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 16

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 16

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For over twenty years Hon. J. Stanley Forbes has been and still is a member of the grand jury; for several years he has been a member of the board of relief, and has also held the office of selectman. In 1898 he was elected representative to the State Legislature from the East Hartford district, and in this august body is chairman of the committee on Federal Relations. In religious faith ne is a Meth- odist and for fifteen years has been a trustee of the M. E. Church at Burnside, in which for thirteen years he has served as superintendent of the Sab- bath school. He was a charter member of the East Hartford Grange, and he and his wife are still mem- bers of that organization. Mr. Forbes is also a member of the O. U. A. M. Staff, Lafayette Coun- cil, of East Hartford.

Besides being one of the most extensive as well as one of the most successful farmers of the town of East Hartford, Mr. Forbes is thoroughly pro- gressive and up-to-date as a citizen. He is very fond of out-door recreation, and has indulged to a great extent in hunting, not only of the small game that Connecticut now affords, but of the larger ani- mals yet to be found in the Adirondack Mountains, and he is also an enthusiastic angler. He is a whole-souled, good-natured man, and none can boast of a larger circle of warm-hearted friends than he, while as a useful member of society no one takes a higher rank. His domestic relations are of the happiest, and his estimable wife shares with him a wide-extended popularitv.

HON. ROBERT CLEVELAND USHER, one of the progressive citizens of Plainville, is a native of Connecticut, born April 19, 1841, in Plymouth, Litchfield county.

Dr. Robert Usher, his grandfather, born in New London, Conn., practiced medicine in Westchester and vicinity. He was twice wedded, and by his first wife had five children ; by his second marriage, to Annie Cone, he had eleven children, Josiah C., father of Robert C., being the youngest. Dr. Robert Usher was a surgeon in the Revolutionary army, and his widow received a pension from the govern- ment. He was a son of Hezekiah Usher, a sea cap- tain, who lived in New London, Connecticut.

Josiah Cleveland Usher, father of Robert C., born in August, 1802, in Chatham, Conn., in early life operated a tannery in Plymouth, whither he re- moved in 1825, but impaired health obliged him to abandon that occupation and take up farming, in which he engaged some forty years. In 1845 he removed to Plainville, where he practically passed the rest of his days, dying, however, at New Brit- ain, in April, 1893. Originally an Abolitionist, he

afterward became a Republican. In religious faith he was a member of the Congregational Church, and he always took much interest in church work. In September, 1828, Josiah C. Usher married Ruth Frisbie, daughter of Abel Frisbie, of Bristol, Conn., and children as follows were born to them: James, deceased at the age of seven years ; Ruth Ann, wife of Francis H. Smith, of New Britain, formerly of Plainville, and Robert Cleveland, a sketch of whom immediately follows.

Robert C. Usher, the subject proper of these lines, was four years old when his parents removed to Plainville, and there at the district schools he re- ceived his education, at the age of seventeen years commencing a one-year term at Williston Semi- nary, Easthampton, Mass. Returning at the end of that time to Plainville, he spent two years on the home farm, and then enlisted in the Union army, an event in his life that will presently be more fully mentioned. On his return from the front he re- mained some four more years on the farm with his father, after which, in December, 1869, he entered the employ of E. N. Pierce, as clerk in his coal and lumber yards, continuing in that capacity until 1875, in which year he became a partner of Mr. Pierce, under the firm name of E. N. Pierce & Co., said partnership existing until 1893, when our subject sold his interest to Mr. Pierce. In August, 1891, Mr. Usher entered the Plainville Manufacturing Co. as assistant to the secretary and treasurer, and also acted as general superintendent for a number of years. He is also a director of that company. He was one of the incorporators of the Plainville Water Co., in 1885: was elected treasurer in 1891, which incumbency he still fills, and is a director of same. Mr. Usher was one of the incorporators of the Free Public Library at Plainville, and has been presi- dent of the same since its organization.

Politically Mr. Usher is a stanch Republican, and has served in various offices of responsibility. In the term of 1885 he represented the town of Plainville in the State Legislature, during which period he was a member of the committee on finance. From 1869, the year in which the town was formed, to 1893, when he declined further re-nomination on account of business pressure, he served as town clerk; for many years has been assessor of the town; and for the past six years has served as school visitor. So- cially he is affiliated with Newton L. Manross Post, G. A. R., of Forestville. In church relations he and his family are Congregationalists ; and he has been trustee of the church and chairman of the society's committee several years each.

On June 15, 1870, Robert C. Usher was married to Antoinette Cora Pierce, daughter of Edward N. Pierce, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere, and children as follows were born to them: Jesse Henri- etta married Dec. 26, 1895, Charles Rockwell Clark, of Plainville, and they have one son, Pierce Usher Clark; Maude Pierce is at home; James Edward, who graduated from the Plainville high school, and

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attended the Philadelphia Textile School one year, is associated with his father in the Plainville Manu- facturing Co .; Frank Pierce, a graduate of the Plain- ville high school, is also associated with his father in Plainville Manufacturing Co,; Robert Cleveland, Jr., graduated from the Plainville high school, and is now attending the University of Maine at Orono, Maine. Howard Josiah, the youngest son, is at- tending the New Britain high school.

On Aug. 27, 1862, Mr. Usher enlisted in Com- pany E, 20th Conn. V. I., as musician ; was soon afterward made orderly, and about a year after- ward was promoted to sergeant major. He partici- pated in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg, later serving in the West with Hooker, and with Sherman on his famous march to the sea. He fortunately escaped being wounded. Some three months before the close of the war he received a lieutenant's commission from Gov. Buckingham, and June 27, 1865, he was mustered out of the service.

HON. BENJAMIN F. CASE, manager of the Canton Creamery Association, and a prominent ag- riculturist of the town of Canton, is a representative of one of its most highly respected pioneer families. The first ancestor of whom we have any definite record was John Case, who came to this county at an early date, locating first in Windsor and later in Simsbury, and whose descendants, through his sons John and William, are now numerous in this section.

John Case (2) was born in Windsor Nov. 5, 1662, but his youth was spent chiefly in Simsbury. In early manhood he engaged in farming at Terrys Plains, where he died May 22, 1733. On Sept. 12, 1684, he married Mary Olcott, who was born in 1665, in Hartford, daughter of Thomas Olcott, of that city. In 1693 he married, for his second wife, Sarah Holcomb, daughter of Joshua Holcomb, and granddaughter of Thomas Holcomb, the pioneer. The only child of the first marriage, John, born Aug. 6, 1685, died in infancy. By the second mar- riage there were six children : John, born Aug. 22, 1694; Daniel, who is mentioned below; Mary, born 1698, who married Josiah Alford, and died about 1732; Jonathan, born April 15, 1701 ; Sarah, born in 1703, who married John Alderman; and Hannah, born in 1709, who married Capt. Noah Humphrey, and died Sept. 23, 1799.

Sergt. Daniel Case was born in Simsbury March 7, 1696, and made his home in Terrys Plains, where he engaged in farming. He was active in local affairs, and gained his title by service in the State militia. He died May 28, 1733. On May 7, 1719, he married Penelope Buttolph, who was born Oct. 1, 1699, and died June 27, 1746. They had six chil- dren: Daniel, who is mentioned below; Mindwell, born Oct. 24, 1721, who married Lieut. David Adams; Dudley, born Nov. 23, 1723; Lois, born Sept. 20, 1726, who married Joseph Mills: Zac- cheus, born in 1728; and Ezekiel, born Sept. 30, I731.

Daniel Case, son of Sergt. Daniel, was born Jan. 31, 1720, on the Case farm in Terrys Plains, Sims- bury, where he grew to manhood. In 1746 he re- moved to West Simsbury with his brothers and sis- ters, and engaged in farming at what is now Can- ton Center, where he built the first gristmill. Like his father, he was a sergeant in the State militia, and he was highly esteemed in his community. He died on his farm May 24, 1801, and is buried in the Dyer cemetery. He married Mary Watson, of New Hartford, who was born in 1724, and died in 1801, and they had nine children : Daniel, born April 19, 1752, married Elizabeth Humphrey, daughter of Capt. Ezekiel and Elizabeth ( Pettibone) Hum- phrey, and died Feb. 28, 1789; Moses, born March 27, 1754, married Eunice Case, and died in 1782; Mary, born Feb. 25, 1756, married John Garrett, and died in 1832; Abigail, born Jan. 8, 1758, mar- ried William Taylor, and died in 1830; Lois, born Sept. 15, 1760, never married ; Keturah, born Dec. II, 1762, married James Humphrey, son of Deacon Theophilus and Hepzibah (Cornish) Humphrey, and died in September, 1824; Penelope, born Dec. II, 1764, died June 17, 1851, unmarried; Amory Watson, born Oct. 23, 1767, married Betsey Harves, and died in 1852; and Elam is mentioned below.

Elam Case, the grandfather of our subject, was born May 10, 1772, in Canton Center, where he spent his entire life, engaged in general farming and stock raising. He was noted for his industry and good management, and was temperate in his habits and honorable in his business dealings. He was mar- ried, Nov. 21, 1805, to Phœbe (Case) Andrews, who was born in Canton July 14, 1776, and died Dec .. 14, 1845. She was a daughter of Deacon Hosea and Mary Case, and widow of Philemon Andrews. Of their four children: (1) Rodney, born July 26, 1807, married Calista Jay. (2) Randolph, born Aug. 21, 1809, died April 22, 1859. (3) Franklin is mentioned below. (4) Melinda, born Oct. 14, 1813, died Dec. 24, 1853; she married Orin F. Brown, and had one child, Orin, a resident of Hartford.

Franklin Case, the father of our subject, was born Jan. 17, 18II, and died Oct. 22, 1877, his re- mains being interred at Canton Center. After com- pleting a district-school course he engaged in farm- ing on the homestead. He was a man of high moral character, a member of the Congregational Church, and was devoted to his family. In politics he was a Democrat, but he was never an office seeker. He was married (first) June 3, 1837, to Ann Edgerton, who died Jan. 9, 1840, and on April 17, 1842, he married Lucia Case, who survives him. By his first marriage he had one son, Benjamin Franklin, born in July, 1839, who died in Novem- ber, same year.

Mrs. Lucia Case was born Sept. 16, 1821, daugh- ter of Philetus and Lucinda (Reed) Case, well- known residents of Canton, and her education was begun in the district schools of that town. She also attended the high schools in Canton Center and

Mary He Case

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Windsor, and gave especial attention to the study of French and music. She then taught school for a while in Simsbury, and her culture and refinement have found expression in her home life. She is a woman of good business ability, as is shown by her management of her brother's estate, of which she and our subject are executors.

Mrs. Case is a descendant of John Case, the pioneer, through his son William, who was a brother of John Case (2), from whom the father of our subject is descended. Amasa Case (I), son of James and Esther ( Fithen) Case, grandson of Will- iam and Elizabeth (Holcomb) Case, and great- grandson of the original John Case, was born Oct. 18, 1731, in Simsbury, Terrys Plains. He spent his entire life on the Case homestead, where he was en- gaged in general farming, and his remains now rest in the cemetery at Simsbury. He was married first, in 1752, to Miss Elizabeth Hoskins, who was born in 1732, daughter of Robert Hoskins. In 1766 he married a widow, Mrs. Viets, who died in 1785. His third wife, Abigail Philips Griswold, daughter of David Philips, died Oct. 4, 1794, and he after- ward married Mrs. Charity Cornish, daughter of John Pettibone; after her death, which occurred Oct. 5, 1803, he married a fifth wife, Mrs. Sarah Graham, a daughter of Benajah Humphrey, who had herself been previously married three times. By the first marriage Antasa Case ( 1) had the fol- lowing children : Amasa (2) ; Aaron, born June 16, 1755, died March 24, 1811 ; Elizabeth, born Aug. 15, 1756, died Dec. 2, 1822 ; Stephen, born Oct. 6, 1758; Mary, born Jan. 2, 1760 ; and Mehitabel, born March 8, 1762. By his second marriage he also had six children : Apollos, who was born Aug. 1, 1768, married Polly Frazier, and died June 15, 1827; Ruth, who was born Sept. 30, 1770; Julius, who was born Feb. 20, 1773, and died May 17, 1773; Enoch, who was born May 10, 1774, and died July 27, 1799; Salome, who was born Dec. 1, 1777 ; and Chloe.

Amasa Case (2) was born Oct. 29, 1753, on the homestead at Terrys Plains, Simsbury, and died June 23, 1843. When a young man he removed to what is now Hoskins Station, in the Westover Plains District, and engaged in farming, which oc- cupation he continued throughout his life. For many years he served as deacon in the church. His wife, Mercy Hillyer, was born in 1763, and died Sept. 3, 1809. They had ten children : Amasa (3), born Feb. 17, 1780, died June 8, 1851 ; Philetus is mentioned below ; Stephen was born Jan. 17, 1784; Mercy, born July 13, 1785, married Peter Mason ; Charlotte, born Sept. 28, 1787, married Dr. Timothy Phelps; Nathaniel married Ann Maria Case; Sa- loma married Adolphus Chaffee; Buckland, born in 1800, married Sally Holcomb, and died May 8, 1845 ; Julius ; and Chauncey.

Philetus Case, the father of Mrs. Franklin Case, and grandfather of our subject, was born Feb. 2, 1782, at Westover Plains, Simsbury, and died Dec. 20, 1827. When a young man he removed to Can- 54

ton, now West Simsbury, where he bought a farm and spent the rest of his days, engaged in stock raising and general farming. Politically he was a Democrat, but he never sought office. On Aug. 12, 1804, he married Lucinda Reed, who was born June 12, 1783, and died Sept. 25, 1862. She was a woman of marked ability, as was shown by her suc- cessful management of the estate after the death of her husband, and under her wise and loving care a large family of children were reared to lives of usefulness. Of the children, (1) Jarvis Philetus, born June 9, 1805, was engaged in the clock busi- ness. (2) Sophia Lucinda, born Aug. 29, 1807, was married Aug. 18, 1844, to Jeptha Rose, now de- ceased. She died June 2, 1900. (3) Lavinia Mercy, born Feb. 14, 1810, was married June 1, 1837, to Oliver Beach, now deceased, and now resides at Granville, Mass. She has three children, George Oliver, Sabra L. (Mrs. Harvy Godard) and Sophia (Mrs. Miles J. Rose). (4) Morgan, born March 17, 1812, was a farmer in Avon, Conn., and died March 23, 1875, unmarried. (5) Sabra Parmilla, born June 14, 1814, died Aug. 8, 1824. (6) Sey- mour Nathaniel, who was a prominent lawyer of Hartford, was born Oct. 10, 1816, and died Nov. 26, 1872. (7) Luna, born Dec. 10, 1818, was married Aug. 18, 1836, to Willis Edgerton, and after his death to William Beach, of Bristol, Conn. (8) Lu- cia, born Sept. 16, 1821, was the mother of our sub- ject. (9) Maria, born May 22, 1823, married Clem- ent Holcomb, of Granville, Massachusetts.

The father and mother of our subject had five children : (1) Lucia Ann, born April 27, 1843, was educated in Collinsville high school, and became a teacher. On May 14, 1862, she married Anson M. Case, now deceased, and they had one child, Win- throp Tracy, born March 2, 1870, who was edu- cated in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, and is now connected with the city survey- or's office, Boston. He married Cynthia Southey in 1899. (2) Flora Abigail, born March 21, 1845, was educated in district schools, Collinsville high school and a young ladies' seminary at Hartford, and taught school at the age of sixteen. On Oct. 24, 1864, she married James O. Rose, of Granville, Mass., and had one child, Arabella Barlow, born April 13, 1867, who was educated in the public schools, a young ladies' seminary at Hartford, and the Boston Conservatory of Music, and is now a principal of the Peabody Kindergarten. (3) Ma- ron, born July 10, 1850, and educated in the Col- linsville high school, is the widow of Mason N. Case, who died Nov. 12, 1886, and now resides at Hartford. She has had one child, Almira Wilcox, born May 20, 1875, who attended McLean Seminary, Simsbury, and Smith College. She was married July 18, 1899, to William R. Lamb, of Philadelphia, Penn. (4) Harriet Maria, born Jan. 21, 1857, mar- ried Daniel T. Dyer, cf Canton. (5) Benjamin F., our subject, was born March 26, 1861.

Our subject attended the district school at Can- ton, also Granville (Mass.) Academy, in 1876, and

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

later Williston Seminary, at Easthampton, Mass .. where he took the scientific course and graduated in 1880. He afterward entered the law ofce of H. S. and S. Barber, Hartford, where he spent two years, but later gave up his studies and returned to the home farm, where he has since been engaged in looking after his large estate, his farm alone com- prising over 200 acres. He, his mother, and Mor- gan Case were appointed executors of the estate of his uncle, Seymour N. Case, in which office he has served very successfully. Since 1892 he has also been secretary and treasurer of the Canton Cream- ery Association. For the year 1892-93 he was elected to the State Legislature, where he served on the committee on Agriculture, and from 1890 to 1893 he was selectman of Canton.

In 1888 Mr. Case married Mary A. Higley, of Canton, who was born Feb. 13, 1865, daughter of Howard and Mary Etta (Case) Higley. Mr. and Mrs. Case have two children : Rubenia Case and Benjamin F. Our subject has one of the finest houses in Canton. He is progressive, and looked upon as the foremost man in his district. In poli- tics he is a Republican, and a stanch supporter of his party, while fraternally he is connected with several orders, being a thirty-second-degree Mason.

The Higley family, from whom Mrs. Case, the wife of our subject, is descended, is one of the oldest and best families of Hartford county. How- ard Higley, her father, was born in Canton in 1837, son of Pomeroy and Eunice D. (Humphrey ) Hig- ley, and grandson of Obed and Rebecca ( Mills ) Higley. [Further mention is made of the Higley family elsewhere. ] Howard Higley grew up on the farm and was educated in the district schools, and later in life was engaged in farming and stock deal- ing, raising much of the stock upon his farm. He is now living retired, making his home with his son Loyal, who carries on the farm. He has always been a highly respected member of his community, a man temperate in his habits, and a regular at- tendant of the Baptist Church. Politically he is a Democrat, but no office seeker. Mr. Higley mar- ried in Canton Miss. Mary Etta Case, who was born Feb. 22, 1838, daughter of Marvin and Maria (Wil- cox) Case, and they had three children : Mary A., born Feb. 13, 1865, the wife of our subject ; Loyal, born March 15, 1868, who married Caroline Rox- roth, daughter of Jacob Roxroth; and Nellie M., born in 1871, who married Charles Buckland, and died in 1895. Mrs. Higley was a good Christian woman, and an attendant of the Baptist Church ; she died April 7, 1898.

Marvin Case, the father of Mrs. Higley, and grandfather of our subject's wife, was born March 3, 1810, and died Sept. 27, 1857. He was a great- grandson of Noah Case ( I), grandson of Noah Case (2), and son of Noah Case (3) by his wife Alice (Case) Case, who was a daughter of Deacon Rich- ard and Jemima ( Morse) Case, and granddaughter of Lieut. Richard and Ruth (Case) Case. Marvin Case was a farmer all his life, and a man well known

in his community. He married Maria Wilcox (born Oct. 18, 1812, died Sept. 27, 1857), daughter of Col. William and Ann ( Edgerton) Wilcox, and grand- daughter of Lieut. William and Lucy Wilcox. They had the following children: Mary Etta, born Feb. 22, 1838, married Howard Higley, and died April 7, 1898; Marshall W., born April 2, 1842, married Ellen Dudley, and died March 31, 1872; Mason N., born July 14, 1846, died Nov. 12, 1886, married Ma- rion Case, a sister of our subject.

JAMES SHEPARD, of New Britain, is a So- licitor of Patents and Expert in Patent Causes. He was born at Southington, Conn., May 16, 1838, where he resided mainly until 1861. The common schools and Lewis Academy gave him the begin- ning of an education, putting him in a way to learn, and he has been studying and learning al- most constantly ever since he carried his books away from the academy. Quite early in life he engaged in sundry vocations, but finally settled down as a toolmaker and machinist until 1866. He has always been fond of travel, and before he was twenty years of age he had been within the limits of every town in the State of Connecticut. On Sept. 25, 1859, he married Celia Adelaide, daughter of William Gaylord Curtis and his wife, Lucy (Preston), of Bristol, Conn. Their only child is Celia Antoinette Shepard, now of New Britain, Conn. In 1861 he removed to New Britain and in 1862 he removed from New Britain to Bristol. He began the business of a solicitor of patents in 1866, which occupation he has never changed, excepting that since 1873 he has frequently testified as an expert in mechanics before the United States Cir- cuit Courts in causes based upon Letters Patent. He has now had a successful experience of over thirty- four years, one-third of a century, in soliciting patents, and ranks among the best and most skill- ful solicitors in the country. He does not know of any person in New England now engaged in the patent business, either as solicitor or expert, who has been in the business as long as he has. As an expert in mechanics he has a good reputation, be- ing widely known among manufacturers and patent lawyers generally, having testified in hundreds of causes on a great variety of subjects, and his testi- mony has been used in various circuits of the United States Courts in all parts of the country, from Cali- fornia and Oregon on the west to Pennsylvania and Maine on the east, and from Wisconsin on the north to Louisiana on the south.

Although Mr. Shepard first opened his office in New Britain in 1868, he did not remove from Bristol to New Britain until 1876. When in Bris- tol he was one of the leaders of the Republican party, serving on the town committee and being its chairman at the time he removed to New Britain. His removal was made the occasion to retire from active politics and all such outside matters as would be liable to interfere with his regular business. Mr. Shepard believes, however, in taking time

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for recreation and has never been without a hobby for diverting his mind from the cares of business life. With his family he frequents the fields and woods "hunting without a gun" and "fishing with- out a hook," for they are all great admirers of na- ture with no desire to either kill or catch. He has long been identified with the New Britain Scientific Association, and is an occasional writer on scien- tific subjects, having paid special attention to bot- any, mineralogy, archaeology and conchology. Val- uable contributions have been made by him to the Peabody Museum of Yale College and to the Na- tional Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. He was one of the first collectors, not connected with that institution, to present it with specimens of the silicified shells of Tampa Bay, Fla., and some of the species collected there by Mr. Shepard were never before known to science. He has received special acknowledgment, therefor, by having his name bestowed upon one of the new species dis- covered by him. Among other hobbies he has been an amateur photographer since 1884, and some times contributes articles for photographic publica- tions. He has traveled in Canada, Mexico, Florida and other Southern States, and prior to 1891 he had carried his camera over twenty thousand miles. He is a member of the New Britain Camera Club, the Connecticut Society of Sons of the American Revolution, also of the Connecticut Historical So- ciety, and is well-known as a genealogist and his- torian.

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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 16

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