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 35
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For over thirty years Mr. Gladwin has been a deacon in the Main Street Baptist Church, and for inany years has been an efficient Sunday-school teacher. In his earlier political life he was an advocate of the principles of the Free-soil party. In 1859 he was clected to the Legislature as a non-partisan, from the town of Saybrook. At present he is a stanch supporter of the Prohibi- tionist party, conscientiously believing its princi- ples to be the best for the country. He is one of the best-known and most highly respected men of his community.
SAMUEL A. CHAPMAN. In the death of this gentleman, Feb. 13. 1896, the city of Waterbury lost one of her best citizens, and his family a most indulgent head.
The conting of the Chapmans (one of the early New England families) to Connecticut dates back to a period beyond two and a quarter centuries ago, and to the territory of the present town of Tolland to approximately one and three-quarters centuries ; the various members have been eminently distin- guished in both civil and military life.
Edward Chapman, the first American ancestor of one branch of the Tolland Chapmans, came about 1660 to Windsor from England, where he married Elizabeth Fox. He settled in Simsbury (then a part of Windsor). and lost his life at the storming of Narragansett Fort in December, 1675.
Simon Chapman, a son of Edward, born in 1660. lived in Windsor, but held lands in Tolland, of which town he was one of the great proprietors. He mar- ried about 1692, and his son,
Capt. Samuel Chapman, born in 1696, married, in 1717, Hannah Strong, and became the progenitor of all the Chapmans in the western part of the town of Tolland, which town began to be settled about 1725. He was the only justice of the peace in Tol-
land for nine years, and was selectman for eleven years. He died in the service of his country during the French war. Capt. Samuel Chapman's several sons and daughters all married and also settled in Tolland, where the sons became the wealthiest men in the town and were among the most active, public- spirited and influential.
Col. Samuel Chapman, son of Capt. Samuel Chapman, born in Windsor a few years prior to his father's settling in Tolland, married, in 1750, Sarah White, of Bolton, Conn. He was a very remarka- ble man, and a very eminent citizen of Tolland. He served as captain in the French and Indian war, and as colonel of the 22d Connecticut Militia during the entire war of the Revolution. His was the master spirit that brought the citizens of Tolland into unan- imous and energetic action in the Revolutionary contest. His personal courage and astonishing hardihood were proverbial among his soldiers. Few men could be found so unflinching in mo- ments of danger, and his firmness and energy never faltered under any circumstances. He was rather under the middle stature, had blue eyes, and his voice was remarkable for its loudness and energy. He was a great reader, taciturn and of studious hab- its. He never laughed, and it is said a smile sel- dom lighted his countenance. Col. Chapman was elected to the General Assembly from Tolland forty- three times, when the election was held twice a year, and attended fifteen special sessions of that body. He was a member of the convention in 1788, and voted for the adoption of the present Constitution of the United States. He was several years a select- man, and for twenty-six years (1772-1797) served as justice of the peace.
Among other prominent men of the name in Tolland were: Deacon Elijah Chapman, elected several terms to the General Assembly, and also served as selectman; Gen. Elijah Chapman, who several times was a member of the General Asseni- bly, and for twenty-three years served as sheriff of Tolland county ; and Capt. Ashbel, who was also several times in the General Assembly, and a mem- ber of the convention, in 1818, which framed the Constitution of the State.
Of the five children of Col. Samuel Chapman, Samuel, born in 1757, settled in Ellington, Conn. On Oct. 24, 1782, he married Mary Carlton, and be- came the father of ten children, among whom was Chester, the father of our subject.
Chester Chapman grew to manhood and March, 1832, married Abigail Loomis, who bore him four children : Samuel A., our subject; Mary Carlton, born Dec. 19, 1834; John Melvin, born Dec. 23, 1836; and Emily Elizabeth, born Jan. 17, 1839. On Dec. 29, 1840, Chester Chapman wedded Elizabeth Bull, of Ellington, Conn., and five children came to this second marriage: Eustace Chester, born Sept. 30, 1841 ; Florence Alicia, Oct. 25, 1842; Les- lie Clarence, Feb. 16, 1845; Randolph Butler, Nov. 16, 1848; and Edwin Dayton, July 15, 1851.
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Samuel A. Chapman, the subject proper of this sketch, was born Dec. 25, 1832, in the town of Ellington, the eldest in a family of nine children. While yet a boy he left home and began his business career in Hartford, Conn. In 1858 he came to Wat- crbury as a contractor with Rogers & Bros., with which firm he remained about seven years. At the end of this period he accepted a position with the Holmes, Booth & Hayden Co., as superintendent, in which capacity he served that company for eight- ven years, becoming after a time one of the directors of the company. In 1883 he organized the Chap- man & Armstrong Manufacturing Co., of which he himself was chosen president; he was also president of the Hammond Buckle Co. As a brass manufacturer Mr. Chapman was considered one of the best in the country. For several years he was a member of the board of com- pensation in Waterbury, and was also at one time police commissioner of the city. On the ques- tion of values of property he was considered an expert, and his advice was frequently sought in a public capacity. Mr. Chapman, without being at all demonstrative, was exceedingly public-spirited, and watched with keen interest all public matters, and ofttimes, without appearing to do so, exerted considerable influence. He was a councilman for many years, and in every way was a man of proin- inence, highly respected by all. As an employer of large numbers of men, he was considered to be just and considerate, winning the esteem and confidence of those who were associated with him. Fraternally he was a member of Harmony Lodge, F. & A. M., and of Clark Commandery, K. T., of Waterbury. In politics he was a Republican. In addition to his other interests he owned an extensive dairy and sheep farm in Madison, Conn., on which were to be found all modern improvements, and he was also the proprietor of several seaside cottages.
On May 25, 1858, Mr. Chapman married Miss Mary E. Lancey ( also spelled DeLancey), who was born in Springfield, Mass., a daughter of William and Betsey ( Herrick) Lancey, and to this union was born March 26, 1859, a daughter, Florence Mabel, who is living at home. Mr. Lancey was a native of Weston, Vt., born March 10, 1801, and died in 1840. He was a son of Zacheus Lancey, who settled in Weston. Mrs. Lancey was born in Chesterfield, N. H., a daughter of Silas Herrick, and died Sept. 17, 1865. The first of this DeLancey family in America came from France and settled in one of the New England States some time in the eighteenth century. Mrs. Chapman, the wife of our subject, was one of a family of six children, as follows: William J., a dentist in Centralia, Ill., who always writes his name DeLancey; Helen M., unmarried; George, who died in infancy; Sarah J., wife of Leroy S. White, of Waterbury, Conn .; Mary E. (Mrs. Chapman) ; and John L., who died at the age of two and one-half years.
Mr. Chapman died Feb. 13, 1896, at Water-
bury, and a local paper of the time pays him the following well-merited eulogy: "In the death of Samuel A. Chapman, Waterbury loses one of its representative citizens. The news of his death came with startling and shocking suddenness, and to the many who loved him for what he was, it is experi- enced as a personal affliction. He was a noble and generous man, whose many unostentatious kind- nesses and gracious deeds caused him to be held in high regard."
DWIGHT J. DOWNS is a well-known busi- ness man of Ansonia, where he is engaged as a butcher and a dealer in hides and skins, also handling fertilizers. He has quite a large estab- lishment in Division street.
Mr. Downs was born in Seymour, New Haven county, Dec. 3, 1839, a son of James Downs, who was born in Huntington, this State, and was one of a family of nine children. The mother of these, Mrs. Lydia ( Patterson) Downs, lived to her nine- ty-second year. The father was a farmer in Huntington, where he was married and died at the age of fifty years. James Downs was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools. On reaching manhood he purchased a farm in Mon- roe, and spent his life in its cultivation. He
died at the age of seventy-three years. He
married Carrie Johnson, who was born in Seymour ( then known as Derby), daughter of Beecher Johnson, who had three children. The Johnsons were early settlers in this part of the State, and a grandchild of Mr. Johnson still occupies the old homestead. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Downs, two are still living: Beech J., who was the third child; and Dwight J., our subject ; one daughter died at the age of eighty years, and one son at the age of eighty-one. Mrs. Downs died when sixty-eight years old. Both parents were members of the Congregational Church.
Dwight J. Downs spent the first thirteen years of his life under the parental roof. He then went out to work by the month, doing a man's work. He was in Southbury three years, after which he took up the butcher business, running a wagon in Ber- lin for three years, when he sold out. In 1868 he came to Ansonia and started a retail meat mar- ket, which he carried on for seventeen years. For two years he was also engaged in a "cooler" at Derby, which then passed into the hands of the Derby Beef Co. At the present time he is doing a wholesale business in beef and rendered tallow, and also deals largely in fertilizers, collecting and preparing from fifty butcher shops. Mr. Downs is among the oldest business men in this section. and his career has been marked by singular integ- rity and honesty. He has a fine home, and built his present house in 1879, on the site of one that was 175 years old. He has extensive real-estate interests, and has bought and now owns several valuable houses and a factory.
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mr. Downs was married in 1867 to Annie E. Gray, of Southbury, where she was born, daughter of Frederick H. and Harriet E. (Tuttle) Gray. The father is a farmer, and has passed all his life in Southbury, where he owns a fine farm; he has another in Iowa. He is a vigorous and energetic man for one of his years. Mrs. Downs is the eldest of a family of five children, and to her union with Mr. Downs have come three children: (I) Harriet married Benjamin Porter, general man- ager of the electric line between Ansonia and Derby, and also manager of the National Box & Paper Co., one of the largest institutions of the kind in the country. (2) Ruth A. is a graduate of the high school, and resides at home. (3 Frederick D., also at home, is employed in the office of the Derby Street Railway Company.
Mr. Downs is a Republican politically. He be- longs to King Solomon's Lodge, F. & A. M., with which he has been connected since he was twenty- one years old. He and his wife and daughter be- long to the Methodist Church. Mrs. Downs and her two daughters belong to the D. A. R. The maternal great-grandfather of Mr. Downs, whose name was Clark, served in the American Revolu- tion, was captured by the English, and died while in prison.
CYRUS W. TUTTLE, for half a century an honored resident of West Haven, now living retired, is a native of Brooklyn, N. Y., barn March 10, 1844.
James Tuttle, the first of the family in New England, came in 1638 from England with Rev. John Davenport. Bela Tuttle, the great-great-grand- father of Cyrus W., was killed while serving in the Revolutionary war in 1777.
Jesse Tuttle, son of Bela, and the great-grand- father of Cyrus W., was a lifelong farmer of Wat- ertown, Connecticut.
Isaac Tuttle, son of Jesse, and the grandfather of Cyrus W., was a native of Watertown. He was a farmer and clockmaker, being one of the first em- ployes in the Seth Thomas Clock Works at Thom- aston; in fact, he assisted in building the factory there. In 1860 he removed to New Haven and lived retired until his death, which occurred in 1867, when he was eighty-one years old. He married Chloe Bidwell, daughter of Alexander and Chloe Bidwell, of Farmington, and four children were born to them. The mother died in 1880. aged eighty-nine years, a member of the Congregational Church.
George W. Tuttle, father of Cyrus W., was born in Watertown, Jan. 14, 1814, and received his edu- cation in part at the common schools there, and at Litchfield Academy. After leaving school he fol- lowed mercantile pursuits in New Haven, Conn., Brooklyn, N. Y., and South Carolina, until 1851, in which year he removed to West Haven, where, in 1855, he assisted in organizing the buckle business in West Haven and was a director up to his death. In the twenty years he lived in West Haven he did
much to promote the interests of the place, and in addition to the buckle works he was the organizer of the key business, which he carried on some five years, or until his decease. He was one of the pro- moters of the New Haven and West Haven Horse Railway, in 1867, and in every way gave his best efforts toward assisting the town. In politics he was independent; he held the office of selectman, was a member of the school committee, and in many ways showed the interest he had in the welfare of the community. George W. Tuttle married Salonia Andrews, daughter of Timothy and Saloma (Grid- ley) Andrews, the former of whom was a farmer of Hamden, this county. Mrs. Tuttle's grandfather, who was an elder in the Methodist Church, married Sybil Eaton, of Hamden. To Mr. Tuttle and his wife were born five children, two of whom survive, Cyrus W., our subject ; and Edward, in California. The father died Aug. 5, 1871, the mother in 1890. Both were members of the Congregational Church, in which they took an active interest.
Cyrus W. Tuttle, the subject proper of this sketch, was seven years old when the family re- moved to West Haven, and he received his education there at the common schools and the academy, after which he worked in his father's key factory, and for a time was a clerk in New Haven. In October, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, 27th Conn. V. I., in which he served nine months, during which period he participated in the battle of Fredericks- burg.
In 1868 Cyrus W. Tuttle was married to Jean- ette Hale, who was born in Greenfield Hill, Conn., daughter of Hiram and Mary ( Morehouse) Hale, the former of whom was a blacksmith in the town of Fairfield. Five children have been born to this union, three of whom are living, viz .: (I) Georgia I. is the wife of Edwin A. Lettney, a plumber of West Haven; they have three children, Eleanor, Jeanette and Edwin A., Jr. (2) Ida May is the wife of James W. Young, who is in charge of R. G. Dun's Commercial Agency, at Richmond, Va. (3) Harry E. died in December, 1900, in California. (4) Elsie Morehouse is at home. (5) Alice died in in- fancy. The mother of these died in 1892, at the age of forty-one years, a member of the Congrega- tional Church.
HILLHOUSE. During much of the eighteenth and through the greater part of the first half of the century just closed, the family bearing this name was a conspicuous one in the annals of Con- necticut and the city of New Haven. We refer to the descendants of Rev. James Hillhouse, and es- pecially to the line of the Hon. James Hillhouse, the illustrious statesman, and his son James Abra- ham Hillhouse, the distinguished poet and scholar, both of New Haven, where one of the latter's daugh- ter Miss Isaphene Hillhouse, continues to make her home.
Rev. James Hillhouse, the progenitor of the
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Montville and New Haven Hillhouses, born about 147. came from a distinguished family, he being the son of John Hillhouse of Free Hall, and the grandson of Abraham Hillhouse, whose residence was at Artikelly, the latter being among the signers of an address to King William and Queen Mary on the occasion of the relief of the Siege of London- derry, dated July 29, 1669; while James Hillhouse, an uncle of Rev. James, was one of the commis- .ioners to treat with Lord Mountjoy in the me- morable defense of Derry against the forces of James HI, and was mayor of Londonderry in 1693. Rev. James Hillhouse was educated at the famous University of Glasgow, in Scotland, and later took the divinity course in the same institution, being ordained by the Presbytery of Londonderry in Ireland, and appears to have resided at or near the ancestral home until the death of his father in 1716. Not long after his mother's death, in January, 1717, he is supposed to have come with other Presbyterians from the North of Ireland, who in 1719 established themselves in New Hampshire, where the towns of Derry and Londonderry, and the Londonderry l'resbytery are the permanent memorials of that mi- gration. At the close of 1720, Rev. Hillhouse ap- peared in Boston, when Cotton Mather spoke of him as "a worthy, hopeful and valuable young min- ister lately arrived in America." He was installed as pastor of the North Parish of the Church in New London, Conn., in about 1724, and sustained such relations with it until his death in 1740, a period of about sixteen years. Rev. Hillhouse mar- ried, in 1726, Mary, daughter of Daniel. and grand- daughter of Rev. James Fitch, the first minister of Norwich, Conn., and she died in 1768. From this couple, the late James Abraham Hillhouse, the poet of New Haven, was in the fourth generation, his line being through Hon. William and Hon. James Hillhouse.
(II) Hon. William Hillhouse, son of Rev. James, the emigrant settler, born in 1728, married in 1750, Sarah, born in 1728, daughter of John Griswold and sister of the first Governor Griswold of Con- necticut, and settled on the paternal estate in Mont- ville, which was his place of abode until his death. lle was greatly trusted and honored by his fellow townsmen and was probably the most prominent man of his day in his native town; was a leading patriot in the war of the Revolution; was many times a deputy of the General Court, and in 1785 was chosen as assistant in the Senate. For years he was judge of county and probate courts; was major in the 2d Regiment of cavalry raised in Con- nectient for service in the Revolution. Judge Hill- house had a distinguished personality. His wife died on March 10, 1777, and in 1778, he married Delia Hosmer. His death occurred in 1816.
1756, soon becoming distinguished at the Bar by his forensic abilities as well as by his learning. In 1772 he was elected one of the twelve assistants, who with the governor and lieutenant-governor, were the council or senate. His Christian life and conver- sation were truly exemplary, adorned with graces of meekness, charity and humility. His wife died in 1822 and he in 1775, leaving no issue.
(III) Hon. James Hillhouse (2), son of Hon. William, born in 1754. married (second) in 1782, Rebecca Woolsey. He had been adopted by his uncle, James Abraham Hillhouse, of New Haven, where he was graduated from Yale in 1773, which institution, in 1823, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. During the war of the Revolution he served his country, and in 1779 he was captain of the Governor's Foot Guard at the time New Ha- ven was invaded by the British under Tryon. Later he practiced law in New Haven; sat in the gov- ernor's council and was then elected to Congress as a Federalist, taking an active part in the debates of that body during 1791-95. In 1796 he was ap- pointed United States Senator to succeed Hon. Oliver Ellsworth, who had resigned his seat in the United States Senate to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. On the with- drawal of Thomas Jefferson from the Senate, after his election to the Presidency, Senator Hillhouse was appointed president pro tem of that body. In 1810 he resigned his seat in the Senate to become Commissioner of School Fund of Connecticut, and held the office until 1825, during which period he is credited with saving that fund from destruction, and with adding, by judicious investments, the sum of $500,000. In 1782 he was chosen treasurer of Yale College, and from that time until his death, a period of fifty years, continued in such relations. Much of the natural beauty of New Haven had its origin in the acts of Senator Hillhouse. Mrs. Hill- house passed away in December, 1813, and the Sen- ator in December, 1832.
James Abraham Hillhouse, son of Hon. James Hillhouse (2), was born Sept. 26. 1789. in New Haven, married Nov. 23, 1822, Cornelia, daugh- ter of Isaac Lawrence, of New York. Mr. Hill- house was graduated from Yale in 1808, and later went to Boston, Mass., where he remained for three years preparing for a mercantile career. Later he engaged in business in New York City, and in 1819, he visited Europe. Returning to this country, he retired after his marriage, to his country seat, "Sac- hem's Wood," New Haven, Conn., where he passed the rest of his life, giving his time to literature. While in Europe Mr. Hillhouse became acquainted with a number of distinguished mnen. The father of Macaulay, the historian, referred to him as the most accomplished young man with whom he was acquainted. Mr. Hillhouse delivered a poem be- fore Yale Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society which was published in New York in 1822. This
Of this same second generation, Hon. James Abraham Hillhouse, a brother of Judge William,was hoorn May 12, 1730, was graduated from Yale in 1749. entered the legal profession at New Haven about , was entitled "The Judgment." In 1819 he pub-
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
lished in London, "Percy's Masque," a drama, which was reprinted in New York, with additions, in 1820. "Hadad," a sacred drama, was published in New York in 1825. Others of his published works were a collected edition of his writings containing the ad- ditions of "Demetria," an Italian tragedy, written in 1813; "Sachem's Wood," and several discourses under the title of "Dramas and Discourses and Other Pieces" (2 vols., Boston, 1839). Mr. Hill- house was a poet of merit and a man of high lit- erary attainments. Mr. Hillhouse died at New Haven, Jan. 5, 1841, and Mrs. Hillhouse passed away in 1874. Their children were: Cornelia (who married William Hillhouse), Mary, Isaphene and James.
HUDSON B. FORBES. Among the old and honored families of East Haven, none enjoy more ยท fully the esteem of the community, which has known them so long, than the Forbes family, of which Hudson B. is a most worthy representative.
Great-grandfather Samuel Forbes married Mary Thompson and they had these children : Samuel, Jehiel, Levi, Isaac, Sarah (who married Jared Porter), and Mary (who married Charles Bishop). Levi Forbes, the grandfather, married Sarah Tuttle and had these children: Anna, born in March, 1770; Mary, born in February, 1772; Sarah, born in May, 1774; Levins, born in July, 1776; Timothy, born in 1778; Lydia, born in 1780; Anne, born in 1782; Levi, born in 1785; and Bela, the father of our subject.
Bela Forbes was a farmer in East Haven. When a boy he had seen some service on a revenue cutter, and during the war of 1812 he held some military office. He died in New Haven in 1873, aged sev- enty-eight years. The family attended the Epis- copal Church. His wife was Abigail Bradley, a daughter of Joel Bradley, a farmer of East Haven. She died in January, 1857. A family of seven chil- dren were born to this marriage: Louisa, who mar- ried Abram Thompson, of East Haven, a sea-faring man (both deceased) ; Lavisa, who married Joseph Thompson, a brother of the above; Jane, who mar- ried John A. Dibbell, lived in New Haven (both are deceased) ; Minerva, who married Jared Wed- more, an oysterman of East Haven; Ellen, who married Joel Bradley, a carpenter in New Haven ; Lester, who married Mary Willard, was a mason constructor ; and Hudson B., our subject, the fifth of the family.
Hudson B. Forbes was born in East Haven, or Morris Cove, May 2, 1832, and spent his early days on the farm, and attended the district schools. Then he commenced a life upon the water, continu- ing this until he was twenty years old; before he was fifteen he was mate of a vessel. The first mar- riage of Mr. Forbes took place in September, 1853, to Emily Ludington, of East Haven, a daughter of Caleb Ludington. Her death occurred in January, 1858, and none of her children reached maturity.
On Sept. 1, 1858, Mr. Forbes was married to Ellen E. Hotchkiss, who was born in East Haven, a daughter of Joseph I. and Sarah Ann ( Bradley) Hotchkiss. Ever since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Forbes have lived on the fine old farm, and a large family of fourteen children have been born to them, the survivors being: Fanny E. married William Johnson, who came from Iowa, and they had one child, Quincy E., who died at the age of five; Lillian J. married Frederick Van Sickle, and has four chil- dren, Frederick, Mildred, Edith and Edna; and Nellie A. married Everett L. Wright, and has two children, Raymond Forbes and Madia Nellie. Maude Adele is unmarried. Fred H., who died at the age of twenty-four, married Amelia Selk, and they had one child, Harry Hudson.
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