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 48

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 48

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James C. Gourley was born at Thompsonville April 5, 1862, and his education was begun there, but when he was nine years old the family removed to Windsor Locks. At the age of ten years he en- tered upon his career as a breadwinner, being em- ployed in the carding-room of the stockinet mill at Windsor Locks, and from that time his schooling was restricted to three months each year. In 1880 he began an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade with George P. Clark, with whom he remained eighteen years, being assistant foreman for five years and superintendent seven years. In the mean- time he became prominent in local politics as a member of the Republican party, and for three years he served on the board of selectmen of his town. In November, 1898, he was elected to the Legislature, where his abilities have already won gratifying recognition.

In September, 1887, Mr. Gourley was married, in Windsor Locks, to Miss Mary J. Steele, daugh- ter of Louis Steele, a leading citizen of Cromwell, Conn., and they have two sons, Irving J. and Nel- son A. Mr. Gourley and his accomplished wife have a prominent place in social life, and are members of the Episcopal Church at Windsor Locks, in which he was junior warden for three years, and for four years past has served as treasurer. He also affil- iates with Euclid Lodge, No. 109, A. F. & A. M., Washington Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M., and Suf- field Council, at Suffield.

JASPER H. BIDWELL, for many years a lead- ing business man of Collinsville, is a veteran of the Civil war and a public-spirited citizen, whose serv- ices in various official positions are so well appre- ciated by his fellow citizens that his nomination on the Democratic ticket has been uniformly endorsed bv the Republicans. For seventeen years past he has been town treasurer, and he served ten years as judge of probate, declining a renomination in 1899.

The Bidwell family is well-known in Hartford county, and Col. Jasper Bidwell, our subject's grand- father, was born within its limits, and passed his life as a farmer in Canton. He died in 1847, aged seventy-eight years, and his wife, Lucy Richards, died in 1874, when over ninety years of age. They had two children: Sherman and Edmund. Sher- man lived and died in Canton, but his five children all settled elsewhere. Thomas Bidwell, the grand- father of Col. Jasper Bidwell, came from Hartford and settled in Canton (then West Simsbury) in 1740, east of Indian Hill, the farm remaining with the direct descendants until about 1885.

Edmund Bidwell, our subject's father, was a na- tive of the town of Canton, born in 1799. He at- tended academies near his home during boyhood, but his desire for knowledge led him to seek a more liberal education by private study. When about thirty-five years old he married Charlotte Dyer, daughter of Capt. Zenas Dyer, of Canton town. About 1840 he located upon a farm in East Granby, where he died in 1847, at the age of forty-eight years. His widow died in 1891, aged seventy-two. They had three children: A daughter who died aged eighteen months; Jasper H., our subject ; and Daniel W., a resident of Collinsville.

Jasper H. Bidwell was born Jan. 6, 1843, in East Granby, and when four years old accompanied his widowed mother to the town of Canton. He attended the schools of Collinsville, and at four- teen went to East Hampton, Mass., where he spent three years in Williston Seminary, graduating in 1860. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, 2d Conn. V. I., for three months, being stationed at Washington, D. C., and during this brief term of service he participated in the first battle of Bull Run. In August, 1862, he re-enlisted, in Company E, 16th Conn. V. I., as company clerk, and soon afterward accompanied his regiment to Washing- ton to join the forces under Mcclellan. At the battle of Antietam he was struck on the right shoul- der by a piece of shell which burst over his head, the missile penetrating several folds of his blanket, rolled with his overcoat. At the ume he was climb- ing over a wall, and the shock injured his back and shoulder seriously, but he managed to keep up with his comrades until night. On examination his right arm was found to be paralyzed, and Col. Beach appointed him his orderly for the remainder of the engagement, his duty being to carry mes- sages on horseback. After the battle he was sent to a hospital, and while there he assisted in caring for his captain, Babcock, of Collinsville, who had been shot through the neck. He rejoined his regi- ment, but after a time was taken sick, and while on the march was left at the home of James Brown, near Snicker's Gap, Va., where he remained six weeks. The family sympathized with the Southern cause, but the sick soldier won their good-will, and when "Mosby's Guerrillas" were reported near they took him to the house of a relative, in a more se- cluded place. When able to return North he was

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guided one night by a young daughter of the fam- ny to Berun, the journey being made on horseback. He made himself known to the provost marshal, and was sent to a convalescent camp near Alexandria, but did not regain his health sufficiently to justify him in rejoining his regiment, and in February, 1863, he was discharged.

Mr. Bidwell returned home weighing but one hundred pounds, but gradually recuperated his strength, and for several years he was employed in the office of the Adams Express Co. at Norwich. He then spent two years in the oil region of Penn- sylvania, connected with O. B. Miller and Simeon Leland, of "Metropolitan Hotel" fame, owning a patent for drilling wells with tubing. For one year following he was engaged in the hardware business with his brother at Collinsville, and the next four years he spent as a clerk in the office of the Collins Company. In 1873 he entered the H. S. Collins bank, and in 1885 he became a partner in the bank of H. S. Collins & Co., and continued in the general banking business until May 10, 1899, the firm be- ing then succeeded by the Canton Trust Co., of which he is president. The building in which the bank is situated belongs to the Collinsville Savings Society, and the new firm is composed of the peo- ple of the town, Mr. Collins withdrawing on ac- count of his advanced age.

Although Judge Bidwell is identified with the Democratic party he is not a blind follower, and in 1896 cast his vote for sound money. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his family are highly esteemed socially. In October, 1874, he was married, in Canton, to Miss Corinne Beckwith, daughter of Oliver Beckwith, a well- known citizen of Canton. They have no children of their own, but Mrs. Bidwell's nephew, Oliver R. Beckwith, now a young man of twenty-three, and a member of the Hartford Bar, was reared by them as their son from the age of two years.

EDWIN DWIGHT FARNHAM. The ex- tensive cultivation of tobacco in South Windsor, beginning about a third of a century ago, brought large financial returns to the growers and created a demand for skillful buyers and packers. One of the young men, a native of the place, experienced in the growth of the plant, perceived the opportunity, seized it, and has become one of the best-known to- bacco buyers and packers in the State.

Edwin Dwight Farnham was born in the town of East Hartford Jan. 22, 1844, in the house on North Main street now occupied by John H. Burn- ham. The Farnham family is of English extrac- tion, coming from the county of Surrey, where there is a town named Farnham, now the seat of the Bishop of Winchester. Our subject's line of (lescent is traced back to Ralph Farnham, a native of England, who with his wife, Alice, and three children sailed from Southampton, England, April 6, 1635, in the brig "James," and landed in Boston June 3. His son, Ralph (2), born in England in

1633, married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Holt, of Andover, Mass. Their second child, Ralph (3), born June 1, 1662, married, on Oct. 9, 1685, Sarah Sterling. Their seventh child, Nathaniel, born July 25, 1695, married Hannah Preston, and had eleven children, of whom Jeremiah, the eighth in the fam- ily, was our subject's great-grandfather. In 1774 he married Lucy Durkee, and their son, Rufus, born in 1775, married, in 1801, Betsey Grover.

On his mother's side Mr. Farnham is descended from Elder John Strong, who was born in Taunton, England, and formed one of the Warham com- pany, who in 1630 settled Dorchester, Mass. He brought a wife and family, but they died shortly after the arrival in the New World, and in 1630 he married Abigail, daughter of John Ford. He set- tled in Windsor, Conn., about 1645. Elder Strong's son, Return Strong, married Sarah, daughter of Rev. John Warham, who was one of the party that went overland from Dorchester to Windsor, being among the first settlers in the latter place. Return Strong's son, Samuel, married Martha Buckland, and their son, Samuel, Jr., married Martha Stough- ton. Their son, Alexander, married Abigail Rice, and their daughter, Hannah, married Thomas Snell, who was our subject's maternal grandfather.

Augustus Farnham was born Feb. 11, 1816, in Ashford, Conn., the youngest child of his parents, and on Nov. 28, 1838, married Miss Persis Strong Snell. About 1839 they moved to East Hartford, where their children, seven sons, were born, as fol- lows: Edward Augustus, Edwin Dwight, Edgar Augustus, Marcus Albert, Andrew Ellery and Alvin Elliott (twins), and Charles Fremont. All but Dwight, Edgar and Ellery died in infancy. The father was a carpenter by occupation. On locat- ing in East Hartford he associated himself in busi- ness with the late Sylvester G. Farnham, a distant relative, and later he went into business for himself. He first lived on Governor street, but in a short time moved to the house now owned by John H. Burnham, which he bought, in 1841, of Abner M., Eleazer and three other Burnhams. All but the eldest of the seven boys were born in this house. Augustus Farnham moved to South Windsor in 1858.

The early education of our subject was obtained in the North District school and the East Hartford Academy. Of the latter institution J. O. Hurlburt, well remembered by many old residents, was princi- pal. Mr. Farnham also attended Salmon Phelps' private school, and later the South Windsor high school and the East Windsor Hill preparatory school. On Aug. 22, 1862, he enlisted for one year in Company G, 25th Conn. V. I., Col. George P. Bissell, Capt. Charles H. Tallcott, of Glastonbury, being in command of his company. In August, 1863, Mr. Farnham was mustered out with his regi- ment. He had served in Gen. N. P. Banks' 19th Army Corps, in the Department of the Gulf.

In July, 1863, while our subject was still in serv-

E. I Farnham

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ice, his father died. Returning to South Windsor, Dwight took charge of the farm, though he was but nineteen years old. Tobacco he made his principal crop, and for some years the prices were very high. In 1876 Mr. Farnham began to pack tobacco, buying on his own account and selling again. He let out his farm on shares, and went out on the road to sell leaf tobacco. His purchases have been very carefully chosen, and have gone to manufacturers from his warehouse. In his business Mr. Farnham has prospered. He has customers of twenty years' standing, who rely exclusively upon his judgment and information. He has the reputation among the leaf tobacco trade of handling a fine line of goods.

Mr. Farnham is an attendant of St. John's Church, of East Hartford. He belongs to D. C. Rod- man Post, No. 65, G. A. R .; is also a member of Evergreen Lodge, No. 114, F. & A. M .; Pathagoras Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M .; Wolcott Council, No. I; and Washington Commandery, No. I, K. T. In politics he is a Republican. For six years he was an assessor, and for eight years served as chair- man of the school board. Mr. Farnham is inter- ested in aboriginal history, and has a fine collection of Indian relics. In an amateur way he is fond of the study of entomology and other branches of natural history. He is a close student, and upon a wide range of subjects is a well-read man. Hc possesses a large and well-selected library, and is intimately acquainted with its contents.

Mr. Farnham has been twice married. By his first wife, Martha J. Ellsworth, daughter of Rufus Abbey, he had three children, two of whom died in infancy. The third, Wallace S., is now a student at Columbia Law School. His present wife was Miss Sarah E. Tudor, a native of South Windsor, whom he married in 1894. Mr. Farnham owns a highly-improved farm of forty-two acres, which he superintends, giving most of his attention to tobacco raising, in connection with his other busi- ness. He is one of the most prominent and pro- gressive men of the town. His intimate and lead- ing connection for a score of years with the prin- cipal industry of South Windsor has made him an influential factor in its development and prosperity. Prominent alike in social, public and business af- fairs, and with a taste alike for the lore of the past and for the latest discoveries in science, he is a citi- zen at once prominent and useful, filling with credit to himself and with satisfaction to others the multi- form duties and obligations imposed upon those whom talent and industry have placed in positions of responsibility and trust.

ASHBEL COMFORT HARMON. The Har- mon family is one of the oldest in this section, and the well-known citizen of Suffield whose biography is here presented traces his descent from the first settlers of that town. While the family is now scattered widely, being found in all parts of the

Union, it is still numerously represented in Hart- ford county, and its members have always been characterized by sterling personal worth as citizens, their thrift and enterprise in private life contributing to the wealth of the community, and their patriotism and courage being proved by gallant service in the field in time of war.

The family originated in England, and about 1636 three men of the name came to Boston. For a time all resided in the village of Roxbury, Mass., but later one went to Pennsylvania and another to Maine, while John Harmon, the direct ancestor of our subject, located in 1640 in Springfield, Mass., with his family, being one of the first settlers there. This well-known pioneer was born in England in 1611, and died in Springfield in 1661. Ten of his descendants in the third and fourth generations served in the Revolutionary war, three going from Suffield.

(II) Nathaniel Harmon, son of the pioneer, was born in Springfield, Mass., March 13, 1653, and died at Suffield May 2, 1712. His wife was Mary Skinner. He and his brother, Joseph, became in- terested in trading with the Indians, and for manv years were .the principal partners of that noted trader, Col. Pynchon, the original proprietor of the site of Springfield. In 1670 Nathaniel located at Suffield, then Southfield, which remained a part of Hampshire county, Mass., until 1749. They had routes through the forest in all directions, and col- lected large quantities of fur, their sheds in Suffield being always covered with skins stretched for dry- ing. Their land lay near the brook west of the vil- lage, and they also bought land at Warehouse Point, where they established a storage place for furs.

(III) Nathaniel Harmon, son of Nathaniel, and next in the line of descent, was born July 30, 1695, and died Feb. 10, 1774. He married, first, Sarah Smith, who was born Oct. 7, 1694, and by this mar- riage he had one child, Phineas. By his second wife, Hannah Miller, he had five children.

(IV) Phineas Harmon, our subject's great- grandfather, was born June 4, 1720, and died May 31, 1802. On May 17, 1744, he was married, in Suffield, to Hannah Barber, a native of Spring- field, Mass., born Dec. 8, 1720, who died in Suf- field. On Feb. 1I, 1749, he married Dorcas Ilast- ings, who was born in Suffield June 14. 1731, and died Nov. 14, 1816. By his first marriage he had three children: Elijah and Elisha, both of whom died in infancy ; and Elijah (2), who died Nov. 13, 1776, in Westfield, Mass. By the second mar- riage there were eleven children, whose names with dates of birth are as follows: IJannah, Oct. 5. 1750; Ezekiel, April 17, 1752; Gad, Jan. 20, 1754; Gaius, Jan. 25, 1756; Hannah, June 25, 1758; Nathaniel, May 31, 1760 ; Thaddeus, March 11, 1762 ; Heulah, March 23, 1764; Phineas, April 22, 1766; Paul, April 22, 1768; and Elisha, April 28, 1770.

(V) Paul Harmon, our subject's grandfather, lived to the advanced age of eighty-four years, his death occurring Nov. 13, 1852. He was a tall, slim man, and was, a successful farmer in Suffield. He

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purchased the farm on which our subject was born, being the first Harmon to own it, and his remaining years were spent there. Politically he affiliated with the Whig party, in which his sound judgment and high character made him a valued worker. His first wife, Eunice Remington, who was born May 15, 17744, died Sept. 15, 1817, and the remains of both now rest in the cemetery in West Suffield. His second wife was Polly ( Holton) Parsons, and after her death he married Charity ( Phelon) Phelps. By his first marriage he had twelve children: (I) Julius, born Sept. 16, 1794, died Nov. 18, 1795. (2) Julia, born Aug. 13, 1796, died Feb. 10, 1798. (3) Zenas, born Nov. 4, 1798, married Julia Kent, and died Feb. 4. 1867, in Warren, Vt. He was a farmer, and his son, William P., now resides on the old homestead in Vermont. (4) Julia, born July 31, 1800, married Frederick Gillett Nov. 7, 1819, and died in Granville, Mass., Dec. 17, 1835. He after- ward married Naomi Linker, and his death occurred in Westfield, Mass., Ang. 30, 1865. (5) Phineas, born Nov. 7, 1802, married Mary Grosvenor, and died Jan. 31, 1833, in Suffield, where he was engaged in farming. (6) Paul, born Nov. 14, 1804, was mar- ried (first) to Abigail Gillett, (second) to Lucinda H. Sterns, and (third) to Sarah C. Phillips. By occupation he was a carpenter and farmer ; he died Nov. 23, 1883, in Omaha, Neb. (7) A child born in 1806 died the same year. (8) Eunice L., born Jan. 17, 1809, married Zopher St. John, of Simsbury, Conn., who died Feb. 20, 1872. She survived him and died Jan. 5, 1899, at Simsbury. (9) Martha F., born Nov. 29, 1810, married Thomas Gillett, who died in Suffield Oct. 18, 1880, and her death occurred April 7, 1887, in the same town. (10) Chloe, born Oct. 28, 1812, married John Talbott, and died in Centreville, Mich., in 1837. (II) Han- nah M., born July 3, 1814, married Lucius A. Cut- ler, and died in Paterson, N. J., Aug. 22, 1840. (12) Julius (2), our subject's father, is mentioned more fully below. By his second wife Paul Harmon had one son, James, born July 2, 1821, now a re- tired farmer at East Warren, Vermont.

(VI) Julius Harmon, father of our subject, was born Aug. 17, 1817, on the homestead purchased by Paul Harmon. His educational opportunities were meager, but as he was always fond of reading he became well informed, especially in science and his- tory. In mathematics he showed unusual aptitude from childhood, and he learned algebra without a teacher. His excellent memory enabled him to re- tain any knowledge once gained, making his con- versation most interesting and instructive, and few men in the locality had as many friends as he. As a young man he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and while helping to build the Congregational church at West Suffield he was crippled for life. By some mistake the scaffolding was removed from the belfry before the tools were brought down, and, as no other way of recovering them could be de- vised, the foreman asked for a volunteer who would climb up on a rope and get them. Mr. Harmon,

then about twenty years old, offered to make the attempt, but the support of the rope broke and he fell, injuring his spine so much that both lower limbs withered, leaving them without a particle of strength. His arms were strong, however, and he managed to go about freely in a three-wheeled car- riage, being a frequent and welcome caller at the homes of his friends. He took great interest in pol- itics, being a stanchi Republican, but, owing to his physical disabilities, never held office notwithstand- ing his popularity. He always resided at the home- stead, where he died Oct. 9; 1879, and his remains are interred in West Suffield. At the time of his accident he was engaged to Miss Caroline E. Lane, of Suffield, a most estimable young lady, and when he learned that he was to be crippled permanently he offered to release her, but she nobly declared her wish to share his lot, and they were married soon afterward, in 1838. As his father was then an old man, he began housekeeping at the farm, and, al- though it was in poor condition, he brought it to a highly productive state, and made a handsome in- come from it in later years. In this work his wife was an efficient helper, bearing much of the responsi- bility, but in spite of her years of hard work she is well-preserved and enjoys excellent health. She now ( 1900) resides at Cedar Bluffs, Neb., with her son, William J., at the age of eighty-three, hav- ing been born March 7, 1817. Her parents, Ashbel and Ann (Stocking) Lane, were well-known resi- dents of Suffield, and her family has long been prom- inent in that locality. Of their four children, all lived to adult age, and their strict and careful home training fitted them for honorable positions in life. Our subject, the eldest of the quartette, will be men- tioned below. (2) Adelaide Eunice, born Aug. 26, 1846, married John Lewis, and died in Oak Park, Ill., April 21, 1881. Mr. Lewis is a prominent attorney of Chicago, having written several books on law, and he now resides at Oak Park, Ill., near Chicago. (3) William J., born June 30, 1849, has a large farm in Cedar Bluffs, Neb., and is a very successful farmer. As a boy he learned the carpen- ter's trade in Suffield with George Crane, and also became proficient as a surveyor, being employed at one time by the government to make surveys in different parts of the West. (4) Franklin S., born Oct. 13, 1853, is a carpenter of Omaha, Nebraska.

(VII) Ashbel C. Harmon was born March 6, 1841, and began his education in the Sheldon street school, in Suffield, Miss Caroline Rose, Miss Pin- ney and Benjamin Hathaway being among his early teachers. Later he attended a select school in Suf- field, taught by Palmer Gallup, and spent three terms at the Connecticut Literary Institute. He has never been afraid of work, and in his boyhood he ren- dered valuable assistance to his parents. He fol- lowed farming on his own account for some time after his marriage, and then removed to the village of Suffield, where he engaged in the meat business, but in 1869 he bought the original tract of land owned by Nathaniel and Joseph Harmon, at Suf-

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field. Since that date he has been interested in ag- riculture, and in 18- he purchased another farm in Suffield, but in 1884 an accident compelled him to give up active work. He possesses the confidence of his fellow citizens to a rare degree, but, although he is a strong Republican, he has never cared to enter the race for official honors. His duties as a citizen are never shirked, however, and in 1884 he sat on the first jury ever called in the new court house at Hartford. His military record is an hon- orable one, beginning with his enlistment, Aug. 25, 1862, in Company G, 22d Conn. V. I., as a private. He remained in the service nearly a year, being never absent from duty except one night when he was ill from the effects of improper rations. The regiment was mustered into service at Hartford Sept. 20, 1862, and Oct. 2, 1862, they left Hart- ford on a steamer for New York City, where they took a train for Washington. Their winter quarters were at Miner's Hill, near Falls Church, Va. (eight miles from Washington), and early in February, 1863, they were ordered to Hunter's Chapel, near Arlington, to assist in constructing fortifications on the farm of Gen. Robert Lee, overlooking the capitol and guarding Long Bridge. On April I they embarked on a steamer at Alexandria for Nor- folk, Va., and later they went to Suffolk by rail. They participated under Gens. Getty and Gordon, Gen. Peck being in supreme command, in the de- fense of Suffolk, during Longstreet's siege, support- ing the 8th and 21st Connecticut Regiments and a Michigan battery, and for weeks were compelled to stand "under arms" for two hours before day- break each morning, expecting an attack. The siege was raised May 3, 1863, and the regiment transported to West Point, on York river, where they arrived at night. Entrenchments were hastily thrown up in anticipation of a night attack, but after three weeks of occupation the post was aban- doned and the entire force taken to Yorktown Plains, where it was encamped directly in front of McClellan's massive entrenchments and in sight of the old Rebel rifle-pits, and near the scene of Corn- wallis' surrender during the Revolutionary war. On June 9 the regiment took part in the advance on Richmond, marching by way of Williamsburg and the Chickahominy river to Diascum Bridge and Chickahominy Church. They were afterward joined by the force of Gen. Dix, which moved by way of the York river, the whole expedition being known in history as the "Blackberry Raid." Re- turning to Yorktown, the 22d Regiment embarked June 26 by steamer for home, arriving at Hartford June 29, and were mustered out July 7, 1863, but the hardships and exposure of camp life had so in- jured our subject's health that he was ill for more than eighteen months from malaria. He has never lost his interest in military matters, and is an active member of Samuel Brown Post, No. 56, G. A. R., at Thompsonville, and secretary and treasurer of the Veterans Association of Suffield.

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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 48

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