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 159

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 159

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CHARLES DAVID DOOLITTLE, a leading and representative citizen of Southington, and a well-known contractor for the Peck, Stow & Wil- cox Co., is a native of Hartford county, born in Farmington Feb. 25, 1837.

AIr. Doolittle is a son of Sylvanus and Mary Ann ( Dayton) Doolittle, natives of Prospect and Litch- field, Conn., respectively. Our subject's paternal grandfather, a sea-faring man, is supposed to have been born in Prospect, New Haven county. The maternal grandfather, Zadock Dayton, was born in Litchfield, where he grew to manhood and married Amy Gibbs. Later he located in Bristol, this

county, where he engaged in farming until his death. The father of our subject, a sawmaker by trade, spent all his life in Connecticut, in the employ of various firms in his line, and during his later years was connected with Adkins & Allen, of Bristol, in which place he died. His children were Rosana E., wife of Samuel Darby; Charles D. ; Lydia A., wife of Isaac Dozier; Frances, wife of Mortimer Keeney; and Mary, wife of Henry Alcott.

The first thirteen years of his life Charles D. Doolittle spent in Bristol, and then went to Wol- cott, where he worked on a farm for two years. He was given the advantages of a common-school education, and in 1852 he began work in a hardware factory, to which business he devoted four years, two in New Britain and two in South Meriden. In 1856 he located in Southington and entered the em- ploy of the Peck-Smith Manufacturing Co., now the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., as a contractor on hardware specialties for five years, and as a contrac- tor in the trap department since 1864. His rela- tions with the company have always been the most pleasant, and he has their entire confidence and re- spect.

On Oct. 16, 1856, Mr. Doolittle married Miss Henrietta Kent, a daughter of John and Sarah (Hotchkiss) Kent, of New Britain, and to them has been born one daughter, Della M., who married Charles S. Pease, and has one child, Hazel.

In July, 1861, Mr. Doolittle responded to his country's call for troops to put down the Rebellion, and enlisted in Company A, 7th Conn. V. I., with which he participated in several skirmishes. He was finally discharged in Port Royal, S. C., in 1862,

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on account of disability. He is now an honored member of Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R. ; Eureka Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F .; Israel Putnam Lodge, No. 31, A. O. U. W., of New Haven ; and the New England Order of Protection. In his political affili- ations he is a Republican, and, as every true Ameri- can citizen should, he takes a deep and commendable interest in public affairs.

CHARLES H. HAVENS, who died honored and respected by all, was a well-known engraver, and an enterprising, progressive and reliable busi- ness man.

Mr. Havens was born in Boston, Mass., in May, 1854, but belonged to one of the old and highly-respected families of Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Conn. The first to locate there was Thomas Havens, probably a native of England, who was a sca captain, and was for many years interested in the coasting trade. He also made some voyages to foreign countries during his residence in Wethers- field, and is supposed to have been lost at sea, as he was never heard from after starting out on one of his voyages. He married Elizabeth Robbins, daughter of Jonathan Robbins, who lived in that part of Wethersfield now known as Rocky Hill. where she died and was laid to rest.

Thomas Havens, the only son of Capt. Thomas, was born in Rocky Hill, and there grew to man- hood, in early life learning the shipwright's trade with Benjamin Adams, a builder of small vessels in Wethersfield. Mr. Havens followed shipbuild- ing throughout life, and made his home in Weth- ersfield, where he owned property. There he died and was buried. He married Miss Lurinda Adams, daughter of his preceptor, and to them were born eight children : Sylvester, Urial, Thomas, Will- iam Adams, Henry, Hiram, Nancy and Sarah.

William Adams Havens, son of Thomas Ha- vens, and grandfather of our subject, was born in Wethersfield, and, like his father and brothers, fol- lowed shipbuilding, becoming a master ship car- penter and making that business his life work. He was a well-known and highly-respected citizen of Wethersfield, where his death occurred, and where his remains were interred. He was a faithful mem- ber of the Congregational Church. and in politics was first a Whig, later a Republican. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary Waterbury. and to them were born children as follows: Will- iam W., a resident of Hartford; Simeon, father of our subject; John, deceased; Irene, wife of Henry J. Cleveland ; Mary; Huldah, wife of Eb- enezer Wiswall: Ebenezer G., deceased; Thomas, a silverplater of Boston, Mass .: and S. M., who died in Wethersfield.

· Simeon Havens was born and reared in Weth- ersfield, and was there married. in Griswoldville, to Jeanette C. Griswold, a native of that place. and a daughter of Justus and Jeanette ( Kirkham) Griswold. [A history of the Griswold family is

given elsewhere.] After his marriage the father of our subject removed to Boston, where he spent the remainder of his life.

In the schools of his native city, Boston, Charles H. Havens obtained a good practical education, and there learned the art of engraving, in which he soon became proficient. He went to New York for a time, finally located in Wethersfield, where he embarked in business for himself, and in his venture met with excellent success. Being known as the first engraver in the county in his line, that of copybook engraver, he commanded a liberal share of that particular branch of the business. He did not live long to enjoy his prosperity, how- ever, as close application to business broke down his health, which he spent six years trying to re- gain, he and his wife visiting California with the hope of benefiting it, but he died there in 1893. His remains were brought back to Wethersfield, and interred in Cedar Hill cemetery. He was a devoted husband and father, an upright, honorable citizen, and a true and loyal friend. He was a man of the times, broad-minded, public-spirited and progress- ive, and the success that he achieved in life was due entirely to his own well-directed and energetic efforts. His duties were always performed with the greatest care. and his personal honor and in- tegrity were without blemish. In political senti- ment he was a Republican.

In 1883, in Wethersfield, Mr. Havens was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Elizabeth Amidon, who was born in the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., and to them was born one daughter, Lillian Amidon.

JOHN AMIDON was born July 13, 1817, in Ashford, Windham Co., Conn., a son of Johnson Amidon. The family is of French-Huguenot ex- traction.

As he had limited educational advantages in his boyhood, John Amidon obtained in the great school . of experience his education, and he began life a poor boy, rising through his own efforts to a posi- tion of wealth and prominence. Like many an- other successful man, he began life as a peddler. Later he successfully engaged in the hat business with a Mr. Leavitt, on Broadway, New York, and he also carried on the manufacture of parasols and umbrellas, and was an importer of silks. On ac- count of ill health, brought on by overwork, he decided to take up farming, and accordingly pur- chased a place near Hartford, on which he resided some seven years. At the end of that period he opened a business in Wethersfield, engaged as gen- eral merchant and druggist in the store later oc- cupied by Walkley & Damery up to the time of his death. He was a straightforward, reliable business man, and in his undertakings met with well-de- served success. In disposition modest, unassuming and retiring, though strong in his convictions, no man in the community was more highly respected, and his name became a household word in Weth-

Holm Amidon

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ersfield. He always kept abreast with the times, was well posted on all leading events, and cast his ballot with the Republican party; he was no of- fice seeker. Mr. Amidon married Nancy Holmes Southworth, and to them were born five children : John, who died in infancy ; Charles and Frank, both merchants, members of the firm of J. Amidon & Co., who are now deceased ; Lizzie, deceased; and Carrie E., widow of Charles H. Havens. Mr. Amidon died in 1891, at the age of seventy-five years, his wife in 1892, at the age of sixty-seven, and both were laid to rest in Cedar Hill cemetery, of which he was one of the fifty original pur- chasers. Religiously they were faithful members of the Congregational Church.

FRANCIS N. GOODRICH was born in the town of East Berlin, Hartford county, March 16, 1849, a son of Norris and Sarah ( Culver ) Goodrich, who had four children: Francis N., Dora, Charles and Sarah, the last named of whom is deceased. The father was a wagon maker by trade, and set- tled in the town of Rocky Hill in 1845. He died when Francis N. was a lad of eight years, and thereupon the boy went to live with his grandfather, Samuel Goodrich, remaining there until his mar- riage, in 1865, to Miss Caroline Haskell. They have had five children, all of whom are living : William F., Herbert W., Marion A., Ezra E. and Clarence R.

At the age of twenty-one years, our subject began work at carpentry, which trade he has fol- lowed during the greater portion of his life. In 1887 he took up his residence at his present home, having built the house himself. He owns a farm of fifty-five acres, which he conducts in connection with his other vocations. In politics Mr. Goodrich is a Democrat.

TIMOTHY SEDGWICK. Prominent among the representative farmers and leading citizens of West Hartford stands the subject of this sketch, who was born in that town July 20, 1833, and be- longs to a prominent old New England family, which was founded in America by Robert Sedgwick, who was born in England in 1590 of 1592. From him our subject traces his ancestry through the following: (II) William Sedgwick; (III) Samuel Sedgwick, who was born in 1667, and died in 1735; (IV) Jonathan Sedgwick; and (V) William Sedg- wick, the great-grandfather of our subject.

(VI) Timothy Sedgwick, the grandfather, was born July 12, 1766, and died Sept. 30, 1833. He was married, Oct. 4, 1787, to Lucy Sedgwick, daughter of Stephen Sedgwick. She was born Oct. 17, 1771, and died Dec. 16, 1858. Both were members of the Society of Friends, and most es- timable people. They had ten children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Hannah, Dec. 6, 1789; Nancy, Feb. 15, 1791 ; Timothy, June 30, 1793; Hiram, Sept. 16, 1795; Pamelia, Feb. 28,

1798; Levi, March 11, 1800; William, July 12, 1803 ; Mary, Jan. 31, 1806; Amos, May 6, 1808; and Lucy Ann, July 23, 1810. Mary wedded Ilarvey Goodwin, and died April 18, 1843; and Lucy Ann died Oct. 23, 1815, at the age of five years.

(VII) William Sedgwick, father of our sub- ject, was born in West Hartford, July 12, 1803, and passed his boyhood on the home farm near Thompson's Corners, where he spent most of his life, engaged in farming and blacksmithing. He was not a Quaker, like his parents, but became a member of the Ecclesiastical Society of the Congre- gational Church. He was one of the most promi- nent and influential men of his community, was elected to several town offices, and was the only Democrat who ever represented West Hartford in the State Legislature. He died March II, 1864. On March 20, 1828, he married Miss Louisa Brace, a daughter of Solomon Brace, and to them were born three children : Helen Louise, deceased ; John Webster, deceased, who married Annie Wood, and had two children, Ella (now Mrs. M. Lebiun Cooper) and Clarence (deceased) ; and Timothy, our subject. For his second wife the father married Annie L. Barber, by whom he had one son, William T., now a professor in the Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts.

(VIII) Timothy Sedgwick grew to manhood on the home farm near Thompson's Corners, and his early education, acquired in the schools of that neighborhood, was supplemented by a course at the old academy in West Hartford Center. On leaving the old homestead, in 1871, he went to New Britain, Conn., where he was in the furniture and undertaking business for five years, and in 1876 he removed to his present farm, on the mountain road in West Hartford. He has been secretary of the Highland Creamery Co. for twenty-two years. and in the management of his affairs has displayed excellent business and executive ability, as well as sound judgment.

Mr. Sedgwick was first married, in Plainville, Conn., to Miss Mary E. Wentworth, by whom he had four children : George W., who was married in Chicago, Ill., and died at the age of forty years ; Louisa B., deceased wife of E. D. Roberts ; Edward T., who died in infancy; and Mary Emma, who married Charles A. Griswold, and has two children, Ruby Louise Hawthorne and Charles Sedgwick. In New Britain, Conn., our subject was again married, his second union being with Mary Addie Witherbec.

For many years Mr. Sedgwick has belonged to Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., there being but one older member in the town, and he is also a charter member of West Hartford Grange. Re- ligiously he is a member of the Ecclesiastical So- ciety and Congregational Church of West Hartford, and was a member of the society's committee. Po- litically he is a Republican, and has taken quite an active and prominent part in local political affairs, has served as selectman and assessor of the town for

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fourteen years, and in 1883 he represented West Hartford in the State Legislature, where he served as clerk of the committee on Roads and Bridges.

SAMUEL N. WOODHOUSE. The family of Woodhouse is one of the oldest and most highly- esteemed in Wethersfield. For generations its mem- bers have been prominently identified with the town's history, in various walks of private and pub- lic life, and the honor of the family name has never been sullied.

The first Woodhouse to settle there was Joseph, who was born in Bristol, England, and emigrated to America with his sister Dorothy. He passed his life in his Connecticut home, where he died Aug. 4, 1774, at an advanced age. He married Dorothy Buck, who preceded him to the grave Oct. 18, 1771. The issue of the union was four sons and three daughters, whose names and dates of birth are as follows : William, March 8, 1717; Anne, Jan. 9, 1719; Hannah, June 5, 1721 ; John, Oct. I, 1723; Samuel, Oct. 1, 1728; Phoebe, Nov. 20, 1730; and Daniel, Oct. 1, 1733. William married Mary Walker, and John was the husband of Ann Mott. Daniel died Nov. 7, 1791. Of these seven children of Joseph Woodhouse, Samuel, the fifth in order of birth, is in direct line of ascent from the Samuel N. of to-day. He was a farmer and a man of substance. Some of his sons played con- spicuous parts in the struggle of the Colonies for independence, and he himself lived to see the glor- ious triumph of the cause which was dear to his heart. He lived, died and was buried at Wethers- field. His demise, which was caused by an in- flammation of the bowels induced by drinking too freely of cold water, occurred on Aug. 11, 1800. His wife was Thankful Blinn, who, like himself, passed her entire life in her native town. She was born in Wethersfield Aug. 24, 1729, and was a daughter of William and Thankful (Nott) Blinn. Her paternal grandfather was Peter Blinn, the first of the family to settle in the pleasant Hartford county town, and her maternal grandparents were John Nott and Patience Miller, his wife. Her great-grandfather on the maternal side was John Nott, a militia sergeant, the first Nott to make his home at Wethersfield. Mrs. Woodhouse died Oct. 27. 1813, having borne her husband seven children : Samuel, born Dec. 23. 1756; Sarah, May 26, 1759; William, April 8, 1762: Prudence, June 5, 1764 ; Elizabeth, April 18, 1768 ; Humphrey, April 5, 1771 ; and Solomon, April 13, 1773.

Samuel Woodhouse, the eldest of this family, and the great-grandfather of Samuel N. Wood- house, was a large land owner, a successful farmer, and one of Wethersfield's wealthy and most re- spected citizens. He was noted for his upright- ness, and was much beloved. He died Sept. 6, 1834, in the town where he was born. He was married, March 14, 1781, at Wethersfield, to Abigail Goodrich, who was born in Hartford county Sept.

II, 1759, and died Oct. 27, 1851, having attained the patriarchal age of ninety-two years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse were consistent members of the Congregational Church. In his political creed he was a Federalist. Mrs. Woodhouse's father was Nathaniel Goodrich, and her mother's maiden name was Martha Deming. Her paternal grandparents were Lieut. Joseph and Mehitabel (Goodwin ) Goodrich, and her great-grandparents were Will- iam Goodrich and his wife, Grace (Riley). Her maternal grandfather, David Deming, married Martha Russell; he was a son of Samuel and Sarah (Kirby) Deming. The family record shows the names of Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse's nine chil- dren, with their respective dates of baptism. to have been : Huldah, Mary Litta and Nancy, baptized Aug. 5, 1787; George, March 8, 1789: Samuel, Nov. 13, 1791 ; Sylvester, March 23, 1794: Abigail, June 26, 1796; Solomon, Dec. 30, 1798; and Henry, Jan. 24, 1802.

Samuel Woodhouse, the second son and fifth child, was the grandfather of the distinguished citi- zen of Wethersfield whose name appears at the opening of this biographical sketch. For him the quiet life of a New England farmer presented few charms, the tempestuous tossings of the ocean be- ing more attractive than the green pastures and nodding cornfields of a Connecticut farm. His choice was to follow the life of a sailor and visit foreign lands, and he followed this vocation until, while commanding a vessel, he was lost at sea, while still in the prime of life. He was a man of rugged character, undaunted courage and sterling virtue. He married Hannah, daughter of Elisha and Hannah ( Sinland) Coleman, of Wethersfield. She was a devout and exemplary member of the Congregational Church. Their only child, Samuel, born. Aug. 13, 1815, attended the common schools, but was largely self-taught. While a young man he taught school at Wethersfield, and worked. for a time, at the printer's trade in New Haven. New York and Hartford. After marriage he settled upon the farm of his father-in-law, Capt. James Blinn, devoting his energies chiefly to tobacco cul- ture, and being one of the earliest growers of this plant in the county. He was held in high respect by his fellow townsmen, who, recognizing his sound business sense and high moral worth, elected him selectman for several years, member of the Legis- lature, and justice of the peace. In religious faith he was a member of the Congregational Church ; in politics he was an "Old-line" Whig, and after- ward one of the original Republicans of Wethers- field. His wife was Mary A. Blinn, who was a daughter of Capt. James Blinn, a notable sea cap- tain of his day, and was born in Griswoldville. Mr. Woodhouse married her at that place, and to their union were born three daughters and one son : Hannah, who married Capt. Lewis Williams, of Oakland, Cal. ; Harriet M., wife of Stephen M. Wells, of the Wells farm; Catherine S., widow of

Sich. Marchime

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

David L. Robbins : and Samuel N. Mrs. Wood- house was a devoted wife and a tender mother, a sincere Christian, whose life was dominated and controlled by her religious faith. She rests by her husband's side in the old cemetery at Wethers- field.

Samuel N. Woodhouse received an excellent ed- ucation in his youth at the district schools and academy of his native town, at the Waterbury High School, and at McGill University. While a young man he traveled for two years for the seed firm of Johnson & Robbins, of Wethersfield, his route cov- ering all the New England States. Since then he has been engaged in general and dairy farming, as well as in fruit and tobacco culture. His peach and apple orchard covers more than ten acres. Sev- eral years ago he discovered upon his farm a spring of unusual purity and abundant volume. With a view to utilizing its flow, he became one of the promoters and organizers of the Griswoldville Water Co., which now supplies nearly all the homes in that village.

Mr. Woodhouse is a man of rare business sa- gacity, and endowed with a judgment which is rarely at fault. Yet, while keen-sighted, he is generous and whole-souled ; and, although just, he is charitable to the failings of humanity. In his religious belief he is liberal, and attends the services of the Congregational Church. In his daily life he exemplifies his faith in the binding force of the "Golden Rule." He enjoys the confidence and re-

spect of his fellow townsmen, among whom he is deservedly and universally popular; and, although a stanch Republican, he has friends in all parties. In 1898 he was chosen to represent his district in the State Legislature, making the race for election on his party ticket. He is a member of the Weth- ersfield Grange. In 1877, at Guilford, Conn., he married Elvira Dudley, a daughter of William Dud- ley, of that town. Mrs. Woodhouse is a lady of refinement and education, a devoted mother, fully mindful of the home duties of a wife and mother, which she discharges with skill and unselfish devo- tion. Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse are the parents of four sons : Samuel Dudley, James Merriman, Will- iam Dudley and David Robbins. The eldest is a student at Yale University, while the three younger bovs are attending the Hartford Public High School.

FRANCIS NEWELL SLATER, a respected farmer and town official of Bloomfield, was born in Manchester, in Hartford county, Conn., Feb. 27, 1822.

Amos Slater, grandfather of Francis N., was long a resident of Sheffield, Mass., married Abilene Olds, and died at Ballston, N. Y., in 1785. Ira Slater, son of Amos and father of Francis N., was born in Sheffield, Mass., Sept. 12, 1779. He came to Hartford county, Conn., when a small boy, was reared at the home of his uncle John Olds in Man-

chester, and in this town received his education in the district school. From early manhood until fifty years old he followed farming in Manchester, and then removed to West Hartford, where he followed the same vocation the remainder of his life; he married Miss Mary Avery, daughter of Amos Avery, and the issue of this union was four chil- dren : Abilene, the wife of Stephen Goodwin; Fre- derick Sexton, deceased; Francis Newell, the sub- ject of this memoir; and Abigail, deceased. In politics, Ira Slater was first a Whig, and on the dis- integration of that party and the organization of the Republican party fell into the ranks of the latter. He was called from earth in 1854, dying in Hart- ford ; his widow survived until Sept. 21, 1880, when her death took place in Bloomfield.

Francis Newell Slater, from the age of nine years until he was fourteen, attended school at West Hartford, and then began working on a farm in the neighborhood ; for a while, also, he followed the same class of labor in Newington. He supple- mented his early education by attendance at the public school in New Britain, then for four years worked in a tailor's shop in Manchester, and then returned to West Hartford. About 1848 Mr. Slater came to Bloomfield, and has here since passed his life engaged in agricultural pursuits. He mar- ried, in Bloomfield, Mrs. Marilla ( Brown) Thrall, widow of Oliver Thrall, and they have had one child, Francis Brown Slater, who married Miss Lilly Waterman ; to this union have been born two children, Susie May and Harry Nathan.

In politics Francis N. Slater is a stanch Repub- licon, has served as tax collector, and is now filling the office of town assessor of Bloomfield. He has led an industrious life, has prospered, and now stands among the most respected residents of his town and county.

NATHANIEL TRYON, a substantial agricult- urist residing in the northeast section of the town of Glastonbury, is a self-made man, and his history shows the possession in a marked degree of the sturdy virtues of independence, industry and thrift.

The Tryon family is descended from William Tryon who came from Wales at an early day, and located first at Wethersfield and later at Glastonbury. Dr. Joseph Tryon, our subject's great-grandfather, was a well-known physician in his day, and resided in the eastern part of Glastonbury. He had a large family of children, among whom was a son, Joseph.

Joseph Tyron, our subject's grandfather, was a farmer by occupation, and located on "John Tom Hill," not far from our subject's present residence He and his wife had the following children : Ephra- im, Russell, George, Nathaniel, Anna, Mary and Honor.

Nathaniel Tryon, the father of our subject, was born on "John Tom Hill," and passed his life there in agricultural pursuits. He died in 1834, at his homestead. His wife, Mary (Strickland), was a

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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 159

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