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 4

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 4

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ABEL PECKHAM, JR. (deceased), was born in Stonington, New London Co., Conn., Sept. 12, 1835, and descended from one of the oldest of New England's Colonial families, which, as the name indi- cates, was of English origin.

Peleg Peckham, grandfather of Abel, our sub- ject, was a native of Rhode sland, and farmed all his life in Hopkinton, Washington Co., that State. His son Abel, father of Abel, our subject, was born July 1, 1806, and grew to manhood at Hopkinton, and early learned the trade of shipwright, at which he worked at Point Judith. R. I., until he turned his attention to farming. He married, at Charles- town, R. I., Feb. 13, 1830, Rebecca Healy, who was born April 23, 1809, the result of the union being two children: . William Franklin, born in Charles- town, Dec. 15, 1831; and Abel, our subject. The parents had, early in the thirties, come to Connecti- cut, where the father engaged in farming near South Stonington until. 1840, when he removed his family to Hampden county, Mass., and purchased a farm in Blandford, which farm he cultivated until 1849, when he moved to Otis, Berkshire county. There he remained until 1865, when he returned to North Blandford, and in 1870 came to Suffield, Conn., bought a small farm, and here died Aug. 12, 1878. At each of these removes Mr. Peckham sold one farm and bought another, but was too shrewd a man to lose money in any of his trades. In poli- tics he was a Democrat, and in Otis served as town assessor and selectman. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was temperate, hard- working and truthful, and was respected by all who knew him. His widow, also a consistent Methodist, died at the home of her son, William F., in Suffield, Dec. 20, 1890.

Abel Peckham, Jr., the subject of this sketch, attended the district schools of Blandford and Otis, and, being fond of study, later went to the academy at Wilbraham, Mass. Upon his return he ac- cepted positions as school teacher in the district schools of Otis Center and West Otis, and this voca- tion he followed several terms ; he then served as school visitor and committee for the examination of teachers. He engaged in farming at Blandford

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for seven years, then removed to Florence, Hamp- shire Co., Mass., and for one year followed merchan- dising and butchering. In 1873 he came to Suffield, bought a farm of fifty-six acres, from Silas Clark- the Abijah Remington farm-and engaged in culti- vating the usual products of the neighborhood. A few years prior to his death he was attacked with pneumonia, which degenerated into consumption, and this ended in his death. May 28, 1878. His remains were interred in the Suffield cemetery, and he left relatives and friends who sincerely deplored his departure from their midst. He was a sincere and devout member of the Congregational Church, and died in the conviction of a blessed immortality. In politics he was a Democrat, but never was an office seeker.

Mr. Peckham was married, at North Blandford, Mass., Nov. 12, 1859, to Miss Julia A. Gibbs, born Aug. 15, 1841, daughter of Bradner S. Gibbs, and a native of Blandford, and to this union three chil- dren were born: Edwin L. and William Horace, born in Otis, Mass. : and Carrie R., in Blandford, Mass. Edwin L. died in Florence, Mass., at the age of eleven years. WILLIAM HORACE was educated in the district school and the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suffield, under Prof. Shores, and since his father's death has farmed the homestead, to which he has added twenty-three acres through his skill and industry, and now owns seventy-nine acres. He has been successful as a tobacco grower, dairy- man and farmer, has made many improvements on the old farm, and has made it one of the best of its size in the county. In politics he is a Democrat, and a sound one. He is a member of the Congre- gational Church. The brother, sister and mother all make their home together on the homestead farm.

Elijah Gibbs, grandfather of Mrs. Julia A. Peck- ham, lived and died in Blandford, Mass., a farmer. To this marriage, with Fanny Morton, were born ten children: Eli, who settled in Pennsylvania ; Levi and Lucias, of Monterey, Mass. ; Henry, a mer- chant of the Keystone State; Dwight and Israel, farmers of Blandford, Mass .; Bradner S., father of Mrs. Peckham; Betsey Ann, who was married to Curtis Deming, of New Boston, Mass. ; Mrs. Orville Gibbons; and Fannie, who was married to Smith Marcy, and became the mother of Dr. Marcy, of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Bradner Stuart Gibbs, father of Mrs. Peckham, passed his life on the homestead, and died Aug. 19, 1888. His widow died Dec. 10, 1890. He was a Democrat in politics, and a man of established hon- esty. To his marriage, with Sarah Demming, at Sandisfield, Mass., were born seven children: John H. : Julia Ann, Mrs. Peckham : Jane : Emogene, wife of Charles Loomis, of Leeds, Mass. ; Elijah, of West- field ; Marietta, wife of Russell Gibbs, of Bland- ford ; and Albert, who is a farmer in the last-named town. The Gibbs family were among the first set- tlers of Blandford, and the first male child born in Blandford was a member thereof.

LEVI CLINTON VIETS. In time to come this volume will acquire added value as a repos- itory of records whose historical significance will then be fully appreciated, and the efforts made by this generation to preserve such data as is still ob- tainable concerning their ancestry will be grate- fully acknowledged by posterity.

The Viets family, of which this honored citizen of East Granby is one of the oldest living repre- sentatives, has already compiled and printed in pamphlet form an account of earlier generations, Francis H. Viets, A. B., taking charge of the work, assisted effectively by our subject. From this in- teresting compilation we learn that the family is descended from Dr. John Viets, or Viett, a native of Germany, and a man of fine ability and unusual education for that day. He was born probably about 1665, and it is believed that his marriage occurred in New York. In 1710 his name appears on the town records of Simsbury. Hartford county, as a newly admitted citizen ; on Jan. 5, 171I, he re- ceived a deed of about twelve acres of land from the heirs of John Griffin. It appears from these and other writings that he signed the name Viett (the various spellings of the name among different families in Germany affording a wide individual choice), but after his death his sons signed it Vietts, which would indicate that it had previously been pronounced thus, and that the original form may have been Vietz. The present simple mode was adopted about 1751, and may now be consid- ered as fully authorized. Dr. Viets resided on the west side of the mountain, in Simsbury, in what is now the Falls school district of East Granby. Here he cultivated his farm and practiced medicine, but on account of the condition of the country at that time, and the poverty naturally attending the new settlement, he was not as successful as he had an- ticipated in his profession, and thought of returning to his native country. In 1713 he mortgaged his farm for the sum of fio. At this time there was a linseed-oil mill on the estate, which he probably erected not long before. In 1723. a short time be- fore his death, he received a grant of eighty-two acres of land from the town of Simsbury. Dr. Viets died of a fever when about fifty-eight years of age, and three surviving records concur in giv- ing the date of his death as Nov. 18. 1723. The name of his wife was Catharine, according to two surviving records. Of her maiden surname we have no record, but there is a tradition that it was Meyers. Her gravestone in Simsbury bears the following inscription : "Catherine Vets, ve wife of Dct. John Vets, died March 5, 1734, Æ. 68." The inscription differs in date from the town record of Simsbury, and the family record kept by hier son, Henry Viets, which states that-Cathar- ine, wife of Dr. John Viets, had four children in the following order: Catharine married a Mr. Hoskins, of Windsor ; Henry, born 1709, died April 2, 1779; John, born Nov. 3, 1712, married Lois Phelps, died April 8, 1777; and Mary (or Mercy) married a Mr. Gough or Goff. At the death of

Levi le Vieto

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

their father Henry and John were thrown at an early age upon their own efforts. By their indus- try and ability they acquired considerable estate.

(II Henry Viets was for a time employed in the copper mines in Simsbury, but soon turned his attention to farming, and became the owner of an extensive estate in the northern part of Simsbury. His homestead is now the property and place of residence of his descendant, James H. Viets., Henry Viets died April 2, 1779. His first wife, Margaret, died Sept. 28, 1750. He married, for his second wife, Magaret Austin, of Windsor, who was born in 1712, and died Oct. 14, 1783. His children by his first wife were : Henry, born Jan. 24, 1737, died Feb. 5, 1824; Margaret, born May 9, 1739, died Sept. 22, 1782 ; Luke, born June 17, 1743, died Oct. 21, 1757, accidentally shot at Becket, Mass., while hunting : David, born Feb. 18, 1745, died Nov. 3. 1815: Jonathan, born Sept. 26, 1750, died Feb. 17, 1837. By his second wife he had one son, James, born Aug. 28, 1752, died Dec. 23, 1827.

Capt. John Viets, brother of Henry, was also for a time employed in the copper mines, and after- ward became a farmer and an extensive trader. His estate lay on the western slope of the Green- stone Mountain, and his homestead is now in the possession of his descendant, Virgil E. Viets. When, at the breaking out of the Revolution, New- gate. prison was established, John Viets was ap- pointed keeper. He married, Dec. 12, 1734, Lois Phelps, daughter of Nathaniel Phelps. She was born March 10, 1718, and died Nov. 12, 1810, while his death occurred April 8, 1777. They had ten children : John, born March 2, 1736, died Sept. 27. 1765, married Elizabeth Phelps: Roger, born March 9, 1737, A. B. Yale College, 1758, died Aug. 15, 18II ; Seth, born May 26, 1740, died 1823, mar- ried Ruth Smith : Eunice, born Nov. 24, 1742, married Elisha Griswold (her son, Alexander Viets Griswold, was born in Simsbury, Conn., April 22, 1766, died in Boston, Mass., Feb. 15, 1843 ; bishop of the Eastern diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, from 1811 to 1843; became presiding bishop in 1836. A "Life of Bishop Griswold" was written by the Rev. J. S. Stone, D. D.) ; Lois, born Jan. 29, 1744, married Jona- than Buttles ; Abner is mentioned below ; Cathar- ine, born Aug. 7, 1749, died April 14, 1756; Dan was born July 2, 1751; Rosannah, born May 13, 1755, married Eleazer Rice; Luke, born June 6, 1759. died Feb. 25, 1835.

(III) Capt. Abner Viets, our subject's grand- father, was born in Simsbury Feb. 15, 1747, and died in Granby, July 27, 1826. His farm, now in the town of East Granby, is owned by our subject. His wife, Mary Viets, born June 27, 1751, died Sept. 4, 1825. Their children were: Abner, born June 29, 1772, married Sarah died Nov. 18, 1825: Mary, born May 18, 1774, married Henry Viets, died April 7. 1805; Benoni, born Feb. 13, 1777, married Esther Dewey, died Feb. 11, 1852; Samuel, born Jan. 17, 1779, married Susan Pratt, died March 6, 1814; Eunice, born Dec. 27, 1780,

married Enoch Kellog, died (date not given) ; Dan, born Oct. 17, 1783, married Beulah Phelps, die:1 Dec. 20, 1866; Annis, born March II, 1785, married a Mr. Rudd; Levi is mentioned below : Elizabeth, born April 30, 1790, married Russell Loomis: Apollos, born July 25, 1794, died aged about twenty-one. Capt. Abner Viets was a suc- cessful man financially, and in addition to general farming he was extensively interested in stock rais- ing. Politically he was a Federalist and was active in public affairs, serving some time as captain in the State militia. His mental gifts were superior. and he became especially well-informed on legal principles. his skill in unraveling problems of that nature causing him to be frequently employed as a lawyer.

(IV) Levi Viets, the father of our subject. was born in Simsbury June 15, 1786. and received a good common-school education. He was one of the most successful farmers in East Granby, and resided throughout his life on the home farm, with the exception of five years which he spent with his uncle Luke. He owned and operated over 300 acres of land, and was one of the pioneer tobacco raisers in that section. As a citizen he was well- known in the community and much respected, and although he never took an active part in public matters he was a stanch supporter of the old Whig party. He was a member of the Episcopal Church, while his estimable wife was for many years act- ively identified with the North Granby Congrega- tional Church. He died Dec. 22, 1857, while his son, Levi C., was in the West, and his remains now rest in the East Granby cemetery. He married Sarah Dibble, who was born April 10, 1792, daugh- ter of Deacon Benjamin Dibble, and died Sept. 15, 1852. They had two children: Levi Clinton, our subject, and Richard Benjamin, who was born April 23, 1830, and died July 24, 1863, after. a long sickness.

(V) Levi Clinton Viets was born Jan. 17, 1827, in East Granby (then Granby ), and during boy- hood attended the district schools of the neighbor- hood, with three terms in select schools in Granby and four in the Connecticut Literary Institute, in Suffield. His instruction in the English branches was thorough and accurate, Profs. Burnett and Gallop being among the teachers whose assistance he recalls with most hearty appreciation, and even in his youth he was considered one of the best mathematicians in this section. In April, 1851, at their father's request, Levi C. and his brother, Rich- ard B., took charge of his ( father's) farm and oper- ated it for five years. In April, 1856, our subject went west and traveled much in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska, by steamboat and mail coach. At Dakota City, Neb., he resided four years and en- gaged in farming and in the real estate business. On Dec. 25, 1860, he returned to Granby, having been gone about five years, and found his brother in such poor health that he went to work with him on the old farm. For the first twelve years after his brother's death our subject expended most of

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his earnings in improvements and new buildings on his farm, but for the last twenty-four years he has put his money into stock investments, which have paid better than the farm, and by judicious in- vestments and careful management of his inher- itance he has accumulated a substantial competence, but he is not now much engaged in farming. Dur- ing all of his life, besides operating the farm, he has done considerable business in wood and lum- ber.

Mr. Viets' library is one of the best in East Granby, and he is well-informed upon the topics of the time. His religious views are extremely broad and liberal, but he attends the Episcopal Church and contributes to its support. Political life has no charms for him, and on one occasion, when elected selectman of East Granby, he de- clined to serve. In early life he was a Whig and later he became a Republican, but the Free-Trade issue led him into the Democratic party, with which he has since affiliated. His unassuming manners and genuine kindliness have made him many friends, and socially he is connected with the Grange at East Granby, and with St. Mark's Lodge No. 91, F. & A. M., of Granby, of which lodge he was one of the charter members.

HON. ALPHEUS D. CLARK (deceased). One of the noted regiments of the Army of the Po- tomac was the 14th Conn. V. I., known -as the "Fighting Fourteenth," and the subject of this sketch, for many years a well-known resident of East Glastonbury, was distinguished for his sol- dierly qualities even in such company. He was one of the few privates who rose to the rank of captain, and his promotion was made solely upon merit, after examination before the United States Military Board at Washington. Capt. Clark's career as a business man and public-spirited citizen also shows his natural ability as a leader, and in 1898-99 he served as representative from his town in the State Legislature.

Our subject belonged to an old Connecticut fam- ily, and his grandfather, Pelatiah Clark, was for many years engaged in farming in Haddam, Mid- dlesex county ; he spent his last days at Middle- town, in the home of his son Alfred. Alfred Clark was born in Haddam, the youngest of a large family of children, and received a district school education. He followed farming as an occupation, with the ex- ception of two years spent in working in a brass foundry. His wife, Christina S. Clark, was a daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Clark, and they had nine children, as follows: Mary married Levi Clark; Alpheus D. is mentioned more fully below ; Jeannette married Alfred L. Morgan, of Middle- town; Smith married Loretta Spencer, and settled in Durham, Conn., where he was a well-known farmer and school teacher; John B. married Sa- mantha Nettleton, and settled on a farm in Dur- ham; Emil P. married George W. Tuttle, a me- chanic of Meriden; Whitney P. married Mary

Camp, and resides on a farm in Durham; and Ru- etta and Frances both died in infancy.

Alpheus D. Clark was born in Middletown Feb. 7, 1836, and attended a district school, also a select school taught by Daniel H. Chase. His parents died when he was sixteen years old, and he was obliged to make his own way in life, his first em- ployment being as a farm hand. This he followed for three months, receiving sixteen dollars a month, which was considered good wages at that time ; but he was a good worker and had an excellent knowl- edge of farming for one of his years. He then found work in the shops of the Russell Manufactur- ing Co., of Middletown, remaining until winter, when he taught a district school. For some time he taught in winters and farmed in summers, and about 1860 he went to work in the Maromas quar- ries, where he was employed until his enlistment, from Middletown, in Company B, 14th Conn. V. I., under Capt. E. W. Gibbons and Col. Dwight Morris. He entered for three years, and was with the Army of the Potomac two years, taking part in many fierce engagements. In 1864 he passed a most creditable examination before the military board, and was ap- pointed captain of Company D, 122nd U. S. Colored Infantry, with which he remained until being mus- tered out at Corpus Christi, Texas, Jan. 17, 1866.

On returning home Capt. Clark located at East Glastonbury, engaging in the stone business with his father-in-law, Mr. Hentze, under the name of Hentze & Clark. They continued together for twenty years, and in 1882 our subject also began the manufacture of paper, under the name of the Roaring Brook Paper Mfg. Co. In 1895 he re- tired from business, and spent the remainder of his days in ease at his attractive farm in Glastonbury. On March 18, 1858, he was married to Miss Mary Hentze, a native of Middletown, and they had two children : (1) Elisha P., who married Isabelle A. Weir, and resided on the farm with our subject; he has one child, Chester H. (2) Flora M., wife of Lewis Krebs,. died April 18, 1899; she left no chil- dren. The mother of these children died Dec. 29, 1897, and the Captain was again married, this time on April 24, 1899, to Miss Ellen A. House, of Glas- tonbury. In politics Capt. Clark was a Republican, and he served as tax collector, school visitor and justice of the peace for many years. During his term in the Legislature he served on the committee on Judicial Nomination. In early life he was a member of the Congregational Church, and later he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was a prominent worker, as have also been his family. He was a member of Drake Post No. 4, G. A. R., of South Manchester, and his United States commission from Adjt .- Gen. Thomas gave him the highest rank of any G. A. R. man in the town. His death, on May 9, 1900, was widely and sincerely mourned.

George S. and Weltha J. (Warner) House, Mrs. Clark's parents, were natives of East Glastonbury and Marlboro, respectively. He was a farmer by

alphens&Clark

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

occupation. Their family consisted of four chil- dren : Herbert, of East Hartford; Ellen A. ( Mrs. Clark ) ; and Wilbur W. and Lillie, both deceased. The father passed away in January, 1892, the mother in June, 1893. Both were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church.

HON. SAMUEL T. WELDEN, the present representative from the town of Simsbury in the State Legislature, is a man who may truly be said to be the architect of his own fortune, and in making his way to success has shown rare ability and energy. Beginning his career as a boy in a factory, he has succeeded in gaining a firm stand in business cir- cles, and enjoys a large trade in builders' hardware, stoves, agricultural implements and similar com- modities, and also conducts the most extensive greenhouses in his locality. The following account of his life and character will be read with interest, and cannot but convey a helpful lesson.

Mr. Welden was born April 5. 1858, in New York City, son of Samuel Welden, and in the pater- nal line he is a descendant of an English family. Thomas Welden, his grandfather, a native of Eng- land, was one of the founders of Stonefield, Canada, and he and his wife reared a large family of chil- dren, eight sons and one daughter : John, William, Richard, Samuel, Reuben, James, Thomas, Freder- ick and Ann; all married but Frederick, and had children. Only three of the brothers are now living, Reuben, James and Frederick, in Canada. They are engaged in the lumber business, which they have followed throughout life, staying in the woods all winter getting out timber, which is sent to Mon- treal in large rafts in the spring. John, William, Richard and Samuel left Canada when quite young, . settling in New York City, and all engaged in dock building, which was quite a business at that time. William died in Brooklyn, N. Y., about a year ago. Of the children of John, Frederick resides in Long Island City, N. Y .: George is in the West, and Ellen died in Canada three years ago.

Samuel Welden, our subject's father, was born in 1830 in the town of Cheltenham, England, and in his youth accompanied his father to Canada. When a young man he left home without any defi- nite plans, but finally located in New York and served an apprenticeship to the dock builder's trade, which he followed many years. He was married there, on April 10, 1855, to Miss Nancy McGirr, and in 1867 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. His death occurred Feb. 26, 1872, after a long illness, and as his savings had been exhausted his widow found it a difficult task to care for their three children and her niece, Anna McGirr, daughter of Robert McGirr. Our subject, the eldest of her children, was then fourteen years old, and was able to render effective aid to his mother, who decided to remove to Simsbury, where her sister, Mrs. Martha McNulty, resided, and better opportunities for employment could be found. Soon after her arrival she took a position in a fuse fac-

tory, where our subject was also employed, and later she became a nurse in the family of Joseph Toy. After the death of Mrs. Toy she returned to the factory, and thus, by her strenuous efforts, her little family was kept together, and the younger children educated and trained to useful trades. Will- iam Reuben, the second son, attended the Hartford Public High School two years, and served an appren- ticeship of four years as a machinist with Pratt & Whitney, of Hartford. He is now an expert machinist, and resides in New York City. George Frederick, the youngest son, took a course in Mc- Lean's Seminary, Simsbury, and after learning the machinist's trade with Pratt & Whitney entered the employ of the Ensign Bickford Co., of Simsbury.

Mrs. Nancy ( McGirr) Welden, of whose cour- age and ability her sons are justly proud, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, and died April 8, 1885. She passed away without warning, being engaged at the time in assisting some other ladies in reno- vating the interior of the Methodist parsonage at Simsbury. Her constitution was remarkably strong, as was shown by her years of hard toil, and in her stern integrity and sound common sense she gave evidence of her descent from good Scotch-Irish ancestry. For many years she was a consistent member of the Congregational Church, and both by precept and example she trained her boys to honesty and uprightness. Her ancestors for several genera- tions were residents of County Donegal, Ireland, and her grandfather, John McGirr, died there, leav- ing a large family. Her grandmother, whose maiden name was Rebecca Robison, afterward crossed the Atlantic with a son, Robert, who located first in Canada and later in New York City, where she died at the age of ninety, her remains being interred in Greenwood cemetery.

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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 4

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