Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 41

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 41

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Francis Whitmore, the eldest of the fam- il of Francis and Hannah, married Mary Conwell May 30, 1698, the marriage result- i: in the birth of twelve children, viz. : Fran- C January 10, 1700; Mary, October 1, 1702 ed November 1, 1702); Mary and Mar- g I et (or Margery) twins, December 10, 95; Jacob, October 19, 1707; Nathaniel, Oc- tder 29, 1709; Hannah, September II, 17II; Liel, August 21, 1713; Elizabeth, April 12, 6; Abigail, September 9, 1718; Ebenezer,

I Mvember 16, 1720, and Hezekiah, June 27, 15.

Ebenezer Whitmore, the eleventh born of tl above family, married Thankful Eggleston J1/ 19, 1744, and to this marriage eight chil- din were born, viz. : Ebenezer, December 14, I 5; John, August 15, 1752; Hezekiah, Mrch 3, 1756; Thankful, December 10, 1 8; Timothy, February 10, 1761; Noah- (1: 1, January 23, 1763; Jehial, December 31, 114, and Lucy, April 7, 1768. Ebenezer Witmore the father of this family, was a lage land-owner and farmer in the Maromas Derict, and died February 16, 1804, his wife hiing preceded him to the grave August 8,

Noahdiah Whitmore, the sixth born in the fafily of Ebenezer, and grandfather of C si

uncey B. Whitmore, was a farmer on the

of the present residence of his grandson, Ngh H. Whitmore, in the Maromas District. I was also engaged in fishing in a small way he Connecticut river, and was a much re- ted citizen. He married the Widow Per- si ( Hubbard) Arnold, who died March 19, 185. the mother of eight children, viz. : Bitley, born June 2, 1800, and of whom fumier mention will be made; Clarissa, born Jafrary 10, 1802, was married to Stephen Mer. of Long Hill, and became the mother of Stephen Miller, Jr., whose biography is gin elsewhere in this work; Eliza, born July 1803, was first married to Benjamin 31

Davidson, and next to Chauncey Dickinson; Hannah, born January 30, 1805, married. Col- lins Chamberlain, and died in 1896; Ann Maria, born March 7, 1807, was married to Noah Bradnor; William, born November 12, 1808, married Harriet Daniels and lived in New Haven; Noah, born August 27, 1810, was a gunsmith, was married in Harper's Ferry, Va., and settled in St. Louis, when the place was small; and Harriet, born May 9, 1812, was married to Elijah Paddock.

Bulkley Whitmore, the eldest of the above mentioned eight children, was educated in the district schools and assisted his father on the home farm until the latter's death, when he purchased the interest of the other heirs to the farm, on which he resided the remainder of his life. He was the first to open the quarry which is now being worked by his sons, but death overtook him before its development. He died in the prime of life on Sept. 7, 1840, an epidemic of cholera carrying off himself and three of his children within a period of two weeks. He was a good, upright, industrious man and prominent in the affairs of his district, was very popular as a Jeffersonian Democrat, and but for the fact that his residence was some- what secluded, being about six miles from Middletown, he would have been elected to fill many of the town offices, nominations to which he frequently declined on account of his isola- tion. His mortal remains were interred in the Whitmore burying ground near his home.

Bulkley Whitmore married Martha C. Prior, who was born in Middletown in 1800, and was a daughter of William, and Susan ( Harris) Prior, the former of whom was a farmer. To this marriage were born seven children in the following order: (1) Eliza Ann, September 23, 1827, married Henry W. Scoville, and died October 9, 1854. (2) Chauncey B., whose name opens this bio- graphical review. (3) Noah H., who was born May 1, 1831, married January 11, 1856, Jane A. Bailey, who was born April 5. 1839. and is now the mother of two children-Fran- cis N., born March 4, 1857, married September 11, 1889, Harriet Smith, has one child. Fay- olene E., born July 25, 1893 (he is an employe of the John Hancock Insurance Company at South Boston, Mass. ), and Clara E., born De- ceniber 15, 1869, who is unmarried. Noah H. was engaged in quarrying at Maromas with his elder brother. Chauncey B., at the time

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of his tragic death August 14, 1901, caused by the falling of a derrick in the quarry where he was at work. (4) Edwin A., born Novem- ber 31, 1832, is a farmer at Maromas, and in- terested in the quarry. He is married to Han- nah H. Crowell and has two children-Belle and Clayton. (5) Clarissa, born September 18, 1834, died September 4, 1840. (6) Charles H., born August 20, 1837, died Sep- tember 4, 1840. (7) William 'A., born in March, 1839, died September 13, 1840. The mother of these seven children survived until 1870.

Chauncey B. Whitmore received a limited schooling only, his father having died when the lad was but eleven years old. He availed himself, however, to the best of his ability, of the short time he attended the district school and the one term he was permitted to attend an academy in Haddam. But he was an apt pupil, gifted with a retentive memory, and learned quickly. His early life was spent in labor quite hard for a boy of eleven years, as he assisted on the farm and began work in the quarry which his father had started to develop. He was very industrious, as well as econ- omical, and when he reached his twenty-first year he owned an interest in the quarry, and with his brothers, Noah H. and Edwin A., and David C. Burr, under the firm' name of Burr & Whitmore, worked the same until 1874, when Mr. Burr was killed in the quarry, after which the brothers carried on the busi- ness under the style of Whitmore Bros. Chauncey B. and Noah H. being the actual operators. The death of Noah in 1901 neces- sitated a change, and in 1902 the quarry of Whitmore Bros. was sold, after being in the family for nearly seventy years. The output of the Whitmore Bros. quarry was a superior stone for curbing and paving and was shipped to various parts of the country, especially to Philadelphia.

On December 31, 1854, Chauncey B. Whit- more married Miss Julia A. Lucas, a native of Maromas, born January 4, 1832, a daughter of George G. and Eliza (Johnson) Lucas. Five children grace this union, viz. : (I) Ella F., born August 28, 1855, married, October 8, 1876, Frederick Scoville, a farmer in Mid- dletown, who died November 5, 1893, leaving his widow, with three children, Jennie (born May 19, 1878, and married to Marion Bailey ), Pelliford (born February 16, 1884) and Edna

(born February 15, 1890). Mrs. Scoville no resides with her father. (2) Bulkley C., bor October 25, 1857, is an engineer. He marrie October 30, 1883, Hattie M. Johnson, and ha four children, Burton J. (born October 1884), Tracy B. (April 26, 1888), Edwin ( (September 23, 1891) and Langdon J. (Ma 10, 1898). (3) Julia E., born June 22, 186 married George B. Hubbard, September 1886, and has had three children: Mildre WV. (born April 18, 1888), Mattie E. (bol in 1890, died August 29, 1898) and Ella (born January 6, 1901). (4) George C born November 20, 1867, for a number of yea was in his father's employ, later became member of the firm. On November 10, 189: he married Fannie D. Hubbard, and has o1 child, Chauncey E., born November 13, 189 (5) Martha C. Whitmore, born October I 1871, married October 13, 1896, Wallace Cook, a mechanic and toolmaker, in Hartfor and has one child, Alton W., born Decemb II, 1899.

Chauncey B. Whitmore, although a man handsome income, worked daily in the quarr and did as large a day's work as some of h men, notwithstanding his advanced age. F learned to work hard in his boyhood, and idl ness makes him discontented. He is a Dem crat politically, but has never sought offic Religiously he is a member of the Methodi Church of Higganum. He purchased h present home and moved to it in 1855, and he he has ever since resided, sincerely respecto by all who have the honor of his acquaintance The estimable wife of Mr. Whitmore has ber a valuable helpmate, and the family they ha' reared is a most excellent one.

CHARLES A. BOARDMAN, vice-pres dent of the Middletown Savings Bank, is of of the oldest business men and one of the o and venerable citizens of Middletown. F over half a century he has been associated wi Middletown banking interests, and for sevent four years has been a member of the Congreg tional Church. He has held many local office and is known as a skilled bookkeeper. As well preserved man for his years Mr. Boar man is without an equal in the city. He h spent his life in Middletown, living in the hou where he was born, which was built in 1756 ! B. Henshaw, a West Indies trader; on a ca iron fire-back in the old fireplace-put the

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

en the house was repaired-is "B. H., I|77." The place is in good repair. He is a pin and simple man in his habits, and has a fle and generous hand.

The Boardman family is an old one in the hory of New England. The first of the line in Middletown was Timothy Boardman, grand- fhher of Charles A., who came to that city ut the middle of the eighteenth century. F a was a cabinetmaker, and followed his trade 1.11 in Middletown, some of his handiwork which y F remains suggesting skilled workmanship. married a Miss Johnson, and they had a lage family of children, of whom all but two lind to adult age. Oliver was a shoemaker in Hrtford. Elisha was a merchant at New Even. Joseph was a tavern-keeper in Mid- down, and was seventy-nine years old at ht.death. William was the father of Charles A Betsy died in Farmington, unmarried. Mry married Mr. Frothingham, a teacher, wo was killed in Harmon's defeat. Sarah irfried Rev. Mr. Washburn, and for her sec- W of husband, Deacon Porter, of Farmington. William Boardman, father of Charles A., born in 1773 in Middletown, in the first se south of the Baptist Church. In 1801 hecame to live in the old house mentioned, ch he bought two years later. He was a slemaker and tanner, preparing his own le her ; at one time he had a shoe store on Main stfet. In 1799 he married Mary Osborn, who w born in the year 1776, and their children we as follows: (1) William A. was born in Jie, 1800, and for a time was a merchant in M dletown ; he went to Florida in the fall of 195, set up a store, and died there two years lal, leaving two children. (2) Horace E. W

born January 1, 1804, and lived in Mid- dl own. (3) Mary A., born in 1805, married S. V. Griswold, an attorney, and died in Sep- teber, 1879. (4) Caroline, born in 1806, died in 815. (5) Timothy, born in 1808, died in M Hletown January 17, 1865. He was a tailor byfrade, and a man of mich character. (6) C1 rles A., the subject of this article, was the igest of the family. William Boardman «li 30

in October, 1862, and his wife on August 1859. Politically he was a Federalist, a 11 g and a Republican. He was called to fill se ral minor offices, and was a member of the N. h Congregational Church. He lived in cofortable circumstances, reared a good fam- ilyand had the respect of the community. He

and his wife were buried in the Mortimer ceme- tery.

Charles A. Boardman was born January 25, 1812, and had the public schooling of his day, attended the Garfield school, prominent at that time. He also had private teachers, and stud- ied much at home, and was well prepared to take up the duties of life as they came to him. His first work was as a clerk for Pease & Hay- den, grocers in Middletown, and subsequently he was with David Allen, also a grocer. A little later he went to New Haven to take a clerical position in a dry-goods store, where he over-exerted himself handling goods in heavy packages, so he was obliged to leave and go home. When he had recovered his health, or thought he had, he went to New York, and be- came clerk in a dry-goods store on Broadway. His health gave out, and for years he was out of active work, spending this time at home. Having gradually regained his health, he se- cured a position as bookkeeper with the Middle- sex County Bank, in December, 1835, and was employed there six and a half years. Then he joined his brother Horace in the manufacture of shoes for the New York trade, making most- ly ladies' gaiters. He was in this business from 1842 to 1846.

In 1844 Mr. Boardman entered the Mid- dletown Bank at the request of the president, Elijah Hubbard, to make a trial balance, the regular bookkeeper being ill. Mr. Boardman took his place, and remained in the bank until fall of 1850, when he resumed his factory work with his brother, continuing until 1864, when it was given up on account of the war. Their patronage had largely come from the Southern merchants, and the city and home trade could not fill the loss. Since 1855 Mr. Boardman has been trustee of the Middletown Savings Bank, and is the oldest official in age and point of service connected with that insti- tution. His judgment as to property values has always been taken without question. Po- litically he is a Republican, and in 1836 voted against Van Buren. He was elected city clerk and treasurer of Middletown in 1864. and served ten years. In 1865 he was elected town clerk, defeating Gen. E. W. N. Starr, who had held that position for some years. He was an original director in the People's Fire Insurance Company, and served in that capacity during its entire history. Mr. Boardman was treas- urer for thirty years of the First Ecclesiastical

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

society ; was senior deacon in the North Con- gregational Church for over thirty years; has been treasurer of the North Congregational Sunday-school since 1866; and was treasurer of the building committee when the present edi- fice was erected. He has sought to resign his position as Sunday-school treasurer; but his friends insisted that he keep it until he reached the age of ninety, and when he attained that age they insisted upon his remaining. In June, 1828, Mr. Boardman united with the South Congregational Church, and in 1854 trans- ferred his membership to the North Congrega- tional Church. Plain and simple in his habits, he has a free and generous hand. He has lived an honorable and upright life, and commands the unstinted respect of the community as a man whose integrity has never been questioned. No higher type of citizenship can be found in Middletown.

DOWD. The original spelling of the fam- ily name, Doude, shows that it is of English origin, and the first of the name in this country came from England. His signature has the "e," and his immediate descendants followed that spelling, his grandsons dropping the "e." Finally "w" was substituted for the "u" and the spelling "Dowd" became very common, though more still adhere to "Doud."

Henry Doude, the ancestor of those of the family whose forbears were in this coun- try before 1776, came from Guildford, near London, in 1639, with a colony under Rev. Henry Whitfield, and made his home in Guil- ford, Conn., not far from the house now oc- cupied by a descendant, William Dowd. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were married before leaving England. She died in 1713, and he in 1668. They were the parents of the following children : Thomas, who married Ruth John- son ; John; Elizabeth; Elizabeth (2) ; Jere- miah; Sarah, who married John Bowers; Mary, who married Samuel Houghes; Re- becca, who married Daniel Evarts.

Thomas Doude was born probably after his parents came to this country, though that is not clear. He married Ruth Johnson, and both died in 1713. He moved early to the east part of Guilford, now known as Madison, and settled on Liberty street. The under- pinning of the log cabin which he erected has recently been discovered on a little knoll just back of the place known as the "Dowd" house.

Thomas Doude was an enterprising and ener getic man, and soon built a far more substan tial structure. In local affairs, he was promi nent and active. His family consisted of the following named children : Ebenezer ; Thomas Joseph : and Abraham, whose wife's name wa: Mehitable.

Thomas Dowd, born in 1684, died in 1711 He married Silence Evarts, and they lived and died on the old homestead on Liberty street They had the following children: Ebenezer Joseph and Silence ( who married Josiah Dud ley ).

Ebenezer Dowd, born in 1707, died il 1789. He spent his entire life in that part o Madison called Hammanassett. He was : large land owner, and a man of consider able importance, though his burial spot i unknown. Before his death he took hi two sons, and riding on horseback, directer! them to drive stakes in a north and south line Then he said to Ebenezer, "The land on thi. side of the line joining the stakes is yours:' and to Timothy, "The land on that side is yours." That was his will. The bounds thu fixed are still discernible. This real estate ha, remained in the hands of one family longer than any other property in the town of Madi son. Ebenezer Dowd married Mary Kelsey who was born in 1727, and died in 1807. Th two sons indicated above were his only chil dren.

Ebenezer Dowd was born in 1744, and dier in 1805. When he was twenty-one he marrier Tamson Wilcox, who was born in 1747, and died in 1820. In the division of his father' estate the family homestead in Hammonasset fell to him, and there he passed his entire life engaged in farming. For seven years he wa an officer in the Revolutionary army, and hi long and arduous services in the field brough on rheumatism, which incapacitated him fo active labor for many years before his death He reared a family of nine sons; (1) Au gustus, born in 1766, married Sally Tupper (2) Billy married Rebecca Graves; (3) Luthe married Mina Field; (4) Orrin married Rachel Graves; (5) Amasa died in the South unmarried ; (6) Julius married Clarissa Stone (7) Galen died in infancy; (8) Gulen (2) married Mary Ward; (9) Benjamin is next ir the line we are tracing.

Benjamin Dowd was born in 1786 on th old homestead, where he was reared to man

Richard N Dowd

Beer 3.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

225

hod. He learned the trades of tanning and emaking, then largely followed together,

S a

. was married in his native town to Anna

Wieadon, who was born July 15, 1786, and d c 1 September 1, 1841. She proved a helpful 'ipanion to him in his active life. When abung man he moved to Saybrook and opened afnoe store, which was the principal business ofhis life. His store stood on the corner o Main street and Oyster river road, and has bin occupied for that purpose much of the tile since its erection. Mr. Dowd was an ve spirit in the town, which he represented ir he General Assembly for several years. In pi tics he was a Whig. In religion he be- layed to the Congregational Church, where hewas known as an active worker, particu- lay in the choir. He died July 25, 1845. To hifi and his wife were born the following naged children : (1) Richard Nelson is men- til.ed below. (2) Galen was twice married ; tc Catherine and Emma Kirtland, respectively, a1

was the father of two children, Azubah Bund Galen H. (3) Harriet Ann married R . Edward Chaplin, and after his death be- ca e the wife of Dr. Drury. (4) Cornelia unmarried. (5) Rufus S. married Car- ole Merriman; his only surviving child, E

na is a gifted and successful magazine w|er. (6) Mary Jane is now the widow of E I. Goodrich, of Chicago; she has had three ch ren, Arthur Dowd (deceased), Anna and Caric. (7) Martha Wheadon, who still sur- vijs, married C. D. Bowers, of New Haven, an became the mother of two children, Lloyd Wand Martha D., the latter deceased in in- fa y.

RICHARD NELSON DOWD, best known as Non Dowd, was born and reared in the Dad homestead on Main street, in Old Say- bnk. The house where he passed most of his liffis now the home of his daughter, Mrs. es, who prizes it highly on account of its ass iations. Recently it has been rebuilt, the ; now one of the most attractive homes in own. There Nelson Dowd grew to man- , receiving his education in the public als and in the local academy, then a school chf ent 1111 me note, inder thoroughly competent ers. When he became a young man lie ed his father's store, and worked for him his retirement. He then conducted the a number of years with his brother Ga 1. Selling out his interest there, Mr. 15

Dowd entered the railroad service, and for over forty years was active in that line of work. He was the first superintendent of the Shore Line road, for many years was superintendent of the Northern and Palmer railroad, and for quite a long time before his death was the pur- chasing agent of the "Consolidated." He re- signed shortly before his decease, which oc- curred July 19, 1889, in Old Saybrook, when he was aged eighty-one years. Through industry and strict integrity he had ac- cumulated a considerable fortune. A man of strong convictions, he was reserved in speech and manner. In politics he was a Republican, and served his town as representative in the State Legislature. In religious belief he was a Congregationalist, and attended that church, giving it a liberal support.

Mr. Dowd and Miss Janette Lucretia Davidson were married in Saybrook. Mrs. Dowd was born February 5, 1809, and died June 1, 1893. Her father, Levi Davidson, mar- ried a Babcock. Mr. and Mrs. Dowd had children as follows: (1) Anna Lucretia, born August 3, 1834, died April 26, 1853. (2) Harriet Wheadon was born June 23, 1838. (3) Richard Nelson, born March 22, 1841, died August 5, 1842. (4) Janette Augusta, born September 12, 1844, died September 8, 1848. (5) Richard Benjamin, born March 12, 1848, died September 15, 1848. (6) Fran- ces Janette, born October 12, 1849, married Eugene Chatfield, who died in 1877, and on. his death became the wife of Lewis F. Dud- ley, of New Haven. To her first marriage was born one daughter.

Harriet Wheadon Dowd was married in New Haven, Conn., to Manning F. Bowes, and to this union came one child, Nelson Manning, who was born May 24, 1868. He has had ex- cellent educational advantages, and is now assistant bookkeeper at Gunther & Sons, fur- riers, New York. He married Lizzie Nolan, by whom he had two sons-Nelson Julian, born March 9. 1892, and Eugene Frederick, born November 19. 1895. This wife dying, he married Mary Kidder, a native of Burling- ton, Vermont.

AMOS A. WILCOX, one of the leading citizens of Westbrook, Middlesex Co., Conn .. has since 1900 been judge of probate, elected to succeed George C. Moore, who had filled the- position for twenty-five years.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Amos T. Wilcox, grandfather of Amos A., was born in Madison, Conn., during the stir- ring times of the Revolutionary war, and came to Westbrook in 1816, carrying with him the tools of his shoemaking trade. Locating in Westbrook, where stands the store of C. L. Clark, he followed the trade he had learned in Madison, also did a little farming, and, with characteristic energy, conducted a small gro- cery. His death occurred in 1848. He was postmaster at Westbrook for twenty-two years, having been the first to hold the office in the place. On September 17, 1809, he married Cynthia Bushnell, who died at the age of seven- ty-two.

Horace T. Wilcox, the father of Amos A., was born August 28, 1816, in Madison, Conn., and came with his parents the same year to Westbrook. Learning his father's trade, he as- sisted him in all his business, and at the age of twenty-one engaged in business for himself, later succeeding to that of his father and re- maining at the same location until 1868. The property was then disposed of, and Mr. Wil- cox moved to the present place of Amos A. Wilcox, where he erected the present commo- dious store building, and the firm then became H. T. Wilcox & Son, continuing as such until the sudden and unexpected death of Horace T. Wilcox, on June 3, 1893, while he was on a visit to the World's Fair, in Chicago. Mr. Wilcox had been a prominent man in his lo- cality, a member of the Legislature in 1872-73, and town treasurer from 1859 to 1887. From early youth he had been connected with the Congregational Church, and was active in all educational and benevolent enterprises. In politics he was a Republican.

Mr. Wilcox married, September 9, 1839, Harriet D. Pearson, who was born May 25, 1817, in Pennsylvania, and came to Westbrook to live with her uncle Michael Hill, when only sixteen years old. She died April 5, 1881. The following named children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox: Harriet E., born in 18.40, married Carroll E. Kingsley, of Meriden ; Amos A. is our subject ; Emily, born in 1852. died the same year; Elvira, born in 1858, mar- ried Wallace Spencer, of Westbrook; R. Will- iam is deceased. The second marriage of Mr. Wilcox was to Mrs. Elleu Stannard, widow of William Stannard. Her, death occurred in Chicago in 1894.

Amos A. Wilcox was born February 7,

1846, in Westbrook. His educational advan ages were superior to those enjoyed by man others, as after finishing the district scho: course he was sent to the Westbrook Academ and later took a year's course in the Ne Haven Business College. During the follow ing year he was employed as a clerk in tl freight office in New Haven, of the New Yorl New Haven & Hartford Railroad. In 1868 1- went into the shoe business with his father, an the firm continued as H. T. Wilcox & Son unt ( the death of his father, in 1893, our subje succeeding to the business, in which he has col tinued ever since. For many years he has als carried on the business of getting out timbe for the New York, New Haven & Hartfor Railroad, such as ties, etc., buying the wood i the vicinity of Westbrook. the annual busines in this line amounting to several thousan dollars.

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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 41

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