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 26
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members of the Congregational Church, and the father was a Whig in politics. Their children were: Clark, a farmer, who is now deceased; Saralı A., who married E. G. Stone, a farmer of Middlebury, both now deceased; Julia A., who married Ches- ter C. Hitchcock, a wheelmaker of New Haven, both also deceased ; Mariette, who married Charles C .. Woodruff, a farmer of Watertown, Conn., both de- ceased ; Emmerett L., wife of Henry W. Sperry, a carpenter of New Haven ; Alma C., who married Walter Lake, a farmer of Bethany, both deceased; Royal O., who married Louise Sperry, of Bethany, and has been a carpenter of New Haven for half a century ; and George W., our subject.
George W. Nettleton is indebted to the district schools near his boyhood home for his educational advantages. On leaving the parental roof, at the age of sixteen years, he went to New Haven to learn the carpenter's trade with his brother RovalO .. and remained there until twenty-five. During the following six months he worked at his trade in Cheshire, this county, and then followed that occu- pation in Waterbury for some time. While there Mr. Nettleton was married, April 8, 1855, to Miss Eunice Morris, who was born in that town Aug. 26, 1832, and died Sept. 2. 1896. Her father, Amos Morris, a cooper by trade, was also born in Water- bury, in 1790. Our subject and his wife had two children : Mary, now the wife of Charles A. Smith, a laborer of Naugatuck : and Charles L .. a carpenter of Middlebury.
Shortly after his marriage Mr. Nettleton re- moved to the farm in the town of Naugatuck, which has since been his home. It consists of sixty- two acres of well-improved and highly-cultivated land, pleasantly located two and a half miles from Naugatuck borough. Mr. Nettleton has devoted his time and attention principally to his trade, leav- ing his farm to be operated by hired help. He is an earnest member of the Congregational Church and is highly respected and esteemed by all who know him. In politics he is a Republican.
JOHN SMITH TYLER, a popular and influ- ential citizen of East Haven, was born in the house where he now resides, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1834. His father, William Tyler, was born June 26, 1799, in the same dwelling.
John Tyler, the paternal grandfather, was a native of Branford-near a well-known sea-side re- sort, Short Beach-and by occupation a shoemaker. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. After residing in East Haven a short time he married Mabel Bradley, who was also born on the farm now owned and occupied by the subject of this notice. Simeon Bradley, her father, built the house about one hundred and fifty years ago, and it is still in excellent repair. He died July 22, 1802, aged sev- enty-one years ; his wife, Abigail, passed away May 18, 1810, aged sixty-eight. To John and Mabel 1
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( Bradley) Tyler came six children: Ammi, born Feb. 20, 1789: John, June 29, 1792; twins, June, 1796; William, June 26, 1799; Jerusha Louisa. May 2, 1805.
Upon the farm mentioned, the ownership of which has descended down through many genera- tions, and a portion of which is in the center of the town and very valuable, William Tyler spent his entire life. He was a shoemaker by trade, an ac- tive worker in and a prominent member of the Con- gregational Church, and widely known as a useful and respected citizen. He married Julia A. Thomp- son, who was born in 1799, a daughter of Abrahan Thompson, and they had two children : Harriet A., born Feb. 6, 1838, who died at the early age of fourteen years ; and John Smith, the only son. The father died at the age of sixty-four years, and the mother was fifty-six years old when she entered into rest, both of them honored and esteemed.
John Smith Tyler passed his youth upon the an- cestral farm, and acquired a good practical educa- tion in the public schools and in the select or acad- emic institute at the town hall, Messrs. Potter and Wolcott, instructors and principals. Although he was born within a few miles of the third largest city of New England he never at any time left the parental roof, and has always devoted his energies and time-except when called to -official positions of trust and responsibility-to the management of his farm. He is a thorough agriculturist and skilled in all the details of general farming.
On · June 3, 1866, Mr. Tyler married Miss Jane Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Lovisa Thompson. Two children were born to them : Will- iam Joseph and John Alexis Dibble. The first named was born May 12, 1867, and died Nov. 18. 1873. aged six years, six months and six days. The sec- ond, who was born Nov. 11. 1875, died July 16. 1879, when three years and eight months old.
Mr. Tyler is a stanch supporter of the Republi- can party and its principles, but the usual narrow confines of partisanship have not prevented him in his official life from acting for the good of all con- cerned. His manners are most gracious and pleas- ing, and marked by an affability not possessed by every person. In the Eastern States the office of selectman-like that of the town clerk-ranks as first in importance and one of the most difficult to administer in a satisfactory manner. Notwithstand- ing this, Mr. Tyler has held the office continuously -elected annually-since 1886. No official in this town (nor probably in any other) has such an en- viable and remarkable record. The laying out of the suburban electric road, the erection of a new town hall, a magnificent new school house, and the build- ing of a new State highway, with new roads.on the north shore of Long Island Sound, also an engine house for a recently organized fire department, have all taken place during his term of office. Mr. Ty- ler ranks deservedly among the most prominent and
public-spirited citizens of his town. He and his wife are members of the Grange, No. 106, and are ac- tive officials in this fraternal association.
DAVID BOUGHTON HAMILTON (de- ceased) was born in Danbury, Conn., Oct. 19, 1824. He was in the sixth generation from Sir William Hamilton, who was born in Scotland in 1643, and died in Danbury in 1746, aged one hundred three years.
(I) Sir William Hamilton was the son of Gal- latin Hamilton, of Glasgow, Scotland, and he set- tled with his family first on Cape Cod, where he was so fortunate as to capture a whale, which had been driven on the beach during a storm, and for this he was accused of witchcraft and of being in league with the Devil. In consequence he fled to Rhode Island, and later moved to Danbury, Conn. There, on the verge of civilization, he established his home at "Bear Mountain," where remains of the old house could be found as late as 1835. Will- iam had six children, all of whom lived to remark- able ages, and died in Danbury: Joseph, aged eighty-six; David, aged seventy-nine; Benjamin. aged ninety ; Ezra, aged ninety-three ; Thankful (spinster ), aged one hundred two; Mercy, aged fifty-two.
(II) Joseph Hamilton, son of Sir William, had three sons, all of whom were born at Bear Moun- tain, and died in Danbury: Silas, Benjamin and Joseph, Jr.
(III) Silas Hamilton, son of Joseph, had five sons : Silas, Jr., Paul, James, John, and Orpha.
(IV) Paul Hamilton, son of Silas, was born Nov. 19, 1752, and died May 31, 1830. He mar- ried Anna Stevens (born 1757, died 1829), who was the daughter of Lieut. Ezra Stevens, an of- ficer in the American Revolution. Lieut. Stevens mother, Abigail Barnum, was a daughter of Thom- as Barnum, and the first white child born in Dan- bury. Paul had six sons and four daughters, all born at Bullet Hill, Pembroke District, Danbury : Anna, born 1775, married Jesse Hoyt, and died in Danbury in 1848: Hannah, born 1776, married Elias Boughton, and died in Danbury, in 1843; Betsy, born 1779 (spinster ), died in Danbury in 1859; Elizabeth, born 1781, married John Knapp, and died in Danbury in 1862: James, born 1783. married Waity Budlong, and died in Danbury in 1865; Daniel, born 1785, married Miss Aiken, and died in New Haven in 1823; Paul S .. born 1789. married Reiney Wood, and died in Hartford in 1841 ; David, born 1791, married Deborah Knapp Boughton, and died in Hartford in 1834 ; Silas, born 1793, married Isabel Williken, and died in Albany in 1861 ; and Ezra, born 1801, married Sybil Prich- ard, of Waterbury, and died in Hartford in 1879.
(V) David Hamilton, son of Paul, born 1791, died 1834. He married Deborah Knapp Boughton, born in 1790, and died in 1864. They reared the following children: Julia Ann, born 1812, mar-
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ried William G. Ellis, died in Hartford in 1850: Clarissa Mariette, born in 1815. married Hiran Wildman, died in Hartford in 1889: Lorenzo, born in 1818, married Lavinia Delliber, died in Cali- fornia in 1869: Orville, born in 1821, married Eliz- abeth Lyon, died in Texas in 1888: David Bough- ton, born in 1824; Elizabeth, born 1827. married Henry Champlin, and is still living, a widow, in Ilartford.
David Boughton Hamilton spent his boyhood days in Danbury, and received his education in his native town, and at a select school in Hartford. In early youth he had a desire for the ministry, and began preparation for a life work in the pulpit, but the bent of his mind was neither in that direc- tion nor in the legal profession, to which he turned his attention for a time. His was a distinctively business nature, and, by a process of natural se- lection, he became a business man of high stand- ing. In early youth he taught school for two years, and in 1851 became a clerk in the postoffice at Hartford. Two years later when the Rogers' Brothers organized for the manufacture of silver- plated ware, he became a salesman for the new fırın. In 1858 he joined the firm of Rogers & Bros., and his connection with the silver plating in- dustry was interrupted during forty-two years only on two decasions, once when he visited California in 1856 for the benefit of his health, and again dur- ing his service in the Union army in the Civil war.
Mr. Hamilton entered the service in 1861, al- most immediately on the breaking out of the Re- bellion. On that memorable April 19, 1861, he was in Baltimore, just after the attack upon the Union soldiers. The next day he was in Washington, and joined a company of volunteers raised by Col. Cassius M. Clay for the defense of the capitol. In a few days he returned to Connecticut, and en- listed for regular service in the 5th Conn. V. I., where he received a commission as first lieutenant. He was promoted to be captain in 1862, and was honorably discharged for serious disabilities Jan. 10, 1863. Capt. Hamilton made a fine record as a soldier, and was highly esteemed by all his old comrades.
Mr. Hamilton was secretary of Rogers & Bros. from the incorporation of the firm until 1868, when he was elected treasurer. In 1878 he became presi- dent also, filling both positions to the eminent sat- isfaction of all interested in the enterprise. Capt. Hamilton was president of the Manufacturers' Na- tional Bank from its incorporation in 1881, of the Waterbury Lumber and Coal Co. from its reorgan- ization in 1883, and of the Connecticut Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. from 1891 to 1894. He was also extensively interested in various im- portant business enterprises throughout the State, more especially in the William Rogers Manufactur- · ing Co. of Hartford, the Meriden Britannia Co. and the Bridgeport Brass Co., being a director in each.
Politically Capt. Hamilton was a Republican, and in his time filled many important official posi- tions, which were chiefly municipal and business in their character. In 1881 he was elected to fill the State Senatorial vacancy created by the death of Senator Brown. He served the city as councilman and alderman, and was a member of the Board of Water Commissioners from 1885 to 1893. He had been selectman of the town, and chairman of the Board of School Visitors. As a member of a com- mittee of three, appointed by the Wadhams post. G. A. R .. to raise money for a soldiers' monument, he rendered material assistance to that commend- able enterprise. Capt. Hamilton belonged to the New York Commandery of the Loyal Legion, the I. O. O. F., and the Masonic fraternity, where he was also a Knight Templar. Capt. Hamilton was a man of much ambition and business energy, and. in his business character, had visited every State of the Union. He was an independent thinker, much interested in philosophical and social prob- lems, and deeply devoted to the progress of the world.
On May 6, 1847, Capt. Hamilton married Mary Rogers, daughter of S. Rogers, of Hartford, and she died May 22, 1859, leaving one son, Charles Alfred, born May 3, 1849. On June 9, 1863, Capt. Hamilton was united in marriage with Mary Eliza- beth, daughter of William Birelv. of Frederick, Md. He became acquainted with Miss Birely while doing detached duty under Gen. Banks. She died Aug. 27, 1870, leaving two children, Lewis Birely and Katherine, of whom the former, born in 1864, is a graduate of Yale, class of 1886, and is a civil engineer by profession. Capt. Hamilton was mar- ried, Sept. 1. 1871, to Isabel L., daughter of John Griswold Ely, of Lyme. This union was blessed by the birth of one child, Paul, who was born Sept. I, 1873, and is a graduate of the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale, class of 1894. Capt. Hamilton's last illness resulted from the lodging of a small fish-bone in the larynx, where it caused ulceration. and ultimately resulted in death. Eminent special- ists were employed, but without avail, and Capt. Hamilton died Sunday morning, Aug. 14, 1898.
Mrs. Hamilton, the widow of this gallant sol- dier, distinguished leader in the business world, and old-school gentleman, still survives. She is eighth in line from Richard, "the settler." This Richard Ely, first of the Ely family in America, came from Plymouth, England, in 1660, and settled in Bos- ton. His grandfather, Leonard Ely. Elder of Wouston, who died in 1615, was the grandson of John Ely, born about 1492, and who was Warden of the palace of the Bishops of Winchester in 1540.
When Richard Ely came to this country he was a widower with two sons, William and Richard. . \ carved oak chest which he brought with him is in a state of perfeet preservation to-day, in the family of one of his descendants. In 1664 lie married
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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Widow Cullick, sister of Col. Fenwick, and settled at Lyme, on the Connecticut river. where he and his sons, in a few years, owned 4,000 acres of land. He died in 1690, and a few years later a stone was erected to his memory, in the Ely burying ground at Lyme, on which is recorded the following: "His descendants besides peopling these mansions of the dead, are greatly multiplied in the land."
(II) William Ely, son of Richard, born 1647, died 1717. He married Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Simon Smith, who with twenty-eight others took up all the land between Haddam and Saybrook, except Six-Mile Island : the latter was the home of William. To William and Elizabeth were born the following children: Ann, Elizabeth, Richard, Mary, Daniel (had four wives), William, Jr., De- borah and Johanna.
(III) William Ely, Jr., son of William, mar- ried, first, in 1715. Hannah Thompson, of Ipswich, Mass., and, second. Mary Noves. He had ten chil- dren, seven of whom were born of his first mar- riage, namely: Jacob, James. Martha, Deborah, Mary Ann, Samuel and Ammi : by his second mar- riage : Hannalı, Mary and Ann. The first six were baptized by the first minister of Lyme.
(IV) James Ely. son of William, Jr., born 1718, died 1766. He married Dorcas Andrews. of Ips- wich, in 1742. They had ten children : Elizabeth, James, Ruhama, Jacob, Dorcas, Tabitha, Aaron. Andrew, John and Gad. Of these, all six of the sons served in the Revolution, and Aaron was killed at the battle of Kings Bridge in 1776.
(V) James Ely, son of James Ely and Dorcas Andrews, born in 1743, married Catherine Hays, in 1768, and afterward Prudence Hewitt. By his first wife he had nine children: Richard, James, Dor- cas, Phoebe, Aaron, John, Kate, William and Calvin. (VI) John Ely, son of James and Catherine Hayes, born 1781, died 1817, married Lucy Miller (died 1859, aged eighty-two). They had six chil- dren : Horace, William, John Griswold, Rodney, Ansel and Calvin.
(VII) John Griswold Ely, son of John and Lucy (Miller) Ely, born in 1810, died 1863, was the fa- ther of Mrs. Hamilton. In 1830 he married Sally Pratt Williams, who was born in 1812, and died in May, 1901, in Lyme. They had eleven children : John Heber, Elizabeth, Oscar, Ellen, Patterson, Isabel L. (Mrs. Hamilton), Ernest, Emma, Lewis, Edna J. and Edward W.
CAPT. ELBERT L. FORD, an influential citi- zen of Milford, was born in that town Feb. 21, 1847, son of Samuel A. Ford, and grandson of Samuel Ford. The family has been well known in the town for several generations, our subject's line of descent being as follows: Thomas Ford, Jr., Thaddeus, Samuel, Samuel A. and Capt. Elbect. The Fords are a very long-lived people, some living to be over one hundred years of age, and many to be over ninety.
Samuel Ford, the grandfather of Capt. Elbert, was a native of the locality, and passed his life there as a farmer. He married Polly Smith, of Milford, and had the following children: David S., who was a farmer and shoemaker in Milford; Lewis, a carriage-maker, who was last heard from while serving as a soldier in the Civil war; Samuel A., our subject's father ; James, a carriagemaker, now residing in New York State; and Catherine, who married Everett Smith, a shoemaker in Milford, where she now resides.
Samuel A. Ford was born and reared in Milford and became a farmer there. Politically he was a Republican, and in religious faith both he and his wife were Congregationalists. He died March 7, 1882. He married Sarah E. Smith, a native of Stratford, Conn., and a daughter of Jolin Smith, of that town. Mrs. Ford passed away Dec. 28, 1898. Our subject was the eldest in the family, the others being : Elizabeth M., wife of Alonzo W. Burns, of Milford ; Emily E., wife of Merritt C. Ford, of Mil- ford; Lauren A., a mason of the same town; and Edwin E., who died in infancy.
Elbert L. Ford attended the district schools near his home and the high school in Milford village. On leaving school he chose a seafaring life, and when only twenty-two years old was mas- ter of a vessel, and his skill as a master and pilot won him a high reputation. In November, 1881, he passed a successful examination and received a United States master's license for steam vessels, upon the Atlantic coast, its sounds, bays and har- bors. In 1883 he became captain of William M. Merwin & Sons' oyster steamer, which position he held for twelve years. In 1869 Capt. Ford married Miss Elva W. Whittlesey, daughter of Samuel and Wealthy Whittlesey, of Stratford, Conn. She died in 1872, leaving one child, Bertha E. In 1875 Mr. Ford married Miss Carrie W. Sherwood. daughter of Capt. Joseph Wakeman Sherwood, of Southport, Conn., and by this marriage there are nine children : Lillian W., Grace S., Ethel S., Samuel E., Ada F., William A., E. Lewis, Cecil and Arthur S.
Capt. Ford is deservedly popular in his town. He was elected selectman in 1893-94-95-96-99-00- OI, and for five years was first selectman and town agent. He is one of the oldest members of the Milford Fire Department, of which he served many years as foreman. Fraternally he is identified with Ansantawae Lodge, No. 89, F. & A. M .; Solomon Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M. : Harmony Council, No. 8, of New Haven; New Haven Commandery. No. 2, K. T .: Pyramid Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Bridgeport ; Lucia Chapter, No. 25, O. E. S. ; and Wopowage Lodge, No. 14, I. O. O. F., Mil- ford. Capt. Ford and family attend St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Milford.
RUFUS NORTON LEETE (deceased) is re- membered as one of the prominent and influential members of the Leete family, one of the oldest and
Offert L. Ford
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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best known in Guilford. He was born at Leete's Island, near Guilford, Aug. 17, 1812, the second son of Miner and Lucinda ( Norton) Leete, and a descendant of Gov. William Leete, the progenitor of mnost of the Leetes in America. He was prominent in the Menuncatuc plantation and in the town of Guilford, and in his official relations to the Colony of New Haven, and later the United Connec- ticnt Colonies.
Gov. Leete came to America in the Rev. Henry Whitfield Company, and was one of the signers of the Plantation Covenant, on shipboard, Jan. 1, 1639. lle was born in Dodington, Huntingdonshire, England, in 1612 or 1613, and was a grandson of Thomas Leete, of Ockington, Cambridgeshire, Eng- land, who married Maria Slade, of Rushton, North- amptonshire, daughter of Edward Slade. To Thomas Leete were born four children: John, of Dodington ( the elder) ; John, of Islington; Jane, who married Richard Dale; and Rebecca, who mar- ried Thomas Fowler. John Leete, of Dodington, son of Thomas of Ockington. married Ann Shute, daughter of Robert Shute, one of the Justices of the King's Bench. To this union three children were born: William; Jolin, of Medlow Grange, Huntingdonshire, England ; and Ann, who married Robert Ruly.
William Leete, son of Jolin, of Dodington, was bred in the law, and served for a considerable time as clerk in the Bishops' Court, at Cambridge, where, observing the oppressions and cruelties then prac- ticed on the conscientious and virtuous Puritans, he was led to examine more thoroughly their doc- trines and practices, and eventually to become a Puritan himself and to give up his office. Coming to America as noted above, he arrived at New Haven about July 10, 1639. When they had agreed upon Guilford as a place of settlement, he was one of the six selected to purchase the land from the native Indians in trust for the plantation until their organization. He selected for himself about 250 acres of land three miles west of Guilford, now known as Leete's Island. He filled many public offices in the New Colony, and was clerk of the plantation from 1639 to 1662. He was also one of four to whom was intrusted the full civil power of the plantation, without limitation, until a church was formed. He was selected one of the "seven pillars" of the foundation work. He was deputy from Guil- ford to the General Court in New Haven from 1643 to 1650 and from 1651 to 1658 he was magis- trate of the town. In 1658 he was chosen deputy governor of the Colony, and continued in that office until 1661, when he was elected governor, an office which he held until the union with Connecticut, in 16/4. After the union he was an assistant until 1660, when he was elected deputy governor of the Connecticut Colony, holding that office until 1676, when he was chosen governor.
He retained the office by continuous re-elections until his death,
April 16, 1683. Upon being elected governor he removed to Hartford, where he lived continuously until his death, and was buried there.
William Leete married first in England, about 1638, Anna Payne, daughter of Rev. John Payne, of Southoe. She died Sept. 1, 1668. For his sec- ond wife he married April 7, 1670, Sarah, widow of Henry Rutherford ; she died Feb. 10, 1673. He married for his third wife, Mrs. Mary Street, who had been twice married before, first to Gov. Francis Newman, and later to Rev. Nicholas Street; she died Dec. 13, 1683. His children were: John, born in 1639, is mentioned below ; Andrew, born in 1643, married Elizabeth Jordan; William married Marv Fenn; Abigail married Rev. J. Woodbridge ; Caleb, born Aug. 24, 1651, died Jan. 13, 1673; Gratiana was born Dec. 22, 1653; Peregrine, born Jan. 12, 1658, died young ; Joshua, born in 1659, died Feb- 22, 1660; Anna, born March 10, 1661, married John Trowbridge.
(II) John Leete, son of Gov. William, was born in 1639 in Guilford, and is said to have been the first white child born in the town. He married. Oct. 4. 1670. Mary, daughter of William and Joanna (Sheafe) Chittenden. She was born in 1647, and died March 9, 1712. John Leete died Nov. 25, 1692. Children: Ann, born Aug. 5, 1671, married John Collins : John, born Jan. 4, 1674, married Sarah Allen ; Joshua, born July 7, 1676, married Mary Munger; Sarah, born Dec. 16, 1677, married Elia- kim Marshall; Pelatiah, born March 26, 1681, is mentioned below; Mehitabel, born Dec. 10, 1683, married Dr. Anthony Labore ; Benjamin, born Dec. 26, 1686, married Rachel Champion; Daniel, born Dec. 23, 1689, died young.
(III) Pelatiah Leete, the fifth child of John Leete, was married July 1, 1705, to Abigail, daugh- : ter of Abraham and Elizabeth ( Bartlett ) Fowler, and they soon after removed to Leete's Island, where no settlement had before been made. The land had been allotted to his grandfather. Gov. Leete, after proper purchase from the Indians, and the title to the greater part of this soil has never been out of the family name. Upon these ancestral acres seven generations of Leetes have resided as farmers, mem- bers of each generation being content to remain and follow the occupation of their forefathers, most of them with success and profit. Originally the soil was very fertile, and it is said of Deacon Pela- tiah Leete that he farmed so successfully that he did not consider a hundred bushels of shelled corn 1 to the acre more than an average yield. He also had a herd of one hundred head of neat cattle. In 1735 he erected a large house on a commanding spot on his farm, overlooking the waters of the Sound, in which he lived until his death, Oct. 13, 1768, at the ripe old age of eighty-seven. This house was later occupied by descendants in several generations. Pelatiah was deacon of the Fourth Church of Guilford. He was also a representative
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