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 17
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The elder Osborn, through his long service with one of the leading papers in the State, wielded much influence both in the city of New Haven and in the State at large. He held a prominent place in the councils of the Democratic party in the State and Nation. Under the Pierce and Buchanan adminis- trations he served as collector of the port of New Haven. He was appointed by and served as rail- road commissioner of Connecticut under Gov. In- gersoll. At one time he was a member of the common council of New Haven, and also served as road commissioner under Mayor Henry G. Lewis. His influence in New Haven was great, and he ad- vocated through his paper many of the measures that led to the city's growth and advancement. He was one of the promoters of the New Haven Water Co., and was its treasurer at the time of his deatlı. He was also at that time a director in the New Ha- ven Gas Light Co., and in the Connecticut Savings Bank. When a young man Mr. Osborn was a meni- ber and officer of the somewhat famous local mili- tary company known as the New Haven Grays. and also served as major of the 2d Regiment of State Militia.
Mr. Osborn was twice married. first to Caro- line McNeil: of New Haven, who died in 1838, and second in 1841 he wedded Catherine Gilbert. daugh- ter of the late Ezekiel Gilbert, of what is now the town of Seymour, Conn. Two children were born to the first union, and nine to the second.
COL. NORRIS GALPIN OSBORN, editor of the New Haven Register, is well and favorably known throughout the State in which for years he has been an important factor in the councils of the Democratic party. and figured more or less con- spicuously in public affairs.
Born April 17, 1858, Col. Osborn is a son of the late Hon. Minott Augur and Catherine S. ( Gilbert ) Osborn, the former of whom for fifty and more years was prominently identified with the history of New Haven and the State. as editor and pub- lisher of the Register, and whose mantle has fallen upon the son who is proving himself worthy of its wearing. Col. Osborn descends on both sides from old New Haven families: in paternal lines from Jeremiah Osborn, one of the patentees of the town of New Haven, and in maternal lines from Eng-
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lish ancestors who came to New England not long after the Pilgrim fathers.
Mr. Osborn in boyhood attended both the pub- lic and private schools of New Haven, then entered Yale College from which he was graduated in 1880. In 1886 that institution conferred upon him the degree of M. A. After his graduation he became connected with the editorial staff of the Register, and was made editor-in-chief in 1884. In this im- portant position he has exerted a wide influence, and has made the Register recognized as the lead- ing Democratic organ in the southern part of the State.
Col. Osborn has repeatedly been a delegate to the conventions of his party-local, State and Na- tional-and taken a leading part therein. In 1883 and 1884 he was an aid on the staff of Gov. Waller. and in 1896 was appointed a State prison director by Gov. Coffin. He has also served as a director in the New Haven University Extension Centre. In the fall of 1901, he was made the iinanimous choice of both parties to represent New Haven in the Constitutional Convention, and was chosen a member of that body in the election that followed in November. In the deliberations of this conven- tion which convened Jan. 1, 1902, and which at this writing ( March ) is still in session, Col. Osborn has taken an active interest and borne an honorable part.
In his college life Col. Osborn was a member of the Greek Letter Society, Delta Kappa Epsilon, and of the Scroll and Key Society. He is a member of Hiram Lodge. F. & A. M .. and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and was formerly governor of the Society of Founders and Patriots, Colony of Connecticut. As a journalist Col. Os- born is a success. He is a forceful writer, his editorials are trenchant, lively, and much quoted. As a man he is widely popular through his winning personal qualities, and he is a happy after-dinner speaker. and greatly in demand for such occasions.
On Dec. 27, 1881, Col. Osborn was married to Kate Lonise Gardner, of New York City, and their five children are: Innis, Minott Arthur, Dorothy. Gardner and Katherine.
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AMOS MUNSON. The late Amos Munson, the Yankee pie maker of New Haven and New York. and the founder of that branch of industry in this country, was generally known throughout New England from his connection with the business, building wiser than he knew. A fortune was ac- cumulated by him, and he was able to establish his sons in a business in which they, too, have grown wealthy.
Mr. Munson was born in New Haven in March, 1707. and was a true New Englander, being the representative of families which have been identified with the annals of New Haven for two hundred and
sixty years. Joseph and Hannah (Higgins) Mun- son were his parents, and he was a descendant in the seventh generation from Thomas Munson, who was first known in Hartford in 1637, as a partici- pant in the Pequot war. At a later period be became a resident of New Haven, where he died in 1085. This Thomas Munson was born in 1612, and was a carpenter by trade. He belonged to the Congrega- tional Church. His wife's Christian name was Joanna, and she died in 1678. From this Thomas the late Amos Munson's line of descent was through Samuel, Theophilus, Israel, Joseph and Joseph Mun- son.
Samuel Munson, son of the foregoing Thomas, was baptized in 1643, and was married in 1665, to Martha, daughter of William and Alice ( Pritchard ) Bradley. Mr. Munson was a shoemaker and farmer and made his home in New Haven and Wallingford. His death occurred in 1693.
Theophilus Munson, son of Samuel, was born in 1675. He married Esther. the daughter of John Mix. This Munson was a locksmith, and lived in New Haven, where he had his home for forty-five years at the corner of College and Wall streets, af- terwards the site of the home of President Dwight, of Yale. He was frequently before the public as an official, and belonged to the Congregational Church. He died in 1747, a prosperous and prom- inent citizen. His wife died in 1746.
Israel Munson was born in 1701, and was mar- ried first in 1727, to Elizabeth, a daughter of Sam- nel Bishop, and resided in New Haven, where she was born in 1704. Mr. Munson was a blacksmith and an inn-keeper. Several public offices were held by him, and he was regarded as a man of probity and intelligence. He died in 1754, and his wife in 1734, both in the faith of the Congregational Church. He was married a second time.
Joseph Munson was born in 1727, and was mar- ried thirty years later to Sarah, the daughter of Sam- uel Bishop, born in 1733. They had their home in New Haven, where he made his standing as a provident business man, and was long engaged in mercantile pursuits. His wife died in 1790, and he three years later.
Joseph Munson, born in 1770, was married in 1796 to Hannah Higgins, and had his home in New Haven, where he was a farmer all his life. On ser- eral occasions he held public office. being fence viewer in 1801, 1815 and 1816. tithing man in 1816. His death occurred in 1842. and his widow died in Cincinnati in 1860.
Amos Munson, whose name appears above. was the son of Joseph Munson of the preceding para- graph, in his youth learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed for years, and hecame a thor- ough and efficient mechanic. The late James Brewster was his emplover in New Haven. where he worked at his trade in the carriage shops, and where he broke down. being compelled to change his vocation. After this he was occupied for a
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time on a farm, hoping to regain his health. Upon one occasion he happened in New York to enter the establishment of Sidney E. Morse, a geographer and journalist, where his brother, Henry, and his own son, Lucius, were employed. The latter. a keen-witted little fellow, hungered for the old-fashi- ioned pie on his mothers pantry shelves. The making and selling of old fashioned pie was sug- gested by him, and was received with favor by both his uncle and father. At that time there was .no pie bakery in New England. The pie industry of Amos Munson was established June 10. 1844. in Wall street, New Haven, very modestly at first. at first putting out only four or five dozen a day, which were sold for the first few weeks by one of his boys, who conveyed them in a little wagon to the steamboat dock for the New York market. The increase and prosperity of the project soon called for a horse and wagon. At that time there were no restaurants in New Haven, and accordingly all the bakery goods were sent to New York. . In the meantime there had been opened on the corner of Nassau and Beekman streets, a small lunch count- er called the Connecticut Pie Depot. The delicacy met with instant favor, and vindicated the foresight of the son and father. For a time at the first, Mr. Munson's brother, Henry, was associated with him, and the firm was known as A. Munson & Brother. The brother, however, soon disposed of his interest, and Amos Munson became sole pro- prietor. The bakery remained on Wall street until 1874, when it was removed to more commodions quarters, and was occupied by S. M. Munson & Co. The business was sold out in 1899. The rapid increase in the number of restaurants, made a cor- responding increase in demand for pie, so that the fourth year of the business of Mr. Munson, he paid $1,300 for freight from New Haven to New York, on an output of about a thousand pies a day. In 1849 Mr. Munson erected a building on Twenty- first street, near Third avenue, in which the busi- ness was also conducted. In 1874 Mr. Munson gave up his New Haven business to his son. Sam- : uel M., but retained control of the New York end of the trade until his death, which occurred Sept. 3, 1877.
The latter years of the life of Mr. Munson were passed in the enjoyment of a well-earned com- petence, and though his health failed, he saw the business which he had established, and which had passed in 1877 into the hands of Charles E. Min- son, widely extended and universally recognized. Many of the most successful men in this line. both in New York and New Haven, learnel their trade with him, and traced their success to him. Among them were the Olds, of New Ilaven, Case, of Chi- cago, and Perry, of Providence.
Mr. Munson was a man of remarkably cheer- ful temper, dearly loving a gool joke and a good friend .. He was open-handed, and was known as a generous contributor to the wants of the needy.
His disposition was quiet, preferring retirement, and shunning display. His patience was unbound- ed, and his endurance of the pain and suffering of his last sickness was marked. For two weeks the was helpless on the bed, dying of starvation and inanition. Many friends were left behind, and his memory is a fragrant one.
On June 11, 1820, Mr. Munson was married to Martha James, who died in 1823. at the age of twenty-nine years. His second marriage occurred Nov. 20. 1825. Rebecca, the daughter of Isaac Dick- erman, becoming his wife at that time. She was a descendant of Thomas Dickerman, the emigrant, who came to Dorchester. Mass., in 1635, her line running through Abraham, who settled in New Haven: Isaac; Stephen : and Isaac Dickerman (2). They lived to celebrate their golden wedding. Both were members of the North Congregational Church in New Haven throughout their married life. To the first marriage of Mr. Munson were born : Sarah Rebecca, born Jan. 2. 1821, is now de- ceased : and William died in infancy. To the sec- ond union were born: Lucius, born Dec. 11. 1826. married Nancy Baldwin, a daughter of William Baldwin in 1849, and died in Des Moines, Jowa. in 1886: John Adams, born July 8. 1829. is re- ferred to at some length on another page: Charles E., born May II, 1831, was married Aug. 25. 1852. to Margaret Atwell, and is a resident of New York. where he is the manager of the business established by his father ; Samuel Merwin, born May 31, 1833. is referred to more fully elsewhere: and Mary Lonise (deceased ), born Aug. 28. 1837, married June 16, 1857. Dennis Frisbie, who is a member of D. Frisbie & Co., of New York, and they had two children, William and Minnie.
KELSEY. For the past sixty years in the in- dustrial field in Middlesex and New Haven coun- ties few families have played a more conspicuous part than that of the late George R. Kelsey. He and his sons, the late Israel A. and Horatio G .. were manufacturers and actively identified with the development of the borough of West Haven and the town of Orange.
Born May 15, 1820, in what is now the town of Cromwell. Conn .. George R. Kelsey was one of the six children-five sons and one daughter-of Zebulon and Sally ( Edwards) Kelsey who grew to adult age. His mother was a daughter of Daniel Edwards, of Cromwell. George R. Kelsey was a grandson, great-grandson and great-great-grandson of three successive Israel Kelseys, all born in the Kelsey Quarter, Middletown, now Cromwell, and a descendant in direct line from William Kelsey, who was born about 1600, was at Cambridge, Mass .. in 1632, an original proprietor of Hartford in 1639 and removed to Killingworth. Middlesex county about 1663. Ife was deputy to the General Court from that place in 1671.
George R. Kelsey at the age of ten years re-
ALITILE
Look Helay
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moved with the family to Ohio, where the father and sons cleared off many acres of heavy timber. Our subject remained with his parents until of age, during which period he learned the carpenter's and joiner's trade. In 1842 he returned to Middle- town, Conn., and soon thereafter his attention was called to the demand for clothing and suspender buckles, which were all imported, and he at once began in a small way the manufacture of these ar- ticles in Middletown. Possessing but little capital and doing the work by hand he struggled with per- sistent energy for ten years to establish the busi- ness and met with reverses that would have crushed less resolute men, being burned out twice in that time. His persistency cach time enabled him to re-establish the business, and by the introduction of new machinery and patent improvements he pro- dneed a stock of such excellent quality that he en- tirely broke up the importation of buckles. After the fire of 1847 he began his business anew at Cromwell, where he was successfully engaged until 1852. As a matter of protection his business was in 1855 combined with the Waterbury Buckle Co., and he accepted the presidency of the latter concern. Soon afterward he took the management of the West Haven Buckle Co. and remained identified with both corporations until the time of his death, in 1889. He built un a large business for the West Haven Co. Under his management within twenty- seven years was paid $750,000 in dividends to the stockholders on a capital of $17,000. In 1883 Mr. Kelsey established in West Haven the American Buckle & Cartridge Co., under the management of his sons, the late' Israel A. Kelsey being secretary of the corporation for years. Horatio G. Kelsey now continues the business.
George R. Kelsey during his connection with the manufacturing business took out some ten pat- ents for improvements in buckles. Throughout his long and laborious business career he proved him- self in a marked degrec sagacious, energetic, up- right and faithful in all the relations of life. Lo- cating in West Haven he became interested in the welfare of the place and was largely identified with its enterprise and spirit. For several years he was first selectman of the town and town agent, and in 1858 he represented the town in the State Legisla- turc. He was instrumental in building the horse railway between New Haven and Savin Rock and furnished largely the means to accomplish the en- terprise. To him is due the existence of the well- known watering place of Savin Rock. He built the "Sea View House" and surrounding dwellings and bought largely of property in that vicinity. Mr. Kelsey was an active church worker and for twenty- four years was on the standing committee and had charge of the salary fund of the Congregational Church in West Haven.
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In 1845 George R. Kelsey married Virginia W., laughter of Capt. Dota Lord Wright, of Clinton, Conn., a member of one of the carliest settled fam-
ilies in New Haven and Middlesex counties, and. to them were born children as follows: Harriet V., who married Frank W. Kimberly, formerly of Sioux City, Iowa, now living in West Haven : Georgea W., of Chicago; Israel A .: and Horatio G., treasurer and manager of the American Buckle Co., West Haven. The residence which Mrs. Kel- sey now occupies was built by her husband in 1860 and is still one of the handsomest in West Haven.
LEVI BACON YALE, who has been for many years prominent among the well-to-do farmers and fruit growers of Meriden, was born March 25, 1838, on the old homestead on Yale avenue, where he still resides, and which is now in his possession.
Mr. Yale is a descendant of Capt. Thomas Vale. who was a son of David and Ann Yale, of England, and born there or in Wales about 1616. In 1645 he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Turner, of New Haven. Capt. Yale came to America in 1637, in company with Thomas Turner, Gov. Eaton, and others, and in 1638 settled in New Haven, as a merchant. He purchased lands in what is now North Haven, and settled thercon as early as 1660. He was a signer of the Plantation Covenant. and was one of the principal men in the colony, filling many offices of trust. Capt. Yale died March 27, 1683, and his wife died Oct. 15, 1704.
(II) Thomas Yale (2). son of Capt. Thomas. the settler, born about 1647, in New Haven, married ( first ) Dec. II. 1667, Rebceca, daughter of Will- iam Gibbards, of New Haven. Mr. Yale became one of the first settlers of Wallingford, in 1670. and one of the most active and energetic men of that town, where he died Jan. 26, 1736.
(III) Thomas Yale (3), son of Thomas (2), born March 20, 1678-70. married May 16, 1705. Mary, daughter of Joseph Benham, of Wallingford. He settled as a farmer in what is now the town of Meriden. He was one of the constituent members of the First Congregational Church of Meriden in 1729. Mr. Yale died Sept. 26, 1750.
(IV) Noah Yale, son of Thomas (3). born June 2, 1723, married Aug. 2, 1744. Anna Ives, and settled as a farmer in Meriden. He died in 1803. and his wife in 1807.
(V) Joel Yale, son of Noah, born June 8. 1759, married May 20, 1784. Esther Clark, of Meriden. born Nov. 15, 1766. Mr. Vale was a farmer of Meriden. He died Dee. 14, 1805, and his wife died Nov. 12, 1848.
(VI) Levi Yale, son of Joel, born April II, 1792, in Meriden, received his early education in the district schools there, and, like most men of his day who were ambitious for learning, educated himself in the intervals of hard work on the farm. While living at home he taught school in Meriden during the winter, and in summer engaged in farming. con- tinuing thus for a number of years. He owned a tract of 150 acres, upon which he finally settled, and upon which he made many improvements,
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building a fine dwelling. He carried on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Yale was a prom- inent man in his locality, taking an active part in public affairs, for which he was well fitted. In early life he was a Democrat, but being an anti-slavery man changed his allegiance in time, and lived to witness the triumph of the principles he upheld. He was nominated for the State Legislature and for lieutenant-governor on the Abolitionist ticket. For seven years Mr. Yale served as first selectman of his town, and three times he was the nominee of all parties for that office, a fact which testifies more strongly than mere words to the universal esteem in which he was held, and the satisfaction his ser- vices gave. He was a good citizen in every sense of the term, temperate in his habits, domestic in his tastes, and as thoughtful in his home as he was alert and watchful in matters relating to the gen- eral welfare.
On Feb. 20, 1833. Mr. Yale married Abigail Ellen Bacon, of Middletown, who was born in Westfield, Middlesex Co., Conn., daughter of Na- thaniel and Abigail Bacon, and sister of William P. Bacon, of New Britain, Con. Three children blessed this union: Harriet Ellen, born Ang. 3, 1835, who married Stephen Bowers, of East Berlin. Conn., and is now deceased: Levi Bacon, who is mentioned below ; and Emma L., born Feb. 10, 1845, who married Rutledge Whitehead, of Rox- bury, Conn., and is now deceased. The mother of these died May 1, 1845, and Mr. Yale subsequently married, Jan. 1, 1859, Jennette Royce, daughter of Deodatus and Emily (Bement) Royce, both of whom are deceased. Levi Yale passed away in Feb- ruary, 1878, on his farm, at the ripe old age of eighty years, and was laid to rest in Walnut Grove cemetery, where his wife was interred. He was a member of the Congregational Church. Mrs. Jen- nette Royce Yale survived until 1896, and her re- mains also rest in Walnut Grove cemetery. Like her husband, she was a member of the Congrega- tional Church.
(VII) Levi Bacon Yale attended the schools of the home district in his early boyhood, later was a student at Meriden Academy, and also in a select school at Brookside, Berkshire, N. Y. His home has always been on the old homestead, where he engages in farming in all its branches, being a suc- cessful stock raiser, dairy farmer and fruit grower. He is considered one of the most prosperous agri- culturists in Meriden, and has made numerous im- provements on his place, which bears many evi- dences of careful and judicious management.
In 1865 Mr. Yale married, at the Yale home- stead. Miss Frances Ellen Royce (daughter of Deo- datus Royce), who has proved a capable and de- voted helpmeet, and four children have blessed this union, namely: Jennie Charlotte, Fannie Ellen, Walter Levi and Laura Anna. Mr. and Mrs. Vale and all their children are members of Meriden Grange, P. of H. Though quiet in his tastes and
domestic in his habits, Mr. Yale takes a deep inter- est in the welfare of his community, being especial- ly interested in educational matters. He was orig- inally a Republican in political sentiment, but is now a stanch Prohibitionist, by which party he was nominated for Senator in the 6th District in 1900. Mr. Yale is an active member of the Congrega- tional Church, in which he has officiated as dea- con the last thirty years. In religious faith he is a Second Adventist, and is also a believer in Divine Healing. As a citizen he is above reproach, and his high standing in the community has been gained solely on his own merits.
DEODATUS ROYCE, father of Mrs. Levi B. Yale, was one of the many descendants of an old New England family in this section. Robert Rovce (identical with Rice), says Miss Caulkins, in the "History of New London," is presumed to be the Robert Rice who was at Boston in 1631, made a freeman there in 1634. and one of those disarmed in 1637 for adherence to the opinions and party of Wheelright and Hutchinson. According to Josiah .1. Royce, of Brooklyn, formerly of Lanesboro, Mass .. Robert Royce was born in England in the year 1613, so that he was only cighteen years of age when he came to America. He is known to have been in Stratford, Conn., in 1644, and was there in 1656, when chosen leather sealer. He went to New Lon- don in 1657, and the town granted him the original Post lot. on Post Hill. He was a shoemaker by occupation. In 1660 he was chosen constable: in 1662 representative to the General Court: in 1663 a townsman ; and in 1667 he was appointed to keep an ordinary and "freed from training." He died in 1676, and his widow, Elizabeth. in 168S. They had six sons and three daughters, the sous being : ( 1) Nehemiah had five daughters and one son, Nathaniel, born March 8, 1682. (2) Samuel (sec Oliver Rice). (3) Isaac married Dec. 15. 1669. at New London, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Lath- rop, and had two sons-Isaac, born in 1673. who died the same year: and Robert, born in 1674. (Miss Caulkins says this family also removed to Walling- ford.) (4) Jonathan is further mentioned below. (5) Joshua and his wife, Bathsheba. had one son. Joshua, who was born in May, 1664. and died the same month. (6) Nathaniel, born April 1. 1639, lived to be nearly ninety-eight years of age, dying Feb. 8. 1736. He was married five times, in 1673, 1681, 1707. 1708 and 1720. His sons were: Jolin, born in 1675; Benjamin. 1677: Daniel. 1726; Rob- ert. Nov. 16, 1729: Elisha, Oct. 27. 1731 : and Na- thanicl. July 1, 1733. He also had seven daughters. (This family says Miss Caulkins, also removed to Wallingford).
(II) Jonathan Royce, son of Robert, the emi- grant, married at New London, in June. 1660. De- borah, daughter of Hugh Caulkins, and removed to Norwich. Conn., as one of the thirty-six proprie- tors of that town. He had seven daughters and three sons, the sons being: Jolin, born Nov. 9,
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