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 62
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SANFORD C. STONE, of the well-known firm of Stone & Norton, poultry and produce dealers, New Haven, is a descendant of an old and promi- nent family of Connecticut and New England. At a very early period in our country's history Will- iam and John Stone (who were probably sons of Rev. Samuel Stone, of Hertford, England) emi- grated from England and settled in Guilford, Conn., ; in 1639, and William became the progenitor of the branch of the family in which we are most inter-
married Clarissa Coe, and became the father of the following children : Wealthy, Eliza, Amanda, Al- fred, Heman (father of our subject), Aaron and Wealthy. In religious faith the family were Con- gregationalists. Ileman Stone died Nov. 29, 1864.
Heman Stone, son of Heman, was born Sept. 3, 1815, and died Jan. 29, 1890. He passed his life in Madison, Conn., and there engaged in farming. Like his father before him, he was actively inter- ested in matters pertaining to the general welfare of his town and county, and he held a number of important offices in the gift of the people. First a Whig, he later joined the ranks of the Republican party. For some time he served as a representative in the State Legislature, sustaining the dignity of his office with great credit to himself and much satis- faction to his constituents. He married Sarah Hol- lister, who was born in Little Falls, N. Y., Feb. 26, 1815, a daughter of Anson and Sally ( Beardsley) Hollister. They became the parents of two chil- dren : Sanford C. ; and George B., a farmer of Madi- son, who died at the age of forty years.
Sanford C. Stone was born in Madison, Conn., Feb. 2, 1848, and passed his boyhood days on his father's farm. The district school of the neighbor- hood and the public schools of Guilford and Meri- , den afforded him ample facilities for a good educa- tion. After leaving school he made his home in Meriden and North Branford until he was twenty- eight years of age, when he came to New Haven. Here in partnership with T. E. Norton he engaged in the produce and poultry business on Chapel street, under the firm name of Stone & Norton. Their es- tablishment was known as the Public Market, and remained in its first location for eighteen years, when they located at No. 373 State street, where they have since remained. They have been emi- nently successful in winning and retaining patrons, as they pay especial attention to the quality of their goods, and are ever courteous and obliging to their customers.
On Dec. 25, 1871, Mr. Stone was united in mar- riage with Miss Jennie Lane, who was born in Kil- lingworth, Conn., a daughter of Charles Lane, of that place. She passed away July 24, 1892, leaving ested. The Guilford records show the line in Amer- . two children, May Hollister and Maud Irene. Po- ica to be as follows: (II) William (2), son of William, was a tailor and ordinary, and died in 1683. (III) William, born in 1642, died Sept. 28, 1730. (IV) William, born Feb. 22, 1672, died Sept. 21, 1753. (V) Jehiel, born Nov. II, 1702, died Oct. 18, 1780. (VI) Deacon Aaron, born Oct. 21, 1741, died June 7, 1821.
litically Mr. Stone is a Republican. In his social relations he belongs to City Lodge, No. 36, I. O. O. F .; and in religious connections is a member of the Church of the Redeemer, on Orange street.
JOHN F. NETTLETON, long and favorably known to the people of New Haven as an intelligent and gallant member of the city police force, was born in Bethany, Conn., June 13, 1827, a son of Oliver Nettleton, who was born in what is now Orange, but then known as North Milford, Conn., March 3, 1787, where he died Jan. 31, 1864.
(VII) Heman Stone, grandfather of Sanford C. Stone, was born Nov. 21, 1783, in North Madison, Conn., where his father engaged in farming. He. too, became a farmer, and was one of the substantial citizens of the town. In public affairs he took an active part, and represented his town in the State The history of the Nettleton family in this coun- Legislature, having been elected as a Whig. He |try begins with Samuel Nettleton, who was probably
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born in England and who lived in Milford and Branford, and died in Fairfield about 1655. His wife, Maria, died in Branford on Oct. 29, 1658.
Samuel Nettleton, son of Samuel and Maria, was a native of Milford. On Feb. S, 16SI, he mar- ried Martha Baldwin, who was born April 1, 1663, a daughter of Richard Baldwin, of Milford.
John Nettleton, son of Samuel and Martha, was horn Sept. 18, 1689, and he married Sarah Bryan, a daughter of Richard Bryan.
Nathan Nettleton, son of John and Sarah, was born May 4, 1734, and married Sibyl, a daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah L. Buckingham.
John Nettleton, son of Nathan, and grand- father of John F., was born Oct. 9, 1765, followed farining in Bethany and died Aug. 8, 1842. He married Comfort, a daughter of Abraham and Sarah L. ( Bristol) Hine. Their son Oliver is noted above as the father of John F. Nettleton.
Oliver Nettleton was a farmer all his life in Bethany and elsewhere in Connecticut. On Sept. 8, 1813, he married Sarah Treat, a daughter of Samuel Treat, a farmer in Milford, Conn., where she was born. The Treat family is one of the oldest and most prominent in the State and begins with Richard Treat, who was born in Pittminster, Eng- land, in 1584 and died about 1669 in Wethersfield. Conn., of which place his wife, Alice Gaylord, was a native. Robert Treat, his son, was born in Eng- land in 1624, became governor of Connecticut and d'ed July 12, 1710; married Jane Tapp, of Milford.
Robert Treat, son of Governor Treat, was born Aug. 14, 1654, and died March 20, 1720: he married Abigail Camp, who was born March 28, 1667, and died March 20, 1742. Samuel Treat, their son, was born Nov. 28, 1697, and died April 28, 1753 ; he mar- ried Anna Clark, who was born in 1709 and died Dec. 12, 1731.
Samuel Treat, son of Samuel and Anna, was born Aug. 6, 1728, and died Aug. 17, 1787 ; he mar- ried Frances Bryan, who was born Aug. 16, 1726, and died June 13, 1806. Their son, Samuel Treat, born Aug. 16, 1760, married Sarah Nettleton, who died in 1793 at the age of thirty-two years, and he died May 3, 1813. Their daughter, Sarah, born Dec. 2, 1788, was the mother of John F. Nettleton.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Nettleton were the parents of the following children: Minerva, born July 9, 1815: Samuel T., born Nov. 29, 1817; Saralı E., born Feb. 28, 1820; Oriel, born May S. 1822: Cla- rissa A., born Sept. 20, 1824; and John F. Oriel married William H. Farnham, of New Haven. who is dead ; Clarissa A. married George G. Fowler, who is dead: Minerva, Samuel and Sarah E. are all dead. Oliver Nettleton was a Whig and a Republi- can later in life. In religion he was a member of the Congregational Church, his life conforming well to his faith.
Jolin F. Nettleton spent the first ten years of his life on the farm in Bethany, where he attended school, and he also attended school for a period of
seven years in Seymour. He came to New Haven in early manhood.
On Oct. 1, 1854, Mr. Nettleton was married to Sarah L. Peck, who was born in Berlin, Conn., a daughter of Evelyn Peck. To this union were born: Oliver Ellsworth, Evelyn Frank, Edward S. and George R.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Nettleton removed to Rochelle, Ill., where he was engaged in the gram business until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted Aug. 14, 1862, in Company H, 92d Ill. Mounted Infantry. He became Ist lieutenant and as such was under General Sherman in his famous "March to the Sea." He was mustered out on June 21, 1865, and returned to New Haven, where he engaged in the grocery business until 1873.
Mr. Nettleton is a Republican and was appointed policeman in New Haven Oct. 19, 1873, and his service on the force was unbroken until his retire- ment Jan. 1, 1894, a period of more than twenty years. It is a record of efficiency and ability sel- dom surpassed and Mr. Nettleton has a host of friends in the city who appreciate his manly quali- ties and wish him well. He belongs to the City Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the Admiral Foote Post, G. A. R., and is an earnest member of the Methodist Church.
FRANK L. COWING, Chief of the Meriden Fire Department, and foreman of the Press depart- ment of the Manning & Bowman Manufacturing plant, is one of the well-known and highly esteemed citizens of this city. He comes of good Colonial stock, his great-grandfather, Gathelius Cowing. a native of Massachusetts, having served as a soldier in the Revolutionary army.
Job Cowing, our subject's grandfather, was born in Scituate, Plymouth Co., Mass., but removed in early manhood to Chesterfield, Hampshire Co., that State, where he made his permanent home and cn- gaged in farming and stock raising. In politics he was a Whig. and as a citizen he was held in high esteem. By his first wife, Rachel Coleman. he had one daughter. Electa, who married George Kendall, of Northfield. Mass. His second wife, Sybil King, of West Hampton, Mass., was a woman of rare worth, and was greatly beloved by her family and associates. She died in Chesterfield in 1857, he in 1856. They had children : Auralia, deceased wife of R. Gurney ; Elvira, married to Ansel Thyer ; Cynthia, married to Jacob Loomis: Dexter, deceased: Eunice. who died unmarried: Fannie, deceased wife of Jason Thyer ; Job : Charles ; Sybil, deceased wife of Spell- man Stevens; Sumner, deceased ; and Austin.
Job Cowing, son of Job, was born Aug. 31, 1820. at the old homestead in Chesterfield, Mass .. and was reared as a farmer boy, receiving only a district- school education. When a young man he went to Orange county, N. Y., to learn the millwright's trade, which he followed for many years. After ten years he removed to Northampton, Mass., and
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later he spent six years at Stamford. Bennington Co., Vt., where he became interested in the lumber business. He then came to Connecticut to engage in farming, and settled upon Capt. Simon Kendall's farm in Suffield, where he has since resided. In addition to general agriculture, he devotes much attention to dairying and stock raising. and by his able management he has gained satisfactory results in all these lines. Throughout his life he has been a firm believer in the policy of the Democratic party, and while not an office-seeker, he has not shirked the duties of citizenship, and at one time served as assessor of Suffield. He is a man of sound judg- ment and extensive reading, and in religion bases his faith upon the underlying principles of all creeds rather than in those of any one denomination.
On Dec. 25, 1844, Mr. Cowing was married in Port Jervis, N. Y., to Miss Eleanor Cole, daughter of Josiah Cole, a prominent citizen of Paterson, N. J. Their home is marked by the influence of Mrs. Cowing's refined taste, and their eight chil- dren have been reared in a way to make them a credit to their parents ; Walter is a blacksmith in Meriden ; Julia married Senator George F. Kendall, of Suf- field; Laura married Irvin Linsley, of Meriden ; Fanny married Arthur Tilden, of Terryville, Conn .; Frank L. is our subject ; James resides in Toronto, Canada ; Miss Helen is at home ; and Addie mar- ried Ernest Austin, of Suffield.
Frank L. Cowing was born in Stamford, Vt., Oct. 17, 1855. While he was still a lad the family removed to Suffield, and in that town Frank received his education up to the age of fifteen, when he de- cided to leave home and learn a trade. Selecting that of wood-turning. he entered an establishment of that kind in Cunningham, Mass., and remained there for the succeeding five years, receiving his board and a compensation of $12 per month. Re- turning to Suffield, drawn thither by family affec- tion, he engaged in business with his father, as carpenter and joiner, until 1879, when he removed to Meriden, where he entered into the employ of the Manning & Bowman Co., remaining there ever since one of its most capable and trusted workmen. At that time the business of the company was in- significant, while now it is one of the largest and most important among the prominent manufacturing concerns of this city. Almost all of these twenty- two years of faithful service by Mr. Cowing have been spent as foreman of the press department, and he has earned not only the entire confidence of his employers, but also the respect of those whose work he directs.
Mr. Cowing was married in Meriden, in 1885, to Miss Emma Walkley, who was born in Elizabeth- port, N. J., a daughter of Richard Walkley. of Shel- don, Conn., a lady whose graces of mind and char- acter fit her to be the devoted wife and mother, and the good Christian woman whom her friends and neighbors admire and esteem. Two children were born of this union: Ethel, who is attending
school ; and little Frank L., whose life passed out when he was but four years of age, leaving a void which can never be filled. In 1880 Mr. Cowing became a member of the Fire Department Truck Co., of which he was clerk until 1886, and was as- sistant engineer for the following two years. In 1898 he was appointed chief of the department. under Mayor Ives, and for three years has filled this arduous office with the greatest efficiency, re- flecting credit upon himself and his city, and giving the people a feeling of security which they have never previously enjoyed. Personally Mr. Cowing is very popular, his genial manner winning friends easily. Fraternally he is valued in Center Lodge, No. 97, F. & A. M. ; and Meriden Center Lodge, No. 68. I. O. O. F .; is past noble grand of the last named lodge, and past chief patriarch of Oasis Encamp- ment, No. 16, of the same order. He is also a member of Meriden Lodge, No. 35, B. P. O. E., and of Montowese Tribe, I. O. R. M., of Meriden. The religious connection of the family is with St. Paul's Universalist Church, where Mr. Cowing's sympathy and help are given to all the various branches of charitable work. In politics he is a Democrat, and was a member of the city council during 1886-7, from the First ward, and served effectively on the committees of police and finance. and was clerk of the former, and also was made a member of the committee on by-laws. In 1891 he was elected on the same ticket as town auditor, and served through one term. Mr. Cowing has been prominent in many enterprises for the bettering of his department, and was one of the organizers of the firemen's relief fund, and has been the presi- dent of that organization for the past eighteen years. Frank L. Cowing stands high in the esteem of this community, as he fills every relation of life as befits a good citizen and representative man. Justly popular, he enjoys a regard that is genuine and is well de- served.
EDWARD ERNEST WEST, ex-mayor of Meriden, and one of the most popular and efficient officials the city ever had, is a native of Great Brit- ain, born Nov. 29, 1847, in London, England. His ancestors were among the most uncompromising ad- herents of the Independent Church in England.
John Aaron West, Sr., his grandfather, was for many years head master of Barking School, in Mid- dlesex, near London, and subsequently became an Independent minister, in charge of Bethnel Green Chapel, London.
John Aaron West (2), son of John Aaron West. Sr., stood a test of the ability of the Established Church to collect religious taxes, and spent seven days in jail for his principles. The last-named be- came secretary and manager of one of the largest chemical works in England, and died at St. Helen's, Lancashire, Oct. 31, 1844, aged forty-four years. His wife, Louisa Amanda Bourdon, was, like him- self, a native of England, though a daughter of
6° e Odward 6 West -.
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French parents. Her father, Frederic Bourdon, came from Rouen, France, to England in 1813, and was the first French dyer in London. Mrs. West is still living, at the age of eighty-five years, and resides in Rainhill, Lancashire. Of her three sons and two daughters, all save one son are now living. Frederick J., the eldest, is a wholesale draper at Prescott, Lancashire, England, and is one of the greatest volunteer rifle shots in that country; since 1859, he has been color sergeant of Co. A, St. Helen's Rifle Brigade-a period of forty-two years.
Edward E. West is the second child of John Aaron and Louisa Amanda ( Bourdon ) West. He pursued his primary education in the public schools. graduating from the Mill Hill Grammar School, and passed the examination for admission to Cambridge University, but the sudden death of his father pre- vented his taking up a university course. Being now compelled to undertake his own maintenance. he engaged in the marine insurance business for a short time. Having resolved to seek his fortune in the United States. he set out in 1866, being then in his nineteenth year, for this country. Arriving at New York, he soon found employment on a farm near Coxsackie, N. Y .. and was subsequently en- gaged in copper mining near Somerville, N. J. Oct. 25. 1866, found him in Meriden, where he went to work within a few days in the office of the Meri- den Britannia Company. For thirty-five years he has continued in this service. though he has several times received merited promotion, and now occul- pies a remunerative and desirable position, having charge of the orders and foreign correspondence. This long-continued business relation, and the pro- motions received, sufficiently attest his business capacity, industry and integrity.
The genial and upright nature of Mr. West naturally has attracted and maintained friendships, and his social connections are wide and varied. A Democrat in political principle, he was elected to the office of mayor in the spring of 1900, largely by Republican votes, being the only Democratic candi- date 'who won in that campaign, and received 369 votes more than the balance of his ticket. He had previously served two years as alderman from the Second ward, being elected in 1898. and re-elected the following year. For the past thirty years he has been a member of Myrtle Lodge. No. 4, K. of P .. and is connected with Meridian Lodge, No. 35. B. P. O. E. He affiliates with Meriden Lodge, No. 77, A. F. & A. M., Keystone Chapter, No. 27. R. A. M., Hamilton Council. No. 22. R. & S. M., and St. Elmo Commandery, K. T. In all these organizations ex- cept the Commandery, he has passed through the principal chairs. Mr. West is a vestryman in All Saints' Memorial Episcopal Church, where all his family worship. When he was nominated for mayor, it was said that his business connections would prevent his giving proper attention to the duties of the office, but he was acknowledged to be
the most faithful officer that has ever occupied the chair.
In 1871, Edward E. West was married to Miss Alice Pelton La Barnes, daughter of George and Esther ( Whitney) La Barnes, all natives of Meri- den. The names indicate French and English an- cestry, on the paternal and maternal sides respect- ively. The first of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. West-Frederick Arthur, born in 1872- died at the age of seven and one-half years. Of the others, Florence Annette is now the wife of Wil- bur A. Goodrich, of Wallingford, Conn ; Albert Er- nest, now temporarily located in Chicago, in the in- terest of a Meriden manufacturing concern. makes his home here: Edward Winsor, Leila L. and Alice, all at home. The second daughter has thus had far only two birthday anniversaries, having been born on Feb. 29, 1888.
TIMOTHY E. NORTON, junior partner of the firm of Stone & Norton, dealers in country prod- uce, at No. 373 State street, New Haven, is a na- tive of North Madison, Conn., born June 28, 1853, and is of the third generation of his family to bear the name of Timothy.
Timothy Norton, his grandfather, was probably a native of the Nutmeg State, and he followed the occupation of a farmer, also engaging to some ex- tent in the West Indies trade. He shipped many cargoes of mules to those islands, the return voyage bringing the products of the tropics.
Timothy Norton, son of Timothy (1). grew to manhood in Madison, and engaged in agricultural pursuits as a means of livelihood. He married Se- lina Norton, who was born in Killingworth. Conn., a daughter of Jonathan Norton, a farmer there, and she died in 1875. She became the mother of eight children, of whom four lived to maturity: Gris- wold, who died at Port Royal, S. C., in the Civil war ; Abbie M., wife of Osmer Hill, a farmer of Madison ; Lewis L., who passed away at the age of thirty-three; and Timothy E. In politics Timothy Norton was a Republican, and in religious belief a Congregationalist, serving as a deacon of that church for about forty years.
Timothy E. Norton passed his early years on his father's farm, receiving his education in the dis- trict school, and also in the North Madison high school. At the age of eigliteen he went to Meriden, and there for one year was employed by Henry C. Rowe in the fish business. In 1876 he came to New Haven, and in company with Sanford C. Stone engaged in the produce business, under the firm name of Stone & Norton. For nineteen years they remained at their first location on Chapel street, and then removed to their present place of business, at No. 373 State street, where they are meeting with the greatest success.
In 1874 Mr. Norton was married to Miss Fannie E. Leonard, who was born in Middletown, Conn., a daughter of George Leonard, and three children
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have been born to them, as follows: Louis L., Cora M. and Gertrude M. In his political faith Mr. Norton is a Republican. Socially he belongs to City Lodge, No. 36, I. O. O. F .; and the Royal Arcanum, Davenport, No. 700. In his religious be- lief, like his father before him, he is a Congregation- alist, and he holds membership in the Dwight Place Church of that denomination.
JOSEPH STEPHEN STOKES, one of the self- made and most highly-respected citizens of Meriden, was born June 8, 1845, in Wednesbury, Stafford- shire, England.
John William Stokes, his father, was also born in Wednesbury, a son of Stephen Stokes, a gunlock- maker of that town, where he lived and died, a faith- ful member of the Established Church. John Will- iam Stokes received such limited education as the national schools of his time afforded, and under his father's instructions learned the latter's trade, which afforded him occupation for many years. He married Martha Birch, a native of the same place, and a daughter of Joseph Birch, a butcher of that town. Their children were seven in number, name- ly: Joseph Stephen; John William, who died in boyhood; Georgiana, deceased in infancy; Enoch Charles, now a resident of Minneapolis, Minn. ; George Alfred, a citizen of Meriden : Alfred Henry, of Montreal, Canada; and Sarah Ann, who mar- ried E. O. Goodrich, resided several years in An- sonia, Conn., and is now deceased. The father with his wife and younger children came to America in 1867. He located at Springfield, Mass., where he remained six years, in the service of the Wesson Fire Arms Co. In the meantime his son, whose name begins this article, had become established as a contractor in the gun shops of Parker Bros., in Meriden, and in 1873 the father came here to takc a position with him in the same shops. Thus he spent fourteen years, and then retired from active labor, dying at his home in 1887; his remains were lovingly deposited in Walnut Grove cemetery. He was survived two years by his wife, who was, like himself, a faithful communicant of the Episcopal Church. She was a devoted wife and mother, and a kind friend and neighbor. Mr. Stokes was noted for his integrity, kind heart and upright Christian character. He and his wife were entitled to, and received, the respect and commendation of all who had the privilege to know them.
Joseph Stephen Stokes was trained in early life to habits of industry, and in boyhood laid the foundation of that sturdy independence and thrift which have characterized his life. His education was supplied by the national schools of his native place, and he began at an early age to learn the trade of his father, under whose example and teach- ing he became a very skilled workman. After the removal of his parents to this country he remained in Wednesbury, and became a contractor in the manufacture of guns. However, he was soon con-
vinced that the western world afforded better oppor- tunities for an ambitious man, and set sail from Liverpool Feb. 23, 1869, arriving at New York in due time. He came directly to Meriden, the fame of whose products was not wholly unknown to him, and before the close of the year he was a contractor in Parker Brothers gun shops, to which occupation he has continuously given his attention up to the present time-a period of over thirty-three years. In busy times he gives employment to seventy men. and his success is what might naturally be expected from a knowledge of his character. Himself a skilled workman, he has surrounded himself with capable workmen, and his faithful attention to detail .. and energetic supervision of the work in hand. has always brought satisfactory results. In 1873 he built his present commodious and handsome resi- dence on Queen street, Meriden, the finest on the street, and provided with all modern conveniences.
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