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 2 > Part 16
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all born of the first marriage, were > James Henry, Frank, Edward H., Howard and Julia Cornwell. the last named now the wife of Silas Donavan, of Meriden. Fraternally, Mr. White is a Mason of Knight Templar degree, and is highly respected in the craft. He is now retired from active business on account of a paralytic stroke, which deprived him of the use of his limbs. He is a well-read man, with a clear mind, and is noted as a genial gentle- man and a brilliant conversationalist. Although he was greatly broken down.by the death of his two sons, Edward H. and Howard, he is cheered by the near presence of all the surviving members of the family.
JAMES HENRY WHITE, son of Henry Kirke White, and for years the president and treasurer of the Wilcox & White Co., is a native of Connecticut, born at . Westfield, Sept. 26, 1847. His education was received at Somerville, Washington and Phil- lipsburg, in the State of New Jersey, whither his father removed. The family later removed to Phil- adelphia, and there James H. White began his business career as a clerk in the famous "Oak Hall" clothing house of Jolin Wanamaker. This experi- ence, however, was of short duration, as his father was sought by the Estey Company, and the family settled in Brattleboro, Vt., where James H. was employed with his father in the tuning department of that famous factory. Possessed of natural musi- cal gifts, the young man devoted his time to the work of tuning, and by steady application soon rose to a position where with his father he was in joint control of that department. There he remained some thirteen years, when he was induced by the late Horace C. Wilcox to come to Meriden, with his father and brother, and organize the company which has since borne the family name, and of which for years he has been the executive head, making a great name for himself as one of the en- terprising and public-spirited citizens of Meriden. He is a member of the Home Club of Meriden. Mr. White was married Dec. 1, 1868, to Kate, daughter of Samuel T. R. and Martha ( Brown) Cheney, of Brattleboro. Vt., by whom he became the father of three children: Frank Cornwell, edu- cated in Meriden, and now the assistant superin- tendent of the Wilcox & White Co .; Grace Louise ; and Florence May. Mr. White has represented the Fifth ward in the city council. having been elected on the Republican ticket, though he is no office seeker, preferring to give his undivided at- tention to his business. He is a trustee of the Con- gregational Church, and a man of high character, greatly respected in the city.
EDWARD H. WHITE, son of Henry Kirke White. was born in Washington, N. J., April 5, 1855, and had a thorough training in the building of musical instruments, chiefly in the Estey Organ Works at Brattleboro, Vt. For twenty-five years he was a valuable adjunct in the Wilcox & White Co., at Meriden, in which establishment the tuning and voicing of instruments left to his supervision was
thoroughly done. He was the owner of the "An- gelus" patents, and was secretary and superintend- ent and one of the directors of the reorganized Wilcox & White Co. Edward H. White died Sept. 16, 1899, and was buried in Walnut Grove Ceme- tery, Meriden. A Republican in politics, he had no time for office-seeking; was a believer in the Golden Rule, and was liberal in his religious idcas ; domestic in his habits, he found his greatest pleas- ure in his home. He was early married to Mary Carter, a daughter of Bela Carter, and to this union was born one child, Allan Hubbard, now a student at Choate School, Wallingford. Mrs. White makes her home in Meriden, and is a lady of culture and refinement.
HOWARD WHITE, the youngest son of Henry Kirke White, was for years superintendent of the Wilcox & White Co., of Meriden. He was born Sept. 9, 1856, in Somerville, N. J., and his life was not unlike that of his brothers, as it was given to the work of building musical instruments. Inherit- ing in a large degree his father's musical genius and taste, through close attention to the work of building musical instruments, he acquired great ap- titude in it, and made for himself a creditable place in the work. His early experience was acquired with the Estey Company at Brattleboro, but he came to Meriden with his family, and from the very be- ginning of the Wilcox & White Co. was identified with it, rising to the position of superintendent. He was one of the directors of the company and proved himself a valuable citizen of Meriden. With his brother Edward H. and others of the family he belonged to the Home Club of Meriden. Mr. White was married in 1880 to Flora A., daugh- ter of Russell J. Ives, of Meriden, and their union was blessed with two children : Russell Ives and Stanley. Howard White died Dec. 9, 1897, and was buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery. A Repub- lican in politics, he sought no official position. Domestic in his habits, he lived in charity for all men, and tender memories of him survive. His widow resides in Meriden.
AUGUSTUS E. LINES. Among the retired business citizens of New Haven, who for almost a half century pursued one calling in this, his na- tive city, is Augustus E. Lines, one of the most highly esteemed residents. His ancestors for sev- eral generations had made the name known and respected in commercial circles, and Mr. Lines' own career added luster to the family title. Grand- father Ezra Lines was born in this beautiful city. grew to useful manhood here, and for very many years conducted a successful grocery business on the corner of Grand and State streets, New Haven. He was a soldier of the Revolution, under the command of Gen. Israel Putnam, and was pres- ent with him when he rode horseback down the stone steps at Horse Neck, now Greenwich, to escape the British. His death occurred at about the age of sixty, and the grocery business was
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continued by his sons Augustus and Frederick, the former being the father of Augustus E.
Augustus Lines, father of our subject, was born Sept. 13, 1797, and died Dec. 31, 1887. Not only was he prominent in commercial circles, but also in political and financial affairs, for twenty- five years being assessor with Willis Anthony, who was the father of the present collector of taxes, of the same name, and Mr. Lines was also a member of the common council, for a number of terms, and was a director in the New Haven Na- tional Bank. In military circles Augustus Lines was also 'conspicuous, being an active member of the Old Grays, and the accomplished fifer of the noted old regiment, for very many years. He mar- ried Miss Lucy Ann Ritter, a daughter of David Ritter. She was born in New Haven and died 'in 1851, at the age of forty-eight years, one of a numerous family. David Ritter was a well-known stone and marble cutter, married twice in New Haven, and died at about the age of sixty years. Three children were born to Augustus Lines and wife: Augustus E., of New Haven; George P., who died in 1884; and Jane E., who resides in New Haven, at the age of seventy-one years. Au- gustus Lines married for his second wife Martha Kimberly, of West Haven, and two children were born to this union, Martha and Maria, both of whom died some years ago. It is remembered of Mr. Lines that he was skilled in musical instru- ments, played the double bass viol with fine exe- cution, and was the first resident double bass viol player, in New Haven.
Augustus E. Lines was born on the corner of Grand and Olive streets, in New Haven, Nov. 4, 1822, and attended the old Lancasterian School. Very early in life, he displayed a leaning toward the engraver's trade, taking lessons in the same in New York, at the corner of Fulton and Nassau streets. Mr. Lines was employed there by a firm located at the intersection of Broadway and Cedar streets, being apprenticed with the firm of Stiles, Sher- man & Smith, located at the above named places. For six years Mr. Lines found a pleasant home in the family of Mr. Sherman, who then lived at No. 18 Rose street, the neighborhood which is now given up to a lower class of residences, then being a fine residence district. The venerable Mrs. Sherman still survives. From 1838 to 1844 Mr. Lines remained in the city of New York, becoming during this period skilled in his trade, and able to enter into successful competition with others. Returning to. his native city, Mr. Lines embarked in the engraving business for himself, founding a house which prospered for forty-two years, until in 1886 he retired from active work, justified in seeking rest after so continuous a career. There are few of the older residents of New Haven who do not readily recall his establishment on Chapel street.
On Jan. 9, 1849, Augustus E. Lines was mar-
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ried to Miss Mary A. Kimberly, who was born in Guilford, Conn., and was a daughter of Eli Kim- berly, and a member of one of the first families of this part of Connecticut. Eli Kimberly was a sea-faring man and he made his home on Faulk- ner's Island, Guilford and Sachems Head, having charge of the light house on Faulkner's Island for thirty-three years. No resident along this coast was better or more favorably known to both lands- men and sailors than Capt. Eli. His lamented death took place at the age of seventy-nine years. The mother of Mrs. Lines was Mary Fowler, of New London, her marriage to Capt. Kimberly tak- ing place the 12th of November, 1812, and twelve children resulting from this union, the four sur- vivors being: Mrs. Lines; George, a resident of New London, Conn .; David Calvin, a resident of Sacramento, Cal .; and Henry WV., a resident of New Haven, a well-known carpenter and builder. The mother of these children died at the age of fifty-two years. Both parents of Mrs. Lines were worthy members of the North Church, and this family was one of the most intelligent and liberally educated of any on the coast, the father having a teacher installed in the household.
One son, Augustus K., blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lines, born in 1850; he was edu- cated in New Haven, and made this city his home until his death at the age of thirty-five years. An adopted son, Harry Kimberly Lines, was educated in the schools of New Haven, and is now one of the valued employes of the Electric Co., and has charge of their work in the different States. He married Clifford Cooke, who was born in Mari- etta, Ga., and. they have one daughter, Louise Douglas, aged twelve years.
Mr. Lines has always ardently supported the Republican party, thoroughly believing in its prin- ciples, but has never sought political preferment. From his respected father, he has inherited a great talent and love for music, the careful cultivation of which has resulted in making him the admirer of many instruments, but particularly of the flute, which he has performed upon more or less for fifty years. One of his early pupils in this sweet music was a nephew of Mrs. Lines, who is now connected with the New York Symphony Orches- tra, and who is regarded as one of the most fin- ished flutists in the United States. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lines belong to the Church of the Redeemer, formerly Chapel Street Church, becoming connect- ed with it under Rev. William T. Eustis. Few men of this city have been more omnivorous readers than Mr. Lines, and his thorough knowledge cov- ers a wide range of subjects, his interest being still as keen in public affairs as in his earlier days. For his immediate ancestors he cherishes a high regard and highly values a wonderful picture in his possession, of his uncle William Lines. An- other very interesting picture which he preserves with care, is of a house on Grand avenue, near
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the railroad bridge, which was taken down many years ago, it being the one in which his mother was born, the Farmington canal then being where the railroad tracks of one of the branches of the Consolidated Railroad are now placed. Mr. Lines enjoys recalling the old days of the city, and his recollections are of the most interesting nature, the limits of a sketch of this kind preventing a recitation of some of the most entertaining records of more than a half-century past. Mr. and Mrs. Lines celebrated their golden wedding, in January, 1899, and it is the sincere wish of their hosts of friends that they may be spared to also celebrate their seventy-fifth anniversary.
JOHN GOODRICH NORTH (deceased) was born in Berlin, Conn., Feb. 22, 1823, and died March 9, 1892, at Milford, Conn., a son of Lem- uel North, who, although a tinner by trade, en- gaged in farming in Berlin.
The history of the North family in America begins with John North, who was born in Eng- land in 1615, married Hannah Bird, of Farming- ton, after his arrival in this country in 1635, on the ship "Susan and Ellen." He died about 1691. His land in Farmington was entered to him in 1653, and with his sons John and Samuel, he was among the eighty-four proprietors among whom the unoccupied lands of the town were divided in 1672. His name is given in the list of "persons of quality emigrating from England to America, 1600- 1700," and he is recorded as being twenty years old. His first child, Job, was born in 1641.
Thomas North, who was born in Farmington, Conn., about 1649, and died in 1712, married Han- nah Newell, who was born in 1658.
Thomas North (2), son of Thomas, was born in 1678, married Martha Royce, and died in 1725. Martha (Royce) North was born in 1679.
Deacon Isaac North, of Wethersfield and Ber- lin, was born in 1702, married Mary Woodford (who was born in 1709), and died in 1788.
Jedediah North, also of Wethersfield and Ber- lin, was born in 1734, and died Dec. 16, 1816. In 1757 he married Sarah Wilcox, who was born in 1739, and who died Oct. 5, 1775.
David North, son of Jedediah, was born in 1761, and lived in Berlin: He married Salome Wilcox in 1781, and died in 1831. His wife, who was born in 1761, died March 15, 1807.
Lemuel North, of Berlin, was born in 1786, and died Aug. 25, 1845. He married Rebecca Good- rich, who was born June 26, 1783, and died July 5, 1857. John Goodrich, their son, is the subject of this article.
John Goodrich North was reared in Berlin, where he attended the local schools until he was about sixteen years old, when he came to New Haven to take a position as a clerk in the dry goods line. After some two or three years he began busi- ness . for himself as a merchant, and some years
later turned to the fire and life insurance interests, in which he engaged until his death. . For at least a half a century he was associated with insurance interests, and was regarded as one of the best posted and most successful men in that line in this section of the State.
Mr. North was married May 31, 1843, to Eliza- beth Dickinson, who was born in New Haven, Dec. 8, 1821, a daughter of Raphael Dickinson ( who was born Feb. 6, 1781, and died Feb. 26, 1837), and his wife, Naney McNeil (who was born June 4, 1783, and died Feb. 9, 1833). Mrs. Nancy (McNeil) North was a daughter of Will- iam MeNeil, who graduated from Yale and be- came a civil engineer, but spent his later years as a sailor and sea captain. To Mr. and Mrs. John G. North were born five children : Mary G., John C., Sarah E., Edward C. and Nellie C. Of these. John C. is in the insurance business in New Haven : Edward C. is in the same line in Boston; Sarah E. married S. P. Warren, M. D., a graduate of Yale, and they now live in Portland, Maine; Mary G. married Rev. Erastus Blakeslee and lives in Brook- line, Mass .; Nellie C. married Prof. Samuel T. Dutton, of Columbia University, who at one time was superintendent of schools in New Haven and in Brookline. John G. North was a Whig and a Republican. In religion all the family have long been associated with the Congregational Church.
THE DICKINSON FAMILY, to which Mrs. John G. North belongs, has an authentic history that runs back in England to a period beyond 1475. Thomas Dickinson, who was a native of Abingdon, Eng- land, went to Ayrshire, Scotland, about 1670. where he had three sons, Thomas, Josiah and Moses.
Moses Dickinson, born in Ayrshire, came to Boston, from which point he went to Deerfield, Mass., about 1690.
Daniel Ebenezer Dickinson, son of Moses, mar- ried Sarah Winslow, the great-granddaughter of Gov. Winslow.
Oliver Dickinson, son of Daniel Ebenezer, grew to manhood, and married Mary Parmalee.
Oliver Dickinson, the son of Oliver, was born July 10, 1757, in Litchfield, Conn., and died March 23, 1847. He married Anna Landon, June II, 1778, and served in the Revolutionary army, in which he made a noble record as a gallant soldier and a patriotic citizen. He was in the army from 1776 to 1781.
Raphael Dickinson, second son of Oliver, was born Feb. 6, 1781, and died Feb. 26, 1837. He mar- ried Nancy McNeil Feb. 25, 1805, and their daugh- ter Elizabeth was married to John G. North, as noted above.
Leonard A. Dickinson, a son of Raphael, and a brother of Elizabeth North, became one of the ·noted citizens of New Haven. In 1861 he enlisted in the 12th Conn. V. I., and the same year was made captain of Company C of that regiment. He
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served throughout the war, and returning to Hart- ford, was made local agent of the Aetna Fire In- surance Company, in which capacity he served thirty-two years. For three years he was quarter- master on the staff of Gov. Jewell, and for four years he was postmaster at Hartford. Fraternally he was active in Masonry ; in the Grand Army he was past commander of the department of Con- necticut, and treasurer of the Soldiers' Home at Noroton, Connecticut.
Leonard A. Dickinson died Jan. 27, 1901, and his funeral services were very largely attended, by the public generally as well as by the Grand Army of the Republic and the insurance agencies with which he had been so long and intimately associ- ated. Seldom has a man passed into the Great Be- yond whose loss has been so deeply and generally felt. Of high character, unimpeachable integrity and a winning personality, he had a host of friends, who knew him as a man of honor, of business abil- ity beyond the average, whose useful life and many virtues shed honor upon the State.
THE MCNEIL FAMILY. of which the mother of Mrs. North was a member, has a history in Con- necticut that begins with the purchase of land by Archibald McNeil at Branford, about 1735. At the same time he married Mary, a daughter of Samuel Russell, and a widow of Benjamin Fenn. He died about 1753, leaving three sons, John, Sam- uel and Archibald.
Archibald McNeil was born Sept. 20, 1736, at Branford, and May 2, 1758, married Sarah Clark, of Derby. They had a son, William, born May 13, 1759, in New Haven, who was graduated from Yale in 1777. He was a gunner on the privateer "Mar- quis De Lafayette" from Jan. 30, 1782, to Aug. 13, 1783. On Sept. 25, 1779. he married Huldah Au- gur in New Haven, and they had six children : William, John, Henry, Maria, Nancy and Abra- ham Archibald. Of these, Nancy married Raphael Dickinson, as noted above.
WILLIAM C. RUSSELL, formerly a whole- sale meat and provision dealer on Cedar street, New Haven, is a resident of Orange, where he was born March 13, 1835. The family has long been prominent in Woodbridge and Orange, and his great-grandfather, Stephen Russell. who served eight years as a private in the Revolutionary war, was a resident of Woodbridge for many years, later removing to Orange, where he died at an ad- vanced age.
Chauncey Russell, our subject's grandfather, was born in Woodbridge, and died in Orange. March 30, 1825, at the early age of thirty-nine. He was a carpenter and wheelwright by trade, and a number of water-wheels in different places in this section were built by him. He married Lu- cinda Sperry, a native of Woodbridge, and a daughter of Lieut. Job Sperry, an officer in the Revolutionary war. They had six children : Henry,
William Ell, Roswell, Wealthy, Catherine and Charlotte, all now deceased.
William Ell Russell, our subject's father, was a native of Orange, and made his permanent home there. For a time he followed the shoemaker's trade, and later he purchased a farm, where his re- maining years were spent. his death occurring at the age of fifty-nine. His homestead, a farm of medium size, is now owned by a son. Politically he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and his services in various offices showed much public spirit. He married Susan Parsons, who died in 1888, aged seventy years. She was born in Or- ange, but her ancestors were early settlers in Derby, of which place her father. Levi Parsons, was a native; he followed the sea for some time before engaging in farming. During the war of 1812 he raised and drilled a company in Derby. He died aged seventy-seven years, and his wife, Emily (Clark), who was born in Derby and who was a member of a pioneer family of Milford, lived to a good old age. She was a very able woman and reared her three children with rare ability. In religious faith they were Congregationalists. Our subject was one of a family of seven children, of whom four are living: William C .; Elford C., a resident of Orange; Betsey. who married An- drew D. Thomas, of West Haven; and Edward W., who was employed by our subject in New Ha- ven, and resides at the old homestead.
As a boy William C. Russell assisted his father upon the farm, and attended the public schools and the academy at Orange. When sixteen he began tc run teams to West Haven and to New Haven, to supply the retail trade in meat and provisions, and continued thus several years, the business in- creasing under his management. Later he began a wholesale business in Orange, and for seven years was a silent partner with C. C. Andrew & Co. In March, 1893, he rented a large building on Cedar street, constructed for the wholesale meat and provision business, and he built up a large local trade and also sent to adjoining cities. He has a farm which he purchased when twenty years old, and he now owns three farms in Orange, which his son-in-law operates for him. In ad- dition to general farming they are engaged in dairying and in other lines of work, Mr. Russell employing a number of men.
On April 15, 1855, Mr. Russell married Miss Mary J. Lyon, who was born in Woodbridge. daughter of Dilazon Goodsell Lyon, who is now dieceased. Her mother, whose maiden name was Eliza Beach, was a native of Woodbridge, and died Jan. 4. 1900, at the age of eighty-nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Lyon had five children, and four are yet living: William, who resides in Derby ; Sarah, wife of Isaac Dickinson, of Westville; Emily, who married Edward Grant, of Water- bury ; and Mary J., Mrs. Russell. Mr. and Mrs. Russell have one child living, Jennie, wife of
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Frederick C. Sperry, who superintends our sub- ject's farm; they have two children, Russell Fred- erick, born Jan. 4, 1897; and William Curtis, born July 10, 1900. George Lyon, only son of our sub- ject, was born Feb. 21, 1857, and died Dec. 14, 1863. Jessie E., born Oct. 20, 1873, died Aug. 29, 1893.
Mr. Russell is a Republican in politics. He has served a number of years as selectman, men- ber of the board of relief and assessor, and for a time he was chairman of the board of assessors.
-- In 1871 he was sent to the Legislature, and during his term served on the committee on fisheries; he introduced the bill on shad fisheries, and the bill appropriating money from the State to the school of Deaf Mutes in Hartford, to provide for teach- ing reading by the motion of the lips; a number of private bills were introduced and gained by him. His influence and vote were also given to the bill to consolidate railroads. Mr. Russell is a member of the Republican Club of New Haven, and has been a delegate to several State conven- tions with Senator Graham. As one of the oldest members of Annawan Lodge, F. & A. M., of West Haven, he holds a prominent place in Masonic circles in that locality ; he is a charter member of the Grange, a member of the Orange Agricultural Association and of the Milk Dealers Association of New Haven, of which he was the first presi- dent. For some years he was a member and di- rector of the Orange & Milford Agricultural As- sociation and took an active part in sustaining the work; his exhibits frequently won premiums. He has also served in the State Militia, and for sev- eral years was in the Light Guards of New Haven. He and his family are members of the Congrega- tional Church of Orange, in which he held office for some years as a member of the Society's com- mittee.
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LEROY SUNDERLAND WHITE. inventor, patentee, natural mechanic and business man of Waterbury, was born in Springfield. Mass., May 14, 1828, and is a worthy representative of one of the oldest families of New England.
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Elder John White came to the New England colonies in 1632, bringing with him his wife and at least one child, Nathaniel.
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