Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 25

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 25

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Rest, blessed Coe, upon thy bed of ease; The quiet grave with thee is no decease ;

All, all our anguish hath its period fixed, Ere hence we go not any joy but mixed ; Rare grace, which makes the life of man the best, This young man lived to God, and now is blest ; Come, parallel this saint, nay, far exceed ;

Omit no means that may true goodness breed.

Ere trials came he stowed for days of need ; The Lord his widow bless and take his seed.

Capt. John Coe, the youngest in the family

of Robert (2), was not two years of age when his father died. On the second marriage of his mother he accompanied her to New Haven, where he lived until he was twenty-one, and then returned to Stratford, took possession of the land inherited from his father, and became a prominent citizen. On December 20, 1682; he married Mary Hawley, daughter of Joseph Hawley, to which union were born ten chil- dren, of whom mention will again be made. He was commissioned Ensign of the First Com- pany, Stratford troops, in 1698, Lieutenant in 1706, and captain in 1709. He was Deputy to the General Court of Stratford, from 1701 to 1715, was Lister in 1705, served in the French and Indian war, and died April 19, 1741. Mrs. Coe was born July 6, 1663, and died September 9, 1731, the mother of the following children : Robert, born September 21, 1684, married Bar- bara Parmelee, and died February 4, 1762; Joseph, born February 2, 1686, married Abi- gail Robinson, and died July 15, 1754; Han- nah, born April 14, 1689, was married to James Curtiss, and died in March, 1758; Mary, born August 11, 1691, became the wife of Samuel Pickett and died February 19, 1763; John, born in December, 1693, married Hannah Par- melee, and died September 23, 1751; Sarah, born March 26, 1696, was married to Israel Burritt, and died February 6, 1731 ; Ephraim. born December 18, 1698, married Hannah Miller, and died November 10, 1765 : Kather- ine, born September 23. 1700, was married to Joseph Fairchild; Abigail, born November II, 1702, was married to John Guthry, and died in March, 1747; and Ebenezer, born Au- gust 18, 1704, married Mary Blakeman, and died in March, 1766.

Capt. Joseph Coe. son of Capt. John, was deputy to the General Court in Stratford in 1722, lieutenant in 11725, and was commis- sioned captain in 1729. He married November 21, 1708, Abigail Robinson, who was born April 3. 1690, daughter of David Robinson, one of the early settlers of Durham. Conn. Capt. Joseph Coe died July 15. 1754. and his widow July 6. 1775, in the northern part of Middlefield town. They were the parents of five children, namely: Joseph, born September 5, 1713, first married Hannah Parmelee, and af- terward Abigail Curtiss: David, born Febru- ary 18, 1717. married Hannah, daughter of Nathan Camp, and died January 14. 1807; Abigail married Ezra Hanchet: Abel, born

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

July 20, 1727, married Prudence Rossiter, who was born in 1720; Josiah.

Joseph Coe, the eldest in the family of Capt. Joseph, married Hannah Parmelee, December 23, 1736. She and her only child, Phineas, died in 1737, and in 1739 Mr. Coe married Abigail Curtiss. He died in Middlefield June 10, 1784. The children born to his second marriage were ten in number, namely: James, born November 19, 1740, married Rachel Ben- ton; Hannah, born May 9, 1743, was married to Isaac Miller ; Abigail, born January 9, 1745, died May 30, 1749; Anne born January 9, 1747, became the wife of Stephen Parsons ; Rev. Curtiss, born July 21, 1750, married Ann Thompson; Joseph, born May 31, 1753, mar- ried Elizabeth Cromwell; Ebenezer, born July 19, 1755, married Cleopatra Conklin; Joel, born May 17, 1758, first married Huldah Hor- ton, and second Hepsibah Swift ; Abigail, born May 7, 1761, was married to Chandler Otis ; and Elisha, born December 16, 1763, married Elizabeth Miller.

Joseph Coe, sixth in the above family, had born to him, by his marriage with Elizabeth Cromwell, nine children, in the following or- der : Elihu, born in August, 1780, married Rachel, daughter of 'Squire Eli Coe; Milli- cent born March 25, 1782, was married to Fair- child Camp; Joseph, born January 31, 1784, married Eunice Ward; Curtiss, born January 9, 1786, was married to Eli, son of 'Squire Eli Coe; Esther, born January 6, 1790, became the wife of John Birdsey; Enoch born October 25, 1791, died in October, 1798; Calvin, born April II, 1794, married Harriet Rice ; Luther, born June 1, 1796, died October 20, 1798; and Cyrus, born May 8, 1798 died September 22, 1822.

Elihu Coe, the eldest of the above family, was born in Middletown, Conn. In early life he was a farmer, and lived near Butler's Creek, below the site of the Hospital for the Insane. At the advanced age of ninety years he died at the home of his daughter Rachel, wife of Isaac Baldwin, in Middletown. He had been twice married, and by his first wife, Rachel, daughter of Squire Eli Coe, was the father of three children, namely: Enoch; Luther, who married Anasta Wilcox, and was a farmer in Middlefield; and Rachel, who married Isaac Baldwin, a builder in Middletown. To the second marriage there were born no children.

Enoch Coe, father of Alva B. Coe, and

son of Elihu and Rachel, was born January 3, 1804, in the northern part of "Middlefield town, on the farm now occupied by John Net- tleton. He was educated in the district and High schools, and taught many winters. He afterward located on the farm now occupied by Alva B., but the later years of his life were passed in Meriden, where he died August 2, 1833. Mr. Coe was a naturally bright man, and a splendid penman. Although he never weighed over 150 pounds he. was very fond of athletic exercises, and delighted in a playful wrestle, and was very seldom, if ever, put on his back, though many a conquered adversary was much heavier than himself. He was greatly interested in local military affairs, and for years was captain of the Staddle Hill Rifles, a crack company in its day. He was elected to the colonelcy of the regiment with- out an opposing vote, but declined the honor.

In early life Mr. Coe was a Democrat, later became an Abolitionist, and, after the Civil war, a Republican. He filled a few town offices, but declined many that were offered him. He was a leading and faithful member of the Methodist Church, and died in that faith, at the home of Mrs. Russell Coe.

Enoch Coe married Mary M. Birdsey, a native of Middlefield, born April 20, 1805, daughter of Seth and Ruth (Ward) Birdsey. This lady was called away November 25, 1886, the mother of three children: Alva Birdsey, Elmore Frank, and Selina, of whom the last named, a sweet, amiable girl, died at the age of sixteen years. Of Alva Birdsey a full biography will be given further on.

ELMORE FRANK COE, the second born in the family of three children of Enoch Coe, was educated in the district school of Middle- field, and at Daniel Chase's Select School, in Middletown. He began his business life by peddling clocks throughout the South, and later embarked in the manufacture of fertiliz- ers in Long Island City. His factory was sit- uated in the center of the town site, and the city grew around it, and, although it was a decided nuisance, the popularity of Mr. Coe was so great that the inhabitants were loth to request him to remove it. This, however, he did voluntarily, locating on Barren Island, where he occupied several acres of ground and continued in the business until his death, at which time he was worth several million dol- lars. He was a self-made man, in the business

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sense of the term. He was kindhearted and munificent in his donations to worthy under- takings. Among his other acts of liberality we may mention the erection of a beautiful mausoleum in Middlefield cemetery, where the remains of his parents and sister are interred. Mr. Coe married Emma Halstead, who bore him one child, Elmore H., who continues the fertilizer factory established by his father, and has a national reputation.

Alva Birdsey Coe was born on his present farm (not. then as large as it is now), received his elementary education in the dis- trict school, and later attended the Meriden Academy, for two or three years, under John D. Post. On leaving the academy he taught school one winter in the Southeast District of Meriden, and for the following three years taught the fall, winter and spring terms, and for twenty-five consecutive winters he taught in the Broad Street school, working on his farm in the summer, and later taught for two or three winters in his own district. About this time his father retired to Meriden, and Alva B. bought the old homestead of about eighty acres, which he has increased to 120. Here he carries on general farming and dairy- ing and raises Jersey cattle and poultry in large numbers.

Mr. Coe was married, in Springfield, Mass., to Miranda F. Miller, who was born March 14, 1828. in Middlefield, Middlesex Co., Conn., a daughter of Amos Miller, a farm- er. She died April 7, 1864, the mother of one child, Frank A., born March 26, 1864.

In politics Mr. Coe was originally a Demo- crat, but after the close of the Civil war became a Republican, and under the auspices of that party has filled various offices. He has served as selectman, and in 1882 was a member of the State Legislature, in which august body he was a member of the committee on Humane Institutions. In religion he affiliates with the Congregationalists. He is a well preserved gentleman, has always enjoyed good health, and is a keen, successful business man, with a reputation that has never been tarnished by even a breath of suspicion of unfair dealing.

Frank Amos Coe, son of Alva B., was born in Middlefield town, and was educated in the district school and at the Cheshire Academy.

On December 24, 1891, he married Miss Virginia Coe, a native of Middlefield, daugh- ter of Cyrus and Emma ( Abell) Coe, the

former a farmer. To them two children have been born : Catherine M., November 18, 1894, and Elmore H., March 28, 1897.

· Frank A. Coe is the proprietor and man- ager of the Air Line Stock Farm at Middle- field. He inherited his love for horses, his father before him having had a taste for fine stock, and having been one of the best known horsemen in this section of the State some years ago. This well-known stock farm was started about twenty years ago by A. B. Coe, who greatly enlarged its scope in a few years. Of late it has been managed by Frank A. Coe, who makes a feature of training, boarding and selling horses. He is a driver of large reputa- tion, and has sat behind fast horses on many of the race tracks of the country. In connection with the farm there is a finely appointed stable, fitted with every attachment and convenience known to the racing world. But a little dis- tance from these well-appointed stables is a fine half-mile race course, provided with a starting stand and timer's stand, and marked with poles at every eighth. The track, which is always in first-class condition, is used for work out and speed trials. In the development of speed horses Mr. Coe has been remarkably successful, and the fame of the Air Line Stock Farm has gone abroad in consequence. At present he has on the farm a stallion six years old, which is valued at $9.000. He has a large string of others horses, from yearlings that are being taught their first lessons in fast going. to those of a little more development, who are be- ing properly gaited, and so on to the fast ones that have speed and are being conditioned for the hard battles of the race track. A visit to this well known farm is always an interesting one to the horseman.

JOHN MORRIS PENFIELD, one of the more prominent of the older citizens of Port- land, is a descendant of the old Penfield family. which has been conspicuous in the history of the town for nearly two hundred years. 1le was born in Chatham ( now Portland) Septem- ber 18, 1820. a son of Hiram and Sarah Par- melee ( McNary) Penfield. of whom a bio- graphical review appears elsewhere.

John M. Penfield attended the Penfield Hill district school, and recalls Harrison Whit- comtb as his best teacher. Of Mr. Whitcomb he says: "He had but one eye, but he could see more with it than others could with two."

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Lucius Waldo, Mr. Richardson and Elton Overton were also among his teachers in the old days. He did not have any very extended schooling, his parents' means not permitting anything more than the district school, and as he was the eldest child his help was needed on the farm. He ended his school days when he was about fifteen years of age, and began the life of a Connecticut farmer. It was much work with but little play. Four o'clock in the morning found them at their labor-a hard life, but it made men who have swayed mighty interests. Mir. Penfield remained on the farm until shortly before he was married. He worked in the Brainerd quarry at Portland, and for a time traveled through New Bruns- wick, and then through New York and Penn- sylvania, as salesman for a publishing house in Hartford.

While he was still a young man Mr. Pen- field married Miss Adeline Johnson, of Gilead, Conn. She became the mother of two children : (1) Morris J., a farmer, was born November 20, 1857, and married Caroline Johnson, by whom he had the following children: Carl Johnson, born February 23, 1892; Edgar Mc- Nary, June 19, 1893; and John Earl, July 2, 1895. (2) Edgar A. died young. The mother died December II, 1859, and on January 9, 1861, Mr. Penfield married Miss Nancy D. Hinkley, of Chatham, who was born in that town July 15, 1840, a daughter of Abner B. and Samantha ( Higgins) Hinkley. Mrs. Pen- field is a highly respected Christian woman, and is refined and intelligent. In 1855 Mr. Penfield moved to his presnt location, and here he has lived continuously since that year. The only building now standing, which was here at the time of his entry upon the place, is an old house which has been moved back to another location and is now used as a tobacco shed. Mr. Penfield raises tobacco, and carries on general farming. He is a Democrat, and occupied a seat in the Connecticut Legislature in 1882, doing important service there as a member of the State Prison committee. He has served as selectman two years. Mr. and Mrs. Penfield belong to the Episcopal Church, and are highly esteemed in that communion. In 1891 he built his present home, and it is today one of the solid and inviting country homes of that town. At more than three-score and ten he is still alert and vigorous, and his "natural force is not abated, nor his eye

dimmed and watery." He is exceptionally well preserved and entertaining, has a good memory, stands highly, and is a man of distinctive ap- pearance. His industrious years have not vain- ly passed, as he has lived well, and has a comfortable competence for his old age.

HORACE HALL WILCOX, a well known and prosperous citizen of the West- field District, Middletown, Middlesex county, was born in that district May 17, 1827, and is a descendant of one of the oldest English fami- lies that found a home in America.

The Wilcox family is of Saxon origin, and had its seat at Bury Saint Edmunds, in the county of Suffolk, England, prior to the Nor- man Conquest. Sir John Dugdale, in his remi- niscences of Suffolk county, mentions fifteen generations of the Wilcox family as having lived there previous to 1600. In the reign of Edward III Sir John Wilcox was intrusted with several important commands against the French, including that of the crossbowmen from Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex counties. The arms of the Wilcoxes of England are: Per fesse, or and azure, a fesse, gules, over all a lion rampant, azure. The family name has had different spellings, as Willcox, Wilcocks and Wilcox.

The first of the Wilcox family to came to America were John Wilcox and his son, John, who settled, in 1639, in Hartford, where John, Sr., was one of the original proprietors. John Wilcox, Jr., first married, September 17, 1646, Sarah, eldest daughter of William Wadsworth, and to that marriage came one child, Sarah, born October 3, 1648. His second marriage took place January 18, 1650, to Catherine, daughter of Thomas Stoughton, and to this union were born five children, viz. : John, Oc- tober 29, 1650; Thomas; Mary, November 13, 1654; Israel, June 19, 1656, and Samuel, No- .vember 9, 1658. Mary the third wife of John, Jr., died in 1671, the mother of three children : Ephraim, born July 9, 1662; Esther, Decem- ber 9, 1663; and Mary, March 24, 1666. His fourth wife was Esther, daughter of William Cornwall. John Wilcox, Jr., died May 24, 1676.

Ephraim Wilcox, the first child born to the third marriage of John Wilcox, Jr., settled in Middletown, and was married August 23, 1698, to Silence Hand, daughter of Joseph and Jane (Wright) Hand. He became the father

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of three children, born in the following order: Esther, January 4, 1707; Ephraim, June 4, 1709; and John, August 8, 1712.

John Wilcox, the youngest of the three children mentioned in the foregoing para- graph, was a farm'er, lived on Middle Street, Westfield District, and married Hannah Wil- cox, July 6, 1738. She was born December 24, 1718, daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Sage) Wilcox. To them came ten chil- Iren, viz .: John, born January 15, 1740, died April 25, 1823; Samuel, born May 8, 1742, first) married Ruth Roberts, and (second) Ruth Ward, and died September .4, 1807; Hezekiah, born March 4, 1744, married Ra- hel Boardman November 9, 1775, and died September II, 1776; Joseph, born March 29, 746, married Miriam Bacon, and died Janu- ry 31, 1832; Hannah, born January 28, 1748, ied February 19, 1826; Giles, born January , 1750, died in October, 1838; Simeon, born February 25, 1752, died October 13, 1827; ubmit, born December 5, 1754, died August 6, 1803; Comfort, born February 17, 1757, as married to Patty Doolittle August 10, 780, and settled in New Hampshire; and Sa- th, born February 7, 1760, was married to bel North February II, 1788.

Giles Wilcox, the sixth of the children just numerated, was born in Westfield and was 'ared a farmer. After his marriage, in 1775, : settled down on the farm now occupied by orace H. Wilcox. It seems he wanted a tilding site, and traded with his wife for land hough for the purpose, which land came to r by inheritance and was part of the Doud tate; the farm proper she retained, but on his t Giles erected his dwelling in 1786. Giles ilcox himself inherited considerable proper- , was very active in public affairs, and was captain in the local militia. He died October , 1838. He was a regular attendant of the ptist Church. On November 9, 1775, Giles ilcox married Rachel Doud, daughter of tvid and Sarah (Turner) Doud. She died 1 1828, the mother of the following named ldren : Olive, born November 1, 1776, mar- 1 d Amos Churchill, went to New York State, 1 there passed the remainder of hier life; ( es, Jr., father of Horace H., was born Au- st 28, 1779; Sylvester, born February 14, 32, married Abigail Bacon and built the first l| ise north of that of Horace H .; Samuel, En October 20, 1786, died, a bachelor, in

June, 1842; Sarah, born November 30, 1788, was first married to Elijah Wilcox, and later to Rev. Jonathan Goodwin, a Baptist minister, and died in Mansfield, Conn., where she is buried; three other children born to Giles, Sr., died young.

Giles Wilcox, Jr., father of Horace H., was born in the present residence of the latter. He attended the district school and worked on the home farm until he had reached his ma- jority, and then moved to the place now occu- pied by Frank E. Boardman, where he con- tinued to farm until 1840, when, after the death of his father, he took possession of his birthplace. There he passed the remainder of his life, dying September 20, 1841, in the faith of the Baptist Church. In politics he was a Jeffersonian Democrat. He was road super- visor many terms, and did much toward im- proving the highways. He was a very suc- cessful agriculturist, and at his death owned three farms. His wife died April 17, 1834. They are buried in the old cemetery in East street, in Westfield.

The marriage of Giles Wilcox, which took place February 27, 1803, was to Miss Lucy Clark, who was born in December, 1778, daughter of Benjamin and Biah Clark, of Westfield. Four children graced this union as follows : Rachel, born April 14, 1804, married Selden G. Ely, a farmer, surveyor and school teacher, and lived in Cromwell, where she died March 13, 1886; Susannah C. (deceased), born in March, 1806, was married to William D. Starr, of Middletown, who was for many years and until his death the owner and editor of the Middletown Sentinel and Witness; Lucy Ann, born in 1814, was married to Frederick Boardman, and became the mother of Arthur Boardman, whose biography will be found on another page; Horace H. is the youngest of the fanily.

Horace H. Wilcox was born in the house now occupied by Frank E. Boardman, in West- field, and received his early education in the district schools, this being supplemented by attendance, for two terms. at the Cromwell Academy, for one term at the select school taught by Daniel H. Chase, in Middletown, and also at the select school of John D. Post, at Meriden. He was but a lad when his father (lied, and he made his home with his sister, Mrs. Ely, in Cromwell, where he did farm work until his marriage, and then came to his

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

present farm of seventy-four acres, which was left him by his father, and where he has since been engaged in general farming and in grow- ing a limited crop of tobacco.

Horace H. Wilcox married, May 27, 1852, Miss Elvira L. Lane, who was born in Killing- worth, May 30, 1832, daughter of Gideon and Dency ( Kelsey ) Lane. Mrs. Elvira L. Wilcox was called away October 16, 1888, and her remains were interred in the new cemetery at Westfield. The children born to this marriage were three in number, viz .: Rosalie E., who was graduated from the Middletown high school with the class of 1872, is still under the parental roof. Dwight E., a graduate of the National Business College, at New Haven, and of Hannum's Business College, at Hart- ford, is now assisting his father on the farm. Olin C., also a graduate of Hannum's Business College, is now a successful traveling salesman for Albert Meyer & Bros., hatters, of Cincin- nati, Ohio; he married Minnie H. Cady, of Indianapolis, Ind., where he has his residence ; they have no children.

In politics Mr. Wilcox is a Democrat. He served as school visitor for eighteen years, and on the relief board for many terms. He is an excellent farmer, is well-to-do, and is one of the most highly respected citizens of the town of Middletown. Mr. Wilcox's chief pleasure is found in his home.

HARVEY EDWIN BUELL, who passed away December 6, 1898, leaving behind him the record of a life which reflects honor upon his descendants, was a descendant of one of the oldest and most numerous families of the town of Clinton, Middlesex county.

William) Buell, of Dorchester, Mass., and Windsor, Conn., was born at Chesterton, in Huntingdonshire, England, about 1610, and emigrated to America about 1630, settling first in Massachusetts, but later removing, about 1635-36, to Windsor, Conn., where he died November 23, 1681. His children were : Sam- uel, Mary, Peter, Hannah, Hepzebah, Sarah and Abigail.

Samuel Buell was born at Windsor in 1641, and in 1664 moved to Killingworth, where he was a large landowner. In 1662 he mar- ried Deborah Griswold, whose father was one of the first settlers of Killingworth.

Samuel Buell (2), son of Samuel, was born in 1663. He was commissioner of deeds

in Killingworth from 1706 to 1716. In 1688 he married Judith Stevens. He died in 1732

Capt. Samuel Buell, son of Samuel (2) born March 8, 1690, married Abigail Critten- den, and died in 1750. Their son, Josiah, was the great-grandfather of our subject.

Josiah Buell, born in 1732, married Eliza- beth Kelsey, and died in 1806. Their sor Jared, the grandfather of Harvey E., was borr June 20, 1771, in Clinton, where he followed the trade of cabinetmaker all his life, was a well-known mechanic, and resided upon the site of the late home of our subject, dying there March 22, 1852. On March 22, 1795, he mar- ried Lydia Kelsey, of Clinton, born in 177I who died in 1860. Their family consisted of Harvey, Sherman, Edward, Adaline, Emily Delia Ann and Jemima.

Harvey Buell, the father of Harvey E. was born in Clinton, in the old home, after mar. riage purchasing land in the eastern part of Clinton, on the "old road" to Westbrook, and he followed farming all his life, dying January 31, 1875. He married Hannah Turner (borr) December 25, 1800) who died February 20 1877. Mr. Buell had a large family and dic not accumulate much. Mrs. Buell was a daugh- ter of a native of Westbrook, and a sister o: the noted temperance orator, Reuben Turner Mr. and Mrs. Buell were married by Rev Sylvester Selden, August 29, 1817, and they had children as follows: Jared, who married Lydia Maria Wells, of Guilford, is a carpen- ter and farmer, and resides in Clinton ; Harvey E. is mentioned below; Cordelia A. married Alanson LaFayette Spencer, of Westbrook Jeannette E. is the widow of Henry Lane, o Clinton, where she resides; Henry H., a farm er in Clinton, married Josephine Dibbell; Ed ward A., who married Annie Jackson, of Phila delphia, was a sea captain, enlisted in the Civi war, and earned honors (he died of yellow fever, and was buried at sea) ; George A., a farmer in Clinton, married Maria Woodstock Charles, who married Emma Ayers, of Phila delphia, was a sea captain, a noted mathemati cian, captain in the West India trade, and was drowned in the Zells harbor at Baltimore in which city he is buried.

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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 25

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