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 9
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Abel Adams, brother of Capt. William Adams, married Rosene Cossett, who was born May 30, 1759, a daughter of Rene and Phebe (Hillyer) Cossett, and who died Oct. 25, 1827, the mother of ten children: Betsey, July 17, 1778-died Jan. 27, 1828; Rosannah, Feb. 2, 1780-died March 26, 1833; Abel, Jan. 3, 1781-died Oct. 15, 1856; Am- brose, Dec. 17, 1783-died Feb. 19, 1860; Homer, March 29, 1788-died Sept. 16, 1805; Phebe, Dec. 23, 1789-died Nov. 16, 1872; Lurana, Oct. 14, 1790-died Sept. 12, 1860; Orphia Cossett, Feb. 17, 1793-died June 27, 1867; Ruth, March 23, 1796-died Nov. 19, 1866; and Virgil, Jan. 25, 1798 -died April 26, 1849. The father of these chil- dren, Abel Adams, was one of the soldiers sent from Connecticut after the Lexington massacre, and joined the army near Boston. He enlisted May 9, 1775, in Capt. Abel Pettibone's company, Second Connecticut Continentals, under Col. Joseph
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Spencer, and served until honorably discharged, Dec. 18, 1775 ; in 1776 he enlisted in Capt, Ephraim Adams' company, Eleventh Connecticut Militia, and marched to Westchester ; returning to his farm in North Bloomfield, he died there, and there is a marble slab to his memory in St. Andrew's cemetery.
William Adams, son of Capt. William Adams, was a lifelong resident of Bloomfield, was a farmer, and for many years kept a tavern. Born in 1778, he married, May 2, 1798, Miss Electa Roberts, who died Oct. 15, 1847, the mother of nine children, born as follows: William, Oct. 10. 1799; Hiram, May 22, 1801 ; Byron, Feb. 23, 1803; Chester, Feb. 23, 1805; Watson, April 23, 1807; Tudor, April 30, 1809; Caroline Electa, Dec. 4, 1812; Edwin R., April 11, 1815 ; and James, Aug. 26, 1817. The father of this family died July 24, 1822.
Hiram Adams, son of William and father of Hiram Watts Adams, passed his boyhood days at his father's tavern in Simsbury, now in Bloomfield, and was educated in the South Scotland district school. He kept store and tollgate at North Bloom- field several years, and married, June 12, 1823, Miss Catherine Adams, daughter of Ambrose Adams, and granddaughter of Capt. Abel Adams. To this mar- riage were born seven children: Electa C., widow of Horton Cornish, of Hartford; Mary, deceased wife of Linville J. Hall, chaplain in the State prison at Wethersfield; Eliza C., widow of Wooster B. Seymour, of Hartford; Hiram W .; Amelia D., widow of Henry W. Whiting, of New Britain; Byron D., deceased ; and Ashbel S., deceased. Mrs. Adams died in October, 1853, and Mr. Adams mar- ried, Jan. 1, 1856, Lydia S. Butler. In politics Mr. Adams was a Democrat. In religion he was first an Episcopalian, but later united with the Baptist Church at Tariffville, of which his wife was a mem- ber, and in this faith he died March 8, 1866.
Hiram W. Adams passed his school-boy days in North Scotland school district, Hartford county, and in Perth Amboy, N. J. At the age of eighteen years he started peddling through the states of New York, Ohio and Michigan, and in 1858, about six years later, returned to Bloomfield with a drove of twenty-two horses, and also in the summer of the same year, drove 3,000 sheep from Ohio. He next conducted a grocery and also a carriage re- pository in Hartford for twenty-five years, being the first to engage in the latter business in that city, and for twenty-one years there made a con- tinuous residence, his grocery being at the corner of Main and Pleasant streets.
In the spring of 1883 Mr. Adams returned to North Bloomfield, and this has since been his per- manent home. Here he engaged in handling Cana- dian horses up to 1894, since when he has devoted his attention to trading in horses from the West, being now, as he has been in the past, the leader in this special line of live stock dealing.
Mr. Adams was united in marriage, at East Granby, Conn., Feb. 16, 1859, with Miss Jane F. Griswold, a daughter of Elihu Griswold, who de-
scended from one of the oldest families of New England, and of which further mention will shortly be made. To the felicitous union of Mr. and Mrs. Adams has come one daughter, Bertha Jane, whose birth occurred July 31, 1861, and who was mar- ried, March 27, 1883, to Jeffery O. Phelps, of Hart- ford. To Mr. and Mrs. Phelps has been born, May 25, 1886, one son, Jeffery O .. Jr. Mr. Adams is a Freemason; he was an alderman in Hartford, has been a selectman in Bloomfield, and has ever led an active, a progressive and a useful life, replete with beneficial results to himself, his family and his hosts of warm-hearted and unfeignedly sincere friends.
ELIHU GRISWOLD, father of Mrs. Jane F. Adams, and a son of Alexander and Alice ( Bascom) Gris- wold, was born in East Granby, Dec. 20, 1799, and there died in July, 1882. He was one of the town's most prominent and influential citizens, was one of its progressive farmers, for several terms repre- sented his district in the State Legislature, as a Democrat, and also served in all the town offices ; he died a devoted member of the Baptist Church at East Granby. To his marriage, with Miss Mary Olmstead, a daughter of Timothy and Rhoda (Loomis) Olmstead, of his own town, were born three children ; Jane Frances ( Mrs. Adams), June 22, 1834; Mary Alice, who died April 2, 1842, at the age of sixteen months; and Timothy Wolcott, born March 17, 1843, and also deceased.
A brief summary of the Griswold family antece- dents may be given as follows : Edward and Matthew Griswold came from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, in 1639, in company with the Rev. Huits party, and settled in Windsor, Conn. Although they had owned property in Kenilworth, it is not known that the city was their birthplace, and it is claimed that they belonged to the ancient family of Solihull near by, and as such were entitled to the use of the family coat of arms, but of this there is no positive proof. However, it is certain that the immigrant brothers were men of education and property, and, after their arrival in the Colony, were al- ways saluted as "Mr.," the equivalent of "gentle- man," in contradistinction to yeoman or tradesman. Both brothers, though young when they arrived, speedily allied themselves with the highest social element of Windsor, took positions of commanding influence and became prominent in local affairs, be- ing chosen to fill the offices of governor and lieu- tenant governor of the State many times. Besides if it be a principle of heredity that the character- istics, physical and mental, of a strongly marked ancestry_ are reproduced in the descendants, then it may be inferred that the original Griswolds of New England were high minded, intelligent and Christian gentlemen, as these characteristics are fully developed in the present generation.
HON. FREDERICK ALEXANDER KING, a substantial agriculturist and citizen of South Wind- sor, has descended from one of the old and promi-
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nent families of New England, being in the seventh generation from Capt. John King, of Northampton, Mass., the line of his descent being through Thomas, Thomas (2), Zebulon, Alexander and Benoni Ol- cott King.
(1) Capt. John King, the emigrant ancestor, was born in 1629 in Northampton, England. At the age of sixteen years, in 1645, he came to America, locating in Northampton, Mass. He married, in 1656, Sarah, daughter of Deacon William Horton, theirs being the second marriage celebrated in the town. The town granted him a homestead on King street. At his suggestion, or in honor of him, it is thought, the town took its name. He was a tanner by trade, an estimable member of the Church and community, often serving as selectman. His wife died in 1683, and he subsequently married Sarah, widow of Jacob Mygatt, and daughter of William Whiting. Capt. King died in 1703, and his second wife passed away in 1705.
(II) Thomas King, son of Capt. John King, the emigrant, was born in 1662; his third wife died in 17II, the year in which he died.
(III) Thomas King (2), son of Thomas King [no record given].
(IV) Zebulon King, son of Thomas King (2), born in 1717, married, in 1743, Keziah Loomis. She died in 1782, and he died in 1793. He located in what is now South Windsor, Connecticut.
(\') Alexander King, son of Zebulon King, born in 1749, married, in 1781, Abigail Olcott. She died in 1837, he died in 1831. Alexander King served as a soldier during the Revolutionary war. In June, 1776, he was commissioned, by Jonathan Trumbull, ensign of a company raised to join the Continental army, and was again commissioned Oct. 16, 1777, by Gov. Trumbull, as an ensign in the 19th Regi- ment of Militia.
(VI) Benoni Olcott King, the father of Hon. Frederick Alexander King, of South Windsor, was born Aug. 26, 1799. He married Nov. 12, 1827, Lucina Sadd, born Jan. 3, 1802, daughter of Noah Sadd. Mr. King was an industrious and prosper- ous farmer throughout his lifetime, and one of the substantial men of Hartford county. He was a representative from his town to the General As- sembly of the State in 1846-the first from the town of South Windsor. He was a practical business man, possessed of good judgment and held the es- teem and respect of his fellow townsmen, as did also his wife, who was a descendant of Thomas Sadd, who was among the early settlers of East Windsor. Mr. King died Oct. 15, 1854, and Mrs. King on Oct. 13, 1858. To them were born four children: Mar- tha C., born in 1831, resides near the old homestead ; Frederick Alexander, born Dec. 4, 1833, is men- tioned farther on; Celia M., born in 1840, married, in 1870, Leonidas D. Chandler, a substantial farmer of South Windsor; and Catharine M., born in 1836, married, in 1870, William H. Cogswell, of Ellington, Conn., and died in 1875.
(VII) Frederick Alexander King, son of the
late Hon. Benoni Olcott King, was born Dec. 4, 1833, in what is now South Windsor, and was reared on his father's farm, remaining at home until his marriage. In boyhood he attended the pub- lic schools of the town, and also received private instruction. In 1870 he purchased what was known as the old Wolcott homestead, to which he removed after his marriage, and which has since been his home. This farm now comprises some one hundred acres, in addition to which he owns several other tracts, the greater part of the home farm being bottom land on the Connecticut river, over which the spring freshets annually leave a rich alluvial de- posit, greatly enriching it and rendering it self-sup- porting, and the best meadow or grass land to be found anywhere in the world. Mr. King is one of the few farmers of Hartford county who is not burdened with the great expense of fertilizing, his land lying in this particular locality being effectually fertilized by this annual overflow of the river ; and he is the only farmer who takes entire advantage of these natural conditions. He owns one of the best-improved farms in South Windsor, and is en- gaged in general farming and stock raising. He also grows some tobacco. As an agriculturist he ranks with the best of the county, and as a man and citizen he has the respect and esteem of his fellow men.
A man of the people, enterprising and public spirited, one in whom the people of his town have confidence, and who has successfully managed his own affairs, Mr. King has many times been called to positions of public trust and honor, and has as often discharged their duties with efficiency and fidelity. Though a Democrat in his political affil- iations it is a notable fact, and to his credit, that he has had the support of both parties through his public service. He was elected town clerk and treasurer in 1863, and held those positions for a number of years. He was elected to the office of probate judge in 1867, and in 1878 was a represent- ative in the General Assembly. He was chosen selectman of his town in 1881 and again in 1887, holding the office in all some eight years, and then declining further service. He also for some years was a member of the high school committee of the town.
On May 8, 1873, Mr. King was married to Miss Ellen L. Vibbert, and their home has been blessed with children as follows : Mabel D., Olcott F., Kath- erine L. and Mattie E.
HON. MARO SPAULDING CHAPMAN, manufacturer, of Manchester and Hartford, has long been one of the promient business men and citizens of the Capital City and of the State.
A representative of one of Connecticut's early and prominent families, Mr. Chapman was born Feb. 13, 1839, in East Haddam, Conn., son of Na- thaniel and Harriet (Talcott), Chapman, and a de- scendant in the seventh generation from (I) Rob- ert Chapman, who was born in England, says tradi-
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tion, in 1616. He came from Hull, England, to Boston in 1635, and on to Saybrook that same year. In 1642 he married Ann Bliss. He died in 1687. That he was a man of influence in the town of Say- brook is evident from the fact that for many years he held the office of town clerk, and clerk of Oyster River Quarter, and filled many other important sta- tions. For many years he was commissioner of Saybrook, and was elected as their deputy to the General Court forty-three times, and assistant nine times. He was therefore a member of the Legis- lature of the State at more sessions than any other man, from the settlement of Saybrook to the present time. The Colony records also show that each of his three sons were representatives to the Legisla- ture: The eldest, twenty-two sessions; the second, eighteen sessions; the third, twenty-four sessions. It appears from the records of Saybrook that Rob- ert Chapman was a very large land holder in the towns of Saybrook and East Haddam. He also owned a large tract in Hebron. He settled him- self on a tract of land in Oyster River, about two miles west of Saybrook fort, which has descended in the line of the youngest son of each family, never having been bought or sold, and is now oc- cupied by Robert Chapman, a lineal descendant of Robert Chapman, the emigrant.
The line of our subject's descent from this Robert Chapman is through Robert (2), Robert (3), Caleb, Caleb (2), and Nathaniel.
(II) Robert Chapman (2), son of Robert, the emigrant, born in 1646, at Saybrook, married (first) in 1671 Sarah Griswold. He was long in public life, having represented the town in the Legislature eighteen sessions, was commissioner and surveyor of the town, and otherwise prominent. He was a large land owner. His death occurred in 17II.
(III) Robert Chapman (3), son of Robert (2), born in 1675, was one of the first settlers of East Haddam. His death occurred in 1760. His wife's name was Mary.
(IV) Caleb Chapman, son of Robert (3), born in 1704, at East Haddam, married in 1731 Elizabeth Church.
(V) Caleb Chapman (2), son of Caleb, born in 1732, in East Haddam, married ( second), in 1775, Hannah Brown, of Chatham. He died in 1805.
(VI) Nathaniel Chapman, son of Caleb, born in in 1787, in East Haddam, married (first) May 13, 1819, Philoxa Cone, who died Sept. 7, 1823, leaving no issue. Mr. Chapman later married Harriet Tal- cott. He was occupied as a tanner and farmer in East Haddam. His children were: Frederick T., born in 1825; Mary P., in 1827; John P., in 1829; Nathaniel O., in 1833; William H., in 1835; Mary S., Feb. 13, 1839; and James B., in 1840.
Maro S. Chapman, our subject, attended the public schools of East Haddam and also a private school there. From the age of eighteen he was a clerk for three years in a store in Manchester Green, Hartford county. The stirring scenes of 1861 aroused his patriotism, and, feeling that his coun-
try needed his services, he left the counting room, and on Nov. 20, 1861, enlisted, becoming a private in Company C, 12th Conn. V. I., the "Charter Oak" regiment, of which Hon. Henry C. Deming, at that time mayor of Hartford, became colonel. The command became a part of Gen. Butler's division. Young Chapman bore an honorable part in the cam- paign and varied experiences of his company and regiment for a year and a half, then returned to civil life. Since the close of the war ( 1865) he has been engaged primarily in the manufacture of en- velopes, identified with the Plimpton Manufacturing Co., of Hartford, and since 1874 has been superin- tendent of the United States Stamped Envelope Works, of the same city. In order that the reader may get an idea of the magnitude of this business under the superintendency of Mr. Chapman we give an outline of the history of the concern with which he has been connected.
The Plimpton Manufacturing Co., which was the outgrowth of a business started by Linus B. Plimpton in 1865, was organized in 1873 for the manufacture of envelopes, paper, papeteries and printing. In 1886 the company built a factory on Pearl street for their own exclusive use, constructed of brick, and with four floors above the basement, each containing 17,000 square feet. It is lighted by electricity, furnished with automatic fire ex- tinguishers, and thoroughly provided with modern appliances for the economical dispatch of business. The works have a capacity of three million envel- opes per day, and besides are fully equipped for job-printing and book-binding. In 1874 the com- pany put in a bid for making stamped envelopes for the government, and obtained the prize. With them in the contract was joined the Morgan En- velope Co., of Springfield, Mass., and the associa- tion was merged in the Hartford Manufacturing Co., in 1898. At each successive letting, with the exception of the year 1894 the contract has con- tinued to fall to these parties as the lowest bidders. Since the transfer of the manufacture to Hartford ( 1874) the annual output of government stamped envelopes has risen from one hundred and fifty million to over six hundred million. From the be- ginning Mr. Chapman has had immediate super- vision of the business, which is carried on in a build- ing by itself, while the Post Office Department has an agent of its own under the same roof to look after its interests, and to superintend the shipments to postoffices throughout the country on order from Washington. The business is now carried on un- dler the name of the Hartford Manufacturing Co., of which Mr. Chapman is general manager and secretary and treasurer, and he has shown great executive ability and decision of character in this work. He is also vice-president of the Plimpton Manufacturing Co.
Mr. Chapman originated and is president of the Hartford, Manchester & Rockville Tramway Co. With his own resources he built, equipped and turned over the road to the stockholders in
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complete running order, and now owns a controlling interest in same. It is regarded by those who are qualified to express an opinion as being in every respect a model. During the year 1896, under the same conditions, he extended the line six miles to Talcottville, and in 1897 to Rockville, and built a complete power plant to furnish electricity both for the system and for lighting the town of Man- chester. For twelve years, up to 1897, he was presi- dent of the Hartford Manilla Co., which had a flourishing mill at Burnside.
Politically Mr. Chapman is a stanch Republi- can. For thirty years he has been a member of the town committee, and for upward of fifteen years was its chairman. He is an admirable debater, and a clear and forcible speaker, having the faculty of presenting his views with great clearness, and in convincing style. He has been a number of times honored by his fellow townsmen with places of trust and responsibility, represented his town in the Legislature in 1882, and was senator from the Second Senatorial District in 1884-85. While a member of the House he was chairman of the com- mittee on cities and boroughs, and in the Senate was chairman of the committee on railroads. At the Republican State Convention held in New Haven Sept. 5, 1900, Mr. Chapman was unani- mously chosen Presidential Elector for the First Congressional District, comprising the counties of Hartford and Tolland. For a decade and more past Mr. Chapman was chairman of the Road and Bridge Commission of the town of Manchester. He is a member of the lodges of both the Masonic Fraternity and Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows at Manchester, and of Drake Post, G. A. R., Manchester, of which he was commander for ten years.
Mr. Chapman has been twice married. In 1861 he wedded Lucy W. Woodbridge, of Manchester, who died in 1869, leaving one child, Jennie P., now the wife of E. S. Ela, editor and publisher of the Manchester Herald. In 1871 Mr. Chapman mar- ried Helen C. Robbins, of Manchester, and the union has been blessed with two children: Helen G. and Mary O.
HON. ROSWELL H. PHELPS. The Phelps family has held such a distinguished place in the history of this section that the following account of the branch represented by this well-known citi- zen of East Granby, now serving as Judge of Pro- bate, will be of more than ordinary interest. He is of the tenth generation in direct descent from William Phelps, who was born in 1699, in Tewks- bury, England, and came to America in 1630 with two brothers, Richard and George. After a few years residence in Massachusetts this noted pio- neer came to Hartford county, settling in Windsor in 1635, and land owned by him is still in the pos- session of his descendants in that town.
(II) Joseph Phelps, son of William, was born in England, accompanied his father to America in
childhood, and settled at Simsbury, where his re- maining years were spent.
(III) Joseph Phelps, the next in the line of descent, was born at Simsbury in 1667.
(IV) Joseph Phelps, who was born at Sims- bury in 1689, made his home 1710 in what is now East Granby, and was the progenitor of the branch of the family now residing in that town, a portion of the land acquired by him being still in the pos- session of his descendants.
(V) Joseph Phelps, the next in descent, was born after his father's removal to East Granby, in 1716.
(VI) Joseph Phelps, through whom the line of descent is continued, was born in East Granby, in 1742, and died aged twenty-six years.
(VII) Capt. Roswell Phelps, our subject's great- grandfather, was born in East Granby, in 1764, and died in 1805. He owned a large tract of real estate in the town, and was one of its most prominent citizens. During the Revolutionary war he served as a private soldier, and his title was subsequently earned by service as captain of the Fourth Com- pany, 18th Regiment Connecticut Militia, his com- mission being signed by Gov. Trumbull in October, 1799. He married Chloe Holcomb, and had three children: Roswell Homer, who is mentioned be- low ; Orson P., from whom many of the name in this section are descended ; and Chloe, who mar- ried Seth Thompson.
(VIII) Roswell Homer Phelps, the grandfather of our subject, was born in 1788 at the old home- stead in East Granby, and by occupation was an agriculturist. Throughout his life he was held in high esteem for his sterling qualities of char- acter, although his preference for a quiet life kept him from accepting official honors of any kind. He was a large man, weighing about 260 pounds, and his robust constitution carried him to an ad- vanced age, his death occurring Nov. 19, 1881. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and politically he affiliated first with the Whig and later with the Republican party, being a firm supporter of the Government during the war. In 18II he married Lydia Gay, who was born in 1790, and died Oct. 27, 1826, her remains being interred in the old cemetery in East Granby by the side of her husband. The Gay family is of pioneer stock, and her father, Sergeant Richard Gay, was a prom- inent resident of East Granby. Of the children of Roswell Homer and Lydia Phelps, only one, Richard H., lived to adult age.
(IX) Hon. Richard H. Phelps, father of our subject, was born June 27, 1813, in East Granby, and after attending the schools of District No. 2. of that town, he pursued the higher branches in Rev. Mr. Hemingway's select school, at West Suf- field. Although reared to farm life he found it uncongenial and, as a young man, turned his at- tention to teaching. Later he engaged in the dry- goods business in Hartford, where for several years he conducted two stores. He removed in 1847
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to Windsor, Conn., and in 1863 to Seneca Falls, N. Y., and four years later he went to Milford, Del., where he spent about seven years. While there he was commissioned as justice of the peace by Gov. Salisbury, of Delaware, and officiated with marked ability in many trials. In 1874 he returned to East Granby to spend his remaining years, and his death occurred there Oct. 15, 1885. In poli- tics he was a stanch Democrat, and at various times he held office, his services as representative from Windsor and Granby in the State Legisla- ture demonstrating his powers as a party leader. In 1851 he was made county commissioner, his commission being signed by Gov. Thomas Seymour, and he also served as Judge of Probate in Windsor and as director of the Connecticut State Prison, as well as in other positions of responsibility. His able "History of Newgate, of Connecticut" is the only authentic history of that old institution ever published, and although it passed through several editions it is now rare and is eagerly sought for, as time only increases its value. On Oct. 22, 1840, Mr. Phelps was married in Windsor to Miss Mind- well B. Griswold, a native of that town, born Aug. 26. 1814. She belonged to a well-known family, and her father, Buckland Griswold, and grand- father. Abiel Griswold, were each wealthy and prominent citizens of Windsor in their time. She diied Oct. 8, 1854, and Mr. Phelps afterward mar- ried Mrs. Julia E. Babcock, who was born in Wind- sor. April 23, 1822, a daughter of Lemuel and Nancy Welch, and is now living at the homestead in East Granby, where she is much respected for her ex- cellent traits. There were no children by this sec- ond marriage. Our subject was the eldest in the family of three children born to Richard H. and Mindwell B. Phelps. (2) William G., formerly a successful dentist at Galena, Md., died in 1888. He married Edith C. Foulk, who survived him with two children, both born at Milford, Del., Roswell Foulk, now the only male representative of this branch of the family bearing the name of Phelps, a bright, promising young man, a graduate of Am- herst College, and now in Harvard College, and Edith M., a student in the Medical Department of Boston University, who possesses rare mental gifts, and will doubtless attain success in her chosen pro- fession. (3) Alline L.,only sister of our subject, mar- ried the late George Hoff, of Philadelphia, and has two children, both natives of Lincoln, Del., Laura E., who possesses intellectual ability and force of char- acter of an unusual order, is a graduate of the High and Normal schools at Philadelphia, and licensed to teach anywhere in that city ; and Henry Phelps, residing with his widowed mother.
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