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 7

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1010

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 7

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(1) Deacon Stephen Hart, born about 1605, at Braintree, County of Essex, England, came thence to the Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1632, ac- companied by his wife and daughters, Sarah and Mary, and his sons, John and Stephen (2). He is supposed to have belonged to the company that settled Braintree, Mass. He located for a time at Newtown (now Cambridge). where his first wife died. For his second wife he married Margaret Smith, widow of Arthur Smith. Mr. Hart was one of the fifty-four settlers at Cambridge, Mass., later went to Hartford with the company of Rev. Thomas Hooker, in 1635, and was one of the original pro- prietors in 1639. At Cambridge he had been a member of Mr. Hooker's Church and continued a member in Hartford. In 1672 he became one of the eighty-four proprietors of Farmington, Conn. In 1647 he was a deputy to the General Court of Con- necticut, and continued to serve as such during most of the succeeding years up to 1660, from the town of Farmington. At the latter place he was one of the seven pillars of the church and was chosen the first deacon. An extensive farmer, he became a man of influence, and was one of the leaders in the town. His death occurred in 1683, his widow dy- ing in 1693.

(II) Thomas Hart, son of Deacon Stephen, was born in 1644, and married Ruth Hawkins, who was born in 1649. in Windsor, Conn., a daughter of Anthony Hawkins, a man of distinction in Farming- ton, whose wife was the daughter of Governor Welles, of Connecticut. Mr. Hart served as en- sign, lieutenant and captain, respectively, of the train band. Mr. Hart and John Hooker were the two most prominent men of the town, and conspic-

Franklin Ho. Hart

Mm Arbent

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

uous in the Colony, being men of wealth, activity and usefulness. From 1690 to 1711 he represented the town in the General Court, for twenty-nine ses- sions, and he was several times clerk and speaker. Capt. Hart died in 1726, and was buried with mili- tary honors. He was a man of wealth and influ- ence. His family consisted of two daughters and five sons.

(III) Hawkins Hart, son of Capt. Thomas, was born in 1677, in Farmington, and was a farmer. He married in 1701 Sarah Roys, who was born, in 1683, daughter of Nathaniel Roys and Sarah (Lathrop), of Wallingford. They lived for a time in Farmington, and then removed to Wallingford, where Mrs. Hart died in 1733. Mr. Hart then married Mary Eliot, daughter of Rev. Joseph Eliot, and his second wife Mary ( Willys), of Guilford, the latter a daughter of Hon. Samuel Willys, of Hartford. Mr. Hart held the rank of lieutenant, and represented Wallingford in the General Court nine sessions, between 1714 and 1732. He died in 1735. He was a large land holder and owned and occupied a twenty-seven-acre tract on North Main street, Wallingford, now known as the Rice (or Roys ) homestead. He was a representative man of his time, prominent in State, civil and military life. Mrs. Mary ( Eliot) Hart was a granddaughter of Rev. John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians, who read the Bible to the red men under the massive oak at South Natick in 1651 ; he used his own transla- tion of Holy Writ, and was the first to give them this sacred work in their own language. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Hart married Rev. Abraham Pierson, first President of Yale College, who died some time after, and his widow married (third) Samuel Hooker, of Kensington, a grand- son of Rev. Thomas Hooker, of Farmington. One child was born to Lieut. and Mrs. Hart, Samuel, mentioned below.

(IV) Samuel Hart, son of Lieut. Hawkins, was born in Wallingford July 18, 1735. He married, in 1759, at Durham, Conn., Abridget Fowler, and settled on a tract of land which had been given to Rev. Joseph Eliot by the Colonial Leg- islature, for valued and distinguished service. · Both he and his wife were taken into full church communion in 1771. Mr. Hart held the rank of lieutenant in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary war, and was wounded at the battle of Saratoga, Sept. 19, 1777, after which he drew a pension. He rendered further service to his country as Captain in Col. Comfort Sage's regiment July 5, 1779, in the invasion of New Ha- ven. His death took place Jan. 12, 1805, and his widow passed away Nov. 26, 1827. Their graves are well preserved in the old cemetery of his native town, his bearing the bronze marker of the society of Sons of the American Revolution.

(V) Samuel Hart (2), son of Lieut. Samuel, was born July 12, 1770, and was baptized in Dur- ham, Conn. On March 3, 1803, he married Patience

Hubbard, who was born in August, 1772, a daughter of Eber and Patience ( Chittenden ) Hubbard. Mr. Hart was a farmer living on his father's homestead, and was an industrious man. He died Dec. 25. 1857, his widow surviving until March 15, 1864.

(VI) William Augustus Hart, son of Samuel (2), was born April 26, 1806, at Durham, Conn., and was well known to the residents of New Ha- ven, Middletown and Durham, as he carried on a provision business in these towns, and also kept a country store on the old homestead. He married Sally Ann Jones, who was a daughter of John Jones, of North Madison, and the children of this union. were as follows : Elizabeth H., born May 17, 1831,. married Charles E. Camp, of Middlefield, Conn .; Franklin H., born April 29, 1834: Mary E., born July 10, 1836, is deceased; William Lewis, born Dec. 28, 1838, is residing in Brighton, Ohio (he- served as a private in Ist Conn. Heavy Artillery in the Civil war, and receives a pension ) : Ellen M., born March 11, 1841, married Isaac Hall, of Wall- ingford, and both are deceased; Charles E .. born April 2, 1843, enlisted during Civil war in the 15th Conn. V. I., and was promoted to captain in the 109th colored regiment; Frederick J., born Feb. 26, 1845, and now a resident of Joplin, Mo., was during the Civil war a lieutenant in the 109th colored regi- ment, Ist Heavy Artillery ; Catherine S., born Aug. 19, 1847, lives in Durham, Conn .; Alice L., born April 19, 1852, is an artist in Boston, Mass. The parents of this family died in Durham, Conn. They were honored members of the South Congregational Church, and Mr. Hart was a deacon in same. Mr. Hart was noted for his strict total abstinence from all kinds of intoxicants, and for his firm stand on. this subject of temperance.

Franklin Henry Hart was born in the town of Durham, on the farm which has been in the family since the time of Rev. Joseph Eliot, granted by special act of the general court of Connecticut in 1698, to Mary Eliot, his great-great-grandmother. His literary training was received in the public schools of Durham, and his first business venture, at the age of fourteen years, was the peddling of charcoal. At sixteen he attended the first organ- ization of the State Normal School, in New Britain, where he was a student for two terms, in 1849-50. He had fitted himself for teaching, but before he could obtain a school had to pass an examination, which was conducted by nine residents of the town

including the minister. One very important quali- fication of a teacher in this district was the ability to make pens from quills furnished by the examin- ers. The use of steel pens was strictly prohibited, the pupils bringing the quills, and the teacher with his pocket knife converting them into pens. In 1851 Mr. Hart taught a district school in Middlefield, continuing to teach for two winters in the South End District in Durham. In 1854 he became asso- ciated with H. H. Strong in business in New Haven, where he remained until March, 1856. About this.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

time the trouble in Kansas regarding slavery was attracting attention from all over the United States. The Abolition element in Connecticut was active, and in order to stimulate that side of the con- troversy, a colony was formed at New Haven for migration to Kansas. The meeting to organize this colony was held in the North Church, New Haven, March 20, 1856. Henry Ward Beccher made a stir- ring address, and after he had concluded it was an- nounced that while the party was well fitted to dig and plow, it was not in shape to fight. Professor Silliman of Yale arose and in a short speech urged the furnishing of the colonists with guns, so that they could do something for freedom, as well as for the building up of prosperity on the plains. He ended by subscribing $25 for the purchase of a Sharps rifle. Others followed his example, and in a short time half of the colonists had been provided with weapons for either offense or defense. Mr. Beecher, then at the zenith of his power, again took the rostrum, and in a magnetic speech gave his blessing to the new plan, and promised that if the colonists could get half enough rifles there. he would promise that his church would furnish the remain- der. In a few days he sent the company the re- quired number of guns, over $600 having been sub- scribed by his parishioners for the purpose, and along with the guns came a Bible and hymn book for every member of the party. In the party were doctors, lawyers, mechanics, teachers and preachers, and on March 29. 1856, they marched out of New Haven, as splendid a party of men as ever gathered for the colonization of the West. With them went the words of Mr. Beecher as he wrote them from his study in Brooklyn, as he sent the rifles.

Let these arms hang above your doors as the old Revo- lutionary muskets do in many a New England dwelling. May your children in another generation look upon them with pride and say, " Our fathers' courage saved this land from blood and slavery." Every morning's breeze shall catch the blessing of our prayers and roll them westward to your prairie homes. May your sons be as large hearted as the heavens above their heads. May your daughters fill the land as the flowers do the prairies, only sweeter, fairer than they. You will not need to use arms when it is known that you have them. It is the essence of slavery to be arro- gant before the weak and cowardly before the strong.

One of these historic Sharps rifles, which did service against armed invasion of the slave power, is treasured by Mr. Hart as a factor in making Kan- sas a free state, and the first gun fired in the pre- liminary skirmish of the Civil war.

Mr. Hart was a member of the colony which was under Chas. B. Lines, and settled at Wabaunsee, Kansas. Mr. Hart remained in Kansas until the fall of 1859, excepting during a period of about seven months, in the winter of 1858-59, when he taught school at Camp Point. Ill. He returned to Connecticut in the fall of 1859, and again associated himself in business with Mr. Strong, and since that time has been one of the reliable business men of New Haven, one whose integrity is unquestioned,

and whose success has been merited. In 1872 he became associated in the wholesale provision busi- ness, under the firm name of Strong, Barnes, Hart & Co.

On Dec. 24 .. 1860, at Durham, Mr. Hart was united in marriage with Miss Adaline Jackson, a daughter of John Jackson, and they have had one son, Horace Sedgwick, who was born Aug. 30, 1864, and is a brilliant young man. He graduated from Yale in 1887, studied medicine in the College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, and grad- uated in 1893, spent two years in Bellevue Hospital, and began practice in 1896, in Cambridge, N. Y. At Tarrytown, N. Y., he married Miss Amy Rich- ards, and they have two children, Gertrude Richards and Franklin Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. Hart are members of the Church of the Redeemer. He was for a number of years a member of the society's committee and its chairman.

Franklin H. Hart is a member of .Wooster Lodge, F. & A. M .; the Sons of the American Revo- iation ; and of the Union League. He was one of the organizers of the Republican League, which was organized on the defeat of James G. Blaine, and with three hundred members. His connection with civic affairs has been notable in town and city. In 1879 and 1880 he was a member of the board of selectmen, and it was during this period that Fair Haven was annexed to New Haven, and the town line extended, taking in the entire east shore of New Haven. Harbor to and including Southend. From 1881 to 1891 he was a member of the board of police commissioners. during which period was introduced the Gamewell Police Telephone and Signal system ; also the patrol wagon and ambulance. It was in 1889 that the Veteran Reserve Grade pension act, and Reserve fund in Police department were estab- lished. In the inauguration of all these plans and devices, Mr. Hart took a prominent part. While a member of this board he was presented with a valuable watch, as a testimonial of the regard in which he was held by the citizens of New Haven. Mr. Hart is one of the well known citizens of his city, and has made life a success. While well along toward three-score and ten, Mr. Hart is active in mind and body-a man of regular habits, as his well-preserved physical condition will attest. He is an enthusiastic and successful amateur photograph- er, and during his travels has collected a vast num- ber of interesting views with his camera, his col- lection of Cuban, Jamaican and Mexican views being especially interesting, and, to no small extent, in- structive, as they embrace many photographs which a student of sociology would consider rare and ex- tremely valuable.

RUSSELL HALL, a prominent citizen and na- tive of Meriden, and one of the leaders in grocery supplies, dealing also in woodenware, and a manu- facturer of tinware, was born July 26, 1835.

The family records of the Hall family reach

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

back to John Hall, who was born in England in 1605, and died in Wallingford, Conn., in 1676. He came to Hartford, Conn., either just before, or in company with Rev. Thomas Hooker, and was granted six acres by courtesy of the town. He married Jane Wollen, in 1641, and she died Nov. 14, 1690. Nine children blessed the home of this pioneer couple: (1) Richard, born July 11, 1645, married, in 1699, Hannah, daughter of John and Mary ( Alsop) Miles, and died in New Haven in 1726, aged eighty-one years. (2) John, baptized Aug. 9, 1646, married Dec. 6, 1666, Mary, daugh- ter of Edward and Mrs. ( Potter) Parker (she was baptized Aug. 27, 1648, and died Sept. 22, 1725), and died Sept. 2, 1721. (3) Sarah, twin to John, baptized Aug. 9, 1646, married in December, 1664, William, son of Thomas Johnson, of New Haven. (4) Daniel, born in 1647, married in 1670, Mary, daughter of Henry Rutherford, and died in Bar- badoes, West Indies, in 1675. (5) Samuel, born May 21, 1648, married in May, 1666, Hannah, daughter of John Walker, and died March 5, 1726, survived by his wife until Dec. 20, 1728. (6)

Thomas, born March 25, 1649, married Grace Wat- son, June 5, 1673, and died Sept. 17, 1731 ; she died May I, 1731. (7) Jonathan, born April 5, 1651, "exchanged accommodations in New Haven in 1667, for those of Jolin Stevens of New London," where he was probably a vessel owner and captain. (8) David, born March 18, 1652. married Dec. 24, 1676, Sarah Rockwell ( who died Nov. 3, 1732), and died July 7, 1727. (9) Mary, born in 1653, is probably the Mary Hall who testified as to John Hall's nuncupative will in 1676. She married in 1677, Henry Cook, son of Henry and Judith ( Bird- sall) Cook, of Salem, Mass., and died Oct. 31, 1718. Henry Cook was born Dec. 30, 1652, and died in 1703.

Thomas Hall, fourth son of John and Jane (Wollen) Hall, was born in New Haven, March 25, 1649, married Grace Watson, who was born in 1653, a daughter of Edward and Grace ( Walker) Watson. This is the first marriage in the Walling- ford records. Their children were: Abigail, born Jan. 7, 1674, married John Tyler: Thomas. born July 17, 1676, married Abigail Atwater; Mary, born Nov. 22, 1677: Jonathan, born July 25, 1679, married Dinah Andrews, May 12, 1703; Joseph, born July 8, 1681, married Bethiah Terrell : Esther, born Feb. 3, 1682, married Benoni Atkins: Ben- jamin, born April 19, 1684, married Mary Ives ; Peter, born Dec. 28, 1686, married Rebecca Bar- tholomew ; Daniel, born Jan. 20, 1689, married Martha Doolittle; Rebecca, born Jan. 6, 1691, mar- ried Daniel Holt ; Israel, born Oct. 8, 1686, married Abigail Powell.

Jonathan Hall, son of Thomas, married on May 12, 1703, Dinah Andrews, who survived until 1784. dying at the age of ninety-nine years, and he died at the age of eighty-one. Their children were:

David, born Oct. 16, 1705: Jonathan, born Jan. 13, 1708, married Sarah Cook, in 1739; Joseph, born May 31, 1710, married Hannah Scoville, on April 19. 1736; Anna, born Jan. 18, 1712; Isaac, born July II, 1714, married, Nov. 5, 1735, Mary Moss ; Phebe, born Feb. 12, 1717, died May 14, 1735 ; Eze- kiel, born May 13, 1719, married Anna Andrews; Thankful, born Sept. 20, 1722 : Benjamin, born Oct. 20, 1725 ; and Temperance, born April 16, 1727.

Ezekiel Hall, son of Jonathan and Dinah (An- drews) Hall, was born in the Hall homestead May 13, 1719, and married Anna Andrews, Oct. 20, 1743, and his children were: Ezekiel, born Oct. 24, 1744; Titus, born Oct. 19, 1746, died Sept. 4, 1748; Eben, born May 23, 1749; and Benajah, born in 1762.

Benajah Hall, son of Ezekiel, was born in what is now the town of Meriden, and on Aug. 19, 1784, married Ruth Francis, and their children were: Orrin, born June 5, 1785; Esther, born June 13, 1787 ; Ruth, born Aug. 25, 1789; Nancy, born Nov. 9, 1792; Martha, July 13, 1795: Philo, May 13, 1798; Jacob, April 5, 1801; Joseph, Oct. 17, 1803 ; Joel, Nov. 3, 1806; and Levineas. July 21, 1810.

Orrin Hall, the father of our subject, in his early days was a tin peddler, traveling through the South- ern States. In those days the housewives who lived far from towns and villages, always welcomed the peddlers, who not only brought necessaries within reach, but gave news of the great world outside. Later Mr. Hall retired to Meriden, and farmed in that neighborhood. He married Anna G. Hall, a daughter of Brinton Hall, of Meriden, and died in July, 1853. His children were: Almon ; Mariette, who married Stephen Ives; Nelson ; Philo ; Elvira, who married Silas Ives ; Margaret ; Russell ; Mar- tha, who died young ; and Eliza, who married Henry L. Baldwin.

Russell Hall, our subject, is also a lineal de- scendant of Rev. Samuel Hall and Anne Law, daughter of Gov. Jonathan Law, of Connecticut, by Anne ( Eliot) Law, his first wife. She was a granddaughter of Rev. Joseph Eliot, of Northamp- ton and Guilford, and great-granddaughter of Rev. John Eliot (the Apostle), and of Gov. Will- iam Brinton, of Rhode Island.

Russell Hall was reared to manhood on the farm. He obtained his education under the veteran peda- gogue, James Atkins, and at an early age entered trade, and his success, although gratifying, has been the natural result of unceasing hard work. At eighteen years of age, with a mere pittance for a capital. he engaged in the making of tinware and supplied peddlers. His little business increased 1111- til at the end of eight years he branched out in his present business, that of dealing in wholesale grocers' supplies. In his present business Mr. Hall is one of the largest dealers in his line in the State; his trade covers a large territory, the name of his establishment being recognized as a synonym for honest goods at popular prices.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The customers of this jobber . are well looked after by traveling men, and Mr. Hall himself, who, from the fact that he has made them regular visits for years past, is the best known and most popular.

Having gradually become interested in real es- tate, Mr. Hall is a large tax payer and improver of property. He now owns some dozen houses, and in building the same, and in keeping them in repair has furnished employment to many men. While he has always devoted his full time and attention to business, he takes an interest in public affairs, but has never sought nor accepted office. He is, how- ever, one of those genial whole-souled men, who win the regard of all with whom they come in con- tact, and his strongest friends are those who know him best.

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Mr. Hall has been twice married. His first wife was Emily Preston, daughter of Ira Preston. On Jan. 28, 1866, he wedded Mary E., daughter of Ransom and Sarah ( Twiss) Baldwin, and six children have been born of this union: Luther Russell, born Jan. 23, 1869, died Dec. 1I, 1875; Irving Baldwin, born Aug. 13, 1871, died Dec. 14, 1875; Lena Augusta, born July 17, 1873, died Dec. 26, 1875; these three all died from the effects of diphtheria. Of the others, Wesley R., born Jan. 27, 1877, died April 27, 1878: Bessie M., born Feb. 8, 1879, died Nov. 11, 1891 ; and Howard Baldwin, the only survivor, born May 1, 1881, is engaged in business with his father. Mr. Hall supports the Baptist Church, of which his wife and son are mem- bers, and in political affiliations is a Democrat, and of considerable influence in his party. A thorough and experienced man of business, Mr. Hall has been before the public for many years, and has won the confidence and esteem of all by the upright methods he has always pursued.

Mr. Hall's maternal grandfather, Brinton Hall, was the father of a numerous family, of whom we have the following record : William Brinton, born May 13, 1764, died July 29, 1809; Collin, born July 8, 1766, died Feb. 2, 1849; Samuel, born June 10, 1768, died March 11, 1795; Lucy, born March 13, 1771, died. May 12, 1791; Sarah, born July 15, 1774; Lamont, born July 12, 1776; Oliver, born Dec. 12, 1779, was a clergyman ; and Joab, born Jan. 12, 1781. The mother of these died and by a sub- sequent marriage, Brinton Hall became the father of Augustus, born July 5, 1785; Ira, born Dec. 27, 1787, died May 12, 1862; Casper, born April 5, 1790; and Anna Guy, who married Orrin Hall, fa- ther of Russell Hall.

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Ransom Baldwin, father of Mrs. Russell Hall, was born on the Baldwin homestead, in East Meri- den, near Baldwin's Mill, March 1, 1793, son of James Baldwin and Bethia (Goodsel ). A full his- tory of the Baldwin family is found elsewhere in this volume. Ransom Baldwin grew up on a farm, and received his education in the district schools. He was a peddler of dry goods for nine years in the Southern States, after which he returned to his

native home, and settled down to farming, buying a tract of land, over 180 acres, on which he built a dwelling house, barns, etc., and where he spent the balance of his days. He was a man of domestic tastes, and lived at peace with all the world. In his. religious views he was a Baptist; in his political affiliations he was a. stanch Democrat, but no office seeker. He died in 1870, well-known, highily re- spected, and was buried in the. East Cemetery. Mr. Baldwin married Sarah Twiss, who was born Jan. 9, 1801, and died Oct. 30, 1872, a daughter of Joseph and Lois (Austin) Twiss. This union was blessed with nine children as follows: Hiram, Vincey Ann, Lois, and Augusta, all died young ; Sarah (deceased) married William Briggs ( she had five children, one that died young; Della; Rose, who married Charles Ferry, and has two children. Edna and Ruth Margaret; Lizzie, principal of Skin- ner school, New Haven; and Waldo, a civil engin- eer in New York) ; Ransom, who married Mary Hall (who died in 1897), and had four children, Flora, Ransom L., Henry (died young) and Alice (wife of Charles Morgan) ; Mary E., wife of Ris- sell Hall; Roxanna, who died young; and Justina C., who married Benjamin C. Kennard, and has two children, Helen M. and Benjamin Leighton. The mother of these children was a faithful and con- sistent member of the First Baptist Church, Meri- den.

James Baldwin, father of Ransom Baldwin, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He introduced Joseph Twiss to Lois Austin, and they later married and became the parents of Sarah, wife of Ranson Baldwin.

CHARLES E. FAIRCHILD. The family of Fairchild was among the earliest to settle in Ox- ford, in which town our subject was born March 9. 1831. His grandfather, Abial Fairchild, was a farmer, and a native of the same place, as was also his father, Ebenezer Fairchild. Abial Fairchild was a citizen of prominence and influence in his com- munity, holding many local offices, among which was that of selectman.

Ebenezer Fairchild was but one year old when he was deprived of paternal care through the death of his father. He grew up on the home farm, and while a young man learned the trade of carriage builder in the shops of James Brewster, whose name has been for decades associated and indis- solubly connected with this great industry. He served his apprenticeship in New Haven, and started in business for himself at Oxford, meeting with good success. His trade was chiefly with the Southern markets, and as an index to the extent of his business it may be stated that his son can recall numerous shipments of vehicles to New York by sloop. From Oxford he removed to Seymour, con- tinuing in the same business until his death, which occurred Feb. 21. 1880, after he had reached his seventy-sixth birthday. He married Sarah Can-

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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 7

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1010

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1010