, born May 30, 1730, died young. (3) Thankful, born Dec. 25, 1731, married Lieut. Timothy Moses, and died in 1790. (4) Elisha, born Nov. 19, 1733, is mentioned below. (5) Sarah, born May 9, 1736, was four

times married, (first) to Lieut. Charles Humphrey, ( second) to Col. Seth Smith, (third ) to Elisha Gra- ham, and (fourth) to Dr. Amasa Case, being the latter's fifth wife. She died in 1823. (6) Roger, born May 20, 1738, died unmarried about 1770. (7) Abraham, born March 27, 1740, died Feb. 3, 1769. (8) Mary, born Jan. 5, 1743, died May 16, 1745. (9) Benoni, born Dec. 27, 1745, married Lois M. Humphrey, and died Aug. 8, 1795.

(V) Elisha Humphrey, son of Benajah Hum- phrey, was born Nov. 19, 1733, and died June 30, 1815. He served in the French and Indian wars under Gen. Putnam, at Fort Edward. He married Lydia, daughter of Judge John Humphrey, and their children were as follows: Elisha, born June 4, 1770, married Sabina Griswold, and moved to central New York; Abner, born July 14, 1772, died unmarried in 1816; Dositheus, born April 20, 1775, is mentioned below; Lydia, born Feb. 15, 1778, died unmarried June 26, 1857; Anna, born May 28, 1780, died unmarried April 10, 1856; Sim- eon, born Feb. 1, 1783, died Nov. 26, 1866. Judge John Humphrey, father of Mrs. Elisha Humphrey, was appointed, by the English Crown, justice of the peace, and served from 1735 to 1760. He was also town clerk. He was first lieutenant in the Colonial Militia, and captain of the First Regiment. From 1758 to 1760 he was judge in the common pleas court of Hartford county. He was a representative in the General Assembly from 1733 and 1860, con- tinuously except for four years, and died while at- tending the Legislature at New Haven, being there buried, near the grave of John Dixwell, the regicide, as his sons, Major Elihu and Lieut. Nathaniel, were then with Gen. Lyman in Canada, serving in the French and Indian war. Judge Humphrey was a member of the Congregational Church, and he was owner of the Humphrey homestead.

Judge John Humphrey's two sons, Lieut. Na- thaniel and Major Elihu Humphrey, served in both the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars. In the former war they were with Gen. Phineas Lyman in Canada, and took part in the capture of Montreal. Later they joined the expedition to and engaged in the capture of Havana, 1762, Elihu Humphrey being adjutant of Lyman's regiment.

Nathaniel Humphrey was lieutenant of the first volunteer company raised in Simsbury during the Revolutionary war. Volunteers from this com- pany were in the battle of Bunker Hill, and the en- tire force assisted at the siege of Boston, later going to New York under Washington, and taking part in the battles of Long Island and White Plains, and in the retreat from New York.

Elihu Humphrey raised the second company which went out from Simsbury immediately after the battle of Bunker Hill, and he took part in the siege of Boston. The next year he was made a major, was wounded and captured in the battle of Long Island, was confined in a prison in New York City, known as the "Old Sugar House," and was

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there so barbarously treated that he died soon after his return from Simsbury.

(VI) Dositheus Humphrey, born April 20, 1775, married Lovisa, daughter of John Gridley Terry, and died June 7, 1853. Though he made farming his life work, he had a taste for mathematics and astronomy, was a practical surveyor, and engaged to some extent in that occupation. He spent his entire life on the homestead in East Weatogue, Simsbury, and there engaged in stock-raising and general farming. In politics he was a Whig, and in public affairs active and prominent. He was a member of the Congregational Church, which his wife joined after her marriage, she being originally a member of St. Andrew's, the oldest Episcopal Church in Hartford county. She was devoted to her husband and children, and highly esteemed by all who knew her. To Dositheus and Lovisa (Terry) Humphrey were born seven children, as follows : Phœbe, born Nov. 14, 1799, married Calvin Northrop, and died at Hartford, Feb. 14, 1871; Anson, born Oct. 2, 1802, married Emily Hayden, of Suffield ; Benajah, born Dec. 4, 1835, is mentioned below; Chloe, born June II, 1808, died Jan. 16, 1809; Lura, born Nov. 3, 1809, died unmarried May 5, 1860; Sarah, born June 24, 1812, married Jo- siah Hough, of Collinsville, on June 16, 1852, and died May 6, 1866; and Laura, born March 9, 1815, died Oct. 26, 1817.

Stephen Terry (from whom Mrs. Dositheus Humphrey traced her descent) came from England in 1630, probably in the ship "Mary and John," to Dorchester, Mass. He removed to Windsor about 1636, and to Hadley, Mass., in 1660; he was a member of the first body of cavalry in Connecticut. He was rated in Hadley at £200-none in the town rated higher. He was married in Dorchester, and his wife died in 1647. He was born probably about I590.

John Terry, born in Windsor, March 6, 1638, died in 1691. He married, in Hartford, Elizabeth, daughter of William Wadsworth, born May 17, 1645, died March 12, 1715. John Terry was a farmer, was a lieutenant in the militia, and is sup- posed to have been the first town clerk of Simsbury. The Wadsworth family was one of the most prom- inent in the early history of Connecticut. "William Wadsworth, the younger brother of James, was born in Long Buckley, County of Northampton ; removed thence to Braintree, County of Essex ; emigrated to New England ;" settled in Cambridge. He came in the ship "Lion" from London, Sept. 16, 1632; freeman in Massachusetts, Nov. 6, 1632; in June, 1636, removed to Hartford, where he was an original proprietor ; was chosen townsman 1642, 1655, 1661, 1673; constable, 1651; list and rate maker, 1668; was deputy to the General Court nearly every session between October, 1656, and May, 1675. He died in 1675, his widow in 1682; estate £1,677, 13s, 9d. He was first married in England. Children by first marriage: (1) Sarah

married Sept. 17, 1646, John Wilcox, Jr., of Hart- ford. (2) William died young. (3) John set- tled in Farmington. In 1662 he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Stanley. He was deputy, 1672-1677; assistant, 1679-1689; one of the stand- ing counsel during King. Philip's war; and died in 1689, leaving seven sons, one of whom, John, was the father of Rev. Daniel Wadsworth, pastor of the First Church, Hartford, who married, in 1734, Abigail, daughter of Gov. Joseph Talcott, and was the father of Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth. (4) Mary, born about 1632, married, about 1656, Thomas Stoughton, of Windsor. On July 2, 1644, in Hart- ford, William Wadsworth married Elizabeth Stone, said to have been a sister of Rev. Samuel Stone, first teacher of the First Church of Hartford, who was born in Hertford, England, and in whose honor Hartford was named. Children of William Wads- worth by second marriage. (5) Elizabeth, born May 17, 1645, married Nov. 17, 1662, John Terry, of Simsbury, and died March 12, 1715. (6) Samuel, baptized Oct. 20, 1646, freeman, 1676, died in 1682, leaving an estate of ₺1, 100. (7) Capt. Joseph, born about 1647, was a lieutenant in King Philip's war, and captain in the Hartford train band. He hid the Connecticut Charter in the Charter Oak, Oct. 31, 1687. (8) Sarah, baptized March 17, 1650, married Jonathan Ashley. (9) Thomas, born about 1651, married Elizabeth - -; freeman, 1676; died Hartford, 1725; his father gave him lands east of the Connecticut river, and he settled in East Hart- ford. (10) Rebecca was unmarried in 1682.

(III) John Terry, born in 1684, died May 25, 1725. He married Mary Roby, daughter of Andrew Roby.

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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 139

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