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 64
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Thomas Hoyt, the son of John, was born in 1640 in Salisbury, married Mary Brown, daughter of William Brown. of Salisbury, and died in 1690.
Ephraim Hovt, the son of Thomas, was born in 1671, married Hannah Godfrey, in 1695, a second Hannah Godfrey in 1736. and Elizabeth Macrest in 1738. He lived and died in Hampton Falls.
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Ephraim Hayt (2), son of Ephraim, married three wives, Sarah Clough, Abigail Welch and Sus- annah _ Ile lived in Hampton Falls until 157, and then removed to Chester, N. H., where he died in 1707.
William Hoyt, son of Ephraim, married Sarah, a daughter of Benjamin Smith, and lived in Exeter, N. H. He served in the French and Indian war, and was a soldier in the American Revolution, be- ing killed in battle, July 5, 1777.
Abraham Hoyt, son of William, was born in 1764. married Bethiah Estebrook in 1793, and lived many years at Hartford, Vt., removing to Royalton, in the same State, where he died in 1841, his wife having died in 1826.
Nehemiah Hardy Hoyt, son of Abraham, and the father of the gentleman whose name appears at the introduction of this article, was born in Hebron, N. 11., Feb. 25, 1808, and on Oct. 2, 1831, married Mrs. I.ney ( Baldwin ) Durand, daughter of Jesse Bald- win, and to this union came children as follows : ( 1) Sarah M., born June 24, 1832. married George A. Lord in 1852, and. Abron Lamb in 1863. (2) Incy A., born March 6, 1834, married Henry E. Hotchkiss. in 1852, and William H. Abrams, in 1814. (3) Clarissa T., born June 22, 1838, married Perlin Warriner Aug. 22. 1859. (4) Susie M., born July 28. 1840, married James H. Lee in 1867. (5) Nathan B .. born July 23, 1842, married Frank M. Bartlett in 1866. and was a bonnet and hat manu- facturer in New Haven. He served in a Connect- ient regiment in the Civil war, and participated in the first battle of Bull Run ; for more than two years he was a steward in the hospital service of the regular army, and is still living in New Haven. (6) Nehemiah Hardy, born Oct. 2, 1844, in New Haven, was married Oct. 2. 1866. to Emma J., a daughter of William P. Gardner, an organ builder in New Haven.
Nehemiah Hardy Hoyt had his education in the New Haven city schools, and while still a boy be- gan work at the machinist trade, which was his busi- ness for seven years. In 1869, in company with James H. Lee, he began a wholesale meat business, the partnership continuing to 1899. At first their business was done in a small way, but under care- ful management and painstaking attention it became very successful. In 1899 Mr. Lee retired and a joint stock company was formed, which took the name of the Hoyt Beef and Produce Company, with Mr. Hoyt as president. The business has become very extensive, the house buying enormous quan- Ities of beef, butter and eggs, and shipping all over New England. Their present building on Union Street, five stories high, was especially fitted up for the business. Mr. Hoyt does the buying for the house on the New York markets, and his son Charles W ... the secretary and treasurer of the company. is the general manager of the office business. They employ hity men in New Haven, and have two salesmen on the road.
Of the children of Nehemiah Hardy and Emma J. (Gardner) Hoyt, (1) Charles W. was graduated from Yale in 1897, taking a course in mechanical engineering ; he is a member of the Naval Reserve. In 1897 he married Effie Smith, of Baltimore, a daughter of Henry Smith, and they have one child, Winthrop Clayton. (2) Samuel E. graduated from Yale in 1897, and from the Law Department of Yale in 1899, and is now engaged in legal practice in New Haven. He married Grace Alvord, of Bridgeport.
Mr. Hoyt is a Republican in his political re- lations, and is associated with the Congregational Church. He belongs to Harmony Lodge, No. 1, A. F. & A. M., and is past grand in Relief Lodge, No. 86. I. O. O. F. Mr. Hoyt has long been a member of the Union League Club.
CHARLES EDWIN PARK, M. D., comes of a well-known family of Connecticut, his father. Ed- win Avery Park, being one of the noted physicians of the State, his paternal ancestry being easily traced as far back as the year 1630.
Edwin Avery Park was born in Preston. New London Co., Conn., Jan. 27, 1817, a son of Benjamin Franklin and Hannah ( Avery) Park. the father a farmer and merchant in Preston, where he lived and died in the old homestead, which has been in the family for generations.
Benjamin Franklin Park was the son of Elisha, who was the son of Rev. Paul Park-a minister who preached in the same church, in his native town, for over fifty years-and he was a son of Hezekiah Park, a son of Robert Park, who with his wife and three sons came from England, in 1630, and settled in Boston, Mass. The English ances- tors of the family resided in Lancashire, and the late Baron Park. of England, descended from the same ancestral line, the name until within a few years be- ing written with a final e.
Dr. Edwin Avery Park spent his early life upon his father's farm, working there during the summer and attending school during the winter, and at the age of sixteen beginning to be a teacher, himself. For several seasons he taught school, and then be- came a student at Wilbraham Academy, but when about twenty-one took up the serious study of medi- cine. in Durham, under the tuition of Dr. Rufus Wellington Matthewson. For several years he con- tinued with this noted practitioner. in the meantime taking a course of lectures in the New York Medi- cal College. and later in the Vale Medical College. graduating from the latter institution in 1846. At once opening an office, Dr. Park soon found his services in demand. Until this time he had carved out his own career, as limited means prevented many of his cherished plans being put into execu !- tion, but his energetic and resolute character had enabled him to overcome many difficulties, and when he took up his practice, he found himself well pre- , pared to gain and keep the confidence of the public.
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During the Civil war, he was surgeon of the enroll- ing board in association with Col. Dexter R. Wright, and in that position he performed efficient and valuable service. A man of liberal and active mind, well-informed, ready but not rash, he won the respect of his medical associates and was equally es- teemed in social circles.
In 1853 Dr. Park married Hester Ann, daugh- ter of Charles J. Allen, of New Haven, and five children were born of this union, the survivors be- ing: Catherine B., Hester M., Franklin A., and Charles E. (Of the brothers of Dr. Park, none re- main : Chief Justice Park, of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, is deceased : Albert was a prominent attorney of Norwich ; and Ralph H., who last lived in Boston, was the late principal of the Wooster school, of New Haven. The death of Dr. Park occurred on Jan. 17, 1879.
From his early days Dr. Charles E. Park was marked for the practice of medicine, having in- herited much of his father's trend of mind. He was born Oct. 24, 1857, and after attendance at the pub- lic schools and at Gen. Russell's Military School, he began the systematic study of the profession which he has adorned for a number of years. So thor- ough was the instruction that he received from his father, that he was soon prepared for Yale, from which Medical school he graduated in June, 1881. naturally associating with his father and taking up the practice which the latter had only resigned at death.
Dr. Park was married to Miss Grace B. Car- penter, of Whitehall, Mich., and one child has been born of this union: Theo Marguerite. Although Dr. Park does not pose as a leader in medical cir- cles, neither does he lag behind, his practice em- bracing some of the best clientage of the city. Pro- fessionally he is well known as an active member of the Medical societies of New Haven county, and city, the Medical Association of the State of Con- necticut and also of the American Medical Associa- tion. Fraternally he is a 32d Degree Scottish Rite Mason, and prominent in Hiram Lodge. A. F. & A. M .; Franklin Chapter : Harmony Council : New Haven Commandery: Pyramid Temple, Mystic Shrine : A. O. U. W., and Improved Order of Hep- tasophs, and is examiner for both orders, and he is a member of the Knight's Templar's Club. For many years, like his respected father, he has been connected with the United Congregational Church.
LUMAN FRANKLIN PARKER, an old and highly respected citizen of Meriden, was born Aug. 18, 1813. in Coventry, Chenango Co., N. Y., and is a worthy descendant of one of the oldest families in New England.
(I) William Parker, the first of the name in Connecticut, settled first at Hartford, later at Say- brook. He had three sons, William, Ralph and John.
(II) John Parker, youngest of the above men-
tioned family, was the ancestor of all bearing the name in New Haven county. He had five children, as follows: John, born Oct. 8, 1646: Mary, born April 27, 1648, who married John Hall in 1666; Hope, born May 26, 1650, who married Samuel Cook May 2, 1677 : Lydia, born May 26, 1653, who married John Thomas Jan. 12, 1671 ; and Joseph, who married Hannah Gilbert in 1673.
(III) John Parker and his wife, Hannah Bas- sett, were among the first planters in Wallingford. locating in the district now known as "Parker's Farms," about two miles west of the borough. He was quite active in public matters, and did ninch to . advance the interests of the settlement. He died in 1711, and his wife June 7, 1726. Their children were: Hannah, born Aug. 20, 1671. married Will- iam Andrews Jan. 12, 1692: Elizabeth married Jo- siah Royce March 24, 1693: John, born March 26, 1675, married Mary Kibbe, of Springfield, Nov. I, 1699: Rachel, born June 16, 1680, married Thomas Relzea, of New Haven, in 1700: Joseph married Sarah Curtis June 7. 1705 : Eliphalet married Han- nah Beach Aug. 5. 1708; Samuel married Sarah Goodsell, of Middletown. July 16, 1713: Edward is mentioned Delow : Mary married Joseph Clark Nov. 27, 1707; Abigail married Joseph Bradley March 3. 1710.
(IV) Edward Parker, son of John and Hannah Parker, born in 1692 on the Parker Farm, grew up there and on reaching manhood located in the parish of Cheshire (now the town of Cheshire), where he spent the remainder of his days, engaged in farm- ing. He died Oct. 21, 1776, and was buried in Cheshire. Edward Parker married (first) Jerusha Merriman, who died Dec. 27, 1745. On Dec. 1, 1748, he married Rebecca Ives, who died May 23. 1762. aged sixty-five years. On Sept. 30, 1762, he mar- ried (third) Ruth Merriman Merwin. His chil- dren : Ralph, born Jan. 9, 1718, married Martha, daughter of Gideon Ives, Dec. 25. 1740: Athildred. born July 1, 1719, married Timothy Hall Jan. 10, 1748: Edward, born March 11, 1721. married Sarah Burroughs Aug. 21, 1744: Joel, born Feb. 24. 1723. married Susan Hotchkiss Dec. 25. 1746: Ephraim. born Aug. 23, 1725, is mentioned below : Amos, born Nov. 26, 1726, died Aug. 20, 1748: William, born in 1728, died May 2, 1752: Eldad, born Sept. 14. 1731, married Thankful Bellamy, daughter of Mat- thew, April 24, 1755, and died July 6, 1779: Joseph Merriam, born Feb. 2. 1734, died March 21, 1734; Joseph, born Oct. 9. 1735, married Mary Andrews May 30, 1758.
(V) Ephraim Parker, son of Edward Parker. was born in Cheshire Ang. 23. 1725. and on Nov. II, 1747, married Bathsheba Parsons. Their dangh- ter, Hannah, married Hiland Hall, on the same day their son was married.
(VI) Jotham Parker, son of Ephraim, was a wagoner in charge of transportation in the Revolu- tionary war, with the rank of captain. He mar- ried Sarah Seward, of Oneida county, N. Y., and
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their children were: Sarah married Dr. Thaddeus Mather, of Coventry, N. Y. : Lucy married George McGeorge and died in Virginia: Luman died in early manhood; Hiland Hall is mentioned below ; Hannah married Hezekiah Loveland, and died in New York State: Jotham died in Coventry; Emily married Ruggles Merwin.
(VII) Hiland Hall Parker, son of Jotham, was born in Coventry, N. Y., where he grew up and married. In 1818 he went with his family to Mid- dlebourne, Tyler Co., W. Va., where he became extensively engaged in the manufacture of bricks and lumber. While on his way to New Orleans with a cargo of his products the vessel was lost, and no tidings of it were ever received. Hiland H. Parker was a member of the Masonic fraternity. His wife, Lydia P. Pratt, was born Nov. 16, 1788, in that part of the town of Berlin which is now New Britain. Their children were as follows: (1) Luman F., born Aug. 18. 1813, whose name intro- duces this sketch; (2) Sarah Elizabeth, born June 26, 1815, who married Ezekiel Andrews, of New Britain ; (3) Isabella Richards, born Feb. 25, 1817, who married Benjamin B. Blake, of Coventry, N. Y .; (4) Lydia Diana, born May 27, 1820; and (5) Emily Eliza, born Jan. 11. 1822, who married Cal- vin Taggart. The two last named were born in West Virginia. After the death of Mr. Parker his widow married, on May 19, 1830, Benjamin Taggart, by whom she had one child, Julia, born Aug. 3, 1831, who married Franklin Edgerton. of Binghamton, N. Y. The mother died in Coventry, N. Y., at the ripe age of ninety-six years. She was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, and lived a true Christian life.
Luman F. Parker went to Virginia with his par- ents when only five years old, and remained there until 1824. At the age of eleven years he came to New Britain, Conn., where he remained six months, thence removing to Coventry, N. Y., where he lived with his uncle, Jotham Parker, who was a farmer and drover. His mother removed from New Britain to Coventry the year following. While with his uncle he attended school, and he assisted his uncle until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to Oxford, and there spent two years learning watch repairing. For a period of two years he traveled with a caravan and circus, and then re- turned to New Britain, where he worked at carriage trimming a short time. In 1837 he met an agent from Houston, Texas (then a wild region which had just asserted its independence of Mexico), rep- resenting the Houston Town Co., who owned a large tract of land on which the town of Houston is now situated and offered one thousand acres of heavy pine timber to any one who would locate a sawmill on said land. A company was organized in New Britain, called the Texas Steam Mill & Building Co., of which Mr. Parker was a member. and which sailed from New York on the 18th day of August. The party, which consisted of twenty-two persons,
including stockholders and employes, arrived off Galveston Sept. 28th, but did not get into the bay and anchor until the 4th of October, because of head winds from the south, where the wind had been for six days, filling all the bays and bayous. It sudden- ly changed to the north, and all this water went out in about twelve hours, and of twenty-two vessels afloat in the bay at eight o'clock on the morning of the 9th of October, there was but one at ten o'clock at night, the rest being hard aground on the island. The brig "Elbe," on which the company arrived, was on the island 150 feet from the bay, and they had a hard task to get their machinery aboard the small steamer "Leonidas," which carried it through Gal- veston and San Jacinto bays and Buffalo bayou to Houston, where the mill was built and put in run- ning order by the Ist of March, 1838. after a hard winter's work. As many of the men were unaccus- tomed to that kind of labor. a number sickened and died, and of the twenty-two who landed only seven lived to return; and Mr. Parker and a niece ( who was at that time two years old) are now the only survivors. On his return from Texas he went to Coventry, N. Y., where he married, and then came to New Britain and remained a short time, expecting to return to Texas. However. as the company failed, he returned to New York State and traveled selling merchandise for a period of seven years, at the end of which time he returned to New Britain, where he was a contractor at Russell & Erwin's until 1865. In that year he became a resident of Meri- den, and has since been among the progressive citi- zens of that place. For a period of seven years he was a contractor in the works of Parker & Whip- ple. For nearly fourteen years he has been retired from active business, and has been obliged by infirm hearing to refrain from participating in many move- ments which had his sympathy. He is a member of Meridian Lodge, No. 77, A. F. & A. M., and of Keystone Chapter, No. 27, R. A. M. While resid- ing in New Britain Mr. Parker was senior deacon of Harmony Lodge, of that place, and served as deputy sheriff of Hartford county. He is a Demo- crat in politics, and, with his family, is connected with St. Andrew's P. E. Church.
On Sept. 8, 1839, at Coventry, N. Y .. Mr. Parker was married to Miss Elizabeth Wylie, who was born in that place, a daughter of Daniel Wylie. For six- ty-two years this couple have lived a life of happy congeniality and mutual regard, a record seldom equalled. Mrs. Parker is a woman of many Chris- tian virtues. a most lovable character, revered by all who knew her. Five children have come to this union: (1) Lydia Almira, the eldest. born Sept. 22, 1841, in Coventry, married Emery O. Hall : they have no children living. She is a member of Ruth Hart Chapter. Daughters of the American Revolu- tion, which she has served as secretary. and is now a member of its official board. (2) Hiland Hall. born July 17. 1845, in Coventry, is a traveling sales- man residing in St. Louis, Mo. On July 14, 1877,
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in Chicago, he married Cora Frances Strong, of Cincinnati, who is now deceased. At the age of seventeen years he enlisted in the Union army, and served three years. He was wounded at the battle of Antietam. (3) Luman Franklin, born Sept. 26, 1847, in Lexington, N. Y., is a prominent attorney of St. Louis, and is now general solicitor for the St. Louis & San Francisco system. On Feb. 22,
1872, he married Sara B. Maupin, daughter of Col. A. M. Maupin, of Union, Mo., and they have had five children, Luman Franklin ( who is married and resides in Indian Territory), Jacqueline O., Rex William (who died when five years old), Grace Malcolm, Rowe Albert, and a twin brother of the last named, who died when three months old. (4) Charles Jotham, born Dec. 4. 1848, at New Britain, died Oct. 31, 1899, in New Orleans. (5) William D. Wylie, born March 6, 1852, is mentioned below.
The WYLIE Family, of which Mrs. Luman F. Parker is a descendant, is of Scottish origin, and was early located in New York. James Wylie, great-grandfather of Mrs. Parker, and James Wylic, her grandfather, were soldiers in the Revolution, and settled in Coventry. The latter's children were : Daniel; Betsy, who married William Thomas ; James, who married a Miss Fairchild: Sally, who married W. Button; Temperance, who married Whiting Cornish; Samuel Hawley, who married (first) Deborah Sands and (second) Minerva Bene- dict; Maria, who married Coleman Mandeville and (second) Charles Hatch; and John, who married Esther Hinkley.
Daniel Wylie, son of James, was a native of Coventry. He married Lucy, daughter of Roger Edgerton, and granddaughter of Mathew Cole, both of whom were Revolutionary soldiers. They were of Norman-French descent. Daniel Wylie's chil- dren were: Almira, who died at the age of twenty- four years; Elizabeth, wife of Luman F. Parker : Stewart H., now deceased: Helen M .. who married Joseph Elliott ; Erastus. the father of Mrs. S. Olin Parker, of Meriden; Hial E., a resident of Salt Lake City; Angeline, wife of Marcus Scott, of Franklin, N. Y .; and two who died in childhood.
The PRATT Family, to which Luman F. Parker belongs through his mother, is traced back to the eleventh century. With regard to the home of the English Pratts, as they were anciently, so they are to-day, seated chiefly in eastern and southern parts of England, in the contiguous counties of Leicester, Hunting, Norfolk, Lincoln and Hertford. The name of Pratt is variously spelled in more ancient writings thus: Pratt, Prat, Pratte, Pradt, Praed, Prate, also Praer and Prayers. It is a surname derived, like many of the Norman and Saxon names, from a lo- cality, from the Latin word pratum, a meadow. The motto belonging to the emblazonry of Pratt of Roys- ton Hall, in Norfolk, thus alludes to the etymology of the name, "Rident Florentia Prata." "Flowery meadows smile." The name of Pratt occurs among the earliest of English surnames, and members of
the family in many of its branches held stations of influence and power in the English empire.
The earliest mention of Pratts in England is prior to the year 1200 of the Christian era, and shows that they came to England from Normandy. Four brothers, John, William, Engebran and Peter, figure largely in the reigns of Kings Richard and John. They were all living A. D. 1201, as they witnessed the settlement of Robert, Earl of Mallent, at Peter's marriage. John Pratt was a favorite minister of Richard Cœur de Lion. In 1193 we find him associated with William, Bishop of Ely, and others, as the English commissioners to make peace with Philip Augustus, concluded at Mayence on the eighth day before the Ides of July. William and John are also witnesses to a charter granted at Rodly, in 1199, with the Archbishop of Canterbury. In various places the records show their possessions in Northampton, Berkshire and Oxford. In 1191 William accompanied King Richard to the Holy Land and became of great service to the King by rescuing him from the Turks. One day, while King Richard slept, he was seized by the Turks, when William Pratt calls out, "I am the King." Whereupon they released King Richard and cap- tured William. Of course the King, thankful for his own rescue, but grieved for William Pratt, who loyally redeemed him at the price of his own liberty, could not leave the Holy Land without ransoming the gallant friend who had saved his life at such a cost. But he was not released until the following year, when, during a truce between Richard and Saladin, he was exchanged for ten emirs. We find him, A. D. 1189, as witness to a grant of land to the Earl of Norfolk, and again on Charter Privileges to the Jews, in the first year of the reign of King Richard I. His name also occurs very frequently in the charter and documents of John's reign.
Of the name of Pratt there have been families of consideration from early times, in different parts of England and Ireland, as members of Parliament, and holding positions of honor in the government. Some of them were of knightly degree and those of Berkshire were baronets. The branch of which we are treating were soon, at least in the middle of Queen Elizabeth's reign, settled at Careswell priory, in Devonshire, which house and estate were sold by Richard Pratt. This Richard was the grand- father of Lord Chief Justice John Pratt, lineage of the families from which the first settlers of Hart- ford, John and Lieut. William Pratt, descended.
Lieut. William and John Pratt came from Hert- fordshire, and we trace their lineage back to the eleventh century. It is quite probable that they de- scended from William, one of the four brothers who came over to England from Normandy at that time, the same William mentioned before, who rescued King Richard from the Turks in 1191. Lieut. Will- iam and his brother John were among the first band of adventurers who settled Hartford. They em- barked for the New World in the ship "Griffin," a
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ship of 300 tons, and arriving at Boston Sept. 4, 1033. probably came to Hartford with Rev. Thomas Hooker in 1636. They appear there among the original proprietors, and drew home lots in the first division of land, in February, 1639. John drew lot No. 6, on Main street, Lieut. William drew lots Nos. 8 and 6 on Burr street, now North Main street. Lieut. William was one of the band who went from Hartford on the expedition against the l'equots in 1637, which resulted in the annihilation of their power as a tribe. Subsequently he re- ceived a hundred acres of land, by order of the General Court, probably for services performed in the expedition. About 1645 he sold his land in Hartford to Mathew Beckwith and removed to Say- brook. His first two children were born in Hart- ford and the rest in Saybrook. He located in what is now the borough of Essex, his home lot and house being in the region now occupied by the Rope Walk. It appears from the records of the State and other sources that he was a man of note in the Colony and represented his town in the General Asembly from October, 1666, to May, 1673, sup- posed to be the year of his death. In June, 1636, he married Elizabeth Clark, daughter of John Clark, first of Saybrook, afterward of Milford. The fact of her being the daughter of John Clark is proved by a will found in the probate office at New Haven. Their children: Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Will, Samuel, Lydia and Nathaniel.
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