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 55
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HIRAM H. TAINTOR was one of the highly respected citizens of New Haven and probably the best known representative of that family in New Haven county during his life-time. He was born in East Haven, Conn., March 2, 1818, only child of Nathaniel and Mary (Hemingway) Taintor, both natives of East Haven, of whom the former died Aug. 25, 1848, and the latter Feb. 22, 1878, at the age of seventy-nine years.
Hiram H. Taintor was reared and educated in his native town, receiving such advantages as the common schools of his time afforded. He learned the carpenter's trade and for many years was con- nected with the firm of G. and T. Alling & Co., the well-known mill men of New Haven, his first iden- tification with the concern dating back to 1845. at which time the business was carried on by Leonard Pardee. The firm subsequently became Pardee & Morgan, and still later G. and T. Alling & Co. Mr. Taintor's connection with this establishment lasted through a period of thirty-eight years, or until 1883, at which time he retired from business. For a num- ber of years preceding his retirement he was one of the proprietors. His death occurred March 25, 1894, when he was aged seventy-six. In 1845 he married Ruth M. Hotchkiss, who passed away Aug. 31, 1849, aged twenty-seven. She was the mother of two children, of whom only one is now living, Hiram C., a sketch of whom follows. In 1853 he married Harriet I. Hazzard, who still survives at the age of eighty-four ( 1902). Hiram H. Taintor was a self-made man, owing his success in life en- tirely to his own efforts. He was of a retiring nature and never held or sought public office. He and his wife attended the Chapel Street Congre-
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gational Church, and bothi were highly esteemed members of the community.
HIRAM C. TAINTOR was born in New Haven March 25, 1849, and was educated in the common schools of that city. Early in life he became con- nected with the Mallory Wheeler Co. and was re- tained in their service some thirty years prior to 1900. The company manufactured general house trimmings and their establishment was very ex- tensive, employment being given to some four hun- dred men.
In 1876 Mr. Taintor married Miss Fanny A. Hemingway, daughter of Leverett G. and Rachel (Bailey) Hemingway, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Taintor became the par- ents of two children, one of whom survives: Ruth Hotchkiss, born June 25, 1888; Hattie, born Sept. 25, 1877, died March 23, 1892. Fraternally Mr. Taintor is a member of Wooster Lodge, No. 79, F. & A. M., of which he has been secretary two terms.
JOHN EDWARD DURAND, deceased. Among the former citizens of Meriden who are most reverently remembered, none have more justly re- ceived regretful testimonials from both public and private friends than the late John Edward Durand.
Mr. Durand was born April 9, 1833, in this State, which he so dearly loved and ably defended, being a native of the town of Cheshire, New Haven county. He was one of a family of fourteen chil- dren born to George A. and Eunice (Clark) Du- rand, the former of whom was of French descent. George A. Durand was a stone mason by trade, and made his home principally in Cheshire, where he died, a respected citizen and a member of the Con- gregational Church.
John Edward Durand attended school only up to the age of eleven years, at which time he went to Meriden from his Cheshire home, entering the em- ploy of his brother, with whom he remained for six years, engaged at the carpenter's and joiner's trade. During this period he was constantly making plans by which he could become more thoroughly educat- ed, saving enough from his small wages to enable him to attend a select school in the Hanover Dis- trict for one year. At the age of seventeen he went to Waterbury, and there secured employment in a sash and blind factory, where he continued for sev- enteen years. It was while so occupied that the urgent call was made for troops to quell what was at first hoped would be only a small rebellion, and, with other brave and loyal men, Mr. Durand laid aside his tools to take up the musket. On July 16, 1862, he enlisted as a soldier in Company C, 14th Conn. V. I., and went to the front under Capt. Sam- uel W. Carpenter, participating with his regiment in the battles of South Mountain. Sept. 14, 1862; Antietam, Sept. 19, 1862; Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; and Belle Plain Landing, where he was seri- ously injured. While he was on the deck of a transport taking out Government stores a heavy
sack fell from the top deck, crushing him. Al- thoughi seriously crippled, Mr. Durand bravely struggled along, marching sixteen miles in his in- jured condition, and when exhaustion compelled him to give up he was carried three miles by his comrades. His injuries made it necessary for him to go to the hospital, and he was sent to the Camp- bell hospital, in Washington, later being transferred to the Lincoln hospital; he was finally discharged on account of disability, April 12, 1863.
Mr. Durand never fully recovered from his in- juries, although soon after his return home he went back to his former business, remaining with his old firm until 1867. He spent one year in the clock fac- tory in Waterbury, and in 1868 came to Meriden. When the Steam Mill Lumber Co. was organized he was not only a stockholder, but also secretary and treasurer, with Alden Clark as president, and for three years he acted as superintendent of the mill. Later Mr. Durand started on the road as rep- resentative of C. P. Colt, selling drugs and medi- cines, and spent three years in that line, traveling all over the State. In 1874 he embarked in the real- estate business, and for twenty years was the capa- ble and reliable agent of William Rateliff Hicks, the well-known lawyer and real estate dealer of Meriden. Mr. Durand was the first pension agent in Meriden, and was long a notary public. Though naturally an active man, declining health, caused by his army life, made retirement a necessity, and he spent his last days without business responsibility. His death occurred July 29, 1899 ,and he was buried in the Brockett cemetery, at Waterbury, Connecti- cut.
Mr. Durand was a member of the Baptist Church, having been converted and baptized by Rev. Harvey Miller, at the age of fifteen years. At that time he joined the Center Baptist Church. On his return from Waterbury he united with the Main Street Church. Perhaps no man was ever more op- posed to the use of tobacco and strong liquors, and he never made use of either by precept and ex- ample constantly preaching temperance. His fra- ternal connections were with Meridian Lodge, No. 77, A. F. & A. M .; Merriam Post, No. 8, G. A. R., of Meriden ; and the Knights of the Golden Eagle ; and he was also a member of Hawley's Division of the Sons of Temperance, in Hartford. Although identified with the Republican party he never sought political honors, and was a man of quiet, domestic habits, who loved the privacy of his own home.
On June 4, 1854, John Edward Durand was united in marriage, by Rev. Harvey Miller, a well- known Baptist minister, to Miss Roxana Sophia Root, who was born in Waterbury, Conn., daughter of the late Mathew D. and Roxana ( Potter ) Root, the former of whom was born in New Marlboro, Mass., coming to Connecticut when still a young man. Locating in Waterbury, Mr. Root became a large land owner and farmer, and there passed the balance of his days, dying Sept. 11. 1884; he was buried in the Brockett cemetery, Waterbury. Mrs.
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Roxana ( Potter) Root was a daughter of Rev. Samuel Potter and his good wife Chloe ( Brockett ), both of whom came from old and honored families in the Naugatuck Valley, extended mention of whom may be found elsewhere. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Root: Eliza E., who married James Pierpont Langdon, of New Bruns- wick, N. J., both now deceased; Jane C., who died unmarried Jan. 30, 1901 ; Joseph S., who died at the age of forty-two years; Roxana S., widow of our subject ; Miss Marietta E., who resides with Mrs. Durand ; Edmund Silvanus, who died Dec. 30, 1862, while in the service of his country ; and Edwin M., who married Bessie Parsons, and resides in Meri- den. The beloved mother of this family passed away Dec. 27, 1893, and she rests in the Brockett cemetery in Waterbury.
Mrs. Durand is well known in Meriden and en- joys the esteem of all. Her devotion to her invalid husband for years is known to all, and while it dis- played natural affection it also exemplified the high- est traits of Christian character. As a member of the Main Street Baptist Church, she is a helper in all its charitable and benevolent work, and is one of the charter members of the Woman's Relief Corps of this city.
EMILY JOSEPHINE LEONARD, a ripe scholar and eminent botanist, whose death occurred at her home in Meriden on July 16, 1884, at the early age of forty-seven years, was one of the dis- tinguished characters of that city, and in her ac- complishments its citizens took a just pride.
Miss Leonard was born Aug. 21, 1837, in Stoughton, Mass., daughter of Jonathan J. Leon- ard, a strong-minded Quaker who in the early fif- ties came to Meriden and engaged in business. As a school girl Miss Leonard was pre-eminent, not only in her studies, but in the ease with which she mastered them. In 1878 she took the higher of the Harvard examinations for women. For several years she was engaged in teaching the higher branches in high schools and academies, and as a teacher she attained marked success, but in 1877 abandoned teaching for the wider fields of literature and, with- out in the least neglecting her severe studies, de- voted the rest of her life to writing, lecturing and translating.
dence of the ability of American women to grapple with a department of knowledge which most men confess is beyond their capability." The commen- dation of Prof. Dunbar, of Harvard University, was no less complimentary: "I feel that you are to be congratulated upon the opportunity to do a good piece of work, and upon the success with which you have accomplished it. I only wish that you had gone further and worked up a chapter or two of your own to fill the gap between Blanqui's time and your own, and to complete his meagre reference to several writers." Prof. Foxwell, of Cambridge, does not hesitate to say that, in one respect the translation is better than the original, viz., "it is more terse." Miss Leonard excelled as a translator. At the time of her death she was en- gaged in translating for Lalor's Cyclopaedia of Po- litical Economy; and Prof. Lalor paid her the fol- lowing high compliment : "You are the only person I can trust with a translation without the least hes- itation," and in saying to another, "The papers were the only ones that went to the printers untouched by me." But Miss Leonard did not satisfy herself with translating. She was a talented, originai writer, and could all the papers which she wrote on economic questions be collected they would form a volume. She was also one of the ablest and stanch- est advocates of women's rights, and could all the articles she wrote and addresses delivered by her upon the political enfranchisement of women be collected they would form another large volume.
Miss Leonard was eminent as a botanist, and was a correspondent with Professors Gray, Eaton and Babb, all of whom acknowledged her great ability. She was an original and independent ex- plorer in the botanical field. As her biographer justly says of her: "With rare perseverance whole days were sometimes spent in searching for a single specimen." When the Meriden Scientific Associa- tion was organized in 1880 she was selected as di- rector of the botanical section. Before the organiza- tion of this association she had begun a "Catalogue of the Phaenogamous and Vascular Cryptogamous Plants Found Growing in Meriden." In 1885, though incomplete, It was published by the associa- tion in the first volume of its transactions. In it 749 distinct species were enumerated, many of which are not found in the work of the Berzelius Society, all classified in the most systematic and scientific manner, reflecting great honor upon its learned author.
Finding the "History of Political Economy in Europe," by Blanqui, professor in the College of France, of great benefit to her in her researches, it occurred to her that an English translation of it The estimation in which Miss Leonard was held by the association is attested by the resolutions pre- sented by Mr. Pettee July 21, 1885, and by the ex- ercises of the memorial meeting Sept. 8, at which addresses were made on the character, scholarship and literary labors of Miss Leonard. The life of Miss Emily J. Leonard has since been published. 1 ably and tenderly written by her niece. Miss Georgia Louise Leonard. of Washington, D. C. - a biogra- might be of benefit to American and English stu- dents, and she subsequently translated the great work, which was issued from the press of the Put- nams in 1889. The same thought had occurred to that eminent political economist. David A. Wells, who in a letter to Dr. Davis, written soon after Miss Leonard's death, thus compliments the gifted trans- lator: "The work, as it stands to-day, is a monu- ment to her memory, and a most gratifying evi- . | phy which should not only be read by all members
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of the Meriden Scientific Association, but by all Meriden people who had a just pride in acquaint- ance with this remarkable woman. Many of her own townsmen were not aware how great a scholar they had among them.
In the language of Mrs. J. D. Pettee, at the memorial meeting: "The habit of thought, and some of the views she entertained, led hier into channels remote from ordinary individuals: and yet, it was not her fault, it was our own, if we lost sight of her as she strode on before us in the paths of investigation. And if she sometimes found her- self without companionship, what wonder! It has always been the case with those who search beyond the bounds of commonly received ideas. If while with us, she failed to perceive as much divinity in the commonly received theories as some, who shall say that God did not reveal himself in the laws which He ordained for the government of all things, material and immaterial?"
JEREMIAH SMITH. Early in the year 1850 an industrious and far-sighted man started in a small way, in the business of oyster culture, em- ploying for this purpose the waters surrounding a point of land belonging to an estate which had long been the property of his fore-fathers. In Jeremiah Smith, the city of New Haven had a pioneer in this business of much more than the average experi- ence. intelligence and ability. Although he pos- sessed neither the machinery nor the modern meth- ods of this business, it was not long before the waves of Long Island sound in his vicinity covered vast beds of oyster seed, which here found congenial surroundings, and in time well repaid the efforts of the patient and skilled farmer. From that be- ginning has been developed one of the largest oyster farming enterprises in the United States, its vener- able founder still remaining at the head of the well- known firm of Jeremiah Smith & Sons, oyster farmers, Oyster Point, New Haven, Connecticut.
The Smith family from which Jeremiah Smith of New Haven descended, came to New England from England about 1638, at the time of the found- ing of this city and was one of the original plant- ers-one of the Eaton colony. George Smith, the settler, received a grant of land from that colony, of all that tract which is known as City, or Oyster Point, this being located in the extreme southern part, washed by the waters of Long Island Sound. The line of descent of Jeremiah is through George (the settler), Nathan, Andrew. Andrew (2). Eli and Harry. all of these having been residents of West Haven, where they died and are buried.
Grandfather Eli Smith was a farmer in West Haven, who bravely bore his musket during the Revolutionary war, of which he was a pensioner, owned large tracts of land of Connecticut, and lived until a good old age, a man of prominence and sub- stance.
Harry Smith, son of Eli, and the father of
Jeremiah Smith of the Oyster Point industry, was born also in West Haven, and became a sea-faring man, returning in his age to pass his last days in his West Haven home. His marriage was to Grace, a daughter of Jeremiah Smith, of another branch of the family, in West Haven, and they had a fam- ily of nine children: Charlotte, Willis, Lydia, Elizabeth, Jeremiah, Harriet, Maria, Louisa and George H., and of this family the three sons, Jere- miah, Willis and George all became interested in the oyster business, as growers.
Jeremiah Smith was born May 11, 1824, in the home of his ancestors in West Haven. Early in life he followed the example of his father, and became a sea-faring man, engaging in the coasting trade and also going with the trading vessels which carried freight to the West Indies. As early as the age of sixteen, the sails and spars of the vessels were familiar to him, and he continued in this adventur- ous life, sailing to the West Indian ports and touch- ing at those in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as along the Atlantic coast until he was twenty-five years old. In 1850, as mentioned above, Mr. Smith embarked in the oyster business, as a grower, purchasing southern seed oysters, and planting them along the beach. in shallow water, near New Haven. Few others had been venturesome enough to attempt this new business, and many of those who later engaged in it in this locality, totally failed, on account of a lack of those qualities which made the enterprise of Mr. Smith succeed and prosper. For a half century Mr. Smith engaged in the business actively, but it now has been resigned in favor of his two energetic and most capable sons, Elwood H. and William H. Smith, the firm style of Jeremiah Smith & Sons, still being retained. The business has grown to im- mense proportions, the demand for the delicious bi- valves raised at Oyster Point being far beyond the supply. although Messrs. Smith employ from 150 to 200 hands, have five steamers of their own and hire as many more, and occupy 5,000 acres of land. The business is conducted on the basis of excellence, and the firm name is a guaranty all over United States. The venerable founder has reached his seventy- eighth year, and although this pioneer in the oyster planting business no longer assumes responsibility in it, his intelligent interest remains, and he is justly proud of the progress made in what at one time re- quired his close and fostering care.
On Jan. 18, 1848, Jeremiah Smith was united in marriage with Miss Hannah Sampson, who was a daughter of Clark and Mercy ( Hamilton) Samp- son, both of whom were natives of New Salem. Mass., the former being a son of Jacob Sampson, of English extraction, a member of one of the very early families in New England. A family of five children was born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith: El- wood H. : William H. : Louisa, who died at the age of nineteen years ; Mary, who married Rev. George E. Nichols ; and Nellie, who married Edward Man- ville, of New Haven. In his earlier years Mr.
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Smith was a stanch Whig, and later became just as strong a supporter of the Republican party.
Elwood H. Smith was born April 6, 1849, in West Haven, and he was two years of age when his parents moved to New Haven, where he grew to maturity, being educated in the public schools of this city, notably the Webster school, and later tak- ing a practical course in the United States Business College. In 1872, he engaged with his father in the oyster business, and has continued in that line ever since. He was married Oct. 18, 1875, to Miss Ella Bouton, a daughter of Seth S. Bouton, of New Hav- en, and to them have been born four children: Daisy, who married W. K. Newport, of New Haven; Lula; Elmer E., who is a bookkeeper for the firm ; and M. Leon. Mr. Smith built the home on Howard avenue where he lives. Like his father he is an earnest Republican, as well as a capable man of business.
William H. Smith was born April 21. 1855. in New Haven, where he received his schooling. He attended the public schools and Stiles French's pri- vate school. When but a young man he went to St. Louis, where he was bookkeeper for the Nono- tuck Silk Co. Subsequently returning East. he be- came the European representative of the firm, of which he later became a member. He was retained for four seasons in that capacity, and in 1883 became a member of the firm, and has since continued as such. On Nov. 10, 1881, he married, in New Haven, Miss Lizzie M. Hanson, daughter of C. B. Hanson. Mr. Smith has two daughters, Jennie L. and Edna E. In political matters his sympathy is with the Republican party. He resides in Howard avenue, where he built an excellent home.
NATHAN PRATT, a son of Deacon Phineas Pratt, and a brother of the late Julius Pratt, of Meriden, Conn., was born Feb. 4, 1772, in Saybrook, Conn., and was a goldsmith by occupation. His quiet, sober and virtuous life was spent in Essex, Conn., where he died in old age. His wife, whom he married Jan. 3, 1796, was Elizabeth Spencer, of Deep River, Connecticut.
Aaron Pratt, son of Nathan, was born in Essex, Feb. 23, 1806, and there grew to manhood and at- tended the district schools. In early manhood he came to Meriden, and became engaged in business with his uncle Julius, in comb-making. finally be- coming a member of the firm of Julius Pratt & Co., this being a leading concern for a number of years. The balance of his life was spent in Meriden, where he died, in 1869, in the month of May, at the age of sixty-three, and his remains lie in East cemetery. Although Mr. Pratt was always interested in civic and public affairs and was an ardent Whig. he was no office seeker, his political ambition only reaching as far as good citizenship. Temperate in all his habits, full of domestic virtues, he was also a valued member of the First Congregational Church.
The first marriage of Mr. Pratt occurred Nov. 27, 1832, Elizabeth A. ( Betsey) Johnson becoming his wife. She died in Meriden, and was buried also in East cemetery. The three children of this union were: Elizabetli A. ( deceased) who was the wife of James Hinsdale; Rebecca Maria, who died young ; and Aaron Johnson, who died in the service of his country.
On May 8, 1866, Mr. Pratt was married to Miss Lura Ward, of Middletown, a daughter of Ezra and Ann ( Shaw) Ward. No children were born to this union.
Mrs. Pratt resides in Meriden, where she is well known and highly respected, a valued member of the First Congregational Church, prominent in char- itable and benevolent work, and a refining factor in the city's social life.
LUCIUS PERKINS SPERRY is one of the much esteemed and widely known citizens of the beautiful city of New Haven, where he has spent many years of his life, and built up a reputation for efficiency in his line of work second to none in the community. He comes from an old Connecticut family who for several generations have flourished in the town of Woodbridge.
Roger Sperry, his grandfather, was born in Woodbridge, and followed his trade of cooper. He married the estimable daughter of a neighboring farmer and reared two children, Burton and Mar- vin, the former of whom was the father of our subject, the latter was, until his decease, a well- known shoemaker of Bethany. -
Burton Sperry, the father of subject, was born in the family homestead in Woodbridge, March 26, 1804, and after reaching the age of thirteen years, went to Bethany, where he began to learn the trade of shoemaker and also the tanning business, the two lines being often associated in those days. In Bethany he married Elizabeth Perkins, daughter of tanner Archibald Abner Perkins, who was a son of Archibald Perkins, a hotel keeper of the village, his death occurring in 1890, and that of his wife on May 30, 1881. Mr. Sperry became a very promin- ent man in his locality, and represented his district in the Legislature in 1843, being sent there by the Democratic party, of which he was an active meni- ber. In his religious faith, he was of Universalist belief, and was one of the most worthy of men. To the parents of our subject were born four chil- dren : Lucius Perkins; Elizabeth: Sarah, who married Burr Jay Davis, of Owego, N. Y .; and Charles, who was drowned at the age of two years.
Lucius Perkins Sperry was born in Woodbridge, Conn., Dec. 18, 1827. and grew up in Bethany, where he attended school, coming to New Haven in the spring of 1845. As soon as located in this city, Mr. Sperry learned the mason building trade and has always found plenty to do in his line, grad- vally receiving larger and more important contracts as he became better known, and the public found
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