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 138

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 138

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Seth Clark, our subject's maternal grandfather, was born in Middletown, Conn., July 11, 1768, and was married Nov. 16, 1789, to Chloe Bailey, who was born in Haddam, Conn., Feb. 19, 1771, a daughter of Benjamin Bailey, of that place. Soon after their marriage Seth Clark and wife removed to South- ington, where she died July 17, 1834, and he passed away Jan. 27, 1851. His father, Joseph Clark, was born Sept. 15, 1720, and died in Middletown Aug. 22, 1778. On June 2, 1752, he married Jo- anna Fairchild, who was born Sept. 21, 1727, and died Nov. 26, 1793. Joseph Clark was a business man in his day, and carried on shipping. He lost three vessels in one great storm. He was chosen to the office of town clerk in Middletown, which office he filled for many succeeding years, until his death.

Henry H. Clark, our subject, is indebted to the public schools of his native town and Lewis Academy for his .educational privileges. In 1845 he embarked in mercantile business at Milldale, where he remained for three years, and then removed to Watertown, Conn., where he carried on busi- ness along the same line (succeeding his brother- in-law. Mr. Cummings) until 1854. when he re- turned to Milldale, becoming a member of the firm of Wm. J. Clark & Co., which in 1871, when the senior member of the firm retired, was changed to Clark Bros. & Co., he becoming senior member of the new firm, and under that style the business is still carried on. Theirs is one of the leading industries of the town, and as business men the brothers have won an enviable reputation for straightforward, honorable dealing, and have kept

Henry A. Clark

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business steadily and constantly moving through good and bad times, also adding and increasing as occasion offered and required.

Mr. Clark has been twice married. His first marriage was Sept. 29, 1852, to Miss Mary C. Davis, a daughter of Anthony and Helen ( Stone) Davis, of Watertown, Conn. She died in August, 1866. By that union were born four children: Charles W .; Carrie Luella, wife of Edson W. Frost; and Helen and Flora, both of whom died in infancy. For his second wife Mr. Clark married Jan. 29, 1874, Miss Susie Curtiss, a daughter of Charles and Eliza (Decker) Curtiss, of New York City, and to them has been born one daughter, Flora L. Politically Mr. Clark is an ardent Republican. In religious faith he is a consistent and faithful member of the Plantsville Congregational Church. He was one of the original members that united in the organization of this church in 1864, and has always been one of its number of liberal contribu- tors for financial support and charities.

GENERAL JULIUS S. GILMAN, of Hart- ford, now practically retired from business life, is one of the city's citizen soldiers whose interest in the organizations growing out of the Civil war has never waned, nor his zeal and energy abated in the least in the direction of keeping alive the en- dearing memories and associations that cluster about the camp and field of 1861-65.

Gen. Gilman has descended from a sturdy New England ancestry, from a family from which have gone out into the country men of prominence in the various walks of life. The General is a de- scendant in the seventh generation from Richard Gilman who was made a freeman in Hartford in 1672; bought land in East Hartford in 1676; mar- ried Elizabeth Adkins, and died in 1697.

The line of Gen. Gilman's descent from this Richard Gilman is through Solomon, Josiah, Levi, Oliver and Julius Gilman. (II) Solomon Gilman, born in 1676, married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Kilburn; died Aug 8, 1732. (III) Josiah Gilman, born in 1719, married Lucy, daughter of Benjamin Colt ; he died Oct. 13, 1796, she on April 27, 1795. (IV) Levi Gilman married Achsol, daughter of William and Elizabeth Williams. (V) Oliver Gil- man married Chloe, daughter of Jonathan and Lurania Bemont ; he died Nov. 7, 1833, she Dec. 12, 1808.

(VI) Julius Gilman, the father of Gen. Gilman of this sketch, was born Aug. 13, 1799, in the town of East Hartford, and in early life learned the trade of book-binding in Hartford, in which city for years he conducted a book-bindery on the site of the present Ætna Life Insurance building on Main street. Later, owing to ill health, he gave up this business and returned to the occupation of his boyhood, that of farming. He was a model farmer, and his neat and fine buildings with his carefully cultivated fields in Charter Oak Hill, where he owned a large body of land, are still remembered

by many of the citizens of Hartford. He operated considerably in real estate, and was remarkably successful in his business transactions. Mr. Gilman married, Oct. 25, 1824, Eliza, daughter of Phineas and Mary ( Webster) Shepard, and to them were born children as follows: Judge George S., now deceased, a sketch of whom appears farther on; Charles, deceased; Henry M., now deceased, for- merly a merchant of Detroit, Mich .; Gen. Julius S., of this sketch; Elizabeth; Frederick G .; Mary; wife of J. H. Knight, president of the First Na- tional Bank of Hartford; and two who died in in- fancy. The father of these children died March 20, 1886, and the mother on Feb. 2, 1884.

Gen. Julius S. Gilman, the subject proper of this sketch, was born in 1833, on the farm of his father on Charter Oak Hill, where his boyhood was passed, receiving his education in the schools of Hartford. At the age of fifteen he went to New York, and until twenty-one years of age was in the employ of Daniel Burgess & Co., and A. S. Barnes & Co., respectively, of that city. When of age young Gilman engaged in the subscription-book publish- ing business at No. 32 Beekman street. On the call of President Lincoln, Aug. 4, 1862, for vol- unteers to serve for nine months, Mr. Gilman left his business, went to Hartford, Conn., and in two days enlisted a company of one hundred men, which company was incorporated into the first nine- months regiment, designated as the 22d. He was appointed quartermaster of the rendezvous at Hart- ford, then designated as Camp Halleck, and when the 22d went to the front he went as its quarter- master. After six months' faithful service in the field he was promoted to brigade quartermaster, and while serving in that position he was strongly urged by prominent army officers to allow his name to be sent to the President for a staff position in the quartermaster's department of the army. After the expiration of the term of the service of the command he returned to Hartford with his regi- ment, and was immediately appointed assistant quartermaster-general on Gov. Buckingham's staff, the latter being Connecticut's war governor, and for a period of two years served actively and ably. After the close of the war, on the election of Gen. (now Senator) Joseph R. Hawley to the guber- natorial chair of the State, Gen. Gilman was ap- pointed quartermaster-general on the Governor's staff. On returning to civil life, Gen. Gilman be- came the manager at Chicago for the D. D. Mal- lory Oyster and Packing Co., of Baltimore, and remained as such some four years, at the end of which time, on account of the impaired health of his wife, he returned to Hartford. Here he bought out Mr. Worthington's interest in the subscription-book publishing business of Worthington & Dustin, the firm name becoming Dustin & Gilman. After five years Gen. Gilman retired from this, and embarked in the oil-stove business in Hartford, being the pioneer here in that line of trade. Subsequently he removed to New York, and engaged in the whole-

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sale and retail stove business, but on account of ill health after a time he retired from active business. Gen. Gilman has ever taken a deep interest in imilitary affairs. He is one of the original mem- bers of the first G. A. R. post organized in Hart- ford. is a member of the Twenty-second Regiment Veteran Association ; and a member of the Army and Navy Club, in all of which he has been a conspicuous figure. For several years past he has been the vice-president of the Campfield Monument Association, whose labors have resulted in securing the old campfield and rendezvous at Hartford, made historic during the Civil war as the camping place and mustering-in point of many of Hartford's citi- zen soldiers, and have erected thereon a beautiful monument on which are inscribed the names of the regiments that were mustered into the United States service, and crowned its pedestal with a portrait statute in bronze of one of Connecticut's typical vol- unteers, whose military history was linked with this field-that of Gen. Griffin A. Stedman, whose sketch appears. From start to finish in this noble work of the Campfield Association Gen. Gilman was active and zealous, giving freely without recompense his time and energies, without which its end might never have been accomplished. It was he who was instrumental in securing the donation of the land, with him originated the idea of a statue, and it was largely through his efforts that the project was pushed to completion : and on the occasion of the dedication of the Campfield Monument, Oct. 4. 1900, Gen. Gilman was one of the conspicuous group of the old veterans present whose acts and deeds of upward of thirty-five years ago made the ground historic and the event possible.

On June 16, 1864, Gen. Gilman was married to Miss Mary W., daughter of Norman H. Gillette, and a native of Hartford. She died Jan. 22. 1901.

On his mother's side Gen. Gilman is a descend- ant in the eighth generation from Edward Shepard, of Cambridge, Mass., the line of his descent being through Sergeant John, Thomas, Thomas (2), Thomas (3), Phineas and Eliza Shepard. (II) Sergeant John Shepard, son of Edward of Cam- bridge, born in 1649. married Rebecca Greenhill. and died in 1689. (11I) Thomas Shepard, son of Sergeant Jolm, born in 1666, married Susannah Scott. (IV) Thomas Shepard (2), son of Thomas, born in 1607. married Mary Eggleston, and died in 1775. (V) Thomas Shepard (3), son of Thomas (2). born in 1730, married Mary Kellogg, and died in 1810. (VI) Phineas Shepard, son of Thomas (3). born in 1766, married Mary Webster, a direct descendant of Gov. Webster. (VII) Eliza Shepard, daughter of Phineas, born in 1800, married, in 1824. Julius Gilman.

JUDGE GEORGE S. GILMAN, whose death occurred in his home in Hartford Oct. 14. 1886. was one of the city's substantial men and promi- ment citizens.

Born Dec. 20, 1825, in Hartford, son of Julius

and Eliza (Shepard) Gilman, Judge Gilman was a representative of a sturdy New England ancestry, aniong whom were men and women of prominence and usefulness in the various walks of life. On his father's side he was a descendant in the seventil generation from Richard Gilman, who was made a freeman in Hartford in 1672 ; and on his mother's side he was a descendant in the eighth generation from Edward Shepard, one of the early emigrants to Cambridge in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. He was also a descendant in direct line from Gov. Webster. The ancestral line of our subject, to- gether with a sketch of the late Julius Gilman, his father, is set forth in the sketch of Gen. Julius S. Gilman, a brother to the Judge.

Judge Gilman was graduated from Trinity Col- lege, Hartford, in 1847, with very high honors, be- ing the salutatorian of his class, and a close com- petitor for the valedictory with the afterward Bishop Benjamin Paddock. Young Gilman studied law with the late Hon. Lucius F. Robinson, and was an office companion of his, also subsequently for many years of the late Hon. Henry C. Robinson. He became one of the earliest judges of the police court, an incumbency he held during 1860. For several years he was prosecuting attorney for the city of Hartford. He also served for a time in both the common council and on the board of aldermen, and was at one time clerk of the board of educa- tion. Judge Gilman retired from the Bar to take charge of an important field in the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance soliciting business, in which company he became a director and retained his in- terest in and devotion to up to the time of his last sickness. While in college young Gilman was a member of the Beta Beta Society, and served as its president, which society was subsequently ad- mitted into the Psi U'psilon fraternity. In 1850 the faculty of Trinity College conferred upon him the degree of A. M. At the time of his death he was a member of the Webster Historical Society of Boston.

Judge Gilman was a man of strong and sterling qualities. A better son, husband, father, brother and friend than he was it would be hard to find. He was possessed of the firmest convictions at the same time of the kindliest considerations. He con- ceded to others the same right of opinion that he asked for himself. Always an active member of the old Whig party, he regularly refused to be a can- didate for office. although frequently urged to do so, and aside from some such service as alderman, or police court judge, he was not at any time selected for political office, excepting in connection with his profession. Benevolent at all times, many persons in poverty and distress were relieved by his timely assistance. He was a devout member of the South Church, and an enthusiastic admirer of its dis- tinguished pastor, and of all its service. His home life was most delightful; he was very social, was fond of out-door life, was a skillful driver, and an excellent angler, while his home blossomed with

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beautiful wild flowers gathered in the drives which, accompanied by his family, he regularly took. He was alweys a strong Hartford man, devoted to the material, educational , benevolent, social and re- ligious interests of the city. His local attachments were strong, and to the last he loved to linger at the old homestead on Charter Oak Hill, where his good father and mother lived to a ripe old age and passed away, not a great while before his own de- mise.

On Oct. 12, 1865, Judge Gilman was married, in Hartford, to Ellen M., daughter of the late Isaac and Eliza Hills. He left surviving him: George H., born Oct. 13, 1866, and Julia E., born Nov. 22, 1873.

George Hills Gilman, the son, was born, reared and received his primary education in Hartford, graduating from the Hartford high school. He then entered Yale College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1890. After this event he began the study of law with the firm of Hyde & Joslyn, of Hartford, was admitted to the Bar in July, 1893, and became associated in the practice of law with his preceptors under the firm name of Ilyde, Joslyn & Gilman, which firm was afterward changed to Hungerford, Hyde, Joslyn & Gilman, and is one of the strong law firms of Hartford. On April 20, 1898. George Hills Gilman was married to Miss Mabel E., daughter of E. S. Goodrich, of Hart- ford.

GOODWIN. The record of the Hartford fam- ily of Goodwins for more than 250 years is an lion- orable one, a record of which any family might be proud. James Junius and Rev. Francis Goodwin, brothers, sons of the late Major James Goodwin, of Hartford, prominent citizens of that city, are lineal descendants of Ozias Goodwin, who either accompanied or came soon after the emigrants who sailed from England in the "Lion," which arrived at Boston, Mass., Sept. 12, 1832. The children of Major James Goodwin are in the seventh genera- tion from Ozias Goodwin, the emigrant, the line of their descent being through Nathaniel, Ozias (2). Jonathan, James, and Major James.

(I) Ozias Goodwin, the head of the Connecticut family of that name, married Mary, daughter of Robert Woodward, of Braintree, England. In 1639 he had become a resident of Hartford, Conn. He died before April, 1683, leaving the following children : William, Nathaniel and Hannah.

(II) Nathaniel Goodwin, son of Ozias, born about 1637, was admitted a freeman by the Gen- eral Court of Connecticut in October, 1662, and was one of the "townsmen" of Hartford in 1669-78- 82. He married Sarah Coles, daugliter of John and Hannah Coles, of Hatfield, Mass., formerly of Farmington, Conn. Sarah (Coles) Goodwin dlied May 8, 1676, and Nathaniel Goodwin married ( second) Elizabeth Pratt, daughter of Daniel Pratt, of Hartford. His children by the first marriage were Nathaniel, Sarah and John; and those by the

second were Samuel, Hannah, Ozias and Eliza- beth.

(III) Ozias Goodwin (2), son of Nathaniel, was born June 26, 1689, in Hartford ; married June 6, 1723, Martha Williamson, born Feb. 13, 1700, daughter of Capt. Caleb and Mary (Cobb) Will- samson, of Barnstable, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., and a descendant of Timothy Williamson, a resident of Marshfield, Mass., in 1649. Ozias Goodwin inherited from his father the homestead on Village street, which remained in his possession until 1764. He was honored by his townsmen with various public offices, viz. : Hayward, in 1714-17-34-35-39; fence-viewer, 1720 and 1724; grand juror, 1727- 31-42-50; and selectman, 1738 and 1746. He was elected deacon of the First Church Jan. 1, 1756, holding that office until his death, on Jan. 26, 1776. His widow, Martha ( Williamson ) Goodwin, died Feb. 8, 1777. Their children were: Ozias, Timo- thy, Ozias (2), Nathaniel and Jonathan.

(IV) Jonathan Goodwin, son of Ozias (2), was born in Hartford, where he was baptized March 17, 1733-34. He married Nov. 26, 1761, Eunice Olcott, born Oct. 3, 1736, daughter of Joseph and Eunice (Collier) Olcott, of Hartford, and a de- scendant of Thomas Olcott, one of the original set- tlers of the town. He was corporal of the Hart- ford train-band, which for a time performed escort duty to the governor. He owned a tract of land on the north side of Albany road, about one and one-quarter miles from the center of the city, which is still in the possession of his descendants. He was a man of large frame, of good height, and commanding presence. He died Sept. 2, 1811. His wife, Eunice (Olcott) Goodwin, died March 23, 1807. Their children were: Eunice, Jerusha and James.

(\') James Goodwin, son of Jonathan, was born Dec. 27, 1777, in Hartford. He married, in Win- tonbury ( now Bloomfield ), Conn., March 3, 1799, Eunice Roberts, born in Wintonbury Aug. 22, 1774, daughter of Capt. Lemuel and Ruth ( Woodford) Roberts, and a descendant of John Roberts, who in 1688 became a resident of Sinisbury, Conn. James Goodwin inherited from his father the property on the Albany road, and spent his whole life after 1783 (when his father moved to it) on the home- stead. He was first lieutenant of the Ist Com- pany, Governor's Foot Guard, in 1807, and be- came captain thereof in 1809. He was the tallest of the family, standing over six feet, and weigh- ing over 200 pounds. He died Sept. 13, 1844. His wife, Eunice ( Roberts) Goodwin, died Aug. 13, 1825. Their children were: Jonathan, James and Mary J.

(VI) MAJOR JAMES GOODWIN, whose death occurred suddenly, while in a street car in Hartford, on March 15, 1878, was born March 2, 1803, on Albany avenue (the old "Albany turnpike"), at the house of his father, James Goodwin, which was known for many years as "Goodwin's Tavern," and which was a stopping-place for the Western

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stages. His first move after leaving home was to take a place in "Morgan's Tavern," on State street, Hartford. Joseph Morgan, who kept the hotel, was the father of Junius S. Morgan, the famous London banker. "Morgan's Tavern" was the stopping-place of the New York and Boston stages, and a great resort of business men. At this place young Mr. Goodwin became familiar with the stage business. He soon was made the agent, and eventually became the proprietor, of the great stage line. He was a remarkable organizer, and it is mentioned as an instance of his ability in this respect that the carrying of President Jackson's first message through to Boston from New York -long talked of as a very remarkable performance in rapid transit-was all arranged by him and done by his expresses .. He often himself, when espe- cially important matters were to be pushed through, drove these expresses, and he told a friend within a few days of his death that he had frequently driven from Hartford to Harlem river in one day, upon an open sulky with no back to it. Until some little time prior to his death his health had been excellent. He had mail contracts on his lines, of course, and many others. Chester W. Chapin, of Springfield, was similarly engaged, but both saw early the coming power of railroads, and aban- doned stages between 1835 and 1840. From that time on Mr. Goodwin devoted himself more, per- laps, to insurance than to any other form of busi- ness. He was a busy man. He was president of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., and a director in the Hartford Fire Insurance Co., Farm- ers and Mechanics National Bank, Connecticut Trust Co., Hartford Carpet Co., Gatling Gun Co. (of which he was vice-president), Collins Co., Connecticut River Co., Hartford & Wethersfield Horse Railroad Co., and Holyoke Water Power Co., and was a large holder of stocks in various other successful corporations in whose direction lie did not take part. He was also vice-president of the Hartford Hospital, and assisted almost all the local charitable organizations. Mr. Goodwin perhaps gave more of his time to the Connecticut Mutual than to any other company. He joined it early, became its president, retired to give place to the late Dr. Guy R. Phelps, and upon the demise of the latter was induced to resume the office, which he held until his death. The companies named indicate the character of a large part of his invest- 111ents. He was a large owner of real estate, but was never inclined to western speculations, and was the largest tax-payer in Hartford.

Mr. Goodwin was blessed by nature with an even temper, a sound, well-balanced mind, a strong sense of justice, and an excellent judgment. A friend and business associate who had known him for forty years said at the time of his death : "I never saw him cross; I never heard him speak a harsh word." Had he but used "thee" and "thou" in his conversation he would have quite perfectly resem- bled some of the sagacious old Friends who have

been such successful business men in Philadelphia. He avoided all controversy. If a business proposi- tion was made to him (and countless propositions were made, of course) that did not entirely suit, he would not debate and controvert, he would avoid and desert it. He was a regular attendant at Christ Church, always one of its strong supporters, and for a long time one of its vestrymen. T'he familiar title of "Major" he bore from the time he was for several years the commandant of the Governor's Horse Guard.

On July 30, 1832, Major Goodwin was married to Lucy Morgan, born at the Morgan homestead, in West Springfield, Mass., Feb. 4, 1811, daughter of Joseph and Sally ( Spencer ) Morgan. She died Sept. 19, 1890, atter a life of great usefulness. She was a lifelong communicant of Christ Church, and prominent in all its charitable work and agen- cies. "She was in her community a conspicuous center of its highest influences. Her life stands as an ideal life of Christian gentlewomen." The children of this marriage were:

(1) Sarah Morgan Goodwin, born in 1833, died in 1834.

(2) JAMES JUNIUS GOODWIN was born Sept. 16, 1835, and received his elementary education in private schools and at the high school of Hartford. He began his business training in 1851, in Hart- ford, remaining there employed until 1857, when he went abroad, and passed one and one-half years in study and travel. From 1859 to 1861 he was with William A. Sale & Co., East India and China shipping merchants of New York. In September, 1861, he became a partner of his cousin, J. Pier- pont Morgan, who in the spring of that year had established himself in the foreign banking business as New York agent of his father, Junius S. Mor- gan, London firm George Peabody & Co. This partnership continued in the succeeding firm, Dab- ney, Morgan & Co., until the latter was dissolved, and the business merged into that of Drexel, Mor- gan & Co., July 1, 1871. Since that time Mr. Goodwin has remained out of active business for himself. Since the death of his father, in 1878, he has, with his brother, had charge of his father's estate. He occupies many positions of trust and responsibility, being a director of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. and other companies that center in Hartford. He has not severed his connection with interests in New York or his resi- dence there. He has been a director of the New York, Lake Erie & Western railroad since its re- organization in 1878. He was a vestryman in Cal- vary Church, New York City, in 1870-72-77-89, and has been warden since 1889.

On June 19, 1873. Mr. Goodwin was married, in Philadelphia, to Josephine Sarah Lippincott, born in Philadelphia Dec. 31, 1850, the only daugh- ter of Joshua Ballanger and Josephine (Craige) Lippincott, and a descendant of Richard Lippin .. cott, a resident of Massachusetts in 1640, and in 1665 one of the patentees of the first English set-

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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 138

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