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 3

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 3

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Daniel Buck, the sixth of this family, and the grandfather of Winthrop Buck, was born at the old Wethersfield homestead. He was a farmer and a fisherman. His holdings of land were large, and he was a slave owner as well. He was a man of in- fluence, and was one of several in Wethersfield who responded to the call in 1776, being in the service for six days. He built two fine houses on the homestead farm, which are yet in a good state of preservation, and was very successful in its management. He died Jan. 6, 1808. On Dec. 3, 1775, at New London, he married Sarah Saltonstall, who was born June 15, 1754, and died Nov. 19, 1828. Her father, Gurdon Saltonstall, was a son of Gov. Gurdon Saltonstall and his wife, Jerusha Richards, and a lineal descendant of Sir Richard Saltonstall, one of the first settlers of Watertown, Mass. Gurdon Saltonstall married Rebecca Win- throp, a daughter of John Still and Ann (Dudley) Winthrop and granddaughter of Hon. Wait Still and Joseph Dudley. Daniel Buck and his wife were the parents of seven children: Ann was born and died in 1776. Gurdon, the eldest son, was born Dec. 30. 1777, and on April 30, 1805, married Sus- anna Manwaring, of New York; he died Aug. 4, 1852. The second son, Daniel, born Oct. 27, 1779, was a merchant. He and his brother, Dudley,

were together in trade at Hartford and also owned a line of propellers to New York. He died at Po- quonock Jan. 19, 1860. He was twice married, his first wife being Julia Mitchell, a daughter of Hon. Stephen Mix Mitchell, of Wethersfield. The marriage took place Oct. 14, 1805, and the young wife died Oct. 7, 1807. Subsequently Mr. Buck married Elizabeth, a daughter of Ezekiel Belden. She was born Jan. 10, 1784, and died March 3, 1887, aged 103 years. Charles, the third son, was born March 21, 1782. He married Catherine Brad- ford, of New York, where he lived until his death, June 5, 1858. The fourth son, Winthrop, was born Dec. 9, 1784. He was the father of Winthrop Buck, and a brief account of his life will be given in a succeeding paragraph. Ann, the second of that name, was born Oct. 12, 1786, and died Feb. 6, 1788. Dudley, the seventh and youngest child, was, as has been said, a partner of his brother, Daniel, in the general merchandise business at Hartford. He was born Jan. 25, 1789. He was twice married, first on Sept. 25, 1827, to Hetty G. Hempstead, a daughter of John Hempstead. She died June 12, 1834, and on Sept. 13, 1837, he was united to Martha C., a daughter of Nathaniel Adams. He was the father of Dudley Buck, the eminent musician and composer, and died May 8, 1867.

Winthrop Buck, above named as the father of our subject, passed his entire life upon the farm, although, like his father, he also followed the call- ing of a fisherman. Although he enjoyed the ad- vantage of attendance upon the district schools he may be said to have been chiefly self-educated, having been a judicious reader and close observer. His home was on the farm where his son, Henry, now lives, and he was one of the largest owners of realty in Wethersfield. He was a Whig until that party was merged into the Republican, after which he was affiliated with the latter. His religious views were broad, but he was upright in his life, honorable in his dealings, domestic in his tastes and habits, and deservedly popular and influential in the community in the midst of which he lived from his infancy until his death, which occurred Aug. 19, 1862. He was twice married. Eunice H. Parsons, of Amherst, Mass., was his first wife, their marriage being solemnized Jan. 9, 1812. She died Aug. 4 of the same year, seven months after becoming a bride, at the early age of twenty-four. On Dec. 28, 1814, Mr. Buck married Eunice Mose- ly, who was born Oct. 8, 1793, and passed away Aug. 24, 1862, five days after her husband. She was a daughter of Dr. Abner and Eunice (Wells) Mosely. Her father was a Yale graduate, and a son of Joseph Mosely and his wife Hopeful Rob- bins. Mrs. Buck's maternal great-grandfather was William Wells, who married Jerusha Merrick, of Glastonbury. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Buck. The eldest, Martha, born Nov. 26, 1815, died Aug. 12, 1900, unmarried. She made her home with her brother, Henry. Notwithstand-

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ing her advanced age her intellect was clear and vigorous and she possessed a refinement and culture which adorned her declining years and made her doubly beloved. (2) Winthrop, born Dec. 16, 1816, died July 28, 1900, aged eighty-three years and seven months. (3) Eunice, born Dec. 31, 1819, died March 12, 1897. (4) Maria was born Jan. 30, 1821, and married Edmund Howe on Feb. 3, 1856. He died at Hartford April 23, 1857, and she survived him until Dec. 8, 1894. (5) Robert was born March 8, 1823. He married, on Christ- mas day, 1857. Lucena M., a daughter of Jonathan Emerson, of Lebanon, N. H. She died June 7, 1859, and on Aug. 5, 1860, he married' Helen Frances Jones, a daughter of Elisha L. Jones, of St. Albans, V.t. Robert Buck died at Hartford Aug. 16, 1881. (6) Roswell Riley, born Oct. 21, 1826, married Maria Catherine Barnes, of Buffalo, N. Y., Nov. 8. 1866, and after marriage removed to that city, where his wife's father, Dr. Joseph Barnes, resided. (7) Catherine Mosely was born Feb. I. 1833, and on Nov. 16, 1866, became the wife of John Buckingham, of Chicago, who died Aug. 21, 1881. (8) Henry, the eighth and youngest of the children, was born Dec. 6, 1834. He married. Nov. 30, 1875. Theresa, a daughter of George and Har- riet Whiting ( Bradley) Robinson.

Winthrop Buck was educated at the district schools and academy of Wethersfield and the Hart- ford public high school Francis Fellows being then principal of the last named institution. After leav- ing school he was offered and accepted a position as teacher at Middletown, but ill health compelled him to cancel his engagement. He remained upon his father's farm, with his parents, until he was twenty-eight years old, when he bought what was then known as the B. D. Buck farm, opposite the homestead. On making this purchase he was forced to go into debt, and some idea of the degree of prosperity which attended his efforts may be gath- ered from the fact that he subsequently invested over $20,000 in real estate. In addition to general and dairy farming he cultivated tobacco success- fully, besides dealing largely in fish. He became one of Wethersfield's most prosperous as well as most popular citizens, was progressive and public- spirited, sagacious and farseeing, intelligent and well-read, modest and unassuming. He was a hard worker and always keenly alive to the demands of business, yet he found time for recreation, for the cultivation of domestic tastes and for the enter- tainment of the many friends whom he made through his genial, kindly disposition and his un- swerving integrity. He was one of the oldest men in the town, only one of his old schoolmates, James Stanley Griswold, yet living.

On Dec. 2.1. 1845, Mr. Buck married Charlotte Woodhouse, who was born at Wethersfield Oct. 19. 1810. a daughter of Sylvester and Sarah ( Har- riss ) Woodhouse. [An extended history of the Woodhouse family may be found on another page. ] Mrs. Buck died Jan. 15, 1896. The issue of the

marriage was two sons. (I) EDWARD WINTHROP was born Feb. 28, 1847, was educated at the Weth- ersfield common schools and at the high school in Hartford, and at the age of eighteen entered the office of the Travelers Insurance Co., of Hartford. On Sept. 12, 1876, he married Abbie B., daughter of Reuben and Olive Barber Osborn, and to them have been born three children: Winthrop, Sept. 2, 1878 (who graduated from Yale in the class of 1900) ; Edward Osborn, June 25; 1883 ; and Helen Dudley, July 2, 1888. Mr. Buck is a Republican and a member of the Congregational Church in Hart- ford. (2) Louis Dudley, born Aug. 13, 1850, mar- ried Laura, a daughter of Samuel O. Church, of Massachusetts, and lived upon the homestead, where he died March 19, 1887. His widow resides in Chicago. He was the father of three children, Charlotte, Mary C. and Louise Dudley.

ROBERT JOHNSTON VANCE is of Scotch descent, his grandparents having been members of the little band of sons of "Auld Scotia," who origi- nated what has now become the flourishing and well- known carpet industry at Thompsonville. He him- self is a son of John and Elizabeth ( Johnston) Vance, and was born in the City of New York on March 15. 1854. His preliminary education was received at the public schools of that city, and com- pleted at the high school in New Britain. to which place he removed while he was yet a small boy. On leaving school he entered the employ of the Stanley. Rule & Level Comrany, and later was offered and accepted the position of paymaster for the New Britain Knitting Co.

Mr. Vance's natural bent. however. was toward journalism, and at the early age of twenty-two years he founded the New Britain Observer. In 1887 this paper was consolidated with the New Britain Herald, Mr. Vance assuming editorial control, and the new publication taking the name of the New Britain Herald. To his chosen profession he brought ability of a rare order, and under his able management the Herald has become a positive influence, not only in Hartford county, but also throughout the entire State. While still retaining his chair as editor, Mr. Vance, during the years 1888-90, also filled the position of staff correspond- ent for the New York Sun at Washington. Not- withstanding the exacting duties of a successful pro- fessional career, he has found time to travel exten- sively both in this country and in Europe, and to discharge with signal ability and fidelity the duties attaching to various positions of financial trust. He has been treasurer of the Herald Publishing Co .. and held the same office in the New Britain Electric Light Co., from the date of the organization of that corporation until it passed under a new executive control.

In politics, Mr. Vance has always been an ardent and consistent Democrat. For fifteen years he was a member of the State central committee of his party, and was a delegate to the National conven-'

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tions of 1888 and 1892, at St. Louis and Chicago, respectively. He has also been prominent in public life. From 1878 to 1887 he served as city clerk of New Britain ; in 1886 he was elected a member of the Connecticut General Assembly ; and in 1887-88 represented his district in the Lth United States Congress. From 1893 to 1895 he was State Labor Commissioner, and in 1896 was elected mayor of New Britain. To every position which he has filled, in either private or public life, he has brought the capability resulting from rare talent, joined to the integrity which proceeds from a high sense of honor. He is widely known throughout Connecti- cut, and, while warmly liked by the people of his own city, is held in high esteem by public men throughout the State, without regard to party affiliation.

Mr. Vance is a member of the Masonic Order and of the I. O. O. F. He was married, Jan. 24. 1890, to Miss Matilda O'Connor, of Alabama, and three children have been born to this union, Agnes, Johnston and Robert Cummings.

CHARLES BRADLEY COWLES, who is actively identified with the business interests of Southington as agent for the Hartford Life In- surance Co. in Plantsville, was born in Southington, Sept. 12, 1840. His father, Charles Augustus Cowles, was born Jan. 1, 1808, and was married Sept. 24, 1839, to Mrs. Delia Victoria (Stedman) Bradley, widow of Charles Bradley. The children born to them were Charles B .; Frederick A .; Jane L., wife of Royal C. Mix; Walter A. ; William H. ; Julia A., wife of Alfred N. Parmalee; and Fanny M. The father acquired a competence in trade in the South, became a large land owner in the vi- cinity of Plantsville, Conn., and was extensively engaged in farming. He died in Plantsville, June 6, 1873.

Addison Cowles, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born in Southington Feb. 17, 1770, and was married Feb. 24, 1800, to Phebe, daugh- ter of Dr. Jesse Cole. He lived in Plantsville Center, where his wife died March 13, 1824, aged forty-six years, and his death occurred Feb. 23, 1828. His father, Ashbel Cowles, was born in Southington, Sept. 29, 1740, and was married April 29, 1769, to Rhoda Lee, daughter of Jared and Rhoda (Judd) Lee. He lived west of Plantsville cemetery. He was an extensive reader, possessed a very retentive memory and was well versed in his- torical dates. He held several offices, serving as constable for years, first selectman in 1792, and also held the military rank of captain. . He died Sept. 19, 1815. He was a son of Josiah Cowles, who was born in Farmington, Nov .. 20, 1716, and was married Nov. 11, 1739, to Jemima Dickinson. Soon after marriage he located in what is now the town of Southington, where he bought land extensively. His wife died Oct. 19, 1746, and he was again mar- ried, Nov. 22, 1748, his second union being with Mary, daughter of Samuel and Mary ( Pynchon)

Scott, of Southington. He was a man of great energy, took a leading part in church and society matters, held several important town offices, and held the military rank of captain. He was the father of eighteen children, and his descendants are numer- ous and scattered. Josiah Cowles died June 6, 1793. His father, Thomas Cowles, was born in Farming- (on, Feb. 4, 1686, and was married Jan. 6, 1714, to Martha Judd, eldest daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Freeman) Judd, of Waterbury. He resided in Farmington, where he died March 11, 1751. His father, Samuel Cowles, was born in Farmington, March 17, 1661, and was married, May 12, 1685, to Rachel Porter. He lived in Farmington until about 1716, when he removed to Kensington, where he died Oct. 14, 1748. He was a son of Samuel Cowles, who was born in 1639, and was married, Feb. 1.4, 1660, to ALigail, daughter of Timothy Stan- ley, of Hartford. They made their home in Farm- ington, and he was one of the eighty-four proprie- tors of that town in 1672. He died April 17, 1691. His father, John Cole, was one of the first settlers of Hartford, but soon after 1640 he located in Farm- ington, and while residing there was induced to change his name to Cowles, in order to avoid the inconvenience of being taken at times for another John Cole, living in the same place. From that time the descendants of his eldest son, Samuel, have spelled the name Cowles. John Cole was a farmer, and a deputy to the General Court in 1653 and 1654. In 1662 he removed to Hadley, Mass., where he died in September, 1675. His wife, Hannah, died in Hartford, March 6, 1683, aged seventy years.

Charles B. Cowles, whose name begins this arti- cle, grew to manhood in Plantsville, and was pro- vided with excellent educational advantages, attend- ing Prof. Glendenning's Boarding School, Stam- ford, and Lewis Academy, Southington. At the breaking out of the Civil war, in 1861, he joined the boys in blue as color bearer of Company I, 12th Conn. V. I., for three years' service, and re-enlisted at New Iberia, La., with his regiment, in 1863. For two years he was detailed on detached duty, recruit- ing and taking recruits to the front. After three years and eleven months of service, he was honorably discharged at Hartford. Returning home, he engaged in merchandising in Plantsville for three years, then spent several years in farming, and fur the past twenty years has represented the Hartford Life Insurance Co. He is a wide-awake, enterpris- ing business man, and has met with well-deserved success in his undertakings.

On Jan. 15, 1868, Mr. Cowles was united in mar- riage with Miss Carolina V. Moss, a daughter of Aaron and Abigail ( Hitchcock) Moss, of Milldale, and they have three children: Lillian Moss: Ed- ward Aaron ; and Emily Moss, who married Nelson G. Landon, and has one daughter, Lucy Elizabeth. Mr. Cowles' political support is given to the men and measures of the Republican party, and he is a member of Trumbull Post No. 16, G. A. R. Mrs. Cowles is a member of the Daughters of the Ameri-

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can Revolution, being eligible to membership in that order through her great-grandfather, Amasa Hitch- cock, who was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary war.

AUSTIN F. WILLIAMS (deceased) was at one time a prominent business man of New York City, but much of his life was spent in Hartford county. He was born in East Hartford, Feb. 26, 1805, a son of Ozias and Anna Williams, and his education was obtained in the schools of that place.

At the age of eighteen years Mr. Williams came to Farmington, where he clerked in a drug store for a time, and later engaged in the lumber business, with an office in Plainville, Conn. Subsequently he was interested in the wholesale dry-goods business in New York City, first as a member of the firm of Williams & Abbey, later Williams & Camp, and finally Williams, Bruce & Clark. During the Civil war he was connected with the freedman's bureau, and later with that department in Washington, D. C. His last years were spent in Farmington, where he died in 1885, honored and respected by all who knew him. In all places and under all circumstan- ces he was loyal to truth, honor and right, justly valuing his own self-respect as infinitely more pref- erable than wealth, fame and position. In 1828 he married Miss Jennette Cowles, a daughter of Timo- thy and Catherine (Deming) Cowles, and to them were born four children. One son and one daugh- ter died in infancy; Anna M. Treadwell died in 1892, leaving no children; Mrs. Catherine Deming Vorce is the only survivor. The wife and mother died in 1871.

ALLEN DUNNING VORCE, son-in-law of our sub- · ject, was born in Penn Yan, N. Y., and is of French descent, his paternal great-grandfather having been a native of France. He is now a dealer in antique porcelains and curios in New York, but throughout his business career he has been interested in several different enterprises. By trade he is a jeweler. At one time he was connected with the Treasury Depart- ment at Washington, D. C., was in the banking busi- ness in New York, and later engaged in the picture business in Hartford, Connecticut.

Mr. and Mrs. Vorce have four children, of whom (1) Amy Clare is the eldest. (2) Clarence Browning, a civil engineer of Hartford, married Vir- ginia Osborn, of New Haven, Conn., and they have one child, Virginia. (3) Walter Herbert married Mabel Newell, of Rochester, N. Y., and they have one child, Catherine Newell ; he is now superintend- ent of the signal department of the New York Central railroad from Syracuse to Lewiston, N. Y. (4) Jennette Cowles completes the family.

GEORGE HENRY GOODWIN (deceased), late of Burnside, was a worthy representative of the old and honored family whose name he bore. He was born April 7, 1826, in Burnside, in the house occupied by the late lamented Henry L. Goodwin, and was a son of George and Maria (Kingsbury) Goodwin.

The ancestry of the Goodwin family in America can be traced to Ozias Goodwin, who arrived at Boston Harbor, Mass., Sept. 16, 1632, from Eng- land. The ancestry of Ozias Goodwin in England has been traced directly to the Goodwins of East Anglia, whose names appear among the records of Norwich, England, as early as 1238. Rev. Augus- tus Jessopp, a distinguished English antiquarian, says of this Goodwin family: "To the Gothic theme (guda) belongs the element 'Good,' and the meaning of the name Goodwin will stand for 'good friend' or 'God's friend.' They who can boast of forefathers known a thousand years ago as emphat- ically the trusty friends on whose words and in whose fidelity men could rely without misgiving, or, on the other hand, well-known as men whose earnestness, reverence and devotion mark them above others as the friends of the Most High, with the fear of God and the love of God before their eyes, need not look for progenitors whom the ca- price of kings may have selected for titular distinc- tion, or the fortunes of war may have tossed into eminence and the sports of battle enriched. They assuredly have noble blood in their veins."

With Ozias Goodwin and his wife Mary, or about the same time, there came also to America, in the ship "Lion," William Goodwin and his wife Susannah. William Goodwin was a man of means, but Ozias was less fortunate in worldly possessions, and he came to Hartford county, Conn., with the Braintree company, and became the founder of the Goodwin family of Hartford, which has given to the United States many distinguished citizens, among whom were two United States district at- torneys, Judge Doll Goodwin, of Detroit, and Stephen Austin Goodwin, of Chicago, the former ap- pointed to office by President Jackson, the latter by President Lincoln. James Goodwin, the millionaire, and James J. Goodwin, formerly a parter of Pier- pont Morgan, belong to the same family.

George Goodwin, the grandfather of the de- ceased, was born Jan. 7, 1757, in Hartford, and was one of the publishers of the Hartford Courant, which became one of the most famous newspapers of New England. He was a "brainy" man, of noble bearing and countenance, and a leading citizen. He mar- ried Mary Edwards, who was a member of the Jonathan Edwards family, and was an only daugh- ter of Richard and Mary (Butler) Edwards, of Hartford. To George and Mary (Edwards) Good- win were born twelve children : Elizabeth, Richard Edward, Oliver, George, Jason (died in infancy), Jason (2), (who also died young), Charles, Henry, Jeremiah, Jason (3), a daughter (name not known), and Edward.

George Goodwin, mentioned above as a son of George, the fourth in the family, was born in Hart- ford April 23, 1786, graduated from Yale College in 1806, and was afterward engaged in the grocery business in Hartford, under the firm name of Hud- son & Goodwin until 1815, when the partnership was dissolved and re-formed under the firm style of

Ce Jordword

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

George Goodwin & Son, Mr. Goodwin still continu- ing at the head of the firm and at the same time managing the Courant. George Goodwin some years later came to Burnside, where he was the pio- neer paper manufacturer, and where he passed the remainder of his life, dying Feb. 8, 1878. His re- mains were interred in the Old North cemetery at Hartford.

To George Goodwin and Maria Kingsbury were born nine children, namely: Maria K., who was married to Henry Pitkin, a son of Cap- tain John Pitkin, of East Hartford; Elizabeth, who died young; Andrew K., who died sin- gle, after reaching maturity: Elizabeth (2), who also died single ; Ellen, who was married to Thomas S. Williams, lived in Auburndale, and there died ; Mary E., who became the wife of William S. Wil- liams, and died in Glastonbury ; George II., the sub- ject of this biography ; Susan Leavitt, who was mar- ried to Henry L. Goodwin, and died within a year after she was wedded; and Harriet Talcott, now living in Hartford.

George H. Goodwin was educated in the com- mon schools of Burnside and the East Hartford Academy, and then assisted in his father's paper- mill until 1862, during which period he erected the ·dwelling now occupied by his widow. On Aug. 22, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-fifth Con- necticut Volunteer Infantry. In 1863 he was pro- moted to first sergeant, and was wounded at Irish Bend, La., April 14, of the same year. He remained with his regiment until it was mustered out, Aug. 26, 1863, and then re-enlisted, was commissioned first lieutenant, and appointed regimental quarter- master of the Twenty-ninth Colored Infantry. While holding this position he was wounded in the knee- pan, which wound rendered him permanently lame, but the pain of which he uncomplainingly bore the remainder of his life. He was honorably dis- charged from the service, and was mustered out Oct. 24, 1865, after which he was employed, on his re- turn to Hartford, by the Ætna Life Insurance Co. until 1872, and then by the Travelers Insurance Co. until his death, which occurred, after a short illness from pneumonia, Dec. 17, 1893.

Mr. Goodwin first married, June 3, 1868, Mary Merrow Pitkin, who died Aug. 14, 1875, without issue. On Oct. 18, 1876, he married Miss Mary D. Skinner, daughter of Dwight T. and Sarah ( Sey- mour) Skinner. This marriage was blessed with three children : George, born Aug. 25, 1878 ; Mary Edwards, born Jan. 24, 1883 ; and William H., born Dec. 29, 1885.

In politics Mr. Goodwin was a Republican. In his society affiliations he was a member of Orient Lodge No. 62, F. & A. M .; D. C. Rodman Post, G. A. R., of East Hartford ; and of the Law & Order League. He was a deacon in the First Congrega- tional Church of East Hartford, was one of its most influential members, and a liberal contributor to its support.

From the "East Hartford Congregational Church

History" of 1893 the following extract is made : "Of Deacon Goodwin, whose activity made him carry his years so lightly, it needs a more eloquent voice than mine to speak. He has wielded for so long a time such an influence for good, and his true and upright life, and carnest, self-sacrificing labors of love for his beloved church, none of us can ever appreciate. In every department he was ready to lend a helping hand with untiring devotion, and to spend his strength for its welfare. His was a na- ture of rare sturdiness and yet gentleness ; always courteous, always devout, and fearless and unflinch- ing for the right. His counsels will be missed not less than his activity. It is a cause for thanksgiv- ing that we have had the privilege of his life among us for so many years."

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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 3

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