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 58
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The Noyes Family originally came from Wilt- shire, England, where the Rev. William Noyes mar- ried Ann Parker, in 1620-22. He was rector of Choulderton, in Wiltshire. His son, Rev. James Noyes, born March 11, 1640, was the first minister at Stonington, Conn., having crossed in the "Mary and Jolin," and he was one of the founders and first trustees of Yale College; he was moderator of the Assembly that drew up the Saybrook Platform- or the first move for Yale. He was a graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Joseph Brown, of Southampton.
Deacon Nicholas Noyes was born in Wiltshire, in 1616, and there married Mary Cutting. They came to America on the ship "Mary and John," set- tling in Newbury, Massachusetts.
John Noyes, son of Deacon Nicholas, was born Jan. 20, 1646, and was married to Mary Poor, Nov. 13, 1668. He died in 1691.
Samuel Noyes, son of John, was born Feb. 5, 1692, and was married on Dec. 1, 1716, to Hannah Poor. They settled in Abington, Massachusetts.
John Noyes, son of Samuel, was born April 20, 1720, and came from England to Newbury, Mass., later locating at Pembroke, N. H., the records show- ing him to be there before 1765. On June 1, 1741, he married Abigail Poor, and died May 30, 1770.
Benjamin Noves, son of John and father of Mrs. Abigail (Noyes) Buntin, was born April 29, 1742. About 1763 he married Hannah Thompson, who was born Dec. 2. 1744, and died Nov. 8. 1828.
It is shown by the records that one Benjamin Noyes served as a private in Capt. Sias' Company, Col. Moses Nichola's Regiment of New Hampshire Militia, in the Revolutionary war. His name ap- pears on a pay roll of that organization dated Nov. 7, 1776, which shows that he served twenty-six days from Aug. 5, 1778, in the Expedition to Rhode Island.
GEORGE MONTAIN CLARK, cashier of the Meriden National Bank, was born Oct. 5, 1844. in the city of Willimantic, Conn., and is descended from one of the oldest Colonial families.
(I) Lieut. William Clark settled at Dorchester, Mass., about 1636, and removed thence to North- anipton, same Colony, in 1659. He was a man of standing and influence, and was honored and trusted, in military and civil affairs. He was selectman in Dorchester in 1646 and 1647, and was representative to the General Court from Northampton in 1663,
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and for thirteen years besides. He was a soldier in King Philip's war. His first wife, Sarah, died Sept. 6, 1675, and lie subsequently married Sarah, widow of Thomas Carpenter, of Springfield. She died May 8, 1688, and hier husband passed away July 18, 1690, aged eighty-one years. His children. all born in Dorchester, were: Sarah, born June 21, 1638 (died young) ; Jonathan, Oct. 1, 1639; Na- thanicl, Jan. 27, 1642; Experience, March 30, 1643; Increase, March 1, 1646 (died aged sixteen) ; Re- becca, about 1648; John, 1651; Samuel, baptized Oct. 26, 1653; William, born July 3. 1656 (men- tioned below) ; Sarah, March, 1659.
(II) Capt. William Clark married, July 15. 1680. Hannah, daughter of Elder John Strong, of Windsor, ancestor of a numerous family. Capt. William Clark was associated with Jacob Dewey in the purchase from the Indians (May 2, 1700) of a large tract of land near Lebanon, which included much of the territory of the town of Columbia, which was set off from Lebanon in 1800. He lo- cated in Lebanon about 1700. His first wife, whom he married in Northampton, died Jan. 31, 1694, and exactly one year later he married Mary Smith. The children of the first marriage were: Hannah, born May 5, 1682; William. Feb. 15, 1685 ; Abigail, Jan- uary, 1683-84; Jonathan, May 13, 1688; Thomas, April, 1690; Joseph, Dec. 31, 1691 ; Bennie, Jan. 31, 1694. The children of the second union were: Timothy, born Oct. 12, 1695: Gershom, Nov. 18, 1697; Mary, Nov. 22, 1699; David, Nov. 19, 1701 (died June 19, 1703) ; David, June 22, 1703. Capt. Clark died May 9, 1725. and his widow passed away April 23. 1748, in her eighty-seventh year.
(III) Jonathan Clark, born May 13. 1688, mar- ried Hannah Smalle Jan. 6, 1714. He died Jan. 12, 1743-44.
(IV) Jonathan Clark, born Nov. 1, 1714, mar- ried Mercy Dewey Jan. 16, 1735. Their children were born as follows: Hannah, Sept. 25, 1735; Jonathan, April 29. 1737; Lemuel, April 3. 1739 (died March 6, 1749) ; Dan .. May 25, 1741 ; Mary, Sept. 3. 1743 (died Aug. 15, 1744) ; David. Aug. 23, 1748; Jeremiah. April 28, 1751 ; Lemuel, Aug. 8, 1753; Gershom, Sept. 6, 1755. The father died in 1802, aged eighty-eight years.
(V) David Clark, born Aug. 23, 1748, was next in the line of descent.
(VI) Jonathan Clark, son of David, was born June 15, 1784, in the town of Tolland, where he grew to manhood, and there engaged in farming, becoming a land owner. He married Polly Hale, daughter of Jonathan and Molley Hale. Later he removed with his family to Columbia, Conn .. there spent the remainder of his life, and was buried in the Columbia cemetery. He was a member of the Congregational Church. The second wife of Jona- than Clark was Saxie (Wright) Clark, who died and was buried in Columbia.
(VII) Silas Fuller Clark, son of Jonathan, was born in the town of Tolland, and removed with his
parents to Columbia, where he attended the district schools. At the age of ten years he went to live with an uncle in Willington, and still later in Coventry. At the latter placc he learned the trade of ma- chinist, and worked at it first in Worcester, Mass., and later in Willimantic, Conn., remaining at the latter city until within five years of his demise, when he removed to Meriden and was tenderly cared for by his son. His death occurred in August, 1900, and he was buried in the Willimantic cemetery. He was a member of the Methodist Church, in the work of which congregation he took an active part. In politics he was a Republican, and lived honorably as a good citizen. Domestic in his habits, temper- ate in every respect, he set an excellent example. Fraternally he was a member of the I. O. O. F.
Silas Fuller Clark was married in Willimantic to Elizabeth L. Woodworth, who was born in Hebron, Conn., daughter of Asa Woodworth. Twin boys were born of this union, George M. being one; the other died in childhood. Mrs. Clark died, and Mr. Clark married her sister, Maria Woodworth, who left no issue. Upon the death of the second Mrs. Clark Mr. Clark married Amelia Fitch. This lady is also deceased, and all three are buried in the Willimantic cemetery.
(VIII) George M. Clark was educated in the public and private schools of Willimantic, and was prepared for college, but close application to his studies broke down his health, and he was obliged to abandon his ambitions in that direction. When sixteen and one-half years old he was made one of the postoffice clerks at Willimantic, and a year later was made teller of the Windnam Bank, of Wind- ham, and there remained until 1865, when the presi- dent of the Meriden National Bank of Meriden of- fered him a similar position with that institution. This was accepted, and so faithfully was every duty | discharged that in 1891 Mr. Clark was made cashier of the bank, and still holds that office of trust and responsibility.
In 1865 Mr. Clark was married. in Mansfield, to Lovisa Maria Holly, daughter of Perry and Lois (Fenton) Holly. Two children were born of this union: (1) George S. is bookkeeper of the Meri- den National Bank. He married Carrie Capen, of Norwich, Conn., and they have one child, Rollin B. (2) Elizabeth Louise is assistant librarian of the Meriden Public Library.
Mr. Clark is a man of highest principles. do- mestic in his tastes, and a most excellent father and devoted husband. He is a member and trustee of the First Methodist Church of Meriden.
The history of the Holly family is very inter- esting, and dates back so far as known to Perry Holly, who was a native of Rhode Island and a blacksmith by trade. Late in life he removed to Mansfield, purchased a farm near that of his son- in-law, William E. Fenner, and returned to Rhode Island for his family, but died there. His widow, Celia (Rawson) Holly, removed to Mansfield with
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her family, and there died in October, 1859, at the age of eighty-three. The family of children were as follows: Lurinda died in Willimantic. Perry is the father of Mrs. Clark. Betsey resided in Mansfield, Conn., upon a farm, where she died. Nancy died in Chaplin. Conn. Gilbert went South and died in New Orleans.
Perry Holly, the father of Mrs. Clark, was born July 2, 1809, in Rhode Island, and came to Mans- field when a boy. During his boyhood he worked upon a farm, and when still a young man learned the trade of forger, working in the manufacture of bits and augers in various localities where the goods were made. He was also one of the first operators of the trip-hammer, being very expert in the hand- ling of the clumsy machine, and consequently com- manded good wages. In company with Hiram Par- ker he operated a forge shop near his home for a few years. After working at his trade for many years he. spent his declining years in Mansfield, engaged in farming, and died there in March, 1885. He was a member of the Methodist Church at Gurleyville, and when a young man took a very active part in its affairs.
The wife of Mr. Holly was Miss Lois Fenton, daughter of Elisha and Phileta (Storrs) Fenton, a native of Mansfield, where her father was a black- smith. Mrs. Holly died April 18, 1892, aged eighty-four years, four months. To Mr. and Mrs. Holly were born the following children: (1) Celia Ann died aged eight and one-half years. (2) Anstice, wife of William E. Fenner, of Gurleyville, has one child, Frank E. (3) George G. resides in Sturbridge, Mass., and is an expert in mechanics. He married Mary Ann Scott, and had two children -George Henry (living in Springfield, who has three children) and Lida (who died when young). (4) Lurinda died in infancy. (5) Harriet Lurinda Phileta, widow of David Clapp, resides in Willi- mantic; she had one daughter, Harriet M., who was the first wife of W. D. Grant, of Willimantic, and had two children, Florence A. and Jay Edwin. (6) Mary Ellen first married Edmund Simons, by whom she had one child, Jennie R., wife of W. D. Grant, of Willimantic, who has three children, Ethel Y., Winnifred C. and May Ellen ; Mary Ellen mar- ried for her second husband Norman Dunham, a blacksmith, now deceased, and she resides in Willi- mantic. (7) Lovisa Maria is the wife of Mr. Clark. (8) Perry Earl, a professor of penmanship, mar- ried Carrie Allen, and resides in Waterbury, Conn. (9) Sarah Jane died at the age of fourteen. (10) Dwight Storrs resides in Forestville, Conn. He married Harriet Smith, and has two children, Everett (residing at Forestville, who has two chil- dren, Elma and Winnifred) and Edna. (11) Julian R. resides in Bristol, Conn., and is secretary and treasurer of tlie Bristol Brass and Clock Co. He married Calista Brockett, and their family consists of two children, Julian Lawrence and Margaret Storrs.
BLAKE. In the death of Eli Whitney Blake, at his home in New Haven, Conn., Aug. 18, 1886, there passed away, as it were, a connecting link be- tween the two centuries-a man full of years, good works and honor.
Eli Whitney Blake was born Jan. 27, 1795, in Westborough, Worcester Co., Mass., a son of Elihu and Elizabeth Fay Whitney Blake, and was a lineal descendant of William Blake, of England and Dor- chester, Mass., who was married in England, in 1617, to Widow Agnes Bland, and with wife and several children, came to New England among the emigrants who sailed thither along in the neigh- borhood of 1630 or 1635. The early home of the family was in Dorchester, Mass., but a branch later settled in Worcester county, Mass., and from that line our subject traces his descent.
Eli Whitney Blake was graduated from Yale College, in 1816, and made preparation to enter the legal profession, studying law in the famous school of Judge Gould, in Litchfield, Conn., but gave up that purpose at the request of his uncle, Eli Whit- ney, who desired the assistance of himself and his brother, Philos, in erecting and organizing the gun factory works at Whitneyville, Conn. After the death of Mr. Whitney, in 1825, Mr. Blake and his brother, the late Col. Philos Blake, carried on the business until 1836, when they joined their brother. John A. Blake, in forming the partnership firm of Blake Brothers, and established at Westville, a manufactory of door locks and latches, of their own invention. This business was afterward extended to include other articles of hardware, such as cast- ers, hinges, etc., the greater number being covered by patent. In this branch of manufacture, Blake Brothers were among the pioneers in this country and long held the front rank. It is not too much to say, that the ideas which they originated still char- acterize the forms of American locks, latches, cast- ers, hinges and other articles of house furnishing hardware wherever manufactured, and are the foun- dation of their acknowledged superiority.
In the year 1852 Eli W. Blake was appointed on a committee to superintend the macadamizing of Whalley avenue, and his attention was thus di- fected to the great want of a machine for breaking stone into fragments of a nearly uniform size suit- able for road making. The problem was a very old one, but no successful solution had ever been effected. Mr. Blake devoted himself to its study for nearly five years and in 1857 produced and pat- ented the Blake Stone Breaker, which for original- ity, simplicity and effectiveness, has justly been re- garded by experts as almost unique. It has come into general use in all parts of the world for road making and for mining purposes ; and has intro- duced a new era into both departments of industry. Its value, directly and indirectly, as a labor-saving and wealth-creating agency, can hardly be over es- timated. The occurrence of the Civil war, how- ever, which retarded its introduction, and subse-
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quent competition by infringers of the patent, greatly interfered with the profits that the inventor should have realized, and the pecuniary reward which Mr. Blake reaped from this and his other in- ventions amounted in the end to only a moderate competence.
Mr. Blake's abilities and acquirements in the field of mathematical and physical science were of a high order, and he contributed many valuable papers to scientific journals on various subjects. Several of the most important of these, which had been recently published in the American Journal of Science, together with some additions of a later date, were collected by him in 1882 and printed to- gether in a small volume entitled "Original Solu- tions of Several Problems in Aerodynamics." These papers which were the result of original research and experiment, treat of the laws which govern the flow of elastic fluids through an orifice; the propa- gation of pulses in elastic media; the mode of ex- pansion of elastic fluids ; and the velocity and trans- mission of sound. The final paper and perhaps the most elaborate of all, covering many printed pages of close scientific and mathematical discussion, was written by him when far advanced in his eighty- seventh year. The originality and value of Mr. Blake's investigations in this and other subjects, and also his ability and general merit as a physicist, were recognized by scientific authorities at home and abroad, and drew from his alma mater, Yale, in 1879, the honorary degree of LL. D. Mr. Blake was .one of the founders and for several years the president, of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Mr. Blake's name is synonymous with integrity. In 1821, he united with the Center Church, in New Haven, and for over sixty-five years was identified with its growth and prosperity. His benevolence was like a fountain, active, spontaneous, and over- flowing, and the poor were always in his thoughts. Considerate and liberal, he was always just in all his business transactions and took a deep interest in business affairs, and was ever the outspoken sup- porter of civil and social progress and virtue. The later years of his life were spent in peaceful retire- ment in the midst of his family circle attended "by all that should accompany old age, as honor, love, obedience and troops of friends." In that quiet retreat, his mind in its strength and serenity diffused perpetual sunshine. Men of intellect and culture sought to enjoy the wit and wisdom of his conver- sation. Little children, whom he dearly loved, de- lighted to throng about him ; and none could enter that benignant presence without feeling how truly "the hoary head is a crown of glory, when it is found in the way of righteousness.
In 1822, Mr. Blake was married to Miss Eliza O'Brien, of New Haven, whose self-sacrificing fidel- ity and devotion in all the relations of wife and mother brought unbroken happiness to him and his household until her death, in 1876. Seven of their
children survived the father. Few men have more worthily enjoyed the reverence and affection of their families and friends, and to few have these been rendered in larger measure. The surviving chil- dren are, in order : Mrs. George Bushnell, of New Haven; Mrs. Alex McWhorter; Henry Taylor; and Mrs. Eliza B. Rice.
HENRY TAYLOR BLAKE was born in New Haven, April 17, 1828, of old New England descent, on his mother's side from Rev. James Pierpont, of New Haven. He was graduated from Yale in 1848, after which he studied law, at the Yale Law School, and in the office of Thomas C. Perkins, and was ad- mitted to the Bar of Hartford county, in 1851. From 1855 to 1884 he served as assistant clerk, and as clerk of the Superior Court of Fairfield county, during all of which time he was also en- gaged in the active practice of his profession in nisi prius courts and before the Supreme Court and in the United States tribunals, where much of his attention was given to patent cases. His retire- ment from active participation in trials in court was in 1888.
Mr. Blake has been a frequent contributor to periodical literature, and has delivered some lectures on political and historical subjects, and is secre- tary of the New Haven Colony Historical Society. Mr. Blake is the author of "Chronicles of N. H. Green." Since 1888 almost his entire time has been occupied in the furtherance of public improvements in New Haven, especially in connection with the park system of that city, and he is president of the park commissioners. In 1860, Henry T. Blake was married to Elizabeth Kingsley, a daughter of Prof. James L. Kingsley, of Yale College, and their sons are: Henry W. Blake, a resident of New York and associate editor of the Street Railway Jour- nal; and James Kingsley Blake, who was graduated from Yale in 1891, and from the Yale Law School, in 1893, being admitted to the New Haven Bar, in the same year.
The Blake brothers, Eli, Philos and John A., sons of Elihu and Elizabeth Fay ( Whitney) Blake, and nephews of Eli Whitney, the inventor of the Cotton Gin, came to New Haven about 1817, from Westborough, Mass .. at the solicitation of their uncle to assist him in the armory works which he had established in Whitneyville, in Hamden.
Elihu Blake built the house now standing on the old site in 1836, and named the place Cherry Hill. In 1825 he married Adeline N. Mix, a daughter of Capt. Jonathan and Mary E. Mix, who was born April 18, 1805. Capt. Solomon Phipps, the mater- nal grandfather of Mrs. Blake was born in Casco Bay, Maine, a descendant of a brother of Sir Will- iam Phipps, Governor of Massachusetts. In 1772, he married Elizabeth, born April 13, 1749, a daugh- ter of Asa Todd, who was descended from Chris- topher Todd, a native of Pontefract. England, bap- tized in 1617, and was in New Haven in 1639. occu- pied as a farmer and miller at the end of Mill rock,
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on Mill river. Christopher Todd married Grace Middlebrook, and died in April, 1686.
Asa Todd was born March 24, 1723, and April 19, 1748, was married to Mary (Tuttle) Alling. At the time of the British invasion on July 5, 1779, he went to the defense of New Haven, and was killed in action in the upper part of the town in the street now known as Broadway.
I Capt. Jonathan Mix, a descendant of Thomas Mix, of the Colony of New Haven, was born in New Haven in 1753. In 1771 he married, first, Miss Anna Sears. a sister of Captain Jolin Sears, of Revolutionary fame. Capt. Jonathan Mix was married Aug. 5, 1800, to Elizabeth Mary · Phipps, who was long a resident of the old home- stead at Cherry Hill, a substantial, old fashioned . Connecticut home, and took an active interest in the religious affairs of the town and was instrumental in the establishment of the Sabbath school of the East Plain Society. Capt. Mix had several sons and daughters; three of the former were in the United States Navy, while his only daughter by his second marriage married Elihu Blake.
Capt. Mix was a member of the military com- pany known as the New Haven Cadets, and was one of the men who marched from New Haven to Lex- ington in 1775, continuing to be active through the war, and he was one of the ten heroes who rode from New Haven to New York and destroyed Riv- ington's press. He was also with the first naval ex- pedition to the Bahamas, and assisted in the capture of New Providence, sailing as captain of marines, and was captured and imprisoned in the Jersey prison ship. At the close of the war, he invented the thorough-brace and elliptic carriage springs now in universal use, and may thus be regarded as the father of the carriage-spring industry. Also this talented man invented an improved cartridge . box for troops, and a method for conveying away the smoke from the fuse of guns on shipboard. In this effort he had the co-operation of Robert Ful- ton, and the fixture was added to some of the guns of Fulton's steam frigate.
ANDREW H. SMITH, a prominent manufac- turer of New Haven, is of the sixth generation from Jonathan Smith, and his ancestors have lived in New Haven county for many generations.
(II) Jonathan Smith, of West Haven, son of (1) Jonathan, it is stated in the History of Water- bury bought of Thomas Brooks, of Boston, in 1740, sixty acres belonging originally to Philip Judd, in the Hop Brook section. He married Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Painter, who was born in 1676. Jonathan Smith died in 1760.
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(III) Ephraim Smith, son of Jonathan and Re- becca, was born July 11, 1733. He was a farmer by occupation. His wife, Thankful (Tyler), was born April 18. 1733, daughter of Nathan Tyler (born April 17, 1701, died in 1767), and grand- daughter of John and Abigail ( Hall) Tyler, the lat-
ter a daughter of Thomas and Grace Hall. Eph- raim Smith died Oct. 15, 1806, aged seventy-three years, and his widow died Sept. 1, 1808, in her sev- enty-sixth year. Ephraim and Ira Smith were two of the original members organizing the Congrega- tional Church of Prospect on the 14th day of May, 1798.
(IV) Ira Smith, son of Ephraim and Thankful, was born in Wallingford Sept. 11, 1757, and died in Prospect April 22, 1835. He was a farmer in Prospect ( formerly a part of Waterbury and Chesh- ire, which was incorporated in May, 1827), in that part of the town originally included in Cheshire. He married July 9, 1779. Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac Judson, and reared a family of several chil- dren: Andrew, Nehemiah, Ira, Sally, Betsy and Sylvia. Ira enlisted May 26, 1777, in the Revolu- tionary army, as a private in Capt. Jesse Kimball's Company, commanded by Col. John Chandler, served about eight months, and was discharged Jan. 1, 1778.
(V) Andrew Smith, father of Andrew H., was born in Prospect April 25, 1796, and remained a lifelong resident of that town, where he engaged in farming. He was a man of strong political and social convictions. A Whig in politics, he was the companion of Lloyd Garrison, and with him made tours of the school houses and advocated the cause of anti-slavery at a time when that policy was un- popular in New England. He was also a strong ad- vocate of temperance, and was a member of the Congregational Church. On April 30, 1818; he married Rachel Tuttle, of Prospect, daughter of Obed Tuttle, a farmer of Prospect, and also a man- ufacturer of scythes, which were then made by hand. To Andrew and Rachel Smith were born seven children, namely: Harris, Lucretia, Jane, Ira, Julius, Andrew H. (our subject), and Jennie. Mr. Smith died June 7, 1878.
The TUTTLE family is one of the oldest and best known in Connecticut history. Andrew H. Smith, in his maternal line of ancestry, is of the eighth generation from the founder of the family in Amer- ica, his lineage being as follows :
(I) William Tuttle, born in 1609, his wife Eliz- abeth, born in 1612, and family, among others sailed in the ship "Planter" from England in 1635, finally and as early as 1639 locating in New Haven, where both lived and died. They were equal socially to any of the colonists. Mr. Tuttle was a man of cour- age, enterprise, intelligence, probity and piety.
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