Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 6

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 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Ingham was also four times a candi- date for Governor of the State, receiving the full vote of his party, but failed through the defeat of the latter.

When Mr. Ingham came to the Bar, and during the most active part of his professional life, he was brought into contract with many able and accomplished lawyers, both on the Bench and in the forum. But it was an age of simple habits, small libraries, small fees and limited resources. No marked success was to be obtained except by constant, self-reliant labor and upright conduct. These habits and qualities Mr. Ingham illustrated throughout his long life and they made him honorably conspic- uous at the Bar and in public station. Though

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he was without the advantage of a University education, though he was neither a polished orator nor an elegant writer, he rose to eminence in public affairs, and became, in one respect, at least, a formidable power at the Bar. It cannot be said that, in the discussion of legal questions he exhibited what an eminent lawyer has called "deadly precision," for his mind was distinguished rather for its robust sense than for acute or exact reasoning. But in his best days he had few equals as an ad- vocate 'before a jury-a function far more im- portant in his time than at the present day. With gigantic frame, an imposing presence, a powerful voice, rendered effective by deep and unaffected emotion, aroused by sympathy with and zeal for his cause and client, he often made a powerful impression which carried con- viction to the minds he was addressing. It can truly be said of Mr. Ingham that he was, under Providence, the architect of his own fortune, and rose to prominence by his own merits. From 1819 to the end of his life he resided in a country village, in a rural county, where there was no circle of powerful friends to accelerate his advancement in public or pro- fessional life. His origin was humble. What honors he received, therefore, did not come by gift or inheritance, but were won by manly personal efforts.

Mr. Ingham's private character was with- out a stain. His habits were simple and un- ostentatious. For the last twenty years of his life he was an earnest and consistent member of the Episcopal Church, and, until his health failed, a regular and devout attendant on its ministrations and a liberal contributor to its support.

Dying at an advanced age and after years of retirement from active life, Mr. Ingham's departure made no ripple on the stream of human affairs whose current sets steadily toward the grave, and drops into its silence and darkness the distinguished and the obscure. But those who remember him in his full vigor will not soon forget the massive, antique figure which so quietly passed away.

MOSES WELD TERRILL, a retired citi- zen of Middletown, Middlesex county, is a man who has endeared himself to the communi- ty by his thoroughly manly spirit and kind and generous nature. He is spoken of as a good neighbor, a man of uncompromising integrity,

and a citizen of public spirit and lofty pur- pose.

Mr. Terrill was born in Morristown, Vt., October 2, 1826, and came to Middlefield, Conn., in 1861. The name, however, is historic in Connecticut. Lewis Terrill, the great-great- grandfather of Moses Weld, settled in Mans- field, Tolland Co., Conn., and was married there December 25, 1733, to Mehitable Hib- bard. She died while still a young woman, and his second wife was Anna Simons, to whom he was married May 30, 1745. He had children by his first wife, but they are not all recorded in the family annals. Mrs. Anna Ter- rill was the mother of seven children, Thomas, Arad, Lewis, Anna, Josiah, Hannah and Eu- nice Simons.

Arad Terrill, the great-grandfather of Moses Weld, was born in Coventry, Conn., August 23, 1750, and married Miss Jemima Brace, by whom he had eight children, Timo- thy, Thaddeus, Samuel, Jemima, Susan, Anna, Mehitable and Lewis. Arad Terrill left Cov- entry and moved to Hampden county, Mass., where he spent some years. Later in life he went to Bennington county, Vt., and was the progenitor of the family in that State, where he lived and died. By occupation he was a farmer and blacksmith, and he won the name of being an industrious and honest man.

Timothy Terrill, the grandfather of Moses Weld, was born in Massachusetts, August 7, 1770, and accompanied his parents to Vermont. There he was married, November 22, 1792, at Rupert, to Martha Leavitt, and their chil- dren were as follows : Triphena, born August 4, 1796, married Hiram Cady, and moved to Brown county, Wis., in the 'fifties, settling at De Pere. Moses, the father of Moses Weld, was born May 9, 1799. Aaron, born July 19, 1801, died in Vermont; he lived in Morris- town, where he was engaged in agriculture. Asaph L., born September 2, 1803, was a farmer, and lived in Underhill, Vt. Rachel died young. Arad, born April 2, 1808, spent the greater part of his adult life in Jefferson county, N. Y., where he died. Silas H., born December 1I, 1810, died of typhoid fever in Underhill, Vt., in 1861. Jolin, born February 2, 1814, died at Morristown, Vt. Timothy Terrill married for his second wife Charlotte Fullington, of Fairfax, Vt., and their children were as follows: Joseph, born .October 4,; 1815, learned the trade of carpenter and went

W. W. Tewell

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

west to St. Joseph, Mich., where he died early in life. Timothy, Jr., born December 19, 1819, lives at Morrisville, Vt. Malana, born Novem- ber 27, 1824, married a Mr. Lee, of Jericho, Vt. Timothy Terrill was a farmer, and he lived to be sixty-two years of age. He was a Whig, and attended the Congregational Church.

Moses Terrill was born in Rupert, Vt., and during his youth had very limited educa- tional privileges. His parents were early set- tlers in a section of Vermont that was then very new, and until the children were well advanced in years schools were few and scat- tered. Moses attended a term or two when he was almost grown, in fact, he received most of his schooling after he was twenty-one. In 1825 he married Matilda Weld, who was born in Cornish, N. H., April 14, 1801, daughter of Moses and Miriam ( Harding) Weld. Her parents moved to Vermont when she was ten years of age, and there she was reared and educated. Moses Terrill was possessed of some resources, and he bought a piece of land near the homestead of his parents, and cleared a handsome farm, where he passed the remain- der of his life. He died in 1883, outliving his first wife by many years, she having died April 13, 1830. Moses Weld was her eldest child, and the only other child that reached maturity was Newton A. He was a farmer in Morris- town, Vt. After the death of Mrs. Matilda Terrill, Moses Terrill married Miss Minerva Calkins, who was born in Hyde Park, Vt., April 18, 1803, and died in October, 1901, aged ninety-eight years and six months. She was the mother of children as follow's: Lester H., born January 7, 1833, died in Middletown, September 1, 1898. Benjamin F., born De- cember 13, 1834, is living in Middlefield, Conn. Carlos B., born in 1837, resides in Morristown, Vt. Emily M., born May 9, 1839, married Samuel C. Town, of Morristown, and is living there.

Moses Terrill located in a new town and section of the State, and the acquisition of a competence and a comfortable support for his old age required an immense amount of labor. He was ready to pay the price, and worked hard, met with good success, and in his old age was possessed of a comfortable fortune. Politically he was a Democrat in his earlier life, but when the anti-slavery question be- came pronounced, in 1843. he joined the Liber-

ty party, and later became a Republican. He served in the State Legislature, and was a man of more than local influence and character, though he never sought office, or had much to do with the management of party machinery. He was a liberal contributor to the church, and other helpful moral and religious move- ments. His record is that of a good man and a loyal citizen.

Moses Weld Terrill grew to manhood in his native town, attended the academy at Johnson, Vt., one term, and spent two terms in a select school. With this his school days were ended, and as his health was not of the best his parents deemed it unwise for him to remain on the farm, and accordingly secured him) a place as clerk with Hon. V. W. Water- man, at Morristown. There Mr. Terrill re- mained two years, and then clerked for P. S. Benjamin, at Wolcott, Vt., for one year. With W. G. Ferrin, as a partner, he bought out the establishment of Mr. Benjamin, and con- tinued there for a year, when they sold out, Mr. Terrill returning to Morristown, where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits on his own account for twelve years. In 1861 he came to Middlefield with an acquaintance, Rev. E. Dickerman, who had invented a clothes- wringer, and induced him to join in its manu- facture. A combination with David Lyman, Esq., was made, forming the Metropolitan Washing Machine Company, of which Mr. Terrill was president, and after Mr. Lyman's death was made treasurer. It proved a po- sition of honor and profit, and he held same until the consolidation with the American WVringer Company occurred in 1891. The Rogers Manufacturing Company, of Rock Fall, Conn., was organized in 1892, and Mr. Terrill became its president, and is still act- ing in that capacity.

Moses Weld Terrill and Miss Almira O. Ferrin were married at Morristown, Vt .. July 17, 1848. She was born June 24, 1826, daugh- ter of John and Hannah ( Jacobs ) Ferrin, and she died March 6, 1896, her remains now rest- ing in Middlefield Center, Conn. Children were born to this union as follows: John M., born June 3. 1849, at Moristown, Vt., was at one time in the livery business ; he married and has eight children. Willis E., born June 16, 1851. at Morristown, Vt., is secretary, treasurer and manager of the Rogers Manufacturing Com- pany at Rock Fall, and has his home in Mid-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dletown. Fred W., born April 30, 1853, at Morristown, Vt., is one of the prominent men of Middlefield, Conn., having represented that town in the Legislature, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention, held at Hart- ford, in 1902. Lily M., born January 8, 1864, at Middlefield, Conn., is the wife of Rev. David G. Downey, pastor of St. John's Methodist Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. May L., born June IO, 1868, at Middlefield, is Mrs. Thomas C. Cheney, of Morristown, Vt .; her husband is State's 'Attorney there, also clerk of the State Legislature. -

Mr. Terrill is a Republican, and cast his first presidential vote, in 1848, for the candi- dates of the Free Soil ticket. He was repre- sentative from Morristown in the Vermont Legislature in 1855 and 1856; and served in the Legislature of Connecticut in 1866, 1867, and 1883. In local affairs he has filled many responsible positions, such as first selectman, assessor, justice of the peace, member of the board of relief, and school visitor. From 1861 to 1892, he lived in Middlefield, where, at Baileyville, he built one of the best country residences in Middlesex county. In 1892 he removed to Middletown, where he has since resided. To a certain extent it may be said that he has retired from business. He has, however, extensive and important interests that occupy such portion of his time as he cares to give to business affairs.

While in Middlefield Mr. Terrill wielded an active influence for the upward movement of the community. He has always been a man of undoubted integrity, and his word has never been questioned. He was one of the foremost contributors to, and most active workers in, the erection of the Methodist Church at Mid- dlefield, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Ter- rill's business sagacity is conceded by all, and his character is without a stain. He has been associated with several important business en- terprises, and for one of his years is a very well preserved man. His record as a business man will bear investigation, and reflects credit upon him. He has been successful and accu- mulated a comfortable competence, not by self- denial, for he and his family have had the com- forts of life becoming people of their station.

On his mother's side Mr. Terrill comes from one of the old families of New England, being a representative in the eighth generation in this country of the Weld family, the an-

cestor of which was (I) Joseph Weld, Mr. Terrill's line being through this Joseph's son (II) John, (III) Joseph, (IV) John, (V) Moses, (VI) Moses, Jr., and (VII) Matilda, who married Moses Terrill. This history of the Weld family can be traced back to 1352, when William Weld was high sheriff of Lon- don. The family of Weld in America dates back to 1632, when Joseph Weld and his brother, Rev. Thomas, settled in New Eng- land, at Roxbury, Mass. They came from Suffolk, England. Joseph Weld was one of the prominent m'en in the Colony, rendered valuable service to Gov. Winthrop in military and state affairs, and was one of the first donors to Harvard College. He was an ac- quaintance and friend of John Eliot, the "apos- tle to the Indians."Savage says: "He was the richest man in the Colony at the time of his death. As a recompense for his important service he received valuable estates in West Roxbury, recently known as the Bussey farm, which he bequeathed to his son, John. He stands third on the organized roll of mem- bers of 'the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company' and was chosen ensign at its organ- ization at Boston on the first Monday of June, 1638. He was captain of the Roxbury Com- pany, 1636, and was in the regiment of which John Winthrop was colonel, and Thomas Dud- ley was lieutenant-colonel."

HON. SAMUEL LARKIN WARNER, late of Middletown, was born June 14, 1828, in Wethersfield, Conn., and died at his home in Middletown, February 6, 1893.

Mr. Warner's ancestors on both sides were among the first settlers of Ipswich, and Charles- town, Mass., and he was a descendant of Will- iam Warner, who settled in Ipswich in 1637. His mother, Sarah Larkin, was the daughter of Isaac Larkin, of Wethersfield, who was descended from Edward Larkin, who settled in Charlestown, Mass., in 1638.

Samuel L. Warner received a good educa- tion, attending first the local common school and academy, and subsequently taking a pre- paratory course of study at Wilbraham. Hav- ing finished his studies, he engaged in school teaching, for four years following that pursuit with gratifying success. Early in life he de- cided to enter the legal profession, and about the time he became of age began the study of law under Judge William M. Matson, of

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Hartford. He attended Yale Law School for one year, and afterward completed his profes- sional studies by a two years' course at Harv- ard Law School. He was admitted to the Bar of Suffolk county, Mass., July 19, 1853, after which he went to Hartford, where he was well known, with the intention of beginning the practice of law in that city. Through the influence of his friend, Gov. Seymour, he was appointed executive secretary to Gov. Pond. The duties and responsibilities of this position were greatly increased while Mr. Warner held it by the serious and long-continued illness of the Governor. At the close of Gov. Pond's administration Mr. Warner went to live in Portland, Conn., where he opened a law, of- fice. Unusually 'bright and alert in his pro- fession, and well informed on all public ques- tions, he soon gained a leading position, and in 1858 was chosen to represent Portland in the State Legislature. As his practice increased, his reputation as a painstaking and astute law- yer grew proportionately in Middlesex county, and he soon found it necessary, to accommo- date his constantly growing business, to estab- lish himself in the city of Middletown.

Mr. Warner's prominence in his profession brought him into general notice, and in 1861 he was elected mayor of Middletown, and was continued in that office until 1866. During this period he was the leader in all public movements tending to the prosperity and ad- vancement of his adopted city. It was mainly through his efforts .that the splendid systems of public waterworks and sewerage were es- tablished there. In politics he took a deep in- terest, and at the commencement of the Rebel- lion, though in previous years a Democrat, he arrayed himself on the side of the Federal Union and, appreciating his patriotic work, the Republican party nominated him for Congress in 1862, against the late Gov. English, a strong and popular man. As the district was Demo- cratic, Mr. Warner was defeated. In 1864 he was again the Republican candidate. He was at that time in the zenith of his popularity in the district, and was loyally supported by many Democrats who cordially indorsed his views on National issues. The result was his elec- tion by a majority of 1,700 votes. His term in Congress was marked by close attention to his duties, and by enthusiastic and efficient support of the Republican administration dur- ing the reconstructive period. At the con-

clusion of his term he was nominated for the third time, but, declining the honor, turned his attention once more to his professional work.

In 1864 Mr. Warner was a member, and one of the secretaries, of the convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for the second term. He had the honor of a personal ac- quaintance of Mr. Lincoln, and warmly sup- ported him in the convention and in the subse- quent campaign. In 1888 Mr. Warner was a delegate-at-large from this State to the Repub- lican National Convention held in Chicago, which nominated Benjamin Harrison.

Mr. Warner's services after leaving Con- gress were principally in the line of his pro- fession, in which he attained distinction, be- coming one of the leaders of the Bar in this State. As a lawyer he was studious, indus- trious and thorough in his investigation of legal principles and precedents. He was es- pecially successful before the jury, and his great success caused him to be retained in al- most all such cases of importance in Middle- sex county during his life. He was a talented, brilliant and eloquent advocate. He made his clients' cases his own, and entered into them with an intense earnestness and enthusiasm, and, as was said of him, "he gave to his client the best of his brain, the best of his experience. the best of his vital energy, and of his waning health, even unto the door of death." His ability in the eross-examination of witnesses was remarkable, and if falsehood or prevarica- tion were attempted, he seemed to sense it by intuition; his examinations were merciless in their severity, and were pursued until he had detected and exposed the offender.

As a counselor Mr. Warner's advice was given only after much thought and delibera- tion. Al product of New England soil, his ancestry made him a fearless lover of the truth, and, with a frank, sympathetic and chiv- alrous nature, his heart went to the wronged and oppressed. He never refused his services to a client because he lacked means.

Mr. Warner possessed a fund of humor and good fellowship that always made his presence welcome ; he was generous to a fault, and would make any sacrifice to serve a friend. Among the many important cases in which he was engaged during the last thirty years of his life was the noted case of Andrews et al. vs. Carman, better known as the American

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Driven Well case, and the suits growing out of the building of the Air Line railroad, brought to compel the town of Chatham and other towns along the route to guarantee the bonds of the company.

ISAAC ROBERTS, in his lifetime a well- known merchant, and later a farmer, of Mid- dlesex county, was one of the courtly gentle- men of the old school-a man of strictest in- tegrity, whose word could ever be relied upon. He was born July 4, 1802, in the East Long Hill District of Middletown, Middlesex Co., Conn., a son of Fenner and Mehitable (Barnes) Roberts, of whom full mention is made in the biographical sketcli of Edwin J. Roberts, together with the ancestral data of the Roberts family.

Isaac Roberts attended the district schools until sixteen years old, after which he was for a time employed by the Hinsdales, of Middle- town. When about twenty years of age he started South as a peddler of Yankee no- tions, and succeeded so well that in a short time he was enabled to open a large general store in Lisbon, Sampson Co., N. C., where he was associated with Hiram Birdsey, of Middle- field, Conn. In a few years they removed to Clinton, same county, and a short time afterward the firm of Roberts & Birdsey was dissolved, Mr. Roberts entering into a partnership with Alfred Johnson and a Mr. Chestnut, to carry on business at Clin- ton. They had a very large department store, each department carrying a special line of goods, and it is said their stock contained everything anyone could want, from a plow to a needle. Mr. Roberts served as postmaster at Clinton. About 1845, the busi- ness having been disposed of, Mr. Roberts re- turned to Middletown with a handsome capital for those days. He purchased the farm on East Long Hill, now owned and occupied by his nephew, Edwin J. Roberts, alluded to above, and for a few years Isaac Roberts cultivated that farm, then moving to the city of Middle- town, where his wife died in 1858. . Shortly afterward he returned to his farm, where he remained a few years only, removing to Mid- dle Haddam with his second wife, Mrs. Eme- line Roberts. Later he returned to Middle- town. He died from a stroke of paralysis, March 3, 1888, and his remains were interred in Farm Hill cemetery.

On September 23, 1839, Isaac Roberts married Ann Atkins, who was born in West Long Hill, town of Middletown, Middlesex Co., Conn., about 1821, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Miller) Atkins. Mrs. Ann ( Atkins) Roberts passed away February 23, 1858, the mother of six children, viz .: Randolph M., born August 16, 1840, was killed in Septem- ber, 1845, by a kick from a horse; Mary D. was born June 1, 1842 ; Kate M., born Septem- ber 12, 1849, was married to Albert T. Robin- son, of Greensboro, N. C., and died in that city in December, 1896; Elmira, born August 17, 1851, is the wife of Charles Whitney, liv- ing at Edgewood, near Providence, R. I .; Ida AL, born March 30, 1853, resides with her sis- ter, Mrs. Whitney, at Edgewood; and Fred M., born February 14, 1855, married Emma Wood and is a merchant in Winston, N. C.

Isaac Roberts was a Democrat tried and true, and very popular with his party. He was elected to fill several public offices, among them those of alderman and selectman, hold- ing the latter position several terms. He was practically "the architect of his own fortune," having through his own energy and superior business tact acquired a competency that placed him among the solid men of Middletown and enabled him. to place his family in most com- fortable circumstances. Principle and firmmess were prominent characteristics of his every transaction, and he left an untarnished name.

Mary D. Roberts, the second child born to Isaac and Ann (Atkins). Roberts, was mar- ried July 4, 1863, to Horace A. Wilcox, who was born December 17, 1832, in Wethersfield, Conn., a son of Alfred and Miranda (Kelsey) Wilcox, the former of whom was a manufac- turer of edge tools at Dividend, Rocky Hill, Hartford county. By calling Horace Wilcox was a mechanic, and for some years was en- ployed by the Singer Sewing Machine Com- pany, in New York City, but his health fail- ing he came to Middletown, and for a time managed the farm of his father-in-law, Isaac Roberts. He did not recuperate, however, but on the contrary continued to sink, and he passed away May 31, 1890, while vis- iting a sister in Auburn, Ind. The mar- riage of Horace A. and Mary D. (Rob- erts) Wilcox was blessed with five chil- dren, namely : (1) Edgar J., born January® 22, 1866, was graduated from the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., with.

Jeune Medlist

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the class of 1889, and is now principal and owner of the Middletown Business College. On October 29, 1889, he married Mrs. Rachel (Rose) Sedgwick, who was born January 25, 1854, daughter of George Rose, of Greene county, N. Y., and who was the widow of Walter Sedgwick, to whom she bore two chil- dren-Arthur W. (born November 12, 1877) and Catherine A. ( who died in infancy). To her marriage with Mr. Wilcox have been born four children-Hazel A., August 17, 1890; Isaac R. D., April 11, 1893 (died May 29, 1896) ; Raymond H., February 24, 1895; and Guy F., May 13, 1897. (2) Myra, born Sep- tember 17, 1869, is the wife of Henry Brain- ard, and has two children, Marion and Mar- jorie. (3) Alfred, born September 2, 1871, is a joiner, and lives on Farm Hill. He married, May 4, 1895, Minnie Tower, who has borne him two children, Inez A. and Irene D. (4) Ida M., born October 5, 1873, is still living be- neath the maternal roof. (5) George H., born November 14, 1880, is still at home.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 6

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