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 3 > Part 20
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Ruth Bartlett ; married (second) Nov. 3, 1876, Ed- gar Lee Fowler, born Jan. 8, 1830, died Sept. 3, 1893. (2) Julia Amelia, born Feb. 12, 1844, mar- ried Nov. 27, 1873, Alvan Eldredge, born Jan. 19, 1848. (3) Samuel Lewis, born March 16, 1846, died March 16, 1849 .: (4) George Albert, born March 8, 1848, died April 3, 1848. (5) Samuel Lewis, born April 7, 1851, married Dec. 14, 1880, Lizzie Woodworth, of Middletown; they had one child, Clarence Gardiner, born Nov. 4, 1889. (6) Georgiana Parker, born Feb. 12, 1853, married Nov. 1, 1884, Henry W. Banks, of Southport, Conn. (7) Alice Maria, born Feb. 5, 1856, died Oct. 3, 1874. (8) Frank Albert, born Sept. 24, 1858 (of New Haven), married June 4, 1886, Anna Wood.
(VI) John Samuel Evarts, a farmer of Nut- plains district, Guilford, is the youngest son of Na- thaniel Evarts and Julia ( Parmelee). He was born June 18, 1817, and married ( first) April 26, 1847, Hannah McComb, born 1818, died Jan. 24, 1848, leaving a son, John E., born Jan. 19, 1848, who died May 26, 1848. He married (second ) Nov. 17, 1853, Harriet Hotchkiss, born June 9, 1815, died July 4, 1889, daughter of Launcelot Hotchkiss and Lucretia (Cook), of Branford. They had two children: (1) Lucy Maria, born Sept. 3, 1854, married Sept. 29, 1885, Walter W. Wilcox, born Dec. 16, 1851, son of Almon O. Wilcox and Ruth (Kennedy). (2) Harriet Lucretia, born Feb. 24, 1859.
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LEMUEL J. CURTIS. In the death, on Jan. IO, 1888, of Lemuel J. Curtis, there passed away not only one of the wealthiest men of Meriden, but one of her noblest citizens, a good man, a philan- thropist.
Mr. Curtis was born Jan. 15, 1814, in Meriden, son of Elisha Curtis, and was a descendant of John Curtis, who came from England and was one among the first settlers at Stratford, Conn., in 1639. Thomas Curtis. a son of John, was one of the original settlers in Wallingford, Conn., in 1670.
Lemuel J. Curtis when sixteen years of age be- gan to earn his own living by learning the britannia business from Ira Yale, of Wallingford, and he was so successful that he finally bought Mr. Yale out. Before he was twenty-five he went west with the late Isaac C. Lewis, intending to go into business there, but gave up the idea and returned to Meri- den, beginning the making of britannia ware. He was associated at various times with Edwin Curtis, W. W. Lyman and others. He was one of the heavy stockholders of the Meriden Britannia Co., and always took a particular interest in that concern. He was president of the Miller Brothers' Co., and either a director or stockholder in about every in- corporated concern in Meriden. He amassed a for- tune of probably a million dollars, acquired by un- tiring industry, careful investments and economical though not parsimonious living.
Mr. Curtis was senior warden of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church of Meriden and one of its stanch-
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est supporters. He was the founder of the Curtis Home for Aged and Indigent Women, and that most worthy establishment will stand as a fitting monument to Mr. Curtis' strong Christian character. He was deeply interested in the Home, personally looking after many details of the management. Be- sides the building, which cost $50,000, he endowed the institution with about $750,000, and this gift of three-quarters of a million showed the sincerity of his desire to do something for the benefit of Meri- den and the honor of the church to which he was so devoted. He was thoroughly reliable as a man and citizen in every way, and his acts of charity were none the less because not heralded. He was a true friend and an upright man in all respects, and his death was a great loss to the city, which he helped materially to build up.
On Dec. 24, 1835, Mr. Curtis was married to Bedotha P. Button, and to them were born two chil- dren.
Mr. Curtis' pastor, the Rev. A. T. Randall, thus wrote of his life: "In the midst of a sore affliction, which weighs heavily upon me in a personal as well as an official capacity, I have been asked by the editor of the Journal to write a few words concern- ing Mr. Lemuel J. Curtis, who last evening was so suddenly called to his rest in Paradise. As a citizen of unimpeachable integrity and uprightness he stood in the highest rank. Few men in all the relations of life were so alive to the dictates of conscience. Advantage, policy, gain and affection were unhesi- tatingly set aside at the bidding of conscience, and no sacrifice was deemed too great when demanded by this guiding power of his life. He has thus been a model of integrity to all with whom he has been thrown in contact, and especially to those with whom he had business relations. A man who had known Mr. Curtis intimately for nearly forty years once said in my hearing, 'Whatever Lemuel J. Curtis at- tempts to accomplish, his first thought is to do right.'
"Such a characteristic cannot in these days be too highly eulogized. But it is especially my duty and pleasure to speak well of Mr. Curtis as a relig- ious man. For forty-five years he has been a faith- ful and regular communicant at St. Andrew's Church, and for more than half this long period he has been honored with the office of warden of the parish. It was only during the last year of his life, when he felt his infirmities growing upon him, that inclement weather could keep him from his accus- tomed seat in the House of God. He was always alive to every need of the church he so loved. Whenever he realized that the need was pressing, when there was a special offering at the church for religious or charitable purposes, and he through ne- cessity was absent, it was his invariable custom to forward his offering to the writer within the next twenty-four hours. Such a habit is only formed under the conviction that a stated portion of a man's wealth must be given back to God, and this convic-
tion was the source of a generosity too modest and unassuming to be fully appreciated.
"Besides founding the only charitable institution of which Meriden can boast, Mr. Curtis was not un- mindful of the sinaller charities, and on his last Christmas eve he left many a substantial gift at the doors of those who were in affliction and distress.
"He was an exceptional example of that charac- ter which is animated by the spirit of a pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father, and whose habit it is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and keep himself unspotted from the world."
JAMES WARD BEECHER PORTER, now living retired, is looked upon as one of the most worthy citizens of Waterbury, of which city he is a native, having been born there June 12, 1853.
James Porter, father of our subject, was born in Waterbury March 26, 1818, a son of Elias Por- ter, also of Waterbury nativity. James Porter has been a lifelong resident of the city, where for years he was a "caster" in several of the brass rolling mills, but he is now living retired. He married Sophia Beecher, who also is yet living, and five chil- dren were born to them : Emily is the wife of James Elliott, of Elmira, N. Y .; Sarah lives in Waterbury ; our subject comes next in the order of birth ; Fannie and Mary (twins) are unmarried.
James Ward Beecher Porter received his educa- tion at the common schools and high school of Waterbury, and at the age of fifteen years entered the hook and eye shops in order to learn the brass- molding trade. With the then proprietors he worked about one and one-half years, or until the shops were purchased by Barnard, Son & Co., and he continued with the new firm several months. He then went to the Scovill Manufacturing Co., and was in their employ from 1871 to 1898, a period of twenty-seven years, for a long time having the en- tire contract of the casting department. He is now living retired, having by honest labor and persever- ance amassed a comfortable competence.
On Jan. 18, 1876, Mr. Porter married Elizabeth Collins, who was born in Cambridge, Mass., daugh- ter of John Collins, also of Massachusetts birth, and six children have been born to them. as follows : John B., Oct. 28, 1876; Fannie E., July 9, 1878: Nellie F., March 25, 1880: James W., June 16, 1881 ; Bessie S., Aug. 11, 1882 (died in infancy) : Harry C., March 13, 1885. The family attend the services of Trinity Episcopal church. Mr. Porter is a Republican in politics. He is very prominent in fraternal circles as a member of several secret soci- eties, and his Masonic record is as follows: En- tered Apprentice, April 21, A. D. 1892, A. L. 5892 ; passed to the degree of Fellow Craft. April 28, A. D. 1892, A. L. 5892; raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason, June 2, A. D. 1892, A. L. 5892 ; installed Worshipful Master, Dec. 6, 1894; Har- mony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M., Waterbury, Conn.
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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Received the Degree of Mark Master, Sept. 28, 18:)2; Past Master, Oct. 12. 1892; M. E. Master, Nov. 9, 1892; Royal Arch Mason, Nov. 23, 1892 : Eureka Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M., Waterbury. Ad- mitted to the Rewards and Honors of a Royal Mas- ter, Jan. 19, 1893 ; Select Master. Jan. 19, 1893 : Su- per E. Master, March 15. 1893 : Waterbury Council, No. 21, R. & S. M., Waterbury. Was constituted and created a member of The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, Sept. 5, A. D. 1894: constituted, created and dubbed a Knight Templar. Oct. 3. A. D. 1894; and finally constituted a Knight of Malta, Nov. 7, A. D. 1894; installed Eminent Commander, Feb. 1. 1899; Clark Commandery, No. 7. K. T., Waterbury. Constituted Noble of the Mystic Shrine in Pyramid Temple of Bridgeport, Nov. 26, 1894. Received the degrees of the Lodge of Perfection, from the 4th- 14th inclusive, in E. G. Storer Lodge of Perfection, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, January, 1895. New Haven, Conn .; received the degrees 15th and 16th, in Elm City Council, Princes of Jerusalem, Feb. 14, 1895, New Haven : received the degrees, 17th and 18th, in New Haven Chapter, Rose Croix, Feb. 14, 1895, New Haven : dimitted from the above Scottish Rite bodies to become a charter member of The Doric Lodge of Perfection : the Ionic Council, Princes of Jerusalem ( Past M. E. Sov. P. Gr. Mas- ter) ; and Corinthian Chapter, Rose Croix, all in Waterbury. Received the degrees, 19th-32d, in- clusive, April 26, 1895, in Lafayette Consistory, S. P. R. S., of Bridgeport, Conn. Mr. Porter is also a member of Nosahogan Lodge, No. 21, I. O. O. F .; Speedwell Lodge, No. 10. K. of P .; Tunxis Tribe, No. 10, I. O. R. M .; and of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, which lat- ter he joined Feb. 8, 1897.
ROBERT ROBSON WOOD, who passed from earth Aug. 20, 1890, was for many years a resident of Ansonia, and by his excellent qualities of char- acter won in a high degree the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens. His life, which extended be- yond the allotted limit of inan's years, was free from ambitious strivings for public notice, yet in its quiet usefulness it made an impression upon the commun- ity which will remain as an inspiration toward right doing among all who knew him.
Mr. Wood was born April 4. 1816, in Little- boro, Lancashire, England, son of James and Isa- bella Wood. James Wood was for some years su- perintendent of a cloth factory at Littleboro, and came to America in 1828. to take a similar position in a mill at Amesbury, Mass .. where he died in 1832. His wife died July 7. 1822. This worthy couple had three sons and one daughter: the last named, Mrs. Joshua Miriam. of Ashburnham, Mass., was the last surviving member of the fan- ily, and died in March. 1883. Of the sons, Lineus, who died in 1863 in New Bedford, Mass., was a prominent Mason, holding the rank of Sir Knight. Pliny, formerly a Methodist minister of Can-
bridge, Mass., and at one time chaplain of the State Senate, died in 1876 in Munich, having been sent to the Vienna Exposition by his State.
As a boy our subject became thoroughly famil- iar with all branches of the cloth manufacturer's art, and before leaving England was engaged as a flannel finisher for the Amesbury Mills, On May 12, 1828, he arrived in this country, landing in Bos- ton, and although a mere boy hie proved so compe- tent in his work that he was appointed in 1832 to act as superintendent of the mills during the remain- der of the year of his father's decease. Later he was employed in Andover, Lowell and Taunton, and on April 1, 1839, he removed to Derby, Conn., having been engaged by Plumb & Beach, cloth manufactur- ers, whose mill was located opposite the old Somers building, in Main street. Birmingham. The writ- ten contract, which was for the term of two years, is now in the possession of the family. For seven- teen vears he remained in that locality, and at one time he was connected with the wire drawing busi- ness conducted by the Howe Pin Co., at Birming- ham. In 1848 he went to Ansonia with D. W. Plumb, and in 1855 he became superintendent of the mills of Wallace & Sons, then newly organized. During the thirty-three years which he spent with them he had the satisfaction of seeing constant growth and development in the business, in which his advice and masterly management were of rec- ognized value. It was during the memorable bliz- zard week of March. 1888. that he first found his health impaired, and from that time he took no act- ive part in business affairs. An attack of the grip in the following winter left him very feeble, and a brief illness in August terminated his life. . After a last visit to the mill he remained at home, realizing that the end was near, and some of his brethren of the I. O. O. F. were, at his request, constantly at his bedside during his last days.
In politics Mr. Wood was a Republican, and al- though he never sought public office his keen inter- est in local affairs was shown in many ways. To all progressive movements he gave liberally, ac- cording to his judgment. and for many years he at- tended the Episcopal Church at Ansonia. Public affairs had not for him an absorbing interest, how- ever, coming second to the cares of his business and the welfare of the workingmen under his con- trol, over 600 in number during the last years of his stay. His manner was kind, and his cheery "Good morning, young man," was like a ray of stmshine. In 1877, in his sixty-first year, he and his wife went to Europe, visiting all the cities of note. and making a pleasant stay at his birthplace, where among other old acquaintances he found the man who had taken his father's old position in the mills half a century before.
On June 20. 1847, Mr. Wood was married in Birmingham to Miss Elizabeth Wallace, a native Ji Manchester, England, and a daughter of the late Thomas Wallace. She passed away Feb. 19, 1900,
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at the age of seventy-seven, while residing with her son, Thomas J. Wood, in the home built by our sub- ject. Of two other sons, John W. died in Ansonia in 1898, aged forty-three years; and W. R. died a number of years ago.
Mr. Wood's funeral was largely attended, his great popularity bringing crowds of people to watch the solemn procession through Main street, from his residence on North Cliff street. Wallace & Sons had ordered their mills closed for the entire day in memory of his long and faithful services. The workmen, many of whom had known him for a score of years, assembled at the Episcopal Church to pay their last tribute of respect to one who had always been their friend and benefactor, and there was many a moist eye among them as the hearse bore the remains to their last resting-place. Nau- gatuck Lodge, No. 53, I. O. O. F., marched in a body in the procession, accompanied by the grand officers of the State and ten members of the Veteran Odd Fellows Association, of which Mr. Wood was vice-president ; among the floral tributes was a cross four feet in height given by the Veterans Associa- tion. The pall-bearers were chosen from Nauga- tuck Lodge and Ousatonic Lodge, of Birmingham. Rev. Mr. Woodcock, rector of the Episcopal Church, read prayers at the house and the funeral services at the church, and the procession then went to Birmingham, where the remains were interred. At the grave the ritual of the I. O. O. F. was read by John Naukervis, N. G. of Naugatuck Lodge, as- sisted by G. E. Church, Chaplain, and Grand Mas- ter F. S. Hunt made a short address in which he eulogized the deceased, telling of his work in the society and his standing as a citizen. In this con- nection it is appropriate to review Mr. Wood's long service in the I. O. O. F., as he was one of the old- est and most prominent members of the Order in this State. For nearly half a century he had been an earnest worker in the society, and was looked up to as the pillar around which they grew, and at the yearly meeting of the Veterans' Association he was always present. At the time of his residence in Derby he was the oldest Odd Fellow there, and he was instrumental in founding Ousatonic Lodge, No. 6, of Birmingham, of which he remained a member until the organization of Naugatuck lodge, of Ansonia, in 1849. In 1841 there were five lodges in Connecticut, and Mr. Wood, in order to re-or- ganize the local lodge, became a member of Quin- nipiac Lodge, New Haven. The curiosity caused by the local establishment was so great that the trunk containing the paraphernalia had to be hid- den in the cellar over night. Mr. Wood successively passed all the chairs, and became past noble grand. He was a conservative Odd Fellow, and proved a capable and efficient officer, discharging the duties devolving upon him with care and skill, and ruling with a tact that avoided all signs of unjust discrim- ination.
THOMAS J. WOOD, the only surviving son of our
subject, was born June 8, 1848, in Ansonia, soon after the place was given its name. His education was secured in the common schools of the dity and at Cheshire Academy, and at the age of sixteen he entered Wallace & Sons mills, and gained a practi- cal knowledge of the business under his father's direction. He was promoted at the latter's death to the position of superintendent, which he has since held-although the firm of Wallace & Sons has been superseded by the Coe Brass Mfg. Co .- mak- ing about thirty-five years of continuous service with the establishment. He is a stanch Republican and is prominent in municipal affairs, having been a member of the board of burgesses and alderman from the First ward during the first two years of city government. During his term he served as chairman of the Police committee and the commit- tec on Claims, and his work was characterized by ability and rare fidelity. He has also been active in military affairs, serving five years as a member of Company H, 2d C. N. G., in which he was promoted first to the post of orderly sergeant and then to that of second lieutenant, with which rank he was dis- charged. He is a charter member of the local Board of Trade, and of the Eagle Hook and Lad- der Company of Ansonia, of which he was foreman and treasurer for some years. Mr. Wood attends the Episcopal Church, and socially is identified with various organizations, including the F. & A. M., George Washington Lodge, No. 83; the Ansonia Club, of which he is a charter member; and the I. O. O. F., Naugatuck Lodge.
In March, 1869, Mr. Wood was married to Miss Marie C. Clemens, daughter of A. B. and Catherine (Girard) Clemens, the former a prom- inent retired citizen of Ansonia, and a well-known expert in machinery, for many years the superin- tendent of the Farrell Foundry. Mrs. Wood is a member of the D. A. R., being of Revolutionary de- scent through her mother, who was a Girard. The only son of this union, Robert A. Wood, learned the brass business with his father, and is now fore- man of several departments with the Manhattan Brass Co., of New York, where he resides. He married Miss Eva M. Perkins, of Ansonia, and they have two children: Robert Thomas, born Nov. 14, 1899; and Ethel May, born May 10, 1901.
GIDEON LUCIAN PLATT, M. D., late of Waterbury, where for fifty-three years he was act- ively engaged in the practice of medicine, was one of the city's useful and prominent citizens. He de- scended from an ancestry among the oldest and most prominent of Connecticut.
Richard Platt, the progenitor of many of the Platts of New England, came to this country in 1638. landing at New Haven. He was enrolled among the first settlers of Milford, Nov. 20, 1639, having four in family. In August, 1889, at the in- teresting and noteworthy commemoration of tlie settlement of Milford two hundred and fifty years
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before, the name of Richard Platt was mentioned with honor, and among the coping stones of the beautiful memorial bridge erected over the Wapa- waug to perpetuate the memory of the early settlers was one placed with this inscription :
DEACON RICHARD PL.ATT, OBIT 1684. MARY IHIS WIFE.
Dr. Platt was a descendant in the sixth genera- tion from Richard Platt, of Milford, the line of his descent being through Lieut. Joseph Platt and three consecutive Gideon Platts, our subject being fifth in the line bearing the name of Gideon.
Gideon Platt (2), son of Gideon Platt, married March 17, 1783, Hannah Clark, daughter of Josepli Clark, all of Milford, Conn., and their children were Gidcon, Joseph and Merrit.
Gideon Platt (3), son of Gideon (2), and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born Dec. 19, 1784, and married Nov. 8, 1807, Lydia Sperry, daughter of Capt. Jacob Sperry. They became residents of Middlebury, Conn. Mr. Platt was a deacon, as was his father before him, in the Congre- gational Church of Milford, where they were highly respected and estcemed citizens.
Dr. Gideon Lucian Platt, son of Gideon (3), was born July 20, 1813, in the (what is now ) town of Middlebury, Conn., and in addition to attending the schools of the town he was a pupil in the cele- brated classical school of Simeon Hart, of Farm- ington, Conn. He was prepared for the medical profession under the direction of Dr. Henry Bron- son, of Waterbury, and under Dr. William Tully, then of New Haven, and a professor in the Yale Medical School, where young Platt pursued a regu- lar course of study and received the degree of M. D. in 1838. He immediately established himself in pro- fessional work at Waterbury, where he continued same with success and rare usefulness for over fifty years. Soon after settling in Waterbury he became associated in the practice with his former preceptor. Dr. Bronson, which partnership continued until Dr. Bronson's removal to New Haven, in 1842. In 1849 Dr. Platt bought what is known as the Apothe- caries' Hall property, of Benedict & Coe, and along with Dr. Fish opened a drug store which since 1852 has borne the name of Apothecaries' Hall. At one time Dr. Platt was associated with Dr. Philo G. Rockwell. In 1880 he took into partnership with him the late Walter Hamlin Holmes. who afterward became his son-in-law, a partnership which lasted until the death of Dr. Platt. Dr. Platt accumulated considerable real estate in Waterbury that later be- came very valuable. He was president of the New Haven.County Medical Society in 1880 and the fol- lowing year president of the State Medical Society. He was an active member of the First Congrega- tional Church of Waterbury, and became one of the incorporators of the Second Church there.
On Dec. 18, 1844, Dr. Platt was married to Caroline Tudor, a lineal descendant in the seventh generation from Elder William Brewster. of the Plymouth Colony, also of Owen Tudor, of Windsor, Conn., and of Rev. Samuel and son, Dr. Elihu Tu- dor, the eminent surgeon, who was one of the found- ers of the Connecticut Medical Society. To this marriage were born four children: (1) Dr. Lucian Tudor, born in 1846, received the degree of M. D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1869. On Sept. 15, 1871, he married Rebecca Hurlbut, of Winsted, Conn., and has one daughter, Medora H. (2) Medora Caroline is the widow of Dr. Walter H. Holmes. (3) Dr. Walter Brewster, born Dec. 20, 1853, was graduated from Harvard Medical College, and received the degree of F. R. C. S. at the Royal College of Surgeons, London, England. On Dec. 20, 1889, he married Mary Perine, daugh- ter of E. Glynn Perine, of Baltimore, Md., and has three sons, Washington, Lucian and David. (4) Charles Easton died at the age of thirty-seven. The mother of these died August 10, 1896. Dr. Gideon L. Platt died Nov. 11. 1889, and a writer in the Waterbury American, who knew him well, said :
Dr. Platt early in his professional life attained a high reputation both as a physician and surgeon, but it was in the practice of his profession in that very close and peculiar relation of a family physician, and which especially exists in a country practice. that the strong points of his character were most clearly seen and his highest usefulness developed. In the modern style of city medical practice, where each organ has its special expert, in which it is the organ rather than the man of which the case and condition are considered, that peculiar relation of the family physician. whose constant watchfulness continued from birth to death, and included usually not only the relation of physician but that of confidant, adviser and sympathetic counselor and friend. is almost unknown. It may be that modern scientific . pathology has rendered unnecessary that intimate knowledge of heredity, predisposition and environment on which the success of the old-line physician was based, but whatever it may do for the physical man, it can never be to the spiritual, to the moral. to the intellectual nature-in short to the man himself-what the close and intimate relation of the family physician made him. This was pre-eminently the style of Dr. Platt's practice. He knew his patients, their lives, circumstances and surroundings, their parentage and history, their constitutional predispositions and heredi- tary tendencies, all these consciously or unconsciously went to make up his diagnosis of a case and to indicate to his mind the treatment it demanded. His patience was un- wearied. Calm and equable by temperament, he was still more so hy long training and culture, and by a noble self- command that never deserted him. He brought into the sick room an invigorating presence, a sense of rest, peace and comfort. One of his patients says of him, "I felt, as a child, when sick. that as soon as I saw Dr. Platt I should be better. I can feel now his cool hand, with a touch that always seemed to bring relief."
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