Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 3

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 3

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(III) Robert Hubbard, born October 30, 1673, in Middletown, died there June 19, 1740. He married, March 14, 1703, Abigail Adkins Ward, born September 1I, 1676, daughter of Josiah and Elizabeth (Adkins) Ward, of Mid- dletown.

(IV) Robert Hubbard (2), born July 30, 1712, died January 29, 1779. He mar- ried, October 9, 1735, Elizabeth Sill, who was born November 20, 1707, daughter of Joseph and Phebe (Lord) Sill, of Lyme, and died January 22, 1799.

(V) Hon. Elijah Hubbard, born in 1745,. died May 29 or 30, 1808. He married (first) January 5, 1772, Hannah Kent, born March 7, 1746, daughter of John Kent; she died De -- cember 9, 1778, and he married (second) Abi- gail Dickinson, born in 1758, who died in 1838. Mr. Hubbard was a man of prominence and substance. In May, 1777, during the war of the Revolution, he was appointed by the Gov- ernor and Committee of Safety commissary and superintendent of stores for the troops. For a number of years he was president of the- Middletown Bank, and for twenty-eight years he was a member of the General Assembly of the State.

(VI) Hon. Elijah Hubbard (2), born July 30, or 31, 1777, in Middletown, died there December 4, 1846. On October 26, 1810, he. was married to Lydia Mather, born August II, 1790, daughter of Samuel and Lois (Gris- wold) Mather, of Lyme, Conn .; she died March 5, 1850. Mr. Hubbard was graduated' from Yale College in 1795, was prepared for the law at Litchfield, and for a time was en- gaged in its practice at New London, Conn. For years he was a magistrate in Middletown, and there served as the executive officer of the city. He was president of the Middle- town Bank from 1822 to 1846, the time of his death. His children were: (1) Elijah Kent, born October 18, 1812, died in Chicago, Il1 .. March 26, 1839. He married, September 15. 1834, Elizabeth De Koven, of Middletown. (2) Henry G. is mentioned at length below. (3) Margaret Sill, born October 7, 1817, died December 18, 1838, mnmarried. (4) John M., born July 28, 1822, married, in December, 1852, Frances Fairchild, and is now deceased.

Henry G. Hubbard, the subject proper of

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

this article, until fourteen years of age attended school in Middletown, and was then sent to Capt. Partridge's Military Academy, at Nor- wich, Vt. He subsequently attended the Ell- ington (Conn.) high school, and afterward entered Wesleyan University, but his health failing it was deemed best for him to seek more active pursuits. At seventeen he entered the store of J. & S. Baldwin, of Middletown, as clerk. Later he went to New York, where he was engaged as a clerk with Jabez Hubbard, a .commission merchant in woolen goods. This was the foundation of his mercantile educa- tion. In 1833 he returned to Middletown, where he opened a dry goods store in connec- tion with Jesse G. Baldwin. In 1835, when about twenty-one years of age, he became a stockholder in and soon after manager of the Russell Manufacturing Company, and for more than fifty years was the manager and di- rector of its affairs-the moving power of the business of a great industry. One of his first .achievements in this connection was the intro- duction into the works, in 1841, of the weav- ing of elastic webbing, an art then in its in- fancy in America; while his last achievement was the introduction, in 1886, of what was en- tirely new to this district-the weaving of silk. He lived to see the Russell Manufacturing Company the most extensive concern in Mid- dletown, having factories at Higganum and Rockfall, and employing in the neighborhood of 1,200 hands, with a wage list of upward of a thousand dollars a day, and an out-put of the factory's product of more than a million dollars a year. For fifty years Mr. Hubbard ran smoothly along in this business without a law suit or a strike. At the end of that period "he was confronted with the demands of the Knights of Labor, which he steadily resisted. He told his employes, at least the workmen who pressed the claims, that if he shut down, which he would do rather than submit to dictation, it would make no difference to his position, while it could not fail to be disastrous to them. In that contest he was master of the situation, and there was no stopping of the works. For many years no man was more devoted to busi- ness. He rarely went from the city, and to keep the huge business machinery in running order engrossed all his time. His life was one of industry, and in business he was emi- nently successful against powerful competition. He amassed a great fortune.

As evidenced in the foregoing, Mr. Hub- bard was a man of decision of character, and almost invariably relied on his own judgment. His mind was thoroughly one of business, in which his judgment was good and his tact and far-sighted acumen remarkable. He had the faculty of remembering faces and names, and, it is said, could readily call by name all of his many employes. With all his wealth, and the position and influence he held, he was unosten- tatious, and easily approached by even the most humble. He had a commanding person- ality-a magnificent presence. Such a make- up gave him power and popularity. To his intimate friends he was very social. He en- joyed a good story and a hearty laugh. He was rarely out of temper, yet he possessed a strong command of it. His silence at times was proverbial. Generally speaking, his ur- banity was wonderful. When on matters of importance he thought it time to speak his sen- tences were concise, definite, and rarely ad- mitted of lengthy argument.

Mr. Hubbard had always been connected with the Episcopal Church and was a liberal contributor to it and its auxiliary societies. In his religious views he was liberal, recogniz- ing equally the claims of Protestant and Cath- olic. His private charities were large. They were given in an unostentatious manner for the relief of those whom he considered worthy ; and in that respect he went on the principle, "let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth." He gave the land for the church Guild at South Farms, and was also a liberal contributor to the fund. Before his death he expressed the hope that a Catholic Church would soon be erected at South Farms.

In his political affiliations Mr. Hubbard was a Democrat, but he was not an active poli- tician, although he held a number of public offices, and brought ability and dignity to them all. In 1866 he was elected Senator from the Eighteenth Senatorial District, which consist- ed of Middletown, Durham, Chatham, Port- land and Cromwell. In 1884 he was chosen presidential elector on the Cleveland ticket, and' in 1888 the same honor was awarded him. He was a director in the Middletown National Bank from 1844 until his death. He was a trustee and director of the Middletown Savings Bank for several years, and was at one time president of that institution. A eulogy to such a life as that here briefly reviewed is un-

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

necessary, as an estimate of the man is readily seen between the lines. The monuments he built and left are his best eulogy. Let his life be an inspiration to the young men.

On June 20, 1844, Mr. Hubbard was mar- ried to Charlotte R., daughter of Commodore McDonough, and by her had three children, namely : Margaret Sill, born March 30, 1845; Lucy McDonough, born November 6, 1846, who became the wife of Samuel Russell and died February 2, 1876; and Charlotte Eliz- abeth, born June 3, 1848. Mrs. Hubbard was a woman of many Christian virtues-a lady of refinement and culture who made the world better for having lived in it. Her bequests to the church and to various worthy institutions were large. Her death occurred March 10, 1900. Her father, Commodore McDonough, is known in the history of his country and the world as the hero of Lake Champlain during

the war of 1812. His brilliant naval exploit was the defeat, in 1813, on Lake Champlain,

of several British ships, and twelve gallies, commanded by Commodore Dowine, and for the remarkable victory, owing to the superior force of the enemy, he received medals and resolutions of gratitude and thanks from the United States Congress.

HON. O. VINCENT COFFIN, ex-Gov- ernor of the State of Connecticut, and for many years a prominent and honored citizen of Middletown, is descended from one of the early and leading families of New England. The Coffins have been allied by intermarriages with many honorable families, among them be- ing the names of Le Moyne or Monk, Chud- leigh, Carey, Courtney, Beaumont, Prideaux, and Clifford, and even those of royal blood, some having married descendants of William the Conqueror, Henry I and Edward I. The family seat of the Coffins, in Devonshire, Eng- land, has been owned and occupied by those of the name and line for seven hundred years. Sir Richard Coffin came from the Continent with William the Conqueror.

Tristram Coffin, the American ancestor, was a son of Philip and grandson of Nicholas, of the parish of Brixton, County of Devon, England, and was born in 1605, in Devonshire. He married Dionis Stevens, of the same coun- ty, and in 1642 emigrated to America, with his wife and five children, his widowed mother and two unmarried sisters. Until 1659 lie

lived alternately at Salisbury, Haverhill and Newbury, in Massachusetts, and then went to Nantucket, at that time under the jurisdiction. of New York, and made arrangements for the purchase of the island, by a company which he organized in Salisbury. In 1660 he re- turned to the island, and lived there until his death, in 1681, having been a leading spirit in its affairs. He was wealthy and became the first chief magistrate of Nantucket.

Many of the descendants of Tristram Coffin achieved fame and gained a just celeb- rity, among the earlier ones being Gen. John Coffin; Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin; Baronet Isaac Coffin, a commissioner of the Royal Navy, in 1795; Joshua Coffin, the historian, who for many years had as his pupil John Greenleaf Whittier; Lucretia Mott, of Phila- delphia, one of the most gifted women of her time, an approved minister in the Society of Friends, who in 1827 took sides with Elias . Hicks, and throughout life took an active part in all the great moral reform movements; Prof. James Henry Coffin, LL. D .; and Capt. Reu- ben Coffin, of "Merrimac" and "Monitor" fame.

Gov. Coffin is in the eighth generation from Tristram, the line of his descent being through .. Lieut. John, Peter, Tristram, Abishai, Robert and Alexander H.

(II) Lieut. John Coffin, son of Tristram, born in 1647, at Haverhill, Mass., married Deborah, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Aus -. tin, and had eleven children. He died in 1711, at Edgartown, Mass. From him descended the Martha Vineyard Coffins. . His title was gained in the militia.

(III) Peter Coffin, son of John, born in 1671, at Nantucket, married (first) Christiana Coudy, and (second) Hope, daughter of Jos- eph and Bethiah ( Marcy ) Gardner.

(IV) Tristram Coffin, son of Peter, mar- ried Jemima Barnard.

(V) Abishai Coffin, son of Tristram, born in Nantucket, married Sarah Long, and moved to the vicinity of Hudson, Columbia Co., New York.

(VI) Robert Coffin, son of Abishai, was born in 1778, at the old Coffin homestead, at Little Rest, in the town of Washington, Dutch- ess Co., N. Y., and died there in 1842. His business was farming and tanning. He mar- ried Magdalene Bentley, and ten children were born to them: Jane, Alexander H., Hezekiah.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Charles, Sarah, Eliza, Owen, George, William and Robert, all of whom became useful and es- teemed citizens in their respective communities, and a number of them were prominent men, several of whom still survive.

(VII) .Hon. Alexander Hamilton Coffin, son of Robert, and father of Gov. Coffin, was born June 7, 1805, in the town of Washing- ton, N. Y., and there passed his life, mainly in agricultural pursuits. His position was that of a man of prominence in the community, and he held the confidence and esteem of his fellow- citizens. In his political views he was a Dem- ocrat until just prior to the Civil war, and ever after affiliated with the Republican party. In 1843-44 he represented his town in the Gen- eral Assembly of the State, and figured some- what in other local public relations.

Mr. Coffin was married, in 1835, to Jane, daughter of Gemond and Mary (Fowler) Vin- cent. He died in January, 1890, and she passed away in January, 1871. Their chil- dren were: O. Vincent; Tristram, a retired attorney of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., who has one son, Forst Vincent; and Harriet, who mar- ried Charles A. Valentine, and died in 1876, leaving one son, Frederick Coffin, now an at- torney of New York City.

(VIII) O. Vincent Coffin, son of Alex- ander H., was born June 20, 1836, in Mans- field, Dutchess Co., N. Y., and was educated in Cortland Academy and the Charlotteville Seminary. When sixteen years old he en- gaged in school teaching, and when seventeen years of age he was a salesman for a New York mercantile house. From nineteen to twenty-five he was the New York representa- tive of a prominent firm of Connecticut manu- facturers and subsequently became a special partner in successful business enterprises in New York. Although excluded from military service in the Civil War, he chose to render what assistance he could, by furnishing a sub- stitute, and in other ways. A strong sup- porter of the Union cause, he was a member of the New York committee of the United- States Christian Commission, and was presi- dent of the Brooklyn Young Men's Christian Association during a considerable portion of the years in which those organizations were prominent in field hospital work for the Army of the Union.

Gov. Coffin- came to locate in Middletown, in 1864, becoming the active executive officer

of the Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank, which position he held for fourteen years, until 1878, when ill health obliged him to retire from active work. Six years later, his health being restored, he became president of the Mid- dlesex Fire Assurance Company, a position he yet holds; was president of the Middlesex County Agricultural Society, in 1875 ; has been a director and vice-president of the First Na- tional Bank of Middletown; director, secretary and treasurer of the Air Line Railroad Com- pany ; and was president of the Young Men's Christian Association. Added to these offices of honor and trust, our distinguished subject for two years was mayor of Middletown, and was twice elected to the State Senate from this district.

The convention of September, 1894, at which Mr. Coffin was nominated for governor, was a representative body of Republicans, and in the election of the November following he received a plurality and majority greater than were ever before given a gubernatorial candi- date in the State. His name was presented for the position, in the knowledge that he not only represented one of the oldest cities in the State, but that he was, in the best sense, a rep- resentative citizen of the whole county. His active and extended career had given him ex- perience in legislative affairs which was valu- able to him as governor of the State, and on assuming the duties of chief executive he ap- plied himself assiduously and faithfully to their conscientious performance. The most zeal- ous care was exercised in selecting men of es- pecial fitness for the minor as well as the more important State offices. During the session of 1895 every legislative bill received his per- sonal reading and investigation before his sig- nature was affixed, and a clean, careful and economic administration resulted. As an oc- cupant of the exalted position of Governor of the great Commonwealth of the State of Con- necticut, he reflected credit on his State, his party and on himself.

On June 24, 1858, Mr. Coffin was married to Ellen E., a daughter of Linus Coe, of Mid- dletown, born in that city . August 31,1835. Two children blessed this union: Jennie, born January 18, 1861, died March 30, 1870; Se- ward V., born September 24, 1867, was mar- ried May 13, 1891, to Della M. Brown, daugh- ter of Henry L. Brown, and has one son, Vin- cent Brown. Seward V. Coffin is secretary and

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

treasurer of the L. D. Brown & Son Co., manu- facturers of silk goods, of Middletown.

Linus Coe, the father of Mrs. Coffin, was judge of probate, sheriff and otherwise a lead- ing citizen of Middletown for many years. His death occurred in February, 1852. He was born in what is now known as Middlefield, a son of Elisha and Elizabeth (Miller) Coe, the latter a daughter of Giles Miller, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

Linus Coe was one of a large family and was reared to farming, in Middlefield. His first marriage was to Miss Betsey Rice, who bore him six children, only one of whom lived to maturity,-Catherine M., who married Rev. A. E. Dennison, a Congregational minister, at one time the pastor of the Middlefield Church; Mrs. Dennison died in 1863, at Port- land, Conn., where her husband was stationed at that time. The second marriage of Mr. Coe was to Maria Seward, of Durham, a sec- ond cousin of the distinguished statesman, William H. Seward, member of the cabinet of President Lincoln, Ellen E., Mrs. Coffin, was the only child of this union.

About 1830 Mr. Coe moved to Middle- town, where he lived until his decease, which was caused by an accident on the Newington Railroad crossing near Hartford, Conn. From 1830 to 1839 he was the efficient sheriff of Middlesex county, and was Probate judge from June, 1842, to 1844. At the time of his death he was filling the office of justice of the peace. He was one of the first directors of what is now the Middletown Assurance Com- pany. About 1839 he built the house on the corner of College and Main streets, which is now the residence of Gov. Coffin, and the three stores on the north side of the residence, and he became the owner of considerable real estate and built a number of tenements. His wife survived him until 1880, and both are buried in Indian Hill cemetery. Perhaps there was no one in Middlesex county better known than "Squire" Coe, as he was known, his tall figure commanding especial respect when upon his official business. A leader in the Democratic party, he was always called upon for his views in public matters, and being a man of educa- tion and intelligence, as well as high personal character, he was entrusted with the settling up of many estates and the adjusting of many disagreements among neighbors.

It is of interest to note that among Gov.

Coffin's ancestors of the Revolutionary period were Col. James Vandeburgh, the personal friend of Washington, and Capt. Israel Vail, the great-great-grandfather of his mother, who participated in the battle of White Plains; thus, with the best right, both Mr. and Mrs. Coffin claim Revolutionary ancestry, and they are respectively members. of the S. of A. R. and of Wadsworth Chapter, D. A. R.

RUSSELL. For upwards of two hun- dred years-from almost the very dawn of the settlement of Middletown-this family, through all the intervening generations, has been prominent and useful as citizens, and taken a leading part in the affairs of the city and town.

William Russell, the American ancestor, came from England in 1638. He left only one son, one year old, and (his wife having previously died) directed in his will that "his son should be devoted to God in the way of learning, being likely to prove a useful instru- ment in the good work of ministry," and de- signed the person to be his guardian.

This son, Rev. Noahdiah Russell, gradu- ated at Harvard in 1681, was tutor in Har- vard College (History of English Colonies in America, by Lodge, page 436), and was one of the ten founders of Yale College, and one of the original trustees of Yale, from 1701 to 1713. He was one of the framers of the fa- mous Saybrook platform, and was pastor of the First Church in Middletown for twenty- five years, until his death; it was written of him that he "was accounted a man of weight and wisdom throughout the Colony." Such was his faithfulness and ability that the church immediately after his death summoned his son, William, to succeed him as their pastor. Noahdiah Russell married Mary, daughter of Hon. Giles Hamlin, who came from England. and was one of the first settlers and principal proprietors of Middletown. The prominent and honorable record of Giles Hamlin and family for more than one hundred years is found in Hollister's History of Connecticut. Vol. I, page 510: also in the historical ad- dress by David Field, D. D., at the second centennial of Middletown, November 13. 1850.

William Russell, son of Noahdiah, also a clergyman, was graduated from Yale in 1709, was some time tutor at Yale, and a trustee of Yale College from 1745 to 1791. He was

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

offered the position of rector or president of Yale College, "and was the first of the Alumni to receive that honor, from his alma mater," but could not accept, because "negotiations with the people of Middletown, for the re- moval of their pastor, were ineffectual." [Kingsley's History of Yale College. ] For forty-six years, until his death, in 1761, he was pastor of the First Church in Middle- town, to which he was called immediately upon the death of his father. The pastorate of father and son over that one prominent church covered a continuous period of nearly three- quarters of a century, ending in 1761. Rev. William Russell married Mary, daughter of Rev. James Pierpont (Harvard, 1681), also one of the ten founders of Yale College, and one of the original trustees of Yale from 170I to 1714, and during thirty years (1684-1714) pastor of the First Church of New Haven. Another daughter, Sarah Pierpont, married Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D. D. (Yale, 1720), the distinguished theologian and president of Princeton College, and ancestor of three presi- dents of Yale (Timothy Dwight, president 1795-1817; Theodore D. Woolsey, president 1846-1871 ; Timothy Dwight, president 1886- 1889), and whose granddaughter married Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin. These Pierponts were descended from Sir Hugh De Pierrepont, of Picardy, in France, A. D. 980, whose grandson, Sir Robert De Pierrepont, went from France to England as commander in the army of William the Conqueror, in 1066, and was ennobled for his distinguished con- duct at the battle of Hastings ( 1066). From him descended the earls and dukes of Kings- ton [Genealogical Abstract of the Family of Pierrepont, Yale College Library, also Hollis- ter's History of Connecticut, Vol. I, pages 458, 459, 510.]

Samuel Russell, son of Capt. John and Abigail (Warner) Russell, and the grand- father of the present Samuel Russell, of Mid- dletown, was born August 25, 1789, at the old homestead. His father died when he was twelve years of age, and he was placed under a guardian. After receiving a common-school education, he was placed in the store of Whit- tlesey & Alsop, in Middletown, and later with Samuel Wetmore, with whom he remained until twenty-one. He then went to New York City and became employed in the house of Hall, Hull & Co., foreign shipping merchants,

and was sent by them as supercargo to Spain. Subsequently he entered the house of B. & T .. C. Hopping & Co., of Providence, R. I., who were engaged in the Calcutta and China trade, remaining with this house until he became a partner in the firm of H. Carrington & Co.,. consisting of Mr. Carrington, Cyrus Butler, and B. and T. C. Hopping. This was in 1818, when he with the others drew up articles for a. co-partnership for five years for the transac -. tion of business in China. At the close of this period the celebrated house of Russell & Co.,. which still exists, was established in Canton, China. Among Mr. Russell's associates in this firm were such men as Philip Amiden, Au- gustine Heard, William H. Low, John C. Green, John Murray Forbes, Joseph Coolidge, .. A. A. Low, W. C. Hunter, Edward King,. Robert Bennett Forbes, Warren Delano, Jr., and Russell Sturgis. Their house has a. world-wide reputation, and the name of Sam-, uel Russell was potent wherever commerce reached. In 1837 Mr. Russell retired and re- turned to Middletown, occupying the stately. mansion on High and Washington streets,, which he had built under the direction of the late Samuel D. Hubbard, where he lived the. rest of his life, and where to-day resides his; grandson, Hon. Samuel Russell. On return- ing to Middletown Mr. Russell entered into. private and public enterprises. He founded, the Russell Manufacturing Company, and was. its first president. He was president of the Middlesex County Bank for a decade, and was. a large stockholder. During the panic of 1857 he advanced $75,000 of private money to sustain the bank through the crisis. He was continually assisting private individuals who were in financial trouble. He was a man of broad and liberal views, and contributed freely to the support of all religious denomina -- tions, giving liberally to the building of the Catholic Church, and assisting all other de- nominations. Mr. Russell made judicious 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 3

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