Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 146

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

USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 146

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mrs. Winter, whose maiden name was Maria Wood, was born in the County of Essex, England, May 23, 1858. Her mother, Maria

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Laver, died while she was but a mere child, and she crossed the ocean on the White Star steamer "Baltic" in 1873, with her father, William Wood; he is now a watchman at Rockfall, in the town of Middlefield. Mrs. Winter is a communicant of the Episcopal Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Winter have come seven children: The eldest, a son, was born November 9, 1877, and died at birth. Two daughters have also died-Nellie, born July 7. 1882, and May, born May 31, 1885. Those who survive, all of whom are at home with their parents, are: William F., born August 21, 1879; Florence, September 22, 1883; Frederick, September 11, 1887; and Ada, June 16, 1898.

FRANK L. STRICKLAND, the leading shoe merchant of Rockville, Conn., is a native of Middletown, Conn., born there October 17, 1858.

The Strickland family is one of the old families of Glastonbury Conn. Mlyer Strick- land, the great-grandfather of Frank L. Strick- land, was born probably in Connecticut, while his grandfather, Elisha Strickland, followed farming in Glastonbury for many years. Later he removed to Stafford, Conn., to reside with his son Lysander, and his death occurred there about 1845. He married Polly Rost, a native of Marlboro, and they had a family of five children, namely : Austin, who mar- ried Hester Spencer, and settled on a farm in Glastonbury ; Vinson R., the father of Norman W. Strickland, of Hartford county ; Lysander A., mentioned below; Minerva, who married Eli Warner, a farmer of Ellington ( their son Eli became a physician of Hartford) ; and Eliza, who died in childhood. Elisha Strick- land was a Whig in political sentiment, but never sought offices, being a plain, unassum- ing man in every way.

Lysander A. Strickland was born in Glastonbury, Conn., and was a carriagemaker by trade, which business he at one time carried on at West Stafford, Conn. There he married Miss Maria R. Holmes, born in November, 1819, daughter of Parley Holmes and his first wife, who was a Miss Knight. The Knight family was a noted one in New England be- cause of the number of professional mien be- longing to it, especially in the line of medi- cine, and they were possessed of marked in- telligence and culture. Mr. Strickland re-

moved from West Stafford to Middletown. Conn., and there entered the employ of the W. & B. Douglas Company. where he sub- sequently became foreman of the woodwork- ing shop, a position he held until obliged to give it up on account of poor health. His death occurred at the age of fifty-six years. His widow, a lady well preserved and agree- able, still resides in Middletown. Lysander A. Strickland was a Republican, but though taking a deep interest in his party's success, was never a politician. For a number of years he włas a member of the South Congregational Church at Middletown, and he was well known and highly respected in his community. His remains rest in the Mortimer cemetery at Mid- dletown.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Strick- land consisted of four sons and two daugh- ters, namely: Erwin, born at West Stafford, Conn., was a wholesale and retail coal dealer; he died in Bridgeport, and his wife and two daughters survive. Chauncy H .. born at West Stafford, is the New York rep- resentative of Belding Bros., the great silk manufacturers ; he has one son and two daugh- ters. Sarah married Henry A. Mooney, of Hartford. Henry died at the age of seventeen years. IIelen died at the age of twenty-six. Frank L. is our subject.

Frank L. Strickland went to school in Mid- dletown and then occupied a similar position closing with his Sophomore year. As a youth he was energetic and industrious and soon dis- played his ability to make his own way in the world. Opportunity offering. he first became a clerk in the store of Burr Brothers, in Mid- dletown and then occupied a similar position with the shoe firm of A. R. Parshley, where he continued for a long period. Early in 1886 he left Middletown and went to Boston, where he accepted a situation in the shoe department of R. H. White & Co., remaining until Feb- ruary 2, 1887, when he took charge of the oldest established shoe business in Rockville. Conn., that of Asa G. Jacobs, which he had purchased. Although the disastrous fire which swept Rockville in 1895 destroyed both his store and stock, he immediately resumed busi- ness at his present location on East Main street.

Mr. Strickland is one of the wide awake and thorough business men of Rockville. modern in his stock and methods. He occu-

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pies a prominent position as a citizen and as a business man.

On November 25, 1885, Mr. Strickland was united in marriage with Miss Alice Cora Miller, born August 20, 1863, daughter of Ste- phen W. and Hannah A. (Corey) Miller, of Middletown, Conn. The former was for many years a successful farmer of Middletown, a man of large means and high character. His death occurred July 27, 1884, and his wife preceded him to the grave on February 5, 1870. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Strick- land were: Edna Helen, born June 5, 1887 ; Bertha Miller, June 28, 1889; Wallace Knight, August 1, 1891 (died January 1I, 1892) ; and Seward Holmes, April 8, 1898.

Mr. Strickland is in sympathy with the Republican party, but he does not mingle to any great extent in politics beyond being a regular voter. Fraternally he is connected with Rising Star Lodge, No. 49, I. O. O. F., of Rockville, in which he takes a deep inter- est. Both he and his wife are members of the Union Congregational Church, in Rockville. While a resident of Middletown, Mr. Strick- land for six years was a member of the cele- brated choir of the South Church in that city. He is very public-spirited, and takes an intel- ligent interest in and liberally contributes to all objects calculated to be of benefit to his city. He is recognized as a representative business man, and leads in his line of trade, his pat- ronage coming from the most exacting of the residents of Rockville and vicinity.

JOSEPH ZEISER, for a number of years a well-known tailor of Cromwell, Middlesex county, was born in Wittenberg, Germany, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Keller) Zeiser. The father was a farmer, stock dealer and trader, and lived and died in Wittenberg, as did also his wife. Their children were : Gothard, who died in Germany; Constantine, who is now living in Wittenberg; Matthew, deceased; Leo, who came to the United States, and was employed for a number of years in the factory of J. & E. Stevens; Rosalia, who is nowi living in Newark. N. J. ; and Joseph.

Joseph Zeiser was born June 9, 1850. He had the benefits of a public-school education until he reached his fourteenth year. After his school days were ended he worked on a neighboring farm), his father having died when he was five years of age, and his mother when

he was ten. When he was a young man he Was apprenticed to the tailor's trade, and served his term, working for his board, and furnishing his clothes. After he had com- pleted his apprenticeship he went to Switzer- land, and spent several years in that country. In 1870 Mr. Zeiser started for America, sail- ing from Hamburg, and landing in New York after a nineteen days' voyage, with a few dol- lars in his pocket. He had a brother in the United States, and a cousin in Philadelphia, but. had to depend on his own energies to locate himself. For three years he was employed in Newark, N. J., then one year in Brooklyn, and in 1874 came to Cromwell, where he worked at his trade until 1877, when he moved to Rocky Hill. He was in business there eleven years, at the expiration of which time he re- turned to Cromwell, where he engaged in busi- ness continuously until his removal to Meriden.

Mr. Zeiser enjoyed a fine trade from Rocky Hill, Middletown and Cromwell. In 1889 he purchased the home where he resided, and he was regarded as one of the solid and reliable business men of the community.

While he was a resident of Newark, N. J., Mr. Zeiser was married there to Miss Kate Klein, who died in 1885. For his second wife Mr. Zeiser married Miss Carrie Kaiser, of Newark, N. J., who is a native of Wittenberg, Germany, and came to this country when a small girl. To this union the following chil- dren have been born: Joseph, Arthur and Elsie.

Mr. Zeiser is a Republican. He and his. wife belong to the Methodist Church. Mr. Zeiser is widely known as a capable tailor and a good business man. He has made his way in the world against very considerable ob- stacles, and deserves much credit for the very fine position he occupies.

JOHN M. STARR. The American founder of that branch of the Starr family to which John M. Starr belongs was Dr. Com- fort Starr, who emigrated from England about 1634, and settled in Groton. Family records fail to show the number of his children, but it is known that he had two sons-Jonathan, born in 1675, and died in 1748, aged seventy- three years; and Thomas, who attained the age of eighty-five years. Dr. Comfort Starr's grandchildren were nine in number, and were- remarkable for their longevity. Their names:

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and the ages at which they passed from earth were as follows : Samuel, at eighty seven years ; Jonathan (referred to below), at eighty-nine; Elizabeth, at ninety-seven; Joseph, at eighty- two; Vine, at eighty-three; Mary, who died of small-pox, at fifty-six; Richard, at eighty-sev- en; Hannah, at eighty-five; and Lucy, at one hundred years and seven months.

. Jonathan Starr settled, in New London, and married Mary Seabury, who lived to be ninety-eight and one-half years old. The is- sue of their marriage was six children, who inherited the remarkable vitality of their an- cestors. Abigail reached the age of eighty- three years and two months; Mary died at eighty-six years and five months; Sarah passed away at eighty-six years; Jona- than reached the age of ninety-five years and four months ; Jared died aged ninety years and nine months; and Rebecca passed away at the age of ninety-two years and four months.

Vine Starr, a grandson of the emigrant, and a settler of East Hampton, died in 1789, and his wife, Mary, in 1799. at the age of eighty-three years. The grandfather of our subject was also named Vine Starr, and was born near the town of Chatham, in 1785, and died November 13. 1815, aged. thirty years. He was a man of prominence and highly esteemed by his fellow- townsmen. He took a lively interest in mili- tary matters and a granddaughter-Mrs. Asa E. Brooks, of East Haddam, Conn .- pre- serves a cornet's commission of the Sixth Company, of the Seventh regiment of Cavalry, issued to him on May 9, 1811, signed by Gov- ernor Roger Griswold and contersigned by Thomas Day, Secretary of State. On June 24, 1813, Vine Starr married Nancy Barton, a daughter of William and Clarissa (Betts) Barton, Jr., of his native town. The Bartons are of an old family of New England, and the genealogical record from the time of William Barton, of the Society of Wintonbury, How Bloomfield, Com., an armorer at Springfield. Mass., during the struggle for independence. may be found in the sketch of Norman N. Hill. of East Hampton, elsewhere. Vine and Nan- cy (Barton) Starr were the parents of only one child-Vine B.

VINE B. STARR was born October 15. 1815. in Chatham, where he grew to maturity. He began active life as a bell-maker, being first employed by Hiram Barton, and later was a 51

partner of Jason Barton, and with the latter went to Danville, Ky., and subsequently en- gaged in business in Louisville, Ky. The last twenty years of his life Vine B. Starr passed in farming at East Haddam, Conn. He was an Abolitionist from conviction, and a Whig for the reason that that party more near- ly espoused his views than any other. With the birth of the Republican party he gladly connected himself therewith. He was a man of broad, enlightened public sprit, and al- ways took a deep interest in town affairs, al- though steadfastly refusing to accept nomina- tion for any office. He was a member of the Ecclesiastical Society of the South Congrega- tional Church, of East Hampton, and a gen- erous contributor toward its work. He mar- ried Amanda Markham, a daughter of John and Ruby ( Bolles ) Markham.

Mrs. Amanda Markham Starr was born in 1818, and died December 18, 1896, having survived her husband eight years. He passed away on June 22, 1888. The Markham family traces its lineage back to 1142, .A. D., when the seat of the family was at Chatham, Eng- land. The first of the line to emigrate to the American Colonies was Daniel Markham. who crossed the ocean with his wife. Patience Harris, early in the eighteenth century. Ile died in 1712, and his widow in 1733.

To Mr. and Mrs. Vine B. Starr a large family was born: ( 1) Julia N. married Asa E. Brooks, of East Haddam. (2) George M. ( whose biography may be found elsewhere ) is identified with the Starr Bros. Bell Co. of East Hampton. (3) John M. was the third in the order of birth. (4) Wilbur F. is also a stockholder and officer in the Starr Bres. Bell Co., and is more tully referred to che- where. (5) Vine B .. Jr., is the secretary of the company, and is married to Bessie C. Birdsey. for Henry S. is connected with the Starr Bros, in the manufacture of net and twine.

No sketch of the Starr family can be com plete which fails to contain some account of the Starr Bros. Bell Co., which is engaged in the manufacture of nearly every description of small bells. The company was formed in 1882, purchasing the plant and property of Veazey & White, a firm which had been in bus iness since 1849. In 1896 the Starr Bros, or ganized the Starr Net & Twine Company. which enterprise was rather modest at the

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beginning, but its success has shown what cap- ital, courage and sagacity may accomplish. The bell factory furnishes employment to from forty to forty-five hands when operated at its full capacity. The officers of the company are: H. S. Chase, of Waterbury, president; John M. Starr, treasurer ; and Vine B. Starr, secretary. Henry S. Starr, as has been said, is interested in the Net & Twine Co., as is also Ambrose Starr, the son of our subject.

John M. Starr was born September 22, 1846, in the town of Chatham, and began work in the bell factories of East Hampton before reaching the age of eighteen. He married Anna Augusta Markham, a daughter of Am- brose N. and Ruth (Skinner) Markham, of East Hampton. Ambrose N. Markham was a son of John and Annie ( Niles) Markham, of Chatham town. John Markham was one of the patriot soldiers of 1776, and one of his daughters, Mrs. Laura Skinner, lived in the town in which she was born until March 6, 1902, reaching the age of eighty-eight years. To Ambrose and Ruth Markham were born the following children: Anna Augusta, born April 27, 1844; Laura, born June 1, 1848, and resides, unmarried, in Middletown; William W. lives at East Hampton; and Lyman died at the age of two and a half years.

To Mr. and Mrs. John M. Starr has been born one son, Ambrose M., whose connection with the Net & Twine Co. has been already set forth. Mr. Starr devotes his entire atten- tion to the promotion of the enterprises with which he is connected, and to the management of their affairs he brings both practical exper- iences and mature business judgment. He is a stanch Republican, and a Mason, being a member of Anchor Lodge, No. 112, of East Hampton. Mr. and Mrs. Starr belong to the Congregational Church, in whose advance- ment they take deep interest, and toward the support of which he is a generous contribu- tor.

CHARLES HENRY BELL is a name that in Portland suggests both good citizenship and business integrity. The family name has been honored by worthy representatives in former years, and it has not lost any prestige at the hands of the gentleman whose name is given above. It has rather gained, for his career has been characterized by unswerving integrity, clear and clean business methods,

and an affable and courteous spirit. He is one of the leading merchants in his town and throughout Middlesex county, in the line of groceries and provisions, and his life is yet largely before him.

Mr. Bell was born November 20, 1854, at the old homestead of his father in Portland, and is the eldest son of Edwin and Harriet A. (Abbey) Bell. He was reared in Portland, and there received his entire education, his school days ending when he was fourteen years old. This was a time when it would seem that he had just begun to study, but his after career shows no handicap resulting from the loss of early advantages. He has lived to see a vast revolution wrought in school matters, and is probably as enthusiastic over the great im- provement that has taken place in the schools as any man in the town, yet he has a keen re- gard for certain teachers of his youth. Mr. Bell is essentially a practical business man, as his career as a merchant began when he was in his fifteenth year, though even before that he : was found in his father's store. At the age mentioned he became a member of the firm of E. Bell & Sons, including his father and his brother, E. Irving. In 1877 Charles H. Bell entered into sole control of the business, after which George C. Bell was a partner for two years, and since that time our subject has been owner and manager. This large establishment has been in business for half a century, and was a small and unimportant affair until 1867, when it passed into the hands of E. Bell & Sons. In the twenty years in which Mr. Charles H. Bell has been proprietor and man- ager many improvements have been made ir the property. The first and second stories, as well as the basement and a storehouse in the rear, are all needed to carry on the large and growing business. He handles groceries, hay grain and feed, light agricultural implements and about everything found in a general store except boots and shoes. He buys in large quantities, and carries an extensive and varier - stock, his patronage covering a wide territory and keeping three or four teams constantly a work to fill orders. Aside from this Mr. Bel has important business interests, being director in the First National Bank, and a part ner with John Anderson, at No. 20 Freeston. avenue. Bell & Anderson established an enter prise of much promise, the manufacture of th Anderson lead pipe coupling, an innovation i

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the field of mechanics, which was patented March 5, 1895, and is becoming well known, there being a large and growing demand for it. It is now controlled by the Anderson Coupling Co., in which Mr. Bell is a stockholder, and provisions are already under way for the very material enlargement of the factory, in order to meet the increased demand which is sure to come. In addition to his business interests already mentioned, Mr. Bell is an extensive stockholder in the Shaler & Hall Quarry, has extensive real-estate interests in the town, and is one of the busiest men of the day. He is liberal, wide-awake, and takes a keen interest in the welfare of Portland.

Mr. Bell and Miss Elizabeth B. Crossland, of Waterbury, Conn., were married May 24. 1877. Mrs. Bell was born January 9, 1857, daughter of Edward and Mary (Briggs) Crossland. Mr. and Mrs. Bell are the parents of two children : Clifford Hawkins, born May 21, 1880, and Douglass Gerald, born June I, 1883. The family has a fine home on Main street, which Mr. Bell built in 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Bell belong to the Episcopal Church, in which she is a loyal worker and a member of the ladies' societies auxiliary to the church. Mr. Bell belongs to Portland Lodge, No. 35, I. O. O. F., and the Portland Lodge of the A. O. U. W.

HON. BENJAMIN DOUGLAS (de- ceased ). In the death of ex-Lieut. Gov. Ben- jamin Douglas, of Middletown, on June 26. 1894, there was removed from earth one of the prominent men of the State of Connecticut and an honored citizen of Middletown, one whose life was a shining example of the beauty of Christianity. Born April 3, 1816, in North- ford, Conn., son of William Douglas, a farmer of that place, Mr. Douglas was of Scottish de- scent, being of the seventh generation from Deacon William Donglas.

(I) Deacon William Douglas, born in 1610, in Scotland, married, probably in 1636. Ann Mattle, daughter of Thomas Mattle, of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England, where she was born in 16to. William Douglas cmi- grated to New England with his wife and two children, Ann and Robert, in 1640. He lo- cated at Gloucester, but moved thence to Bos- ton in the same year, and the next year he went to Ipswich, but returned to Boston in 1645. 111 1660 he removed to New London, Conn ..

where he became one of the most prominent members of the community. filling various offices; he was deputy to the General Court several times. So far as known he had five children.

(II) Deacon William Douglas (2), son of Deacon William, born in 1645 in Boston, went with his parents to New London in 1660. and died in 1724-25. He was twice married, ( first ) in 1667 to Abiah, daughter of William Huff : she died in 1715, and the same year he married Mrs. Mary Bushnell. He had eight children, all by his first wife. He succeeded his father as deacon in the church, holding that office for fifty years.

(III) Deacon William Douglas (3), son of Deacon William (2), born in 1672-73 in New London, Conn., married Sarah Proctor. and they had twelve children. He was one of the original members of the church formed at Plainfield in 1705, and was chosen its first cleacon. He died in 1719.

(IV) Lieut. Col. John Douglas, son of Deacon William (3), born in 1703. in Plain- field, Conn., married in 1724-25 Olive, daugh- ter of Benjamin Spaulding. and had seven children. He was lieutenant colonel of the Eighth Connecticut Regiment, which took part in a number of engagements, and was the best equipped of any in the Colony ; they wore scar- let coats which had been taken from a prize vessel. Col. John Douglas was a man of no little importance in the town in his day. Two of his sons-Gen. John and Col. William- acted with bravery in the Revolutionary war. Lieut. Col. John Douglas died in 1766.

(V) Col. William Douglas, son of Col. John, born in 1742, in Plainfield, married in 1767 Hannah, daughter of Stephen Mansfield. and they had four children. He was a soldier in the French and Indian war at the age of sixteen, was chosen orderly sergeant of the company under Israel Putnam, and partici- pated in the expedition which resulted in the surrender of Quebec in 1750 and the speedy termination of the war. Soon afterward he re- moved to New Haven, where he entered upon a seafaring life, and soon became commander of a merchant ship sailing between New Haven and the West Indies. He accumulated a for- time. On the breaking out of hostilities he raised a military company in New Haven, was commissioned its captain in 1775, and reported to Gen. Montgomery, who placed him in com-

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mand of the flotilla on Lake Champlain. As commodore of this little fleet he rendered im- portant service in the siege and capture of St. John's. Early in 1776 he raised a regiment of soldiers in the vicinity of New Haven, of which he was commissioned colonel by Gov. Trum- bull June 20, 1776. He marched the regiment to New York and joined the Continental army under Gen. Washington. He participated in the disastrous campaign of Long Island, taking part in the engagements at Harlem Heights, White Plains, Philip's Manor, Croton River and New York. In the battle of September 15th his clothes were perforated by bullets and his horse shot from under him. During the war he removed his family to a farm in the town of Northford, Conn., to escape the har- assment by British soldiers to which New Ha- ven was exposed. He died there May 28, 1777, at the early age of thirty-five.

(VI) Capt. William Douglas, son of Col. William, was born February 23, 1770, in New Haven. "When a lad of eleven years he was sent by his uncle, Gen. Douglas, then of Plainfield, to Col. Ledyard, at Groton, the day before the awful massacre, and defying all the dangers of the way, and compelled 10 swim his horse across the Thames, near Ncw London, he safely delivered his dispatches." He was a farmer and lived in Northford, where he died September 14, 1823. He mar- ried, January 28, 1797, Sarah, daughter of Constant and Rachel Kirtland, of Wallingford, Conn. She was born March 19, 1778, and died November 28, 1842. Their eight chil- dren, all born in Northford, were: William, John, Sarah J., Grace, Hannah M., Mary K., William and Benjamin. 1816

(VII) The only educational advantages enjoyed by our subject were a few months' at- tendance at the district schools during the win- ter season, the remainder of his time being spent on the farm. In 1832, when sixteen years of age, he apprenticed himself to a ma- chinist in Middletown, Conn. In 1839 he joined his brother William', who was previous- ly one of the firm of Guild & Douglas, and for three years they carried on the business of an ordinary foundry and machine shop. In 1842 they invented the celebrated revolving stand pump, which proved a great success and laid the foundation for a magnificent fortune. The business of manufacturing pumps in-

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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 146

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