Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 92

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 92

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MARKHAM. Chatham contains many representatives of this old and honored family. As elsewhere related, the first in the country was Daniel Markham, who died in Middle- town in 1712. His son, James Markham, was born in Middletown, and married Eliza Lick. She bore him one son, John Markham, who married Desire Sears, November 3, 1748. He died March 30, 1788, at the age of eighty-one years, his wife preceding him to the tomb No- vember 10, 1786, in her sixty-fourth year. Their seven children were: Elizabeth Desire. who married Lemuel West; Nathaniel, who was three times married; John, referred to be- low ; Dinah; James ; Abigail ; and Marjorie.

It is with the line of John Markham, Jr.,

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that this narrative has to do. He was born in 1756, and was a farmer in Middle Haddam, where he died April 15, 1852, having at- tained the extraordinary age of ninety-six years. He was one of the patriot soldiers who served in the army of the Revolution. Mr. Markham was twice married, his first wife be- ing Asenath Smith, to whom he was united January II, 1781. Their children were four in number: Hiram, John, Betsey Ann and Ase- nath. (I) Hiram was the father of Albert G. Markham, whose biography appears else- where. (2) John lived on Chestnut Hill; he was a man of prominence, representing the town in the General Assembly, and the Eigh- teenth Senatorial District in the State Senate, and he also filled various local offices of honor and trust. (3) Betsey Ann married Oliver Warner. (4) Asenath died unmarried. The second marriage of John Markham was to Mrs. Annie ( Esterbrook) Niles, the widow of Ambrose Niles. She died in her sixty-ninth year. To this union came. one son and one daughter (twins), born October 25, 1813, who were named Laura (Mrs. Skinner) and Am- brose N. Ambrose N. Markham married Ruth Ann Skinner, and died September 1, 1869. Their children were: Augusta, wife of John M. Starr, whose life story is told on another page; Laura, unmarried, a resident of Mid- dle Haddam; and William, who married Mary Arthur.

MRS. LAURA MARKHAM SKINNER, re- ceived her early education in the schools of Chestnut Hill. She was fond of study, and proved an apt pupil, so that at the age of fif- teen she was deemed qualified to assume charge of the school as its teacher. For thir- teen years she followed that profession, teach- ing at Chestnut Hill, Haddam, Higganum, and elsewhere. At the age of twenty-eight she gave her hand in marriage to Samuel Skinner, who was born May 14, 1814, and left her a widow October 16, 1895. She died March 6, 1902.

SAMUEL SKINNER was for forty years a manufacturer of paper boxes, which business is still carried on by LeGrande S. Carpenter. He was a man of earnest conviction, deep piety and blameless life. For many years his polit- ical creed was that of the Republican party, but in later life, recognizing the fact that the chief menace to the perpetuity of democratic insti-

tutions lay in the liquor traffic, he espoused the cause of the Prohibitionists, in the tenets of which party Mrs. Skinner, also, was a firm be- liever. He was a man of broad and enlight- ened public spirit, and for many years a deacon and teacher in the Congregational Church, his wife aiding him in Sunday-school work for more than half a century. He was the second of eight children born to Deacon Warren A. and Anna (Day) Skinner, who were married November 24, 1810. Their other children were: Diantha, born September 19, 1811, married Anson Carpenter ; Ruth Ann, born November 24, 1816, married Ambrose N. Markham; Emily, born February 21, 1819, married John Hungerford; Mary, born July 27, 1821, married Daniel Markham; Henry, baptized August 24, 1823, married Clarine A. Markham; John William, baptized September II, 1824, married Amelia Stranahan; Warren, who died August 17, 1872, at the age of forty- four years, married Sarah M. Ackley.

While Mrs. Laura ( Markham) Skinner and her husband were blessed with no children of their own, they welcomed to their home many children of relatives, some of whom were left orphans in early childhood, to whom they gave parental love and who grew to maturity under their tender, protecting care. Among those whom they nurtured and reared are Au- gusta Markham, a niece, who married John M. Starr, as has been already stated ; LeGrande S. Carpenter, who embarked in business as a manufacturer of paper boxes, and married Helen Hills; Mary Carpenter, who after her marriage settled with her husband, George N. Landers, in Anthony, Kans. : and Ellen Niles, who married Philip Hills, and accompanied him to Howard, Kansas.

MRS. IMOGENE C. SKINNER, who lived with Mrs. Laura ( Markham) Skinner, is the widow of D. Hawley Skinner. She was born April 9. 1849, daughter of Amos B. Latham, her father's family being of the old "May- flower" stock, from which have descended men and women whose virtues, whose lives and w hose deeds have illumined the pages of a na- tion's history. Her grandfather. William Latham, was a respected and prominent citizen, and a successful farmer, of Hebron, Conn .. in which town he was born. He married Bet- sey Barnes. Her father, Amos B. Latham, was born in Hebron, June 2, 1816, and died July

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23, 1894. He married Caroline Loomis, who was born September 23, 1818, and died Sep- tember 17, 1858. She was the daughter of Elias Loomis and Matilda Carrier, who were the parents of eight children, none of whom are now living, viz .: (1) Lucretia married Alfred Chittenden, of Hebron. (2) Mary became Mrs. William Thompson, of East Haddam. (3) Samuel married Charlotte Brown, and made his home in Colchester. (4) Caroline was the mother of Mrs. Imogene C. Skinner. (5) Antoinette married Gilbert Worthington, of Moodus. The three youngest children-(6) Jane, (7) Janette, and (S) Juliet-were trip- lets. Jane married Titus Markham, of East Hampton; Janette died at the age of eighteen years; Juliet did not live beyond childhood. Elias Loomis passed his life in Marlboro, Conn. In youth he learned the joiner's trade, and aft- erward became a farmer. He was a man of pronounced convictions and of strong, rugged character. Politically he was a Democrat, and wielded no little influence in local party affairs. He filled various local offices, among them the town clerkship, the duties of which re- sponsible post he discharged with scrupulous fidelity for many years. Mrs. Loomis was a de- vout member of the Congregational Church.

To the union of Amos B. and Caroline (Loomis) Latham were born a family of six children, as follows: Harriet Jane (Mrs. Stanley Wadsworth, of East Hartford) ; Bet- sey (three times married, first, to Joseph Al- vord, second, to Gamaliel Waldo, and third, to William Burland, of Marshall, Mich.) ; William E., (a three-years' veteran of the Civil war, now a real-estate agent in New Britain, who married Nettie Flagg) ; Joel E. (a veteran of the Civil war, now a farmer of Kirkwood, S. Dak., who married Phoebe Phillips) ; Amos Melville (a farmer of Searsboro, Iowa, and married to Maggie Wilson) ; and Imogene C. Amos B. Latham married, for his second wife, Eliza McEver, who bore him two sons, Charles H. and Ernest B., who are electricians in New York City. The former married Min- nie Strong; the latter married Jessie Cook, of Belle Plaine, Iowa.

DAVID HAWLEY SKINNER married April 9, 1873, Imogene C. Latham. He was a son of Henry and Clarine A. Skinner, but grew up in the home of Samuel and Laura ( Markham) Skinner, who-as has been shown-having no

children of their own, reared several of the progeny of their relatives. He was legally adopted and on reaching his majority was taken into partnership by Samuel Skinner, this relation continuing until the death of David Hawley, on June 2, 1888. Mrs. Imogene C. Skinner for fourteen years retained an inter- est therein. She is a member of the Congrega- tional Church and of Belleville Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. 1

David Hawley Skinner was a man who commanded universal respect and confidence, in both social and business life. He was es- pecially fond of children, who were accustomed to address him by his Christian name, and received many kindnesses from him. At the age of sixteen years he united with the Con- gregational church, and was always a faithful adherent of its faith and works. Of quiet, un- assuming nature, he did not seek political pre- ferment, but never failed to express his con- victions, by voting the Prohibition ticket. Of kind and genial nature, he was ever accommo- dating in business, industrious and energetic and made friends of all who came in contact with him.

WASHINGTON EDWARDS GRIS- WOLD. There are in every community men whose broad characters touch all vital interests, and who by their capable and disinterested de- votion to affairs acquire, without apparent ef- fort, a position of influence and importance to the communal life about them. Washing- ton E. Griswold has been a lifelong resident of Connecticut. In a business way his career has been most fortunate and successful. The capacity for business which he has admirably demonstrated, he has freely placed at the dis- posal of his townsmen. Liberal and kind in disposition, with the "Golden Rule" as his motto in life, he has kept close to the people about him and in every sense has identified himself with causes for the common good.

Mr. Griswold is a descendant (in the sev- enth generation) from (I) Edward Griswold, one of the early settlers of New England. Ed- ward Griswold was born in Warwickshire, England, in 1607, one of a family of five brothers: Edward; Thomas, who remained in England; Francis, who settled at Cambridge, Mass. ; Michael, who settled at Wethersfield, Conn .; and Matthew, who settled at Windsor, and later at Lyme, Conn. Of these, Edward

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located first in Massachusetts, and later at Windsor, where he was one of the first set- tlers and a land owner. Thence he removed to what is now Killingworth, Middlesex Coun- ty, Conn., where he spent the remainder of his days. His first wife was named Ann, and his second Elizabeth. His ten children were as follows: Francis, born in 1629; Sa- rah, in 1630; George, in 1632; John, in 1635; Ainn, August 19, 1642; Mary, October 5, 1644; Deborah, June 28, 1646 (married Sam- uel Buel) ; Joseph, March 22, 1648; Samuel, November 18, 1649; and John, August I, 1652. The line of descent from the founder of the Griswold family in America to our sub- ject is as follows :

(II) John Griswold, youngest son of Ed- ward, born August 1, 1652, in Killingworth, Middlesex county, Conn., was a lifelong resi- dent of that town. He died August 7, 1717, and was buried at Killingworth. He was twice married, on November 18, 1672, to Mary Ba- vis, who died December 29, 1679. For his second wife he wedded Barshua North, daugh- ter of Thomas Gideon Walter Price. She died March 19, 1736. The sixteen children of John Griswold were as follows: Mary, born Feb- ruary 2, 1674; Margaret, December 10, 1675 ; Hannah, October 25, 1677; John, September 22, 1679 (died December 14, 1679) ; Dorothy, March 4, 1681 (died March, 1690) ; Beth- shula, December 5, 1682 (married Daniel Clark) ; John, September 4, 1683; Samuel, April 4, 1685 (married Sarah Wright, died December 29, 1736) ; Lucy, July 21, 1686 (married Allen Ball) ; Martha, June 1, 1689 (died November 17, 1690) ; Joseph and Ben- jamin (twins), September 20, 1690 (the lat- ter married Abigail Norton) ; Dorothy, Sep- tember 3, 1692; Martha, June 16, 1694 (mar- ried Samuel Pratt) ; Daniel, October 25, 1696 (died September 10, 1737, married Jerusha Stevens) ; Walter, March 7, 1700 (died Oc- tober, 1745, married Sarah Wright ).

(III) Joseph Griswold, son of Jolin, bom September 20, 1690 (a twin of Benjamin), in Killingworth, spent his life there. He was a land owner and farmer in Killingworth, and died there April 8, 1771. On December 29. 1714, he married Temperance Lay, who died September 18, 1773. Their children were as follows: John was born October 10, 1715 : Jo- seph, born October 22, 1716, married Rebecca Rutley, and died in June, 1771 ; Nathan, born

April 28, 1719, married Sarah Hull; Giles, born June 3, 1723, married Mercy Chatfield, and died April 23, 1804: John, born March 6, 1726, married Mary Ward; Daniel, born Au- gust 10, 1728, married Lydia Hull; Jedediah, born December 13, 1730, married Patience Bates.

(IV) Nathan Griswold, the great-grand- father of Washington E., was born in Killing- worth April 28, 1719, son of Joseph. Like his father and grandfather, he was a farmer and land owner and prominent citizen of Kill- ingworth, where he spent his life, and where he died and is buried. He married May 2, 1745, Sarah Hull, daughter of Peter Hull, and their eight children were as follows: Na- than, born September 27, 1746, married Je- mima Pierson. Temperance was born Decem- ber 14, 1748. George, born November 5, 1752, married Artemisia Stevens, and died No- vember 6, 1834. Joel was born May 21, 1757. Sarah, born April 10, 1760, died October 5, 1765. Jared, born August 10, 1764, died Oc- tober 20, 1784. Sarah, born February 20, 1766, died October 26, 1784. Martha, born February 14, 1770, died October 5, 1784.

(V) Joel Griswold (grandfather of our subject), born on the old homestead in Kill- ingworth My 21, 1757, became a farmer and a large land owner, and there spent his life, dying April 12, 1834; he was buried in the Killingworth cemetery. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and in politics a Federalist. On September 1, 1796, he married Sarah Kelsey, born November 9, 1770. who died February 25, 1842, and was buried in Killingworth cemetery. She was a member of the Congregational Church. The six chil- dren of Joel and Sarah Griswold were: Mar- tin Heman, born October 19, 1797, died Janu- ary 31. 1810 (he was accidentally scalded) ; Nathan was born July 3. 1799; Polly Minerva, born May 3, 1801, married John Farnham, and died December 31, 1872; Dr. George Washington, born July 26. 1804, graduated from Yale College, went West and died Sep- tember 22, 1834; Sarah Louise, born August 30, 1807. married Henry Scanton, and died in February, 1884: and Joel Pinckney, born March 4. 1809, died in 1865, out West. Of these

(V1) Nathan Griswold ( father of our sub- ject ) was born on the old homestead in Kill- ingworth July 3. 1790. He attended the dis-

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trict schools of Killingworth, but was mainly a self-educated man. He was a school teacher for several years, later settling down to farm- ing and stock raising, becoming one of the largest land owners in the town of Killing- worth, and a prominent citizen. He repre- sented the town in the State Legislature at New Haven and Hartford; was selectman of the town; and held other local offices, being quite active in political life. In political senti- ment he was a stanch Jacksonian Democrat ; in religious faith a member of the Congrega- tional Church. He died on his farm in Kill- ingworth April 21, 1872, and was buried in the family cemetery in Killingworth. On No- vember 25, 1827, he married Rachel Hull, daughter of John Hull, a well known citizen of Killingworth, and their children were as follows : Alvira L., born October 27, 1828, married Isaac Kelsey, of Killingworth, who died August 10, 1901. Washington Edwards, our. subject, sketch of whom follows. Sarah Mehitabel, born December 27, 1832, died May 26, 1893 ; she married William H. Stevens, of Killingworth. Sherman E., born August 7, 1835, married Adeline Parmelee, and resides on the old homestead Mabel R. married Al- fred Goodyear, of Hamden. Charles Nathan, born in 'April, 1840, died October 22, 1844. Harriet Lemira, born November 21, 1843, married Ralph Edward Barnum, of Killing- worth. The mother of these died June 23, 1873, on the old homestead, aged sixty-nine years, and was buried in the family cemetery. She was a member of the Congregational Church, and a woman of noble Christian char- acter.

(VII) Washington T. Griswold, whose namje introduces this sketch, was born Decem- ber 24, 1830, and was reared upon the old homestead. He attended the district schools of his native town, later pursuing his studies at the Madison high school, and at the State Normal School, New Britain, Hartford coun- ty, and for some years he taught school dur- ing the winter months, working on the farm in summer. In Killingworth he married October 4, 1854, Miss Cordelia Barnum, who was born there July 13, 1833, daughter of Nathaniel E. and Juliett (Evarts) Barnum, granddaughter of Luther and Mabel ( Stephens ) Barnum, and great-granddaughter of Capt. Alaron Stephens, who was an officer in the Revolutionary war. After his marriage Mr. Griswold obtained

from his father a tract of land, and there be- gan his successful career as a farmer. From time to time he made notable improvements, erecting a handsome dwelling and other build- ings, the total improvements costing more than $6,000. Through his thrift and business abil- ity he prospered, and finally acquired over 250 acres of fine farming land, which he devoted to stock raising and general farming.

To our subject and wife two children were born. Charles Edwards died in infancy. Edith I., born September 5, 1860, graduated from the Morgan high school in the English Classics, and for a number of years taught school in Killingworth. She married Albert H. Phelps, of Guilford, and lived in the beautiful home in that town (purchased for her by her father) until her death December 20, 1894, at the birth of her daughter, Edith Griswold. She was a member of the Congregational Church, a young lady of beauty and many accomplish- ments, well-educated, cultured and refined, a loving wife and affectionate daughter. Her death was a sad blow to her parents, and a shock to her wide circle of friends. Between parents and child the attachment was unusually strong and close, and in their declining years her sweet and winning personality is sadly missed.

In 1894, after the death of his daughter, Mr. Griswold removed to Guilford, and sold most of his farming lands, retaining only 100 acres. He still manages his property, but since his residence at Guilford he has practically lived a retired life. In public life Mr. Gris- wold has been notably prominent. He repre- sented the town of Killingworth in the State Legislature in 1866-67 and in 1885, serving in the old State Houses at Hartford and New Haven, and in the new State House at Hart- ford. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and he has held nearly all the offices within the gift of his fellow townsmen. For eight years he was judge of probate for the district of Killingworth. For fourteen years he filled the office of selectman, serving as chairman of the board most of the time, and he held that office during the Civil war, when the duties were more exacting than they ever were before or have been since. He has been assessor and tax collector of Killingworth, served on the board of relief, and for twenty years was a justice of the peace. Mr. Griswold has ever taken a deep interest in the public schools, and

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has served as chairman of the board most of the time for twenty years. Since his removal to Guilford he has declined many offices, con- senting, however, in 1897, to his nomination as first selectman, and serving the term. In 1899 he was elected a member of the school board, and is still serving.

In religious belief Mr. Griswold is a mem- ber of the Church Society at Guilford, and a liberal supporter of the same. His personal habits have always been above reproach, and he is opposed to the use of strong drink or tobacco in any form. Mrs. Griswold is a member of the Congregational Church, a lady of refinement, modesty and intelligence, de- voted to her husband and to her home. Both were members of the Grange in Killingworth, and both are well informed upon the leading events and subjects of the day. They are most highly esteemed and respected by all who know them, and now, in the afternoon of their life, they are enjoying the fruits of their earlier labor, and dispensing with generous and dis- criminating care the material blessings which it is theirs to command.

GEORGE SAVAGE WILCOX. Two brothers, Thomas and John Wilcox, one of whom was the ancestor of this gentleman, came from Hartford about 1650, and settled at Upper Houses, Middletown, which is now known as Croniwell. For more than 200 years their progeny have tilled the soil, and have demonstrated the fact, as reported by the Com- mittee to the General Court in 1648, "that there was subsistence in the plantation of Mat- abessett for fifteen families." The Wilcox Family has long been prominent in Cromwell, out in time the name will be extinct here, as George S. and his brother, James H., are the only representatives of the family living, and neither has male issue.

George S. Wilcox, one of the substantial and eading citizens of Cromwell, was born May ;I, 1834, on the location where now stands he residence of Dr. Frank Hallock, in Crom- vell. Attending the district school and Crom- vell Academy, he had very fair opportunity for ducation. In his later boyhood he attended chool during the winter and worked on his ather's farm during the summer. Independ- nt in spirit, he determined to make his own

way in the world, and learned the joiner's trade under a Mr. White, in. Hartford. With that gentleman he remained four years, and became a skilled workman under his instruc- tion. In 1856 Mr. Wilcox joined the wide- spread migration to California, making the journey via Nicaragua and the Isthmus. He sailed from New York and the journey was made in twenty-five days. Mr. Wilcox landed at San Francisco with very little money in his pocket. He found work in a quartz mill at Grass Valley, where he remained for a short time, and then, in company with several others, bought a claim and operated it with profit for one winter. In the spring they sold out at an advanced price, and Mr. Wilcox returned to the quartz mill, where he worked two years. On his return to Cromwell he resumed work on his father's farm. The estate was divided among the children before the father's death. In 1895 Mr. Wilcox was obliged by ill health to give up manual labor, but he still oversees the farm work. Mr. Wilcox put up his pres- ent home, a very attractive structure, in 1876.

Mr. Wilcox married for his first wife, on December 20, 1859, Frances Edwards, a daughter of Buckley Edwards, a prominent hotel-keeper in Cromwell. She died in 1882, leaving one child, Sarah, who married Edward A. Wright, of the Hartford Life Insurance Company, and is the mother of one child, Frances. Mr. Wilcox was married for the second time to Mrs. Julia Warner, widow of Isaac Warner, and daughter of Timothy Ran- ney.

Mr. Wilcox is a Republican, served as se- lectman for two years, and in 1882 was a mem- ber of the State Legislature in which he was appointed a member of the committee on For- feited Rights. He is a director and president of the Cromwell Dime Savings Bank. Mr. Wilcox and all his family are members of the Congregational Church.

Eben Wilcox, the father of George S., was the only son of Eliphalet and Abigail ( Shep- ard) Wilcox, and was born in Upper Houses. Middletown, September 29, 1789. Only a few weeks of school life each year was afforded him, as during the remainder of the time he was needed on the farm. Before he became of age he went to sea three times, and his wages in each case went to his father. For seven

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years after he became of age he worked for his father to save money to buy the farm late- ly occupied by his son Frederick, and now owned by Elizabeth Gunn. He acquired sev- eral additional acres, and on the death of his father bought his sister's interest in the prop- erty and in course of time become one of the large land owners in Cromwell. The success which he achieved as a farmer, and his re- markable business ability, brought him into public notice, and he was made a director in the Middletown Bank. This afforded him op- portunity for the display of that great finan- cial ability which was inherent in his nature. He not only proved a valuable assistant in the affairs of the bank, but his own invest- ments turned out successful in every case, and he became one of the wealthiest farmers in the town. His judgment on mooted points was considered good, and often sought in compli- cated cases.

| In 1838, before Cromwell was set off as a separate town, Mr. Wilcox was chosen to represent Middletown in the State Legislature, where he served with distinction. During his life he filled many positions of trust and re- sponsibility in his native town. For three years he was county commissioner, and for some years was selectman of the town. In 1813 he married Lucretia Mildrum, of Middle- town, by whom he became the father of eight children : Abigail B., born June 7, 1815, mar- ried Lewis Benton, and is now deceased. Lu- cretia, born June 9, 1817, married Henry Chit- tenden of Guilford, Conn., was the mother of one son, Charles R., of San Francisco, and died in July, 1866, in that city. Frederick, born April 18, 1819, married Caroline Shepard, deceased, and died in April, 1900. Maria, born October 28, 1821, married John Haskell, and both are deceased. Joseph E., born Febru- ary 13, 1824, married (first) Anna Tryon, of Glastonbury, now deceased, and later, Ann Hubbard, and he died May 18, 1877, leaving two sons, Frank H. (now living in Oelwein, Iowa) and Charles J. (in Nebraska). James H., born September 21, 1826, married Agnes McCormick and is living in San Francisco. Charles S., born September 5, 1829, died at Napa, Cal., unmarried, August 30, 1883. George S. is mentioned above. Eben Wilcox died March 17, 1875.

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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 92

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