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 47
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91
Mathew Smith, the father of our subject, was born May 16, 1811, in Derby, and there learned the tanner's trade: he was also a farmer. For a few vears he conducted a tannery at Bethany, Conn., where he married Julia Sperry, daughter of Chileon Sperry, who was a native of that town, well and favorably known : he served as a captain during the war of 1812. After his marriage Mr. Smith de- cided to change his location, and about 1835 came to New Haven, engaging for some years as clerk in a grocery and meat store. He then entered the en- ploy of Gorham & Peck. the bakery firm, in York street, with whom he continued one year. He next engaged in the bakery business with William A. Ives under the firm name of Ives & Smith, and later a stock company known as the New Haven Baking Co. was formed. This business was continued un- til Mr. Smith sold out, his son, our subject, conduct- ing the same business on State street. The family born to Mathew Smith consisted of three children, of whom Charles is the only survivor. Davis C.
1
20!
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
was a resident of New Haven. Emily F. married Frank Wilson and is now deceased ; he is postmas- ter at Brooklyn, N. Y., a public man, prominent in legal circles.
Charles C. Smith, our subject, was born July 17. 1842, in New Haven, and there spent his first thir- teen years. In the winters he attended school in New Haven, and during the summers worked on the farm in Bethany, thus continuing until he went into the bakery and thoroughly learned the business. Working hard he was very successful and is now the manager of the New Haven branch of the great National Biscuit Co. Eleven years ago he sold out to the trust and since then has had charge of this branch, having about fifty-two men on his payroll and doing an immense amount of business.
In 1863 Mr. Smith married Alice B. Hayes, of New Haven, and two children have been born to this union, Emily and Charles C., Jr. Until the last two national elections our subject was a Dem- ocrat, but he now votes with the Republican party. Mr. Smith has taken a prominent part in the mili- tary organizations of New Haven ; for twelve years was a member of the militia, and was first lieutenant and captain of the New Haven Light Guards while Gov. Buckingham was in the chair. A handsome sword, whicht Mr. Smith highly prizes, was given him by his company Sept. 27, 1867, as a token of the high esteem in which he was held.
Mr. Smith has for many years been prominently connected with fraternal orders, being a thirty-sec- ond degree Mason, member of Wooster Lodge, F. & A. M., of New Haven, New Haven Commandery, and the Shrine : he is also a member ( of thirty years standing) of the I. O. O. F., and took a uniformed company to Philadelphia in 1876: of the Knights Templar Club; the Red Men : and the Heptasophs. Religiously he and his family are connected with the Baptist Church. Mr. Smith is a fine represent- ative of the successful and popular business man of New Haven, energetic, progressive and enter- prising.
HON. GROVE HERRICK WILSON, M. D., · who for more than forty years was a resident of Meriden, and continuously and actively engaged in the practice of his profession, was one of the sub- stantial men of the city, and professionally took a high rank both in Meriden, and throughout the State.
- Dr. Wilson was born in the town of Stockbridge, Mass., March 25, 1824, a son of Joseph H. and Sally (Herrick) Wilson, and the grandson of Dr. Daniel Herrick, of Preston, Conn. On both sides he was descended from an historic ancestry, the Rev. William Wilson, D. D., being a paternal pro- genitor. This distinguished ancestor was a canon of his majesty's royal chapel, and was married to a daughter of the Puritan Archbishop Grindal. Their son, Rev. John Wilson, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Mansfield, and as one of the company
with Gov. Winthrop came to New England in 1630, becoming the first pastor of the church at Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Wilson numbered Henry Herrick among his maternal ancestors. That noted character was born in 1604, at Bean Manor, Leicestershire, England, and was a son of Sir William Herrick, who was the grandson of Rev. William Herrick, Chaplain of Edward VI, and minister to the Sub- lime Porte under Elizabeth. This ancestral line runs back to Eric the Forester, of the royal house of Denmark, whose long war with the Angles re- sulted in the cession to him of the counties of War- wick and Leicester, England. Henry Herrick prob- ably first landed in Virginia, where his father had mercantile ventures, but soon made his way to Massachusetts, where he settled on the Cape Ann side of the Bass river, the site of what is now Bever- lv, Mass. He and his wife, Edith, the daughter of Hugh Lackin, were among the thirty who founded the first church in Salem in 1629. His death oc- curred in 1671.
Dr. Wilson had the benefit of the public schools at Tyringham, and of Lee Academy, in Massachu- setts, where he was fitted for the profession of teach- ing, which he followed for a period in Massachu- setts and in Delaware. Deciding upon medicine as his life work, he studied with this object in view, and was graduated in 1849 from the Berkshire Medical Institute, an old and famous Massachusetts school, locating in the practice of his profession at North Adams, Mass., where about two years later he adopted the system of homeopathy, beginning its use in North Adams and Conway. In 1857 he re- moved to Meriden, where he followed his profes- sional activities to the time of his death, Jan. 10, 1902. In coming to Meriden he came to a pleasant country village of some 3.000 people, and lived to see it develop into a great manufacturing center of many thousand people, being an active participant in all that contributed to make it the Meriden of to-day. The Doctor and his professional skill were widely known, his practice extending beyond the city and state limits. None were more successful in the practice of medicine in Meriden than Dr. Wil- son, his practice at one time embracing more than two-thirds of the town's grand list. A frequent contributor of papers to medical journals, which have been widely published and thoroughly discussed, he was known as a man of rare attain- ments and genuine skill. Dr. Wilson published a monogram in 1882, in which he established the epi- demic nature of intermittent fevers in New Eng- land. Through these papers he gained fame and distinction as a scientist. In addition to frequent lectures on natural science. he expounded the prin- ciples of the telephone and phonograph two years prior to the production of these instruments by Edi- son. The "Aural Masseur" was invented by him, an instrument for treating deafness by actual vibra- tion of the internal ear.
202
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Notwithstanding the constant demands upon his time, Dr. Wilson gave much thought to the improve- ment of the educational system of the town. His persistent advocacy of free schools resulted in the abolition in 1863 of the rate bill, making the city schools absolutely free to every child in the town. The success of this beneficent plan induced the State Legislature to extend the same privilege two years later to all children of the Commonwealth. As sug- gested in the above, Dr. Wilson extended a gener- ous support to all enterprises that looked to the pub- lic welfare. He was a member of the State board of health for many years, and also served as coroner, or, as it is technically called, the medical examiner, of the town of Meriden. In 1880 and 1882 he was elected to represent his town in the General As- sembly, and served both terms with honor to his constituency and credit to himself. Dr. Wilson was a member of the local board of education almost continuously since the founding of the high school, an institution largely due to his efforts. In 1892 he was elected mayor of Meriden on the Republican ticket, and wrote a good record of himself in the administration of the business of the city.
Dr. Wilson was a life-long Mason and enjoyed the distinction of having been the first Eminent Commander of St. Elmo Commandery, Knights Templar. His elevation to the rank of Grand Com- mander .of the Grand Commandery quickly fol- lowed. He took the thirty-second degree, in La- fayette Consistory, and was a member of Pyramid Temple.
Although somewhat independent in regard to theological systems, he never failed to support the preaching of the gospel, and held to a rigid moral- ity in all the ways of life. His religious sentiments were exalted, and his thoughts upon such subjects profound and liberal. They often found expression in his social and professional life. Dr. Wilson served on the Building Committee of the First Con- gregational Church of Meriden, which is one of the finest in the State, and the building was greatly embellished by his artistic taste and his effort to elevate its architecture. The finely ornamented cap- itals, designed by him, are examples of his love for this work, and show his knowledge of sacred sym- bolism, expressing in carved and enduring stonc the course of natural and revealed religion in the human heart. Dr. Wilson had a genial and benevo- lent nature, was a ready conversationalist, loving controversial discussions, but was withal conserva- tive in his speech and action, and was justly held an influential and popular citizen.
Dr. Grove H. Wilson and Miss Margaret A .. the daughter of John Adams, of Pencader Hundred, Del., were married Nov. 30, 1848. They had one son, Edgar A., who graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1881, with the degree of M. D., and after practicing his profession several years at Rockville, became associated with his father in Meriden.
DR. EDGAR A. WILSON is specially known as an oculist and aurist, and for so young a man has won a most enviable and creditable standing. His schooling began in the city schools of Meriden, was continued at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H., from which school he was graduated in 1872. Entering Yale, he was making rapid progress, but this was interfered with by a severe illness. which compelled him to abandon study for a long period. On his restoration to health he entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated, as al- . ready mentioned. At Rockville he was engaged in the practice of his profession until 1888. In that vear he removed to Meriden, and practiced with his. father until 1893. The young Doctor took a special course, in the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, where he was four years .special physician, becom- ing so interested in the work that he has devoted himself since that time to the Eye and Ear.
Dr. Edgar A. Wilson was married in 1883 to Ida M. Beach, a native of Meriden, and a daughter of George and Lydia ( Redfield) Beach. To this union were born: (1) George Herrick, who died in 1891 ; (2) Leslie Adams, born in 1886; (3) Grove- Herbert, died in 1892. Dr. Wilson is a member of the Blue Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Meriden, and belongs to the R. A., and the I. O. H. For ten- years past he has been the town health officer, and the city health officer for five years. He belongs. to the hospital staff of physicians, and is a member of the New Haven County Public Health Associa- tion, having been one of its founders, and secretary since its organization.
CHARLES F. SMITH was born in Orange, June 6, 1836, a son of Jesse Gould and Susan ( Fow- ler) Smith. The line of descent on his father's side is as follows :
George Smith, one of the original settlers of New Haven, moved to West Haven (then called West Farms) about 1655. He built a house near where now stands the brick house built by Isaac Hine, on Water street. He was married in 1642, and was the father of ten children as follows : Sam- uel, Ebenezer, Joseph, Nathan, Thomas, John, Sarah, Hannah, Mercv, Elizabeth. From the six sons nearly all of the Smiths in West Haven have descended.
Nathan Smith, son of George, was born in 1656, lived in the house built by his father, and died there- in 1726. His children were: Amy, born in 1683; Mahitable, 1698; and Andrew, 1701.
Andrew Smith, son of Nathan, married Mercy Painter. Their children were: Eunice. Nathan, Hannah, Mabel, Andrew and Rebecca. He lived in the same house that his grandfather built, and died there in 1789.
Nathan Smith, son of Andrew, born in 1733. died in 1807. He married Sarah, eldest daughter of Samuel Sherman, who lived on the south side of the Meloy road, on the hill. Nathan Smith built his
203
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
house, which is still standing in the hollow, on the same road; it is of the lean-to style of architecture. He was a deacon in the Congregational Church in West Haven for several years. In 1770 he planted a row of Elin trees on the West side of the Green, only three of which are now standing. He had six children : Thomas, Gould, Nathan, Sarah, Persis and Lucy.
Gould Smith, son of Deacon Smith, married Susanna, daughter of Oliver Smith. This Oliver Smith descended from Ebenezer, son of the first settler, George. Gould Smith's father gave him a farm and built him a house on the hill, North side of Meloy's road. After his death the house was moved across the road, and is now occupied by Han- nah Meloy. In 1799, Gould Smith was commis- sioned Captain of the State militia. His children were: Oliver, Lyman, Jesse Gould, Katrina, Susan and Louisa. He died in 1800.
Jesse Gould Smith, son of Capt. Gould, was born in 1795, and was five years old when his fa- ther died. He lived with Capt. Candee. a farmer (whose house stood near the southwest corner of the West Haven Green), for eleven years, after which he spent six years in New Haven learning the saddler's trade. He then worked in a book- binders shop three years, was superintendent of a farm in Woodbridge six years, and manager of his sister Susan's farm in Orange until his marriage. On April 20, 1834, he married Susan Fowler, daugh- ter of William H. Fowler, of Milford. At that time he bought of Peter Prudden, the farm on the Wepa- waug river, four miles north of the churches in Mil- ford, where he spent the remainder of his days, en- tering into rest Aug. 5, 1870. He was active in both Church and town affairs, holding positions of responsibility and trust in each. His children were : William Gould, born March 4. 1835; and Charles Fowler, the subject of this sketch.
: William Gould Smith left the farm in early life to engage in mercantile business in New Haven, keeping a fruit and confectionery store on the south- east corner of Chapel and Church streets. for four years. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the 7th Conn. V. I. and rose from the rank of sergeant to that of lieutenant. He served throughi- out the struggle and was honorably discharged. After the close of the war he went West. and was engaged for several years in transporting goods by wagon from the then terminus of the Pacific rail- road to Denver, a distance of some six hundred miles. Later he ran a cattle ranch on the Marias river, near Fort Benton, Mont., where he died in 1892.
Charles F. Smith's ancestors on his mother's side were as follows : William Fowler, the magis- trate, one of the first settlers of Milford, came from England with Eaton, Davenport, Prudden and other Puritans for the sake of religious liberty. He died in 1660, advanced in years.
William Fowler, Jr., son of the magistrate, mar-
ried Mary, daughter of Edward Tapp, and sister of Gov. Robert Treat's wife. He was appointed Cap- tain of militia in 1673, and was a member of the House of Deputies from 1673 to 1680. His chil- dren were: Sarah, Hannah, John, Jonathan, Mark. Deborah, Abagail, William and Mercy. William Fowler, Jr., died in 1684.
John Fowler, third child of William, Jr., born in 1649, married Sarah Welch. They had only one child, John called Capt. John or Esquire Fowler.
Capt. John Fowler, son of John, born in 1690, married Susanna Burwell, by whom he had four children, one son and three daughters, viz .: Susan- na, Margaret, John and Sarah. He began public life at an early age, and was active in it up to his death. He was town clerk of Milford from 1718 to 1756, a member of the General Assembly for twenty-three years, and clerk of the House with but two exceptions during that period; in 1739 he was appointed, by the Assembly, captain of the First Company, Milford Train Band. He lived on the old homestead of the first William, dying there in 1756.
John Fowler, son of Capt. John, was born in 1717, and died in 1781. In 1742 he married Mary Newton, and they had two children, Susanna and John. He succeeded his father as town clerk in 1756, and filled that office until 1774. He was a deputy to the General Assembly from 1759 to 1775: commissioned captain of the Second Company, Mil- ford Train Band, in the Second Regiment, and served his country by raising troops for the Con- tinential army.
John Fowler, Jr., son of John and Mary (New- ton ) Fowler, born in 1748, married Mary Ann Har- pin, granddaughter of Dr. John Harpin, in 1768. Their children were: John, William H. and Mark. He was a captain in the Continental Army in 1778 and 1780.
William H. Fowler, son of the above, born in 1775, was married in 1796 to Sally, daughter of Capt. Charles Pond and sister of Gov. Charles H. Pond. Their children were: Mary, Martha, Susan, Sally, Jolin W., Charlotte and Ann. He was ex- tensively engaged in commerce and ship-building, and was an enterprising self-made man. At about fifty years of age he retired from commercial life to the more quiet pursuit of agriculture, and until late in life filled positions of trust, such as member of the Legislature, and selectman of the town, also set- tling estates, etc. He died in 1863.
Susan Fowler, third daughter of William H. Fowler, and mother of Charles F. Smith, was a school teacher for several years. teaching in Wheel- er's Farms, Allingtown, and in the fourth school dis- trict in Orange until she married Jesse Gould Smith, in 1834. She was born in 1802, and died in 1894.
Charles F. Smith passed his early years upon his father's farm, and his education was received in the common schools. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having served in the 27th Conn. V. I., which
204
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
regiment was attached to the 2d Corps, Army of the Potomac, and participated in many battles which have become historic, among them those of Fred- ericksburg and Chancellorsville. He was taken prisoner at Chancellorsville, and incarcerated in the famous Libby Prison, in Richmond, for a short time, was paroled and sent to parole camp near Alex- andria until his term of enlistment expired, when he was honorably discharged. After he returned from the war Mr. Smith conducted the old home farm for his father until the latter's death, when he came into its ownership. There he remained, carrying on general farming, but making a specialty of seed- growing, until 1894, when he sold the place and bought a fine residence on Center street, West Ha- ven, where he has since lived in retirement and ease.
Mr. Smith has repeatedly been placed in posi- tions of trust and responsibility. While living in Orange parish he was for nine years general finan- cier of the Ecclesiastical Society, making all of the collections and paying all of the bills, handling some $13,000, gratuitously. He has served as constable, justice of the peace, member of the board of edu- . cation, registrar of voters, and for eleven years as selectman. In 1875 and 1876 he represented his town in the Legislature.
In 1866, Mr. Smith married Mary, daughter of Nathan and Catherine Tomlinson, of Milford. They have two daughters : ( 1) Susie, born in 1867,married Clifford E. Treat, of Orange, in 1891, and has had three children : Charles F., born in 1895; Harold, born in 1896, died in 1897; and Elbee J., born in 1899. (2) Minniehaha, born in 1873, is a graduate of the State Normal School at New Britain, class of 1890, and has been a teacher for ten years, six in West Haven and four in New Haven.
FRANCIS ATWATER (a descendant of David, the pioneer, and son of Henry Atwater), author, publisher, printer, organizer of street rail- roads, member of the American Publishers' Asso- ciation and the National Typcthetæ, president of the Meriden Board of Trade, publisher of the first all-American daily newspaper in Cuba, author of the History of Plymouth, Conn., and Kent, Conn., and of the Atwater History and Genealogy, is the subject of this biography. His lifelong friend and companion, Lew Allen, says of him :
"The greater part of his life has been passed as a resident of the city of Meriden, Conn., and as a newspaper worker. There is no branch of news- paper work with which he is not thoroughly fa- miliar, from printer's devil to editor and publisher. In his youth he learned the trade of a printer, and so proficient did he become that while still a boy of only sixteen years he had charge of the me- chanical department of the Recorder, then the lead- ing paper of Meriden, and at the age of twenty he established the Windermere Weekly Forum, in Wallingford, Conn .. which he published for one year, until it was sold. Subsequently, for a time.
he was assistant foreman of the composing-room of the Hartford Courant, one of the oldest and best- known journals of New England.
"Later Mr. Atwater went West for his health. to Red Bluff, Cal., and there gained additional experience, as manager of the Red Bluff ( Tehama Co., Cal.) Sentinel. Upon his return to Meriden he established a large job printing office. Then he embarked in journalism on his own account, pub- lishing the Meriden Sunday News. But a once-a- week newspaper did not afford him an active enough field, and upon the demise of the Meriden Evening Press Mr. Atwater hastened to occupy the field, launching the Meriden Daily Journal in connection with several friends, they forming The Journal Publishing Co. about 1886.
"Mr. Atwater brought to bear upon the journal all the ability and experience he possessed, and the result was that the enterprise proved one of the most successful in the history of New England daily journalism. Froni the start the paper was prosperous, and year by year it grew until to-day it is one of the best paying properties in its line in the State. It occupies its own fire-proof build- ing in the business center of Meriden, and is com- pletely equipped, not only as a newspaper, with fast presses, typesetting machines and stereotyping out- fit, but also as regards a book and job printing plant, a book bindery and an electrotyping de- partment, second to none in Connecticut. Mr. At- water is the first and only president of The Journal Publishing Co., and from its inception he has been the controlling manager. His special department has been the mechanical, but in every branch his in- fluence has been felt, and every detail has come un- der his watchful. experienced eye.
"All his life Mr. Atwater has devoted himself strictly to business. Except as a newspaper man, he has taken no part in politics, and he has sought no political office. By means of the Journal he helped organize the Meriden Board of Trade, and in due time ne was elected its president, a posi- tion he still holds. Shortly after his election, in casting about for some enterprise that would benefit Meriden, the project of building an electric rail- way in a westerly direction over the West moun- tain to the town of Southington, a distance of eight miles, occurred to him. Upon investigation lte found that a charter for such a road had been secured only a few months before, but nothing more had been done, owing to the difficulty in securing the necessary capital to build the road-a sum in the neighborhood of $220,000. Mr. Atwater im- mediately proceeded to organize the Meriden, Southington & Compounce Tramway Company, be- stirred himself to interest capitalists in the enter- prise, and in an incredibly short time had the necessary money raised, and the construction of the road was begun. Mr. Atwater gave personal su- pervision to the work, and in sixty working days trolley cars were making regular trips between
-
yours truly Frances Atwater
205
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Southington and Meriden, greatly to the satisfac- tion of the residents of both places, and especially the merchants of Meriden. Later the road was ex- tended to Lake Compounce, one of the most beauti- ful summer resorts in the State, and now the thou- sands who go there daily for recreation during the season have cause to bless the foresight and skill of the one who made possible such a pleasant trip. Financially the road has been equally successful, having paid dividends to its stockholders for years.
"Upon the end of the Spanish-American war Mr. Atwater was requested by Miss Clara Barton, of Red Cross fame and honor, an old family friend who knew liim from childhood, to accompany her to Cuba, where she went to establish asylums for the unfortunate reconcentrados, and act as her financial agent. Desiring to get away for a vacation, Mr. Atwater went with her. While in Havana he saw an opportunity to establish a newspaper there. He embraced it and the Havana Journal was started, the first all-American daily journal in Cuba. He retained control of the Journal until he received a handsome offer for it, when he sold it to a syndi- cate which still publishes it under the name of the Havana Post. Another newspaper venture of Mr. Atwater was located near home at New Britain, Conn. He bought the Daily News of that city, until the time came to dispose of it to advantage, which he did. He next bought the Waterbury Republican, the only morning paper in the Nauga- tuck Valley, and is still its owner.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.