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 166

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 166

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The political affiliations of Judge Eggleston have been with the Republican party, and in its councils he has been active and influential. He has served as president of the common council, hav- ing been elected a member from the First ward. He served for a period of ten years as attorney for the board of county commissioners, and filled the office of county treasurer a like number of years. In 1877 he was appointed judge of the Hartford police court, and continued on the Bench until 1883, when he declined re-election. In 1888 he succeeded Hon. William Hammersley to the office of State's Attorney for Hartford county, a position he has since filled with signal ability and efficiency. From 1892 to 1895 he was a police commissioner of the city of Hartford. Judge Eggleston's stand- ing before the Bar and the public is that of an able and conscientious lawyer, and his career has been one of great usefulness and honorable distinc- tion. He is a Freemason, and a member of the Army and Navy Club.

On March 1, 1870, Judge Eggleston was mar- ried to Mary Isabel Abbe. only daughter of J. Preston Abbe, of Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

ROOT. The late George Wells Root, of Hart- ford. was descended from one of the earliest set- tlers of that city, and of New England, from a family some of whose members were especially dis- tinguished and prominent in the military and civic history of the Nation and State. He was of the eighth generation from Thomas Root, the Ameri- can ancestor, the line of his descent being through Thomas (2). Deacon Thomas, Ebenezer, Hon. Jesse, Dr. James Banks and Erastus S.

(I) Thomas Root, born Jan. 16, 1605, believed to be the son of John Root and Ann ( Russell). of Badby, England, came to this country about 1637, and was among the first settlers in Hartford. Conn., where he lived many years, and where his children were born. After a residence of about fifteen years in Hartford he removed with his six sons and one daughter and settled in Northampton, Mass., in 1654. He was one of the eight pillars

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of the parish church organized there in June, 1661. He was a farmer and a weaver of cloth. His chil- dren, all born in Hartford, were: Joseph, Thomas, John, Jonathan, Hezekiah, Jacob and Sarah.

(II) Thomas Root (2), son of Thomas, born in 1644, married in 1666 Abigail, daughter of Alex- ander and Mary ( Voar) Alvord. He lived in Northampton until after the death of his wife, in 1699. when he seems to have moved to Boston, thence to Lynn, Mass., where in 1701 he married Widow Mary Cox. His children by Abigail were: Thomas, Abigail, Samuel, Hezekiah, and one whose name is not given.

(III) Deacon Thomas Root, son of Thomas (2), born in 1667 in Northampton, Mass., married i:1 1691 Thankful, daughter of Jeddiah and Free- dom (Woodward) Strong, of Northampton. In 1709 Deacon Root went to Coventry, Conn., where he became the first town clerk, and the first deacon in the Coventry Church. He died in 1758, Mrs. "Root in 1754. Their children were: Thomas, Eben- ezer, Eliakim, Abigail, Thankful, Mindwell, Ex- perience, Samuel, Miriam, Ephraim and Mehitabel.

(IV) Ebenezer Root, son of Deacon Thomas, born in 1693, married in 1718 Sarah, daughter of Jo- seph Strong, of Coventry. He moved from North- ampton, Mass., in 1709, with his father, held various civil offices in the town, and was much respected. He died in 1760, his wife in 1784. Their children were : Sarah, Submit, Silence, Ephraim, Hannah, Sybil, Ebenezer and Jesse.

(V) Hon. Jesse Root, son of Ebenezer Root, born in 1737 in Coventry, Conn., married in 1758 Mary Banks, of Newark, N. J. He died in 1822, his wife in 1813. In 1756, at the age of about twenty, he graduated from Nassau Hall (Prince- ton College), receiving the first honors of the Col- lege. He studied theology with Rev. Samuel Lock- wood, D. D., of Andover, and was licensed by the Hartford South Association. Circumstances bring- ing about a change in his life work, he was admitted to the Bar at Windham in 1763, and soon settled in Hartford, Conn. In his newly chosen profession he was destined to excel, and to obtain a position beyond that reached by many of the brightest intellects of his day. With the exception of the time spent in Congress, etc., he was an advocate at the Bar for twenty-six years, and was esteemed very highly as a successful lawyer and an hon- orable citizen. Part of the time he resided in Hart- ford, and part of the time in Coventry, while prac- ticing as an attorney. He early took a lively in- terest in the concerns of his country in general, and especially the trouble between the then Col- onies and the mother country. As an unflinching patriot he defended the Colonies with both tongue and pen. He was an active and influential member of the Council of Safety, which originated and completed the project of capturing Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Gen. Washington was at Hart- ford in consultation with the Council of Safety when the rumor of Arnold's treachery first reached him.

It was in this same council that the plan was ma- tured for the siege of Yorktown.

Mr. Root received from Gen. Trumbull a cap- tain's commission in 1776, and in three days was on his march to join the army with a full com- pany of volunteers, which he raised in Hartford. He was soon made a lieutenant-colonel by the As- scmbly, and shortly afterward appointed colonel ; was then advanced to the rank of adjutant-general of the department to which he was attached, from which post he was honorably discharged by Maj .- Gen. Putnam. In May, 1779, he was chosen a delegate in Congress, and continued there till the close of the war, in 1783. On the visit of Wash- ington to New England, after his election to the Presidency, Judge Root was appointed to deliver the Address of Welcome at Hartford. In 1787 Col. Root was appointed assistant judge of the Superior court of Connecticut, and was appointed chief jus- tice in 1798, although he presided as such a year or two previous, during the illness of Judge Adams, his predecessor ; he retired from the office in 1807. For a period of thirty-two years he had been al- miost incessantly in public service. After this he was a member of the Legislature for a period, and in 1808 he was chosen one of the electors of Presi- dent and Vice-president. He was also a member of the Connecticut State Convention that framed the new constitution in 1818, and though he was then eighty-one years old his mental faculties were still unimpaired. He was a member of the Amer- ican Academy and one of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, and while chief justice re- ceived the degree of LL. D. from his Alma Mater, Princeton College. His portrait now hangs in the Supreme court room at the Capitol. Jesse Root Grant, father of Gen. Grant was named for him. Judge Root's children were: Mary, Ebenezer, Ephraim, Sophia, Jesse, David, James B., Sarah and Gabriel.

(VI) Dr. James Banks Root, son of Hon. Jesse Root, born May 20, 1770, married June 8, 1797. Martha Sergeant, of Stockbridge, Mass. He moved to Athens, N. Y., where he died Feb. 28, 1813; his wife passed away March 15, 1821, at Stock- bridge, Mass. Their children were: Erastus S., George Washington, George William, James O., Martha M. and Elizabeth S.

(VII) Erastus S. Root, son of Dr. James Banks Root, born Oct. 20. 1798, in Burlington, Vt .. married in 1822 Dorcas Wells, of Winchester, Conn., and moved to Mt. Morris, N. Y., where he was respected as a worthy citizen. He and his wife were members of the Episcopal Church. Their children were: Theodore G., George Wells, Henry T., and Charles.

(VIII) GEORGE WELLS ROOT, son of Erastus S. Root, was for over fifty years closely identified with the mercantile business life of Hartford. * He was born April 26, 1826, in Augusta, N. Y., and when eight years of age removed with his parents to Mt. Morris, N. Y., where he was educated in

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the public schools, and served as clerk in a coun- try store for three years. His ancestor, Thomas koot, was one of the first settlers of Augusta. In 1843 George W. Root, then seventeen years of age, came to Ilartford and entered the employ of A. & C. Day, which firm was composed of the late Deacon Albert Day and the late Calvin Day. The fri was established in 1826, and did a large job- bing dry-goods business. Eight years later, in 1851. Mr. Root became a member of the firm, and ten years later Calvin Day retired, the firm becom- ing Day. Owen & Co. Subsequent changes of partnership changed the firm name to Owen, Day & Root. Owen, Root & Childs, Root & Childs, and Root, Childs & Co., under which name the firm now does business. The partners at the time of Mr. Root's death were G. Wells Root, of Hartford, and Harris C. Childs. Edward G. Gilman, and Harry C. Pomeroy, of New York. The office and sales- room are in New York, where the firm conducts a large dry-goods commission business. The office was removed from Hartford some few years ago, and from that time until his death Mr. Root re- mained the financial head of the firm, retaining his office in Hartford.

Mr. Root was an earnest Republican in politics, and was a member of the "Wide Awakes" during the stirring political times which immediately pre- codled the Civil war. He served nine years as a member of the board of police commissioners, and one term in the common council, but declined fur- ther political preferment. Mr. Root was closely identified with several manufacturing concerns. He was president of the Sigourney Tool Co., also of the Taft Co., and was a director of the Hartford National Bank, the Phoenix Insurance Co., and the Smyth Manufacturing Co .: he also held member- ship in the Hartford Club, the Board of Trade, the Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revolu- tion (the last being gained through his descent from Jesse Root), and was an honorary member of the Foot Guard Veteran Corps. He was one of the original members of the Park Church, join- ing that organization when it was formed from the North Church, Rev. Dr. Horace Bushnell's. Mr. Root was a man of positive convictions, and was frank and candid in expressing them. He was very public-spirited : generous and firm in his friend- ships : was deeply interested in everything which pertained to the interests of Hartford and its de- velopment : and his advice and counsel were always sought and confided in by his personal friends and associates. In a long period of business activity in Hartford he had earned the esteem of the busi- ness community, and was highly regarded as a man of sound judgment, financial integrity and com- mercial foresight. On April 26. 1894, when Mr. Root attained his sixty-eighth birthday, his part- ners' and several business associates and friends were entertained by him at dinner at the Hartford Club, and they presented him with a solid silver loving cup as a mark of their regard and esteem.

On Jan. 8, 1850. Mr. Root married Miss Paulina S. Brooks, daughter of the late David S. Brooks, of Hartford. She died Feb. 26, 1893, Mr. Root on March 21, 1897. Their children were: Charles H., who died Dec. 22, 1867; George B., who died April 16, 1868; James T., who died in October, 1899: Edward H., who died in April, 1900; Robert W., of New Haven (married) ; Mary E., wife of W. W. Wilcox, of Middletown; and Erastus S., of Hartford.

ERASTUS S. ROOT, ex-treasurer of the Sigour- ney Tool Co., and also of the Taft Co., of Hart- ford, was married, in Pittsfield, Mass., to Lillian Dermont, and one son, George Wells, has blessed their union.

ALFRED J. WEED, M. D .. of Granby, is one of the ablest physicians and surgeons now engaged in practice in Hartford county, and has won a position of prominence among his professional brethren. He is one of Connecticut's honored sons, born in the town of Winsted, Litchfield county, and belongs to an old and prominent New England family which was founded in this country by three brothers, natives of England, who crossed the At- lantic in 1630, and first located in Dorchester coun- ty, Mass., but later removed to Connecticut.

Charles B. Weed. the Doctor's father, was born in Sharon, Conn., in 1815, and through his own efforts secured a good practical education. In his native town he learned the carpenter's trade, and going to Winsted. Litchfield county, at the age of seventeen years, he successfully followed carpenter- ing there until 1850. During that year he went to Washington, D. C., and bought the patent right for making concrete floors and sidewalks, and as a contractor he successfully engaged in that busi- ness until his death, and greatly improved the method of doing the work. He laid the floors of the Wethersfield Prison and Reform School, and of many of the public and private buildings in New Britain. While in Kentucky he visited the famous Mammoth Cave, and there fell, breaking several of his ribs. Before he had fully recovered from his injuries he contracted pneumonia, and died from the effects of same in 1868, at his home in Winsted, his remains being interred there. He was a Master Mason, and as one of the prominent and influential citizens of his community he was called upon to serve as selectman and member of the school board. Politically he was a stanch Democrat, and a sup- porter of the principles advocated by Jefferson and Jackson, the two great leaders of that party. He was liberal in his religious views, and always con- tributed toward the support of the Congregational Church, of which his wife was a lifelong member. He was a man of progressive ideas and good business ability, and was upright and honorable in all his dealings. In addition to the business al- ready mentioned, he was interested with Dr. Steele in patenting and manufacturing stump joints for baby carriages, and also operated a sawmill. He

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was thoroughly a self-made man, his success in life being due entirely to his own well-directed ef- forts. Mr. Weed married Miss Mary Ann Hum- phrey, a daughter of Col. James Humphrey, the owner of the old "Sanford House," on the stage route between Albany and Hartford. Three chil- dren were born of this union: Charles H., who was head salesman for Joseph Langdon & Co., now the firm of Hill & Co., Hartford, and died in 1888; Mary Ann, widow of Arthur P. Young, who was a bookkeeper of Hartford: and Alfred J., our sub- ject. The mother, who was a true Christian woman and an active church worker, departed this life May II, 1898, and was laid to rest in Winsted, Litchfield county.

During his boyhod and youth Dr. Weed at- tended the public and high schools of Winsted, graduating from the latter in 1872. Later he was a student at Mt. Pleasant Institute, Amherst, Mass., then under the direction of Prof. Henry C. Nash, and he completed his literary education at Am- herst College, where he spent two years. His am- bition from childhood was to become a doctor, and at an early age he began reading books on anatomy and medical works. After teaching school for two terms in Winchester he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Alfred North, of Waterbury, Conn., who was a cousin of his mother, and one of the most celebrated and skillful physicians of New England. For two and a half years our sub- ject remained with that gentleman, and then en- tered the Medical Department of Columbia Col- lege. New York, where he took a three years' course, graduating with honors in 1878. He com- menced the practice of his chosen profession in Hartford, but in 1880 removed to Southington, this county, and during the eight years spent there he built up quite an extensive practice. His next location was East Windsor, and in the fall of 1889 he came to Granby as successor to Dr. Stratton, and was not long in building up the large and lu- crative practice which he still enjoys. Besides his large patronage in Granby he receives calls from Hartland, Simsbury, East Granby, Suffield, South- wick, Mass., and other points. He is the discoverer and sole manufacturer of the great national tonic Bovis Sanguinarius, and the celebrated Anaesthos, a product that renders the extracting of teeth ab- solutely painless. He has that true love for his work without which there can be no success, and has always been a progressive physician, constantly improving on his own and other methods, and gain- ing further encouragement and inspiration from the performance of each dav's duties. He is quite lit- erary in his tastes, and has not only written many able articles for medical journals, but has also contributed to local and New York papers both prose and poetry of high merit, some under his own name, and others under a nom de plume. He is broad-minded and liberal in his views, and at one time was an active member of the Hartford City Medical Society. He belongs to St. Mark's

Lodge, No. 91, F. & A. M., and politically is identi- fied with the Republican party. He served as justice of the peace in East Windsor, and has been an efficient member of the board of health and board of education.

In Hartford Dr. Ward was married, in 1880, to Miss Ella Blackley, a native of Ansonia, Conn., and a daughter of Isaac and Hariette Blackley, who were of Scottish descent. Three children have been born of this union : Harvey H., Arthur and Al- fred J., Jr.

JUSTIN E. GRIFFIN, a prominent agricult- urist of West Suffield, is a self-made man whose energy and industry have brought him a com- fortable competence, and his fine farm of 150 acres gives tangible evidence of his success. He started out in the business world when a boy of eight years, with no legacy from his father except the admonition to "live an honest life and take God as his guide," and this advice he has steadfastly followed throughout his long and useful life.

Mr. Griffin was born in Granby town, this coun- ty, and belongs to a well-known family, being of the fifth generation in descent from John Griffin, an early settler in Windsor, who was born in Eng- iand, of noble blood. As an account of the family appears elsewhere it will only be necessary to here trace the line of descent through Benoni Griffin, son of the pioneer ; Levi Griffin ; and Lyman Griffin, our subject's father, who married Harriet Davis. Our subject was one of a family of eleven children : Chauncey, Rensselaer, Sarah, Mary, Justin E., Collins B., Henrietta, Jane, Adaline, Catherine and Lewis.

As a boy Mr. Griffin attended the schools of Granby town irregularly, and when eight years old he left home to work among the farmers of the neighborhood. At fourteen he went to Hartland, where he spent two vears in the employ of M. A. Phelps, and then. after three years with Danicl Hayes, he went to Poquonock, to work for Gris- wold Phelps. While there he had a sunstroke, from which he did not recover for eighteen months, and later he resided for some time at Copper Hill, in the town of East Granby. In 1864 he entered the employ of Byron Loomis, with whom he remained six years, at $400 per year. With his earnings he bought his present homestead, formerly known as the Mather farm, upon which he has made extensive improvements, at a cost of $6,000. In addition to general farming he is interested in dairying, stock raising, and tobacco culture, obtaining good results in all his undertakings, and since taking possession he has built a fine residence upon the place, with barns, tobacco sheds, and other buildings. He is a leading member of the Congregational Church, which his family also attend. Politically he has al- ways been a Republican, with the exception of a short time when he supported the Democratic ticket. On May 16, 1868, Mr. Griffin married Miss Josephine D. Phelon, and they have had three chil-

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dren : (1) Walter W., who resides at the home- stead, married Miss Sotha Burns, and has one son, William. (2) AArthur D. died in 1893, from the effects of sunstroke. (3) Martha died young.

Mrs. Josephine D. Griffin, who is an efficient and industrious helpmeet, was born Oct. 18, 1838, in West Suffield, daughter of Julius Phelon, and granddaughter of Thomas and Mary (King) Phelon. Her father was born and reared in West Suffield, receiving a district-school education, and became a prosperous farmer. He owned more than 200 acres of land, and his homestead in West Suf- field was well improved with a comfortable dwell- ing-house and other structures. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and he was much respected for his excellent qualities of char- acter. His death occurred July 21, 1861. Mr. Phelon married Miss Julia McCune, by whom he had ten children : Mary, wife of Henry Richards, of Galesburg, Ill .: Matha J., deceased ; Josephine D., wife of our subject : Emaline M., wife of Allen B. Griffin ; Julis V., a farmer at the homestead ; Joseph, who died July 21, 1891 ; Isaac W., deceased ; Thomas B., deceased ; Blanche A., who died in child- liood : and Martha Alice at home.

The McCune family is of Irish origin, and Rob- ert Robinson McCune, Mrs. Griffin's maternal great- grandfather, was born in Dublin. On coming to America he settled at Agawam, Mass., where he followed farming for a number of years, and then returned to his native land, where he died. His wife, who was a native of Ireland, died in New York State. They had four children: Robert Robinson ; Elizabeth, Mrs. Isaac Rising: James ; and Joseph, who died in Becket, Massachusetts.

James McCune, grandfather of Mrs. Griffin, was born at Feeding Hills, Mass., and learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed for several years, later engaging in farming at Agawam, Mass., and at Warnertown, this State. On retiring from active business he went to Gales- burg, Ill., where he spent his last days with a son. He was an excellent citizen, his patriotism being shown by his service as a soldier in the war of 1812. and throughout his life he took keen interest in public questions, being an ardent Democrat. His wife, whose maiden name was Julia Dewey, died in Agawam, Mass., and her remains were buried there. They had nine children : Robert Robinson. de- ceased, formerly a resident of Galesburg, Ill. : Julia, Mrs. Griffin's mother: James Dewey, who died in Westfield, Mass. : Isaac Rising, a resident of Ore- gon : Charles B., of Iowa: Henry Fielding, who died in infancy: Henry Fielding (2), who settled in Ohio: Andrew Jackson, of Wisconsin ; and Sarah M., who died at the age of nineteen.

MICHAEL J. COHOLAN, M. D., is one of the successful practicing physicians of New Brit- ain, where he has been located for a period of twen- ty-four years. The commencement of his profes- sional career here was somewhat out of the or-

dinary. He did not have to wait for his patients for months or years, as not a few physicians have done, as by a fortunate circumstance, for him, he was called upon to take charge of a critical case within a short time after his arrival in the city, and its successful issue established his professional standing instantly, for he has never since lacked opportunity for the practice of his chosen calling.

James Coholan, father of our subject, was a stevedore at St. John, New Brunswick. He was a native of Bandon, County Cork, Ireland, but emi- grated early in life to the new continent, and at St. John became a well-known character among ves- selmen. Later in life he leased the ferryage, and conducted it until his death, in 1860. He was a man of considerable business ability, and built up quite an extensive trade in his line. His religious faith was that of the Catholic Church. James Coholan married Mary Slattery, and to them were born the following named children: Dennis, born in 1838, who became a vessel owner and manager of the St. John ferry for many years, and is now a resident of that city; Hannah, born in 1840, wife of Alex. McDermott, a native of the North of Ireland, and a resident of St. John, New Bruns- wick; Ann, born in 1842. wife of George Dunn, a vesselman of Malden, Mass. ; and Michael J. The mother died in 1864.

Michael J. Coholan was born at St. John April 30, 1844. His early education was obtained in a private school, preparatory to a college course. He then attended St. Dunstan's College, in Prince Ed- ward Island, for two years, and from there went to St. Coleman's College, Fermoy, Ireland, where he remained one year, thence entering Queen's Col- lege, in Cork. A year later he was called home by the death of his father. In 1863 he matriculated in the Medical Department of the University of New York, from which he was graduated in 1865. For two years Dr. Coholan practiced in New York City. He then returned to St. John, and there remained for four years, during the settlement of his father's estate. In 1875 he came to Connecti- cuit, and the year following located in New Brit- ain, then a city of about 16,000 inhabitants. En- tering at once into a lucrative practice, he has since been one of the city's most prominent practitioners. His success he attributes quite largely to his thor- ough preparation. and to his extensive professional study since that time. In politics Dr. Coholan is a Democrat, and has been prominent in local affairs. In 1885 he was police commissioner of the city. For nine years he has been a member of the school committee, serving as chairman of the text-book and night-school committees. He is president of the Opera House Company, and in public matters can always be relied upon for his devotion and en- terprise. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Heptasophis, acting as ex- amining physician in both orders.

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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 166

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