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 29
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Richard Mead, the father of our subject, was reared on the farm in South Salem, N. Y., and re- ceived part of the old homestead as his portion. Hle lived to be over eighty years of age, and throughout life followed farming. For a num- ber of years he held the rank of orderly sergeant in the militia, and he was a well-known and highly esteemed citizen, and Nov. 9, 1825, married Han- nah Keeler, who was born in South Salem in 1805,
daughter of Ammi and Phoebe (Strang) Keeler, the former of whom lived until about eighty, and the latter also reaching that age. They had two children, Hannah and Henry. The son became one of the leading men of Westchester county, was president of the County Agricultural Society, and was noted as the introducer into the county of all kinds of improved farming machinery; he died at the age of sixty-three. The maternal great- grandparents of our subject were Jeremiah and Elizabeth ( Weed) Kecler. Five sons were born to the parents of our subject, all of whom survive: Solomon, subject proper of this sketch; Clark, a resident of South Salem, who is engaged in farm- ing, contracting and road construction; Linus, president of the Crystal Ice Co., who is mentioned elsewhere; Henry, a resident of New Haven ; and Stephen S., residing in South Salem, who for twen- ty-five years was the leading man in the firm of Robert B. Bradley & Co., agricultural implement dealers, of New Haven. The mother is still liv- ing in South Salem, at the age of ninety-seven, most remarkably well preserved, and is a beloved member of her son's family. Both she and her husband became connected with the Presbyterian Church about 1832, and she is the oldest member of that body. During their earlier years both par- ents took a very active part in church affairs.
Solomon Mead, our immediate subject, was born in South Salem, N. Y., Nov. 10, 1829, and spent his years until he was eighteen, under the parental roof. He received his education in the common schools and at the Ridgefield Academy, and then taught school for three winters, in New Canaan, South Salem and Pound Ridge. Follow- ing this experience he went to Albany and entered. the State University, where he finished the course,. and in 1852 came to New Haven, where for three seasons he attended the Scientific Department of Yale. His tastes were in the line of agriculture and horticulture, and in the fall of that year he purchased fifty-two acres of land lying in the west- ern suburban part of New Haven, near where he still resides. At that time the nearest house was nearly half a mile away. Here he engaged in raising fruits and vegetables for the New Haven market, continuing thus until 1863. Mr. Mead has always been interested in mechanics, and in 1863 invented the celebrated conical plow, which he in- troduced, and in the manufacture of which he was engaged from 1864 to 1879, at which date the plant was destroyed by fire. Mr. Mead then sold part of his interest to S. E. Olmstead & Co .. of Norwalk, Conn. In connection with his other work, he had also dealt to some extent in ice, having or- ganized the Crystal Ice Company.
In 1880 Mr. Mead was called to go to Mans- field to establish the Storrs Agricultural School. the first school of its kind in the State. When Augustus Storrs offered a farm to the State to establish an agricultural school the committee
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came to Mr. Mead to take the position of principal and professor of agriculture, and he accepted the trust. John M. Hall, now president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R., was the treasurer of the institution. Thus the foundation of the Storrs Agricultural School or College of to-day was laid. There were from thirty to forty students at first. Mr. Mead returned to New Haven, where a large contract for straightening West river was placed in his hands. This work required several years, and was accomplished with a dredge of his own construction, and which was moved by rollers on the surface of the meadow. Later he built a floating dredge, which he used from 1881, doing an immense amount of work with it. In 1900 he sold the dredge, and since then has lived somewhat retired from active life. He has invented and received patents for five different devices, all in the line of his own needs, and he has invented other useful things in the line of agri- cultural and mechanical appliances. In 1856 Mr. Mead built his first house, which he sold, building another, which he also sold, coming then, in 1867, to his present place, which he has since rebuilt and remodeled. Mr. Mead has sold almost all of his land, which is now covered with residences.
In January, 1855, Mr. Mead was united in mar- riage with Elizabeth Chapin Deming, a daughter of William Deming, who was born in Derby. His last days were spent in New Haven, where he died at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. Dem- ing married Phebe Munson, a daughter of Joseph K. Munson, a prominent man in this section, who was connected with David Humphrey, who intro- duced the culture of sheep in this locality. Mrs. Deming died at the age of eighty years, at the home of our subject. One son, William F., died at the age of thirty-five. Mr. and Mrs. Mead had seven children : Franklin Bacon, who died aged eight years ; Sophia, who died when five years old; William D., an engineer in the city, who mar- ried Anna Price and has two children, Esther E. and Kenneth Whitney; Fanny E., who married Claudius H. Post, an engineer in New Haven, and has one child, Harold Deming; Charles B. and George Walker, twins, the latter deceased, the former married to Maggie Post (he has been en- gaged in various lines ) ; and Mary A., who re- sides with her sister in New Haven. The mother of these died April 23, 1890, at the age of fifty- nine years, and in 1894 Mr. Mead married Miss C. Adele Green, daughter of Switzer and Joanna R. Green, of Cambridge, New York.
As a part of his wedding tour and visit, in 1855, to his native town, South Salem, N. Y., Mr. Mead gave a course of scientific lectures, embrac- ing several on the primary principles of geology, and others on the practical application of chemistry to the interests of agriculture; and he also gave the address at the Westchester County Agricultural Society's annual exhibition. While practically
and especially interested in agriculture, he became a life member of the New England Agricultural Society. In politics Mr. Mead has long been a Republican, although in his earlier years, during the time it flourished, he favored the Free Soil party. He was president of one of the principal societies of the Sheffield Scientific School, of Yale. In 1854, in connection with others, he started what was named the Young Men's Association, for the improvement of young men, much on the order of the Y. M. C. A., which organization continued several years. Later he was at the founding of the Young Men's Christian Association, and he and his family have always been in sympathy with its work, and prominent in church work. Formerly they attended the First Church in New Haven, but for the past twelve years have worshipped and been connected with the Dwight Place Church, in which Mr. Mead has long held the office of deacon, and has been both Sunday-school teacher and librarian, having been identified with some religious work ever since his youth. He is a life member of the American Sunday School Union, and he is a well wisher of all causes for the ad- vancement of the human race.
WILLIAM HENRY PLUMMER was born in New York City Oct. 4, 1825, on the site where A. T. Stewart's famous store was built. Losing his father when quite young, he remained with his mother in the city, receiving a good practical edti- cation. In 1850 he removed to Ansonia, Conn., and for a few years was associated with Josiah Pierce in the manufacture of clock cases. He left manufacturing to engage in mercantile business. Purchasing a clothing and shoe store, he carried on the business alone for a time, and later, as the business increased, he built the large store now occupied by W. A. Fellows. William D. Galpin became his partner, and the business was success- fully conducted for several years, Mr. Plummer retiring and Mr. Galpin continuing the business until succeeded by W. A. Fellows. Honesty, economy, industry and temperance always bring a good and honorable harvest.
Politically Mr. Plummer was a Republican, and he always took a great interest in the growth and prosperity of the town, and was privileged to see many improvements during the fifty years of his residence here. Naturally of a modest disposition he declined to accept public office, but served as a member of the town school committee and on the board of assessors for several years. Although baptized and reared in the Episcopal Church, he attended the Congregational Church, with which his family was prominently identified, giving it financial support.
On Oct. 14, 1852, Mr. Plummer was married to Eugenia H. Alling, only daughter of Zenas and Sarah H. Alling, a descendant of Roger Alling, in the eighth generation. Two daughters were born
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of this union, Sarah Dwight and Luella. Mr. Phummer departed this life Feb. 2, 1901, and his wife joined him in the land that knows no care Aug. 15, following.
CHARLES AUSTIN WARREN was born Jan. 12, 1826, in Cedar Hill, now part of New Haven, and is a son of Dr. Sparrow Warren, of the Ashfield, Mass., family of that name, who were in the same line of ancestry as Gen. Joseph War- ren, of Revolutionary fame. Dr. Sparrow Warren was one of a family of seven children. The eldest daughter, Mercy, died at the old home when near- ly ninety years old. The youngest son, Lewis Warren, died at the age of forty years, but his widow survived to the age of ninety-eight, pass- ing away Sept. 3, 1901, at the old Warren home.
Dr. Sparrow Warren was born in Ashfield, Mass., and with his elder brother, Joseph, early in the century studied medicine at Cummington, Mass., under the well-known Dr. Peter Bryant, father of the poet, William Cullen Bryant. The class comprised six students, who made the jour- neys to and from the Doctor's on horseback, over the Cummington hills. Dr. Joseph Warren com- menced his practice as village doctor at Middle- field, Mass., a few years later returning to his. na- tive town, Ashfield, where he continued to follow his profession until late in life, dying at the age of eighty-five years. After his graduation Sparrow Warren removed to New Haven, locating at Cedar Hill, in the same neighborhood where his sister, Mrs. Jonathan Maltbie, resided ; Mr. Maltbie was a brother of Holme Maltbie, the old book pub- fisher of New Haven. Dr. Warren followed his profession in New Haven and adjacent towns un- til his death, March 6, 1836, at the age of forty- five. He married Harriet Converse, and they had three children, William Cullen, Julia Ann and Charles Austin. William Cullen Warren repre- sented his district in the Massachusetts Legisla- ture; he died March 1, 1892, at the age of seventy years, and his home, Maple Grove Farm, passed into the possession of his only son. Mrs. Harriet (Converse) Warren was the eldest of ten children born to Amasa and Sina Converse, of Windsor, Mass., and died Feb. 14, 1856, aged fifty-seven years. Three of her brothers married Connecticut women, Dr. William and Darwin marrying sis- ters, members of the old Monroe family of Guil- tord; and the younger, Albert, marrying Maria Yale, daughter of Nathaniel Yale (who died in New Haven in 1843), a great-great-grandson of Elihu Yale, of New Haven, through whose gen- erosity in 1718, by "books and money," Yale Col- lege was established. The eldest brother, Dr. William Converse, who was the second in order of birth in the family, practiced medicine in North Branford, Conn., until impaired health induced him to return to his native State. Albert Con- verse engaged in mercantile business in the lower
part of New Haven, but the coast climate im- paired his health, and necessitated his removal to an interior town in Massachusetts, where he died in middle life; his widow lived to an advanced age in Taunton, Mass., where their grandchildren still live. The youngest sister, Sarah Walker Con- verse, was married Dec. 11, 1850, to Rev. J. Gay Dana, a Congregational minister then located in Adams, Mass., who preached in Housatonic and adjoining towns as supply until his sudden death, which occurred June 18, 1899, at Housatonic, when he was eighty-seven years old. Mrs. Dana died Aug. 28, 1895, in Housatonic, aged seventy- four years. Their only son, Stephen Dana, is a prominent divine in Philadelphia, where he has been settled for over thirty years as pastor of the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church.
Charles Austin Warren received a practical ed- ucation, attending the Lancasterian School, of which John Lovell was teacher. He also studied at the evening sessions, conducted by George Beckwith, of Almanac fame. Thrown on his own resources at the early age of twelve years, he worked his way upward until, when twenty-one years old, he started in business for himself, open- ing a market and dealing in provisions. Some fif- teen years afterward he engaged in the real-es- tate business. Mr. Warren has been identified with the growth and development of his native city, and many of the streets along the line of his real-es- tate sales are beautified by trees of his own plant- ing. Various religious and secular enterprises have been strengthened by his willing response if the appeal met his approval. Mr. Warren's home place, on the west side of State street, near the junction of Middletown avenue and Ferry street, contained over forty acres, two-thirds of which were sold to S. L. Blatchley and his two sons, Mr. Warren retaining his interest. From this point on State street the Cedar Hill & New Haven Horse Railroad was started, in August, 1870. Mr. Warren was the second president of this road, serving in that office twenty years from November, 1870. The directors were P. Foster, S. M. Stone, F. Donnelly, W. J. Atwater, S. R. Blatchley, Charles Blatchley and C. A. Warren. Mr. Warren was the president of this and the Whitney Avenue Horse Railroad (which had been bought) for over twenty years, at the end of which period the road was sold to a Boston and New York electric syndicate. Mr. Warren was made vice-president and director of this electric line, which later was absorbed by the Fair Haven Electric Railroad, now ( 1902) controlling all the electric lines in the town.
On Sept. 9. 1850, Charles Austin Warren mar- ried Emeline Curtiss, who was born Dec. 22, 1828, a daughter of Philo and Rachel Curtiss. These Curtisses are descended from the carliest settlers of the name in Stratford, Conn. Two of the fam- ily settled in Suffield. Philo Curtiss was born in
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Stratford, the eldest of eleven children, was a gunsmith by trade, and died in Hamden Feb. 22, 1865, at the age of seventy-six. Philo Curtiss was a commissioned officer in the war of 1812, and his company was stationed on Groton Heights, New London, Conn .; he was granted a pension for life, which, on his death in 1865. was remitted to his widow, Rachel, and was continued until her death in the last decade of the nineteenth century, when there were few survivors of that war. Mrs. Rachel Curtiss was born in Hamden, and died in East Fair Haven, at the age of ninety-three years, a daughter of Timothy and Martha (Turner) Potter, and was a descendant on both sides of old Colonial stock, the earliest settlers of Quinnipiac, her parents being in the fourth generation front the settlers in New Haven, in 1635, who were signers of the original Plantation Covenant and prominent in the early military organizations. Mr. and Mrs. Warren had two children: Mina, the youngest, died Sept. 8, 1863, at the age of eleven. Julia A. became the wife of Rev. Dr. Andrew W. Archibald, May 18, 1876. Dr. Archibald, who is an author of note, is pastor of the Porter Congre- gational Church in Brockton, Mass. His earliest work, "The Bible Verified" (of which there have been several editions), was translated into both Spanish and Japanese. His last book, the "Trend of the Centuries," was dedicated in commemora- tion of the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage of his wife's parents. Dr. Archibald and his wife have three sons, the eldest, Warren, married and engaged in mercantile business in Brockton, Mass. The other two, Kenneth and Cecil, are students at Dartmouth College, in the classes of 1902 and 1905, respectively.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Warren have lived in or near State street, New Haven, all their lives, and they have occupied their present residence for thirty years. In National politics Mr. Warren is a Republican, in local affairs independent. He is retiring in manner, genial and companionable by nature, domestic in his habits, catholic in sympa- thies for fellow men, and firm in opinion, and now as the years advance he enjoys the well earned re- pose of a life of industry.
FREDERIC. WILCOX (deceased), who was for a long time in business as a druggist in the Apothecaries Hall Co., at Waterbury, was born June 26, 1844. in Portland, Conn., and died April 7, 1897.
Horace Burt and Flavia C. (McIntosh) Wil- cox, his parents, lived in Portland, and there young Frederic spent the first fourteen years of his life, attending school, and making a fair start in educa- tional matters. At that age he came to Water- bury, where he grew up in the family of his uncle, Dr. Henry F. Fish, the manager of the Apothe- caries Hall Co. Here he finished his general studies, and at the New York Pharmaceutical Col-
lege prepared himself for a career as a chemist, spent a little time in the Waterbury Apothecaries Hall Co., and then went to New York. From there he went on a trading expedition to New Granada, South America and went up and down the Atrato river, gathering ivory, nuts and rubber from the natives, shipping same to the company in Eng- land; he continued thus about five years. In 1809 Mr. Wilcox came back to Portland, Conn., where he spent some time in the recuperation of his health, which was badly shattered. He then en- tered the employ of the Scovill Manufacturing Co., in Waterbury, as chemist, and remained with them about a year. Returning to Apothecaries Hall, he was instrumental in establishing the large wholesale business of that concern, and at the time of his death was its manager and secretary.
On May 23, 1871, Mr. Wilcox married Lucy Hodges, who was born in Torrington, Conn., a daughter of Levi and Delia C. (Drake) Hodges, of Winchester, Conn., the former of whom, a farm- er at Torrington, died in 1860; the latter is still living. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wil- cox settled in Waterbury, where they lived until his death. They reared a family of three children : William H. is a chemist with the Benedict & Burn- ham Manufacturing Co .; Levi is in the Apothe- caries Hall Co. as a clerk; Alice M. is at home. Mr. Wilcox was a Republican, served as council- man for one year, and always took an active part in all matters of public interest. He was one of the leading citizens of his day. He was State chemist for several years, and a man of consider- able prominence in the business world. Fraternally he was a Freemason and an Odd Fellow, being connected with the local lodges of these orders at Waterbury. He was a member of the old Scien- tific Society, was prominent as a chemist, and his judgment was always highly valued and almost invariably correct. For many years he was sec- retary of the Pharmaceutical Association. The family attend the Second Congregational Church.
HON. ALBERT CUSHMAN HENDRICK. The ancestry of the subject of this biography reaches back to Holland and Scotland. Grandfather Coe Hendrick was born in Compo, Westport, Conn., and later removed to New Haven where he died. He served his country in the Revolutionary war both on land and on sea. Joel Dennis Hendrick, his son, was born in New Haven, and married Maria Mc- Duel, a native of Stamford, Conn., whose father was lost at sea. The McDuel family came from Scot- land. Joel Dennis Hendrick and wife reared a family of nine children: John McDuel, now living a retired life in New Haven : Caroline married Ed- ward McNeil, and is deceased ; William D. resides in New Haven: Maria married Norris B. Mix. a prominent resident of Hamden, Conn .; Eliza mar- ried L. A. Dickinson, of Hartford, and is deceased : | Joel, deceased ; Mary married William Stuart, and
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Albert Cushman Hendrick
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botlı are deceased; Charles B., is a resident of New Haven; Albert Cushman. Mr. Hendrick was a shoemaker by trade, and followed that occupation all his life. A good and pious man, he was one of the founders of the First Baptist Church, in New Haven, the first meeting being held under his roof. Both he and wife died in New Haven.
Albert Cushman Hendrick was born March 7, 1833, was reared in New Haven and attended the old Lancasterian school of that city. After leaving school he learned the coach trimming trade, serving an apprenticeship and then went to Memphis, Tenn., where he remained one year, when he returned to New Haven. Until 1860 he was employed contin- uously at his trade, but the outbreak of the Civil war caused a change in his future. At this time Mr. Hendrick was twenty-seven years old, and for five years he had belonged to the New Haven Grays. He enlisted with them for service for three months in the 2d Conn. V. I., serving as first sergeant. A commission as first lieutenant was tendered him by Gov. Buckingham in Company C, of the 12th Conn. V. I., and this he accepted, and with his regiment, the first to arrive at New Orleans, served in the De- partment of the Gulf for nearly two years. In No- vember, 1863, he was promoted to be captain of Company E, same regiment. On Sept. 19, 1864, he was wounded at the battle of Winchester, Va., his regiment having been sent North into the Shenan- doah Valley under Gen. Sheridan. Capt. Hendrick was mustered out of service in Deceniber, 1864, by reason of the expiration of his term, and returned to New Haven.
On July 24, 1865, Capt. Hendrick was appointed chief of the fire department of the city of New Haven, having been one of its efficient officers pre- vious to the war, and continued in the office until Feb. 1, 1892, when the position of general inspector of the National Board of Fire Underwriters was offered him, which he accepted, holding that position for two and one-half years. He resigned on ac- count of the travel the office required, the business extending from Maine to Texas. Upon his retire- ment from the fire department, with which he had so long been associated, he received many valuable testimonials from the fire department, the city, and from private citizens, one of these being in the form of a book with four hundred autographs of the city's most prominent citizens, the work on which valuable testimonial was done by Tiffany, at an expense of $1,000.
In 1869 Capt. Hendrick was chosen as command- ant of the New Haven Grays, Company "F," Conn. National Guard, serving as such for six years, when he was promoted to the office of brigade adjutant. with rank of lieutenant-colonel, serving efficiently in that capacity for the two following years. In the fall of 1804 Mr. Hendrick was honored by his fellow- citizens with election as mayor of the city of New Haven, serving two years. Although the city is considered Democratic by 2,500, Mr. Hendrick was
elected by 1,700 majority, thus proving the confi- dence and esteem in which he was held by the whole community.
Mr. Hendrick has been prominently identified with many of the public enterprises in New Haven since the Civil war. In 1872 he was one of the founders of the National Association of Fire Engin- eers, serving as its president for one year and as its treasurer for fourteen years. During his adminis- tration as mayor of the city many needed improve- ments were carried out and the city was well man- aged as to its government and finances. Frater- nally he is connected with the Masons, Wooster Lodge, No. 79; City Lodge, No. 36, I. O. O. F .; and is a charter member of Admiral Foote Post, No. 17, G. A. R. He is also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Commandery of the State of New York, and also of the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut. During the many years that Mr. Hendrick has been before the public his services have been efficiently and cheerfully given, and in his native city he is deservedly esteemed.
BENJAMIN ADOLPHUS HOSLEY, a pro- gressive farmer of Branford, was born June 1, 1823, on what is known as the Samuel Beach homestead. in the borough of Branford. Tradition has it that the family came from England, and settled in Gill, Mass. The name was originally spelled "Horsley," and that spelling is still retained by certain branches of the family.
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