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 2 > Part 107
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1859, when she, too, entered into rest, at the age of eighty-four years. Their children were : Stephen, Edmund, George, Emily, Philip, William, Henry and Ebenezer.
From what has been said with regard to the genealogy of Mr. Hart's family, it will be seen that his father, Ebenezer Hart, was a son of Stephen Hart (5), of New Britain. He was born at that place July 31, 1814, and was married, at Warehouse Point, Jan. 6, 1842, to Mary Pease, a daughter of Walter and Eliza (Filer) Pease, through whom our subject is descended from Roger Filer, a Revolutionary soldier, who was wounded at the battle of Long Island. Mrs. Ebenezer Hart was born Jan. 5, 1824, at Enfield, Conn. In 1871 Mr. and Mrs. Hart removed to Wellsburg, Che- mung Co., N. Y., where he engaged in the hotel business. Later he returned to his native State, taking up his residence at New Haven, where he also became a host. He died in that city, of an affection of his liver, on Sept. 12, 1874, at the age of sixty years. His remains were taken to his native place, New Britain, for interment. Two children were born to his marriage: Charles Ed- win, Oct. 14, 1842; and Lillian Chase, April 18, 1853.
Charles Edwin Hart was married, on June 18, 1867, to Miss Jennie Wainwright, who was born at Manchester, N. J., June 13, 1844, a daughter of John Wesley and Jane (Skidmore) Wainwright, of that city. Children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hart as follows: Nellie Irene, born June 17, 1868, died May 28, 1869, at New Britain ; Lillian Wain- wright, born June 3, 1870, graduated from Wesleyan University in 1892; Harry Emile, born Dec. 7, 1872, graduated from Yale College in 1894, and is now practicing law in New Britain ; Etheline Louise, born April 25, 1876, graduated from Rye Seminary in 1895; and Charles Edwin was born March 3, 1884.
On Jan. 1, 1868, Mr. Hart entered the employ of the Stanley Co., at New Britain, as super- intendent of a department, and since 1890 he has been mechanical superintendent. He has been quite prominent in public affairs in New Britain. For two terms he was a member of the city coun- cil. In 1876 he was elected to the Legislature, on the Democratic ticket, and during his term was secretary of the committee on Corporations. He is a member of the Sons of the Revolution, serving on the board of managers of that order; and of Lodge No. 79, F. & A. M., of New Haven.
WALTER CADWELL, a worthy representa- tive of the agricultural interests of West Hartford, was born in that town June 10, 1830, and belongs to one of its old and highly esteemed families.
Mr. Cadwell is a lineal descendant from (I) Thomas Cadwell, whose name appears on record in Hartford as early as 1652. In 1658 he married Elizabeth, widow of Robert Wilson, and daughter
of Deacon Edward Stebbins, who resided for a time on the corner of Front and State streets, in Ilart- ford. Their family comprised ten children. Thomas Cadwell died Oct. 9, 1694. The line of descent of Walter Cadwell is through (II) Samuel (I), (III) Samuel (2), (IV) Samuel (3), (V) Samuel (4), and (VI) Elizur.
(I) Thomas Cadwell and his wife Elizabeth had children as follows: Mary, Edward, Thomas, William, Matthew, Abigail, Elizabeth, Samuel, Hannah and Mehitabel.
(II) Samuel Cadwell, born April 30, 1675, son of (I) Thomas, married March 6, 1707-08, Mary Clark, of Hartford. Children were: Mary, Samuel (2), Elizabeth, and Joseph.
(III) Samuel Cadwell (2) (son of Samuel (1)), born Nov. 1, 1710, and his wife Elishaba had children as follows: Mary, Mary (2), Samuel, Samuel (2), Joseph, Timothy, Mary Ann, Elishaba, Sarah, Charles, and Aaron.
(IV) Samuel Cadwell (3) (son of Samuel (2) ), born Jan. I, 1743, married Ruth, widow of John Merry, and their children were : Ruth, Phoebe, Rhoda, Samuel, Horace, Martin, Uriah, and Susannah.
(V) Samuel Cadwell (4) son of Samuel (3)), born in 1770, married Rhoda Kellogg, who was born in 1775, and died Oct. 15, 1856, aged eighty-one years. Mr. Cadwell died Oct. 9, 1836, aged sixty- six years. They resided in the northern part of the town of West Hartford. Their children were : Samuel; Rhoda K., who married Benjamin Gilbert ; Elizur ; Julia, who married Nelson Tuller, of Bloom- field, Conn., later of Woodbury, Middleford, and Fairhaven, Conn., where he died a patriot of the Revolution ; Timothy ; Eltrudor; Susannah ; James M .; and George W.
(VI) Elizur Cadwell (son of Samuel (4)), father of our subject, was born August 4, 1798, and spent his entire life, with the exception of four years passed in Bloomfield, in the northern part of West Hartford. He, too, was a farmer, and in politics was a Democrat. On May 5, 1829, he was married to Mrs. Lydia (Fish) Kelsey, who was born Aug. 6, 1796, and died Dec. 23, 1884, aged eighty-eight years. His death occurred Nov. 19, 1800, at the age of seventy-one years. They had four children, our subject being the eldest; Ruth, now deceased, born Dec. 1, 1832, married AAshel Morley; Lura, born April 12, 1833, married George Steele, and is deceased; and Adeline, born Jan. 5, 1841. died Oct. 6, 1845.
Reared in West Hartford and Bloomfield, Conn., Walter Cadwell is indebted to the schools of those places for his educational privileges. On April 23, 1862, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Jane Marcy, and three children were born of this u:ion : Helena Alice, now the wife of Walter 11. Way, of Pittsfield, Mass., by whom she has one daughter, Margaret ; and Mary Helen and Walter Edwin, both now deceased.
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In 1865 Mr. Cadwell purchased the Sedgwick farm, in West Hartford, and there he has since made his home, engaged in farming. He was also inter- ested in the meat business until 1880, and in his labors has, met with marked success. His political support is always given to the men and measures of the Democratic party, and he has most capably and satisfactorily served as assessor of his town and as member of the board of relief. For nearly twenty years he has been an active and consistent member of the Congregational Church, and when his present term expires he will have served as deacon of the church for over a dozen years.
HENRY A. KING (deceased) was for many years one of the highly respected and honored citi- zens of Hartford county, the last forty years of his life being spent in West Hartford, where he en- gaged in agricultural pursuits.
Mr. King was born in the city of Hartford in 1814, and when a young man lived with Selden Hill, in West Hartford. In early life he learned the art of hair dressing with John Spencer, and as a hair dresser was in business first at Nantucket, Mass., and later in the Hills block, at Hartford, Conn. Subsequently he was engaged in the willow work and fancy-goods business in the latter city until 1850, when he moved to West Hartford and turned his attention to farming. In Hartford he was united in marriage with Miss Roxanna Spencer, a descendant of an old Connecticut family, and to them were born the following children : Anna and Lucy, who both died in infancy ; Henry F., who was connected with the Vermont Farm Machine Co., and died in April, 1896; Emma, wife of P. D. Barn- hart, of Denver, Colo .; Lizzie, wife of Charles Hunter, of Washington, D. C .; John A. S., who is engaged in the drug business in Newark, N. J .; and James Augustus, who is mentioned below.
Mr. King was a man of progressive ideas, and held advanced views on school matters. He took a very active and prominent part in public affairs in Hartford, and was numbereed among the most valued and useful citizens of his community. In political sentiment he was first a Whig, and later a Republican, and in religious faith was a Congre- gationalist, being a member of the church at West Hartford. His wife died in 1876, and he passed away Feb. 24, 1890, honored and respected by all who knew them.
JAMES A. KING was born in West Hartford Aug. 29, 1852, and was educated in the schools of West Hartford and Hartford city. At an early age he commenced to assist his father in the operation of the home farm, and together they continued to carry on farming until the latter's death. His life has principally been devoted to that pursuit, although he has engaged to a limited extent in truck- ing and grading. He is a straightforward, capable business man, one who commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.
Fraternally he is a member of West Hartford Grange and of the Ancient Order of United Work- men, at Hartford. He was married in West Hart- ford to Miss Eva Eunice Steele, a daughter of Sey- mour Lewis Steele, a granddaughter of Sherman Steele, and a greatgranddaughter of Elpaphero Steele.
TOWNSEND BARTHOLOMEW WICK- WIRE, a prominent business man and universally respected citizen of the town of Berlin, is of the seventh generation in direct descent from John Wickwire. Through his maternal grandmother he is in the thirty-ninth generation in descent from Charlemagne.
The Wickwire family is of English origin, and the first American progenitor was John Wickwire, the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Town- send B. His name appears in a list of the residents of New London, Conn., in 1675-76, and in the latter year he married Mary Tonge, who was born Sept. 17, 1656, a daughter of George and Margery Tonge. His home was in that part of New London origi- nally called Pequot or North Parish, and now known as Montville. His wife's sister, Elizabeth, married Fitz John Winthrop, for nine years governor of Connecticut. He himself was a soldier in King Philip's war, and took part in the hardly-fought battle in the Great Swamp, on Dec. 19, 1675, where the power of the Narragansetts was broken. For his gallant service during this war he received from the General Court a grant of 140 acres of land. In 1684 he was named by Gov. Winthrop as one of the seventy-seven grantees of New London in the pat- ent issued Oct. 14, that year. He was the father of eight children, and died in March or April, 1712. His will apportioned among his children £300 in money, and a considerable quantity of land.
Christopher Wickwire, a son of the above, was born in New London Jan. 8, 1680, and was the great-great-great-grandfather of Townsend B. He was baptized with six others Sept. 21, 1724, by Rev. James Hillhouse. He passed the latter years of his life at Salem, where he was an extensive land owner. Mr. Wickwire's great-great-grandfather, James Wickwire, Sr., was born in 1725, and bap- tized Oct. 23, 1726. He married Mary Grant, who bore him six children. He ended his days in Mil- lington, a parish of East Haddam. Here, prob- ably, his son, James Wickwire, Jr., was born Sept. 28, 1759. The latter was the great-grandfather of the subject of this brief biographical sketch. His business was that of a tanner and manufacturer of leather, and he served with distinguished gallantry in the Revolutionary war, enlisting in Col. Charles Webb's regiment before he had reached the age of seventeen. He marched with Washington to New London, whence the troops were transferred by vessel to New York. For a year his regiment was stationed in and around that city and Brooklyn, aid- ing in the erection of fortifications. It also par-
HAB Michune
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ticipated in the battle of White Plains. On April 25, 1779, he married Sarah Barnes, by whom he was the father of ten children. She was born in 1760, and was a daughter of Enos and Abigail ( Nor- ris) Barnes. Alvin Benjamin Wickwire, son of James, and the grandfather of Townsend Bartholo- mew, was born July 7, 1796, at Litchfield. His wife was Sallie Miranda Humiston, born in Wash- ington, Conn., April 4. 1795. Three children were born to them, all of whom are yet living. He was a farmer, and received a pension as a soldier of the war of 1812, during which struggle he served as a musician.
Manley Horatio Wickwire, the father of Town- send B., was born Sept. 1, 1834, in Warren, Conn. He was educated at the district schools and at the private school of J. C. Howard, after graduating from which institution he taught school for three years, when he entered Taft's general store, at Ash- ley Falls, as a clerk. Two years later he bought a half-interest in the business, the firm name becom- ing Taft & Wickwire. This partnership continued for two years, when Mr. Wickwire purchased Mr. Taft's interest, and for the next six years he con- ducted the business alone. At the end of that time he disposed of it, and, buying a farm in Sheffield, Mass., devoted himself to agriculture for three years. His next venture was in the cutting of tim- ber and the manufacturing of it into lumber for the market, in which business he is still engaged, having cleared thousands of acres of timber-land in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In 1896 he and Roger S. Austin purchased outright the plant and business of the Wallingford Wheel Company, of Wallingford, Conn., and a stock company was formed, known as the Wheel & Cycle Bar Co. The concern manufactures all descriptions of wheels, as well as stock for the repair of same. Manley H. Wickwire is president of the company, the other officers being Roger S. Austin, vice-president and treasurer, and L. R. Hall, secretary. These gen- tlemen, with Charles M. Jarvis, Frank L. Wilcox, Marcus E. Jacobs and Edward Alling, constitute the board of directors. In April, 1899, a substantial brick factory was built in Berlin, and the plant was removed and installed there during July following. In 1894, Mr. Wickwire, Sr., removed to Berlin, where he yet resides. He is a member of Cincin- natus Lodge, F. & A. M., and in politics is a Republican. His fellow townsmen of Sheffield, recognizing his intellectual capacity and his high moral worth, repeatedly elected him to posts of grave responsibility and high trust. He served as first selectman during the war of the Rebellion, and at various times held all the other town offices.
On Sept. 10, 1856, Mr. Wickwire married Paul- ine Bartholomew, of Sheffield, where she was born in 1835. The fruit of the marriage consisted of five children. The eldest, Lillian E., married Dr. Frank L. Smith, of Sheffield, and is now deceased. Fannie E. became the wife of Henry R. Little, of
Torrington. Nellie Pauline is now Mrs. George H. Robinson, of Newtonville, Mass. Arthur Man- ley married Louise, a daughter of Charles Dutcher, of Brooklyn. Townsend B. was the youngest. Mrs. Wickwire died Oct. 4, 1882, and was buried at Sheffield. On Dec. 17, 1884, Mr. Wickwire mar- ried Miss Meroa Brainard, who was born March 30, 1855, and is a daughter of Samuel Newell Brainard and Charlotte F. Williams, his wife, of Colchester, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Wickwire attend the Congregational Church, his wife being a mem- ber of that communion.
Townsend B. Wickwire was born March 31, 1869, on his father's farm in Sheffield, Mass. When he was six years old his family removed into the town, and it was at the Sheffield district schools that he began his education, finishing his scholastic training by a course at the Eastman Business Col- lege, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He graduated at the age of nineteen, and went at once to Colchester, Conn., where his father was engaged in the lumber business. For five years he acted as an assistant to his father, laying a strong foundation for a robust physical constitution, and gaining his first practical knowledge of men and business affairs. In 1894 he removed to Berlin, where he engaged in the sale of coal and feed, continuing same up to the present time. In building up this business liis good judg- ment, and his well-earned reputation for unswerv- ing integrity, have stood him in good stead. On Jan. 1, 1900, Mr. Wickwire became superintendent of the Berlin Wheel Co., the duties of which posi- tion he is ably discharging, despite the many de- mands upon his time and attention.
On Jan. 1, 1894, Mr. Wickwire married Eliza- beth Margaret Jones, who was born Jan. 11, 1870, daughter of William and Catherine ( Carrier) Jones, of Colchester. Mr. and Mrs. Wickwire are the par- ents of one child, Grant Townsend, born Aug. 26, 1896.
Mr. Wickwire is one of the most enterprising and successful young business men of Berlin. But thirty-one years old, lie is already a prosperous mer- chant, and can justly boast that his achievements have been largely due to his own unaided efforts. His kindly, generous, genial, whole-souled nature has won for him whole troops of friends. Ile is a member of Pequot Council, No. 24, Sr. O. U. A. M., of Berlin. He united with the Congregational Church at Sheffield, and is now identified with the church at Berlin, being also a member of the choir. His wife belongs to the same communion. Mr. Wickwire is an ardent Republican in politics.
STEPHEN FRANKLIN WILLARD is a de- scendant of an ancient and noble English family. to whom reference is found in the carly records of the Counties of Sussex and Kent. The name is familiar to every reader of either English or American liis- tory, being associated with the records of State, Church and Army. An admirable sketch of the
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family was prepared and published by the late Joseph Willard, of Boston, from which have been gleaned some of the historical facts hereinafter set forth.
Simon Willard, the first of the name known to have settled in this country, was three times married. His first nuptials were celebrated in England, his bride being Mary Sharpe, of Horsemonden. His second wife was Elizabeth Dunster, a sister of Rev. Henry Dunster, one of the early presidents of Harvard College, and after her death he was united to her cousin, Mary Dunster. She survived him, and became the wife of Deacon Noyes, of Sudbury, Mass. Simon Willard was one of the prominent men of his day and generation. Tradition says of him that he was hardy and courageous, and thor- oughly imbued with the religious fervor of his times. He was the father of seventeen children, of whom we give a brief enumeration: (1) Mary married Joshua Edmunds. (2) Elizabeth died in infancy. (3) Elizabeth (2) became the wife of Robert Blood, of Concord, on April 8, 1653, and died Aug. 27, 1690. (4) Dorothy died in infancy. (5) Josiah married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Hosmer, a distinguished citizen of Hartford, and for some years made his home in that city, but finally re- moved to Wethersfield, where he taught school, dying there in July, 1674. (6) Samuel was born at Concord, Mass., in January, 1639, and graduated from Harvard College in 1659. He became a min- inster, and first settled in Groton. In 1678 he was installed over the old South Church in Boston, and continued pastor until his death, Sept. 12, 1707. For the last six years of his life he was also vice or act- ing president of Harvard College. His first wife was Abigail, a daughter of Rev. John and Mary (Launce) Sherman, of Watertown, Mass., and she dying Aug. 8, 1664, he, in 1679, married Eunice Tyng, whose father, Edward Tyng, was a prominent and influential citizen of the same place; she died in Boston Jan. 14, 1720. (7) Sarah, born June 27, 1642, at Concord, Mass., married Nathaniel How- ard, of Charlestown, July 2, 1666, and died Jan. 22, 1677; the following year (1678) Mr. Howard married Sarah Parker. (8) Above Hope was born at Concord Oct. 30, 1646, and died at Lancaster Dec. 26, 1663. (9) Simon, born at Concord Nov. 23, 1649, married Martha, daughter of Richard and Joanna Jacobs; he removed to Salem, where for many years he was deacon of the First Church ; he was twice married, his second wife being Priscilla Butholph. (10) Mary, born at Concord Sept. 7, 1653, became Jan. 22, 1671, the wife of Cyprian Stevens, of Lancaster. (II) Henry, born June 4, 1655, at Concord, married Mary Larkin, of Groton, July 18, 1674; she died about the year 1688, and in 1689 he married Dorcas Cutler. (12) John, also of Concord, born Feb. 12, 1656, married Oct. 31, 1690, Mary Hayward, a daughter of John Hayward, and died Aug. 23, 1726. (13) Daniel, born Dec. 29, 1658, was twice married, first on Dec. 6, 1683, to
Hannah, a daughter of John Cutler; she died Feb. 22, 1690, and he afterward married Mary Mills, a daughter of Jonathan Mills. He died Aug. 23, 1708. (14) Joseph, born at Lancaster June 4, 1660, was a sea captain, and died in June, 1721. (15) Benjamin, born in 1665, married Sarah Lakin, born in February, 1661, whose father, Job Lakin, was an ensign in the militia. (16) Hannah, born Oct. 6, 1666, became the wife of Capt. Thomas Brintnall May 23, 1693. (17) Jonathan, the youngest child, born Dec. 14, 1669, married Mary, a daughter of Major Thomas Brown.
The children of Josiah and Hannah ( Hosmer) Willard were eight in number : (1) Samuel, born in Hartford Sept. 19, 1658, married Sarah Clark on June 6, 1683, and settled at Saybrook, where he died in 1713. (2) Josiah, born March 13, 1660, died unmarried. (3) Simon, born at Wethersfield, mar- ried Mary Gilbert. (4) Dorothy, the eldest daugh- ter, was also born at Wethersfield, and June 15, 1682, married John Belden, of that place, who was born June 12, 1658. (5) Stephen, born in Wethers- field in 1667, died July 22, 1814. (6) Thomas, born in 1670, married Abigail Bradley, and re- moved to Guilford, now Madison. (7) John died un- married. (8) Hannah was married May 18, 1698, to Capt. Janna Meigs, of Guilford.
Simon Willard, third son of Josiah, was born in 1661. He removed from Wethersfield to Newing- ton, but on what date it is not known, and is be- lieved to have been the first white settler in that section, where he spent the remainder of his life, engaged in farming. On Feb. 12, 1691, he married Mary Gilbert, and by her became the father of nine children. Mrs. Willard was born Nov. 18, 1670, and died Dec. 6, 1712. He died Jan. 8, 1726, at Newington ; on his monument was inscribed "the first male laid in this yard." The names of their children, and some necessarily brief and imperfect biographical data relative to them, are given below : (1) Josiah was twice married, his first wife be- ing Hannah, a daughter of John Montague, and his second, Elizabeth Filer ; he was a farmer, and died March 9, 1757. (2) John was born Aug. 20, 1694, and married Margaret Smith, a daughter of Simon Smith, of Hartford; he died at Stockbridge, Mass., in July, 1762, his wife surviving until May 17, 1785. (3) Benjamin, born Oct. 31, 1696, died Sept. 15, 1712. (4) Mary, born March 29, 1700, was married to Jonathan Griswold. (5) Hannah, born April 27, 1702, became the wife of Jacob Whapples, of Newington. (6) Simon, born May 28, 1704, died in early life. (7) Ephraim, born June 30, 1707, married Lydia, a daughter of Jacob Griswold, of Wethersfield. (8) Daniel, born July 30, 1710, married Dorothy Deming, of Newington ; he died in 1800. (9) Benjamin (2) was born Sept. 15, 1712, the day upon which the first Benjamin died.
Ephraim Willard, the seventh son of Simon, was a farmer in Wethersfield. He was a member of the Congregational Church. On Aug. 17, 1738, he mar-
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ried Lydia Griswold, daughter of Jacob and Mary ( Francis) Griswold, the latter a daughter of Robert Francis. Mrs. Willard was born Sept. 4, 1707, and died in April, 1770. Ephraim Willard died March 30, 1766. Both are buried at Wethersfield. Five children were born to them: Stephen, Feb. 9, 1740 (mentioned below) ; Elizabeth, April 26, 1741; Mary, Feb. 17, 1743; Simon, Jan. 25, 1746; and Justus Gilbert, Nov. 28, 1747. Simon in later life removed to New York State.
Stephen Willard was a resident and prosperous farmer of Wethersfield. On March 24, 1768, he married Anna Harris, a daughter of Thomas Har- ris, of the same town. Both himself and wife were devout and consistent members of the Congrega- tional Church. The names and dates of birth of their nine children are as follows: Stephen, Jan. 30, 1770; Anna, Sept. 28, 1771; Polly, Ang. II, 1773; Wealthy, April 13, 1775 ( died April 2, 1777) ; John, July 24, 1777 (died at sea) ; William, Oct. 3, 1779 (died young) ; Wealthy (2) (died Oct. 29, 1842) ; Thomas, Ang. II, 1781 ; and William (2) (father of the late William Willard, warden of the Connecticut State Prison ), Nov. 21, 1783 (died March 8, 1832).
Stephen Willard, eldest of the above family, was born on Broad street, Wethersfield, Jan. 30, 1770, and like his ancestors became a farmer, was a prominent citizen in his day, an upright man, highly esteemed, and exemplified in his daily life the principles of the religion which he professed. He married Martha Robbins, and after her death wedded Rhoda, a daughter of Solomon Latimer. His first wife bore him seven children: George; Walter; Eliza, who married Samuel Latimer, of Wethersfield; Mary, who became the wife of Caleb Griswold, of the same town; Stephen, who died in childhood : Chauncey, who removed to South Caro- lina ; and Sarah, who married Chauncey Coleman, of Wethersfield. There were six children born of the second marriage: Thomas, July 5. 1816; Charles, May 25, 1818; Martha and Amelia (twins) July 25, 1820; Amelia (2), June 21, 1822; and Stephen, Oct. 13, 1827. Amelia (1) died Nov. 25, 1821, and Amelia (2) married Horace Fuller, of Windsor; Martha married Oliver Wolcott, of Wethersfield.
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