Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 69

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 69

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).

377

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tral National Bank, and is now a trustee in the Middletown Savings Bank. He also served one term each as councilman and alderman. Mr. Davis is an active, public spirited citizen, and takes much pride in the city of his adop- tion. He believes in Middletown, and is not willing that it should lose one industry, or that one of its business houses should go to the wall. Politically Mr. Davis is a Democrat, but could not vote for Bryan in 1896, prefer- ring rather to vote for Mckinley. In 1902 he was appointed by Mayor Mills a member of the Board of Water Commissioners.

On January 9, 1878, Mr. Davis married Miss Carrie A. Savage, of Middletown, who was born September 8, 1852, a daughter of Seth and Nancy ( Kellsey) Savage, the former of whom died in April, 1857, and the latter in January, 1896. Seth Savage was a son of Seth Savage, and his wife was the daughter of Chester and Nancy ( Beckley) Kellsey. Nancy Beckley was born October 28, 1803, and now lives with Mrs. E. S. Davis. Seth and Nancy (Kellsey) Savage had two chil- dren : George W., now a merchant at Ruth- erford, N. J .; and Carrie A., Mrs. E. S. Da- vis. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of two children: Oscar Savage, born October 12, 1879, is now a clerk in his father's store; Alice, born September 18, 1884, is at home. Mrs. Davis is a member of the Ladies Auxil- iary Society of the Y. M. C. A. She and her husband attend the Episcopal Church.

JAMES TAYLOR INGLIS, one of the best known and most highly respected of the foreign-born citizens of the town of Middle- field, Middlesex county, and one who has taken an active interest in that town for years, was born October 21, 1821, at Echo Bank, which is just outside the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south.

Mr. Inglis is a son of Alexander and Jean- ette (Foyer) Inglis. The mother was from near Glasgow. At the time of her marriage to Alexander Inglis, she was the widow of John Norval, to whom she had borne three chil- dren, namely : John, who was a combmaker, went to Africa, worked at his trade in the Cape Colony, and later went to the Orange Free State, where he built the bridge at "Nor- val's Pont"; he was an extensive landowner, had a large family, and died in Colesberg.

Jane, the second child, died in Edinburgh. Of the third child, Henry, nothing is known. Alexander Inglis had poor health, and died when his son James T. was but a year old. He had been to the United States, but returned to Scotland, where he and his wife both died. Their two children were Alexander and James Taylor. Alexander was born May 26, 1815, married Euphemia Dick, came to the United States, and settled in Middletown, Conn., where he passed the remainder of his life. He was the father of the present Chief of Police of Middletown, Archibald Inglis, a sketch of whose life will be found elsewhere.

Three miles west of Edinburgh, on the main road from that city to Glasgow, is the village of Corstorphine, adjacent to which is a large farm known as Corstorphine Bank, whither the Inglis family moved. James T. Inglis obtained his education in the parish school of Corstorphine. When twelve years of age he hired out to a farmer for six months, receiving twenty shillings for his labor, to- gether with his board. He followed farm labor until eighteen years of age, and then worked as a quarryman for several years; later was employed in railroad construction, quarrying stone for bridges, culverts, etc., and next was employed in a drain-tile factory near Edinburgh for several years. In answer to an advertisement for fifty men of "strictly tem- perate and Christian habits," wanted by the Middlesex Quarry Company. of Portland, Conn., he went from Edinburgh to Liverpool, whence he sailed in the ship "Vanguard," and, after a voyage of twenty-one days, arrived in New York, in April, 1851, came thence to Portland, and was employed in the quarry, off and on, for fifteen years, under the late Will- iam H. Beebe as superintendent. He also lived in Cromwell. on a farm, for a short time, and in 1866 purchased a tract of sixty acres, on which he erected his dwelling, barns and almost all the other buildings, cleared off the surplus growth of wood and other vegeta- tion, and profitably engaged in truck and gen- eral farming. He sold the farm November 5. 1900. Mr. Inglis is an enthusiast in the breeding of Jersey cattle, has invariably owned some of the first class, and is vice-president of the Connecticut Jersey Cattle Breeders As- sociation.

Mr. Inglis was married, in Scotland, to

ee, the ed. and

ild- en-

cal Or- ent cia of

378

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Marion Sheils, who born in Hamilton Novem- ber 26, 1812, daughter of Robert and Marion (Scott) Sheils. Mrs. Inglis died in Middle- field, Conn., January 12, 1896, the mother of six children : Marion, wife of Ward B. Bail- ey, of New Haven; Alexander, who married Sarah Strickland, of Glastonbury, and is now residing in Middletown; Jeanette, who died in infancy, and was buried in Scotland; Jane, at home unmarried; Katherine, who died young, in Portland, Conn .; and James, who lives in New Haven.

Mr. Inglis is a member of and an officer in the Congregational Church; is a member of the Middlefield Grange; and was also a Good Templar when that society had a lodge in Middlefield. In politics he is a stanch Repub- lican, and cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has been called upon to serve in many offices, and in 1874 was a member of the State Legislature, during his term acting as a member of the committee on Cities and Boroughs. For ten years he served on the board of selectmen, and for several years was its chairman. He was also a jus- tice of the peace, an office which he held until age exempted him from further service. He is deeply interested in the welfare of the Re- publican party, and is recognized as a leader in his town.

As an employe Mr. Inglis was always most faithful in guarding the interests of his employers, and in the quarry was frequently told, "there is always a place open for men like you." He is a man of sound judgment, out- spoken in his convictions and sentiments, and of the strictest integrity; he is kind-hearted and very sympathetic, and as a citizen is most popular, there being no man in Middlefield who stands higher in the esteem of the inhab- itants than himself.

To revert to John Norval, the half-brother of James T. Inglis, the following extract from the Hartford Courant of April 23, 1900, touching his career in South Africa, may be of interest to the reader, the first paragraph being from the pen of Mr. Inglis himself :

It appears that when he went to South Africa he was a combmaker, and in a letter from a member of his fam- ily, received in 1875, it is said that he worked at that occupation for a time, but afterward worked at hat mak- ing and did as well. When he was in Colesberg (not far from Norval's Pont) he was auctioneer, justice of the peace and merchant all at the same time. Afterward he

turned a farmer, and was the first that ever put a pon- toon bridge over the Orange river. He bought five farms in the Colony, and five in the Orange Free State. My niece, Carrie Norval, in letters received from her, makes use of the most affectionate and endearing terms in speaking of her father, and says that he was highly respected by those who knew him. It was gratifying for us to learn that while our mother was shedding bitter tears regarding her eldest son, he was, although not on a large scale, making a success in life. He attained an honored ripe old age, and his children and grandchildren gathered around him May 22, 1875, to celebrate his eightieth birthday anniversary, and his daughter said that on October 17, following, his mother found her lost son, John Norval having died that day. He left a widow, five sons and six daughters.

Norval's Pont, it will be remembered, is one of the strategic points on the Orange river, the boundary line between the Cape Colony and the Orange Free State in South Africa. It is one of the three railroad crossings held by the Boer forces, in the earlier days of the war, before Lord Roberts had turned his attention to the cap- ture of Bloemfontein, by the way of Jacobsdal, and before his advance from the latter position had the effect of drawing the Boers away from the Orange river, and allowing the advance of Gatacre's and French's divisions in the direction of Bloemfontein.

Norval's Pont was of course named in honor of John Norval.

JACOB W. STUECK is one of Middle- town's most successful progressive and sub- stantial business men. Born in Germany, on January 27, 1852, he emigrated from the Fa- therland in 1870, and of the thirty-two years during which he has been a resident of the United States, thirty-one have been passed in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut.

Mr. Stueck is a son of John Stueck, who was a small farmer, and a cooper by trade. He lived to attain the age of sixty-seven years and was yet robust and active when a fall from a load of rye caused injuries of so serious a character that he died from their effect two years later. His wife had already passed away, in 1858. They were the parents of five children, of whom all but one-Conrad-are now residents of this country. Some brief mention of those who have taken up their home here cannot fail to be of interest. Henry, the eldest, who was the first to woo fortune in the New World, was a gallant soldier in the Union army during the entire period of the Civil war. He lives in Jersey Heights, but carries on a business in Washington Market, New York City. He is the father of three children, George J., Philip and Isabelle. Fol- lowing him came his only sister, Martha Eliz- abeth, who is now Mrs. J. P. Hoffort, of New London, Conn .; her husband for more than

Jacob W. Stuck

379

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

thirteen years conducted a bakery at the in- tersection of Washington and Main streets, in Middletown; she has no children. Jacob W. Stueck and his brother George H., the young- est of the family, sailed together from Bre- men to New York in 1870. George is a baker by trade. He is the father of one daughter, Mamie.

The successful career of Jacob W. Stueck affords a striking illustration of what may be accomplished through hard work, pluck and perseverance. He received his early education in the common schools of his native land. His parents were plain, hard-working people, who regarded idleness as akin to dishonesty, and he was inured to toil from his childhood. He was a raw youth of eighteen years when he first set foot upon a New York wharf after a thirty-five days passage from Bremen in a sail- ing vessel. He remained in the metropolis un- til the spring of 1871, when he came to Mid- dletown to enter the employ of his brother-in- law, J. P. Hoffort, who, as has been already said, was a prosperous baker. At that time young Stueck's capital consisted chiefly of am- bition and energy, and as both were practically inexhaustible he did not hesitate to draw upon it freely. Through hard work and close appli- cation he mastered the trade in both principle and detail, no doubt assisted by the kindness of his employer. Sobriety, frugality and in- dustry also stood him in good stead, and in Oc- tober, 1878, he bought the business, which he thereafter conducted in his own name. For many years he carried on the bakery at the old location, but in May, 1883, he purchased from J. W. Alsop for $10,500 the property on the northeast corner of Main and Washington streets, where he erected the Stueck block, the largest and best of its class in the city. Thither in June, 1893, he removed his prosperous and constantly growing business. Since that date his success has been of a sort which might be described as phenomenal, were one to lose sight of the excellent judgment, the unfailing tact and the tireless energy to which it can be attributed. In variety and excellence of prod- 11ct, no less than in perfection of appointment, in both baking and catering departments, Mr. Stueck's plant is unsurpassed by any similar establishment of its sort and class throughout the State, while its reputation has become so

well established that its patrons are included within a large circle.

Mr. Stueck is an Episcopalian in religious faith, and a Democrat in politics, although in no sense a blind or bigoted partisan. As a citizen he is broad-minded and public-spirit- ed. While ever averse to holding public of- fice, he has twice represented his ward in the city council of Middletown, occupying a seat in that body for four years. He is an ex- member of German Lodge, No. 92, I. O. O. F., of Middletown, and is at present actively affil- iated with St. John's Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and with Washington Chapter, R. A. M.

On September 7, 1874, at Jersey City, Mr. Stueck was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Snyder, who was born in New Or- leans, and died at Middletown, July 4, 1887. Mrs. Stueck's parents, Nicholas and Catharine (Marzolf) Snyder, were both natives of Ger- many, whence they emigrated to Louisiana. Mr. Snyder was a grocer, and also dealt in lumber. He died at New Orleans leaving two children, Catherine (Mrs. Stueck) and Nich- olas, the latter an infant of five months. On reaching manhood Nicholas Snyder came North, settling in the city of New York, where he engaged in the wholesale and retail provi- sion business on Fulton street. He has one son, N. Harry. 'Mrs. Snyder married again, her second husband being Jacob Huber, who was a German by birth. Shortly afterward the family came North, locating first at St. Louis, where they made their home for seven years. Tlience they removed to New York, where Mr. Huber died, leaving three children : Jacob, who died in Middletown, at the age of thirty-one; John, a merchant at Springfield, Mass., who is married and has one daughter. Gertrude: and Miss Margaret, who lives at Middletown. Mrs. Huber, the mother of Mrs. Stueck, also lives at Middletown, making her home with Mr. Stueck. She was born in Sep- tember; 1820, and although she has passed life's eightieth milestone, her physical and mental faculties are comparatively unimpaired.

To Mr. and Mrs. Stueck were born three sons, whose business-like character and steady, reliable habits, bespeak for them successful business careers. J. William, Jr., born June 18, 1875. is connected with the American Bread Company of New York.

Philip J.,

380

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

born January 3, 1878, has from the conclusion of his school days been closely associated with the extensive business of his father, in which he now has an interest. Edward N., born December 29, 1878, is secretary and treasurer of the Sevigne Bread Wrapper Company, of Boston.

MONROE H. CASE, one of the well- known citizens of Portland, resides on a farm that has been in the family many years, and is the only one of his generation left in the town. His home is the center of many friend- ships, and his wife, a most estimable lady, has a deserved reputation of being one of the best housekeepers in the town. Mr. Case was born in a house situated on a part of his present farm, November 13, 1840, a son of Harley N. and Harriet M. (Hale) Case.

William Case, the grandfather of Monroe H., came from Rhode Island in boyhood with an uncle named Ellsworth, who settled at Ellsworth Corners, just above Gildersleeve, and from whom the "Corners" was named.

. William Case was born in Rhode Island in 1768, and became an orphan early in youth. He was the first Case to live in his neighbor- hood, in Portland. By profession he was a sailor and was captain of a vessel for many years. His death occurred December 9, 1844, and his remains rest in Center cemetery, Port- land. He married Rhoda Hollister of Ragged Lane, who was born in 1775, and who died February 23, 1865, when over ninety years old. They became the parents of the follow- · ing children: Melantha married Eleazer Stocking, and went West; Nancy married Ed- win Hollister, and died in East Glastonbury ; Phoebe married Hiram Matthews, and died in Portland; Diantha never married; Maryette married Loomis Thompson, and died in New Britain; William and Austin went into the far West; and Harley N. is mentioned below.

Harley N. Case was born in October, 1809, on the same farm and in the same house as his son, Monroe H. He was a captain in the State militia, and was generally known as Captain Case. After his marriage he went to housekeeping on the farm where he lived for years. He built the family home on this farm, and there he died January 20, 1894, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, formerly Har- riet M. Hale, lived to the age of seventy, and

died October 6, 1889. They were buried in Center cemtery. Mr. Case was a Democrat, and firm in his party faith. He is recorded as having gone to town meeting, in October, 1841, in a sleigh. Of the two children of Harley N. Case and wife, Monroe H. is our subject, and Nelson E., lives in Syracuse, New York.

Monroe H. Case attended public school in the neighborhood where he was reared to man- hood. As a farmer boy, he early took up the work of life, for there was much to be done, and times were hard in the old days. The home farm needed his services, and he grew to manhood under the parental roof. On April 14, 1875, he married Miss Sarah Hazel- ton, who was born in Springfield, Mass., June 16, 1856, a daughter of Oliver and Philanda (Watson) Hazelton, the former from Towns- hend, Vt., and the latter a daughter of Luther, and a granddaughter of Ezra Watson. Mrs. Case had the following brothers and sis- ters, who grew to adult age: Rose is Mrs. Sydney Hayden, of Somerville, Mass .; Ellen married John Smith, of Holyoke, Mass .; and died at the age of twenty-four; Fernando re- sides in Somerville, Mass .; James H. lives at Northfield, Mass .; and Carrie married Arthur Clark of East Hampton, Conn. Oliver Hazel- ton died at the age of fifty, and his widow lived to be eighty years old. Mr. and Mrs. Case began their housekeeping on the farm where they are now living. They have one hundred and nine acres of land, and are pros- perous members of the community. Three children, all of whom are living, have blessed their home: Emmet E., Kellogg F., and My- ron. Mr. Case is a Democrat, and has been school committeeman, but beyond the interest of a public-spirited citizen, he takes no active interest in politics. Socially he belongs to the A. O. U. W., being a charter member of Portland Lodge.

CHARLES E. BROWNELL, one of the leading and representative men of East Had- dam town, Middlesex county, the oldest man- ufacturer now in business on the Moodus river, and president of the Moodus Savings Bank .. was born in Moodus, town of East Had- dam, October 26, 1827, a son of Edward P. Brownell.

Mr. Brownell traces his ancestry back to

C. E. Brownell

381

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his great-grandfather, Benjamin Brownell, a native of Westport, Mass., who married a Miss Potter. His son, Abner Brownell, a farmer of Westport, married Hannah Crary, a daughter of Nathan and Dorothy ( Wheeler) Crary, of Groton, Conn., and had the follow- ing family: Nathan, Frederick, Isaac, James Harvey, Edward P., Ephraham Woodbridge, Dorothy and Elephal.

Edward P. Brownell was born in West- port, Mass., in November, 1798, and died in December, 1875. His boyhood was spent upon the farm, and when a young man he went to Leesville, Conn., and learned the trade of cloth dressing, which he followed for a short time, at Adamsville and Hunt's Mills, R. I. After his marriage, in 1825, Mr. Brownell re- moved to Moodus, Conn., and in company with his brother, James H., built a cloth dress- ing establishment, the partnership lasting until 1844, when he bought out his brother's inter- est, and added the cotton twine plant in con- junction with his other enterprises, continu- ing to operate them until his death. In poli- tics he was originally a Whig, but during the early 'sixties voted with the Democratic party. He twice represented his town in the Legisla- ture, and also held various town offices. In 1825 Mr. Brownell was married, in what was then Seekonk, Mass., to Anstis Cole, who was born in 1798, and who died in November, 1886. Three children were born of this un- ion : Charles E., Mary Updike, widow of William C. Spencer, of Hadlyme, Conn., and Hannah Crary, of Hadlyme, Connecticut.

Charles E. Brownell attended various schools in the immediate neighborhood, after- ward fitting for college at private schools, and at the Bacon Academy, at Colchester. He en- tered Yale in 1846, and graduated in 1850. Among some of his classmates who have at- tained particular prominence along various lines are: Prof. Newton, of Yale; W. R. Bliss, the author of various articles pertain- ing to Cape Cod life; Mr. Roberts, treasurer of the United States; Gardner Spring Plune- ley, D. D. (deceased), an eminent divine ; and Capt. Manross of Bristol, Conn., who was killed at the battle of Antietam. After com- pleting his education Mr. Brownell returned to Moodus and entered the cotton twine mill. attending to the business inside, while his fa-

ther was engaged on the outside, and two years later he was taken into partnership. Since the death of his father, in 1875, he has had full control, owning and operating two mills, and giving employment to fifty people. The business is conducted under the firm name of Brownell & Co., although, as before stated, Mr. Brownell is the sole owner. In 1854 Mr. Brownell began to agitate the question of de- veloping the water power of the Moodus river. He drew up the skeleton for the charter of the Moodus Reservoir Company, which was in- corporated in 1872, and furnishes water for numerous other mills. Since then he has seen its capacity more than doubled by the building of reservoirs and other improvements. Bashan pond, since its improvement, has an area of 250 acres, and is fourteen feet deep; Fall Brook reservoir, an area of 100 acres, depth of six feet; Falls reservoir, an area of 400 acres, depth of ten feet. The major part of the credit for these changes, which have made such a manufacturing center of the commun- ity, must be given to Mr. Brownell and others who, from the formulating of the plans in his office to the present day, have taken a deep and abiding interest in the upbuilding and carrying through of these improvements. Mr. Brown- ell is president of the Moodus Savings Bank, and also a director in same. A Democrat in politics, he cast his first vote for Zachary Tay- lor, and has supported the nominees of his party ever since. In addition to having held numerous town offices, Mr. Brownell repre- sented the town in the Legislature in 1869, serving on the Military committee. Socially he is vice-president of the East Haddam Pub- lic Library Association.

Mr. Brownell has been twice married. first in Colchester, Conn., to Abigail F. Loomis, daughter of Alfred I. Loomis. She died De- cember 30, 1864, the mother of the following family : George L., born July 13, 1854. a ma- chinist of Worcester, Mass. ; Edward C .. born January 27. 1856, a coal dealer of Spring- field, Mass .: Charles H., born July 7. 1859: Mary J., born April 15, 1861, who died Feb- ruary 7, 1862; Abigail Foote, born July 13. 1863, who died April 27, 1877. Mr. Brown- ell's second marriage in Watertown, N. Y., was to Sarah E. Isham, daughter of Wilson Isham, and to this union came : Blanche,

382

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

born September 15, 1884, who is attending high school at Worcester, Mass., and Crary, born on December 18, 1889.

Among the many beautiful ornaments which decorate the pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Brownell is an old Colonial clock, for which they have the original bill of sale, dated in London, England, February 20, 1796, sold direct by the makers, P. & M. Grayhurst. It was brought over by Capt. Haley, and cost £13, 6s, 6d, sterling. Mr. and Mrs. Brownell are constant attendants of the Congregational Church, and highly honored in that body. Scarcely too much credit can be given Mr. Brownell, who, coming home from college without any practical knowledge of business life and its requirements, settled down to the arduous task of comprehending the details of the work to the development and expansion of which he has devoted his life.

LOZELLE J. PLATTS, an extensive and successful farmer, of Saybrook, Middlesex county, who possesses the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, comes of a family old in the Winthrop section of Saybrook. The name which is of German origin, means "par- ade ground," in German Platz, Platts, or Pradz; in English the name is Platte, and in French Pradt.

The first mention of the name in New England was when Frederick Platz came from Germany with two brothers and settled in Kill- ingworth, after marriage with a member of the New London Fox family. The site of his residence is nearly opposite the Congregational Church of Clinton. The children of this fam- ily settled in various parts of Connecticut. Samuel settled in what is now Westbrook; Ebenezer married Dorothy Post, and settled in Westbrook; Obediah, born in 1709, was the great-grandfather of Lozelle J .; Mary married Samuel Stevens, of Killingworth ; Lydia married David Kelsey, of Killingworth ; and Constance married a Mr. Spencer, of Westbrook.

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 69

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