Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 57

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 57

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and reading aloud in the home circle was his favorite recreation after a day of hard work and absorbing anxiety. His most highly prized authors were Dickens, George Eliot and Scott, perhaps because they best explored the the wide field of human sufferings and effort and most keenly sympathized with the trials temptations and sufferings of our common hu- manity, which ever awakened a responsive chord in his great, generous, human heart.

Mrs. Churchill is yet living, at her pleas- ant home on Main street. With her is the only child of her marriage, Miss Emma A. Churchill, who was born in Utica, N. Y. Miss Churchill is a lady of rare refinement and cul- tured tastes, and an amateur artist of no in- considerable pretensions. She inherits her fa- ther's stern moral principle, to which she joins the innate amiability of both parents. Her cir- cle of acquaintances is large, and by her inti- mate friends she is sincerely beloved. Both Mrs. and Miss Churchill are eligible for mem- bership in the Daughters of the American Rev- olution, but neither has ever made application for the honor. Their lives are chiefly passed in Middletown, with the exception of the win- ter months, which they spend in the South.

JAMES NELSON TIBBALS. In the northern part of Middlesex county, for nearly three quarters of a century, the manufacture of oakum has been an important industry, and for the same length of time the name of Tib- bals has been associated therewith. The fam- ily is of Scotch origin, but was planted in New England in early Colonial days, the great- grandfather of James N. Tibbals having been a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His grand- father and father were both life-long residents of Haddam, where his father, Thaddeus Tib- bals, was born February 26, 1788. He died May 3, 1854, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife, whom he wedded November 12, 18II, was Lydia Bailey, of Higganum. She was born November 5, 1792, and passed from earth after rounding out her three score years and ten. They were the parents of a large family : (I) May, the eldest, now deceased, was born August 26, 1812, and was twice mar- ried, her first husband having been Henry Uf- ford, and her second, Capt. Heman Crosby. (2) Elizabeth (also deceased), was born April II, 1814, and married Dennis Ufford, a cabinet

maker. (3) Henry W., born November 9, 1815, is a retired farmer, of Albia, Monroe Co., Iowa. (4) Daniel S., born May 10, 1817, for many years resided in Middle Haddam, but now lives in South Framingham, Mass. (5) Russell E., who was born February 26, 1819, and who died March 9, 1891, was a man- ufacturer of oakum, at Middle Haddam, and was twice married; his first wife was Lucy Barnes, and his second Caroline Ackley, who was born October 9, 1828. His first marriage was without issue; to the second were born three sons and two daughters, as follows : Eugene, born June 26, 1858, died aged four and one-half years ; Charles W., born January 19, 1860, a telegraph operator ; Carrie E. (now Mrs. Hiram C. Smith), born November 17, 1861; Addison E., born April 30, 1865; and Lucy L., born January 9, 1867. (6) Lyman B. Tibbals, born January 26, 1821, is a coffin maker at Cobalt, Conn. He married Jane Rob- erts, a sister of Mrs. James N. Tibbals. (7) Lydia M. was born November 26, 1822, and died February 15, 1868. (8) James N. is men- tioned below. (9) Rufus Dana, born August 20, 1826, was twice married, (first) to Mrs. Harriet Treat (a widow, nee Lewis), and (second) to Adeline Judson, of New Haven. (10) Charlotte S., born January 14, 1829, is the deceased wife of Reuben Jones, of Barn- stable, Mass. ( II) William T. was born June 21, 1830. (12) George E., born March 29, 1832, died in boyhood, October 16, 1856. (13) Alvin B. was born October 20, 1833, and died February 28, 1855. (14) Charles J., youngest of the family, came into the world July 18, 1835, and left it January 18, 1856. Thaddeus Tibbals began the manufacture of oakum in 1828, in which year he erected shops for that purpose at Middle Haddam, although it is pos- sible that his first structure was erected on the other side of the river, in Maromas, in the town of Middletown. He was succeeded in the business by his sons, the last of these to conduct it being James N., who retired in 1899, handing down the business to a son- in-law and a nephew, the latter a grandson of Thaddeus.

James N. Tibbals was born in the town of Middletown, September 20, 1824. When he was but ten years old, however, the family moved across the river, and settled in the town of Chatham. His earliest educational train-

ing was obtained by walking two miles to a district school, although later he and the other children received instruction at home, from a Miss Melinda Hurlbut. On reaching his ma- jority he was taken into partnership by his father, and continued to conduct the business after the latter's death until 1899, when, as has been already said, he retired. The elder Tib- bals conveyed to the son four hundred dollars' worth of real property when he reached the age of twenty-one, in order that the latter might possess the property qualification then prescribed by law for voters. He first exer- cised the right of suffrage by casting his ballot for the Whig candidates, and since the organi- zation of the Republican party has been one of its most loyal members. Under Mr. Tibbals' sound business management the oakum manu- facture has greatly prospered. Originally not more than eight or ten hands were employed, while at present ( 1902), during the busy sea- son, as many as twenty find employment, and the annual output exceeds four hundred tons. The raw material used is obtained largely from the ropes and rigging of dismantled vessels, although much of it is imported, a single pur- chase not infrequently reaching fifty tons. Mr. Tibbals' entire life has been passed in Mid- (llesex county, with the exception of a year spent at Roxbury, Mass., where he engaged in business, but was forced to abandon his en- terprise because of a disastrous fire. As a cit- izen he is broad minded and public spirited, enjoying the affectionate esteem of the com- munity. He has served the town as a select- man, and has also held various minor offices. He is a devout, consistent member of the Con- gregational Church, and a liberal contributor to the cause of religion. He was one of the founders of the society of that denomination between Cobalt and Middle Haddam, among the original members of which were no fewer than twenty-six of the Tibbals family, and of which he was a deacon for twelve years.

On February 1, 1848, James N. Tibbals was married by the Rev. Mr. Houghton, to Eleanor Roberts. To their union two daugh- ters were born: Ella, who married Herbert Hayden and has two sons, Percy and James ; and Emma, the wife of David B. Dickens, of Chatham, who has recently secured an interest in the oakum works at Middle Haddam, on the retirement of his father-in-law.

Nathaniel Bailey, Mrs. Tibbals' maternal grandfather, was a man of no little prominence in East Haddam in his generation. He was a farmer and mill owner, and was drowned in his own mill pond. He married Rachel, a daughter of Elkany Sears, by whom he be- came the father of one son and three daugh- ters: (I) Henry was twice married, having, after the death of his wife, Polly, married a member of the Whittlesby family; (2) Rhoda, the mother of Mrs. James N. Tibbals; (3) Clarissa became the wife of Wadsworth Rich- mond; and (4) Harriet married Alfred Wil- bur, of Hampton, Conn.

The family of Harry Roberts (Mrs. Tib- bals' father) was prominent in the days of Colonial history. Both his grandfather and father ( Ashbel Roberts) were patriot soldiers in the armies under Washington, the former carrying a lieutenant's commission. Ashbel Roberts was a hatter, and followed his trade at East Hampton. He married Eleanor Hills, the issue being three sons and a daughter. The latter was named Patty and was the young- est in the family; she was famed for her beauty, but died in maidenhood. Harry was the eldest son; Jonathan, the second son, mar- ried Ann Miller, of East Hartford; and Ja- son was the third in order of birth.

Harry Roberts was born in 1783, and he died in 1853. By trade he was a saddler. He worked at the trade in East Hartford and Middle Haddam, and subsequently carried on a prosperous business in harness making at New Marlborough, Mass. On December 24, 1815, he married Rhoda Bailey, who was born May 21. 1795, and who died March 27. 1878. They were the parents of seven children, one of whom (a son born May 6, 1823) died be- fore being christened. The others were Henry Austin, born November 3, 1816, never mar- ried: Emeline C., born May 22, 1818, died in childhood : Evelyn, who was born December 4, 1820, and died April 16, 1896, married Mary Fuller, and had one son, Henry E. (who was born May 27, 1856, and died July 25, 1874) : Jane E., born July 15, 1824, is the widow of Lyman B. Tibbals (a brother of James N.). and resides at llokdredge. Neb .: Eleanor Rachel ( Mrs. James N. Tibbals) was born August 3, 1827 ; and Harriet B., born October 12, 18440, is unmarried, and lives m Middle Haddam.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

SIMEON H. JENNINGS, for many years one of the most prominent residents of Deep River, Middlesex county, interested in and intimately associated with every work of local improvement and town benefit, was born in Easton, Fairfield Co., Conn., May 7, 1841, and died in Deep River, June 13, 1899, aged fifty-eight years. He was a son of Charles and Betsey Jennings, long-time resi- dents of Deep River.

Simeon H. Jennings worked at farming and attended school until nineteen years of age, when he entered the State Normal School at New Britain, graduating from that institu- tion in 1862. In 1863 he entered and gradu- ated from the Eastman Commercial College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In 1864 and 1865 he was principal and proprietor of a school for boys at Easton, Conn., which he conducted very successfully, and in 1866 he took up his residence permanently in Deep River, on May I, 1867, entering the employ of his uncle, the late Russell Jennings, to take sole charge of the sales, correspondence and financial mat- ters connected with the manufacture of the celebrated Jennings bits and augers. He con- tinued to discharge the duties of this position for twenty-one years, until the death of Rus- sell Jennings, in 1888, after which was formed The Russell Jennings Manufacturing Com- pany, of which S. H. Jennings was president and treasurer for eight years, until 1896, hold- ing one-fourth interest in the concern. In the year last named a change was made in the offi- cers of the corporation, but Mr. Jennings con- tinued to serve as a director until his death. For the three years previous he had engaged in private enterprises to a limited extent, pub- lishing and putting on the market many thous- and copies of "Jennings' Combination Dis- count Tables" and "Jennings' Interest Tables," of which he was the author, for the use of banks and financial institutions and general business houses. He was an expert account- ant and bookkeeper, and these publications were evolved from many years' experience and practical every-day trial and use.

Mr. Jennings was ever a busy man, and a thorough business man, and it was largely through his untiring devotion to business that the manufacture of the Jennings' bits and au- gers proved so successful in the early years, for he took every means to introduce them to

the trade throughout the United States and Europe. In town affairs he was quite ac- tive, and held several minor offices, and in the year 1889 represented the town in the General Assembly as colleague of H. O. Shailer. In matters of local interest Mr. Jennings was al- ways energetic and was ready at all times to give liberally of his large means to help along any good work. He contributed $5,000 at one time to the town hall fund, nearly a quar- ter of the entire cost of the building, besides smaller sums from time to time. Mr. Jennings was a friend to the poor, and in fact to all who needed his friendship. His private benefac- tions were many, and were given with the scriptural injunction in view, that the left hand shall not know what the right hand doeth. It was such acts that made him beloved and popular, and deservedly so. In 1854, when only thirteen years of age, he joined the Baptist Church in Deep River by baptism, and always remained a faithful and loyal mem- ber, taking a deep interest in its welfare and contributing liberally toward its support. He was superintendent of the Sunday-school and trustee of the church, and choirmaster at dif- ferent times.

For several years, up to within a short time before his death, Mr. Jennings was a di- rector of the Deep River National Bank and a large stockholder in that institution. He was the owner of considerable real estate, including the Union block and the building occupied by the Odd Fellows and the New Era. "Fairview," the house in which he died, was built by him a few years before his decease, at an expense of many thousands of dollars, and is probably the finest country residence in that part of the State. Mr. Jennings also owned a cottage at Cottage City, Martha's Vineyard, and spent a part of each summer there with his family. Simeon H. Jennings was twice married. His first wife was Harriet E. See- ley, to whom he was married in July, 1866. His second marriage, on October 26, 1869, was to Mary Lewis, who was born July 14, 1843, daughter of Barton and Cynthia Marie (Church) Lewis, of New Britain, Conn. To this union came one child, Arthur L. Jen- nings, born at Deep River, Conn., September 29, 1875. He was educated in the District schools of his native town, including the high school at Deep River, and took a year's course

Kowego

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in Bulkeley high school, New London, Conn., where he fitted for the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology, from which he was grad- uated as a Mechanical Engineer with the class of 1897. He then entered the employ of the Pennsylvania lines west of Pittsburg, and was engaged in the railroad shops at Logansport, Ind., for two years, being thence transferred by the company to their general offices at Co- lumbus, Ohio, where he remained one year. Since January 1, 1902, he has been connected with the engineering department of the B. F. Sturtevant Company, and he resides with his mother, in Philadelphia. Personally, Simeon H. Jennings was a man kind and considerate in his home relations, and just and upright in his dealings with his fellow men, who ever had a warm place in their hearts for him.

CAPT. DANIEL W. SEARS (deceased) was a well known and highly respected citizen of Middletown, Middlesex county, and died in Westfield District of that town, where he had spent the latter years of his life, and where. his widow now resides. He descended from a very old English family of rank, the genealogy of that branch which settled in America being herewith given.

Thomas Sayre (as the name was origin- ally spelled) was born in 1590 in Bedfordshire, England, and was one of the eight "under- takers" (or promoters, as the word is now un- derstood) who came from England to America in May or June, 1630. He and his son were allotted sixty acres of land in Lynn, Mass., but he later located at Southampton, L. I. The coat of arms of the family is described as fol- lows: Gules, and a chevron ermine amid three sea-gulls argent. The dwelling he erected at Southampton in 1648 is standing to-day and is still in the possession of his descendants. Thomas Sayre died in 1670, the father of four children, viz. : Francis, who was married, and who died January 20, 1698; Daniel, of whom further mention will be made in the paragraph following; Joseph, who died in New Jersey in 1695 ; and Job, who was born in 1612, was twice married, and died April 9, 1694.

Daniel Sayre, son of Thomas, located at Bridgehampton, L. 1. He was first married to Hannah, daughter of Christopher Foster. and subsequently to Sarah Robinson. He died

in 1707, the father of the following children : Daniel, born in 1666; Samuel, born in 1668, who died in 1706; Joseph, born in 1670; Ephraim, born in 1673; Nathan, born in 1675; Hannah, born in 1677, who married Josiah Topping ; David, born in 1680; and Nathan.

Nathan Sayre, youngest son of Daniel, was a yeoman of Southampton, and made his first purchase of property in Middletown, Conn., of William Bailey, November 25, 1720, in the District of Maromas. This property consisted of a house and 150 acres of land, and there he made his home soon after purchasing. He married Mary Atwood, and it was this branch of the family, apparently, which changed the spelling of the patronymic from Sayre to Sears. Their children, ten in number, were named, in order of birth, as follows: Nathan; Elisha ; Matthew; Mary, who married William Rob- erts, Jr., Daniel, baptized in Middletown Sep- tember 29, 1723; Stephen, February 29, 1724; John, October 4, 1726; Charles, February 8, 1729; Hannah, July 8, 1723 ; and Sarah, Feb- ruary 7, 1734.

Stephen Sears, the sixth of the above men- tioned children, was married July 10, 1766. to Mary Chapman, of East Haddam, Conn. They resided on the old homestead, which ex- tended along the Connecticut river from Maromas to Higganum. Their children were four in number, viz. : Mary, born July 13. 1767, was married to Elias Hubbard October 7, 1788, and removed to Springfield, Mass .: Stephen is mentioned below: Dolly, baptized June 6, 1773, was married November 24, 1788, to John Wright; Esther, baptized July 12. 1776, was married in 1794 to Thomas Spen- cer, of Haddam, and removed to Suffield. Con- necticut.

Stephen Sears, the second child of the above named family, was born December 11. 1768. and married Phebe Knowles, who died in March, 1807. his own death occurring No- vember 16, 1807. Their children, five in number, were Dorothy, who was married to James Smith ; James, born April 1, 1795 : Clar- issa. born March 23. 1797, who was married March 22, 1813. to Elias Selden; Elisha, born January 26, 1801 ; and Stephen.

Elisha Sears, born January 20. 18or, the father of Capt. Daniel W. Sears, was reared a farmer. He was also a school teacher, and for many years taught in the Hubbard and

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South Farms Districts of Middletown, but the later years of his life were passed in agricul- tural pursuits. On November 28, 1822, he married Esther Southmayd Hendley, who was born August 4, 1802, daughter of Henry and Esther H. Hendley, and to this union came ten children, as follows: Joseph Badger was born August 16, 1823. Ann Eliza, born October 7, 1825, married Ebenezer Arnold, a resident of New Haven, Conn. Capt. Daniel W. is men- tioned below. Harriet Esther, born April 15, 1830, married John Townsend, and resided in New Haven. William Hendley, born April 12, 1833, married Marie Evarts, and also lived in New Haven. Henry Hendley, born July 29, 1835, removed to Galveston, Texas, where he was employed by his maternal uncles. Stephen Edgar. born October 29, 1838, died November 7, 1844. Jane Delancy, born Jan- uary 12, 1842, married H. H. Boardman. Ellen Maria, born March 15, 1844, was mar- ried September 13, 1866, to George S. Lewis, Jr., of Springfield, Mass. Mary Hendley, born September 5, 1846, married Edwin F. Hubbard. Elisha Sears died in South Farms April 9, 1877, and his wife September 21, 1887.

Capt. Daniel W. Sears was born August 22, 1827, at Crossway Hill, in the South Farms District. Middletown, where his boy- hood days were spent. He attended the dis- trict school until fourteen years of age, and then shipped on a schooner owned by his un- cle, Joseph J. Hendley, an extensive vessel owner and shipper at Galveston, Texas. Mr. Sears was in the coasting trade between Gal- veston and New England, and intermediate ports, and at the age of eighteen years was made a captain. In this line he continued twelve years, meanwhile marrying in Middletown, but he went to Galveston to reside and was joined there one year later by his wife. About 1858 he abandoned the sea, but was retained in the service of Mr. Hendley as overseer of the stevedore work, in which capacity he was employed until the war of the Rebellion broke out, when he and his wife embarked for the North on the last vessel to leave Galveston without fear of molestation by Confederate privateers.

On reaching Middletown, Capt. Sears pur- chased a farm in West Cromwell, which he occupied and cultivated about three years, at

the end of that time disposing of it and lo- cating in Westfield, on a tract of land known as the "Benjamin Bacon farm." On this place he erected a handsome dwelling and all nec- essary outbuildings, and successfully carried on farming until his death, which occurred June 2, 1887, after suffering a year and a half from cancer in the mouth; his remains were interred in the Farm Hill cemetery. The Cap- tain was a Democrat, and had served two terms on the board of selectmen. He was a man of sound judgment, had a host of friends, and was respected and honored by all. He was not a member of any secret order.

The marriage of Capt. Sears took place August 13, 1851, to Miss Charlotte P. Brooks, a native of the Hubbard District, Middletown, born October 23, 1828. To this marriage came two children, of whom Charlotte P., born May 5, 1854, died June 15th of the same year ; Charles E., born October 10, 1862, is still re- siding with his mother.

Mrs. Charlotte P. (Brooks) Sears is a daughter of Talcott S. Brooks, who was a son of David Brooks. David Brooks was born in February, 1758, in the Hubbard District of Middletown, was a farmer, and also a black- smith. The smith work he carried on in a shop near his residence, on rainy days. David Brooks married Lucretia Sears, who was born May 17, 1763, and died June 31, 1846, the mother of the following named children : Roslinda, born July 23, 1784, was married to Cyrus Strong. and died May II, 1863, in Binghamton, N. Y. ; Permelia, born February 29, 1788, was married to Matthew Crowell, of Long Hill, and died. February 4, 1869; Da- vid, Jr., born August 7, 1792, died June I, 1819; Anna, 'born May 14, 1795, married Eli- zur Tryon, and died October 5, 1863; Mat- thew, born June 11, 1798, died September 17, 1800; Talcott S. was born April 15, 1801; Wickham P., who was born June 10, 1803, married Eunice Lawrence, followed farming in the Hubbard District, and died in 1867. The father of this family died May 18, 1845.

Talcott S. Brooks, father of Mrs. Daniel W. Sears, was reared to farming as well as to blacksmithing on the home place, on which he lived until his marriage, when he settled down on the place where his son. Chauncey Brooks, now lives. He was a hard-working and suc- cessful man, and, as his father had done, he

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cultivated his fields in fair weather and did blacksmith work on rainy days. He married Miss Lucy Prior, who was born March 24, 1802, in the Bow Lane District of Middletown, daughter of William Prior, a farmer. Tal- cott S. Brooks was called away February 25, 1868, and his remains were interred in Farm Hill cemetery ; his widow survived until May 20, 1883, when she expired of pneumonia at the home of Chauncey Brooks, in the Hub- bard District. Both Mr. and Mrs. Talcott S. Brooks were devout members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks were seven in number, viz. : Charlotte P. is the widow of Capt. Sears. Talcott S., Jr., born December 21, 1831, died in 1833. Lucy A., born April 21, 1833, is the widow of Thomas Woodruff, and resides in South Farms. Charles S., born February 2, 1834, enlisted in Company B, Fourteenth Con- necticut Volunteer Infantry, took part in the battle of Fredericksburg, and was wounded by a shell at Antietam, dying of the effects of his injury at Bristol Station, Va., October 14, 1863; his remains were buried on the battle- field. Daniel T., born October 31, 1835, mar- ried Almira Dixon, was a mechanic and farm- er, and is now deceased. Delia S., born May 4, 1838, is married to James Bailey, and is living in the Maromas District of Middletown. Chauncey W., born March 7, 1843, married Eilen Coe, daughter of Frederick and Jean- ette (Harris) Coe, and they have had three children-Charlotte P. (who died in infancy), Lottie P. and Ira J. Chauncey W. Brooks is a farmer in the Hubbard District of Middle- town, residing on the old home farm mentioned above, and is one of the most highly respected gentlemen of the locality.

HENRY CORNWELL, one of the most highly respected citizens of Middletown, Mid- dlesex county, residing on Church street, has retired from active business life. His family is one of the oldest in the State, and Henry Cornwell takes a justifiable pride in his long line of ancestors, whose deeds are recorded on the pages of history, and to whose efforts, as private citizens, are due much of the present prosperity and highly developed civilization of this portion of the country.

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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 57

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