Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 67

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 67

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HENRY N. HEFFLON, a well-known tinner and hardware merchant engaged in busi- ness at the Upper Landing, in East Haddam, Middlesex Co., Conn., is a native of this State, born in Saybrook, February 15, 1831.

James Hefflon, his paternal grandfather, was a native of Newport, R. I., and was one of a large and long-lived family, his grandmother having lived to the extreme old age of 106 years. She was born on the ocean, while her parents were emigrating from Scotland. By occupation James Hefflon was a farmer and butcher. He died in old Saybrook, Conn., in June, 1842. He married Mary Shepherd. and they had four children, namely: Mary, who wedded George Yerrington of Norwich, Conn., and died at the age of eighty-two years, at Jewett City, Conn .; William, father of Henry N .; James, a joiner by trade, who married Mary Ann Jones, and died in old Saybrook : and Hannah, who married Joseph Day, and died in 1899, aged seventy-eight years.

William Hefflon was born in Newport, R. I., May 4, 1804, and when a child moved with the family to Preston, Conn. He also lived for a time in early life in Canterbury and Lisbon, and when a young man was employed in a fac- tory at Leesville. After his marriage he lo- cated in Essex, where he was engaged in get- ting out ship timber, and also followed the sea for a time. In 1851 he located permanently in East Haddam, having previously lived in Lees- ville and East Haddam for a short time. but he died in the town of Saybrook. this county, July 9. 1870. During the latter years of his life he followed farming. In his political views he was a Democrat. In 1826 he was married, in Essex, to Miss Sarah Wales, of Welsh par- entage, who was born October 5. 1804, and died July 27, 1867. She was the mother of the following children : ( 1) Charles, born April 5. 1828, was somewhat of a wanderer. He event- ually reached the Pacific coast, soon after the gold fever broke out, and later went to the Sandwich Islands, where he married and ac- cumulated considerable property, but has not been heard from directly for many years. ( 2) Henry N., our subject, is next in order of birth. (3) James, born November 22. 1833. married Kate Boise, and lives in Deep River. Com. ( 1) Susan, born March 18, 1836, married Thomas G. Swan, and died July 17, 1860. leav-

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ing two children-Grace E., born March 22, 1862; and Alfred, born June 29, 1865. (5) George, born November 20, 1838, married (first) Sarah Wheeler and (second) Annie Hull; he lives in Deep River. (6) Mary, born February 22, 1841, married Andrew Lyman, of Chester. (7) Clarissa Pratt, born June 27, 1844, was married in January, 1870, to Thomas G. Swan, becoming his second wife, and to them came five children-Susan A., born De- cember 31, 1870, died September 13, 1871; Gertrude E., born August 25, 1872, is the wife of Frederick Deming, of Lynn, Mass. ; Lillian M., born December 21, 1874, is a teacher ; Ed- ward C., born May 31, 1879, is employed by the Hartford Paper Company ; and Nettie E., born June 8, 1886, is at home.

During his boyhood Henry N. Hefflon at- tended the common schools, and on October II, 1848, at the age of seventeen years, was apprenticed to learn the tinner's trade, contin- uing as such for three and a half years, when he began work as a journeyman tinner. From 1855 to 1857 he was engaged at his trade in Fond du Lac, Wis., and, returning to Con- necticut, in 1857, embarked in the tinning busi- ness at Deep River on his own account, but re- mained there less than two years, and then re- moved to Hartford, where he continued at his trade. In 1868 he settled in East Haddam, where his father had previously located, and operated his father's farm, continuing to en- gage in agricultural pursuits until 1898, when he sold the property. At the same time he also worked at his trade, having a shop at the Ferry until 1888, when he embarked in business at the Upper Landing, where he not only works at his trade, but also deals in hardware. He receives a liberal share of the public patronage, and is meeting with well-deserved success.

In Deep River Mr. Hefflon married Miss Elizabeth R. Cooper, of Birmingham, Eng- land, who was born October 23, 1837, and they are the parents of five children, namely : Ashley, born December 5, 1860, is interested in the tinning business with his father ; he is a Prohibitionist. Fred, born March 2, 1866, is a painter by trade. Harry, born November 20, 1867, for eight years held a position of trust and responsibility with the American Writing Machine Company, New York; in 1891 he married Miss Emma C. Dailey, of

Hartford, Conn., and he died January 27, 1898. Alice, born July 18, 1870, is the widow of Willis Lycett, of Maine, and has one daughter, Clare, born September 13, 1899. Charles, born June 22, 1877, was married April 4, 1900, to Louisa Meyer and lives in Orange, N. Y. ; he is employed by the American Writing Machine Company, of New York. Politically Mr. Hef- flon is a Prohibitionist; religiously is an ear- nest and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and socially is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 3, of East Had- dam, with which he united in November, 1875.

FREDERICK BABCOCK, who for more than thirty years has been prominently asso- ciated with the manufacturing interests of Middletown, Middlesex county, comes from an old family which has given that city some of her best men, and is a brother of Hon. Samuel Babcock (deceased). He is of the sixth gen- eration of the family in America, as follows : Capt. John, Capt. James, William, Samuel, Samuel (2) and Frederick.

Capt. John Babcock was born in the Coun- ty of Essex, England, in 1625, and was one of the first settlers at Westerly, R. I., about 1661. He married Mary Lawton, of Newport, R. I. Capt. James Babcock, born about 1650, died January 17, 1737. In 1687 he was married to Elizabeth Babbitt. William Babcock, born in 1693, in Westerly, R. I., died there January 15, 1751. Sarah Dennison, his wife, was born at Saybrook, January 16, 1709, coming from a prominent family. They were married Au- gust II, 1730, and had a family of ten chil- dren. Mr. Babcock was for many years town clerk at Westerly. Samuel Babcock was born September 4, 1747, and died in 1828. Rachel Conklin, his wife, was born in 1749, and died January 27, 1823. He went from Westerly to Saybrook, Conn., where he lived to become a prominent citizen.

Samuel Babcock, the father of Frederick, was born March 20, 1788, in Saybrook, and died March 14, 1857, in Middletown. Mr. Bab- cock was married twice, the second time in the early 'twenties, to Jane Cornwall, a daughter of Caleb and Huldah Johnson Cornwall, and granddaughter of Benjamin and Hannah ( Williams) Cornwall. Mr. Babcock was a leading citizen and a very prominent Mason.

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Frederick Babcock was born January 18, 1837, and was a school boy until the age of sixteen years. Having a natural mechanical turn of mind, he became an engraver and chaser in the manufacture of jewelry in New- ark, N. J., where he remained ten years. At the expiration of that period he returned to Middletown, and presently struck out for what was then the "Far West," penetrating sections of that region several years in advance of the railroad. He was in St. Paul when there was no railroad running into that city. The years 1864 and 1865 he spent in the West, seeing that section very largely in its primitive con- dition. Coming back to New England he in 1869 became a member of the firm of F. & F. Babcock, at Zoar, near Middletown, which was formed for the purpose of manufacturing cer- tain patented articles ; his partner and brother, Franklin, had invented the greater number, but some articles were our subject's own in- vention. Since the death of his brother, Fred- erick Babcock has continued the business; the window spring made by them has found its way all over the United States, and is regarded everywhere as a staple article. Mr. Babcock is a Democrat, but seeks no honors in politics. He is a quiet and unassuming man, who has gone along the even tenor of his way, winning a good name and a comfortable competence by his industry, integrity and thrift.

Frederick Babcock was married to Marie Daws, a resident of Middletown, who was born in New York, of English extraction, her father coming from England.

CHAUNCEY CLARK BEVIN (de- ceased), for some years a trusted employe of the Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company, and a highly esteemed citizen of East Hamp- ton, Middlesex county, was born in the town of East Haddam, this county, July 4. 1843. and died May 31, 1900.

Isaac A. Bevin, his father, was born in the town of Chatham, this county, April 28. 1808, son of Isaac Bevin, and was there mar- ried, in the East Haddam Society, to Hulda Snow, who was born February 8, 1810, daugh- ter of Henry and Annie ( Cook) Snow. When a young man Isaac A. Bevin learned the shoe- maker's trade, which he followed for some time, but in 1851 he removed to East Hamp-

ton and entered the shops of the Bevin Broth- ers Manufacturing Company, where he was employed for nearly forty years. He was also engaged in bell work in East Haddam for a time. Politically he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and in religion both he and his wife were faithful members of the Congre- gational Church. He died September 29, 1883, and she departed this life May 9, 1877. Of their children, the eldest, a son, died in in- fancy; Mary Jane, born February 24. 1835, is a resident of East Hampton; Angilette, born August 21, 1836, died January 7, 1840; Le- vina C., born September 23, 1838, married Clinton Norcott, of East Hampton; George Whitfield, born December 5, 1840, died on the 27th of the same month; Chauncey Clark was the next in the order of birth; a daughter, born April 16, 1845, died three days later ; and George, born in East Haddam, April 16, 1846, died July 9, 1892.

C. Clark Bevin accompanied his parents on their removal to East Hampton, where he at- tended the district schools, and at the age of fifteen years began life for himself as a bell worker, which occupation he ever afterward followed. In the shops of East Hampton he worked upon coffin trimmings, silver plating, and in the various branches of bellmaking, and was long connected with the Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company.

In Colchester, town of Colchester, New London Co., Conn., Mr. Bevin married Miss Annie M. Bulkley, daughter of Silas and Mary ( Dart) Bulkley. Her father was born in Salem, Conn., January 15, 1812, and spent al- most his entire life as a farmer in Colchester, where he died August 1, 1893. He was orig- inally a Democrat in politics, but later sup- ported the Republican party, and in religious belief was a Baptist. His estimable wife, who was born March 10, 1811, died May 13. 1893. She was a daughter of Caleb and Anna ( Tinker ) Dart, the former a lifelong resident of Waterford, New London Co .. Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Bevin had only one child. Julia Ger- trude, who was born September 16, 1873, and died March 13, 1902; she completed a course at Miss Patten's school in 1803, and was grad- nated at Wesleyan University, Middletown, in 1899. Mrs. Bevin is an active member of the Congregational Church, as were also Mr.

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Bevin and their daughter. She is held in high regard by all who know her. In political views Mr. Bevin was a stanch Republican.

WILLIAM R. GOODSPEED. The town of East Haddam, Middlesex county, is noted throughout Connecticut as the residence of some of the most prominent and influential citizens of that Commonwealth, who have shed luster on the commercial life of that section and have established a confidence which is not found in many portions to a greater degree. Among those who for a quarter of a century liave assisted in building up and cementing these desirable relations is William R. Good- speed, a native of the town, born June 8, 1850, son of William H. Goodspeed. Various mem- bers of the Goodspeed family have, during the past century borne a worthy and conspicuous part in the industrial life of East Haddam, closely identified with the agricultural, mer- cantile, transportation and manufacturing in- terests of that locality, and through its vari- ous members it has left a deep impression upon the community.

The Goodspeeds of East Haddam are de- scendants of Roger Goodspeed, who came to this country in 1639, settled at Barnstable, Mass., married Alice Layton, and died in 1685. His sixth son, Ebenezer, was born in December, 1655. Ebenezer Goodspeed mar- ried Lydia Crowell, of Yarmouth, and they had thirteen children, the youngest of whom, Moses, was the direct ancestor of our subject. He was born November 24, 1704, at Barnsta- ble, Mass., married Hannah Allen in 1726, and had six children, his fifth child, Nathan, being born March 7, 1735.

Nathan Goodspeed, the founder of this branch of the family, in company with Elijah Atwood, James Green and Isaac Taylor, moved in 1758 from Barnstable, Cape Cod, Mass., to East Haddam, Conn., purchasing the lot at the "Landing," upon which the "Gilston House" stands, and there built a commodious two-story house. There he married Mary Kellogg, a native of Colchester. Their chil- dren were: Samuel; Nathan; Mary; Ann, who married Samuel Gilbert, of Hebron, Conn., and had one child, Nathan, who moved to Norwich; Nathan (2), who married Ju- dith Higgins, of East Haddam, in 1802, and occupied the homestead (their only child, Je-

rusha, married Oliver Allen, of Norwich, and later moved to San Francisco, Cal.) ; Sarah; Moses; and Joseph, the next in line.

Joseph Goodspeed, son of Nathan, Sr., in his youth became a clerk in the store of Rev. Solomon Blakely, at the "Landing." Later he conducted a store for several years in Had- dam, finally erecting a large building which he used for dwelling house and store. Soon afterward Rev. Mr. Blakely, wishing to re- tire, proposed to Mr. Goodspeed that the lat- ter purchase his stock of goods and lease the store in East Haddam, which offer was ac- cepted, and about 1814 he was doing business there. This was regarded as an encroach- ment upon the trade of the other merchants, one of whom, chafing under the loss of busi- ness, sought to encompass his downfall. As selectman he notified Mr. Goodspeed that the building which the latter occupied stood on the highway, and must be removed. Mr. Goodspeed replied that he knew that one cor- ner of the structure extended two feet in the highway, but was still five or six feet from the part that was used. The building had stood there fifty years with no complaint from the citizens, but the selectman insisted that the building be moved by its occupant, or the town would be called upon to do it, within twenty days. When this ultimatum was presented Mr. Goodspeed solved the difficulty by con- tracting with Dickinson & Bailey, of Haddam, for the erection of a new store, and in just forty-five days it was opened with the largest stock of goods that had ever been brought to the town. Thus commenced a feud between the two villages which was perpetuated for many years, and embers of the old rivalry even linger to the present day. Joseph Goodspeed was a typical merchant of the old school, un- tiring industry keeping him busy early and late and unimpeachable integrity winning him the best trade of the town and surrounding country. In 1816 his store attracted as much attention as did its magnificent successor six- ty years later. Mr. Goodspeed died at the age of sixty years.

About 1812 Joseph Goodspeed married Laura Tyler, of Haddam, a daughter of Na- then Tyler, and sister of William S. and Chauncy Tyler, both residents of Haddam. Children as follows came to this union : George Edward, born in 1813, died in 1863;

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William Henry, born in 1815, died in 1882; Joseph Frederick, born in 1816, died in 1843; Mary Ann, born in 1818, died in 1862; Na- than Tyler, born in 1820, died in 1846; and Mary Sophia, born in 1822, died in 1846. Mrs. Goodspeed died in 1833, at the age of forty-two. In September of the same year Jo- seph Goodspeed married Roxa Bigelow, the widow of Dr. Bigelow, of East Haddam, and daughter of . Frederick Robbins, of Wethers- field, Connecticut.

George Edward Goodspeed, born in 1813, son of Joseph, married, at East Haddam, Conn., March 24, 1844, Nancy Green, daugh- ter of Horace Hayden, and they had children : Joseph Horace, Georgiana, Carrie Hayden, and George Edward.

Mary Ann Goodspeed, daughter of Joseph married October 13, 1836, Roland A. Rob- bins, and they had children: Laura Good- speed, born in 1837, died in 1876; Russell Hurlbert, born in 1841, died in 1896; Adelaide Louise, born in 1843, died in 1866; Roland Ames was born in 1848; and George Good- speed, born in 1850, died in 1858.

Joseph Horace Goodspeed, son of George Edward, born in 1845, married, in 1887, Ara- bel, daughter of John D. Morton, of Boston, and had two children : Morton, born in 1895; and Joseph Horace, born in 1899.

George Edward Goodspeed, born in 1859, son of George Edward, married in 1886, Isa- bel Sprague Goddard, who died in 1887, leav- ing one child, George Edward, born in- 1887. In 1894, Mr. Goodspeed married Gertrude Gale, and they have one son, Hayden, born in 1895.

Georgiana Goodspeed, daughter of George Edward, born in 1848, married, in 1887, Charles B. Warner, of East Haddam, Conn., and died in 1889. They had one son, George, who died in infancy.

Laura Goodspeed Robbins, daughter of Mary Ann, born in 1837, married, in 1856, Charles W. Lord, of Baltimore, Md., and had three children : Charles Robbins, born in 1858; Henry Murdock, born in 1864; and William Marcy, born in 1867, all of whom are surviving.

Roland Ames Robbins, son of Mary Ann, born in 1848, married Elizabeth Stewart, of New York, and had three children : Russell, born in 1885, Gladys, in 1889, and Roland 24

Ames, Jr., in 1896, all residents of New York.

William H. Goodspeed, son of Joseph and Laura (Tyler) Goodspeed, was born Decem- ber 29, 1815, in East Haddam, and at the time of his death, January 1, 1882, was the last surviving member of that branch of the fam- ily. He was an active business man all his life. He attended the public schools in East Haddam, and when he became of age entered the business house of his father of which, upon the latter's death, he and a brother be- came the owners, and continued to conduct it. William H. Goodspeed was a prominent cit- izen, identified with many of the important interests of the place. He engaged in ship- building and similar interests, and was one of the original incorporators of the Bank of New England, of which he was the first vice-pres- dent and subsequently president. Mr. Good- speed was one of the projectors of the Con- necticut Valley Railroad Company, and was untiring in his efforts to make the undertak- ing a success. He loved the life of a farmer, but his other large business interests were suf- ficient to engage his whole attention. In 1863 he employed in his shipyard 138 men on the following named vessels : The steamers "Charles Benton," "El Cid," "Sunshine," "Sil- ver Star," "Sentinel," and "General Lyon," and the schooners "Meteor" and "Early Bird." About this time business so pressed him that he was for several years obliged to curtail his hours of sleep to four or five in the twen- ty-four. In 1863 he built the "Kewawaha," of 569 tons, one of the thirteen gunboats or- dered by the United States Government shortly before the breaking out of the Civil war. In addition to his other business, Mr. Goodspeed was for years vice-president and general man- ager of the Hartford & New York Steamboat Company, a corporation with a capital of $400,000, owning five steamers and valuable real estate. Mr. Goodspeed was one of the substantial men of the community, and his best monument is the example he left of an untarnished life. A man of great force of character, public-spirited to an unusual de- gree, Mr. Goodspeed was active in politics, but could never be induced to accept office, preferring to use his influence to advance his friends. Generous to a fault, his aid could al- ways he relied upon in any worthy benevolent enterprise, one of the most ardent desires of

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his life being the wish to furnish employment to all who applied for it.

Mr. Goodspeed married Louisa M. Rob- bins, of Rocky Hill, and their residence was the old homestead, where two children were born to them: William Robbins, who is men- tioned below, and Louisa Robbins, who died October 21, 1880.

William R. Goodspeed had every educa- tional advantage, and enjoyed two years of special instruction at Cheshire Academy under the tuition of Mr. Horton. From 1866 to 1868 he attended Gen. Russell's School, in New Haven. In 1868 he began his business career, entering the store of his father, which was located at Goodspeed's Landing, and at his father's demise came into possession of the business. In 1872 he associated with him Wilson C. Reynolds. From 1876 to 1887 Mr. Goodspeed was proprietor of the store, in the latter year disposing of the business to Mr. Reynolds, and becoming interested in farming and a creamery at East Haddam. At present he owns and operates a steam ferry at that place, a very profitable enterprise.

Mr. Goodspeed has been twice married, the first time, in 1875, to Miss Hattie Beach Smith, a native of Waterbury, who died June 20, 1879. Two children were born to this union : Louisa Beach, born October 2, 1876; and William H., born December 16, 1877, who died in Phoenix, Ariz., February 2, 1899. Mr. Goodspeed's second marriage, on May 25, 1881, was to Miss Phoebe E. Smith of New London, daughter of Capt. Leonard and Elizabeth (Dwyer) Smith, and grand- daughter of Jonathan Smith and John Dwyer. To Mr. and Mrs. Goodspeed has come one daughter, Elizabeth, born June 20, 1882, whc is at present a student at Wells College.

Mr. Goodspeed is one of the busiest men in East Haddam. For twenty-two years he was one of the directors of the National Bank of New England; for six years he devoted his time to the interests of the Columbian Trust Company. of Middletown, Conn., of which he was trustee and representative. He is now engaged as an investment broker. So- cially he is connected with the Masonic fra- ternity, having been a member for twenty- nine years of Columbia Lodge, No. 26, and is a member of Middlesex Lodge, No. 3, I. O. O. F., in both of these organizations enjoying

the esteem of his comrades. Politically he is a Republican, but has been so busy with per- sonal affairs that he has had no time to accept the offices in the gift of his party, although' many have been suggested to him. As senior warden of St. Stephen's Church he exerts a wide influence, and conscientiously contributes time and money to further its best interests. He is a man of whom East Haddam is proud.

ALBERT HALE bears a name that has long been accepted as a synonym of sturdy inanhood and good citizenship in Portland, and through no act of his has the lustre of that name been dimmed. He was born May 24, 1833,. on his father's farm in the north of the town of Portland, a son of William and Laura (Wright) Hale.

Ephraim Hale, his grandfather, was born in 1769, a son of Elisha Hale, and died Marclı 24, 1842. [The Hale ancestry may be found in the sketch of Titus Hale]. Ephraim Hale was a farmer and an upright man who had the respect of the community. His wife, Betsey Marley, was born in Glastonbury in 1770, and died October 30, 1838, and the remains of both her and her husband are buried in the South Glastonbury cemetery. These were their chil- dren : Annie who married Samuel Billings, of Chatham, and died in Glastonbury ; Betsey, who married Anson Chapman, and died in Glastonbury; Ruth, who married Daniel Ack- ley, and died in Portland; Emily, who married Major Willard Simpson, and lived and died in! Glastonbury; Caroline, who never married; Chester, the father of Titus Hale of Portland; William, mentioned below; and Josiah a farm- er, who died in Glastonbury. Ephraim Hale was drafted in the American army in the war of 1812, and his son, Chester, as his substi- tute, left for New London with his company when news of the treaty of peace was received.

William Hale, father of Albert Hale, was born in 1806, in what was then called Chat- ham, but which now bears the name of Port- land. He worked in the Portland quarries when a young man. Becoming afflicted with spinal trouble, he was unable to do any work for eighteen years, but in his later years saw a period of activity. Farming was his princi- pal occupation, and he also engaged in charcoal burning. When about twenty-six years old. William Hale wedded Laura Wright, who was

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born in East Glastonbury, a daughter of Dan- iel Wright. Her father was a Revolutionary soldier, and enlisted when a boy. William Hale and his wife settled in Portland where they always remained. Their children were: Albert ; Mary J., deceased wife of Charles E. Chapman, of Newington, Conn .; Watson, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere; Elizabeth, who married Josiah C. Sparks, and died in Hartford, Conn. ; Emily, residing with her eld- est brother ; and Susan, wife of Jerome Taylor of South Glastonbury. Mr. and Mrs. Hale also reared a son of Mr. Hale's sister, William N. Simpson, who lived with them until his marriage, and who is now a resident of Port- land. Mr. Hale was a believer in the Presby- terian faith, and was a Democrat in politics. He died April 28, 1882, while the mother lived to be eighty-two years old and died July 27, 1890.

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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 67

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