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 167

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 167

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Mr. Roberts married for his first wife Sarah M. Daniels. By his second wife, Mary Judd Eddy, who was an artist and an authoress of ability, he had two children : E. Donald is a designer and artist of distinguished ability, residing at Detroit, Mich., whose work has been purchased for the United States National Museum at Washington, D. C .; he married Anna M. Duncan, and has two children, Edmund D. and Helen Louise. Jessie L. married James H. Hubbard, of Hartford, and has one daugh- ter, Ruth Mary. By his third wife, Louise B. Sedgwick, now deceased, Mr. Roberts had no children.

WILLIAM HILDITCH. Honored and re- spected by all, there is no man in Thompsonville who occupies a more enviable position than Mr. Hilditch in mercantile and financial circles, not alone on account of the success that he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightfor- ward business policy he has ever followed.

Mr. Hilditch was born in Ballyclare, County Antrim, Ireland, in February, 1823, a son of Robert and Mary (Houston) Hilditch, who came to Amer- ica about 1850, locating in Thompsonville, Conn.,

where they resided until their deaths. The father was a hosier by trade and operated a hose factory of his own until 1884, when he retired from business on account of an accident, being compelled to use crutches for ten years. He died in 1894, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. His children were William, our subject; Hugh, deceased; Mary Ann, wife of Isaiah Steele; and Eliza Jane, wife of Robert Ash.

The subject of this sketch was reared in his native town, learned the hosier's trade with his father, and came to the United States in 1848, first locating in New York City, where he followed his trade for a year and a half. In November, 1849, he came to Thompsonville, and for nine years was foreman of a hose mill and factory for shirts and drawers, serving the company in all nineteen years. In 1867 he embarked in the liquor business, which he carried on for about nine years in the building he now occupies, and then became a dealer in cloth- ing, men's furnishings, boots and shoes, in which trade he has since successfully continued. He is also a stockholder in the Enfield Electric Light & Power Co., and the Thompsonville & Suffield Bridge Company.

On Sept. 20, 1852, Mr. Hilditch married Miss Isabella, a daughter of Charles Harrison, of Thomp- sonville, formerly of Coleraine, Ireland, and to this union seven children have been born: Robert; William; Jane, wife of Matthew Creelman; Ilugh, deceased : Charlie; Mary ; and David. The family are active members of the United Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. Hilditch has served as treas- urer for many years. Politically he is a supporter of the Republican party and its principles. His aim in life has always been to attain the best, and his success in the result of honest persistent effort in the line of honorable and manly dealing. He is to-day one of the most substantial and wealthy citi- zens of Thompsonville.

ALBERT TYLER CONE is a skillful and energetic farmer of West Hartford, where almost his entire life has been passed.

Mr. Cone was born in that town Sept. 6, 1842, and is a son of Robert G. H. Cone, a native of East Haddam, Conn., who was only fourteen years of age when his father was killed. Being the eldest son, he became the mainstay of his widowed mother and the seven younger children, and in early life he engaged in teaching in the school house on New Britain avenue, Hartford. At Haddam, Conn., he was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Tyler, daughter of David Tyler. For a time he made his home in East Haddam; later spent two years in Hartford, and then bought a farm in West Hart- ford, where he continued to reside until called from this life, in April, 1889, at the age of seventy-nine years. He always took great interest in the school matters of his town, and most creditably filled the office of selectman of Hartford. In religious faith

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he was an Episcopalian. His wife is still living, and now resides in the house at Haddam where she was born. They were the parents of eight children : Harriet Isabel, now the widow of Richard Francis, of Haddam; Robert H., a resident of West Hart- ford ; Jane Gertrude, widow of Frank Brown, and a resident of New Haven, Conn. ; Edward P., who was a member of the 5th Conn. V. I., during the Civil war, and died from wounds received in battle; Al- bert T., our subject; Ellen Agnes and Mary Ida, both deceased; and Annie Edith, wife of Charles Stewart, of Haddam.

During his boyhood Albert T. Cone attended the public schools of West Hartford, and at the age of sixteen began his business career as clerk in the clothing store of Beardsley & Church, on Asylum street, Hartford, where he was employed for about three years, at the end of that time being obliged to give up the business on account of ill health. From 1868 until December, 1897, he negaged in sell- ing milk, running wagons in Hartford, and at the same time lie followed farming, having resided upon his present place for the past twenty-two years. He is a wide-awake and enterprising business nian, of known reliability, and generally carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.

In West Hartford Mr. Cone was married Jan. 3, 1881, to Miss Sophia Millard, a daughter of John E. Millard, and to them have been born two children : Ellen M. and Mabel A. The family are members of the Baptist Church of West Hartford, and are widely and favorably known.

MARVIN LEWIS GAYLORD, proprietor of one of the neatest and most prosperous meat mark- ets in Bristol, was born in Seneca Falls, N. Y., April 27, 1847. He is of Pilgrim stock, as he traces his descent from William Gaylord, a Huguenot, who was driven from France on ac- count of his religious views.

(I) William Gaylord, the founder of this family. in America was born supposedly in Exeter, Devon- shire, England, of good family and good estate. He came across the water in the spring of 1630, in company with his brother John, on the good ship "Mary and John," landing at Nantucket, Mass., May 30, and was made a freeman the November following. He had been chosen a deacon at Ply- mouth, Devonshire, England, in March, 1630, when the church was organized under Rev. John Maver- ick and Rev. John Wareham, who also came over in the "Mary and John," the entire company set- tling at Dorchester. Deacon William Gaylord's land grant was recorded in 1633, and he was the signer of some of the earliest land grants in Dor- chester, as he was early elected a selectman, and was a representative to the General Court in 1635- 36-38. and was, in fact, a representative in the same august body nearly forty sessions, or until 1664, being more honored in this respect than any of his fellow townsmen. The name of his wife is not on

record, and it is surmised that she died before his departure from England, as his children were all born in that country, and were. nearly of adult age on his arrival in America. These children were named Elizabeth ( who married Richard Birge Oct. 5, 1641), William, Samuel, Walter and John. The father died in Windsor, Conn., July 20, 1673; but whether his brother John, who was a resident of Dorchester in 1632, and was one of the two to meet the Court of Assistants to settle the system of rep- resentation, died here or returned to England is unknown.

(II) Walter Gaylord, who was born in Eng- land about 1622, came with his father, William Gay- lord, and settled in Windsor, Conn. He first mar- ried Mary Stebbins, daughter of Deacon Edward Stebbins, of Hartford, April 22, 1648. She died June 29, 1657, having borne her husband five chil- dren : Joseph, May 13, 1649; Mary, March 19, 1651 ; Joanna, Feb. 5, 1653 (married John Porter ) ; Sam- uel Benjamin, April 12, 1655; and Isaac, june 21, 1657. The second marriage of Walter Gaylord, on March 22, 1658, was to Sarah Rockwell, daughter of William Rockwell, and to this union were born two children : Eliezer, March 7, 1662; and Sarah, April 13, 1665 (Mrs. William Phelps).

(III) Joseph Gaylord, eldest son of Walter, early settled at Farmington, part of which afterward became the town of Waterbury, but late in life, about 1708, removed to Durham, where his sons, Joseph and John, had already located, and there died about 1742. Tohis marriage with Sarah Stanley, July 14, 1670, were born the following named children, the dates of birth of four only being on record : Sarah, born in 1671, who married Thomas Judd; Joseph, born April 22, 1673; John, born Aug. 21, 1677 ; William, in 1680; Benjamin; Eliza- beth; Mary; Abigail, who was married to James Williams; Joanna, married to Robert Royce; Ruth, married to Stephen Hickox.

(IV) Joeph Gaylord, second child of Joseph and Sarahı (Stanley) Gaylord, married Mary Hickox in 1699, and of the children born to him we have the following record : Timothy, born Nov. 29, 1706, married Prudence Roys April 25, 1733; Samuel, born July 5, 1709, married Thankful Munson Aug. 19, 1729; Edward married Mahilaba Brooks Aug. 16, 1733; Benjamin married Jerusha Friesbie Jan. 18, 1729; Joseph, Jr., married Elizabeth Rich March 9, 1730. The father died probably about 1742.

(V) John Gaylord, born in Bristol, second son of Joseph and Mary (Hickox) Gaylord (but not enumerated above), lived in Waterbury for a time, but removed to Wallingford, and died about 1753. In his will, admitted to probate at New Haven in January, 1754, he named six sons and five daughters, the estate being valued at over £2,500, in Walling- ford and Farmington. In the possession of the present family of Gaylords are deeds from this same John (supposed to be to his son Edward).

Marvin Lewis Gaylord

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

John Gaylord, it is said, was the father of thirteen children, of whom, however, a record of three sons only can be made-Edward, Aaron and Moses. Aaron, a lieutenant, born in Bristol in 1745, went to Wyoming, l'enn., in 1777. He had married Kath- erine Cole, who bore him three children, Lemuel, Phebe and Lorena, and it is in honor of the mother of these, for her bravery at the massacre of Wyom- ing, that the Daughters of the American Revolu- tion at Bristol have named their chapter the "Katlı- erine Gaylord."

( VI) Edward Gaylord was a married man when he came to Bristol (then New Cambridge) and bought lands, the deeds for which are still in the possession of the family. His children were Moses, Aaron, Reuben, Jesse, Edward and David.

(VII) David Gaylord was the first deacon of the Congregational Church at Bristol, but there is no record of his family having lived there. It is known that he was the father of three sons, Jo- seph, Thomas and Nathan, born in Cheshire, Con- necticut.

(VIII) Joseph Gaylord, son of David, settled on a farm in the town of Bristol, married Ruth Mat- thews in 1750, and had born to him eleven children : Joseph, born in 1753, who married Susannah Bun- nel; William, born Jan. 16, 1755; Chauncey, born Feb. 14, 1757; Chloe, who married a Mr. Nickols; Marvin, who married Newell Bostwick; Cyrus, born Oct. 10, 1763 ; Leman, Dec. 16, 1765; Ira, Jan. 15, 1768; Phebe, who married Isaac Morris ; Lydia ; and Philip, born Aug. 21, 1778.

(IX) Philip Gaylord married Lucinda Johnson about 1809, and lived with his mother on the home farm for twenty years afterward, after which he kept a hotel in Bristol. His children were Maria, William Lewis, Marvin, and Susan.

(X) William Lewis Gaylord, son of Philip, was born in Bristol, and married Nancy Fenn. He was in the mercantile trade with his brother Marvin, at Schenectady, N. Y., then was a butcher in Seneca Falls, same State, next was a hardware merchant in Lima, N. Y., and thence went to Atchison, Kans., where he started a nursery, but died not long after- ward in Buchanan county, Mo., Aug. 15, 1860. The children born to William Lewis and Nancy (Fenn) Gaylord were five in number : Jenny mar- ried C. D. Gaylord, the leading resident of Sodus, N. Y. ; Susan ; William is a nurseryman and farmer of Ellis, Kans .; Marvin Lewis is the subject of this sketch ; and Edward Fenn is a farmer and wood dealer in Bristol.

(XI) Marvin Lewis Gaylord, of the eleventh generation of this family in America, and whose name opens this sketch, was primarily educated in Lima, N. Y., and in Buchanan county, Mo., whither the family had moved when he was ten years of age. On the decease of the father, the mother, Marvin L. and Edward F. returned East from Buchanan county, Mo., and located at Plymouth, Conn., where Marvin later worked for G. W. &

S. H. Bartholomew, brace manufacturers, of Bris- tol, until 1864, when he enlisted, serving until July, 1865. On being mustered out he worked again for the Bartholemews, for two years, and then went on the road to sell trees for Elwinger & Berrey. After a year's experience in this line he for the next four years sold trees on his own account, purchasing partly from others. In 1882 or 1883 Mr. Gaylord engaged in the meat trade at Bristol, in partnership with C. B. Ives, continuing for about three years, when Mr. Gaylord disposed of his interest therein and bought out W. E. Strong, on North street, and still conducts the same with most satisfactory re- sults.

The enlistment of Mr. Gaylord, alluded to above, took place at Hartford Sept. 16, 1864, in Company G, Ist Connecticut Heavy Artillery. He was all through the Petersburg ( Va.) campaign, with head- quarters at Broadway Landing, under Gen. Abbott. He was mustered out at Fort Darling, Va., in July, 1865, and is now a member of G. W. Thompson Post, G. A. R., of Bristol. The other fraternal as- sociations to which Mr. Gaylord belongs are the A. O. U. W .; Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of P., and Hiram Temple, No. 9, D. O. K. K. In politics Mr. Gaylord is a Republican, but has never aspired to office.

The marriage of Mr. Gaylord was solemnized Nov. 12, 1866, with Miss Alvira E. Jones, a native of Burlington, Conn., and a daughter of Edward K. Jones, a wood-turner. Children were born to this marriage as follows: William Lewis, deceased ; Lula Corine, a graduate of the Bristol High School ; Howard Marvin, who graduated from the Bristol High School, then took a post-graduate course in the same, next graduated from Colgate College, at Hamilton, N. Y., in 1898, and is now an employe in the Revenue Department at Washington, D. C .; Rachel Alvira, who is a graduate of the common schools of Bristol, and is now giving considerable attention to drawing and music.

Mr. Gaylord attends the Prospect Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his family are all mem- bers, Mrs. Gaylord, especially, being very active in church work.

A. J. KETCHIN. Among the many elements which enter into the American national character none is more highly prized than the Scotch. The qualities of sturdy independence, deep religious conviction, unimpeachable integrity, fearlessness in the cause of home, country and right, have combined to produce one of the highest and best types of character. All these and more have united to make the subject of this sketch one of the sterling and most valuable citizens of Tariffville.

Mr. Ketchin's grandfather was Deacon Andrew Ketchin, for over fifty years a leading member of the Baptist Church of Tariffville. He was a carpet weaver by trade, and was born at Edinburgh, Scot- land. There he married Margaret Arthur, a typical

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Scotch lassie, and a few years later, in 1821, he brought his rosy-cheeked helpmeet and comforter and his bairns to the new country across the sea. He worked at his trade at several towns in Massa- chusetts, and finally settled at Tariffville. Deacon Ketchin was probably as exemplary a Christian man as could be found in his town. He was thor- oughly honest, and permeated with the Christian virtues. He lived to the age of seventy-six years, his wife to the age of sixty-five, and they were buried in Tariffville. . The family of Deacon and Margaret Ketchin consisted of John, the father of our sub- ject; Andrew, of Torrington, formerly a carpet weaver and also a burnisher; James, who enlisted in Company E, 16th Conn. V. I., was scalped by the fragment of a shell at Antietam, later taken prisoner at Plymouth, N. C., and died in Andersonville prison ; and William, who left Tariffville in 1855, and when last heard from was in Lyon county, Kansas.

John Ketchin, the father of our subject, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1819, and was two years old when brought to this country by his par- ents. He was reared at Tariffville, and at Hartford acquired the trade of stone-mason with his uncle Robert and cousin James Arthur, of Hartford. He followed that trade during active life, and for seven years resided in Doniphan county, Kans., but later returned to Connecticut. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company E, Ioth Conn. V. I., and served for eighteen months. Having received a sunstroke, and also suffered from dumb ague, he was dis- charged for disability, and has ever since suffered from the sunstroke. For twelve years he has done no work at all. During his active life he was known as a mechanic of more than ordinary skill, and as a workman his every act was characterized by honest, fair practice. In politics he is a stanch Republican. Mr. Ketchin married Miss Margaret Moore, a native of Paisley, Scotland, and the daughter of a cabinet- maker. She came to America when a girl. Her brother, Thomas Moore, died in Springfield, Mass., leaving a large property which he had accumulated. Her sister Jeannette married David Harley, a man of wealth, and died in Caifornia. The mother of our subject died in 1864, and was buried at Tariff- ville. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and a devout Christian woman. The father is now a resident of Tariffville. To John and Margaret ( Moore ) Ketchin were born the following children : Elizabeth E., killed in 1859 by an explosion in a fuse factory in Simsbury, where she was employed ; Margaret G., now Mrs. Julius Vining, of Simsbury ; A. J., subject of this sketch; Jeanette, Mrs. Wil- bur Guild, of Parkville, Conn .; Nancy, Mrs. Rollin Humphrey, of Simsbury; Charles, a millwright of Chico, Butte Co., Cal .; Robert, a stone-cutter, who went West; Lizzie, Mrs. Albert E. Coley, of Water- bury, Conn. ; and Eliza, who died in infancy.

Our subject was born at Tariffville March 21, 1848, and in his boyhood attended the schools of his

native village, one of his earliest teachers being D. B. Rice. As a boy our subject was too full of life to make a good student. In the expressive language of his father, he needed "looking after." This meant that he was taken out of school and placed at teaming. When his father enlisted A. J. went to work on the farm of Ariel Mitchelson. But mar- tial music was sweet to the young lad, and he, too, longed to enlist and help fight the battles of his country. At fifteen he was a vigorous young fellow, muscular, and asking odds of no one. He had enlisted in Company E, 25th Conn. V. I., and for three months did guard duty, but on account of his youth the officers declined to muster him in. In 1863 he enlisted as a recruit for the Ist Connecticut Heavy Artillery, and joined the regiment at Arling- ton Heights. His first engagements were at Hatchie's Bermuda. He was frequently under fire in 1864. On Jan. 2, 1865, he left Point of Rocks, on the James river, for Fortress Monroe, and was thence transported to Fort Fisher, N. C., returned to Petersburg Feb. 23, 1865, and participated in the fierce fighting in that vicinity. At the engagement at Fort Haskell, March 25, 1865, Mr. Ketchin was struck in the face by a ramrod, his chin being carried away, and his tongue held only by a shred. For two weeks he was fed through a tube that carried the food down his throat below the opening in his neck. His recovery was most remarkable. He received a furlough, at the expiration of which he returned to the hospital, and was discharged at West Philadelphia June 23, 1865. Mr. Ketchin was practi- cally a physical wreck when he left the army. For several years he was unable to work, and his life was often dispaired of. But slowly he began to im- prove, and finally he entered Batterson's marble shop, in Hartford, and remained at work for two years under instruction. He took up the marble cutting work readily, and soon became an expert in finer class work, following the trade successfully at Hartford, New Haven, Springfield and elsewhere. In 1883 he removed to Tariffville on account of his health, and began business for himself, in which he has prospered to a notable degree, and is now senior member of the firm of A. J. Ketchin & Son, contractors in general stone work. The firm em- ploys from fifteen to thirty-five men in season, and operates a quarry near Tariffville.

Mr. Ketchin was married, Oct. 15, 1870, to Miss Harriet C. Spencer, of Springfield, Mass , who was born in Middletown, Conn., Dec. 25. 1846, daughter of William D. and Sarah J. (Mann) Spencer. Her father, who was a fine machinist, died at Middletown, where his widow now resides. Mrs. Ketchin has two sisters, Helen, now Mrs. Joseph E. Bacon, of Middletown; and Mary, Mrs. Archibald Johnson, of the same city. The family of our subject and wife consists of the following children : (1) William M., born at Springfield June 3, 1871, married Hattie E. Moore, of Tariff- ville, and has three children, Ethel M., Pauline S.

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and Elizabeth. (2) Archibald B., born Nov. 6, 1874, in Hartford, was permanently crippled in a coasting accident Feb. 9, 1893. He is a bright young man, and, for his experience, a skillful stone- cutter. (3) George S., born Sept. 5, 1877, in Hart- ford, died in that city April 28, 1882. (4) Frank A., born Nov. 16, 1882, in Hartford, died at Tariff- ville Dec. 5, 1886.

In politics Mr. Ketchin is an uncompromising Republican in National issues. He is a member of Joseph Toy Post, G. A. R., and of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. M., at Siinsbury. Himself and family are prominent members of the Baptist Church, and in religious life our subject maintains the high standard of his devout grandfather. For four years he has been treasurer of the church, and for ten years was assistant superintendent of the Sabbath-school. Mrs. Ketchin also has been active and foremost in church work. She is a devout Christian woman, and among other practical efforts in behalf of the church she has raised over $1,250 for religious purposes.

As a business man Mr. Ketchin is successful, following those sterling principles of integrity and industry which lead to prosperity. He has won a reputation for doing honest work, and his con- nection with any improvement is evidence of its thoroughness and honest character. Mr. Ketchin has remodeled his residence, and now owns one of the most attractive homes in the town. He rep- resents the highest and best type of American citi- zenship, and his influence is strongly exerted in the upbuilding of character and the fostering of worthy aims.

MONROE FRANKLIN CUSHMAN belongs to an old New England family, and the name has been prominently identified with the history of the country ever since the arrival of the "Mayflower."

Robert Cushman, the original progenitor of this branch of the family, was born in England prior to 1600. Ile was a passenger on board the "Speed- well," bound for New England, but this vessel, proving leaky and unseaworthy, had to return to port, while the "Mayflower" continued her voyage. Early in the next year, however, Robert Cushman came to Plymouth, bringing with him his son, Thomas, who was then fourteen years old. Rob- ert Cushman remained at Plymouth but a few months, and while there preached the first sermon ever delivered at that place. He was sent to Eng- land as an agent for the Plymouth Colony, and died as he was preparing to return.

Thomas Cushman, who had been left at Plym- outh, became a ruling elder in the church, and died in that part of Plymouth which is now a part of Kingston. He had a number of sons, among whom was Isaac Cushman, who also had several sons, one of whom, Nathaniel, moved to Lebanon, New London Co., Conn. His eldest son, also named Isaac, settled at Stafford, Tolland county, and died

in Stafford in 1813, aged seventy-seven years. He had three sons, the second of whom, whose name was was Salmon, was in Stafford, Tolland county, Oct. 13, 1778, and was the father of the gentleman whose name introduces this article.

Salmon Cushman passed his life in Stafford, as a farmer. He married Cynthia Church, a native of Lyme, New London Co., Conn., and to this worthy couple was born a family of six sons and three daughters; Isaac, the eldest, died unmarried ; Almeda married Lathrop Cady, and is deceased, as are also her husband and family; Lorinda be- came the wife of Anson Spellman, and died in Hart- ford county, leaving two daughters; Gustavius was a farmer in Tolland county, and died in Manchester (he was taken sick there while attending his broth- er's funeral, and lived but a few days) ; Ambrose was a farmer of East Hartford, where he died leaving a family; Sabrina married Elisha Frink, son of Rev. Elisha Frink, of Manchester, where her death occurred ; Monroe F. is next in the order of birth ; Sidney A., who was a farmer of Manchester, is deceased ; and Josiah, who was a farmer of Stafford, died in Manchester.

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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 167

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