Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 39

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 39

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ACKLEY FAMILY. Nicholas Ackle the first of the name in America of who authentic records have been preserved, w one of the early Colonial settlers of Middl town, Middlesex county. James Ackley, I son, was born in 1708, and died in 1777. I and his wife, Elizabeth, lived and died in t. town of their birth. To themi was born son, James Ackley, Jr., who was twice ma ried. His first wife, Naomi, died without i sue. His second, Ruth, whom he married ( December 23, 1759, bore him four childre Naomi, Nathaniel, James and Ruth. (I) N omi, born September 19, 1760, married Elis] Niles October 16, 1783, and became the moth of five children-Nancy (born February 2 1785), George H. (November 2, 1786), Z. vida (May 30, 1789), Lydia (February I 1793), and Esther (October 29, 1797). (: Nathaniel was born in 1763. (3) James is t next in the line we are tracing. (4) Rut born in 1770, married Samuel Skinner.

James Ackley, the third child in the abo family, was born February 14, 1765, and di October 1, 1841. He lived for many yea on Young street, in the southern part of t. town of Chatham, and was a farmer and lui berman. He married Olive Skinner, of We chester, Conn., who was born April 13, 176 and died April 5, 1847. Their union w blessed with the following children : Epaphi ditus, born January 28, 1789; Lydia, Janua 19, 1790; Dudley, February 21, 1792; R derick, April 1, 1794 (referred to below Sylvia, February 9, 1796 (married Janua 5, 1812, Julius Brainard) ; Eliza, July 11, 18 (married Eli Burnham March 3, 1825) ; Isa: September 11, 1804 (married Betsey B. Ni November 24, 1825) ; and Maria, Novemt II, 1810.

Roderick Ackley, fourth child in the abc family, died May 16, 1838. He was marri- December 9, 1824, to Lydia Mariette Spenc. and the children born to their union We William Nelson, John, Hiram Roderick a Julius. (I) William Nelson married a la named Goff, and died in East Haddam. ( John is referred to more fully below. (3) } ram Roderick "went West" in early life, and believed to have lost his life in California. ( Julius was married August 9, 1854, to Li Chapman, and died September 29, 1882. T issue of their marriage was two sons and of:

2II

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ighter, Edmund E., Emma and George M. mund E. married Etta Butler, of Logans- rt, Ind., in 1886, and died at Austin, Minn., i October, 1895; their children were Harold eceased) and Raymond. Emma, the only (fighter, is a resident of Kansas City, Mo. (orge M., born in 1870, married, in 1891, Innie Vaivre, and makes his home in Kan- si City.

JOHN ACKLEY, son of Roderick, was born 1 Chatham, January 8, 1828, and died July 81889. He grew to maturity in the town of birth, and there, on April 30, 1850, mar- 1 Lucy Ann Clark. Having learned the S emaker's trade and not finding it congenial this tastes, he entered the employ of one of t bell manufacturers of East Hampton. Ifer he engaged in farming in a small way. was well versed in local politics, and was tanch Democrat throughout his life. His ow citizens held him in high regard, and afthe time of his demise he held the office first selectman. To his marriage came the 0 owing children: Clara W., born March 041851, died May 19, 1875. Emma B., born Jule 18, 1854. on January 12, 1876, married rry Freeman, of South Orange, N. J. ; he ( 1 March 6, 1879, and his widow now resides East Hampton. Adeline E., born December 1864, is unmarried, and lives with her 2 11

her on Bevin Hill, East Hampton.

Tracing back the genealogy of Mrs. Lucy u (Clark) Ackley, we find John Clark, of ¿land, an early emigrant to the Colonies. first settled in Middletown, but soon after rhoved to Haddam, where his son Willian 11 born in 1651, dying there in 1688. The laer was the father of Nathaniel, who was bifi in 1676. Nathaniel was the father of Jeez, who was born in Haddam in 1717, and (1 l in Chatham April 25, 1765. On August 5 742, Jabez Clark married Sarah Judd, and it the same time came to the town of Chat- 11: , taking up his residence on what is now wn as Clark's Hill. He cleared enough kı to plant grain and vegetables for the sup- la of his family, but the irain reliance of t1 household for food was upon his skill as inter and fisherman. To himself and wife calle a large family of children: (1) Nhaniel, born August 7. 1743, married E theth Norton, who died May 17, I'D: her father, Rev. John Norton, was thị

first pastor of the East Hampton

Congregational Church, a chaplain in the American army during the French and Indian war, and was twice captured and taken to Quebec. Eunice, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth, became the wife of Sparrow Smith, an ancestor of Joel West Smith, [whose bio- graphy may be found elsewhere]. (2) Eda, born August 24, 1745. married John Norton, Jr., of Middle Haddam, and for her second husband Deacon Moses Cook. (3) Jabez, the next in the line of descent, is more fully re- ferred to in the succeeding paragraph. (4) Hannah, born January 1, 1749-50, married John Johnson. (5) Sarah, born March 25, 1752, became the wife of Isaac Bevin. (6) Amos, born October 12, 1754, married Anna Sears July 12, 1781. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and died March 20, 1843. His wife died July 8, 1835. (7) Ab- ner, twin brother of Amos, died on a prison ship during the Revolution. (8) Mercy mar- ried Joel Wood.

Jabez Clark was born August 25, 1747, on Clark's Hill, town of Chatham, and died De- cember 25, 1837. He was by trade a cooper, his work consisting chiefly of making hogsheads and barrels for the West India sugar and syrup trade, although he made one voyage on a whaler as cooper for the ship. The fami- ly still preserves some highly-prized relics of this estimable man, whose aged exceeded ninety years. Among them are a Bible of 1775, a pair of balances, a flax stick (of hickory ), and the walking stick which he carried during is later years, charred and blackened at the tip through frequent use in stirring the logs in the old-fashioned fireplace at his home. He was twice married, his first wife being Lydia, daughter of Abijah Hall, and his second Ruth Hinckley. Of the first union there was no issue, and to the second were born seven chil- dren: Ira, Jabez, Timothy, Lydia, David, Ori- niel and Hiram. (1) Ira, who lived in the southern part of Chatham, married Sarah Eddy, and was the father of four children. all of whom are deceased-Clarissa ( never mar- ried). Charity (married Garrison Gates, of Moodus), Sarah Ann ( the second wife of Gar- rison Gates), and Caroline ( never married). (2) Jabez married Ann Warner, and removed to the West. (3) Timothy married Sophia Smith, and they, too, moved away. (4) Lydia married Moses West. (5) David married Pol- ly Gates, and settled in the State of New

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

York. (6) Orimel is referred to below. (7) Hiram married Achsa Arnold.

Orimel Clark, father of Mrs. John Ackley, was born May 1, 1799, and died May 13, 1877. He learned the trade of a cooper from his father, and carried it on in connection with farming during his lifetime, on Clark's Hill, the home of his birth. On May 23, 1821, he was married to Permelia Bevin, daughter of Isaac and Anna (Avery) Bevin, and to their union were born two sons and two daughters : ( I) Alonzo, October 13, 1822, married Aman- da Hall, and died December 16, 1876. (2) Abraham September 25, 1825, died December 2Ist, following. (3) Lucy Ann, January 20, 1829, became the wife of John Ackley. (4) Rebecca Avery, November 19, 1834, died Feb- ruary 6, 1893.

ALFRED HALL, for many years presi- dent of the Shaler & Hall Quarry Company, which was several years ago incorporated into the Brainerd, Shaler & Hall Quarry Company, ably sustained in his generation the high posi- tion in commercial circles which this family has for so long enjoyed. Alfred Hall was a descendant in the eighth generation from John Hall, born in the County of Kent, England, in 1584, who came to this country and settled in Roxbury, Mass., in 1633. In September of the same year he, with John Oldham and two others, explored the region bordering the Connecticut river, and their re- port, dated January 20, 1634, led to the mi- grations from Dorchester to Wethersfield, and from Cambridge to Hartford. In the year 1635, it is recorded, he was made "freeman" in Boston. In 1636 he joined the Hooker and Stone colony, and went to Hartford, re- moving his family thither in 1639. He owned and occupied as his place of residence a tract of six acres west of the New York, New Ha- ven & Hartford railroad, and now known as the Sigourney (or Catlin) Place. In 1650 he moved to Middletown (then called Metta- besick), being one of the original purchasers of lands from the Indians. Samuel Hall, of the third generation in this country, in 1719 moved to East Middletown (afterward known as Chatham, and now as Portland), and down to the present generation the family has con- tinued to reside there.

Alfred Hall entered Washington (now Trinity ) College, the first day the bell rang for

prayers, and his eldest son, Samuel, was the first son of a graduate to enter the same college. After his graduation, Mr. Hall selected the law as his profession, ad completed the course of study at the Harvard Law School. At the request of his father, however, he then re- turned to Portland, and engaged with him in the direction of the affairs of the brown-stone ·quarry conducted by the Shaler & Hall Quarry Company, organized during the Revolutionary war by Nathaniel Shaler and Joel Hall, the latter being the grandfather of Alfred Hall. The following advertisement, taken from the Middletown Gasette or Federal Advertiser, published in Middletown, October 13, 1781, save in its quaint spelling would satisfy today in its energetic promise :

The Free Stone Quarry at Chatham (known by the name of Johnson's Quarry), is now worked under the direction of Shaler and Hall, who will supply the stone at the Shortest Notice, and at the lowest prices either in the Rough or finished, and in such Dimensions as may be required. They will contract to furnish any quantity, for public or private Buildings, Flags, Grave Stones or Monuments, and deliver them at any Port in North America. Orders directed (postpaid) to Shaler and Hall at the Quarry, Chatham, will have due atten- tion.

October 13th, 1781.

Alfred Hall succeeded his father in the presidency of the Quarry Company, and for many years took an active interest in its affairs. He died September 11, 1873.

On September 10, 1833, Mr. Hall married Maria Lydia, daughter of Seth and Maria (Ransom) Whiting, of Hartford, and grand- daughter of Amos Ransom, a Revolutionary soldier. To this union camte eight children, of whom we give a brief record: Samuel, born October 14, 1834, died August 28, 1888: he graduated from Trinity College, and be- came an Episcopal clergyman, and in the early years of his life was a missionary among the Chippewa Indians, in Minnesota. Alfred Gor- don, born February 6, 1837, died September 15, 1867; he served four years in the Civil war, and at its close was a lieutenant-colonel ir the United States army. Maria Whiting, born July 3, 1839, died March 13, 1844. Jane Whiting, born August 1, 1841, died March 21, 1844. James Philip is mentioned below. Mary Ellen, born December 29, 1846, is the wife of S. Oliver Gildersleeve. John Henry is mentioned below. Alice Elizabeth, born No- vember 6, 1851, is the wife of Fred E. Glad- win. The mother of this family died July II

При Анн

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

'82. She was a woman of education and lture, active in good works, and held in re- ect and esteem by all who knew her.

JAMES PHILIP HALL, the third son, and th child of Hon. Alfred Hall, was born at portland, May 18, 1844, and is now the oldest ing member of the family. He resides at artford. On June 1, 1876, he married Isa- lla Harrison, of Morristown, N. J., who died nuary 14, 1881. They had two children : nna Geraldine, born July 27, 1877, is the fe of Walter Spencer Brown, of the Plimp- 1 Company, of Hartford. Henry Harrison, rn July 10, 1878 ( who is of the tenth gener- on of the Hall family in America ), enlisted the First Connecticut Volunteers, served in e war with Spain, and is now; an officer in Twenty-third Infantry, United States my.

JOHN HENRY HALL was born March 24, 49, in Portland, Middlesex county, where attended the public school. He went thence Chase's famous school, in Middletown, and mpleted his course of study at the Episco- 1 Academy of Connecticut, Cheshire. Pre- ring business to a professional career, he tered the employ of Sturgis, Bennett & Co., s. 125 and 127 Front street, New York, at 1 it time the largest importers of tea and coffee i the United States, and remained with them 1 e years, enjoying rapid promotion, attaining, ¿ the age of nineteen, to the charge of the freign and insurance departments. In Decem- 1, 1877, he returned to Portland with his i nily, having purchased a large interest in the 1:kering governor-at that time in a very de- 1| 'ssed condition-under the firm name of T. 1 Pickering & Company. Owing to his tire- 1 t 3 energy and wise business management, enterprise became a rapid success. In five rs from the time of his association with t. firm the manufacture and sale increased mi less than five hundred a year to five thou- f

d. Successful in his competition on this e of the water, hie engaged in competition S

h English manufacturers, and the sale of

Pickering governor to Great Britain and

colonies now represents per annum four 1

es the original output.

During his ten years' residence in Portland. f m1 1878 to 1888, Mr. Hall was prominent in the interests of the town. He was elected sident of the Shaler & Hall Quarry Com- p y in 1884 atid by his energy and progressive

management revolutionized its working, intro- ducin machinery up-to-date, keeping it abreast with the times, and causing it to enter upon a new era of prosperity. In 1896 he formed a new company, called the Brainerd, Shaler & Hall Quarry Company, which bought the Shaler & Hall Quarry Company and the Brain- erd Quarry Company, and acted as president of same until his death.

Meantime Mr. Hall refused nominations to both branches of the State Legislature, ten- dered him by the dominant party. In 1888 his business, which had been carried on under a partnership, was organized as a corporation, Mr. Hall retaining his proprietary interest, and holding the position of treasurer. About this time the continuous ill health of R. W. H. Jarvis, president of the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, and his couse- quent retirement from active management in the concern, together with the general depres- sion of its business, and the resignation of Gen. Willianı, B. Franklin, determined its board of directors to offer to Mr. Hall the position of general manager of the corporation. An arrangement was made satisfactory to both parties, and Mr. Hall entered upon the duties of his office with the business acumen and un- tiring zeal and energy so characteristic of him. Although Mr. Jarvis retained the presidency, it was understood, owing to his condition of health, that he was to be relieved of all re- sponsibility and care attaching to the office. Caldwell H. Colt, the vice-president, was ab- sent from Hartford the greater portion of the time, so that almost from the beginning of his connection with the corporation the entire direction of affairs, both within the manufac- tory and in its relations with the business world at large, devolved upon Mr. Hall. The di- rectors, soon assurred of his ample capability and worth, supported him loyally in the changes he advocated, and under his vigorous direction the company was strengthened at home and abroad. In 1890 he was elected vice-president and treasurer, and in June, 1901, on the reor- ganization of the company, he was made presi- dent, continuing in that incumbency until his death.

During his residence in Hartford Mr. Hall's geniality and business ability received a flattering recognition on the part of its citi- zens. He declined nomination to municipal office, but from 1890 to 1896 served on the

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

city board of water commissioners. He was State Senator from the First District of Hart- ford in 1895-96. His political affiliations were with the Democratic party, and in 1896 and 1900 he supported the gold wing of that party. He was a director in various Hartford corpora- tions, namely: The Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Hartford National Bank and the Dime Savings Bank, and was one of the organizers of the Board of Trade, and a mem- ber of its first board of directors. He was also a director of the Neptune Meter Company, of New York. He enjoyed membership in the Hartford Club, the Manhattan Club, the En- gineers' Club, and the New York Yacht Club, of New York City, and the Metropolitan Club, of Washington ; was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Sons of Co- lonial Wars, also of the "Mayflower" Society, and a Mason of the thirty-second degree.

On February 9, 1870, Mr. Hall was married to Miss Sarah G. Loines, of New York, who is descended on her father's side from Quaker stock, and from the Hopkinses of Rhode Isl- and. Her ancestor, Stephen Hopkins, was a very prominent citizen of that honored com- monwealth during the Revolutionary period. He was chief justice of both the Court of Common Pleas and the Superior court, govern- or of Rhode Island, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was twice elected to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of In- dependence. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hall was blessed by the birth of four children, two of whom survive: Clarence Loines and Miss Grace Loines.

Mr. Hall was always a member of the Episcopal Church, and was senior warden of the parish of the Good Shepherd in the city of his residence. He was ever loyally faithful to the interests he represented, whether of a public or private character, and steadfastly de- clined calls to a wider field for the display of his energies with promise of a more lucrative employment.

Mr. Hall passed away June 25, 1902, after an illness of about three weeks, his death being caused by apoplexy, superinduced by Bright's disease. He was sincerely mourned in all the circles in which he had moved, and among the many expressions of sympathy, were resolu- tions from the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manu-

facturing Company, the Brainerd, Shaler Hall Quarry Company, the Church of tl Good Shepherd, Trinity Parish, of Portland Conn., the Men's League of the Church of th Good Shepherd (of which he was president the Phoenix Life Insurance Company, the Mai ufacturers Governor Company, the Hartfor National Bank, and others. 'We append tho! of the Colt's Company and the Quarry Con pany.

The Hon. John H. Hall, president of this compar having died on June 25, 1902,

We, the members of board of directors of t Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, dee it fitting and proper to enter on the records of this cor pany, and hereby order to be so entered, this expressi of our appreciation of his exceptional ability as a fina cier and manager; of his invaluable services to th institution, covering a period of fourteen years, duris which time its affairs have become more firmly esta lished than ever before; of his sympathy and geniali as a business associate; and, finally, of his high cha acter as a man.

And, furthermore, we order that a copy of this vo be suitably engrossed, as a token of our high esteem ar as an expression of our sympathy for those who mou: his loss from their family circle.

THE COLT'S PATENT FIRE ARMS MANUFACTURING COMPAN

At a meeting of board of directors of the Brai erd, Shaler & Hall Quarry Company, held this da the following minute was adopted :

The directors of the company realize the great lo sustained by the death of the president, the Hon. Jol H. Hall, who died in the city of Hartford on June 2! 1902, and desire to record their high appreciation his eminent ability, his tireless energy, honesty of pu pose and his steadfast friendship, and wish to convo to his family their most profound sympathy and so row in their deep affliction. Since the organization ( this corporation he has been our president and of friend. We miss his guiding hand, which was ev ready to do the right. We miss his genial presenc. his generous disposition and wise counsel. He w: true, loyal, careful and conscientious, and was alwa; keenly alive to the best interests of this compan Born in Portland, and early identified with its religiot business and social life, and although in latter yea a resident of Hartford, yet he never lost sight of ti welfare of his native town, and could always be relie upon to lend his most earnest effort for the good this community. In his death this board has lost singularly efficient officer and a cherished associate. H family has been bereft of a loving husband and devote father, and the State of one of its most useful citizen We direct that this minute be entered on the records ( the company and a copy transmitted to his family.

W. H. EDWARDS, Secretary. Portland, Conn., July 15th, 1902.

GEORGE S. GLADDING, one of th prominent and highly esteemed citizens o Chester, Conn., and well and favorably know throughout the whole State, passed into hi eternal rest on March 30, 1898, leaving be hind him a record, both public and private

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

th offers inspiration and encouragement to eeding generations.

S1 . Mr. Gladding was descended from Josiah Gdding, a native and resident of Old Say- bjok, where he was engaged in farming shipbuilding all his life. There he mar-

ar ri Phebe Watrous, and the children born of his union were: Phebe, who married John RIters, of Lyme, Conn., a comb maker at Dịp River, where she died; Josiah, who mar- ri Zodiska Pratt, and lived and died in Say- biok; John, who married Hannah South- wł th, and lived and died in Deep River ; Ezra, married Lorinda Gladding, and lived and di 01 in Old Saybrook; Noah, the father of subject; Rufus, who married Roxiana C pman, and lived and died in Old Saybrook ; ar Horace, who died in youth.

Noah Gladding was born January 6, 1801, inOld Saybrook, where he resided until his sieenth year, at which time he went to Deep R er and secured employment in the comb fabory of George Read & Co., continuing in th line for the succeeding eighteen years. On ac unt of failing health he gave up his posi- tie. came to Chester in 1840, and for the ref of his life followed farming, his death oc- cu ing at the home of our subject December 27 (1890, he having the distinction at that til: of being the oldest citizen of the place. O. of the stanch old-time Whigs, he gladly be me an adherent of the Republican party 111 1 the formation of the latter, and was al- wijs eager for its success. Both he and wife we members of the Methodist Church of :x, and were known to be Christian peo-

E: Mr. Gladding married Charlotte Watrous, tive of Chester, who died in 1876, at the il of seventy-two; the remains of both lie ag in

Fountain Hill cemetery. Their children We: Theresa, who married Sylvester Clark; N. h, who married Olive Smith, and had one chl, Minnie, who married John Hardy, of ma, Wash .; Richard W .; and George S. jeorge S. Gladding was born in Deep Riv- ér ou1., May 12, 1834, and when but eight ve

lıi: his fo fo

s of age, went to Chester with his parents, e he lived continuously until his demise. 111 igh his educational facilities were limited, ctive mind and broad understanding stood in good stead and equipped him as fully 'is life work as those more favored by me. When sixteen years of age he erected all factory, engaging there in the manufac-

ture of skate woods, later becoming interested in the manufacture of augers and auger bits for Russell Jennings, G. G. Griswold and Joshua L'Hommedieu, and he also worked for a time for S. C. Silliman & Co. Some years later he formed a partnership with the late N. C. Perry, in the wood-working business, and four years later turned this over to Mr. Perry. In 1859, Mr. Gladding entered the employ of the late C. B. Rogers, of Deep River, and was given the sole management of the factory at Chester. In 1891 he bought this, building up a large and lucrative business, which is still conducted by his family. As his reputation as a business man was unimpeacha- ble, his goods have long been known in the market as reliable in every way.

On May 7, 1857, Mr. Gladding was mar- ried to Sarah A. Weeb, born in East Haddam, Conn., November 26, 1835, who canse to Ches- ter in infancy with her father, Calvin L. Webb. Her mother, Sally (Shailer ) Webb, had passed away one week after the birth of the daugh- ter. The grandfather of Calvin L. Webb was Constant Webb who married a Miss Denni- son, by whom he had a son, Arza. Arza Webb married Sally Stebbins, and they had six children: Calvin L., Caltha, John, Ann, Charles and Harriet. Calvin L. Webb was a seafaring man, and he died when Mrs. Glad- ding was five years old. Mr. and Mrs. Glad- ding were parents of two children: Gertrude E., is an accomplished teacher of music, hav- ing classes in Chester, Deep River and vicinity ; Calvin R. attended Huntsinger's Business College at Hartford, and is now very ably conducting the business of his late father, being justly regarded as one of the most promising young business men of this part of the county.

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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 39

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