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 61

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 61

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CHARLES SHIPMAN, a venerable and high- ly-respected agriculturist of South Glastonbury, has learned the art of "growing old gracefully," and al- though near the eightv-first milestone in life's jour- ney his faculties are keen, and his manner is as genial as in younger days. He can read small print without glasses, and often does a large day's work on his farm, as a pastime.

Mr. Shipman comes of a well-known Connecti- cut family. His grandfather, Stephen Shipman. was born Feb. 20, 1750, probably in Hebron, and be- came a leading settler in South Glastonbury. This worthy citizen was a shipbuilder, and also conducted a store in South Glastonbury for some years. He owned a large amount of real estate there, including the Masonic Hall property, and donated to the town the land formerly occupied by the Sixth District school, under the condition that it should revert to his heirs if used for other than educational purposes. In his later years he seems to have met with reverses, and his death occurred Feb. 8, 1834. On Aug. 4, 1790, he married Eunice Rae, daughter of Gideon Rae, of Roxbury, Mass., and a cousin of Vice-Presi- dent Hannibal Hamlin. She survived him some years, and died in Illinois. Of their children: (I) Reuben, born July 31, 1791, married Miss Blinn, of Berlin, and engaged in farming in Rocky Hill and later in Barry, Ill., where he died. (2) Charles, our subject's father, is mentioned below. (3) Eunice, born Jan. 18, 1796, married Shepherd Rob- bins, of Boston, Mass. (4) Stephen, born Sept. 3, 1798, was married twice, and settled on a farm at Barry, Ill. (5) William Henry, born Aug. 28, 1804, married (first) Harriet -, and (sec- ind) Eliza -. In early manhood he went to Illinois to engage in farming, but later returned to Connecticut, and became an oyster dealer in Fair

Haven, acquiring a large fortune. He died there, and his widow still resides in their old home. (6) James Madison, born April 26, 1808, was a farmer, and died at New Clayton.'

Charles Shipman, our subject's father, was born Aug. 27, 1793, at the present homestead, and re- ceived a common-school education. He followed farming, and was also employed in the Portland quarries, but finally settled upon the home farm, which was encumbered with debt. This he paid, and for many years he followed the even life of a farmer, his death occurring Oct. 4, 1878. His re- mains were interred at South Glastonbury. He married Sally Gillam, a native of Portland, who was born Aug. 26, 1798, and died Sept. 26, 1862. They had the following children: (1) George, born Feb. 27, 1818, married Ruth Goodrich, and was a farmer in Glastonbury and later at Barry, Pike Co., Ill., where he died. (2) Charles, our subject, was the next in order of birth. (3) Will- iam, born Aug. 7, 1822, was a soldier in the Civil war ; ne married Lucy Jones, and was employed in a factory for some time previous to his death. (4) Elizabeth, born Sept. 2, 1824, married John Hanch- ett, a machinist in Glastonbury. (5) Horace, born Feb. 26, 1828, was a stage driver, farmer and livery- stable keeper. He married Susan Manwarren, and located in Illinois, and later in Iowa. (6) Stephen, born July 2, 1832, married Rebecca Wright, and settled on a farm in Glastonbury. (7) Eunice, born July 7, 1834, married Ellery Treat, of Willow Brook, in the town of East Hartford. (8) John, born June 8, 1836, married Harriet Bidwell, and resides on a farm in Glastonbury. He served in the Civil war. (9) Mary, born March 15, 1838, died March 20, 1838. (10) Henry Martin, born Jan. 26, 1841, married and resides in Danbury, Conn .; he was in the 25th Conn. V. I. during the Civil war.

Charles Shipman was born Jan. 16, 1820, in the house now occupied by him as a residence. He attended the district school near his home, and also an academy at South Glastonbury conducted by Elihu Burritt, famous as the "learned blacksmith." He was reared to farm work, the "chores" taking much of his time morning and evening as a boy, and with the exception of the years from 1844 to 1872, when he made his home some two miles away, he has resided at the old homestead, the manage- ment of the place devolving upon him as his fa- ther's health failed. He is a Republican in politics, and has held various minor offices ; socially he be- longs to the Glastonbury Grange, and in religious faith to the Congregational Church at South Glas- tonbury, of which he and his family are leading supporters.

On April 28, 1844, Mr. Shipman married Miss Eliza Cadwell, who was born in Hartford March 17, 1818, a daughter of Ashbel Cadwell, but being orphaned at an early age was reared by William Holmes, of Buckingham. She died April 19, 1886,

CHARLES SHIPMAN

MRS. ELIZA CADWELL SHIPMAN

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and was buried at South Glastonbury. Of the six children of this union the eldest, ( I) Isabella, born May 15, 1845, married Deacon Edward Thompson, a merchant of Glastonbury, now retired. (2) Miss Ellen is at home. (3) Edward, born June 8, 1849, married Charlotte Noble, and now resides on a farm in Glastonbury. (4) Flora E., born May 2, 1851, married Franklin Taylor, of Glastonbury, who was a letter carrier in Hartford for fourteen years. (5) Frederick, born Jan. 2, 1856, married Mary Maynard, a farmer in Glastonbury, and both are now deceased. (6) Emma, born Jan. 9, 1860, mar- ried George H. Hale, of Glastonbury.

WILLIAM L. HUNTTING. In the Connecti- cut river valley there is perhaps no better known tobacco man, nor one more successful, than the sub- ject of this sketch, a prominent resident of East Hartford. It would be difficult to find a better il- lustration of the self-made man, by which is meant one whose native talents and energies enable him to rise superior to any circumstances. The career of our subject has amply demonstrated his ability to take care of himself under adverse conditions, to which many men would have succumbed. Grit and determination were the forces that carried him successfully through every critical emergency.

The ancestry of our subject is one of the oldest in the land, dating back into history through a period of over two hundred and fifty years to John Huntting, a pioneer of Dedham, Mass., one of two brothers who founded the Huntting family in Amer- ica. One branch of the family, that from which our subject is descended, removed to Long Island, and the land now owned by David H. Huntting, upon which our subject's father was born, has been in the family name from the original patent. It has been a prominent family, and connected with other well-known names in American history.

Mr. Huntting was born at East Hampton, Suf- folk Co., Long Island, N. Y., Nov. 22, 1840, eldest son of Jeremiah and Joanna A. (Hand) Huntting. The father was the eldest son of Jeremiah Hunt- ting. The grandfather, who was also an eldest son, was a carpenter by occupation in early life, and later a farmer. The father of our subject in early life was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade, learned it, and for a short time in his youth followed it. But he believed that the most honorable busi- ness in which a man can engage is farming, and that vocation he followed through life. He mar- ried Miss Joanna A. Hand, who was a member of one of the old Long Island families. Both parents of our subject were members of the Presbyterian Church. In politics the father was a Democrat until the repeal of the "Missouri Compromise," when as a stanch Abolitionist he, like thousands of other Democrats, joined the Republican party. In stature Jeremiah Huntting was short, and in that respect he resembled not his paternal ancestors,

but the Hedges, his father's mother being a member of that family. When the Civil war broke out Jere- miah Huntting, the father of our subject, was in- volved in obligations which ruined him financially. The first effect of the war upon property was to depress values, and it was under that initial in- fluence of the great struggle that the property of Jeremiah Huntting was sold at a sacrifice. A little later values rose, and the property was worth much more than the obligations to satisfy which its title passed from Mr. Huntting. He met every obliga- tion, however, possessing that sterling character which won lasting respect. He was one of the in- fluential men of the community in which he lived. He died in 1867, aged fifty-four years. His wife survived until December, 1898, dying at the age of seventy-six years. The children of Jeremiah and Joanna A. Huntting were as follows: (1) Will- iam L., whose name introduces this sketch; (2) Charles H., a wholesale fruit and canned goods merchant on Ann street, Hartford; (3) Jeremiah, of East Hampton, Long Island; (4) David H., a farmer of East Hampton; (5) Samuel, who died unmarried at East Hartford in 1887; (6) John P., a farmer of East Hartford; (7) Mary E., now Mrs. Joseph Dayton, of East Hampton; (8) Edward, manager of the East Hampton Lumber Co., at East Hampton.

William L. Huntting in his childhood days re- ceived such education as the schools of the neigh- borhood afforded, which was about three months a year. As the eldest of the family he had an abun- dance of work to do on the farm. His father was an extensive land owner, and the education our subject received was largely of a practical nature. At the age of sixteen years he shipped before the mast on the whaling vessel "Neva," of which his uncle, George Hand, was master, from Greenport, L. I. She made a thirty-two-months voyage, going north almost to Point Barrow and to Behring Straits, and to the islands along the Alaskan peninsula-ex- cellent whaling grounds a half-century ago. After this voyage our subject returned home, and for seven or eight months attended Clinton Academy. His primary object was to better equip himself in matliematics as a basis for navigation.

Mr. Huntting tlen began a second voyage, which proved more momentous to his fortunes. He sailed on the "Odd Fellow," as boat steerer. She left on a whaling voyage, going to the LaPlata river, South America, for sperm whale, a voyage of fifteen months. While on this trip he was taken sick with rheumatism of the heart, and became so ill that lie was landed and left in the hospital at Santa Cath- crina, Brazil, presumably to die. The "Odd Fel- low" sailed away without him. Benjamin Lindsay, of New Bedford, Mass., was then United States consul at Santa Catherina, and was very kind to the abandoned young sailor, after his recovery giv- ing him emplovient as manager of a store which

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he was conducting. At that time kerosene or lamp oil was being introduced into Brazil by Mr. Lindsay. With the latter our subject remained until June, 1865, when, exchanging his savings into the cur- rency of the United States, he found himself in possession of $700, and with that amount sailed for Long Island. When he had left home a few years before his father was in comfortable circumstances, and in that condition he expected to find him. The reduced financial straits of his father was a double disappointment to our subject, for he had expected to return to South America and engage in business with the help of his father. But under the changed conditions he went to work at home to aid in sup- port of his father's family. His illness had not wholly left him, and for that reason he decided not to return to sea., Moreover, the whaling business was rapidly declining, and had ceased to be profit- able. For a short time he was at a loss to know what to do. It was the only time in his career that he was "out of a job." But he possessed determina- tion and energy, and accepted the cest position that presented itself, which was that of salesman for the Champion Washing Machine. In that capacity he came to East Hartford in the spring of 1866. His partner, Mr. Conklin, quit the business and followed carpenter work, but our subject was a better salesman, and for four years he sold washing machines very successfully, making the business win. But he had a weather eye for better business opportunities. It came in the tobacco industry, which has become so prominent and valuable in the Connecticut river valley. In 1869 he raised a small crop of tobacco, less than a half-acre. The follow- ing season he raised two acres, realizing $750 for the crop. In 1871 he began buying tobacco, and he has raised and bought tobacco every year since, building up a large business, and in recent years representing as buyer Hoffman & Co., of New York. Samuel Huntting, the brother of our subject, had come to East Hartford, and in partnership with him the firm of William L. Huntting & Co. was established. After the death of the brother the old firm name was retained, and since then the two sons of our subject, William S. and Henry J., have been admitted to partnership, the firm name con- tinuing William L. Huntting & Co.

Mr. Huntting was married, at East Hartford, March 26, 1867, to Miss Marianna Howlett, daugh- ter of Eleazer P. and Eliza (Deming). Howlett, of East Hartford, and four children have been born to them: Kate M., who married F. E. Fuller, of East Hartford; Lillie M., at home; William S .; and Henry J. Ever since his marriage, except one year when he lived on what is now the corner of Central avenue and Main street, Mr. Huntting has resided on the old homestead of his father-in-law. He is a prominent Mason, being a charter member of Evergreen Lodge, F. & A. M., and is a charter mem- ber of Elm Loage, No. 63, Knights of Pythias,

East Hartford. He was also a member of the Knights of Honor during the existence of that or- ganization. Mr. Huntting cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. U. S. Grant. In 1876 he voted for Samuel J. Tilden, and he has since supported the Democratic party. He has held various local of- fices, and in 1880 was elected to represent his town in the State Legislature. He was chosen a delegate to the Kansas City Convention, which met July 4, 1900, and at that convention was chosen to repre- sent his State on the notification committee of the Vice-Presidential nominee, attending the ceremonies at Indianapolis. At the Hartford Convention, held Sept. 20, 1900, Mr. Huntting was unanimously nominated for the office of comptroller on the Dem- ocratic ticket. In educational matters Mr. Huntting has always taken a keen interest, and was secre- tary of the building committee when the East Hart- ford high school was erected ; he is still a member of the high school committee.

Mr. Huntting has made his own way in the world, and is entitled to the signal success which he has won in the battle of life. At East Hartford he ranks as one of its most substantial and in- fluential citizens. His early experience was severe, but he has come out of his years of struggle and hardship with admirable victory.

HENRY STANNARD BRAINARD, deceased. We are now permitted to touch briefly upon the life history of one who retained a personal asso- ciation with the affairs of Enfield town for many years, and one whose ancestral line traces back to the early Colonial period. His life was one of hon- est and earnest endeavor, and due success was not ! denied him.

Mr. Brainard was born in Haddam, Conn., Feb. 21, 1817, and died in Enfield Jan. 19, 1896. He was a son of Roswell and Laura (Sherman) Brainard, and a grandson of Ansel and Hannah (Dart) Brainard, the latter a daughter of Joseph and Abi- gail (Brainard) Dart. Ansel was a son of Lieut. Josiah and Lois (Hurlbut) Brainard, of Haddam Neck, the former of whom took an active part in the Revolutionary war as lieutenant of a company in the Continental army. He was a son of Josiah, the sixth child of William and Sarah ( Bidwell) Brainard. Josiah Brainard, just mentioned, was constituted a member of the Congregational Church in Middle Haddam at its formation, Sept. 24, 1740. He built a house on Quarry Hill, and was twice married, his first wife being Sarah, his second Han- nah Spencer. His father, William Brainard, was the fifth child of Daniel Brainard, who was the progenitor of the family in this country. Daniel was brought from England when a lad of eight years, and located in Hartford, Conn., living with the Wyllys family until he attained his majority. He became a proprietor and settler of Haddam, Conn., about 1662, and was a prosperous, influential and

Henry G. Brainard

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highly-respected citizen of that town, where he served as justice of the peace and as deacon in the church. He was twice married, first to Hannah Spencer, daughter of Gerrard Spencer, of Lynn, Mass., and (second) to Mrs. Hannah Sexton, a widow. All of his eight children were by his first wife.

Henry S. Brainard, whose name introduces this sketch, grew to manhood on Haddam Neck, town of Haddam, and received a good common-school and academic education. Before attaining his twenty- first year, his father died suddenly, and he succeeded to the quarry business, which he successfully con- ducted until his removal to Enfield, in 1855. Among the principal structures for which he furnished the stone was Fort Hamilton, N. Y., which was erected under the supervision of Robert E. Lee, then a government engineer, and later a prominent general in the Confederate army. At the time of the erec- tion of the fort Mr. Brainard became personally ac- quainted with that gentleman, and later kept up a pleasant correspondence with him for some time. On coming to Enfield our subject turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits, having purchased the large and productive farm of Samuel A. Stil- man, located on the main road a half-mile north of Thompsonville. The place was then conducted as a dairy farm, a milk route having been established, and he carried it on as such up to the time of his death, being regular as clock work as to time. In 1863 he went to Chicago, Ill., to superintend the working of a quarry at that place, conducted by a stock company under the name of Cook, Brainard & Douglas, but in 1865 he returned to Enfield. He was a thorough business man and a careful financier. He neither believed in extravagance, nor the neglect or slighting of anything. No part of his large farm was ever neglected ; his spacious buildings were al- ways kept in repair; and his implements and tools were carefully housed when not in use. His resi- dence and its surroundings always had a well-kept and inviting appearance.

Mr. Brainard was twice married, his first wife being Miss Hannah M. Brooks, a daughter of Noah and Hannah (Cone) Brooks, of Middle Haddan, Conn., and when she died, leaving no children, he married her sister, Miss Ursula B. Brooks. Seven children were born of this union: Ursula M .; Alvah S .; Norman W., who was a soldier in the. Union army during the Civil war, and died at Alex- andria, Va., in June, 1865; Cornelia O .; Almira F., deceased; Laura H., who married Henry G. Risley, and died March 25, 1900; and Charles H. Mrs. Brainard's maternal grandfather was John Cone, of Maromas, Conn., whose wife was Sus- annah Brainard, a descendant of William and Daniel Brainard, above mentioned.

Socially Mr. Brainard was a member of Doric Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., of Thompsonville ; politically he was a Republican, and an advocate of Prohibition principles. He served as select-

man in Enfield for two years, and his advice and counsel were often sought on many questions. It is but just and merited praise to say of him that, as a business man, he ranked among the ablest; as a citizen he was honorable, prompt and true to every engagement ; and as a man he held the honor and esteem of all classes of people.

A. H. BROTHERS, the well-known and pop- ular superintendent of the Ilealth Underwear Mills, at Poquonock, is one of the most practical and con- petent men in his line in the State, and his efficiency is shown by his long retention in the service of one firm, having been with his present employers for al- most a third of a century. Ile is a product of the Green Mountain State, and like most of her sons is steadfast, honorable and reliable in all things and under all circumstances.

Mr. Brothers was born in the town of Hart- ford, Windsor Co., Vt., June 29, 1847, a son of Oliver and Ann ( Howard ) Brothers, natives of Canada and England, respectively. In their fam- ily were ten children, of whom nine are living at the present writing, and one son, William, is a skilled millman at Rochdale, Mass. Reared in his native town, A. II. Brothers received such educa- tional advantages as the locality afforded, pursuing his studies mainly in the "little red school house.' His parents were people of limited means, and at an early age he began the battle of life for himself. When sixteen he commenced his career as a mill- man, first as piecer in J. C. Parker's mill at Quechee, Vt., where white flannel was the sole product. From tliat place he went to other mills, working for a time in Franklin and Laconia, N. H., and readily became familiar with branches of the business re- quiring more skill. He was also employed in the Burlington Woolen Mills, at Burlington, Vt., and the Ætna Mills, in Massachusetts. In March, 1868, he entered the employ of Austin Dunham & Sons, becoming overseer of the spinning-room in the mill at Naugatuck, Conn., and from department over- seer was advanced until, in June, 1887, he was made superintendent and manager of the Health Under- wear Mills at Poquonock. Ile has entire charge of the plant for the preparation of the raw material as well as the one for manufacturing the finished garments, and has the entire confidence and re- spect of his employers.

Mr. Brothers married Miss Jeanette Eastman, of Fairlee, Vt., and they have one daughter, Lilly J., now the wife of Thomas Metcalfe, of Poquonock. While not a politician in the sense of office seek- ing, he has always supported the Republican party by ballot and sympathy, but has declined to be- come a candidate for official honors. Ile is unas- suming in manner, yet exerts a valuable influence and is an excellent citizen, such as any community might be proud to claim. He is a self-made man in the fullest sense of the term, having worked his way upward from the lowest position in his busi-

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ness to the highest. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic Order, uniting with the lodge at Nau- gatuck, and religiously both he and his estimable wife are members of the Congregational Church.

STEPHEN BELDEN CHURCHILL (de- ceased) was for many years one of the best-known and most highly respected citizens of Wethersfield, and a representative of one of its oldest and most honored families.

Mr. Churchill traced his ancestry back to Baron Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, who belonged to the British nobility. The first of the name to come to Wethersfield was Josiah Churchill, a native of England, who on coming to the New World first located in Watertown, Mass., and from there re- moved to Watertown (now known as Wethersfield), Conn, where he spent the remainder of his life, and where he owned an estate. He married Miss Eliz- abeth, daughter of Nathaniel Foot, of Wethersfield, and to them were born eight children: Mary, born March 24, 1639; Elizabeth, who was born May 15, 1642, and was marricd, in 1660, to Henry Buck; Hannah, who was born Nov. 1, 1644, was married, inì 1666, to Samuel Royce; Ann, who was born in 1647, and married a Mr. Rice ; Joseph, born Dec. 2, 1649; Benjamin, born May 16, 1652; Sarah, who was born Nov. 1, 1657, and married Thomas Wick- ham; and one that died in infancy.

Jesse Churchill, the grandfather of our subject, spent his entire life as a farmer in Wethersfield, and was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, a member of Capt. Hale's company. He was married June 15, 1778, to Miss Elizabeth Belden. Among their chil- dren was Levi Belden Churchill, father of our sub- ject, who was born March 24, 1797, and spent his life in Wethersfield, engaged in butchering and agri- · cultural pursuits. He died July 25, 1863, and was buried in Wethersfield. He married Miss Abigail Griswold, a daughter of Justus Griswold. She was born Aug. 23, 1798, and died Jan. 1, 1867. The children of this union were Justus Griswold, who · was born Nov. 5, 1816, and died Aug. 23, 1874; Prudence Wells, born April 11, 1819, who married James Griswold, and died June 12, 1856; Levi, born April 24, 1824, who married Mary Jane Blinn, and died Aug. 15, 1862; Stephen Belden, our subject ; Abigail Maria, born Oct. 12, 1832, who married, April 3, 1855, Capt. John Standish; and Hannah Elizabeth, born Oct. 1, 1836, who married Bert Elisha Blinn.

Stephen B. Churchill was born Jan. 21, 1830, and was educated in the district schools and Weth- ersfield Academy. On laying aside his text-books he turned his attention to farming and butchering, and throughout life . followed those occupations on the old Churchill homestead in the town of Wethers- field. He was also extensively engaged in the rais- ing of fruit, being one of the largest producers in his section of Hartford county. He was noted for

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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 61

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