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 85
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Timothy Sage, son of David and Mary (Wil- cox) Sage, was born in Middletown in 1678. He located in what is now the town of Cromwell, where he spent his life, and died in 1725, being buried in the old cemetery at Cromwell; the stone which marks his last resting place is still to be seen. He married Margaret Holibiet, and to this union seven children were born: Samuel, in 1709; Mercy, 1712; Timothy, 1714; Mary, 1716; David, 1718; Solomon, 1720; Amos, 1722.
Solomon Sage, son of Timothy, was born in Cromwell in 1720, and married Hannah Kirby. He spent his life in Cromwell, where he died in 1794, and was buried in the cemetery in that town. Solomon Sage was a deacon in the church, in which he took a deep interest, and was a man of high standing in the community. His children were as follows: Samuel, born in 1746, married Elinor Edwards; Seth, born in 1746, was a minister, and married Phoebe Wilcox; Chloe was born in 1749; Stephen, in 1752; Mattie, in 1755; Millie, in 1751 ; Simeon, in 1759; Solomon, in 1762; Hannah, in 1764; Mercy, in 1768.
Solomon Sage, son of Deacon Solomon, was born in Cromwell in 1762, and married Ann Will- iams. They had eight children: Eben was born in 1790; Roxy, 1791 ; Ann, 1792 ; Ezra, 1796; Emily, 1798; Laura, 1799; Solomon, 1802; Luther W., 1803.
Ezra Sage, son of Solomon, and grandfather of Mrs. Booth, was born in 1796 in Cromwell, where he spent his life. He married Bathsheba M. Wil- cox, of Cromwell, and to their union came nine children, namely: Anna M., born in 1819; Henry M., 1821; Eliza E., 1823; Bathsheba, 1826; Ezra S. and Marion (twins), 1829; Edward W., 1832; Frederick B., 1834; John N., 1837. By his second wife, Emmeline Belden, there were three children: Emma L. was born in 1848; Ella F., 1849; Albert P., 1851.
Henry McCall Sage was born in 1821, in the town of Cromwell, and there resided until his fa- ther's second marriage, in 1847, when he engaged in farming. He then removed to Meriden, where he established a good business as a dealer in beef and provisions, and was widely known and respected.
He married and afterwards moved to Rocky Hill, Conn., where he resumed farming until the call was issued for volunteers for the Civil war. He was one of the first to respond, and served his country until the close of the war as a member of Company A, 16th Regt. C. V. After the close of the war he re- turned to Rocky Hill, Hartford Co., Conn., where he lived until the death of his wife, in 1889. At that time he went to live with Mrs. Booth, and remained with her until his death, which occurred March 9, 1892. He was buried in West cemetery, Meriden. During his long and useful life he lived up to the teachings of the Golden Rule, as embodied in the tenets of the Congregational Church, which he at- tended from early childhood.
On March 5, 1848, Mr. Sage married Julia Ann Parker, in Southington, Conn. She was born in Oneida county, N. Y., Aug. 8, 1830, and was one of the eleven children of James A. and Maria ( Ives) Parker. Her grandfather, Ichabod Ives, served in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Sage's death occurred May. 14, 1889, and she was buried in West ceme- tery, Meriden. She was a member of the Con- gregational Church of Rocky Hill. One child was born to these parents, Adele De Ette, who married Eli Birdsey Booth, sixth child of Capt. Henry Davis and Eliza Ann (Curtis) Booth, of Meriden. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Booth: Paul Curtis, who is mentioned below; Elizabeth Parker, born Feb. 3, 1876, who died Aug. 6, 1878; and Robert Henry Sage, born June 3, 1889.
Mrs. Booth was born Nov. 12, 1849, in Meriden, Conn., and removed with her parents to Rocky Hill, Hartford county, in 1856. She was but thir- teen years old when she entered the Rocky Hill Academy, from which she graduated after a three years' course, and received a thorough training under some of the best teachers in Connecticut. In 1865 she came to Meriden, and for the past thirty- seven years has been devoted to the educational in- terests of young and old, in the public and private schools of that city. She is one of the best-known educators in the State. Many of the best-known men and women of the locality have been her pupils, and have afterward filled positions of trust and responsibility both in Meriden and elsewhere. As has been written of her by Rev. J. T. Pettee, acting school visitor for thirteen years, in the Meriden Daily Journal souvenir: "Mrs. Adele Sage Booth's career in the educational interests of Meriden is a conspicuous example of a high position won and held by a woman of much energy. In the ranks of edu- cation she stands among the leaders, the place hav- ing been universally accorded her by reason of suc- cess achieved by her in private and public schools. "Meriden was her birthplace and where she re- ceived her early education until removal of her parents to Rocky Hill, Conn. There she entered the academy in her thirteenth year. Her teaching ability was recognized by her teacher who encour- aged her to make it a profession. After a thorough
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training by one of the best teachers in Connecticut, she began to teach in the public schools of Meriden, in her sixteenth year, 1865.
"The occupation proved very congenial to her tastes and has been her life work, in connection with her home cares and the training of her two sons, one of whom, Paul Curtis Booth, has proved a valuable assistant for his mother, as he is familiar with her methods, as well as gifted, like herself, from the Sage family, many of whom have been professors of distinction in the Middle, Western and New England States. Being a teacher born and not made, she carries her pupils, by her own enthusiasm, through the most difficult lessons.
Her methods are peculiarly her own, and, if used by a person with less force of character or without the singular talent possessed by Mrs. Booth, might result in failure, but with her exceptional faculty for imparting information, the most obtuse pupil has been able to learn easily.
"For many years she was at the head of her profession as a public school teacher, and refers with pride to some of the best of Meriden's citizens, who were her pupils and have sent her their chil- dren.
"She recognized, early in her profession, that the combination of dullness and diffidence in a pupil was not likely to be treated with a great degree of patience by the average teacher in our crowded pub- lic schools. She, therefore, opened a private school (the Booth School, 54 Olive street), in which her plans have met with the most cordial approval and extensive patronage from this and adjoining towns. Her classes have been filled by those desirous of en- tering high, normal and business schools, as well as by younger pupils who have been in delicate health or wish to enter higher classes by a course of es- pecial instruction.
"Mrs. Booth has ever been interested in the working classes and has done a great deal to elevate them, especially foreigners, who cannot speak or read English. Some of her most satisfactory work, in her own mind, has been done in the Connecticut School for Boys, under the able superintendence of Mr. and Mrs. George E. Howe. She also taught in their private schools for boys, Milford, Conn. She established an educational department in the Boys' Club in 1890, which was one of its beneficial features; also had supervision of the Y. W. C. A. classes, 1892-93.
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"When, in 1893, the State legislature passed a compulsory evening school law, she was selected to conduct it in city hall. One of the especial dreams of her many years bade fair to be realized, and the working people were benefited thereby with- out expense. Under her administration, with the assistance of her son, and many of her private scholars, the evening school was a marked success, and Mrs. Booth was highly commended by the board of education, and her services engaged for the en- suing year. Mrs. Booth's building adjoining her
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private school has been remodeled under her super- vision and hired and furnished by the town for a free evening school, upon an entirely different plan from those which had been less successful in previous years. Mrs. Booth and son inean to keep the prospects improving for the future educational privileges of the working people, as well as for those who may patronize her private school. She is as much in earnest with free scholars as those paid for, and means to make Meriden's Free Even- ing School and the Booth Private School institu- tions which Meriden may be pleased to sustain. Both these schools are commendable institutions and the branches taught are of broad scope, pupils of all ages being taken by Mrs. Booth and prepared for business or professions."
The night school mentioned in the foregoing was in charge of Mrs. Booth and son for six years. Her attention is now given to private tutoring. She is a woman of high moral culture and attainment ; has devoted her life to her school and family, and is popular with all classes. In character, she is a lady of ability and sterling worth, and her varied experiences have made her broad-minded and lib- eral. In her religious ideas she is a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, of Meriden.
PAUL CURTIS BOOTH, the eldest son of Mrs. Adele (Sage) Booth, was born in Meriden Nov. 5, 1872, and received his early education under his mother and in the public schools of Meriden. Later he spent two years at Storrs Agricultural College, and returning, was his mother's able assistant for seven years, in her private school and the Meriden Free Evening School. He inherits his mother's wonderful faculty for imparting knowledge, her love of study, and has a frank, pleasant manner and courteous way which wins many friends for him. He was made instructor in the Connecticut School for Boys under George E. Howe, superin- tendent, and in 1899 was appointed supervisor of the North Division of that institution, under the present superintendent, Mr. Williams. For seven years Mr. Booth has faithfully discharged the duties of his responsible position, having under his charge one hundred boys, in whom he takes a deep interest. His intelligent handling of his charges, and thorough knowledge of his work, as well as his pleasant, genial manner, have won for him the hearty commendation and co-operation of superin- tendent and staff, and, being a young man of studious habits and excellent education, he is well posted on current events as well as in all branches of study, and is well and favorably known through- out the community. Fraternally he is a member of the O. U. A. M. and the N. E. O. P. at Meriden, and is also a member of the Home Club.
Robert Henry Sage Booth, the last child of Eli B. and Adele (Sage) Booth, is seventeen years younger than his brother, Paul Curtis Booth, who is much interested in his training and education. He is studying in the Meriden public schools, and
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bids fair to achieve success in whatever he may un- dertake.
It has been very difficult to ascertain much con- cerning the ancestry of Capt. Henry Davis Booth, of Meriden (grandfather of Paul Curtis Booth and Robert Henry Sage Booth, sons of Eli B. and Adele (Sage) Booth), as only one sister, Mrs. Joseph Becket, of Meriden, survived him. Ebenezer Booth, their father, is supposed to have been a descendant of Richard Booth, of Stratford, said to have been born in England in 1607, which seems probable, as the name of Ebenezer was given to seven children between the years 1651 and 1802. Capt. Henry Davis Booth was a son of Ebenezer and Betsey (Benham) Booth, of Bridgeport, Conn. He fol- lowed the sea for over twenty years, and had visited many foreign countries. During the latter part of his life he lived upon his farm in East Meriden. On Aug. 29, 1831, in Meriden, he married Eliza Ann Curtis, who was a member of one of the most respected families in that city, being a daughter of Samuel and Polly (Andrews) Curtis, of Meriden, and they had seven children, twelve grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren. The record of their children is as follows: Elizabeth Benedict Booth, born in Meriden Aug. 25, 1832, died in Mer- iden Feb. 8, 1872; William Henry Booth, born in Meriden Oct. 2, 1834; Mary Pierpont Booth, born in Philadelphia March 17, 1837; Ann Eliza Booth, born in Meriden July 1, 1841 ; Emma Matilda Booth, born in Meriden Dec. 7, 1842: Eli Birdsey Booth, born in Meriden July 7, 1845 ; John Coleman Booth, born in Meriden Dec. 31, 1844. Capt. Henry Davis Booth, father of this family, died in Meriden Nov. 27, 1872, and his much esteemed wife, who was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, died in Meriden April 29, 1884. Both are buried in the family plot in East Meriden cemetery.
NELSON MORRIS (deceased) was born in Milton, Litchfield Co., Conn., July 21. 1831. a son of Arville Morris, and a grandson of Asa Morris. the latter a native of Woodbridge. where he fol- lowed farming and reared his family of children.
Arville Morris was born in Woodbridge, and when a young man went to the West Indies, where he was a merchant. Later in life he came back to New England, where he married Miss Caroline Castle, daughter of Dr. Jehiel Castle, and settled on a farm. They had the following named children : Theodore, a hardware merchant in Texas, where he died ; Caroline, deceased wife of Andrew Guild, of Bethlehem: Dewitt, who died when about eight years old; Nelson mentioned below : Lucretia, wife of S. A. Munson, of Waterbury: Elizabeth, who died when eighteen years old ; and Susan A., wife of Rev. J. D. Gilliland.
Nelson Morris spent his earlier life in Bethle- hem, and lived on the farm until he was seventeen, when he came to Waterbury to take a position as bookkeeper for Ransom S. Todd, a retail meat
(lealer. At the death of Mr. Todd, in 1857, MIr. Morris took the business, and carried it on until 1883, when he retired. He died Jan. 1, 1893.
On May 25, 1859. Nelson Morris married Miss Eveline Todd, daughter of Streat and Ruth H. (Welton ) Todd, of Wolcott. Streat Todd was born in Cheshire, Conn., became a farmer and stock raiser, and died Oct. 25. 1860, aged sixty-eight years. Hezekiah Todd, his father, was born in North Haven, Conn., and was a farmer and pork packer. He was a son of Hezekiah Todd, who was descended from a Yorkshire, England, emigrant, who located in New Haven county about 1637. Thomas Welton, the father of Ruth, lived at Chest- nut Hill : he was a son of Stephen Welton. Twelve children were born to Streat Todd and his wife: Ransom S .. Jennette, Robert C., one that died in in- fancy, Edwin, James, Willis and William ( twins), Franklin, Eveline (Mrs. Morris). Jane, and Will- iam (2), all now deceased but Franklin, who is a farmer in Ohio; Mrs. Morris; and William (2), who is a resident of Waterbury.
One child, Nellie, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris. In religious connection Mrs. Morris and her daughter are Episcopalians, as was also the be- loved husband and father. Mr. Morris was con- spicuous in Masonry, identified with Harmony Lodge. He was a generous man, and a good man, and though he made no display of his kindly deeds the world was better for his having been in it.
HON. TILTON EDWIN DOOLITTLE, late of New Haven, passed nearly forty years of his professional life there, and during that time adorned the legal profession of the State and county, serving in the public capacities of United States District Attorney, Speaker of the Lower House of the Gen- eral Assembly of Connecticut, and State's Attorney for the New Haven court. He was the representa- tive of families in both paternal and maternal lines who early came to the colony of New Haven, and who were among the founders of both Wallingford and New Haven.
Abraham Doolittle, said to have been the pro- genitor of all who bear the name in this country, was a resident of Massachusetts soon after the settle- ment of Salem, and removed thence to New Haven prior to 1642, becoming a householder there. Being appointed one of a committee to establish a new colony in Wallingford, Conn., he took up his resi- dence there in the year 1669, and held military rank among the defenders of the town during King Philip's war. He was often chosen as deputy to the General Court, from New Haven, later. from Wallingford, and was undoubtedly a man of repute, esteemed and respected by his fellow-townsmen. From this first American ancestor, on his father's side, Tilton Edwin Doolittle, of this brief biography. was a descendant in the seventh generation. His birth occurred July 31, 1825, at Riverton, Conn., and his father, Ambrose E. Doolittle, and grandfather,
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Benjamin Doolittle, were both natives of the town ot Cheshire. The mother of our subject was Eliza- beth ( Benham) Doolittle, also of Cheshire, Conn., a descendant of Joseph Benham, who removed from New Haven to Wallingford in 1670.
Tilton E. Doolittle was prepared for college at the I'rotestant Academy in Cheshire, and in 1840 entered Trinity College, at Hartford, from which institution he was graduated in 1844. He then en- tered Yale Law School, from which he was grad- uated in 1846. In August of the same year he was admitted to the Bar, in Middletown, Conn., within a few days of his twenty-first birthday. Establish- ing himself in practice in Cheshire, he remained there until 1850, wnen he removed to Meriden, and in 1858 to New Haven, which he ever after made his place of residence.
In 1861 our subject entered into a law partner- ship with Judge Samuel L. Bronson, and was asso- ciated with him until 1870, four years later forming a new partnership, with Judge Henry Stoddard. To this combination of legal talent, two years later, was admitted William L. Bennett, the firm being styled Doolittle, Stoddard & Bennett. In 1882 Judge Stoddard was lost to the firm, leaving to go upon the Superior Court Bench, but the business asso- ciation of Mr. Doolittle and Mr. Bennett continued until the death of the former, existing for more than twenty-five years.
In the spring of 1859 Mr. Doolittle was ap- pointed United States District Attorney, by Presi- dent Buchanan, in the place of Judge William D. Shipman, who had been appointed Judge of the United States District Court, and our subject held that office until 1860. In 1866, 1867 and 1870, he represented New Haven in the Lower House of the Legislature, and in 1874 he was again one of the representatives from New Haven, and was elected Speaker of the House. In 1879 he was appointed State's Attorney for New Haven county, succeed- ing Hon. Orville H. Platt, and held that office until January, 1896, when, at the opening of the January term of the Superior Court in New Haven county, he resigned, failing health warning him that his pub- lic duties were too onerous.
For more than a year prior to the time of his resignation, Mr. Doolittle had been aware that the work of his life, if not life itself, was nearing its end, and on the 21st of March, 1896, after a few weeks' illness, from which he seemed about to re- cover, he died suddenly, without pain. At a large- ly attended Bar meeting called to take action upon Mr. Doolittle's death, ex-Gov. Charles R. Ingersoll, in presenting resolutions which were unanimously adopted, spoke substantially as follows: "I confess that it is very difficult for me, here in this assem- blage of lawyers of New Haven county, to speak of Tilton E. Doolittle as no longer among living. men. He has been for so many years a living, actual presence in this court room, at these tables, before this bench, and among the busy men who daily come
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and go through the offices and halls of this build- ing, that I cannot yet easily bring myself to think of him in any other association. It seems to me that he must still live as our courts live, so thorough- ly has he been identified with them, nor can it be necessary for me to tell any one here who Tilton E. Doolittle was. His personality was so individual that the youngest lawyer at this Bar knew him as he actually was. He never posed for what he was not. He never posed, indeed, for anything that lie was. In all his ways, in all his moods, under all circumstances, he was simply himself, he was Doo- little. I never knew a man more content to let the world put its own valuation upon his worth. This forcefulness of character was certainly born with him, but it was greatly strengthened by his career at this Bar. He came into practice a half- century ago, and with the exception of a few months, when he was out of the State, I do not think there has been a term of the Superior Court for this county at which he has not been present and generally an active participant. Look- ing at that long career in all its aspects of a much varied and hard-working practice, so largely in the court room, it is not easy to find the parallel in our State, and in this practice the individuality of which I have spoken was conspicuous. That voice, even, so familiar to these walls, had its tone, char- acteristic of him. His methods of trial, his vigor of attack, his skill of defense, his promptness to use every weapon of the thoroughly equipped lawyer which he was, were all manifested in a manner that was his own peculiarly, and impressed upon every one his own strong personality. He has gone through these fifty years of professional life with all the burdens and heat of conflict that are inseparable from it, with the respect and esteem and friendship of his fellow members of this Bar. But it was not altogether in this court room that these forceful traits of character were shown. There was a side of his character which those who have known him as long as I have, and particularly in these latter years, have had frequent occasion to recognize. He had a most kindly nature, and it was quick to respond to any appeal to his sympathy or friend- ship. In his administration of that most responsible and important office which he has held with such marked ability for so many years, the State's At- torneyship for this county, he is to be remembered. not more for the zeal and vigor with which he has prosecuted crime, in the courts, than for the wisdom. prudence, humanity and integrity with which he has discharged its great responsibilities outside the court."
Ex-Gov. Henry B. Harrison, having recalled the names of many brilliant members of the Bar at the time Mr. Doolittle began practice-Ralph I. In- gersoll, Roger S. Baldwin, Dennis Kimberly, Clark Bissell, Henry Dutton and Alfred Blackman- said: "Such a galaxy of great lawyers as had never been seen here before and has never been
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seen since," and then proceeded with this tribute : "In that school our friend began his professional life, and under the influences which a high-minded and honorable set of great men and great lawyers would necessarily exert upon him, in that school, under those influences, he got his training. The school and its influences would have been of no use to him had he not possessed, as he did, the instincts, the tastes, the moral character, which fitted him to feel the influences of his environment there and to absorb and assimilate all that was valuable in them. Well, in due time, these men passed away. The young lawyer continued his course; I will not go over it; continued it, always gaining strength by going, until he reached that place which for many years has been by all of you unanimously accorded to him. He cared little for public life, although he repeatedly served the public well, for short periods of time, by the mandate of his fellow-citizens; but the court room was his place ; he was a lawyer down to the quick; he delighted in the contest, the stress and strain, and the struggle of forensic life in such a place as this. He was here the hero of many battles; he enjoyed the victory, always believing he was on the right side, never doubting that; but when defeat came, why, like every manly man, he took it in a manly way.
"And now he has died at last, a veteran, as veterans always hope to die, in the very act of lay- ing down his armor. Those who entered this Bar contemporaneously with him are few in number- there are, in this county, only some six or eight still living; but they are in the place that nobody else fully occupies, for they stand at the end of his car- eer and they are able to look back for fifty years during the whole of it to its beginning, and they see in that career not one act done by him, unworthy : curred in 1800.
of a high-minded and honorable and generous man. . They part with him in sorrow ; and so long as they shall live they will remember him with profound respect and sincere affection."
Ex-Judge Henry Stoddard also spoke, and said in part: "I knew Mr. Doolittle somewhat inti- mately after I came to the Bar, and was his associate in business for several years. In consultation at the office, his knowledge of law was intuitive, grounded of course upon a thorough study and appreciation of its fundamental principles ; and even in the most in- tricate cases, arising but seldom in our practice, his unerring sagacity invariably went straight to the | marrow of the controversy. In the trial of his cases he was both sagacious and bold in attack, and in defense prudent and wary, a most dangerous antagonist and a most powerful ally. In the ex- amination of witnesses I may say that he was with- out a peer, and especially so in his cross-examina- tions."
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