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 90

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 90

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Henry Wells Allen, father of our subject, was educated in the district schools, the academy in Scantic, and Wilbraham University. He was very intelligent and widely known, and for four or five winters taught school, farming in summer. In poli- tics he was a Whig, and served as assessor, select- man, and in 1850 as a member of the State Legis- lature, filling each office with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. On April 6, 1836, he married Elizabeth Wells Allen, who was born Sept. 18, 1817, daughter of Elam Allen, both being of the fifth generation from John Allen, who was killed at the battle of Bloody Brook. Henry Wells Allen died July 22, 1881, in the faith of the Congregational Church, and his loss was deeply deplored, not only by his immediate family,

but by a wide circle of warm friends and the public at large. To this marriage were born three chil- dren : Marietta Abigail, May 28, 1837 (died Dec. 6, 1842) ; Henry Wells, Oct. 24, 184I (see sketch elsewhere) ; and Frederick Joshua, the subject proper of this sketch.

Frederick Joshua Allen received his preparatory education in the district school, and then attended Wilbraham University. He was reared to farming, but for three winters followed the vocation of school teacher. On Jan. 1, 1867, he married Elizabeth Mary Potwine, who was born April 25, 1845, a daughter of Edward L. and Mary (Bartlett) Potwine. She was a lady of many womanly graces and virtues, was a loving wife and affectionate mother, and was called from earth Aug. 1, 1891, beloved and mourned by all who knew her. She bore her husband four children, viz .: George Ed- ward, born Jan. 14, 1868, married Myrtia Warner, of Enfield, June 22, 1892; Frederick Henry, born April 23, 1873, is now attending Middlebury (Vt.) College; Robert Stephen, born Dec. 12, 1876, is living on the home farm; and Mary Elizabeth, born July 5, 1881, is attending school at Thompsonville, Hartford county, Connecticut.

Mr. Allen has an excellent farm of 160 acres, and is living in the house built thereon by his grand- father, Joshua Allen, in 1815. He is a stockholder in the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, is very prominent and influential in his community, and is altogether a public-spirited and useful citi- zen. His venerable mother, still an active lady at the age of eighty-two years, is passing her declin- ing years under his filial care.

SAMUEL DIMOCK. The remote English an- cestor of our subject was Sir John Dymoke, Knight, of Gloucestershire, the hereditary Champion of England, who officiated as such at the coronation of Richard II, in 1377. From that time a Dymoke has always been available at each successive coronation. Sir John Dymoke was the owner and proprietor of the Manor of Scrirelsby and the estates connected therewith, and some of his descendants are to this day in possession of the same.

" On gallant steed, in armor bright, His visor closed, and couched his lance, Proclaimeth the monarch's right To England, Ireland, Wales and France. Then bravely cry, with Dymoke bold, Long may the King triumphant reign; And when fair hands the sceptre hold More loudly still, long live the Queen."

But loyal and devoted as were the long line of Dymokes to their sovereign, one or two exceptions may be noted. Sir Thomas Dymoke, who had sym- pathized with the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses, was beheaded by order of Edward IV in 1477. Another Dymoke, who was sheriff of Lin- colnshire, took part in the rising at the North called the "pilgrimage of Graces," under Robert Arke, for

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which he was persecuted and denounced by his sov- ereign. So much for the ancient line. Thomas Dimoke, son of Edward, from whom all the Di- mocks, Dimmicks and Dimicks in this country de- scended, was the original settler of Barnstable, Mass., emigrating to America about the year 1733.

Samuel Dimock (1), the first member of the Dimock family to settle in the locality now known as Rocky Hill, Hartford Co., Conn., so far as can be ascertained was a shipbuilder by trade. His son, Samuel Dimock (2), kept a public house, since known as "Shipman's Hotel." The son of Samuel Dimock (2) was named Jared Goodrich, and was the father of our subject, whose name appears at the opening of this review. For three generations the family has resided at Rocky Hill, and the pres- ent Samuel Dimock was born Oct. 14, 1824, on the old homestead. Jared G. Dimock was a fife-major in the State militia. On Dec. 17, 1823, he married Sophia Butler, who bore him four children, of whom Samuel is the eldest, the others being: An- drew, who resides in Boston, and is treasurer of the American Shoe Tip Co .; and Mary Olivia and Se- lina Harper, who are both deceased. Jared G. Dimock was an active worker in the Congregational Church, and an earnest and consistent member of that body for more than fifty years, serving as dea- con of the same until he died, on Christmas Day, 1887, at the extraordinary age of eighty-six years. His first wife had long preceded him to the better land, having entered into rest April 30, 1854. His second wife was Sarah M. Robbins, who died July 5, 1891. They all sleep in the beautiful cemetery of Rocky Hill.

Samuel Dimock, our subject, was reared upon his father's farm, received an academic education, and attended a private school in New Haven kept by Gen. Palmer, graduating at the age of sixteen. He at once became a pedagogue, teaching in Mont- pelier, Vt., and towns adjoining his place of resi- dence. After four years of teaching he engaged in mercantile business in Springfield, Mass., and con- tinued thus some years, becoming a buyer, seller and shipper of all sorts of farm products. The last twenty-five years Mr. Dimock, although always a man of affairs, has given his principal attention to conducting his own farm. On Oct. 14, 1846, he was married to Mary Sophia Smith, who died nearly forty years later, April 3, 1886. The following year Mr. Dimock married Miss Ella M. Rhodes, of Wethersfield, and to this union have been born three children : Eleanor Sophia, Samuel Jared and Mary Selina.

Politically Mr. Dimock is a Republican, and has always taken an active interest in promoting the welfare of his party organization. While never an aspirant for office, his fellow citizens. recogniz- ing his integrity, good sense and general capability. have insisted upon his accepting various posts of distinction. He represented Rocky Hill in the Leg-

islature during the sessions of 1872 and 1873, was town clerk sixteen years, and has also been town treasurer, superintendent of schools, etc. He has been a notary public thirty years, executor of many estates, and acted in a fiduciary capacity in various ways. He has been a member of the Congrega- tional Church for sixty years.

WILLIAM W. BARBER, a prominent farmer and milk dealer of the town of Windsor, is a worthy representative of one of the old and honored fam- ilies of the county.

Horace I. Barber, father of our subject, was born Feb. 10, 1818, at what is now Wilson Station, son of Horace and Lucy (Wilson) Barber, and during his boyhood and youth attended the Buck- town school, and the Connecticut Literary Insti- tute, Suffield. When eight years of age he lost his father, and four years later went to Suffield, where he lived with a Mr. Pomeroy and attended school. On the completion of his education he began learn- ing the harness maker's trade in the shop of Bowen & Co., corner of Temple and Main streets, Hart- ford, and subsequently followed that occupation until he embarked in farming. As his father had died at a comparatively early age, he had had little time to accumulate property, and the son had no capital left him to begin life. In 1847, after his marriage, he removed to the town of Windsor, and shortly afterward gave up his trade, and devoted his entire time to agricultural pursuits upon the farm now occupied by our subject. This place has been in the family since the town was formed, and was successfully operated by the father of our subject, who was engaged in farming exclusively, though earlier members of the family had also followed brick-making upon the farm. He was quite a ro- bust man in his younger days, was a Democrat in politics and at one time served as selectman, but never sought office. He died July 28, 188, 11011- ored and respected by all who knew him, and his remains were interred at Windsor.

On Aug. 16, 1846, Horace I. Barber married Miss Harriet F. North, who was born in Genesee county, N. Y., June 28, 1827, and is still living upon the old homestead in Windsor town. She is a member of Grace Episcopal Church of Windsor, and is a most estimable lady. Three sons were born of this union: Horace I., who is now living in the West; Charles N., who taught in the Acad- emy at Windsor, and died at the age of twenty- eight years ; and William W., our subject. Isaialı North, father of Mrs. Barber, was born in Avon, Hartford Co., Conn., March 13, 1802, and was a blacksmith by trade. He first married Harriet Thompson, of Avon, by whom he had one son, William, now a retired lumberman of Kalamazoo. Mich. For his second wife Isaiah North married Miss Mary A. Woodward, who was born near Rochester, N. Y., in 1805, and was a daughter of and Sarah ( Hastings) Woodward (her

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father was a native of Vermont, her mother of Lebanon, Conn.). Ten children were born of this union-two sons and eight daughters : Harriet F., mother of our subject; Sarah, widow of Orin Bar- ber, of Hartford; Helen, who died at the age of eight years; Solomon D., a blacksmith of Winsted, Conn .; Adelia, deceased wife of John Gridley, of West Hartford; Jane, wife of James C. Hartley, of Hartford; Helen, who married David L. Aber- deen, and died in Hartford Dec. 14, 1891; Mary R., who married Melvin Davenport, and died in Worcester, Mass .; David W., a manufacturer of hardware at Bridgeport, Conn .; and Rachel, wife of Charles Case, of Hartford.

Horace Barber, paternal grandfather of our sub- ject, was born Nov. 12, 1793, on the farm owned by our subject, and there spent his entire life as an agriculturist. He married Lucy Wilson, and to them were born five children, two of whom reached adult age: Horace I., father of our subject; and Eliza C., who married William Wells, of South Windsor. The great-grandfather, Eli Barber, was born March 29, 1761, and lived to the extreme old age of ninety-eight years. He was twice married, his first wife being Mary Forbes, and the mother of all his children. She died Dec. 24, 1817. The children were: Eli H., born in January, 1792, died upon his farm near the old homestead; Horace was next in the order of birth; Lorana, born Sept. 23, 1796, never married, and died at the age of seventy- one years; Jerusha, born May 30, 1798, married Henry White, of South Windsor, and lived to be over seventy-two; Giles, born April 1, 1800, was a farmer, and died unmarried at the age of seventy ; Orin, born in December, 1802, died in Utica, N. Y., when a young man; Abigail, born May 10, 1804, married Lyman Stockbridge, of Hartford; and Mary J., born June 26, 1808, married Lucius Coe, of New York, where she died at the age of over fifty. Eli Barber's parents were Capt. Nathaniel and Hepzibah (Loomis) Barber, the latter a daugh- ter of Ichabod Loomis. Capt. Nathaniel Barber was born Dec. 5, 1717, and was a son of Nathaniel and Mary (Filley) Barber. Nathaniel Barber was born April 6, 1691, and was a son of Lieut. Josiah and Abigail (Loomis) Barber, the latter a daugh- ter of Nathaniel Loomis. Lieut. Josiah Barber was born Feb. 15, 1653, and was the youngest son of Thonias Barber, who came to Windsor in 1635, with the Saltonstall party, under Francis Stiles, and whom the histories of Windsor town and Hartford county mention as the first of the name in New England. He was twenty-one years of age in 1635. He was married in New England, and had six chil- dren : John, Thomas, Sarah, Samuel, Mary and Josiah, from whom a numerous family have sprung.

William W. Barber, subject of this review, was born on the old homestead Nov. 1, 1851, and was educated in the Bucktown District school and Wind- sor Academy. Since his school days ended he has given his attention to the cultivation of the home

farm, and since 1889 has engaged in the retail milk business, having previous to that time sold his milk wholesale. He is thoroughly up-to-date in the management of his farm, is enterprising and pro- gressive in his business methods, and is to-day one of the substantial citizens of the county. He keeps from twenty to twenty-eight cows for dairying. Politically Mr. Barber is an ardent supporter of the Democratic party, has been a member of the school committee, and in 1886 represented Windsor town in the State Legislature. In November, 1879, he married Miss Flora L. Pinney, of Bloomfield, a daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Allyn) Pinney. Her father was a son of Judge Pinney, of Elling- ton, and her mother was from Enfield. The chil- dren born to our subject and wife are Florence, Grace, William I., Samuel P. and Charles E.

JOSEPH BUTLER FAIRFIELD. Among the Huguenots who fled to England, to escape re- ligious persecution in France, were the ancestors of this well-known citizen of Suffield, and the family has been identified with New England since the coming of the "Mayflower" in 1620, tracing to Miles Standish on his mother's side. Its members in every generation have been noted for their industry, thrift and temperate habits, and while few of the name have accumulated great fortunes it is doubt- less because they are content with enough, and never sought to grasp and hold the share of wealth that of right belonged to others. In such ancestry a man may well take pride, and Mr. Fairfield, wno is the only representative of his family in Suffield, well maintains the honor and prestige of the name. His ancestors, both the Fairfields and Bulkleys, were of gentle blood, and have coats of arms.

John Fairfield, our subject's great-great-grand- father, was a wealthy merchant in Boston, but lost his property through endorsing for another. His family was scattered, some of the sons going to Maine, others to Canada, while his son John settled at Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

John Fairfield, our subject's great-grandfather, was one of the first to locate at Pittsfield, where he experienced all the vicissitudes of pioneer life, his first night there being spent in a hollow log-the only shelter available. His son John was the first white male child born there.

John Fairfield (2), son of the pioneer of Pitts- field, and the grandfather of our subject, was a "minute man" during the Revolutionary period. He was born Jan. 8, 1757, in a log fort, and always re- sided at Pittsfield, where he died Oct. 17, 1828, as a result of bursting a blood vessel by over exertion when his house was on fire. Three different times his remains have been disinterred and removed to make way for the city of Pittsfield to grow. In 1793 he married, for his first wife, Miss Lucy How- land, of Barnstable, Cape Cod, Mass., who was born June 22, 1768, and in 1801 he married her sister, Elizabeth Howland, who was born June 15, 1783,

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and died Aug. 23, 1859, at our subject's home in Suffield. By his first marriage he had two chil- dren : John, who died in childhood ; and Row- land, a farmer at Newington, this county, who died in 1858. By the second marriage there were eight children: John (2), born April 5, 1802, married Mehitabel Hubbard, and died in Richmond, Berk- shire Co., Mass., at eighty-six years of age; Lucy H., born May 6, 1804, married William Merriam, and settled in Lorain county, Ohio; Martha, born Feb. 20, 1806, married Seth Coe, and died in Pitts- field, Mass .; Jonathan T. was our subject's father ; George W., born March 4, 1810, married Eunice Butler, and died at Pittsfield; Mary E., born June 13, 1815, married Charles Pope, and died in Syra- cuse, N. Y. : Sarah R., born Sept. 13, 1819, married Francis Drake, and died in New York State, Sept. 13, 1844; and William W., born April 10, 1824, mar- ried Maria E. Sanford, and died at Penn Yan, New York.

Jonathan T. Fairfield, the father of our subject, was born at Pittsfield, Mass., March 23, 1808, and died Dec. 2, 1876, in Suffield, this county. He was reared as a farmer boy, and, owing to an affliction in his feet in his youth, he could not even take full advantages of the schools near his home. At thirty- one he married and left the old homestead, locat- ing upon a farm in the same neighborhood, but soon afterward he removed to Hartford, where he engaged in business as a grocer for a time. In 1853, when failing health compelled him to return to a country life, he settled in Suffield, purchasing our subject's present homestead from Maj. John M. Hathaway. With characteristic enterprise, he vent- ured extensively, for that day, into tobacco culture, in connection with general farming, and while his neighbors thought one and one-half acres a large tract to devote to tobacco alone, he once planted eleven acres with good results, his crop always com- manding the highest prices. He was a large man, "standing six feet in his stockings," and weighing about 180 pounds, while his frame was admirably proportioned. In his early manhood he was noted for his athletic powers, his feats of strength and en- durance, either in sport or as part of a days' work, being remarkable. With all his strength, he was never quarrelsome, and, in fact, his disposition was rather retiring. Like his Huguenot ancestors he was of a strong religious bent. Politically he affil- iated first with the Whigs, later with the Know- Nothings, and finally with the Republican party, of which he was one of the earliest and stanchest cham- pions in Suffield. His wife, whose maiden name was Julia A. Butler, was born in 1809, at Rocky Hill, this county, and died Sent. 19. 1865, the re- mains of both being interred in the old cemetery in Suffield. She was descended from Miles Standish, the Pilgrim soldier, and the Bulkleys, who were en- gaged in shipbuilding at Rocky Hill, Conn., and the West India trade, enterprising and wealthy men of their time. She was a woman of most estimable

character, and as a young girl enjoyed excellent ed- ucational opportunities, at Dodge's Seminary (af- terward Maplewood Seminary), at Pittsfield, Mass. She was always equal to any emergency, possessing inventive and constructive genius of a high order. Her father, Capt. Joseph Butler, who married Mary Bulkley, was a sea captain for many years. During the war between France and England he lost his ship, which was captured by the French. Fortui- nately he had secreted some gold pieces in his shoe, and but for these he and his crew would have starved. His loss came under the list known as the "French Spoliation Claims," but when they were being settled all records of it had been mislaid, and his heirs received no compensation. Of the children of Jonathan T. and Julia A. Fairfield only two lived to maturity: Joseph B., our subject ; and Mary E., who was born Oct. 2, 1852, and is now the wife of Franklin S. Harmon, of O.naha, Nebraska.

Joseph B. Fairfield was born July 11, 1846, in Hartford, and was about eight years old when his parents removed to Suffield. As a child he showed a remarkable love of learning, and before he could walk he could talk and knew the letters of the al- phabet, and throughout his life he has found no dif- ficulty in mastering any subject to which he turned his attention. His education was begun in the schools of Hartford, and after the removal to Suf- field he attended the district schools near his home. Later he studied three years in a private school taught by Palmer Gallup, whose instruction he valties most highly, and later he attended the Con- necticut Literary Institute, in Suffield village. On leaving school he became interested in farming with his father at the homestead, which he has always considered a permanent residence, even when en- gaged in business elsewhere. He has made a spe- cialty of tobacco culture, and for years was a dealer in leaf tobacco, his extensive trade keeping him much of the time in New York City, where he had an office. For ten years he was associated with his father-in-law, Joseph Fuller, an experienced insur- ance man, in the fire-insurance business, represent- ing some of the best companies in the country. Ile has traveled extensively in the United States, and takes keen interest in all the issues of the day. being politically a firm believer in the principles of the Re- publican party. Official life has no attractions for him, but in 1884 he sat on the first jury impanele 1 in the new county house at Hartford.

On Sept. 22. 1870, Mr. Fairfield marrie l Miss Mary Fuller, who was born in Suffield. April 16, 18448. a daughter of Joseph and Cordelia (Smith ) Fuller, and two children have blessed the union : Julia L., born Jan. 24, 1878, died July 12, 1884 ; and Carolyn May, born Dec. 11. 1885, is at home. Mr and Mrs. Fairfield are prominent in the social life of their town, and for years have been active work- ers in the Congregational Church and teachers in the Sunday-school, our subject formerly conduct

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ing a Bible class. For some time he was clerk of the Society, and his service as leader of the choir was continued until the pressure of business com- pelled his absence from the village for long periods. He is a member of Apollo Lodge No. 59, F. & A. M .; a charter member of Lyman Council, O. U. A. M., at Suffield, and he and his wife are both mem- bers of Suffield Grange. Mrs. Fairfield is a lady of unusual intelligence and force of character ; she was educated in the North Street district school of Suffield, and the Connecticut Literary Institute. She is identified with many philanthropic movements, her sympathies being readily enlisted in any worthy cause, and she is president of the Ladies Aid So- ciety and vice-president of the Home Missionary Society. She also belongs to the Suffield Woman's Club, and is a charter member of Sybil Dwight Kent Chapter, of the D. A. R., at Suffield, her number in order being 15,456.

HENRY CLAY WOODWARD, one of the most prosperous and substantial agriculturists of Enfield, was born Oct. 27, 1829, on the farm in that town where he now resides, and on both sides comes of good Revolutionary stock.

The progenitor of the Woodward family in America, Richard Woodward, was born in Eng- land in the year 1589. He embarked Oct. 10, 1634, at Ipswich, England, for New England, making the voyage in the "Elizabeth," and settled im- mediately at Watertown, Mass. His wife's given name was Rose.

(II) George Woodward was born in England in 1621, accompanied his father to America, and died May 31, 1676.

(III) John Woodward, son of George and Mary Woodward, was born in Watertown, Mass., March 20, 1651, and died in 1728. His second wife was Sarah Bancroft.

(IV) Joseph Woodward was born in Newton, Mass., Nov. 26, 1688, and died May 30, 1727. On June 24, 1714, he married Elizabeth Silsby.

(V) Joseph Woodward was born Feb. 26, 1725- 26, in Canterbury, Conn., and died July 8, 1814, at Ashford, Conn. He filled many public positions in Windham and Ashford, and for twenty-six years held the most important offices in the gift of his townsmen. He served in the Revolutionary war, and was in Boston at the time of its evacuation by the British; there is in existence a letter that he wrote to his wife, while there. On May 19, 1748, he married Elizabeth Perkins, a native of Norwich, Conn., who passed away Sept. 28, 1823, at the ripe age of ninety-one years. The record of their children is as follows: Elizabeth, born May 22, 1749, died Jan. 18, 1814. . Joseph, born May 26, 1751. Jason, born July 19, 1753, died July 15, 1821. John was born June 10, 1755. Martha, born Aug. 13, 1757, died Jan. 8, 1847. William, born Nov. 14, 1759, served as a soldier in the Colonial army, was taken prisoner at Fort Washington, Nov. 16,

1776, and remained a prisoner until he died Dec. 30, of that year. Abner was the grandfather of our subject, and is mentioned more fully below. Phineas, born June 3, 1764, died in 1776. Othniel was born Sept. 8, 1766. Perkins Bushnell was born Aug. 17, 1770. Levi was born Aug. 19, 1773.

Abner Woodward was born July 10, 1762, in Ashford, Conn., became an extensive farmer, and died Jan. 28, 1840. He was twice married, first on April 15, 1789, to Miriam Knowlton, who was born Dec. 15, 1766, in Ashford, daughter of Abra- ham Knowlton, and a relative of Col. Knowlton, of Ashford, Conn .; she was a descendant of Miles Standish, who came over on the "Mayflower." To this union came two children: Hial, born Sept. 20, 1790; and Joseph, born Dec. 30, 1792, who died Oct. 17, 1793. Mrs. Woodward died Aug. 14, 1793, in her twenty-seventh year, and for his sec- ond wife Abner Woodward married Eunice Fuller, who was born July 1, 1769. To this union came nine children, namely : Joseph, born Nov. 17, 1795, died Aug. 31, 1851 ; Jonathan, born Sept. 23, 1797, died Dec. 10, 1875; Jerusha, born June 26, 1799, died Oct. 27, 1847; Jelina, born Sept. 8, 1802 (no date of death) ; Ashbel, born June 26, 1804, died in December, 1885; Otis, born Aug. 10, 1807, died May 26, 1894; Henry, born in 1809, died Dec. 6, 1809; Elizabeth Perkins, born in August, 1811, died Feb. 26, 1814; and Royal, born Nov. 13, 1815, died Oct. 2, 1882. According to "Connecticut in the Revolution" [p. 657] Abner Woodward was a pensioner of the Revolutionary war, serving in that struggle through several campaigns.

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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 90

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