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 24
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Gen. Harmon is a strong Republican in his political relations, and his genial and warm-hearted nature has won him a host of friends. From July, 1873, to October, 1874, he served as police commis- sioner, and was alderman in 1879 and 1880. For several years he was chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, and his discharge of the duties of the position was a brilliant success. Under his leadership the party never lost a battle. During the administration of Gov. Bigelow Gen. Harmon was adjutant general of the State, and it was largely due to his representations that the General Assem- bly voted $200,000 to provide suitable armories for the National Guard. Gen. Harmon did much to se- cure the construction of the breakwater in the har- bor, offering and advocating in the city council a resolution for a committee to go to Washington to secure a breakwater from the National Government. He is a member of the New York Commandery of the Loyal Legion.
Gen. Harmnon was married May 10, 1861, to Mary A. Baldwin, who was born Jan. 12, 1834. daughter of Darius and Theresa (Dorman) Bald- win. To this union have come children as follows: (1) George H. died at the age of twenty years and five months. (2) Mary L. is the wife of Charles E. Hellier, of Boston, and has four children, Louise, Walter, Edwin and John. (3) William is the secre- tary, treasurer and main stockholder of the Pond Lilly Laundry Co. He married Mary, daughter of Dr. Cargill, and is the father of two children, Mar- garet and William. (4) Frank, who is associated with his father in the men's furnishings store on Chapel street, is one of the prominent young men of the city, and the store ranks among the up-to-date ones in New Haven. (5) Edwin is associated with his brother William in the Pond Lilly Co.
Mrs. Mary A. Harmon is a descendant of one of the New England families. Richard Baldwin, a na- tive of Buckinghamshire, England, came early to New England. He was a son of Sylvester and Sarah ( Byron) Baldwin, the father dying in 1638, on the passage across the ocean in the ship "Martin." Richard Baldwin's name appears on the records at Milford, Conn .. in 1639. He is recorded as a man of character and standing, and took part in public af- fairs. In 1643 he married Elizabeth Alsop, and he died in 1665. From this emigrant ancestor Mrs.
Harmon is in the seventh generation, her line of de- scent being through Barnabas, Timothy, Enoch, Alexis, and Darius.
HON. EDWARD NELSON SHELTON, whose death occurred at his home in Derby Sept. 16, 1894, was through a long lifetime one of the town's most prominent business men and sub- stantial and useful citizens.
Born Sept. 4, 1812, at the old Shelton home- stead-the home for generations of his ancestors- in the town of Huntington, Fairfield Co., Conn., Mr. Shelton, was the son of Joseph and Charity ( Lewis) Shelton, and a representative of sturdy New England stock of the Colonial period. among whom were men of rare quality and distinction.
( [) Daniel Shelton, the paternal emigrant an- cestor of the family and the founder in this coun- try of the Connecticut Sheltons, was a merchant in England. He came to New England in 1685, prob- ablly in the spring of that year, and located in Stratford, Conn. In 1692 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Welles, and granddaughter of Hon. Thomas Welles, of Wethersfield, Conn., one of the early governors of the Commonwealth. Mr. Shelton resided in the village of Stratford until about 1707, when he settled at Long Hill, now the town of Huntington, in Fairfield county. Here he died in 1728, his widow surviving until 1747. when she died aged seventy-seven years. Mr. Shelton was a large landholder owning land in Stratford, Stamford, Farmington, Oxford, Woodbury and Derby, and was an original, though non-resident, proprietor of Waterbury.
From this settler. Daniel Shelton, our subject was a descendant in the fifth generation. his lire be- ing through Joseph, William and Joseph Shel- ton (2).
(II) Joseph Shelton, son of Daniel the settler, born in 1698, married in 1726, Mary, born in 1704, daughter of Joseph and Ann Hollister, of Glaston- bury, Conn. Mr. Shelton and family lived at Long Hill, where he and his wife died in 1782.
(III) William Shelton, son of Joseph, born in 1739. married in 1764. Susan, daughter of Thomas Strong. of Brook Haven. L. I., and a descendant of Elder Jolin Strong, of the Dorchester ( Mass.) Colony : of Elder Brewster of the Mayflower; and of Roger Ludlow, Deputy Governor of Massachu- setts. Mr. Shelton lived at Long Hill, and died in 1812.
(IV) Joseph Shelton (2). son of William. born Aug. 27. 1765, married Nov. 24. 1791. Charity, daughter of Stephen Lewis, of Stratford, Conn., and to them were born eight children. three daugh- ters and five sons. The family lived at the home- stend. Long Hill, later the town of Huntington. His death occurred Sept. 1, 1848, when aged eighty- three years.
Edward Nelson Shelton, son of Joseph and the
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subject proper of this sketch, was reared on his father's farm and had good educational advantages. He attended the schools of his native town, the Derby Academy, and the then celebrated Scientific School of Capt. Partridge at Middletown, the last year of its existence, and also attended a course of lectures during one winter at Yale College. In the spring of 1836, Mr. Shelton associated with the late Nathan C. Sanford, both then men of some means, became identified with the new village of Birmingham, which was founded two years prev- iously. They began the manufacture of tacks, nails, etc., and built a factory on the north side of Main street. The business prospered, but in June. 1841, Mr. Sanford died, universally lamented, and the business was continued under the name of E. N. Shelton until in 1854, when the Shelton Company was formed with a capital of $80,000, which later was increased to $100,000. The plant at Birmingham being too small, a branch factory was operated in Shelton, to which place the entire business was transferred in later years. Mr. Shdl- don continued to be identified with the business of this company throughout his long active business life, and the great success of the concern was due largely to his careful and judicious management. The plant now consists of a half dozen buildings, or more, in which are manufactured small bolts. tacks and small nails, and in which are employed between one and two hundred hands. This is one of the leading industries of the locality.
During the more than fifty years of an active business life Mr. Shelton was identified with vari- ous business interests, corporations and enter- prises outside of the Shelton Manufacturing Co., and his career was one of marked success. Prob- ably nothing, however, with which he was con- nected showed to the public his energy, persever- ance and ability as the project of building a dam Mr. Shelton lived to see in a measure the pre- dictions of Dr. Beardsley verified, and was an act- ive participant in all that followed. Identifying himself with the village of Birmingham in its in- fancy, he saw it rise to a city of ten thousand or more. He was the chief founder of the city now bearing his name, and which he aided materially in developing into a great manufacturing point with its more than a score of industries, and having a business rated at upwards of $2,000,000, and em- ploying more than 2,000 hands. Mr. Shelton's heart and interests were largely in Birmingham and Shelton, and to their growth and development he gave greatly of his energies and means. He pos- sessed keen business foresight, prudence and great public spirit, and it was his desire that whatev .1 was best for the benefit of the many should be ac- complished. He was generous and gave liberally to the Church and its benevolences, and to worthy objects. He was an carnest member of the Episco- pal Church, the church of his ancestors. A man of across the Housatonic river at Birmingham. The river is, next to the Connecticut and Merrimac, the most powerful river in New England, drain- ing about 2,000 square miles of land, in which are many mountain lakes and springs, having a con- stant flow. It is estimated that, in consequence of these conditions, the average flow at Birmingham, at lowest water, yields 2,500 horse power for twelve hours per day. The curbing of such a vast volume of water was an effort of no small magnitude. The question of damming the river was agitated in 1838, and in 1839 the Legislature authorized an improve- ment of the power at Birmingham and Shelton, but would not allow a dam to be built. Hence the mat- ter was allowed to rest until a more liberal charter could be secured. This was granted in 1864, and two years later the Ousatonic Water Co. was organ- ized under its provisions. By this company, which embraced among its members the leading manu- facturers of Birmingham, the dam at Shelton was built, though not until some had become disheart- , honor and strict integrity he was a true friend and
ened, because so many obstacles beset the under- taking. Others persevered and were richly re- warded in the ownership of one of the finest water powers in the State. The work was begun in 1867 and completed in 1870. The dam is a solid mass of masonry 22 feet high and has an entire lengtli of 800 feet, 637 feet being in the river proper. This project was a long cherished one with Mr. Shelton who early foresaw the great result that would fol- low. At the organization of the Ousatonic Water Co., in 1866, Mr. Shelton was chosen its president, a position he held until his death in 1894. The burden of the building of the dam fell upon the president, and to Mr. Shelton's efforts the accom- plishment of the project was mainly due. The la- bor in connection with it was varied and arduous; first was the securing.of the land, then the obtain- ing the charter from the Legislature; next came the securing of the capital and the supervision of the work in all its details. The following ex- tracts from the speech of Dr. A. Beardsley, de- livered on the occasion of the celebration of the completion of the dam in 1870 is not out of place in this connection :
For the success of this work, thus far, we are under greater and more lasting obligations to the president of the Company, Mr. Edward N. Shelton, I was about to say, than all others combined. He has not only largely invested his fortune here, but for more than three years, day and night, this " dam of dams " has hung like an incu- bus on his mind, but with an iron will and devotedness of purpose, with an eye single to success, he has braved every obstacle in his way, and without his exertions this water power might have remained idle for ages and we not have been here to-day rejoicing. The building of this dam will form a new era in the history of old Derby and Hunting- ton. I do not expect to live to see the results expected, but there are those within the sound of my voice, who may yet see in reality what I see in imagination, the rising glory of the city which is to line these shores and cover these hillsides as the "waters cover the sea."
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a wise counsellor. Mr. Shelton was chosen presi- dent at its organization of the old Manufacturer's Bank in 1848, which later became the Birmingham National, and remained its executive head until his death. Although elected to the State Senate and serving with ability in that body in 1869, he had no taste nor liking for politics or public office.
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Mr. Shelton was married to Mary Jane, born Sept. 28, 1819, daughter of Linson and Jane De Forest, and the union was blessed with children as follows: (1) Edward De Forest, who for years has been identified with the Shelton Company, and since his father's death, been its executive head and treasurer, is one of the leading business men of the Naugatuck Valley, and is here claimed, though now a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y. (2) Elizabeth Eugene, born July 31, 1841, married Thomas L. Cornell, and died Oct. 13, 1881.
THE YALE FAMILY, of whom the late Hor- ace Yale, a worthiv citizen of Meriden, was a de- scendant, is an old family of Connecticut.
(1) Thomas Yale, son of David and Ann, was born about 1616, in England, or Wales. David Yale was the descendant of an ancient and wealthy family of that name in Wales. He married. in 1613, Ann, daughter of Bishop Morton, and died prob- ably before middle age, leaving three children, David, Ann and Thomas. In 1618 the mother be- came the wife of Theophilus Eaton, then an opu- lent merchant in London, and with him and a large company of other emigrants, including her three children by David Yale. embarked on board the "Hector" for America, arriving at Boston, Mass., June 26, 1637, and at New Haven (then Quin- nipiac) April 14, 1638. Thomas Yale married, in 1645, Mary, daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Turner, of Lynn, Mass., in 1630, and of New Haven in 1638. Thomas Yale came to America in 1637, with Gov. Eaton and others, and settled in New Ha- ven as a merchant in 1638, with an estate of £300. Later he purchased lands in that part of New Ha- ven afterward North Haven, and settled on them as early as 1660. He was one of the principal men of the Colony, a signer of the Plantation Covenant of New Haven, and filled with honor many offices of trust. He died March 27, 1683. aged sixty- seven years. Mrs. Yale died Oct. 15, 1704.
(II) Capt. Thomas Yale (2), son of Thomas (also called "Captain"), born about 1647, in New Haven, married (first) Dec. 11, 1667, Rebecca, daughter of William Gibbards, of New Haven, and ! she was the mother of his children. About two years after his first marriage he, with others, be- gan to agitate the settlement of Wallingford, to which place he removed in 1670, with a small band of other adventurers, under the guidance and di- rection of the New Haven committee. By the rec- ords of Wallingford it appears that he was one of the most active and energetic men among them. He assisted in the formation of the Church, and in 1
the call of the first and second ministers. He was a justice of the peace, captain of the trainband, etc. He died at Wallingford Jan. 26, 1736, aged eighty- nine years.
(III) Nathaniel Yale, son of Capt. Thomas (2), born July 12, 1681, married Anna Peck, born in 1685, daughter of John Peck, of Wallingford. He was a farmer and settled in that part of the town now known as Meriden. He died Dec. II, 1711, and his widow became the wife of Joseph Cole, of Wallingford, and died in 1716.
(IV) Abel Yale, son of Nathaniel, born March 9, 1707, married ( first ) July 22, 1730, Esther Cook, and (second) June 3, 1742, Sarah Atkins, of Mid- dletown. Mr. Yale purchased a homestead on East Main street, about three-fourths of a mile cast of Broad street, Meriden, which was occupied for five generations by this family. When the people of the Meriden parish decided to settle the first minister, Rev. Theophilus Hall, they offered him choice among their farms. He selected that of Abel Yale, in what is now Curtis street, the present Willard Hall place, and Mr. Yale purchased the homestead above referred to. in East Main street. By oc- cupation Abel Yale was a farmer. He died April 8, 1784, and Mrs. Yale dicd Dec. 20, 1800.
(V) .Daniel Yale, son of Abel, born July 24, 1750, occupied the paternal estate, which remained in the possession of descendants till the year 1867. He married, Feb. 1. 1781, Phebe Mariams, of Meriden, who died Nov. 17. 1835. The original house where all his children were born was a short distance east of the present one now owned by John Aubrey, and is noticeable because of its unusual distance from the street. At the time of its build- ing, by Daniel Yale, near the year 1800. he was told that he should place his house with reference to the change in the road that was likely to be made when the Middletown turnpike should be laid out, but he declared that no turnpike would ever go through his meadow, and placed his residence facing the old road which formerly passed a short distance south of the house. But the turnpike -- harbinger of the canal, railroad, electric car tracks and bicycle path-was inevitable, and thus it came to pass than Daniel Yale's new house soon stood with its back door facing the street. In 1776 Daniel Yale, then twenty-six years of age, enlisted in Cap- tain John Couches' Company in the parish of Meri- den. This company was assigned as part of Brad- ley's Battalion. Wadsworth's Brigade. Bradley's Battalion was stationed during the greater part of the summer and early fall of 1776 at Bergen Heights and Paulus Hook (now Jersey City). In October it moved up the river to the vicinity of Fort Lee, then under Gen. Green's command. In November most of the regiment were sent across to assist in defending Fort Washington, which on the fall of the fort, November 16, was captured with the entire garrison. After his discharge from service, when on the journey home, which was
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made on foot, Daniel Yale and his companion were taken with smallpox and endured great suffering before reaching a place of shelter. After traveling till their feet were blistered, an aged woman took them in and cared for them. Daniel Yale was a man of sterling integrity and decided opinions. He had a forcible manner of expressing his views, es- pecially on the subject of religion. It is thought in theology his ideas were those of a Universalist. He was a cooper and supported his family of eight children by carrying on this trade in connection with farming. Daniel Yale died March 28. 1834. Although he had four sons, there is only one of the fifth generation who bears the name, Walker Asa Yale, son of Samuel P. Yale, of New Haven. (VI) Abel Yale, son of Daniel, was born June 15, 1788, and was blessed with an unusually happy, jovial nature. He engaged in farming in Meriden on the old homestead. On Oct. 3, 1816. he married Polly Austin, who died Aug. 15, 1840, aged forty- eight years. On Aug. 15. 1841, he married. Lucy Booth. Abel Yale died Sept. 23, 1859. His chil- dren were: Henry, born July 8. 1817. was married April 29, 1862, to Sarah Elizabeth Waring, who was born in Greenwich, Conn .. Dec. 17, 1826: he was a britannia manufacturer in New York. died in Meriden Oct. 14, 1868, and his remains rest in Greenwich. Austin, born April 14, 1819, died April 30, 1822. Horace is mentioned below.
(VII) HORACE YALE was born June 17. 1826. in Meriden, grew up on the paternal farm, and received his education in the local schools. Later he learned the trade of stone-mason, and was en- gaged several years as foreman in that line. His next employment was in the Meriden Britannia factory, under I. C. Lewis, and he was subsequent- ly with the Meriden Britannia Co., where he con- tinued many years. He died Dec. 25, 1895, at his home on West Main street, Meriden, and was laid to rest in Walnut Grove cemetery. Mr. Yale en- joyed the highest reputation as a man of indus- trious habits, honest and upright in his dealings with his fellowmen, and a Christian in all the re- Iations of life. A loving husband and father, do- mestic in his habits, and devoted to his family. he was deeply mourned in his immediate home circle. and was also greatly missed in various fields of usefulness. In religions connection he was a de- vout member of the Main street Baptist Church, in which he served for a time as deacon. He was strictly temperate, belonged to the Independent Or- der of Good Templars, and voted the Prohibition ticket.
two years in Meriden and Southington. Having a great desire to study art she gave up the teach- er's profession, studied at the Art Students League in New York, and is now absorbed in her work at her studio, 208 West Main street, Meriden. She united with the Main street Baptist Church, of which Mrs. Yale is a member, and belongs to the society of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution, holding membership in Ruth Hart Chapter. Mrs. Yale is a woman of a retiring nature and firm Christian character, wielding a quiet influ- ence for good over all who know her.
ROBERT TREAT MERWIN has, in his iden- tification of nearly fifty years with the real-estate business in New Haven, placed himself among that . city's very oldest business men in point of service. Certainly there is no citizen of New Haven whose long business career has been any more character- ized by strictly upright and honorable methods.
Mr. Merwin was born Jan. 26, 1838, and was named after Gov. Treat. He comes from one of the oldest families of New Haven county, one that has been identified with Milford from the earliest his- tory of that town. The Merwin family were among the earliest settlers of Milford, and our subject is descended from Thomas Merwin, one of three brothers who came from Wales. Amy (Treat) Merwin, the grandmother of our subject, was a granddaughter of Gov. Robert Treat, of Connect- icut.
Ira Merwin, father of Robert T., was reared in Milford, and when a young man came to New Haven to learn the trade of a joiner, which was his occupation for many years. In 1849 he went into the real-estate business in New Haven, and followed the same until his death, at the age of sixty-five. He was a man of much strength of character, and at one time served as alderman in New Haven. As president of the Building Association he constructed many houses, several of the best in the city. A prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, he served as grand master, and was also a member of the Odd Fellows and the State militia. Mr. Merwin belonged to Fire Department No. 4. He was a ves- tryman in the Episcopal Church, and took a very active part in its affairs. He married Elizabeth C. Taylor, who was born in Suffield. and of their twelve children, Robert T. is the only one now liv- ing. Mrs. Merwin is remembered as a woman of grand character, alert in all the domestic duties of life, kind and thoughtful and self-sacrificing in her devotion to her numerous family. She was a mem- ber of the Episcopal Church, and died in the faith of that communion at the age of sixty-one years.
On May 29, 1853, Mr. Vale married Miss Caro- line M. Andrews, who was born in Cheshire, New Haven county, daughter of Hiram and Martha Robert Treat Merwin spent his early years in New Haven, and obtained his education at the com- mon schools. He entered the real-estate business at the age of fifteen years, in the office of his father, with whom he remained as long as that gentleman . Maria ( Hotchkiss) Andrews, and this union was blessed with one child. Charlotte Lilla, born March 14. 1855. She received her early education in Meriden and later graduated from the State Nor- mal school at New Britain, subsequently teaching | continned in active life. Since the death of his
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father Mr. Merwin has been alone in his office, and has lived to be the oldest man in the business in New Haven. When he began there were only three real-estate men in the city, and now there are over two hundred. Mr. Merwin has done much building for others and considerable for himself. At the present time he is handling a large amount of prop- erty, not only for others, but in his own interest as well. He has been called upon a number of times to testify as an expert in real-estate litigation, both in and out of the city, his opinion on real-estate val- ues probably carrying as much weight as that of any man in Connecticut. After his many years of busi- ness activity, Mr. Merwin's intellect is as keen and comprehensive as at any time in his life. He has always been a man of the most regular habits, strictly temperate. never a drinker or user of to- bacco. In his dealings with many thousand tenants his kindness and generosity have been frequently evidenced, for, though systematic and precise, he has a genuine sympathy for the poor, which he has many times shown in a substantial though quiet way. Always courteous and gentlemanly, he is the type of a citizen which reflects credit on even such an honored and distinguished family as the one from which he descends. He is one of the well- known and successful business men of his city. Mr. Merwin has never sought or held public office, al- ways finding his time taken up with business, after which his interest in his home comes first.
Mr. Merwin was married. in 1859, to Harriet P. Northrop, who was born in New Haven, in a house which stood on the present site of St. Thomas' Church. Her father. Rudolphus E. Northrop, was a carver, and died at the age of sixty. Her mother, Martha J. (Brown) Northrop, was born in New Haven. Mr. and Mrs. Northrop had three children who lived to adult age, and all are living at the present writing: Mrs. Wellman, a widow ; Harriet P .: and Edward A. B., who is in Kansas. Mrs. Northrop died in her seventieth year. The Nor- throps were members of St. Thomas Church, where they had pew rent free. To Mr. and Mrs. Mer- win have been born three children : ( 1) Alice N. married Albert W. Mattoon, a cigar manufacturer in New Haven, and is the mother of three children. Merwin, Robert T. and Lucien. (2) Edith L. is at home with her parents. (3) One child is deceased.
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