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 23

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 23

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the cause of religion, and for nearly thirty years he has been superintendent of the Sunday-school. He has also served as steward and trustee of the So- ciety, and for some years past has been treasurer. Socially he is identified with the Masonic Frater- nity, being a member of St. Mark's Lodge No. 36, F. & A. M., at Simsbury.

In 1859 Mr. Whitehead married Miss Anna L. King, of Hartford, who died in Simsbury in 1873. In 1875 he married Miss Anna L. Hamblin, who was born July 14, 1842, at Yarmouth, Mass., daughter of Joshua and Olive (Ryder) Hamblin. She is a lady of unusual intelligence, and taught school for some time previous to her marriage. Her efficient aid has been a factor in her husband's success, and she is prominent in church work as a member of the Ladies' Missionary Society and assistant superin- tendent of the Sunday-school. Mr. Whitehead has one son by his first marriage, Joseph R., now in the employ of the Ensign, Bickford & Co., making three generations of the family who have held po- sitions with that firm. Joseph R. Whitehead mar- ried Miss Alice Redeatte, and has three children, Mary, Hollis and Olive, all at home,

CHARLES F. LEWIS, proprietor of the Wind- sor Mills, which occupy the oldest mill site in Con- necticut, was born in Chester, this State, May 23, 1838, a son of Ansel and Deiadamie (Lynde) Lewis, and is of the eighth generation of his family in America.

George and Sarah (Jenkins) Lewis, the first of the family in the New World, came from East Green- wich, county of Kent, England, to Plymouth, Mass., about 1630, moved to Scituate in 1633, and thence to Barnstable in 1637. From them our subject traces his descent through Thomas, of Barnstable; Thomas (2), of Middletown, Conn., 1700; Zebu- lon, of East Haddam, Conn; Nathan, of Haddam, Conn .; Francis Robert, of Haddam; and Ansel, of Chester. Francis Robert Lewis married Sarah Pelton, who was one of the longest-lived women of the State, attaining the age of ninety-eight years. He was a Revolutionary soldier.

Ansel Lewis was a mechanic, and remarkably expert. He worked a great deal as a mason, and as a blacksmith could sharpen his own tools. He lived to be sixty-five years old, his wife to be eighty- seven, and of their six children, the eldest, (1) Syl- via Rosilla, born Aug. 19, 1823, married William Douglass, and died in 1898 at Colchester, Conn. (2) Henrietta Minerva, born Oct. 15, 1825, died young. (3) Harlow C., born Nov. 20, 1826, is a molder by trade, and resides in Chester, Conn. (4) Sally Maria, born Sept. 2, 1829, died young. (5) Charles F. is our subject. (6) Daniel W., born March 29, 1831, was a member of Company G, Ist Conn. Heavy Artillery, during the Civil war, and died at Gaines Mills, Va., of typhoid fever.

Charles F. Lewis has fought his own fight through life. He was educated in the district school at Chester, but never attended in summer after he

Chas %. Lewis

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had reached his eleventh year. Later he worked out for his board and clothes, with the privilege of at- tending school in winter, in Chester and Deep River, Middlesex county, and in 1857 came to Ilartford county, and worked at Plainville in a bit-brace fac- tory. In 1858 he shipped on a coasting vessel, and for some time served on boats plying between the Connecticut river and New York City. Going in 1861 to Springfield, Mass., he was for one year en- ployed in the polishing department of the Spring- field armory ; for the next two years he held the po- sition of assistant foreman and inspector. On Sept. 1, 1864, he joined the 30th Company Unattached Heavy Artillery, Mass. Vols., which had been raised in Springfield, and was sent to do garrison duty at Arlington Heights, Va., but subsequently detailed as guard at headquarters. Although the company had enlisted for one year it was mustered out June 16, 1865, at Fort C. F. Smith, the war having been brought to a close.

Mr. Lewis was first married June 8, 1863, at West Suffield, Conn., to Miss Chloe Hastings, daughter of Norman and Amy ( Remington) Hast- ings, of Suffield, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Asa A. Robinson, of Hastings Hill, Suffield town, pastor of the Baptist Church there, one of the earliest churches of that denomination in the State. After the war our subject engaged in farming at Suffield, on shares, for four years, on the farm of Deacon Elihu S. Taylor. He then returned to the armory at Springfield, worked there some time, and then again came to the E. S. Taylor farm, West Suffield, where he reconstructed a water-power and started a sawmill, which he operated until the fall of 1877. In January, 1878, he took charge of the mill at Windsor, which had been purchased by Lewis & Hastings (Abijah Hastings, his brother-in-law), under which style it was conducted until 1881, when Mr. Hastings retired, and Mr. Lewis having bought him out has since been alone, though of late years his son has assisted him materially. The mill is largely devoted to gristmilling. Mr. Lewis remod- eled it in 1888, putting in new machinery through- out, and is about to make further improvements to keep abreast of the times. He began the business of sawmilling as a mere novice, but has learned every detail of the processes, including mill dress- ing and sawing, by a careful perusal of books, and is now doing a first-class merchant-custom milling business.

In politics Mr. Lewis is a Republican, and is regular in his attendance at the polls, but rejects all offices. He has been elected constable and jus- tice of the peace, but in both instances refused to qualify. Fraternally he is a member of the Blue Lodge, F. & A. M., at Windsor, of Tyler Post No. 50, G. A. R., of Hartford, and is a charter member of Council No. 40, O. U. A. M., being the present Deputy State Councilor of the Order, in which he is well-known throughout Connecticut. For three years he was a member of the Society Committee of the Congregational Church at Windsor, and his wife

is a member of the Baptist Church at Suffield. As a business man Mr. Lewis' name stands without a blemish, and as a citizen he is very highly esteemed in both town and country.

Mrs. Chloe Lewis passed away in 1879. leaving one child, Charles [`., who was born in 1869. On Nov. 10, 1879, Mr. Lewis married at Hyde Park, near Boston, Miss Cora H. Spear, Rev. M. P. Al- derman, an uncle of the bride, performing the cere- mony. This union has been blessed with one son, George F., born May 15, 1889. In 1899 Mr. Lewis began the erection of a new home, into which he moved on its completion, in the spring of 1900. It is one of the handsomest and most convenient resi- dences in the town.

Bradford L. Spear, father of Mrs. Cora H. Lewis, was a farmer in West Suffield, where he died Dec. 13, 1899, at the age of seventy-eight years. He married Lucina P. Alderman, daughter of Pliny Alderman, and they reared a family of three chil- dren : Cora H., Mrs. Lewis : Herbert L., who con- ducts a milling business in West Suffield in the mill Mr. Lewis built, having bought same of our subject ; and William A., a farmer in West Suffield. The mother, who in March, 1900, attained the age of seventy-three years, still resides on the farm in Suffield.

HIRAM H. TERRY, a well-known resident of Warehouse Point, is a worthy representative of an old and highly-respected family, and if deserving of prominent mention in this volume. His ances- tors were banished from France at an early day on account of their adherence to the Protestant faith, and took refuge in England, where the family re- sided many years. About 1650 (1) Samuel Terry, known in the family as "the Immigrant," came to this country and settled in Springfield, Mass. He married Ann Lobdell, and had ten children, among whom was a son Samuel, known as Capt. Samuel.

(HI) Capt. Samuel Terry was born in Spring- field July 18, 1661, and died Jan. 2, 1730. Hle was a man of exemplary piety, being active in church work, and was also prominent in local affairs, sery- ing as selectman and in other offices, while for a number of years he was ensign and captain in the militia. He married Hannah Morgan, of Enfield, and had six children.

(IH ) Dr. Ebenezer Terry, son of Capt. Terry, and the next in line of descent, was born in Enfield, March 31, 1696, and died there Aug. 2, 1780. Ile was a man of wealth and prominence, a successful physician, and at one time practiced at Kingston, R. I. At one time he represented his town in the Legislature. His wife, Mary Hehus), who was born in 1702, died in Enfield April. 5. 1764. They had eleven children : Ebenezer, Dorcas, John, Mary, Selah, Mehitable ( who died in childhood ). Christopher, Helms, Hiram, Mehitable (2) and Samuel.

(IV) Ebenezer Terry, our subject's great-great- grandfather, was born in South Kingston, R. I.,

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Oct. 29, 1722, and died on his farm in Enfield, July 15, 1817. He was married first in Enfield, on Sept. IO, 1747, to Elizabeth, daughter of Shubael and Sa- rah Geer. She died Oct. 20, 1757, and on Jan. 20, 1760, he married Mindwell, daughter of Israel and Sarah ( Booth) Pease. By the two marriages he had twelve children.

(V) Hiram Terry, son of Ebenezer and his second wife, was born in Enfield, Dec. 19, 1763, and died there Feb. 11, 1802. About 1788 he mar- ried Elizabeth Gibbs, who was born Sept. 1, 1755, and died in Enfield, Feb. 7, 1813. They had four children : Elizabeth, Abial Hiram, Mehitable and Ruby.

(VI) Abial Hiram Terry, our subject's grand- father, was born March 4, 1791, and became a farmer and general mechanic by occupation. He married Sabra Holkins, who was born July 30, 1793, and died in 1840, the remains of both being interred at Enfield. Their children were Hiram A .; Elizabeth; Sarah; Mary Jane, who died in infancy ; Abial H .; and Quartus Parsons, now living in Warehouse Point.

(VII) Hiram Abial Terry, our subject's father, was born March 14, 1813, and died in 1894, in En- field. He began life as a poor boy and for a num- ber of years worked at anything he could get to do, but in time he became a mechanic of no irean ability, being especially efficient as a coppersmith and a repairer of clocks. For ten years he was a captain on the river, and even while thus en- gaged he was often called upon to repair copper stills in distilleries. While his early education was limited, his mind was naturally bright, and he was much es- teemed for his good qualities. On April 6, 1841, he married Miss Ann L. Pease, a native of Enfield, born Jan. 2, 1817, and three children were born of the union, our subject being the youngest. (1) Ange- line P., born Nov. 12, 1843, married Robert S. Pomeroy, then of Suffield, and later of Spring- field, Mass., who is now deceased. (2) Martha A., born Oct. 8, 1847, married Luther Terry Knight, and is at present living in Springfield, Massachu- setts.

(VIII) Hiram Holkins Terry was born Oct. 17, 1849, and after a course in the common schools of Enfield attended the Connecticut Literary Insti- tute, at Suffield, under Rev. E. P. Bond. On leav- ing school he began farming on the old homestead, a tract of twenty acres at Warehouse Point, and under his able management it brings a satisfactory return. In addition to farming he follows the butcher's trade and has a milk route at Enfield. He is an intelligent man, industrious and thrifty, and has many friends in the community. In pol- itics he is a Republican, but is not an aspirant for public honors, and when offices have been offered him he has declined ; no stronger advocate of tem- perance can be found in the community. His fam- ily attend the Methodist and Episcopal Churches, and is much esteemed in social life.

On Jan. 26, 1875, Mr. Terry married Miss Ellen

F. Parsons, daughter of P. B. and Emily ( Allen) Parsons, both natives of Enfield, and four children have brightened their home: (1) Ellen Louise, born June 13, 1875, died May 30, 1879. (2) Henry Hiram, born Dec. 10, 1876, resides at home, and is one of the most industrious and promising young men of the locality. (3) Lucy Isabelle, born July 30, 1881, died Oct. 25, 1886. (4) Mervin P., born Jan. 10, 1885, is at home. In December, 1895, our subject adopted Arthur Durfee, who was born in June, 1883.

FREDERICK S. BIDWELL. This Common- wealth is represented in all parts of the country by an enterprising class of citizens whose ability and worth have been universally recognized, but fortu- nately there is plenty of the old stock left in Hart- ford county, and the subject of this biography, a leading merchant of Windsor Locks, furnishes in his successful career an example of the energy and foresight which are generally believed to character- ize the typical native. Mr. Bidwell is of the sixth generation of his family in this country, and the name has become associated with the qualities which constitute good citizenship. The first ancestor, of whom a definite account has been preserved, was (I) John Bidwell, who was born in September, 1679.

(II) Roger Bidwell, son of John, was born in 1714, and died Dec. 28, 1782. His wife, Rhoda, a daughter of Timothy Easton, was born in 1721, and died Aug. 24, 1782. They had the following chil- dren : Tryphena, born Nov. 5, 1749, died Sept. 30, 1750; Ashbel; Adoniram, born August, 1753, died Feb. 17, 1777 ; Enodias ; and Darda, born Novem- ber, 1761, died June, 1782.

(III) Enodias Bidwell, our subject's great- grandfather, was born in East Hartford in May, 1758, and died in 1818, at the same place. He served in the Revolutionary army, and for many years conducted "Cotton's Tavern" at East Hart- ford. His wife, Lucy Loomis, died in 1827. They had eight children, all of whom died young except Martin, as follows: Frederick, born September, 1780; Tryphena, June, 1782; Darda, December, 1783; Tryphe .. a, May, 1785; Martin, 1787 ; Darda, July 31, 1789, died April 6, 1825 ; Lucy, July, 1792, died aged fifty ; Giles, June, 1796.

(IV) Martin Bidwell, the grandfather of our subject, was born March 5, 1787, in East Hartford, and died in 1861, in Hebron, Conn. He married Martha James, and had eight children: Caroline, James, Samuel, Martha, Delia, Delia (2), Nathan and Martin. Of these, Caroline married a Mr. Buken ; Delia wedded a Mr. Aldrich, of Rockville, and Na- than died in 1894.

(V) Samuel Bidwell, our subject's father, was born Feb. 27, 1820, in Coventry, Conn., and was reared upon a farm in that locality, his education being obtained in the neighboring schools. He learned the blacksmith's trade at Enfield, Conn., and has followed that business all his life in the towns of Hartford, Enfield, and Stafford Springs, being

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

still a resident of the latter place. He is an excel- lent citizen, and an active member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. In 1847 he married Abi- gail Killam, a native of Enfield, who died at Staf- ford Springs Sept. 11, 1855, aged thirty-eight years. Our subject was the eldest of four children, the others being Henry Martin, a resident of Bellefonte, Penn .; Julia Abigail, who married Frank D. Cha- pin, and died April 30, 1894; and Abigail Killam, wife of N. T. Sanger.

(VI) Frederick S. Bidwell was born June 24, 1848, at Hartford, Conn., but his early life was largely spent in Stafford Springs, where he attended the public schools. At the age of sixteen he went to Thompsonville, Conn., where his uncle, Theodore P'ease, was engaged in the lumber business, and for eleven years he was connected with the firm of Pease & Sons. Mr. Pease then bought out the lumber business of H. C. Douglass & Co., at Wind- sor Locks, placing it in charge of Mr. Bidwell, who purchased the business in 1888, and has since con- ducted it independently. He has built all the struct- ures occupied by the lumber yard and store, the lat- ter having been erected in the fall of 1897 and opened for business in January, 1898. He handles all materials needed by the builder, farmer and painter, his store containing a large general line of paints, hardware and agricultural implements. As a citizen he is public-spirited, taking keen interest in all movements for the benefit of the community, and at times he has held local offices. For four years he was selectman, and his practical sympathies with educational progress is seen in some years of ser- vice on the school board.

In 1875 Mr. Bidwell married Miss Annie E. Steele, who died Nov. 13, 1878, leaving one son, Frederick Steele, now a bookkeeper for his father. In 1881 Mr. Bidwell formed a second union, this time with Miss Adelaide King, daughter of Calvin O. King, of Enfield, Conn., and they have had six children : Edith Adelaide, Bessie King, Anna Eloise, Lawrence King, Charles Oscar and Robert Samuel. The family is prominent socially, and Mr. Bidwell is well known in Masonic circles as a mem- ber of Euclid Lodge No. 109, A. F. & A. M.

CHARLES F. TALLARD, a well-known busi- ness man of Windsor Locks, has been engaged in tobacco growing for nearly thirty years, and has for some time been interested in the lumber business, his operations in both lines being conducted with the energy and foresight which command success.

Mr. Tallard's career has been somewhat event- ful, not the least interesting part of his life being his term of service in the Confederate army. He was born Jan. 28, 1840, in Saxony, Germany, a son of Christian and Wilhelmina (Hess) Tallard, who came to America in 1848 with their family of two sons and one daughter. After a tedious voy- age, lasting nine weeks, the little party landed and for some time they made their home in Baltimore, Md., the parents later settling on a farm in Penn-

sylvania, and finally locating in Harrisburg, Penn., where they both died some years ago.

Before coming to this country Mr. Tallard at- tended the schools of his native place, and soon after his arrival in Baltimore he was employed in a cigar factory, becoming familiar with the trade at an early age. In 1859 he went to Richmond, Va., and in 1860 he was married there to Miss Cather- ine Gabline. In April, 1861, he enlisted in the Ist Va. V. I., with which he served until Aug. II, 1862. On returning to Baltimore, March 7, 1863, he resumed his work, but in July, 1863, he went to New York City, and a few months later settled at Windsor Locks. For twenty-four years he was employed at cigar making by Benjamin Wood, of Suffield, and in 1871 he began raising tobacco on his own account at Windsor Locks. In 1889 he en- gaged in the lumber business at Broad Brook, in the town of East Windsor, and at present his son, How- ard W., looks after his interests there. Mr. Tallard and his estimable wife have reared a family of six children, as follows: Edwin C. (of Edgerton, Wis.), William H. (of Middletown, Conn.) and Charles F., Jr. (of Chicago), all of whom are in some branch of the tobacco business; Howard W., who is in the lumber business at Broad Brook ; Henry S., a lumber dealer at Torrington, Conn .; and Alice, wife of a Mr. Holzapfel, of Windsor Locks. Mr. Tallard has always taken an active in- terest in all the questions of the day, and in na- tional issues acts with the Democratic party, while in local affairs he is independent.

ROSWELL GRANT. In Hartford county there are many residents whose family history ex- tends back for six or eight generations to the period of carly settlement. But comparatively few of these can point to the continuous residence of so many generations upon the same ancestral home, and few indeed now dwell in residences which have sheltered six generations. The Roswell Grant home- stead, in the town of South Windsor, is one of the historical buildings of Connecticut. The original dwelling upon this farm, where six generations of Grants have lived and died, was built in 1697 by Samuel Grant (2), grandson of Matthew Grant, the founder of the family in America, and is still standing, forming the "L" to the present structure, the main part of which was erected in 1757, by Ebenezer Grant. During the Revolutionary war Gen. Prescott and other British officers were im- prisoned in the house, being guarded by Roswell Grant, who then occupied the place. It is still in an excellent state of preservation.

Matthew Grant, the founder of this family in America, was born in England, and came to the New World, in 1630, in the ship "Mary and John." being one of the original company who settled in Dorchester, Mass., in that year. In 1635 he came to Windsor, Conn., his family arriving in April, 1636, and he became prominent in church affairs, was second town clerk and principal surveyor for

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a long term of years, and local interests generally. From him our subject is descended through Samuel, Samuel (2), Ebenezer, Roswell and Frederick William. Samuel Grant (I) located in East Wind- sor in 1637, and built a house in a meadow in the rear of the site of the old Theological Institute, on a rise of ground. Owing to the prevalence of high water in the spring of the year, Samuel Grant (I) moved up to the present site of the old Grant home- stead, and his father lived with his son, John, until his death. Ebenezer Grant was a graduate of Yale. He was a merchant on Main street, South Windsor, near the homestead, and was largely interested in shipbuilding at the mouth of the Scantic, owning many vessels engaged in the West India trade. He exported tobacco and horses and imported rum and molasses. He served with distinction in the French and Indian wars, and also in the Revolution- ary war, holding the rank of captain. Roswell Grant, son of Ebenezer Grant, was a colonel in the Revolutionary war, and afterward served as a member of the Legislature; for a long time was a justice of the peace and was in mercantile business with his father.

Frederick William Grant, the father of our sub- ject, was born on the ancestral home in 1799, was a farmer by occupation, and lived to the age of eighty- seven years. He was a man of considerable promi- nence and influence, served as a member of the State Legislature, was repeatedly elected select- man of East Windsor, and held other offices. He was a major in the State Militia, and was generally known as Major Grant. He married Miss Ann Ellsworth Stoughton, daughter of John Stoughton, and to them were born five children, namely : Fred- erick, who was drowned in the Connecticut river at the age of thirteen years; Ann S., who married Frederick O. Newbury, and died in 1871 ; Roswell, our subject, and Elizabeth (twins), the latter dy- ing in infancy; and Lucy, who also died in infancy. Major Grant died Feb. 21, 1886. Mrs. Grant died May 24, 1900, and was buried on her ninetieth birthday. She was a beautiful character, beloved by all who knew her.

Roswell Grant was born on the old homestead, July 28, 1848. He received his education in the graded home schools, at Monson, Mass., and at Delaware Institute, Franklin, N. Y. Soon after completing his education, and when about twenty- one years of age, he took charge of the old home- stead. Mr. Grant now owns about fifty acres of the old place, and other land, aggregating about one hundred acres. He carries on general farming, and gives special attention to tobacco growing. In politics he is a Republican, but he has avoided the life of an office holder, and though twice nom- inated for selectman has on both occasions declined the honor. He has, however, held the office of as- sessor of South Windsor, for two terms, was candi- date for judge of probate, and his interest in edu- cational matters has induced him to serve for six years as a member of the school board. Socially

he is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and is also one of the Sons of the Revolution.

Mr. Grant was married, Sept. 29, 1874, to Miss. Annie Elizabeth Mickell, who was born in Hong Kong, China. Her father, Capt. Thomas Mickell, was the master of a merchant vessel, and her mother sometimes accompanied him on his voyages to for- eign lands. Capt. Mickell commanded the first ship, the "Emerald," which entered Charleston harbor after the blockade of that port was raised during the Civil war. An oil painting of the "Emerald," and one of the full-rigged ships of which he was master in Chinese waters at the time of Mrs. Grant's birth, are now in her possession. Mrs. Grant passed her girlhood in Cambridge, Mass., in the Boston schools received a finished educa- tion, and is a lady of unusual accomplishments and refinement. To Mr. and Mrs. Grant have been born three children: Maude M .; Frederick Will- iam, who is employed by the Pope Manufacturing Co., of Hartford ; and Roger Wolcott, with the Con- necticut General Life Insurance Co. Mr. and Mrs. Grant and family are members of the First Con- gregational Church of South Windsor; for about thirty years our subject has been clerk of that re- ligious society, and for many years was also treasurer.

DAVID GORDON, an enterprising citizen and prominent business man of Hazardville, was born June II, 1840, in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a son of William and Jean (Bauchop) Gordon, and a. grandson of David and Elizabeth (Tate) Gordon.

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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 23

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