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 31
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Hall retired and Mr. Jones assumed the duties of the office Mr. Hall was still continued as assistant postmaster. On Feb. 1, 1898, he was appointed postmaster, entering upon the duties of the position the Ist of the following month. Mr. Hall was in- strumental in securing free delivery in Wallingford while assistant to Postmaster George T. Jones. As postmaster Mr. Hall is very efficient. In Septem- ber, 1900, he succeeded in introducing free deliv- ery throughout the town of Wallingford. Charles S. Hall is a stanch Republican, and has never hesi- tated at any labor in hehalf of the party organiza- tion. From 1880 to 1894 he was on the Republican town committee, and for nine years served as its chairman. In religion Mr. Hall is a Congregation- alist, while his wife attends the Baptist Church.
On June 14, 1894, Mr. Hall married Miss Flora A. Fordham. of Essex, Conn., a daughter of Theo- dore P. Fordham. a prominent surveyor and far- mer. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of two children : Randolph Fordham, born Nov. 7, 1896, and Theodore Parsons, born Dee. 18, 1898. Mr. Hall belongs to the N. E. O. P., the Masonic fra- ternity and the Pilgrim Fathers. He was a char- ter member of the local lodge of the last named order, as he was of Robert Wallace Court, No. 123.
JAMES CALLAN, the efficient superintendent of the tube department of the Holmes, Booth & Hay- den Manufacturing Co.'s extensive works in Water- bury, was born April 12, 1841, in Douglas, Lanark- shire, Scotland. son of John and Jane (Fleming) Callan, who were born in the same place.
John Callan, the son of a farmer, was a weaver by trade. He and his wife had eleven children, of whom all save two reached mature years, and of the other nine three-Adam. William and James-came to Connecticut. Adam is now a machinist in Water- bury. William died in New Haven.
James Callan attended school in his native town until ten years old, at which age he lost his father. His mother having a large family to care for, he was obliged to exercise his best activities in provid- ing for himself and in aiding in the support of his mother and the little ones at home. He labored on the farm until twenty years of age, when he went to Glasgow, where he found employment in a store for some time, and then, in 1871, came to America and to Waterbury, where he has ever since been employed by the Holmes. Booth & Hayden Co., with the exception of two and a half years passed with the Randolph & Clows Co.
In 1866 Mr. Callan married Elizabeth Harriott. who was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, a daugh- ter of William and Alice Stratton, and to this union six children have been horn, viz .: John, William H., Adam, James A., Alice H. and George S., all still living. John and William H. are married.
In politics Mr. Callan was a Liberal in the old country, and since coming to America has been a
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Republican. He is very popular with his party, and has represented the Third ward of Waterbury in the common council two terms, while a member of this body serving on the committee on Lights and Lamps at the time the first clectric lights were placed in the city. He has just concluded a term of two years in the board of aldermen, has been re- elected for a similar term, and is now vice-president of the board.
As a Freemason Mr. Callan stands very high. He was "made" a Mason in Scotland in 1859, and has attained to the Mystic Shrine. He affiliates with Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M., of Water- bury, of which he was three years master: with Eureka Chapter, of which he has been high priest three years, and at the present time is grand high priest of the Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Connecticut : he also holds membership in Clark Commandery. He is a charter member of the Third Congregational Church, which his family also at- tend. Socially they all are held in the highest estimation by their neighbors and acquaintances, and they have made hosts of friends during their residence in Waterbury.
WILLIAM COOK WILLIAMS, M. D., de- ceased, who was for many years a leading physi- cian of Cheshire, was born Aug. 21, 1828, in Roxbury, Conn., the eldest son of William Chauncey Williams, M. D., and his wife, Julia White Cook. Through his father he was descended from Rob- · ert Williams, who settled in Roxbury, Mass .. in 1637, and on his mother's side from Major Aaron Cook, who located at Dorchester, Mass., in 1630.
Robert Williams was born in England about the year 1593, perhaps in Norwich. County of Nor- folk, and was married before coming to America to Elizabeth Stratton. He disembarked at Boston, with his wife and several children, in the year 1637. Before the close of that year he had joined the neighboring settlement at Roxbury, and, this early. his name and that of his wife are found upon the records of Roxbury Church, to which the Rev. John Eliot then ministered. He was there made a free- man, May 2 of the following year. That he was a stanch and typical Puritan, whose scruples for- bade his conformity with the tenets of the Estab- lished Church in England, during the intolerant reign of the first Charles, and encouraged his de- parture thence for Massachusetts Bay, where he could the more freely exercise his individual rights of conscience, may readily be believed from the single glimpse had of him, as signer of the petition to the governor of the Colony, in 1672, in censure of Harvard College. He was one of the five towns- men or selectmen in 1647 and 1653, and was inter- ested in the early founding of schools in Roxbury. Ellis speaks of him as "one of the most influential men in the town affairs," and Farmer calls him "the common ancestor of the divines, civilians and war- riors of the name who have honored the country
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of their birth." His wife, Elizabeth, died July 28, 1674, aged eighty years. He married Nov. 3, 1675, for his second wife, Margaret, widow of John Fearing, and upon her death he married, according to tradition, a Martha Strong, who died Dec. 22. 1707, aged ninety-two. His last will and testament is dated Nov. 26, 1685, and was probated Sept. 29, 1693. He died at Roxbury, Sept. 1, 1693, aged one hundred years.
Capt. Isaac Williams, born Sept. 1. 1638, bap- tized in September, 1638, in Roxbury, Mass., mar- ried in 1660, for his first wife. Martha Park, born March 2, baptized March 13, 1643, the third dangh- ter of Deacon William and Martha ( Holgrave ) Park, of Roxbury. In 1661 he settled in Cambridge village, now Newton, Mass., and was there made freeman in 1685. He and his wife were among the · earliest members of the first church instituted at Cambridge village, and he was afterward deacon therein. He served as captain of a military com- pany and was seleetman, 1691-93. and deputy to the General Court, 1692, 1695, 1697, 1699. 1701 and 1705. In 1706 he was chosen with two others on the first school committee. His wife died Oct. 24, about the year 1676, aged thirty-four. He married, Nov. 13, 1677, for his second wife, Judith Cooper, of Taunton, Mass., who died in 1724, aged seventy- six. He died Feb. II, 1707, aged sixty-eight, and was buried under arms by the Company of Foot, at Newton, Feb. 14, 1707. His last will and testament bears date Jan. 31, 1704, but was set aside by the court for undue influence, July 27, 1708, on petition of disaffected heirs.
Isaac Williams, born Dec. 11. 1661, baptized March 11, 1662, in Cambridge village, Mass., mar- ried, about 1685, for his first wife, Elizabeth Hyde, born Sept. 4, 1659, the eldest daughter of Jonathan and Mary ( French) Hyde, of Cambridge village. They were both early members of the church in Cambridge village, in which settlement he continued to reside until within a few years of his decease. He was captain of the military company at Newton and selectman for that town, 1734. His wife, Elizabeth, died June 26, 1699, aged thirty-nine years. He married, in 1709, for his second wife. Mary, widow of Nathaniel Hammond, Jr., and. upon her death, a third wife, Hannah. He soon afterward removed to Roxbury, where he died June 27, 1739, aged seventy-seven. His last will and testament is dated Dec. 12, 1738.
Ebenezer Williams was born Oct. 16, 1691, in Newton, whence he early removed to settle in Leb- anon, Conn., soon after its organization as a town. The deed for his first purchase of land is dated Nov. 17, 1718. He was married there on July 27, 1721, to Mary. eldest daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Veach, of Lebanon. His name is found on the rec- ords of Lebanon (Goshen) Church as a member thereof, April 2, 1732, and upon the records of the town as a lieutenant and selectman. 1736 and 1738. His last will and testament is dated March
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5. 1740, and he died Aug. 6. 1740, aged forty-eight years. His widow died prior to March 25. 1782, at which date letters of administration were granted upon her estate to Jonathan, the eldest son.
Veach Williams, born April 23, 1727, baptized April 29, 1727, in Lebanon, was married Oct. 12. 1753, to Lucy Walsworth, born Dec. 3. 1732, fourth daughter of William and Mary ( Avery) Wals- worth, of Groton, Conn. He resided in Lebanon from birth until death, and the names of both him- self and wife appear on the records of the Third (or Goshen) Church as admitted to membership Nov. 24, 1776. He was captain of a company of Connecticut Colonial militia. and for the fourteen consecutive years from 1765 to 1778, inclusive, was townsman or selectman, together with Jonathan Trumbull, governor of the Colony, William Will- iams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Hon. Joshua West, Capt. Seth Wright, and one or two others, who constituted the remaining members of that board during the greater part of this period. Here, at the home of the governor of the Colony and of the speaker of the Colonial House of Repre- sentatives, at a time when all was busy preparation in anticipation of an eventful war, it may be pre- sumed those called into the service of the town were its most patriotic and representative citizens. He was deputy to the General Court of Connecticut in 1785. His last will and testament bears date of Oct. 27, 1795, and his death occurred Sept. II, 1804, at the age of seventy-seven. His wife Lucy died Aug. 10, 1795, aged sixty-two years.
William Williams, born Aug. 2, baptized Aug. 8, 1762, in Lebanon, married May 20. 1784, for his first wife, Lydia, daughter of Samuel Williams, of Lebanon. She died June 22, 1790, aged twenty-six. He married, in 1793, for his second wife, Lydia, daughter of Joseph Loomis, of Lebanon. William Williams was a farmer in Lebanon, and served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Connecticut Legislature. session of 1813. He died Nov. 5, 1818, aged fifty-six. His widow, Lydia, died in Lebanon, Nov. 5. 1861, aged ninety years.
Dr. William Chauncey Williams, born Oct. 23. 1800, was baptized Jan. 25, 1801, in Lebanon. He married, June 7, 1827, Julia White Cook, daughter of Aaron Cook, of Ashford, Conn. He was a phy- sician, and was entered as a student of medicine, about 1820, with Dr. Stephen Hubbard, of Pom- fret, Conn. He was an undergraduate in the Med- ical Department of Yale College i .. 1821-22, and re- moved in 1829 to Manchester, Conn., where he re- mained in active practice until his death. He re- ceived the degree of M. D. from Yale College in 1841. He died Oct. 6, 1857, aged fifty-six years, and his widow died July 19, 1875, aged sixty-seven.
Dr. William Cook Williams, the subject of this sketch, received his preparatory education at Willis- ton Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., and was grad- uated from the Yale Medical School in 1850. On June 19, 1850, he married Lucinda, daughter of 58
Beman Fairchild, of Brookfield, Conn., a descendant of Thomas Fairchild, one of the first settlers of Stratford, Conn. Their children were William Ed- ward, who died at the age of twenty-one years ; George Clinton Fairchild and Elizabeth Julia, both of whom are living.
Immediately after his graduation Dr. Williams began the practice of medicine in New Hartford, Conn. In 1851 hie removed to New Milford and thence, in 1854, to Cheshire, where he remained in active practice through the remainder of his life. The following remarks concerning his professional career are quoted from the "Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University," published in June, 1894: "He had by far the most extensive practice of all physicians ever located in that place (Cheshire), including a large clientele in all the surrounding towns. His success in his profession was phenom- enal, and he left the remarkable record of having never lost an obstetrical case in all his long career. He was gifted with the faculty of inspiring pa- tients with confidence in his skill, while his geniality and checrfulness made him welcome in the sick room as a friend as well as a physician." In his method of practice he was liberal, and did not limit his resources for the treatment of disease by alle- giance to any of the "schools" of medicine.
In other respects he was equally broad-minded and progressive. He never interested himself in politics and would not accept political office, but was among the foremost in supporting and encour- aging all measures for the public welfare and for the benefit of his town. In the early years of his residence in Cheshire he took a lively interest in public matters. He was active in the religious- work of the Congregational Church, of which he was a member, and he bore a prominent part in the organization and maintenance of a Young Men's. Christian Association under the auspices of which courses of lectures were delivered-an organiza- tion which made, in many ways, a marked beneficial. impress upon the young men of that time. He de- livered lectures on anatomy and physiology at the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, and contributed articles to the public press. He was the means also of securing to Temple Lodge, No. 16, A. F. & A. M., the restoration of its charter, which was sur- rendered during the dark days of free-masonry in this country, and he was the first master of that lodge after the charter was restored. During his: later years, as the demands of an extensive practice absorbed his time and bore heavily upon him, he withdrew from other affairs and devoted his ener- gies exclusively to his professional work. His de- votion to duty was absolute. He rarely took a vaca- tion. With him the interests of his patients were first and personal welfare a secondary considera- tion. Despite the wearing effects of much contin- uous work, he was always cheery and jovial, never failing in sympathy for the suffering, and ever ready with jest or anecdote to cheer the dispirited
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and to brighten the irksome days of convalescence. He was a trustee of the Masonie Mutual Benefit As- sociation of Connecticut, a director in various busi- ness enterprises, and, to the time of his death, post surgeon and medical examiner of his district. On May 18, 1894, he died of septicemia, contracted in the course of professional work. He was a "beloved physician," and he will be long remembered as 'an able and conscientious physician, a wise and trust- ed counselor, a firm friend, a genial companion, and a moral and upright man.
RANSOM CHIPMAN (deceased) was in his day one of the most progressive and highly re- spected residents of Waterbury. He traced his de- scent from one of the earliest of the New England Colonists.
Thomas Chipman, the first of this family to come to America, was born in Dorchester. England, in 1570. John Chipman, his son, was born in the same place, and came to America in 1630. In 1646 he here married Hope, daughter of John Howland, and granddaughter of Gov. John Carver, the two last named passengers on board the famous "May- flower." Twelve children were born to this union. John Chipman was an elder in the church at Barn- stable, Mass., and was a deputy, or representative, to the General Assembly of the Colonies. Deacon Samuel Chipman, of Barnstable, son of John and Hope (Howland), was born in 1661, and died in 1723. His son, Samuel Chipman, also called "Dea- con," of Barnstable, was born in 1680, and died in 1780. Jolin Chipman, of Stratford, Conn., was born in 1728, son of Deacon Samuel (2), and his son, Jo- seph Chipman, was the father of Samuel Chipman. Samuel Chipman became the father of eleven chil- dren, including Sherman B. and Daniel L. Chipman, of Waterbury ( whose sketches are given in full else- where), and Ransom Chipman, whose name stands at the opening of this memoir, and who, it will be seen, was of the eighth generation of the Chipman family in America.
Ransom Chipman was born in 1819, in what is now called Town Plot, and passed his early days on the home farm. He began the active business of life by making regular trips to New Haven with his father, Samuel Chipman, who was then a stage driver to that city. Many thousands of dollars were in this manner transferred to New Haven, there being at that time no bank in Waterbury. When he was about thirty-five Mr. Chipman en- tered the employ of Holmes, Booth & Havden, manufacturers, and for twenty-five years was tore- man of the rolling department of their immense con- cern, a reliable indication of his steady-going habits and executive ability.
Ransom Chipman was twice married. By his first wife, Charlotte Hurd, of Newtown, Conn., he had three children, viz .: Harriet R., who married George Speer. of Bridgeport ; Edgar H., foreman in Holmes. Booth & Hayden's factory, Waterbury ; and
Charlotte M., who married Hollis D. Segur, of Wa- terbury, a native of Suffield, and a representative of one of the oldest families in New England, the Se- gurs having been among the early settlers of Hart- ford. Mrs. Charlotte (Hurd ) Chipman died, and in 1857 Ransom Chipman wedded, for his second wife, Martha Beach, who was born in Hartland, Conn., a daughter of Elias and Betsie ( Hayden) Beach. both also natives of Hartland. Col. Nathaniel Hayden, father of Mrs. Betsie Beach, was colonel of his train- ing district, and was quite a prominent agriculturist. He married Sallie Ransom. The Beach family de- scended from William Beach, who settled in Amer- ica in 1640; Elias Beach was a son of Zophier, who was born in Goshen, Conn. To the second marriage of Mr. Chipman no children were born.
Mr. Chipman was a devout member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, and for many years was a trustee of the society. He died in this faith Oct. 31, 1884, and no citizen's decease was ever more deeply deplored by the residents of Waterbury. Possibly no more fitting tribute can be paid to his memory than the following obituary notice, published in the Waterbury American immediately after his demise :
"In the death of Ransom Chipman his wife loses a good husband, his children a kind and faithful father, and the community at large a generous and faithful citizen. Ever ready to give in a good cause, hundreds have reason most substantial for blessing his memory. In the beautiful Riverside cemetery we have laid away all that remains of our loved friend-the friend of the poor, and the man whose life will in many respects serve as a worthy model for the youths of to-day. Peace to his ashes, blessed be his memory.'
The honored widow of Mr. Chipman still makes her residence in Waterbury, and is passing her days in retirement, surrounded by a host of loving friends, and devoting her time to aets of kindly charity.
RICHARD WOODWARD (deceased), for. many years a highly respected citizen of East Haven, was a native of that town, born Jan. 17, 1815, in the house now occupied by his daughter.
Hezekiahı Woodward, his father, was born on the same farm Jan. 13, 1763, it being the home of the grandfather, who was born in 1742. The latter was a grandson of Rev. John Woodward, who was graduated from Cambridge College in 1693, and was ordained a minister Dec. 6, 1699. Both the fa- ther and grandfather of our subject took up arms against the mother country and aided the Colonies in achieving their independence during the Revolu- tionary war. Hezekiah Woodward married Asenath Bradley, who died in the fall of 1854, and his death occurred May 21, 1815.
Throughout his active business life Richard Woodward engaged in farming upon the old home- stead in East Haven, and he was numbered among the leading and prominent citizens of that town. He imarried Miss Annie M. Potter, who was born June
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37. 1815, a daughter of James Potter. She died in August, 1855. and Mr. Woodward departed this hic Aug. 25, 1855. To them were born three chil- den: Mary A., who is mentioned below ; George K. who served for three years as a member of the :oth Con. V. I. during the war of the Rebellion,, and died in 1867 ; and James, who died at the age of two years.
On May 9. 1860, Miss Mary A. Woodward was united in marriage with Collis B. Granniss, who was born Nov. 13, 1830, on the farm in East Haven where his brother Lyman now lives, and is now suc- cessfully engaged in dairy farming on the old Wood- ward homestead. He has served as school treasurer for several years, and for fifteen years has been a «leacon in the Congregational Church, of which he and his wife are active and prominent members. They have one child, Mary W., who was born Ang. 10, 1867, and was married Oct. 27, 1891, to Andrew 1'. Allen, who was born Sept. 24, 1861. This union has been blessed by one daughter, Estelle M., born, June 18, 1893, in New Haven. Mr. Allen resides with Mr. and Mrs. Granniss, aiding in the operation of the farm. The family are widely and favorably known, and are quite prominent in the community where they make their home.
DUDLEY FAMILY. (I) William Dudley, one of the original settlers of Guilford, and a signer of the Plantation Covenant, was born at Richmond, County of Surrey, England. He was a member of Rev. Henry Whitfield's Church and parish at Ock- ley, in Surrey, where he married Aug. 24, 1636, Miss Jane Lutman. They came with Mr. Whitfield's company to America in 1639, and their eldest child, William, was born at sea, during the voyage. On their arrival at Guilford they established their home on the east side of what is now Fair street, where .Dr. R. B. West now lives. William Dudley's home- lot contained three and one-fourth acres, and he had also considerable outlying land. He was a farmer as appears by his will and inventory. He died March 16, 1683-84, and his wife on May 1, 1674 They had five children: ( 1) Deacon William, born at sea June 8, 1639, died in May, 1701 ; he mar- ried Nov. 4, 1661, Mary Stow. He removed i- 1670 to Saybrook, Conn. (2) Joseph, sketch of whom follows. (3) Ruth, born April 20, 1645, married June 20, 1664, John Whittlesey, of Say- Itook. (4) Deborah, born Sept. 20, 1647, died in Oktober, 1681. In June, 1671, she married Eben- czer Thompson, who died in May, 1674. They had two children-Jabez, born Oct. 16, 1672; and John, 'om in November, 1674. She married for her sec- .my husband Thomas Scranton, who died Nov. 10 1711. and they had two children-Samuel, who married Elizabeth Bishop, and Hannah, who mar- rial Joseph Evarts. (5) There was another child, whose name is not known.
( 11) Joseph Dudley, second son of William and
Jane (Lutman) Dudley, was born at Guilford April 24, 1643, and died there June 3, 1712. He married Oct. 6, 1670, Ann Robinson, daughter of Thomas and Mary Robinson. He was a cooper by trade, also a farmer, and owned part of a sawmill which he be- queathed to his son Caleb. He lived, probably, on the homestead of his father on Fair street. His fa- ther mentions him in his will as follows: "I give and bequeathe to my son Joseph Dudley, all my housings and lands and rights of lands in Guilford, etc." In 1691 he was chosen by the town "for the making of coffins on all occasions of death." At the time of his death the inventory of land, distributed to his six sons as designated by his will, amounted to £751, Ios, 6d. Movables, £166, 15s, 6d. Joseph Dudley had nine children: ( 1) Joseph, born June II, 1671, died Feb. 22, 1726. He married July 27, 1704, Abigail Hubbard. (2) Benjamin, twin of Joseph, died Feb. 23, 1720; he married Jan. 5, 1703, Tabitha Avered. (3) Caleb, sketch of whom fol- lows. (4) Joshua, born Dec. 17, 1674, died Jan. 29, 1750 ; he married Oct. 20, 1712, Sarah Perry, of Stratford. (5) Miles, born Dec. 17, 1676, died Aug. 10, 1753; he married Jan. 23, 1706, Rachel Strong, daughter of Thomas Strong, of North- ampton, Mass. She died Jan. 4, 1769, aged ninety- three. (6) William, born Oct. 18, 1684, died Feb. 28, 1761; he married Ruth Strong, daughter of Thomas Strong, of Lyme ; she died Sept. 18, 1743; and he married (second) Widow Rebecca Fisk, daughter of Joseph Elliot. (7) Anna, born in 1687, died April 27, 1687. (8) Mary married Joseph Wright, of Colchester, Conn. (9) Mercy married . Josialı Bartlett, of Northampton, Massachusetts.
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