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 37
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In April, 1896. Mrs. Tomlinson married Henry P. Wirth, who was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, the son of Louis and Mary Ann ( Menck) Wirth, who owned a large hotel there. Before coming to this country Mr. Wirth was a salesman for wholesale mercantile houses, and was engaged several years in that line in Russia. He was em- ployed for a long time in the Farrell foundry, and later proved himself a successful salesman by dis- posing of 2,000 copies of "Grant's Memoirs," and selling many other publications.
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Mrs. Wirth was an able business woman, tak- ing keen interest in the management of her estate, and not long before her death she purchased a large tract of land with five houses near her home, in order to protect her beautiful grounds from in- trusion. In the house are to be found many in- teresting and valttable relics of the past. one room, which she called hier "Curiosity Shop." being en- tirely devoted to heirlooms. Among a large nuni- ber received from her mother are rare spoons and pieces of valuable plate, from fifty to one hundred and fifty years old, and a gold and silver tea set presented the mother on her wedding day. Excel- lent portraits of both her mother and father occupy places of honor in the house. testifying to her filial reverence and devotion. She contributed liberally to the support of Christ Church, Quaker Farms, and left in her will $2,000 for the same purpose as her father's bequest; also $3,200 to St. Peter s Church, in Oxford, and $3.200 to the Congregation- al Church in Oxford, the interest to be used to put the cemeteries in the best of order and keep theni so at all times. She made many other bequests for the benefit of the public. Mrs. Wirth was prom-, inent in many lines of social activity, including the work of the D. A. R., in which she held membership by right of descent from John Riggs. She passed away Nov. 6, 1900, and her death was sincerely mourned among a wide circle of friends and ac- quaintances.
ERASMUS D. KETCHAM is one of the older citizens of Waterbury, and holds a responsible posi- tion in the industrial life of that city. He is a plain, straightforward man of good habits, and pos- sessing an intimate knowledge of his business, commanding at once the confidence of his employers and the respect of the community.
Mr. Ketcham was born in the town of Perinton, Monroe Co., N. Y .. Jan. 23, 1838, son of John V. N. Ketcham, a native of Rensselaer county, that state. Joseph Ketcham, the grandfather of Erasmus D., came from the eastern part of the State, and was a farmer in Rensselaer county. He married a Miss Van Ness, and they had twelve children : Morgan, a farmer in St. Joseph county, Mich .; Daniel, a farmer in Monroe county ; John V. N., already men- tioned : Cornelius, a farmer of Oswego county, N. Y .; William, a farmer and an influential politician in Ontario county, N. Y .; Joseph, a farmer in Mon- roe county, where he is yet living : Melvin, a miner and speculator in California; Marvin, a Monroe county farmer ; Elidie, who married Jacob Van Ness, a farmer of Monroe county: Phoebe, who married a Mr. Porter, and later a Mr. Washburn, a farmer of Ontario county; Sally, wife of Mr. Mosher, a mechanic; and Angeline, wife of John Aldrich, a farmer in Monroe county.
John V. N. Ketchiam was a farmer by occupation. He married Miss Alma J. Tedman, a native of Wayne county, N. Y., and a daughter of Robert
Tednian, a farmer, and a native of Connecticut. After marriage Mr. Ketcham and his wife settled on a farm in Monroe county, where they reared a family of five children : Erasmus D .; Mary S., de- ceased, who married Joseph Nellest, a farmer in Niagara county, N. Y .; Charlotte A., who married Burt Rowley, a farmer in Ontario county, N. Y .; Arabella, who married Homer Foote, a farmer in Niagara county, N. Y. ; and Franklin I., a farmer, who lives on the old homestead. Mr. Ketcham passed away in 1886. Mrs. Ketcham is still living at the advanced age of eighty-three.
Erasmus D. Ketcham spent his boyhood and youth on the farm in Monroe county, N. Y., at- tending the old district school, and also enjoying the advantages of a year at an academy and a terin at a business college. In 1872. then in the prime of life, he came to Waterbury to take the position he holds to-day, and which he has filled so accept- ably in all the intervening years, that of forenian of tlic yard, or outdoor foreman for the Scovili Manufacturing Co. As foreman of the outdoor work of this company he is reliable and attentive to the interests of his employers, and careful and considerate of the needs of the men under liis direction.
Mr. Ketcham and Miss Caroline B. Webster were married Jan. 10, 1881. Mrs. Ketcham is a native of Waterbury, daughter of Truman Web- ster, a mason of that city. Two children have been born to this union, Truman J. and Earl D. Mr. Ketcham is a Republican, and a reliable and hon- ored citizen. His face is a familiar sight in the assembly halls of Nosahogan Lodge, No. 21, I. O. O. F., and he is much interested in the workings of that noble order. The Ketcham family attend the Congregational Church.
LEONIDAS W. ALLING (deceased) was born in Orange. New Haven county, Feb. 23, 1840, the sixth child in the family of Charles W. and Lucy (Booth) Alling, who are mentioned elsewhere.
Mr. Alling spent his boyhood, after attendance at the district school (and during that time as well), assisting his father in the latter's woolen mill, a moderate business and large family necessitating contribution to the general fund on the part of the sons as well as of the father. Yet his intuitive in- clination was toward a higher education, and his father was willing to gratify the boy's natural trend. Accordingly young Leonidas received a course of instructions at Wilbraham Academy, and later ina- triculated at Yale. Ill-health prevented the com- pletion of his college course, and returning to Orange in 1868 he engaged in the manufacture of woolen yarns. In this he was reasonably successful until 1891, in which year his plant was destroyed by fire. In that year, not caring to resume business in Orange, he removed to Derby, where he as- sumed a responsible position in connection with the management of the extensive factory owned by his
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brothers, A. H. and C. B. Alling. This post he filled, with an ability born of native talent and ripe experience, until his death, May 12, 1896.
On Dec. 28, 1870, Mr. Alling married Marion Merwin, a daughter of Alpheus and Mary (Alling) Merwin, the latter a daughter of Bela Alling, who was the great-uncle of Leonidas W. The earliest American progenitor of the Merwin family, of whom any authentic record is preserved, came from Scotland nearly two centuries ago. His baptismal name was John, and following down the line we find John, born in Milford; John, a native of Orange; Nathan ; and Alpheus, who was Mrs. All- ing's father. Nathan Merwin, the father of Al- pheus, was born in Orange, as were also his father and his children. He married Esther Clark, born in the same town in 1791, a daughter of Elias Clark, and their nine children were: Elias, Esther, Nathan, Sarah. Alpheus, John, Mary, Susan and Sheldon. Elias removed from Connecticut to Oak- land, Cal., where he lived and died ; he was a landed proprietor. Esther (deceased) became Mrs. Fred- erick Durand, of Seymour. Nathan was a pros- perous dealer in grain and flour at New Haven, where he died. Sarah married Joseph Treat, of Milford, and died in Iowa. John engaged in the manufacture of cutlery at Lakeville, Conn., and died there. Mary is the widow of Harvey Seward, a merchant in Leadville, Colo., where she yet lives. Susan died unmarried. Sheldon died in early youth.
Alpheus Merwin was reared in Orange, where he learned the trade of a carpenter under the in- struction of his father and Elias Clark, of Derby ; he followed same until his death, July 13. 1880. In 1848 he married Miss Mary Alling, and they had two children, Marion and John. Marion, as has been said, became Mrs. Leonidas W. Alling: John is a farmer in Orange. Bela Alling, father of Mrs. Mary Merwin, married Julia Rogers, of Orange, and three children were born to them: Mary, Mrs. Merwin; Sheldon, a farmer in Orange; and Julia, who died in childhood. Julia Rogers was the daughter of Jonathan Rogers, who was born in Orange in 1780, and w .s a farmer. In 1803 he married Polly Treat, whose father, Joseph Treat. was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The chil- dren of this marriage were four in number: Julia, Jonathan, Jonah and Mary. The youngest daugh- ter (Mrs. Merwin) is yet living.
Leonidas W. Alling was a man of kindly dis- position and affectionate heart. His blameless life, joined to keen mental power and a genuinely un- selfish interest in public affairs, gained for him the warm respect of his friends and neighbors. Po- litically he was a Republican, and he was a success- ful candidate on that ticket for the offices of town treasurer and representative in the Legislature. He was a deacon in the Congregational Church for many years, and in his daily life exemplified the sincerity of his belief in the religious faith which
he professed; yet his virtues were of the unas- suming rather than of the assertive sort.
To Mr. and Mrs. Alling were born four chil- dren : Mary, Walter, Wilbur M. and Lcon. Mary is married and lives in Philadelphia. Walter died in boyhood, and Wilbur is a manufacturer of | hosiery, with mills in New York and Philadelphia. Leon is assistant superintendent of the New York City mill.
REUBEN H. COE. New Haven county has many well-to-do and successful farmers who have accumulated what they have of this world's goods through individual effort. Among this class the name of the subject of this notice is entitled to a place. For forty years he has been a resident of East Haven, where he is industricusly engaged in the prosecution of his noble calling, and is meeting with far more than ordinary success.
Mr. Coe was born in the town of Durham, Mid- dlesex Co., Conn., May 26, 1837, a son of Merrick R. Coe and grandson of Abram Coe, also natives of Durham. The latter was a soldier of the war of 1812, and was living at that time in East Haven; he helped to build the old Tomlinson bridge. His death occurred when he was about the age of seven- ty-two years. By his marriage with Rebecca El- well, he had three children : Hannah, wife of Will- iam Peck; Phebe, wife of Samuel Peck; and Mer- rick R.
In early life Merrick R. Coe served a four years' apprenticeship to the shoemaker's trade, which lic followed for a time in East Haven, but the greater part of his life was spent upon a farm in Durham. He married Miss Asenath Harrison, of Northford, Conn., a daughter of Amos Harrison, and to them were born two children, Reuben H., our subject, being the youngest; Mary, born in 1831, became the wife of Enoch Camp, and died in 1849. The father died in the fall of 1888 in his eighty-fourth year ; the mother Dec. 29, 1874, at the age of sixty- seven years. Both were consistent and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Reuben H. Coe remained under the parental roof until twenty years of age, and then went to Plymouth, Conn., where he was variously employed, working on a road and also on a farm. In 1860 he came to East Haven, and for two years operated what is known as the Richard Woodward place. He then purchased his present farm in the same town, and here he has made his home since April, 1862. His first purchase consisted of but twenty-seven acres, but as he has prospered in his undertakings he has added to his landed possessions from time to time, and is now the owner of about 200 acres in Branford and East Haven. He has made all of the improvements upon his place, which is now one of the most attractive and desirable farms in the locality. In connection with general farming. he has also engaged in the wood and dairy business, and for the past ten years has given special atten-
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tion to the raising of hogs. He has been eminently successful, and is now one of the most substantial and prosperous farmers of the community.
On June 25. 1857, Mr. Coe was united in mar- riage with Miss Mariette Sanford, of Plymouth, Conn., a daughter of William Sanford, and to them were born two children: Hattie R., who died in her twelfth year : and Herbert W., who is engaged in the milk business in East Haven. He married Imogene Hall and has three children, Herbert E .. Ethel M. and Bertha H. Both Mr. and Mrs. Coe hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them. He is quite prominent in agricultural circles and has served three years as master of East Haven Grange, No. 106, and treas- urer of the New Haven County Pomona Grange for five years. He is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles, and has been elected to official positions of honor and trust, hav- ing served as assessor of his town for seven years. and first selectman for two terms, first with Henry Smith and Ruel Thompson, and second with John 'S. Tyler and Ruel Thompson. Over his life record there falls no shadow of wrong : his public service was most exemplary ; and his private life has been marked by the utmost fidelity to duty. He is pub- lic-spirited and progressive, and gives his support to all measures for the public good.
JOHN E. MAR. a citizen of West Haven, is one of New Haven county's successful business men. His family is of Scotch extraction and noble ·descent, his great-great-great-grandfather. John Mar, having been the eldest son of the Earl of Mar. He came to America from Scotland in 1715, settled in Kittery, Maine, and married Catherine Surplus, of that place. They were members of the Congregational Church, in which faith their four sons were baptized. Some years later. wishing to visit Scotland, John Mar took passage in a vessel which was wrecked off Cape Cod, and he was drowned. His youngest son. Surplus, passed his life as a farmer in Kittery.
James Mar, the grandfather of John Mar, was born in the town of Kittery. Maine, and removed to Lincoln county, that State, settling in the town of Alna, where he became a citizen of substance and influence. He was a mason by trade, and was also a surveyor and civil engineer. He served as lieutenant in the war of 1812, and was conspicuous for his gallantry and daring. He passed the eighty- seventh milestone on life's journey, and died full of years and honors. He married Susannah, daugh- ter of Lieut. Richard Bailey, who served in the French and Indian war.
James Mar, son of James, learned the trade of a mason, which he followed through the greater portion of his life. which ended at the age of eighty- four. He married Susan Averill, who was born in the town of Alna, a daughter of Ezekiel Averill,
who enjoyed the proud distinction of having been a member of Washington's body guard. After he had seen independence an accomplished fact, he re- turned-as did most of New England's patriot sol- diers-to the farm, to resume the pursuits of peace, and to do his part toward the building up of the infant Republic. He attained the extraordinary age of ninety-eight years. His family consisted of four daughters and three sons, and Mrs. Mar was the fifth in order of birth. She died in her eighty-fiftli vear. Mr. and Mrs. Mar had four children, three of whom are yet living: Frederick, whose home is in Kent. Va .; John E .; and William H., who is still a resident of Maine.
John E. Mar was born March 15, 1834, in Alna, where his parents settled. As a boy his mind was quick and his memory retentive, and before he was twenty-two years old he had learned the two trades of mason and carpenter. From the little hamlet in Maine where he was born he went to Boston, and thence after some years to Fair Haven, Conn. This was in 1862, when the government was a constant buyer of steam vessels at a high price. Mr. Mar, in company with others, built several steamers, and in 1865 went to West Haven, which town has since been his home. His father-in-law was at that time engaged in shipbuilding there, and he became associated with him, the business rela- tions continuing for many years. The business of the yards grew apace, and at present includes both steam and sail vessels, of many grades and large burden. Mr. Mar's name is a pledge of probity and a synonym for skill. In the two elements in his character, capability and integrity, may be found the keynote of his success. He has built many four- masted schooners, barges and grain elevators.
On Nov. 11. 1863. Mr. Mar married Helen Gesner, whose father, William Nicholas Gesner, was a shipbuilder in New York City, and thence removed to Connecticut. Four sons and one daugh- ter have blessed their home: ( 1) Frederic W. at- tended the West Haven schools, graduated from Hillhouse high school of New Haven, and from Yale University with the degree of B. A .. in 1888; he spent three years in post-graduate work, and is now principal of a school in Brooklyn, N. Y. He married, at Sirampscott. Mass .. Carlotta Lotsch, and they have one child. Frank. (2) James C. graduated from Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie. N. Y. ,and is now engaged in the lumber business. He married Kate Smith, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and they have one child, Frederick Eugene. (3) Margaret G. married Eugene F. Perry, of Nyack, N. Y., secretary of the Wholesale Lumbermen's Association. They have three chil- dren, Dorothy, Helen and Eugene F., Jr. (4) John E .. Jr., now of Bayonne, N. J., is a joiner by trade. He married Amy Dillion, of New Haven. (5) Charles Edgar is in Bridgeport, Conn .. where he is engaged as mechanical draughtsman ; he is un- married.
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For more than a century Mr. Mar's family has been prominently identified with the growth and development of the Congregational Church in the localities in which its various members have resided. Men and women of rugged character and sterling worth, they have never lost sight of their bounden duty to the cause of Christ, for which all the men- bers of Mr. Mar's immediate family are active workers. While our subject has not departed from the family tradition, he is a man to whom the ad- vanced ideas of the latter half of the nineteenthi century have not appealed in vain. Social by in- stinct and genial by temperament, his popularity has been assumed without any concession to lower impulse. He is a Republican in politics, but has never had any desire to hold office. He is prominent in the Masonic fraternity, having been senior war- den and twice master of Annawan Lodge, No. 115, F. & A. M .; treasurer of Joseph Andrew Chapter, No. 46, R. A. M .; and a member of Crawford Council. He takes a deep interest in the cause of temperance, being ever ready to co-operate in every well-directed effort for its advancement.
EDWIN ALONZO LEETE, a well-known business man and resident of Guilford, now en- gaged in undertaking and embalming, is a de- scendant in the eighth generation from William . Leete, the founder of the family in America. The first three generations of the ancestral line are: (I) Gov. William Leete, 1612-1683; (II) John Leete, 1639-1692; ( III) Pelatiah Leete, 1681-1768.
(IV) Pelatiah Leete, son of Pelatiah, noted in the foregoing, was born March 7, 1713, married Lydia Crittenden, a daughter of Deacon Samuel and Mindwell ( Meigs) Crittenden, and had the following family: Pelatiah, Pelatialı (2), Lydia (Mrs. John Leete) and Noah (twins), Eber, Simeon (who married Zerviah Norton), Amos (who married Hannah Ward) and Nathan.
(V) Pelatialı Leete, born Aug. 22, 1744, mar- ried Bethia Norton, a daughter of Thomas and Bethia Norton, of Guilford. She died June 30, 1793, and for his second wife he married Mary Frisbie, at North Branford. He was the father of four children: Joel, Noah, who married Huldah Ward; Pelatiah, who married Betsy Ramy; and Mary, who married John Ludington.
(VI) Joel Leete, born April 15, 1768, died Jan. 28, 1842. He married Mollie Crittenden, a daughter of Noah and Naomi ( Atwell) Crittenden, who lived at Leete Island. Mrs. Leete died Nov. 24, 1843. Their children were: Alvin, mentioned below ; Polly Maria; Morris Atwell; and Frederick William, who married Sarah Jane Fowler.
(VII) Capt. Alvin Leete, son of Joel and Mollie Leete, was born on Leete Island Aug. 24, 1791, and was married Jan. 15, 1816, to Mrs. Rebecca Butler, widow of William Butler. She was born Feb. 14, 1798, a daughter of Isaac and Abigail (Tyler) Palmer, and died Jan. 16, 1862. Capt. Leete died
July 6, 1882. His children were: (1) Abigail Maria, born Nov. 18, 1816, married A. W. Leete ; (2) Eliza Ann, born March 3, 1818, married C. Robbins ; (3) Isaac Palmer, born March 9, 1821, married Clarissa Foote: (4) Edwin Alonzo is men- tioned below; (5) Marietta, born July 20, 1827, died Jan. 18, 1877. Capt. Leete earned his title in tlie militia service. He was a Whig and a Republi- can, and belonged to the Congregational Church. He was deeply interested in all educational matters, and for more than thirty years was a teacher in the public schools.
Edwin A. Leete was born Dec. 21, 1822, and married Ellen Hotchkiss, who was born Nov. 10, 1825, daughter of Eber S. and Fannie ( Norton) Hotchkiss. To this union came two children : Fannie Rebecca, born Oct. 23, 1848, married Ezra S. Kelsey ; and James Spencer, born Sept. 8, 1850, died March 23, 1857. Mrs. Leete died July 5. 1854. On Jan. 1, 1855, Mr. Leete married Mary Ann Leete, who was born Sept. 20, 1827. a daughter of Albert A. and Betsy A. ( Parmelee) Leete, and granddaughter of Ambrose Leete. To them came children as follows: (1) Edward Morris, born Aug. 18, 1858, is mentioned below. (2) Cather- ine Ward, born Nov. 28, 1860, married Fred W. Seward. (3) Elizabeth Morris, born Feb. 10, 1867, was graduated from the State Normal School at New Britain, and for the past five years has been a teacher in the William Penn Charter school, in Philadelphia. (4) William Henry, born Dec. 3, 1868, in Guilford, married Caroline Hopkins. Barnes, of Binghamton, N. Y. He has been en- gaged in the railroad service for ten years, having been on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and assistant to the general superintend- ent of the Los Angeles Terminal Railroad. He is now cashier and paymaster on the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad.
Edward Morris Leete married Eva Bishop, wlio was born April 19, 1859, daughter of Elisha Chap- man Bishop, and they have three children-Frank Chapman, born Aug. 16, 1881, who is quite profi- cient in music; Earl Bishop, born in November, 1888; and Charlotte Elizabeth, born Aug. 14, 1890. Edward Morris Leete is a partner in business with his father, and at present represents his district in the State Legislature, to which he was elected in 1900. In religion he unites with the Congregational Church, and socially he is a member of the Ma- sonic Fraternity. Mrs. Edward Morris Leete be- longs to an old family, and is a lady of unusual at- tainments. She is an extensive dealer in antique furniture.
Edwin A. Leete became a cabinetmaker, learn- ing his trade under John Kimberly, with whom he spent four years. For a time he worked as a journeyman with Jonas H. Bowditch, of New Ha- ven, manufacturer and dealer in furniture. After- ward he came to Guilford and worked two years in the shipyards at East River, for Eber Hotchkiss.
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· For several years he dealt in hardwood timber for the New York market.
Mr. Leete donned the Union blue in 1862, be- coming a member of Company I, 14th Conn. V. I., under Col. Dwight Morris and Capt. Isaac Brun- son. He was in the service six months, taking part in the battle of Antietam, and was discharged at Alexandria on account of serious disability. Re- turning from the war he resumed the cabinetmak- ing business, in which he has been continuously engaged for thirty-seven years, and is known as the leading undertaker and furniture dealer on the shore line:
Mrs. Leete descends from Deacon Daniel Leete, eldest son of Deacon Pelatiah Leete. He married Rhoda Stone, a daughter of Caleb and Sarah (Meigs) Stone, and resided on Leete Island. He was a deacon of the Fourth Congregational Church of Guilford. He died in 1772, his wife in 1769. They were the parents of five children: Rhoda, who married Noah Rogers; Daniel, who married Charity Norton; Ambrose, who is mentioned be- low; and two who bore the name of Abraham, both deceased in infancy.
Deacon Ambrose Leete in 1773 married Miranda Chittenden, a daughter of William and Rachel (White) Chittenden, of Guilford. He was made a deacon of the Fourth Church of Guilford in 1784, and of the First Church in 1801. He died in 1809, his wife in 1838. Their children were: Ambrose, Miranda, Minor, Abraham and Wealthy. Minor married Lucinda Norton.
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