Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, V. I, Pt 1, Part 13

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, V. I, Pt 1 > Part 13

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(VI) Seneca Greeley. son of Joseph, was born May 29. 1794, and died Nov. 26, 1886, at the age

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of ninety-two years and six months. He married Priscilla Fields, who was born Jan. 25, 1793, and passed away Oct. 7, 1885. Five of their ten chil- diren outlived their parents, as follows: Elizabeth P., born Aug. 29, 1819, died Oct. 8, 1884 ; she mar- ried William Davis, and later Charles Fiske, and had two children. Alfred Henry, born May 15, 1821, married Charlotte Whitteker and (second) Laura Woods and has one adopted son. Sarah . Pollard, born Jan. 12, 1824, died Aug. 3, 1851 ; she married Dr. O. M. Carleton and had three sons. Samuel F., born Nov. 16, 1825, died Aug. 5, 1897. Emily H., born Jan. 7, 1828, died young. Adeline Amanda, born April 20, 1830, died young. Edwin Seneca is mentioned in full farther on. Franklin Maston, born Jan. 7, 1835, married Inez Byington and has two children. Emily Frances, born Feb. 7, 1837, married Hiram Preston and has two children. Eldridge Osgood, born April 26, 1841, died in 1851. The mother of these was a woman of fine character, strong in her convictions and tender in her sympa- thies. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church and by her many womanly graces won the esteem of a large circle of friends.

(VII) Edwin Seneca Greeley was thrown on his own resources in early boyhood by financial mis- fortunes that came to his parents and when he was twelve years old he began to work for his living. At the age of fifteen years he was employed in a cotton mill, where he remained several years. Being of a mechanical turu of mind he became a machinist and through the aid of his father secured a position in Manchester, N. H., but the place was unsatisfac- tory, as it did not afford the opportunity he desired of learning the utses of steam as applied to machin- ery. To learn this he went to Schenectady, N. Y., where he completed his trade of machinist. From the very beginning of his work young Greeley was ambitious to build a locomotive and secured employ- ment.in the Schenectady Locomotive Works. After becoming a journeyman he was employed at the Rogers Locomotive Works, Paterson, N. J. In 1855, from the employ of this world-famous es- tablishment, he came to New Haven, which has been his home ever since. He came to New Haven on a visit and on sight of the New Haven Green and its surroundings was so pleased with the city that he at once. determined to make it his home. He secured employment with the railroad company and immediately located here, where his early ambition was gratified, for before the war he assisted in the construction of a locomotive, the first constructed in New Haven.

Gen. Greeley was in New Haven in the exciting years preceding the Civil war and all his sympathies were with the Union. When the clash of arms came he was among the first to respond to the call for troops, carrying out to its logical results his long and earnest championing of the cause of lih- erty and progress. In company with E. D. S. . Goodyear, of North Haven, he raised a full com-

pany of inen, with Mr. Goodyear as captain and himself as first lieutenant and they were assigned to the 11th Conn. V. I., but were soon transferred to the ioth Regiment. The regiment was mus- tered into service Oct. 2, 1861, and was almost im- mediately sent South to join in what is known in history as Burnside's expedition. In February, 1862, it participated in its first battle, at Roanoke Island, where it charged the Rebel works and cap- tured most of the garrison. After this battle Capt. Goodyear was taken sick and Lieut. Greeley com- manded the company at the battle of Newbern, N. C. Shortly after this battle he became a captain in the place of Capt. Pardee, who had achieved pro- motion. In December, 1862, Capt. Greeley marched with his company on to the famous Goldsboro expe- dition, participating in the battle of Kinston, where the regiment lost 106 officers and men in less than thirty minutes. The roth fought also at Whitehall and Goldsboro. On Jan. 1, 1863, they were trans- ferred to the Department of the South, stationed at Hilton Head, S. C. Capt. Greeley was promoted to the rank of major and commanded the regiment in the siege of Charleston, before which city the fighting was of the most severe and dangerous sort, and the roth had a hand in nearly all the desperate conflicts that marked the progress of the investment, particularly Seabrook Island, James Island and the assaults on Forts Wagner and Gregg. on Morris Island. During the course of the siege of Charles- ton Gen. Gilmore made a desperate plan for the capture of Fort Sumter. The waters of the harbor surrounded the fort and it was proposed to sent soldiers in boats who should assault it on all sides at once, and, scaling all its walls, capture its garrison by storm. To this rash and desperate enterprise the 10th Connecticut contributed 285 men, under command of Major Greeley, and about the same number came from the 24th Massachusetts, commanded by Col. Osborne. This expedition, sheltered by the dark- ness of the night, reached the vicinity of the fort and were forming for the assault when bright cal- cium lights flashed and shot and shell burst from Fort Sumter. At this point there had been con- siderable jealousy between the army and the navy. The latter had tried unsuccessfully to silence the fort, and Gen. Gilmore, feeling that they must antic- ipate the attack by his land forces, had arranged to signal a retreat by a blue rocket, which was to order the return by the same route over which they had come. As the navy did attack first Gen. Gil- more gave the signal and nothing then remained but to withdraw the troops which, strange to say, was accomplished with little damage. This enter- prise. having already been tried by the officers of the fleet, found the Rebels prepared for such an at- tempt. During the campaign the Ioth Connecticut had lost heavily: entering the service with over 1.000 mien, it had been reduced to 175 effective sol- diers and was ordered to St. Augustine. Fla .. to re- cruit. Major Greeley was very ill with a chronic

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

disease and his wan countenance and pallid features moved even the sympathies of the Rebel ladies of that hotbed of secession, and one of them, a relative oi a prominent Rebel general, sent him a remedy that eventually restored him to health.

In the spring of 1864 Major Greeley Was or- dered North with his veterans, whose term of sery- icc had expired. About 300 men re-enlisted, and after a short furlough they joined the regiment which, coming from the South, was attached to Gen. Butler's Army of the James and was assigned to the 10th Army Corps, under Gen. Gilmore. During the encampment at Bermuda Hundred it was Major Greeley's duty to establish the picket line and he had just stationed the reserves when he heard the noise of galloping horses. With difficulty he stopped Gen. Butler and his staff, who were fast galloping into captivity with a vague notion of go- ing to the front. Here the gallant Ioth was engaged in continuous and ardnous service during May, 1864, particularly against the railroad and Rich- mond, from the South. After four days of continut- ous fighting the ioth acted as rear guard from the battlefield of Duryea's Bluff and received the warm- est encomiums from the commanding general for its behavior under all circumstances and in all situa- tions. Major Greeley won warm praise for his gal- lant behavior on the night of June 15, 1864. He had charge of the picket line on the right when it appeared that large masses of troops were in motion in front of him. At first an attack was feared but he soon discovered that the enemy was withdrawing. All night he pleaded for liberty to attack but his commanding officer could not believe his report was correct. At daybreak he was given permission to advance if he would assume responsibility for the entire movement. At once he put his skirmish line in motion and quickly captured the entire main line of the enemy's earthworks, with three officers and twenty-six privates and a battery of fifteen guns. Here was gained an important position and the rep- utation of Major Greeley greatly increased.

The 10th was sent to assist in the operations be- fore Petersburg, where its picket lines held the ad- vanced trenches at the left of the entrance to the famous mine under Cemetery Hill. For a month or more it was constantly under fire and a rifle ball struck the cot on which Major Greeley was sleeping. while a fragment of an exploding shell was left in his tent-pole. On Aug. 29. 1864, he was com- missioned lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. The month of September was occupied with frequent as- sanlts and in October the regiment participated in a most desperate assault on an almost impregna- ble position where, in a few minutes, it lost nearly one-half its effective force. On Oct. 18th Lieut .- Col. Greeley was promoted to the command of the regiment, which at that time consisted of two line officers and 250 men. In November the regiment was sent to New York to guard against an antici- pated riot, and on his return to the front Col. Gree-

ley reorganized his regiment, receiving an assign- ment of 500 men, some few of whom were volim- teers, but the greater part substitutes and bounty- jumpers, who planned to desert at the first oppor- tunity. Out of this unpromising material Col. Greeley made good sokliers. From the veterans of the regiment he appointed twenty-four commis- sioned officers and one hundred non-commissioned officers. Officers' schools were established and their work was done under his personal supervision. A severe discipline was maintained, stringent meas- ures taken to guard against desertion and before the winter was over the moth rivaled its pristine hearing and the best form of its earlier days.

In March, 1865, anticipating some quiet weeks before the opening of the spring campaign and wear- ried by his incessant activities, Col. Greeley obtained a short furlough and while he was North was cha- grined to learn that the forward movement had be- gun and that Fort Gregg, the key to the Rebel front, was taken by a desperate charge of his regiment, the famous 10th. Hastening back to rejoin his com- mand, which thus showed the effect of the patient work he had given it for months, he found the transportation service in utter confusion. At Wash- ington he was given command of a large number of men to be led to the front. Before he could join in the fray, being but one day's march away, he was delighted with the news of the surrender of Gen. Lee. Coming back to Richmond with his own reg- iment he was assigned to the command of a brigade and was breveted brigadier general for gallant and meritorions conduct. his commission bearing date March 3. 1865. He was mustered out Ang. 25. 1865. and reached Hartford with his command Sept. 2. 1865, at which time they were discharged from service.

In Gen. Greeley's fine residence he has a "den" containing many valuable and historical relics. He has his uniforms of captain, colonel and general used in the service: also all his swords, inchiding the one presented to him by Thomas R. Trowbridge. which was sunk on board ship off Charleston Har- bor. but finally recovered and returned to Mr. Trowbridge, who again presented it to Gen. Gree- ley at a reception given by Mr. Trowbridge in his honor upon the General's return from the war. He lias also two swords and a carbine captured from the Confederates.

Upon coming home Gen. Greeley marked his return to civil life by entering into a partnership with L. G. Tillotson, of New York, to manufacture and import railway and telegraph supplies, under the firm name of L. G. Tillotson & Co. This busi- ness was very successful and when Mr. Tillotson cied, in 1885. his interests were transferred to Gen. Greeley, the firm becoming E. S. Greeley & Co. This firm carried at one time a larger assortment of supplies in their line than any other house in the United States and their trade extended all over the world. Gen. Greeley's "Electrical Baggage Supply

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Wagon" has been adopted by the United States government. This invention is equipped for hastily laying telegraph wire from the front, and in a short space of time puts the commanding general in touch with all parts of the battlefield. Gen. Greeley's con- pany strung the wires for opening the World's Fair at Chicago and he has in his den the gold telegraph key touched by President Cleveland in opening that Fair. This key was subsequently used by Presi- dent Cleveland in opening the National Electrical Exposition in New York in May, 1896, and by Pres- ident Mckinley in opening the exposition of 1898; in both instances the act was performed at the Ex- ceutive Mansion in Washington. This key was also used in transmitting Hon. Chauncey Depew's mes- sage, containing sixty-eight words, around the world, 24,516 miles, in twenty-one and one-half minutes.

Gen. Greeley, a forceful and energetic man, has pushed steadily to the front. He took an. active in- terest at a very early day in electric lighting and as- sisted in the organization of the New Haven Elec- tric Light Co., and others, and has been a director of and interested in many of the corporations of New Haven. The New Haven Car Trimmings Co. was organized by him and for many years he was its president. He has been interested in several bank- ing institutions, and at this time is vice-president of the Vale National Bank. Avoiding, rather than seeking, political preferment, it was a sacrifice to a sense of duty that compelled him to accept elec- tion as alderman from the Eighth ward, New Ha- ven, and he has served the city most efficiently in various capacities and relations. Prominently con- nected with the Church of the Redeemer, when an indebtedness of $33,000 fell due Gen. Greeley took hold of the matter with his characteristic energy and in fifteen days the entire amount was liquidated. He is closely connected with that church and has been active in church and Sunday-school, and for two years was chairman of the New Haven County School Association. Gen. Greeley is connected with various societies. He is an active member of Ad- miral Foote Post, G. A. R., New Haven, and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, New York State Commandery : is prominently associated with the Sons of the American Revolution, in which he has held high position and is now vice-president of the National Association and chairman of the Na- tional Committee on Revolutionary Monuments : and is also a member of the Army and Navy Club, of Connecticut, having served as president of the latter. He is a Freemason, with which fraternity he became affiliated in 1858. At one time he was presi- dent of the Congregational Club, and for three years held the same office in the Union League. He has long been an active member of the New Haven Colony Historical Society. At present he is chair- man of the "Memorial Committee" from the 6th, 9th and ioth Conn. V. I. and the ist Conn. Light Battery, whose purpose it is to erect a monument ;

the design in view at this writing is a pedestal, with tablets commemorating the records of the three regiments and surmounted by an equestrian statue in bronze of Major-Gen. Alfred II Terry. Gen. Greeley is also vice-president of the Bushnell Mem- orial Association, whose object is to erect a mon- ment to the memory of Cornelius S. Bushnell, of "Monitor" fame.

Gen. Greeley is a man of high character, both enterprising and public-spirited, and his fine resi- dence stands as a noble monument to his enterprise. His wealth, of which he accumulated a goodly for- tune, is used by him with a generous hand and he , is a liberal benefactor of public and needy institu- tions, among them being the Orphans' Asylum : the Y. M. C. A. ; Grace Hospital, of which he has been vice-president since its organization : and the Tillot- son College, at Austin, Texas.

On Feb. 20, 1856, Gen. Greeley was married to Miss Elizabeth Corey, of Taunton, Mass. They have an adopted daughter, Jennie E. Greeley. Their only child died'in 1860. Gen. Greeley is bearing the years of a long and notable career remarkably well, time dealing kindly with him, as evidenced by his fine personal appearance and military bearing. There is as yet little evidence of age and the pros- pect is fair that he will repeat in his generation the characteristic of his ancestry-longevity.

HON. LUCIUS PARMENIAS DEMING, of New Haven, formerly judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, of New Haven county, is descended from sterling New England stock, whose names are linked with the stirring scenes of carly American history.

Judge Deming was born March 10. 1836, in West Stockbridge, Mass., a son of John Carlton and Polly (Slauter ) Deming, the former of whom was a son of John Carlton Deming, a lineal descendant of Jolin Deming, who was one of the nineteen per- sons to whom, in 1662, King Charles Il granted the Charter of Connecticut. On his mother's side. Judge Deming is no less prominently connected. being fifth in line from Gilbert Slauter, a patriot of the Revolution, who gave up his life in his country's cause, at the famous battle of Saratoga. Ephraim Slauter, the great-grandfather of our subject. served through the war of the Revolution and was a pen- sioner.

Judge Deming received the rudiments of an ed- ucation in the country schools of Russell and Springfield, Mass., but his school days closed at the early age of fourteen, and then his business career opened, his first engagement being as a clerk in a grocery store in Springfield, but at the age of seventeen, deciding to adopt some special line, he was apprenticed to a Springfield firm, which was engaged in the work of frescoing and ornamental painting. This connection was terminated by ill health, and in 1857, he followed his parents to New Haven. Soon after this, by advice of the phy-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sician, he adopted a sea-faring life in order to re- cuperate his health. For the following seven years, covering the period of the Civil war, he was master of a vessel, during this time traveling to many for- eign ports. With health restored, Mr. Deming re- turned to business avocations on land, but by na- ture he was marked for the legal profession, all his leanings being in that direction. After preliminary study with this end in view, he entered the Vale Law school in 1875, from which he was graduated with high honor in 1877, taking the Townsend prize for the best oration, and in that same year was admitted to the Bar in New Haven county, be- ginning his career as an associate with Hon. Will- iam C. Case.

It was during the year 1877 that Judge Deming was appointed by Gov. Andrews as chairman of a committee to investigate complaints which had been made in regard to convict labor and its interference with free labor, and as chairman of that committee he acted in concert with like committees appointed from Massachusetts, New Jersey and several other States. During this most thorough investigation, he visited the prisons, penitentiaries, and reform- atories of nearly all the States of the Union, giving the most careful, personal attention to all that could bear upon the subject, and in his report recom- mended a law limiting contract labor in prisons, which law was adopted and is still continued on the Statute books of Connecticut.

Very soon after his admission to the Bar, Judge Deming was appointed to the position of assistant prosecuting attorney in the city of New Haven, this being followed at a later date by appointment to the position of assistant Judge of the City Court, which in a short time became an appointment as Judge. In the natural course of events, came his appointment as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, of New Haven county, in all of which import- ant and honorable positions he administered the duties in a most efficient manner, and these are an index of his standing in the community and in the profession which he adorns. His association with Hon. William C. Case in the practice of law cov- ered a period of fifteen years-years of honest and faithful work-and to-day, Judge Deming is rec- ognized as one of New Haven's ablest and most highly respected sons, a man of place, parts and power. For the past two years he has been en- gaged in developing large mining interests in New Mexico. ' As an orator, our subject ranks high ; his reputation as a platform speaker is not confined to Connecticut, but extends beyond State lines, and from all over New England come frequent invita- tions to deliver addresses. Socially Judge Deming stands in equal prominence, and has hell many po- sitions in fraternal and beneficial associations, and he is regarded as an authority on secret society matters, in his own State. After filling every sub- ordinate post in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, he was elected and served as Grand Mas- ter of that Order, serving a term, also, as a repre-

sentative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge, and has been equally prominent in patriotic societies. Judge Deming assisted in organizing the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and was the first president of the Connecticut society and the first president-general of the National society. For six years he was Grand Warden of the State of Con- necticut, of the New England Order of Protection, and was Supreme Warden for two years. He is also a prominent Mason and Shriner.

In 1858, Judge Deming was married to Laura E. Russell, who died in 1872, leaving three chil- dren : Lucius Parmenias, Jr. ; Hattie Lovilla, de- ceased ; and Laura Maude, who married Dr. Waher Strong, of Philadelphia. In 1874. Judge Deming married Eleanor M. Parmelee, and to this union one daughter has been born, Almira Parmelee. Few men have had and used such opportunities for travel as Judge Deming, and he is familiar with his own country to a degree exceptional with Ameri- cans, and has also traveled extensively in Central and South America and in other lands. Thus, al- though his formal schooling ceased when he was but a mere boy, his education did not cease, and was not limited to the knowledge to be obtained within the covers of books. His duties have made him a pupil in the great School of Life, and with results of which he may justly be proud. During his sailor life, Latin and mathematics took the place of dice, cards and story-telling, during leisure hours, and since those days not a moment has been wasted.

HON. CHARLES LEVERET ENGLISH (deceased), late of New Haven, began business there as a young man and continued through a long and active lifetime of business success and usefulness in the community in which his ancestors and poster- ity have figured in turn more or less conspicuously for two hundred years.

Mr. English came on both sides from sturdy New England stock who have left their impression for good on the several communities in which they have resided. Clement English, his remote Amer- ican ancestor, was carly at Salem, Mass., marrying, in 1667, Mary, daughter of Richard Waters, and dying in 1682. From Clement English our sub- ject's line of descent is through Benjamin, Ben- jamin (2), Benjamin (3), and James English. Benjamin English, son of Clement, married in 1699 Sarah Hard, and in the following year settied in New Haven, Conn., since which time the family has been numerous in New Haven, and its members have been numbered among the town's and city's most substantial men and women. Benjamin Eng- lish (3) married Abigail Doolittle, and among their eleven children was James English, who married Nancy Griswold. Of their six sons and three daughters all married, and all except one resided in New Haven, among the number being our subject and the late Hton. James E. English. Governor, Member of Congress and United States Senator.

On his mother's side our subject descended from

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lokal. L. English

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

one of two brothers-Edward and Matthew Gris- wold-who came from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, and were at Windsor, Conn., in 1639. The Griswold family was one of mmusual promi- nence in the history of Connecticut, many of the name rising to distinction, among them two govern- ors of the State.

The subject of this sketch was born Aug. 5, 1814, in New Haven, and until seventeen years of age attended the public and private schools of the place; among his teachers in the latter were a Mr. Merwin and a Mr. Jarman. He also received in- struction under Gen. James N. Palmer. For three years, beginning in 1831, he was a clerk in the gro- cery house of Harry Ives & Co. He then began in the same line on his own account, Elam Hull, of the former concern, setting him up in the business, which was carried on in the same store room under the firm style of Charles L. English & Co., his brother, George D. English, being associated with him. In 1842 our subject, associated with another brother, James E. English, engaged in the lumber business on Water street and continued some two years, when Charles L. English established at an- other point on the same street a similar enterprise, which subsequently became the business of English & Tuttle, John P. Tuttle joining him in the enter- prise. Later the style of the firm became English & Holt, Albert S. Holt becoming interested in the business. Along about this time a new lumber busi- ness was established under the firm name of Calvin Gallup & Co., in which Mr. English was largely in- terested, looking after the finances of the concern and attending to the sales department. He practi- cally retired from the business in 1876, and since that period the business has been carried on under the the name of English & Holt, Mr. English's son, Edwin H. English, succeeding him : the other mem- bers of the firm at this time were Albert S. Holt and Charles E. P. Sanford. men of strict integrity and extensive business ability, and standing high in the community. This concern, established by the elder English, has developed a large business and has operated largely in Canada, Indiana and Ohio, where the lumber was produced. and shipped extensively to the Pacific coast. The present firm is doing a large business, handling all kinds of lumber and timber. They purchase direct, and in such large quantities that they are able to sell at the lowest market prices, and their facilities for business are not surpassed by any.

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Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, V. I, Pt 1, Part 13

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1040