Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 10

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Beers
Number of Pages: 1502

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completed his studies, he was ordained deacon, together with his friend, Abner Jackson (aft- erward successively a tutor and professor in Trinity, and president first of Hobart and then of Trinity College), by Bishop Brownell, in the church at Middletown, September 2, 1838. After his ordination he continued a tutor in Trinity College, a position which he had taken in 1837, until 1840. Being still below the canonical age of twenty-four required for or- dination to the priesthood, he went abroad with his mother for a little less than a year, spending most of the time in England and Scotland, although he also made a short visit to Paris.

On his return to this country he became assistant to Rev. Dr. Jarvis, at Middletown, for one year, and in 1842, was called to the rectorship of St. George's Church, Schenecta- dy, N. Y. In IS48 he was elected president of Trinity College, and removed to Hartford. He was then only thirty-one, and the an- nouncement of his election was received with great enthusiasm. In connection with the pres- idency Dr. Williams held the professorship of history and literature. Bishop Brownell was now advanced in years, and in 1851, when he was already past "three-score years and ten." it became necessary to elect an assistant bishop. The choice fell with unanimity upon Dr. Will- iams, and he was consecrated in St. John's Church, Hartford, October 29, IS51. The in- creasing infirmity of Bishop Brownell threw upon him nearly the whole work of the dio- cese, but he nevertheless retained the presiden- cy of Trinity College two years longer, finally resigning in 1853.

During his presidency, and chiefly through his exertions, the very small endowment of the college was considerably increased. When he resigned the office of president he still re- tained that of vice-chancellor, becoming chan- cellor, ex-officio, on the death of Bishop Brown- ell, and his native interest in the welfare of the college never flagged. In the year 1854 he removed to Middletown with his ntother and ever after resided there. The occasion for this change of residence was the incorporation of the Berkeley Divinity School, for which Mid- dletown was considered the most suitable loca- tion. This school has grown out of the theo- logical department of Trinity College, which existed during his presidency. On the estab- lishment of the Divinity School he became its

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dean, and he always took his full share in the instruction of its students, in addition to his abundant labors as bishop of the diocese.

On January 13, 1865, Bishop Brownell died and Bishop Williams became the sole bish- op of the diocese. He lived to see a remarką- ble development of its strength and vigor un- der his able administration. The number of its parishes has increased largely, while that of its clergy has grown in a still larger ratio; the number of families connected with it has more than doubled, while the confirmations have nearly tripled. There have also been founded, in connection with the various par- ishes, a number of charitable institutions, such as homes for the aged and infirm, and for orphans. The contributions for parochial and benevolent purposes have multiplied forty-fold.

Honorary degrees of S. T. D., or D. D., were received by the Bishop from Union Col- lege in 1847, from Trinity in 1849, from Co- lumbia in 1851, and from Yale in 1883; that of LL. D. was conferred by Hobart College in 1870. The Bishop's mother died in 1872, on the day of the ordination of the graduating class of the Berkeley Divinity School. With that faithfulness at once to filial and to official duty which characterized his whole life, the Bishop remained at her side during the early part of the service, giving directions that he should be summoned when his official duty be- gan. Before that moment arrived Mrs. Will- iams had passed to her rest, and the bishop, having watched her last breath, entered the chancel to bestow the authority of the minis- try upon the young men whom he had trained for its duties.

According to the rule prevailing from the organization of the Episcopal Church in this country, the oldest of the bishops in the order of consecration has always been the presiding bishop of the Church. In the growth of the Church this office, which at one time was of little more than formal honor, has gradual- ly become of considerable responsibility and importance. At the general convention of 1883 the rule was so far changed that Bishop Will- iams, then being fourth in order of seniority, was chosen chairman of the House of Bishops and "assessor" (a new office) to the presiding bishop. He thus became practically the recog- nized head of the American Episcopal Church.

After the close of the war of the Revolu- tion the American Church applied to the Eng-

lish Church for the consecration of bishops. Dr. Samuel Seabury was the one chosen by the Church in Connecticut, and sent to England for this purpose. It was found, however, that the connection of the Church in England with the State interposed serious obstacles to the granting of the request. After long negotia- tions and tedious delays, of the successful ter- mination of which there seemed little hope, Dr. Seabury, in accordance with his instruc- tions, finally turned to the Church of Scotland, and was duly consecrated at Aberdeen, No -. vember 14, 1784. This event supplied the American Church with the long-desired Epis- copacy, and was the turning point in the ne- gotiations by which two other bishops, White and Provost, were consecrated in England, February 4, 1787, and a third, Madison, Sep- tember 19, 1790. Bishop Seabury, however, was the first presiding bishop of the American Church. It was deemed eminently fitting that the centennial anniversary of his consecration should be observed at Aberdeen, and Bishop Williams, with several of the other bishops and several of the clergy of Connecticut, was pres- ent by invitation upon the occasion. Bishop William's, as the direct successor of Bishop Seabury, and as the representative of the American Church, preached the especial ser -. mon of the anniversary, and spent several months in Scotland and England.

Bishop Williams' literary works include many valuable contributions to the "American Church Quarterly Review," the "Churchman" and other periodicals ; a charge on "Everlast- ing Punishment" (1865), "Ancient Hymns of Holy Church" (1845), "Thoughts on the Gos- pel Miracles" (1848), Paddock lectures on the "English Reformation" (1881), Bedell lec- tures on the "World's Witness to Jesus Christ" ( 1882), historical sermons on the "Seabury Centenary" ( 1885), and "Studies in the Book of Acts" ( 1888).

Bishop Williams was famous as a bishop and as a wit. His humor was of a character that was subtle, and his manner dignified, yet gentle, kindly and lovable. His personality attracted to him the love of his people, and to them there will never be another Bishop Will- iams. He was a great and good man.

ELISHA BOURNE NYE, M. D., late of Middletown, where through a long period of years he was one of the leading men of the

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

profession, was born November 7, 1812, at Sandwich, Mass., son of Braddock Niye, a captain of a merchant ship, and Martha Bourne, whose father was an old resident of Eastern Massachusetts.

When the son was five years of age his parents removed to Middletown, Conn., where they resided until their death. Their son at- tended a private school kept by Elijah Garfield, afterward completing his preparatory course for college at the Wesleyan Academy, at Wil- braham, Mass. He entered the Wesleyan University in the autumn of 1831, and made the first recitation ever made in that insti- tution, graduating with the first class which completed its full curriculum, in 1835, the num- ber of the graduating class being thirteen. Dr. Fisk, the president, requested him to deliver the valedictory address, but he declined to accept the honor, preferring it should be as- signed to some of his classmates. He imme- diately after graduation began the study of medicine with Dr. Thomas Miner, then one of the leading physicians of Middletown, and aft- erward pursued his medical studies with Drs. Eli and Nathan B. Ives, of New Haven, at- tending lectures at the Yale Medical College. where he graduated Doctor of Medicine in 1837. He settled soon after in Moodus, a so- ciety of the town of East Haddam, Conn., where he strove faithfully to make a successful career, upon fees ranging from twenty-five to fifty cents for a visit, some paid in cash, some in barter, and a large proportion unpaid. I have often heard him relate how his prices were those of his senior fellows and neighbor- ing confreres, and how difficult it was to make both ends meet during those fourteen years of hard work in his profession. He did, how- ever, accomplish success in many ways during this period ; being a close student he improved his few leisure hours in the study of his cases, while his country rides afforded him an op- portunity to become a thorough student of botany, of which science he became a very proficient master. Dr. Nye made a success in thoroughly ingratiating himself into the hearts of the people, so that the prominent citizens. when he prepared to go to Middletown, be- sought him to remain and charge them what ces he thought were satisfactory, but an open- ng then presenting itself he went to Middle- own in the early fifties, with a large family. ittle wealth, but a fine education and a hard

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practical experience, necessary capacity and power-grand elements to insure success. He very soon became one of the leading physicians of Middlesex county, highly esteemed by his fellows and the laity, and built up a very suc- cessful practice, which he retained, only lim- ited by his physical strength, until the date of his death, March 7, 1889, after an illness of six days, caused by pneumonia contracted while making a visit four miles from the city.

On November 20, 1837, Dr. Nye was mar- ried to Miss Caroline Hubbard, of Middle- town, and to them were born eight childre.i. only two of whom, a son and a daughter. sur- vived the father. Mrs. N'ye died August 24, IS77, after a long and painful illness.

Dr. Nye was from boyhood a member of and communicant in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a thoroughly consistent Chris- tian in his daily life, interested in his church, and contributing generously to its support. So loyal was he to his Alma Mater-the Wes- leyan University, that he made that institution his residuary legatee after the death of his chil- dren. His affection for the college was earn- est and deep, like that of an oldest child for its parent.

There were few offices of honor and trust in his community which had not been filled by Dr. Nye. He served the town for many years on the board of education ; the city for many years in the city government as councilman and alderman; the State as trustee for the Hospital for the Insane. He was a trustee of the Middletown Savings Bank, of the Mid- dlesex Mutual Assurance Company, and a di- rector of the Middletown National Bank, be- sides, at various times, of many manufactur- ing companies. As a citizen he was, as in everything else, faithful, loyal and public- spirited, often to his pecuniary disadvantage. but never discouraged. He was a member of the American Medical Association, and the Connecticut Medical Society, of which he was president in 1884, and vice-president in 1883. The subject of his presidential address was : "The Medical Profession. and its Claims to the Respect and Grati- tude of the Community." Dr. Nye was often president of the Middlesex County Medical So- ciety, and was for a great many years its clerk. These many compliments were no mean honor for one individual, and they always came to him unsolicited on his part, bestowed

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

by his appreciative friends. He often wrote articles for the local papers, and some very clever ones. A poem entitled "A Consulta- tion," which was originally published in one of the local papers, is worthy of the pen of "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," bright and satirical. Dr. Nye had a cultured literary taste, and, like the clever English statesman who led the Liberal Party, enjoyed an hour with his classics, his Homer, Horace and Gil Blas, in the original.

While a resident of Moodus, Dr. Nye in- vestigated the famous so-called "Moodus Noises," and gave the result of his observa- tions and study of these small earthquakes to the local literary society of that village, which rejoiced in the somewhat pretentious name of Middlesex County Lyceum. In 1852 he pub- lished the paper in the National Magasine. The Connecticut Medical Society's Proceed- ings for 1865 contains a paper on "Specifics;" that of 1868, a memoir of Datus Williams, M. D., of East Haddam, father of the presi- dent of the phenomenal Chemical Bank, of New York; of 1870, a memoir of William B. Ca- sey, M. D., for so many years, the leading physician of Middlesex county; of 1878, a memoir of B. D. MicGuire, a young physician from Canada, who practiced a few years at Middletown.

Such, in part, was the unostentatious ca- reer of our late associate fellow, one worthy of his lovely, kind, sensitive, and well dis- ciplined character. He was a hero in overcom- ing many difficulties, disappointments and griefs which wreck strong men. Through hard early professional struggles ; illpaid serv- ices ; domestic grief (for he buried his wife and six children, the eldest daughter after a short illness, the beautiful young wife of Prof. Cumnock, the well-known elocutionist of the Northwestern University at Evanston, Ill.) ; through many financial reverses; through all his varied experiences he maintained the same quiet humor, the same undisturbed exterior, the same gentle suavity. His estimate of men was of a high standard, and having once as- certained their worth he did not easily lose confidence in their character. It was a sad- ness to seem to have wronged such a nature, not so much from the subjective sense of in- jured conscience, but that one had caused pain to a just and sensitive friend who would never have done you a similar unkindness. He was

one who not only would do nothing question- able in his professional relations, but who would not allow himself to be placed in a position which seemed to throw a possible shade of doubt around that relation. His medical confreres felt perfectly safe in his hands, whether as consultant or locum tenens. Self-interest was forgotten, and professional rectitude was the keynote of his relations to his fellow practitioners. He was by no means a piece of blank paper because kind in his professional generosity, 'but had always a decided opinion and one that to his junior co-workers was a stay and support, for he never lost his head, but was a quiet balance wheel in a critical moment, when perhaps the only hope came from his hopeful expression and steady self-possession. [The above sketch of Dr. Nye was written by Francis D. Edger- ton, M. A., M. D., and published in the pro- ceedings of the Connecticut Medical Society for 1889 .- Ed.

ABNER NEWTON, SR., founder of The Constitution, of which journal he was the senior editor and publisher, and which he con- ducted for a third of a century, died at his residence in Middletown May 28, 1871, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.

Mr. Newton was a son of Deacon Abner and Abigail (Fairchild) Newton (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere), and was born April 19, 1796, in Hartford, Conn. His father, who was born December 19, 1764, served in the patriot army during the war of the Revolution. The family took up their residence in Dur- ham when Abner was in the ninth year of his age. He learned the printing trade in the office of the Hartford Courant, and was subse- quently in the printing business in that city, in the firm of Hamlin & Newton, publishing the Connecticut Mirror for one year. Thence" he went to Philadelphia, where he was a jour- neyman printer, and he worked in the same capacity in New York. In about 1831 he was a member of the firm of Peck & Newton, in New Haven, engaged in printing news- papers, standard works and also a reprint or the British Quarterly Review, they being the first to undertake that work in this country. The firm was the first to em- ploy a power printing press in Connecti- cut (the old style Adams press), and to teach girls the art of printing. In 1838 Mr.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Newton began the publication of The Constitu- tion in Middletown, at the request of promi- nent members of the Whig party there, and for thirty-three years thereafter he led a very in- dustrious life in the conduct of that paper. He was thoroughly devoted to his profession, and during his active years was rarely ab- sent from his office in business hours. As an editor he was cautious in his judgments, firm in his opinions, and ever faithful to the prin- ciples of his party. During his long years of service he retained the respect and esteem of his associates, his contemporaries, and his fel- low citizens generally. He was genial in his intercourse with others, and was possessed of a kindly and quiet humor that always gave a cordiality and cheerfulness to his greeting, and a presence that added inexpressibly to his character. He was long a consistent mem- ber of the Congregational Church. i

Abner Newton, Sr., married Miss Sarah Hall and five children were born to them, a brief record of whom is as follows: (1) John was a Congregational minister, and for several years preached in Middle Haddam; he died un- married, at Middletown, in 1863. (2). Abner, Jr., is fully mentioned further on. (3) Cor- nelia (deceased) was the wife of Edward Johnson, of Waterbury. (4) Harriet became the second wife of Edward Johnson, husband of Cornelia. (5) Fannie married Charles Church, of Waterbury.

ABNER. NEWTON, JR., late editor and pro- prietor of The Constitution, who died at his home in Middletown, August 28, 1876, was born May 19, 1835, in New Haven, Conn .. His active life was largely spent in the office of The Constitution, in Middletown. At his father's death, in 1871, he became sole editor and proprietor of that paper, and in July, 1872, commenced. the issue of a daily edition, which was continued four years. Mr. Newton's last writing for the press was an editorial, pub- lished in the closing number of The Constitu- tion, briefly setting forth the reason for its discontinuance. At his death Mr. Newton was a trustee of the Middletown Savings Bank, a director of the People's Fire Insurance Com- pany, a member of the common council and of the board of education of the city-important positions which show the confidence placed in lim; by the community, and in them all he was eminently faithful. He was a notably indus- trious man, striving early and late to build

up his business, and to earn for his family an honest competence. He accomplished this, leaving his family in one of the most beautiful homes in the city, and in a pecuniary sense very comfortable, but in the domestic sense sadly bereft. Mr. Newton occupied an envia- ble position in the estimation of his fellow citizens. Conducting for a long period a po- litical newspaper, and feeling obliged to satis- fy a somewhat exacting partisanship, he with great tact and discernment so managed as to win the respect of his opponents, and died with no enemies except in a political sense. It was honorable for him to die in the harness ; to have death find him with his armor on, but a sad want of foresight on his part not to have long before given his tired system its much needed relaxation. He died of hard work, mental and physical, honorable but in- judicious.

On October 30, 1861, Abner Newton, Jr., married Miss Phoebe A. Harris, who was born at South Farms, Conn., October 12, 1840, the only child of Daniel and Hulda ( Coe) Harris, of Middletown, Conn. Mr. Harris was for years connected with the Russell Manufactur- ing Company, at South Farms, and was one of the most highly respected old citizens of his time. He died in June, 1887, his wife in March, 1892. Mrs. Newton was educated at private schools in Middletown, completing her education at Miss Robertson's Seminary for Young Ladies. She is an active member of North Congregational Church, Middletown, and active in church work. Her only child, Edith Harris, born June 9, 1869, was married June 9, 1899, to Rev. Archibald Ravenscroft Balsley, of Philadelphia, an Episcopal cler- gyman, and they reside at Port Henry, N. Y .; they have one son, Kenneth Ravenscroft, born January 27, 1901.

JUDGE HIRAM WILLEY. In 1645 there came to New London, Conn., with John Winthrop, Jr., one who was on record in Boston and in Charlestown, Mass., before 1644. In 1647 he was chosen with others to act in all municipal affairs. The first grantee of house lots was Jolin Winthrop, and the fifth was Isaac Willey, whose lot was located on what is upper Williams and Main streets, New London. Isaac Willey was appointed in 1669 to represent the town of New London on a committee to lay off the highway between

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Niantic and New London. His wife, Johanna, died in New London, and he then married Anna, widow of Andrew Lester, who died in 1692. Isaac Willey was the father of the fol- lowing children: Johanna; Isaac; Hannah ; Sarah; Mary; John, born in New London about 1648; and Abraham, born in 1650, who married Elizabeth Mortimer. In 1667 Good- wife Willey was presented to the public court for not attending public worship.

(II) John Willey, born in 1648, was a vol- unteer from Connecticut in King Philip's war, and died at Haddam in 1688. He married Miriam, daughter of Miles and Isabella Moore, and they had the following children: Isaac, born January 18, 1670; Isabella, October 21, 1672; John, February 24, 1674; Miriam, No- vember 1, 1677; 'Allen, June 25, 1680; Abel, March 3, 1682 ; and Mary, December 10, 1685. After Mr. Willey's death his widow, in 1689, married Samuel Spencer.

(III) John Willey (2), son of John, was mentioned in grants of land as Sergt. John Willey. He was married in East Haddam, in October, 1698, to Elizabeth, daughter of John Harvey, of New London, and he died June 19, 1756, in his eighty-third year, and was buried in the Hadlyme cemetery. He and his wife had children as follows: John, born May 24, 1699; Allen, September 29, 1700; Elizabeth, December 29, 1701 ; Mary, December 13, 1703; Joseph, April 16, 1705 ; Lydia, April 6, 1709; Mehitable, March 14, 1711; Lucretia, June 7, 1713; Noah, August 28, 1716; Benajah; Sa- rah; and Richard.

(IV) Allen Willey, second child in the above family, was married in East Haddam' May 7, 1730, to Mehitable Richardson, who was born at Stonington, Conn., September 13, 1709, daughter of Lemuel and Mehitable (Chapman) Richardson. This union was blessed with children as follows: Allen, born February II, 1731; John, October II, 1732; Ann, June 4, 1734; Mehitable, September 29, 1736; Lemuel, March 7, 1738; Jabez, May 7, 1741; Judah, April 23, 1743; Lydia, June 3, 1745; Jabez (2), November 22, 1747; and Abraham. Mrs. Allen Willey died May 5, 1778, at the age of sixty-nine, and was buried in Hadlyme. Allen Willey . died February 7, 1780, at the age of eighty years, and was also buried in Hadlyme.

(V) Abraham Willey, the youngest child in the above family, was born in East Had-

dam, Conn., May II, 1750. He served first as an ensign or second lieutenant in the Rievo- lutionary war, and in 1782 was promoted to captain. He was married January 12, 1773, to Susannah Beckwith, a daughter of Nathaniel and Susannah Beckwith. In 1804 he moved to Ira, N. Y., where he died May 12, 1841, at the age of ninety-one years. His wife, who lived to be eighty-one years of age, died No- vember 10, 1835. Their children were: Anna, born October 19, 1773, married April 26, 1791, Gen. Ely Matson, a son of William Matson; Ethan Allen was the father of our subject; Mehitable R., born March 28, 1780, married December 24, 1799, Robert B. Chapman, son of Francis Chapman; Barach Beckwith, born March 24, 1782, married October 7, 1810, De- borah Reed, a daughter of Ezra Reed; Susan W., born May 17, 1785, married Dr. Elisha Mather, of Essex, and died September 3, 1835 ; Abram W., born May 7, 1787, died June 17, 1810; Matilda, born in 1790, married October 13, 1812, Charles Lock, and died February 25, 1818; Panthea, born July 29, 1793, married (first) Charles Lock, and (second) Dr. Elisha Mather, and died June 18, 1877; Deborah, born February 2, 1798, married in 1819 Dr. Allen Benton, of Ira, N. Y., and died August 23, 1862.

(VI) Ethan Allen Willey, born in East Haddam March 6, 1776, was married Febru- ary 7, 1799, to Mary, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth ( Butler ) Brockway. He was baptized at St. Stephen's Church, with his wife, in August, 1814. Mrs. Willey died March 25, 1838, and he passed away May 5, 1859. Their children were: (1) Benjamin Franklin, born Angust 27, 1800, was married at Worthing- ton, Ohio, to Mamie Strong, and died January 19, 1880. (2) William, M., born January 7, 1803, married October 10, 1832, Elizabeth Eminons, daughter of Noahdiah Emmons. She died November 6, 1841, and for his sec- ond wife he married Ellen Lucretia Kidder. His death occurred at the age of eighty-six. (3) Matilda, born in 1805, married Orrin Warner December 8, 1830. (4) Mary P., born in 1807, married October 6, 1834, Ste- phen O. Day, who died in 1872; she died in 1899. (5) Abraham W., born January I, 1813, married Catherine Brockaway October 27. 1841. (6) Ethan Allen, born October 14, 1815, married Maria D. Wells, and is now liv- ing in Baltimore, Md. (7) Hiram is men-

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Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 10

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Chicago : Beers Number of Pages: 1502

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Beers
Number of Pages: 1502