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 119

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1172

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 119

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On May 29, 1878, Mr. Olcott was married to Miss Queria Bidwell, daughter of Ambrose and Jane (Chapman) Bidwell, natives of Glastonbury. The children born to this union are: Lena, who was married Nov. 28, 1899, to George Afflick, of Glastonbury ; Bertha, Willard and Ethel, at home ; Leslie, who died April 28, 1898; and Raymond, at home.

WILL P. LANDON, chief clerk of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railway Co., with headquarters at East Hartford, was born in Hop- kinton, N. Y., Sept. 5, 1858, and is a son of Daniel

and Caroline M. (Phelps) Landon, descendants of old Colonial families, and on the paternal side of Welsh extraction. Daniel Landon, the great-great- grandfather, was born in 1736, lived in Litchfield county, Conn., and was a grandson of James Landon, the progenitor of the family in America. The great -- grandfather of our subject went to Lansdowne, Canada, and reared a large family, of whom Sam- uel lived to reach adult years.

Samuel Landon, grandfather of our subject, mar- ried Elizabeth Bradley, a native of County Carlow, Ireland. The Bradley family were Orangemen, and the father of Elizabeth, who was an officer of dra- goons in Ireland, came to Canada, where he had charge of a gentleman's estate. Samuel Landon was a contractor, and while engaged in building a bridge at Lansdowne, one of his men failing to do work to his liking, he seized hold of a timber to lift, and sustained injuries that resulted in his death. His children were five in number : Joshua, who went to Minnesota, where all trace of him was lost; Ed- ward, who was reared in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and died in West Hartford, Conn., in 1896; Daniel, father of our subject; Mary J., who was married to Henry Bradley, and died in Canada; and Lucinda, who was married to George DeLong, of Watertown, N. Y., and there died.

Daniel Landon, father of our subject, was born March 30, 1832, in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada, and was educated in the common schools of his na- tive town. He learned shoemaking, and about the time he was twenty-one years old located in Hopkin- ton, N. Y., worked awhile as a journeyman, and then engaged in trade for himself. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, 106th N. Y. V. I., but be- fore the regiment left for the front he was promoted from private to corporal, and then to sergeant. IIe participated in eleven battles, and at Monocacy, Md., July 9, 1864, he was shot through and through, but thought himself hit by a spent ball only. While kneeling to load his rifle, he was a second time shot through and through, the ball barely missing the jug- ular vein. He was sent to the Jarvis hospital, at Bal- timore. When sufficiently recovered to move about he was assigned to duty in the convalescent hospi- tal, and in April, 1865, was granted a furlough home. Here he was taken worse, the furlough was extended, and he was transferred to the Veteran Re- serve Corps, but was not assigned to any company. As he was the senior officer of his company when he was shot-it had been so riddled-a lieutenant's commission was awaiting him on his return, but he was not able to get back before the war closed. He engaged in farming. His death took place April 23, 1879; for eleven years he had suffered front hemorrhage of the lungs, but his great will-power prolonged his life. In politics Daniel Landon was a stanch Republican, and at different times filled sich offices as justice of the peace, constable and collector. Fraternally he was a Freemason, and in religion a Congregationalist.

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The marriage of Mr. Landon to Miss Caroline M. Phelps took place at Hopkinton, N. Y., Jan. 6, 1852. Miss Phelps was born in that town Sept. 21, 1832, a daughter of William S. and Laura ( Pal- mer) Phelps. Laura Palmer was a daughter of Richard S. Palmer, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, was a Baptist clergyman, and was the first settled minister of that denomination in St. Law- rence county, N. Y. William S. Phelps was born in Orwell, Vt., and was a son of Jacob and Lucy ( Webster) Phelps, the latter of whom lived to the great age of ninety-six years. Jacob Phelps was a native of Pittsfield, Mass., and was the first to lo- cate in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. His father. Elnathan Phelps, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and had served in the French and Indian wars. Elnathan was a son of William, who, in turn, was a son of William, who was a son of Nathaniel, who settled in Northfield, Mass., and was a son of Will- iam, who came from England in 1630, and to Wind- sor, Conn., in 1635, and here died in 1672.

The children born to Daniel and Caroline M. Landon numbered six, as follows: Herbert, born March 9. 1853, is a farmer in Stockholm, N. Y. : Ella, born in September, 1855, is now Mrs. Henry Johnson, of Hartford, Conn .; Will P. is the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth, born in April, 1862, is unmarried, and resides in Buffalo, N. Y. ; Lucy, born in January, 1870, is married to William A. Driscoll, of Parkville, Conn. ; and Raymond D., born June 6, 1872, resides in Hartford. The mother of this family also resides in Hartford, and is a mem- ber of the Congregational Church. She is a re- markably well-preserved lady, and to her retentive memory the publishers are indebted for many of the facts here given, in relation to the early history of the Landon and Phelps families.

Will P. Landon attended the district schools of his native town until twelve years of age, and was then employed at hard work on his father's farm, as the ill health of the father precluded his doing much work, although he had relinquished his trade and resorted to farming, in the vain hope that outdoor life would prove a remedy for the disorder result- ing from his wounds-hemorrhage of the lungs. At the age of sixteen years young Landon en- tered a store in the town as clerk, passed two years in this employment, and then returning to the farm continued to work thereon until his father's death. After this he entered a drug store in Canton, N. Y., and after clerking a short time went out as a traveling salesman for the Thatcher Drug Co., of Potsdam, N. Y., but as this business did not agree with him he relinquished it at the end of eight months. He then for a time lived with an uncle, L. D. Atwood, on a farm.

In June, 1881, Mr. Landon was joined in mat- rimiony with Miss Mena Cooper, of Massena Springs, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and began house- keeping in Hopkinton. Soon after this happy event he was employed as clerk at the "Hatfield Hotel,"

at Massena Springs, and later at a mill in Parish- ville, in the same county, whence he came to Con- necticut. Here he was employed as clerk for Henry T. Hart, of Burnside, Hartford county, and in every position thus held he constantly enhanced his repu- tation as a reliable and competent bookkeeper.

In October, 1887, Mr. Landon entered the em- ploy of the New England Railway Co., as clerk, this. being the year when the company's shops were erected at East Hartford, and he has ever since held the confidence of the managers. Although the di- rectorship has changed several times, he has been retained each administration, and 110 better evidence of his ability can be cited than this fact, and the. fact that, in July, 1894, he was appointed chief clerk-his present position.

In 1893 Mr. Landon erected an elegant home on Burnside avenue, East Hartford, but subsequently sold this and purchased another on the same avenue -his present residence. Fraternally Mr. Landon is a member of Orient Lodge, F. & A. M., and of Sonquasson Tribe, of Red Men, of Hartford: he was a member of Lincoln Lodge, K. P., of Hart- ford, but later became a charter member of Elm Lodge, K. P., of East Hartford, and is also a charter member of LaFayette Council, O. U. A. M., of the. same town. In religion he is an Episcopalian, and in politics a Republican, in the success of which party he takes a keen interest. Socially he mingles with the best circles of Hartford and East Hartford, and enjoys the esteem of all with whom he meets in this respect, as well as that of the public in gen- eral. He is fond of a good horse and keeps a good driver, and delights in "caring for his own horse." He has made his own way through life from the age of twelve years, and is well entitled to the high esteem in which he is held.

WILLIS FRANK ROCKWELL, one of the oldest business men in the State of Connecticut, was, born in the town of Wintonburg Jan. 1, 1827, a son of Joel and Monimee (Pinney) Rockwell.

Joel S. Rockwell, grandfather of Willis F., was a native of Scotland, but early came to Connecti- cut and became a farmer at Wapping. Hartford county, married a Miss Ladd, of Scottish ancestry, and passed the remainder of his life on his farm.

Joel Rockwell, son of Joel S. and father of Willis F., was born at Wapping, where he lived until seven years of age, from that time until he reached his majority residing with a family named Harding, in Granville, Mass. He then took up a tract of land in Ohio, on which he lived one year only. On returning to Connecticut he engaged in the retail butcher trade, and also owned a farni of 200 acres. He married, in Bloomfield, Monimee (Pinney) Clark, widow of Joel Clark, by whom she had one child, Delia Clark. To the marriage of Joel and Monimee Rockwell were born seven chil- dren, in the following order : Joel C., now in Flor- ida ; Willis Frank, the subject of this sketch ; O. P.,

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John Scott and John C., all three deceased ; George L., in the real-estate business at Providence, R. I .; and Alice Z., deceased. Mr. Rockwell was a Whig in politics, and died on his farm in 1867, at the age of seventy-two years.

Willis F. Rockwell was educated in the Old Farm district of Bloomfield, and at the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield. He then served a five years apprenticeship at carriage making with Anson H. Porter, at Bloomfield Center, after which he en- gaged in the same business on his own account in Tariffville. But within two weeks he was taken sick, and while thus confined his shop was destroyed by fire. He then went into the retail meat business in the Washington market at Hartford City, at which he continued nineteen years, after which he engaged in the same line, in the wholesale trade, and is now the oldest butcher and dealer in meats in New England, and, to show the extent of his trade, it may be mentioned that, in 1897, of sheep alone he slaughtered upward of ten thousand.

Mr. Rockwell was united in marriage, in Bloom- field, April 12, 1849, with Miss Catharine N. Filley, daughter of Haskell H. Filley, and this marriage has been graced with four children, born in the following order : Frank D. is a salesman for Inger- man Swift, in the wholesale meat business, and is married to Miss E. A. Clark; Willis E. married Miss O. E. Kenyon, and has been blessed with two children-Willis K. and Percy; Kate G. is the wife of David S. Hall, and has one child-Frank D. ; and Ida M., born Aug. 5, 1863 (who died when five months old).

Willis F. Rockwell is master of Hiram Lodge, No. 98, F. & A. M. at Bloomfield, and has been a member of the fraternity for thirty-four years. He is also a member of Bloomfield Grange, P. of H. In politics he was first a Whig, but on the or- ganization of the Republican party joined its ranks, and by this party has been elected a member of the board of education, and the board of relief. So- cially he stands very high in the esteem of the com- munity in which he has passed so many years of a long and useful life.

LEONIDAS D. CHANDLER, who, as a fariner, tobacco grower, legislator, and one of the foremost public-spirited citizens of South Windsor, has won a reputation of high degree and evinced a character of many sterling qualities, possesses those elements of enterprise and industry which constitute the ground work of American life. As an adventurous pioneer in the western country, and as a gallant soldier during the Civil war, he displayed those ad- mirable traits which lead to recognition and dis- tinction.

Mr. Chandler was born in the town of East Hartford, near Burnside, Oct. 14, 1836, son of Charles M. and Mary (Vibert) Chandler. His fa- ther was a native of Franklin, N. H., who when a young man removed from that State to Hartford 1

county, Conn., and there married. By trade he was a papermaker. To Charles M. and Mary Chandler were born three children: Leonidas D., our subject ; Rose, who died in infancy ; and Har- riet, wife of Charles M. Pelton, of East Hartford.

Our subject was seven years old when his fa- ther died, and at ten he began working out on neighboring farms, attending school during the win- ter months. His education, however, was not neg- lected, for besides attending the common schools he was a student for a time at the East Windsor Hill Seminary. In 1857, when he attained his majority, he went West and for two years remained at Olms- ted, Harrison Co., Iowa. In the spring of 1859 he drove three yoke of oxen from Iowa to Colorado. He entered the mountains and located on Clear creek, where he engaged in prospecting and mining, and the following winter returned to Iowa, making the journey the same way he came, by ox-team. In Iowa he remained until July 4, 1861, when he en- listed in Company B, 4th Iowa V. I. He was mus- tered into the service at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Pro- ceeding to St. Louis the regiment was stationed foi a time at Jefferson Barracks, guarding the rail- road. Proceeding to Raleigh, Mo., the 4th Iowa there went into winter quarters. In January, 1862, it moved to Springfield, and Mr. Chandler partici- pated soon after in the sharp engagement at Pea Ridge. He marched through the country to Helena. Ark., where a slight engagement occurred. Pro- ceeding down the river to Milliken's Bend, the regi- ment was attached to the 15th Army Corps under Sherman, and participated in the battle of Arkansas Post. The next engagement of our subject was at Port Gibson, then at Jackson, Miss. Returning, he was present at the siege of Vicksburg, and was. also engaged in a number of skirmishes. At Chick- asaw Bayou, Dec. 29, 1862, he was wounded. He was honorably discharged at Vicksburg, Sept. 16, 1863.

Returning to South Windsor, the young soldier engaged in farming. . He was married, in 1870, to- Miss Celia M. King, daughter of Benoni O. and Lucinda (Sadd) King, of South Windsor. To Mr. and Mrs. Chandler have been born three children : Grace, wife of Harry S. Powers, of South Windsor ; Charles V .; and Fred L., at home.

Mr. Chandler owns about forty acres, most of which is fine tobacco land, located about six miles from Hartford, and tobacco growing is his chief oc- cupation at present. Mr. Chandler is a Republican in politics, and one of the leading spirits of his party in South Windsor; for many years has been a member of the Republican committee. In 1879 he was elected to the State Legislature on the Repub- lican ticket, and in 1898 he was elected registrar of South Windsor. Socially he is a member of Rod- man Post, No. 65, G. A. R., at East Hartford ; Ever- green Lodge, No. 114, F. & A. M., at the same place ; Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M., and Wolcott Council, of Hartford. Mr. Chandler is a member of

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the Army and Navy Club of Hartford, and since 1869 has been a member of the Veteran Foot Guard of Hartford.

HON. HENRY D. BARNARD, one of the old- est and best-known residents of North Bloomfield, was born at his present home Aug. II. 1828, and is a descendant of one of the most ancient families of New England.

Sergeant Joseph Barnard, great-great-grandfa- ther of our subject, was supposed to have de- scended from Francis Barnard, who came to Amer- ica from Ipswich, England, in the ship "Francis," in 1634. The place and date of birth of Sergt. Jo- seph Barnard are unknown, as well as place and date of death, but it is on record that he married Abi- gail Griswold Oct. 4, 1705, and that she died in 1747, the mother of six children: Sarah, born Sept. 23, 1706; Joseph, March 19, 1708; Ebenezer, Sept. 8, 1710; Ann, Feb. 28, 1712; David, Nov. 3, 1714: Francis, Sept. 9, 1719.

Francis Barnard, great-grandfather of Henry Dwight Barnard, was born in Windsor, Conn., at the date above named, removed to Simsbury, Conn .. and was the father of twelve children, born in the following order : Francis; Lucretia, Nov. 1I, 1743 ; Lydia, Feb. 23, 1746; Irana, Oct. 23, 1747 : Moses and Aaron, Dec. 12, 1750; Elizabeth and Sarah, in 1755; Ebenezer, Sept. 12, 1757; Samuel, March 9. 1759; Elihu, May 28, 1762 : and Caroline, April 22. 1765. The name of the mother of this family is not given, nor dates of marriage and death.

Francis Barnard, grandfather of our subject, was born within the present limits of Bloomfield, Conn., here passed his life in farming, and died about 1830. He was thrice married, (first) to Eliza- beth Phelps, ( second) to Chloe Mills, and (third) to Diodema Brown. To his first marriage were born Oliver and Elizabeth ; to his second were born Chloe, Charlotte, George (father of our subject), Ira, Asa, Harriet, Francis and Rhoda.

George Barnard, father of Henry D. Barnard.was born in what is now the town of Bloomfield Feb. 22. 1785, learned the blacksmith's trade with Joshua Latham, and this, together with farming, was his life-long occupation. He married, Oct. 15, 1805, Miss Sally Higley, who was born Nov. 30, 1785, and this union was blessed with twelve children as follows: George A., July 23, 1806, died Aug. 10, 1808; Caroline, Dec. 29, 1807, died March 4, 1816; George A. (2), Aug. 7, 1809, died March 26, 1885 ; Harriet, Feb. 23, 1811, died March 29, 1896: Chloe, March 20. 1814, died Oct. 8, 1830: Carlos, Aug. I, 1816, died March 5. 1817: Caroline (2), Jan. 9, 1818, died Jan. 8, 1852: Amelia C. (now Mrs. Smith, of Buffalo, N. Y.), Feb. 20, 1820; Eliza- beth, Sept. 29, 1821, died July 2, 1851 ; James, Oct. 21, 1823, died Oct. 19. 1839: Mary A., March 17. 1826, now wife of S. B. Newberry, of Bloomfield, Conn., and mother of two children-Charles C. and Annette Goodwin ; and Henry D., whose name

opens this sketch. The father of this family was called away April 19, 1863, a deacon of the East Granby Baptist Church, and was followed to the grave by his wife Nov. 20, 1870.

Hon. Henry D. Barnard was educated in the district school of North Bloomfield, and at the high school in Simsbury. On Nov. 22, 1857, he married, at East Granby, Miss Sophia R. Alderman, daugh- ter of Irijah Bissell and Anice (Rockwell) Alder- man. Mrs. Barnard was born Sept. 29, 1832, and died Dec. 7, 1876, the mother of six children, viz. : Amelia S., born Nov. 23, 1858, died July 16, 1880; Mary E., born May 9, 1861, died Aug. 25, 1887; George, born March 5, 1863, died March 28, 1890 ; William H., born June 18, 1865, died at the home of his father Feb. 4, 1900; Ira, born July 30, 1869, and Alice, born March 9, 1872. The living chil- dren are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Barnard has passed all his active days in farming, and has been quite prominent in local politics and the management of the affairs of his town. In 1882 he was elected a member of the Legislature on the Democratic ticket and took an active part in the proceedings of that body, and he has also served as assessor of his town, in which office he has given indisputable satisfaction.

CLARK ALLEN COREY, whose sudden death is still fresh in the minds of his fellow citizens, was one of the honored and highly esteemed residents of the town of Suffield, Hartford county. He was born May 3, 1826, in Lanesboro, Berkshire Co., Mass., and belonged to an old New England family of English descent.

Abel Corey, his grandfather, was a native of Rhode Island, where he was reared, thence when a young man removing to Hancock, Berkshire Co .. Mass., where he followed farming throughout the remainder of his life. Religiously he was a member of the Congregational Church. In his family were ten children : Otheonile, Millie, Catherine, Clark, Hamilton, Harty, Thomas, Freeburn, Elsie and Amy, all of whom lived and died in Hancock with the exception of Clark, the father of our subject.

Clark Corey was born in Hancock, Mass., and grew to manhood upon his father's farm, his educa- tion being acquired in the district schools of the neighborhood. On leaving the parental roof he en- gaged in farming on his own account near Lanes- boro, Mass., where he remained until 1830, and later followed the same occupation at Washington, that State. hut the last few years of his life were spent at Pittsfield, where he owned a small farm. He died there, and his remains were interred at Washington. Politically he was first a stanch Whig and later a Republican. and always took quite an active and influential part in local affairs, filling a number of offices, such as selectman, etc. He was a true Christian gentleman, and a faithful member of the Congregational Church. In Hancock he mar- ried Miss Sarah Allen, a native of Stephentown,

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N. Y., and to them were born four children : Daniel, deceased ; Mary Ann, who married Nathan Clark (both died in Suffield) ; Clark Allen, our subject ; and Elsie, deceased wife of Albert Mecum, of Becket, Mass. The mother, who was also a con- sistent member of the Congregational Church, died in Washington, Mass., and was buried there. For his second wife the father married Olivette J. Her- rick, by whom he had three children: Ann Maria, deceased wife of Jonathan Bidwell, of Bloomfield, Conn. ; William H., who died in infancy ; and Ellen, wife of D. W. Thrall, of Hartford. The mother of this family was also a member of the Congrega- tional Church. She died at the home of her daugh- ter, in Bloomfield, being laid to rest in Bloomfield Centre.

Clark A. Corey, whose name introduces this sketch, was only four years old when taken by his parents to Washington, Mass., and in the district schools of that locality he obtained his education. During his minority he remained upon his father's farm, and on starting out in life to make his own way in the world he found employment with Jones Rudd, a lumberman and general dealer of Becket, Mass., with whom he remained for several years, or until that gentleman's death. Of an ambitious nature, he succeeded in working his way upward, attaining the position of superintendend of the lum- ber yard and agent in charge of all the outside business. After Mr. Rudd's death he turned his attention to farming, and as there was but one blacksmith in Becket opened a blacksmith shop, though he had no previous knowledge of the busi- ness. Receiving the support of the people of the community, he persevered in his new undertaking, and soon became an expert blacksmith, being con- sidered the best ox-shoer in the country. He was quite proficient in everything pertaining to the busi- ness, and successfully followed the same for several years. Later he was interested in the butcher busi- ness in partnership with Hope Ames for two years, and then accepted the position of foreman for the firm of Wheeler & Clafflin, the latter of whom was afterward governor of Massachusetts. As foreman Mr. Corey was engaged in constructing roads, and preparing foundations for a tanyard in Fulton coun- ty, N. Y., having 100 men working under him in cutting timber and preparing the foundations. It was the largest plant of the kind in the county, the yard being 400 feet long, the bark house, 100x40 feet ; the dry house, 180x40 feet ; the wood house, 100X40 feet ; and the leach house, 150x30 feet. After its completion our subject worked in that sec- tion, building roads, bridges, dams, etc., and pre- pared the foundation for a smaller tannery for the same firm, the yard being 250 feet long. He also built seven miles of plank road, and had the entire confidence of his employers and the respect of the men working under him.

In 1870 Mr. Corey came to Suffield, Conn., and bought a tract of eighty acres in West Suffield,

known as the Pomeroy farm, on which he made his home until his death. He made many improvements upon the place, and for some time was actively en- gaged in the cultivation of tobacco, general farming, dairying and stock raising, and raised the well- known stallion, "Harry Morgan, Jr." From the effects of neuralgia and rheumatism he was de- prived of the use of his lower limbs for fifteen years before his death, but being dissatisfied with an idle existence he devoted his time to putting in cane bottoms in chairs, etc., as he was a natural me- chanic, able to do almost anything in the mechanical line. He was ever a hard worker, a close observer, was temperate in his habits, and very genial in dis- position. In early life he was a supporter of the Whig party, and was later a pronounced Republican, but cared nothing for official honors. At one time he was a member of the Know-Nothing party. He was a good Christian man, a member of the Congre- gational Church, and highly respected by all who knew him. Mr. Corey passed away Nov. 10, 1899, after an illness of only about thirty hours.

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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 2, Part 119

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1172

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1172