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 70
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
JOHN SHERMAN LANE, a veteran of the. Civil war and one of the leading and prominent busi- ness men and citizens of Meriden, where he is at the head of the firm of John S. Lane & Son, which conducts one of the great and important industries. of the busy manufacturing city, descends from sturdy New England ancestry, on his mother's side- from the illustrious Sherman family which has given. to the country men who have achieved fame in both civil and military life.
Mr. Lane was born Nov. 27, 1839, in the town. of Kent, Conn., son of Hon. Daniel P. and Polly B. (Sherman ) Lane. Daniel P. Lane served his- country in the war of 1812 and was a man of prom- inence in his town, holding a number of public trusts ; he served in the State Assembly from Kent.
.
John & Lane
693
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
in 1840. He was a Democrat of the Jefferson-Jack- son school. His death occurred in Kent in the spring of 1865 and his remains were buried there. His wife died at Falls Village, Conn., in 1881, and was buried at New Milford. Their children were as follows: Martha, who married ( first) Harry Edwards, and (second) Jackson Brown, of New Milford ; John Sherman ; Charles S., a road builder for John S. Lane & Son; Byron, an engineer, who was killed in a railroad accident Feb. 6, 1894; and Sylvia, who married Henry Straub, of New Mil- ford, and died in 1882.
John S. Lane received the customary district school education afforded the general Connecticut farmer lads, attending the neighborhood school during the winter months and working on the farm in the summer season. When thirteen years old he worked one year as clerk in a store and at eighteen lie left home, going to Bridgeport, Conn., where he was employed on track repairs on the New York & New Haven Railroad. He showed such adapta- tion for the work that in three months time he was made foreman and later held a similar position on the Housatonic line. He assisted in laying the double tracks between New Haven and New York. and also in laying the tracks into the old station at Fourth avenue and Twenty-seventh street, New York, since abandoned.
In 1859 Mr. Lane went West in company with Col. R. B. Mason, then mayor of the city of Chi- cago and general manager of the Logansport, Pe- oria & Burlington Railroad. He remained in that section until the battle of Bull Run, Va., in July, 1861. Fired by patriotism he returned to his native State and cast his lot with the 8th Conn. V. I., en- listing from Milford, Conn., Sept. 14, 1861 : he be- came a sergeant in Company I and was mustered into the United States service Sept. 21. The 8th Connecticut was organized at Camp Buckingham. Hartford, and was in command of Col. Edward Har- ·land, of Norwich. Its principal engagements were at Roanoke Island, Feb. 8, 1862; Newbern, N. C., March 14, 1862; siege of Fort Macon. N. C., April, 1862; South Mountain, Sept. 14. 1862; Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862 : Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862; Fort Huger, Va., April 19, 1863: Watthall Junc- tion, Va., May 7, 1864; Fort Darling, Va., Mav 16. 1864; Cold Harbor, August, 1864; Petersburg, Va., Aug. 25, 1864; and Fort Harrison, Va., Sept. 29, 1864. Our subject shared the fortunes of his com- mand from start to finish and returned with an hon- orable war record. He was promoted to first ser- geant April 20, 1863: second lieutenant Sept. 29. 1863; first lieutenant Sept. 21. 1864: resigned and was discharged from the service Oct. 14. 1864. He had been tendered a captain's commission, having commanded the company during the last year of his service.
At the close of his service Lieut. Lane returned to Connecticut, and on Jan. 1, 1865, he was ap- pointed supervisor of the Housatonic railroad, a po-
sition he acceptably filled until 1880, when he be- came supervisor of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, his jurisdiction covering the road from New Haven to Springfield, including its branches. He remained in that position until 1890, and during his ten years' service stone-ballasted sixty-two miles of the main track. This work di- rected his attention to the stone business, and re- signing his position he became the pioneer stone contractor east of the State of Pennsylvania in the furnishing of stone and concrete work for streets and railroads. In 1892 he received the contract for supplying all the ballast for the four track improve- ments of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. This contract necessitated the supplying of a daily average of one hundred car loads of stone.
In 1804 the base of Mr. Lane's operations was at Hartford. In that year he moved to Meriden, where the great industry of John S. Lane & Son in the quarrying and crushing of trap rock for use in macadamizing highways, ballasting railroads. etc., has ever since been carried on and grown to great proportions. The business is the largest of the kind in the United States, the daily capacity being 2.500 tons of stone. Beginning in 1890 with one crusher with a capacity of 300 tons per day, Messrs .. Lane & Son now operate fourteen large crushers, be- sides two large steam rollers for road building. The firm has built over forty miles of macadamized roads in Connecticut and Massachusetts and has recently erected a plant for that purpose and built a large dam at New Milford. Their Meriden plant is lo- cated above the State fair grounds and is modernly equipped for the speedy handling of their extensive business. As many as 173 carloads of stone have been loaded and shipped in a single day. In order to handle this large number of cars with convenience and dispatch the New York, New Haven & Hart- ford Railway Co. has provided ample side tracks, which extend from "Gracey's Junction" to the fair grounds. One hundred and seventy-five cars at a time can be placed there and a switch engine is kept busy all the time placing empty cars ready for load- ing and making up trains of loaded cars ready to be forwarded in the different directions. Spring-
field. Middletown, New London, Windsor, East Hartford and Thompsonville and many smaller towns get their supply of broken stone from this 1 concern. The rock found in Meriden is conceded to be the best obtainable for the purpose. A quarry , was opened in 1893 near Westfield. Mass., on the Boston & Albany Railroad where the same class of stone is found and a market secured in the import- i ant business centers on the line of that railroad. The stone from that quarry has been adopted by such cities as Worcester. Pittsfield, Holyoke and Springfield, and large amounts are sent to Boston. The firm has quarries at Westfield and Holyoke, on a branch of the New York, New Haven & Hart- ford Railroad, at Hingham, Mass., on the Old
,
694
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Colony Railroad, and in Guttenberg. N. J. Eight- een crushers are operated in the conduct of the busi- ness and employment is given to over five hundred men and a large number of teams.
John S. Lane has always been a Republican po- litically. He has served Meriden as a member of the common council. Fraternally he is a Mason, identified with Meridian Lodge, No. 77, A. F. & A. M .; Keystone Chapter, No. 27, R. A. M. : Hamilton Council, No. 22, R. & S. MI. ; St. Elmo Commandery, No. 9, K. T .; and the Mystic Shrine, of Bridgeport. He also belongs to Pacific Lodge, No. 87. I. O. O. F .; Merriam Post, No. 8, G. A. R .; Alfred Hall Council, Royal Arcanum : New York Commandery. Loyal Legion ; and the Army and Navy Club, of New London.
On Jan. 27. 1863. Mr. Lane was married to Emma S. Plumb, daughter of Wilson Plumb, and to them have come children as follows: Arthur S., who is the junior member of the firm of John S. Lane & Son : Bertha, wife of W. R. Smith, who is in charge of the quarries at Guttenberg, N. J .: E. Le Roy, who is superintendent of quarries and road builder at Hingham, Mass. (he married Harriet Puffer, of Meriden, and has one child, Doris) : Harry C., who is engaged in the stone business in Meriden ; and Edna C., who was educated in a boarding school at Lyme and at Smith College. Northampton, Mass., and has also studied music and art. The family are all members of the Con- gregational Church. Mr. and Mrs. Lane spend their winters in Florida where they have a fine or- ange grove, in which Mr. Lane takes great pride. The home on Washington Heights in Meriden is a most delightful one, and is completely equipped with all modern devices to make it a comfortable and elegant residence.
1
The PLUMB FAMILY, of which Mrs. John Sher- man Lane is a descendant, is an old and highly re- spected one in New England. The name is traced back to the Norman Conquest and has been spelled several different ways, Plumme. Plome, Plume, Plumb and Plum, but is now written Plumb. A full and complete genealogy of the family was pub- lished in 1893 by H. B. Plumb, of Luzerne county, Pa., a copy of which is in the possession of Mrs. Lane.
Robert Plumb was born Dec. 30, 1617, in Ridge- well, England, and emigrated to America with his father's family, locating at Wethersfield. In 1639 he removed to Milford, Conn., where he spent the re- mainder of his life and died there May 12, 1655. His father, John Plumb, settled in Wethersfield. later at Branford, Conn., where he died in 1648. Robert Plumb married Jan. 9. 1642. Mary Baldwin, who was born Feb. 19. 1625, and died Feb. 1. 1707. in Milford. To this union six children were born.
.
John Plumb, eldest son of Robert, was born Aug. 12, 1646, in Milford, Conn., where he was a land owner and farmer, and where he became quite a prominent citizen. He died in March, 1728, at the
-
ripe age of eighty-two years and was buried in Mil- ford. He married Elizabeth Norton, by whom he had ten children.
John Plumb (2), son of John, was born July 29, 1671, and passed his entire life in Milford, dying in August, 1716, while still a comparatively young inan. He was a land owner and quite a prominent citizen. About 1700 he married Rached Bunnel. who was born Dec. 16, 1683. and died July 21, 1728. Seven children were born to them.
John Plumb (3), son of John (2), was born July 30, 1704, in Milford, where he followed farm- ing and where he spent his life. He died in 1763. On May 27, 1723, he married Keziah Allen, and the union was blessed with four sons and seven daugh- ters.
John Plumb (4), son of John (3), was born July 7. 1726, and spent his entire life in Milford. where he died while still a young man. He mar- ried, in New London, Conn., Mary Hotchkiss, who was born in 1723 and who died Sept. 17, 1803. They had three children : Abigail, born Nov. 16. 1748; Prudence, born July 17. 1750; and John Still.
John Still Plumb was born June 4, 1752. and lived in Milford, where he passed his life and where he died in February, 1833, at the ripe age of eighty- one years. On Jan. 1, 1771, he married Elizabeth Sears, who was born in 1753 and died Jan. 30, 1829. Eight children were born to them: John, Dec. 31. 1771 ; Elizabeth, May 14, 1775: Joel. Nov. 5. 1777. (married Oct. 12, 1800, Lou Bassett, and died March 9, 1857) ; Isaac, June 16, 1780 ( married Abi- gail Bassett, and died in 1804) ; Frances, in Decem- ber. 1782: Lucindy, July 23, 1786 (married Jona- than Sackett) ; Leuman. May 27, 1788 (married Mary Whitney ) ; and Sarale Still. Dec. 27, 1790.
John Plumb, eldest child of John . Still and Elizabeth (Sears) Plumb. was born in Milford December 31, 1771. He grew to manhood in that town and there died in 1846, a highly respected citizen. His remains are buried in the cemc- tery in Milford. On Jan. II, 1795, he married Sibyi Smith, who was born in 1770 and died Dec. 24, 1830. Seven children blessed this union : Thad- deus, born Sept. 29, 1795, married Elizabeth Oviatt and (second) Betsey Smith, and died Sept. 29. 1845; Harriet, born Feb. 12, 1798, married Elipha- let Beecher and (second) Aaron Fairchild, and died Sept. 19. 1878; Lyman, born Feb. 8, 1801, married Harriet Smith and died March 28, 1882: David, born June 13, 1805, married Esther Nettleton and died June 29, 1866: William, born Nov. 29, 1807. married Tamar Baklwin and died in March, 1865: Wilson was the twin of William ; and Nancy, born Oct. 20, 1810, died Sept. 19, 1833.
Wilson Plumb, father of Mrs. Lane. mentioned above as twin brother of William, was born Nov. 29, 1807. On Nov. 29, 1831, he married Naomi Nettleton and he died March 18, 1850. He was a contractor and builder and was well known and very highly respected.
695
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
GEORGE H. JOSLIN, M. D., of Mt. Carmel. Conn., is one of the successful young physicians of New Haven county, and one whose success in life has been entirely the result of his own efforts. His high position as a practitioner and as a citizen is but the outgrowth of efforts to succeed in which his determination and persistency were more than once found to be valuable traits of character. Dr. Jos- lin is wedded to his profession, and by thorough preparation has fitted himself eminently for its prac- tice ; he is also interested in social and public affairs of his town, and his personality has won for him a wider recognition than his mere professional status, however eminent that may be.
Dr. Joslin is of an old New England family, and one that has scattered over almost every state in the United States. The name is spelled in various ways, the original spelling. Josselyn, has been cor- rupted into Joselyn, Joslyn. Joslin and many other ways. The family is of distinctively French origin, and descends from John Josselyn, who came to New England in 1638. He was accompanied by his brother Henry, who never married. From John Josselyn comes a long line of descendants, and a family that has been closely identified with the early history of several New England towns, among which can be mentioned Hanover, Mass., and Poult- ney. \'t. They took part in the Revolutionary war. All in all they have always been of the better class of people.
Pierre Joslyn, the grandfather of Dr. George H. Joslin, for a number of years conducted the old "Knickerbocker House." on Sixth Avenue, New York City. In those days this was a well-known hostelry in New York, and many noted and prom- inent Frenchmen were entertained there. He lived the latter years of his life at Williston. Vt., and there he died at the home of his son, Louis Na- poleon, having attained the venerable age of more than ninety years. Pierre Joslyn had a large fam- ily, in which were a number of sons, several of whom served in the war of the Rebellion.
Louis Napoleon Joslyn, father of Dr. George H. Joslin, was born in Montpelier, Vt., and was a schoolmate of Admiral Dewey in the public schools of that city. He hecame a civil engineer, later a carriage manufacturer. He married Elizabeth Sen- na, a native of Vermont of French descent. She comes of a family particularly noted for superior physical strength and prowess, several of her brothers being men whose feats of strength were remarkable, and who, in this day, would be noted as powerful athietes. Their family consisted of three children, of whom George H. is the only son. Mr. and Mrs. Louis Napoleon Joslyn make their home in Burlington, Vermont.
George H. Joslin was born in Burlington, Vt., July 24. 1864, and there he passed his bovhood days and received his earlier education. When sixteen years of age he secured an engagement in the postal service, then under Postmaster General James, and
was stationed at Holyoke, Mass. It was during this time that he first entered upon the study of medicine, his preceptor being one of the most suc- cessful practitioners of that section of Massachu- setts. After about four years young Joslin entered the Medical department of the University of Ver- mont at Burlington, from which he was graduated in 1887. During his attendance at the University, he was in the Dean's office under Professor Grinell. While there, too, he took a prominent part in ath- letics, and served in succession as director, secretary and president of the University Athletic Associa- tion. As an athlete Dr. Joslin was a prominent and successful contestant. In 1885 he took five first prizes in athletic events. He also held the pole vault record ( II ft. I in.) of the institution-a rec- ord that stood for some time. After leaving college on his graduation Dr. Joslin went to Montreal. Canada, where he passed one year in the General Hospital at that city, after which he returned to Vermont, and began the practice of his profession at Westminster, remaining there one year, after which he went to New York and took a course at Post Graduate School Hospital, from which he re- ceived his diploma in 1888. In 1889 he came to Mt. Carmel, Conn., succeeding Dr. Wright, and where he has since been located, having built up a most enviable practice which extends into several of the surrounding towns.
On Oct. 13, 1888, Dr. Joslin was married in . Westminster, Vt., to Miss Mary E. Nutting, who was born in that town, daughter of Chas. A. Nut- ting. Two children have blessed this union: Helen and Adele.
Mrs. Joslin is a lady of refinement and culture, and possessed of excellent musical ability. She taught school successfully previous to her marriage. having been graduated from the Vermont Academy at Saxtons River, class of 1885. She also took a course at Boston Conservatory of Music. Mrs. Joslin comes from one of the very oldest families at Westminster, her ancestors being among the first settlers there. They originally came from Connec- ticut, and going up the Connecticut river in birch canoes, came to what is now Bellows Falls. Their means of travel being interrupted, they made a settlement there, and the city now includes the land on which they settled. Equally as prominently identified with the Revolutionary history of the town of Westminster are her ancestors, who were stanch Whigs, and their armed resistance of the representatives of King George III, in March, 1775. was the first blood shed of Revolutionary war. . As- sociated with the above event is a relic of great in- terest that Dr. Joslin has in his possession : When the representatives of King George III went to Westminster, in March, 1775. to hold court, they met with bitter opposition from the Whigs, and William French with his main strength held the door of the room in which court was to be held. A bullet fired from outside by the armed force of
696
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
the King, penetrated the door and killed French. The State of Vermont has erected a $25,000 mont- ment over the grave of this French and a Mr. Hcl- ton. The door through which the shot was fired remained for many years in its position, it is now in the rooms of the Vermont State Historical So- ciety at Montpelier, but the panel through which the shot entered, the path of the fatal bullet being plainly visible, is in the possession of Dr. Joslin, being given him by Judge Stoddard, of Westmin- ster, to whom he ministered in his last illness.
In 1893, Dr. Joslin builded from his own de- signs, one of the finest homes in his town, and one known far and near for its architectural beauty and unique design. The residence and barn ( the latter an elegant structure and also of the owner's design ) stand in beautiful and well-kept grounds, all of which previous to the Doctor's purchase was a rough, unsightly piece of land. Its present condi- tion is simply an illustration of our subject's thor- oughness and originality.
As a practitioner Dr. Joslin is a most successful one and at his age has met with success such as many fail to acquire even in a lifetime. He is a good judge of human nature, and has a pleasing personality, a combination of great value to any member of his profession. He is thoroughly up- to-date in medical science and ranks high among the professional friends, he being one to maintain the profession's dignity, etc. As a man his popular- ity is but in keeping with his success as a physician, and his value as a citizen is second to none in his town. Dr. Joslin is certainly of the progressive school, as evidenced by his interest and advocacy of every movement of benefit to his town. He was, probably more than any other citizen of his part of town, instrumental in getting the trolley line ex- tended to Mt. Carmel. His active and constant la- . bor for this necessitated much time, and no little outlay of means, in which, strange to say, he had the opposition of not a few of the citizens, who were to be benefited by the extension. This did not serve to discourage him, rather, indeed, to one of his makeup, it encouraged him, for he then thought, as time has proved, that those opposing this improvement would be the warmest supporters when it was once secured. This activity of his was simply that which prompts a public spirited and progressive citizen to do his duty as such. The Doctor gave land on which a car barn was erected, that his locality might have better service in which all would be benefited. Other evidence has been shown of his public spirit, which is never of the kind that is contained in a mere expression of satisfac- tion, but of the more substantial "take off your coat," or "go down in your pocket" variety. Dr. Joslin is liberal in church matters and political af- fairs, not being bound to any particular creed or party. Fraternally he is a member of Day Spring Lodge. No. 30, F. & A. M., of Hamden. He is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Forest-
ers and the Hamden Grange; and professionally he is a member of New Haven County Medical Society, and of the New Haven Medical Associa- tion. While a man whose life has had its ups and downs, and not a few times when one less cour- agcous would no doubt have sought other channels as a means of making a living, his persistency and indomitable will would not permit him to give up, and success came to him, all of which has not served to change his characteristically democratic ways.
JOHN N. CHAMPION. (I) Henry Chani- pion emigrated from England to the American Col- onies and settled at Saybrook, Conn., where he is found as early as 1647. After having assisted in the development of Saybrook he removed with his family to the east side of the Connecticut river and became one of the first and most active founders of Lyme. It seems that he was twice married ; the. Christian name of his second wife was Deborah, and they were married in 1690, Henry Champion died in 1709.
(II) Henry Champion (2), son of Henry, the emigrant settler, born in 1654. married in Lyme, Conn., in 1684, Susannah De Wolf, of Lyme, and resided on Meeting House Hill. In addition to re- ceiving land from his father he obtained several tracts by grants from the town. His death occurred in 1704-
(III) Stephen Champion, son of Henry (2), born in Lyme, Conn., in 1702, married (first) in Lyme, in 1726, Deborah Leech, who was born in 1706, daughter of Wolston and Margaret ( Brook- way) Leech. She died in 1737 and in 1753 Stephen married Abigail Barnes. He was a farmer and re- sided in Lyme until his second marriage, when he removed to Saybrook, there passing the remainder of his days.
(IV) Dr. Reuben Champion, son of Stephen, born in 1727, in Lyme, married in Saybrook in 1755. Lydia Dunk, who was born in 1730 in Say- brook, daughter of Samuel and Sarah ( Ingram) Dunk (which name was later changed to Duncan ). Dr. Champion for many years resided in Saybrook and there brought up his children, but about 1772 he removed to Springfield, Mass. At the beginning of the Revolution he joined the forces assembling under Gen. Washington and continued to act as a surgeon in the Continental army until attacked by a fever while on duty at Fort Ticonderoga, which soon caused his death on March 29, 1777.
(V) Reuben Champion (2). son of Dr. Reuben, born July 30, 1760, in Saybrook, married in West Springfield, Mass., in 1782, Silence Ely, who was born June 1, 1760, in West Springfield, Mass .. daughter of Nathan and Silence ( Morgan) Ely. When but fifteen years old Reuben enlisted as a soldier in the Continental army in which, young as he was, he served with credit until the close of . the war. His life was passed on a farm in Amos-
.
John Champion
697
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
town, a parish of West Springfield, and he died May 26, 1832, his widow surviving until Oct. 30, 1852, in West Springfield.
(VI) Elias Champion, son of Reuben (2), was born in West Springfield June 10, 1790, and April 5, 1827, married, in Springfield, Esther Strong, who was born Dec. 8, ISot. in Northampton, Mass., daughter of Oliver and Ruth Strong. Elias Cham- pion was engaged in the hiat business in Springfield. He died Oct. 13, 1839, and Mrs. Champion survived him until Aug. 29, 1843.
(VII) John Newton Champion, son of Elias, born Oct. 21, 1828, in Springfield, Mass., was mar- ried in New Haven Oct. 24, 1853, to Cordelia Eliza Sanford, who was born May 21, 1833, in Wood- bridge, Conn., daugliter of Stephen and Cordelia (Hotchkiss) Sanford. They resided in New Ha- ven, in which city Mr. Champion was a builder. He was first lieutenant of the New Haven Light Guards, Company E, 2d Regiment. C. N. G. ; a mem- ber of Olive Branch Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; past noble grand of City Lodge, I. O. O. F .; a member of Grand Canton Sassacus, Patriarchs Militant ; and was a charter member of the following named associations : Croton Engine, No. I, a temperance fire company, of which he was foreman; the New Haven Independent Rangers, a temperance military company ; the Latch String Originals, a temperance society ; and New Haven Lodge, D. of R., I. O. O. F. In religion he was a member of the First Baptist- Church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.