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 47
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John Campbell was born July 17. 1803. was edu- cated in the common schools, and was reared a farmer boy. Much success attended his labors and he spent his last years in Nashua. An active and devoted Methodist, he was a trustee of the church and a faithfuul worker for its advancement. Mr. Campbell was also deeply interested in school mat- ters, and was a strong advocate of public education. In politics he was a Whig. On May 29, 1828, John Campbell was married to Hannah Pierson, who was born in Nashua, a daughter of Captain Joshua Pierson. To this union were born four children: James R., born Nov. 14, 1829; Charles; Caroline; John.
James R. Campbell attended the public schools of Nashua, and for two and a half years was a student in the engineering department of the West Point Military Academy, but was compelled by his ill health to give up the course. In 1852 Mr. Campbell removed to Yonkers. N. Y., where he en- gaged in the contracting business in company with Deboise & Hendrick, dock and bridge builders, re- maining with them until 1865. That year, again consulting his health, which had failed him, he came to Wallingford, and bought the farm on which his home is now made. For a number of years he was engaged in manufacturing, and in 1878 became in- terested in a brown-stone quarry, to which he gave his attention for sixteen years, when he retired from every kind of business interests except his farm.
Judge Campbell is a man well known in Wall- ingford for his upright character and genial man- mer. He is much respected in the community, and has been a leader in every kind of forward move- ment. To the schools especially does he give a willing service, serving on the Central District Com- mittee, and on the building committees of the Colony Street School and the High School.
Judge Campbell was married Nov. 28. 1852. to Jane Barnes, who was born in Litchfield. N. H., a daughter of Reuben and Rebecca ( Martin) Barnes, and a granddaughter of Joseph Barnes ( who was a physician and surgeon in the war of the Revolution ), and of Dr. Amos Martin ( who served in the war of 1812). To this union were born the following children: (1) Charles, born in March, 1855, died April 3, 1879. (2) Ida E., born July 20, 1857, married Dec. 27, 1877, Rev. L. E. Rockwell,
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a Methodist minister, of Portland, Oregon, and has one son, Foster, born in September, 1880. (3) Jennie, born May 29, 1869, was educated in the Wallingford schools and at Smith College, grad- uating from the latter in June, 1893 ; she also studied one year in the graduate school at Yale College, giving special attention to the classics. At the present time she is teaching Greek and Latin in the Wallingford High School, and her work there is highly appreciated. Mrs. Rockwell was also a teacher before her marriage.
Mrs. Campbell taught school when a young woman, and is a lady of education and refinement. Much devoted to her husband and family, she is a consistent Christian woman. Mr. Campbell is a Republican, and a stanch party man, but has never had a hunger for political position. He was elected Deputy Judge in 1897. For twenty years he has been a trustee of the Yalesville Methodist Church, to which his wife and daughters also belong. Since 1851 Judge Campbell has been a member of the Odd Fellows.
HON. GROVE J. TUTTLE, who, for a quarter of a century and more, has been a member of the New Haven County Bar, and a useful citizen in his community, has descended from one of the Colony who settled New Haven, in 1639.
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William Tuttle, the emigrant ancestor of Grove J. Tuttle, with his wife Elizabeth and three chil- dren, sailed in the ship "Planter" from London, England, to New England, in 1630, landing at Bos- ton, and later were of the colony which settled New Haven, in 1639. From this William Tuttle, our subject, is a descendant in the seventh generation, his line being through Jonathan, Nathaniel, Nathan- iel (2), Jesse and Jesse Tuttle (2).
Jonathan Tuttle, son of William, the emigrant. baptized in Charlestown, Mass., in 1637. married Rebecca, a daughter of Lieut. Francis Bell, of Stam- ford. Mr. Tuttle began a settlement near the Quin- nipiac river in what is now the southern part of the town of North Haven, in about 1670, and built a bridge over the river which was long known as Tuttle's bridge. He died in 1705.
Nathaniel Tuttle, son of Jonathan, born in 1676, married Esther Blakeslee, and died in 1728. Na- thaniel Tuttle (2), son of Nathaniel, born in 1714, married first in 1737. Mary, a daughter of Josiah Todd, who died in 1742; and second he married Abigail Ingham.
Jesse Tuttle, son of Nathaniel (2), born in 1750, married first Lucy, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Alling) Dickerinan, of Hamden, and second, Eunice Gilbert. Mr. Tuttle was chosen tything- man of Hamden for the year 1794; grand juror in 1798; one of the surveyors of highways, in 1803 ; and a selectman, in 1805, 1806, 1807 and 1808: and as representative in General Assembly for several terms. He died in Hamden, in 1849.
. Jesse Tuttle (2), son of Jesse, of Hamden, and
the father of Hon. Grove J. Tuttle, of New Haven, was born Aug. 18, 1802, and first married Dec. 29. 1825, Dencey R .. daughter of John B. Johnson, of Wallingford. She died in 1840, and his second marriage took place May 1, 1842, to Lucinda, daughter of Willoughby Williams, of Wallingford. To the first marriage were born John, Lucy and Charles R., and to the second marriage, Dwight W. and Grove J.
Grove J. Tuttle was born in the town of Wall- ingford, Conn., April 2, 1851. His early educa- tion was acquired in the public schools of New Haven, and in the High school of that city and then he entered upon the study of law, under the direction of Charles H. Fowler, and was admitted to the bar in New Haven, in 1874, and has since been actively engaged in the practice of his pro- fession in that city, meeting with deserved success.
Mr. Tuttle has held various local offices in a manner creditable to himself, and satisfactory to his fellow-citizens. A number of times ( 1879, 1886 and 1893) he has ably represented his town in the General Assembly of the State. For twenty-five years, Mr. Tuttle has been an efficient member of the school board of which he has been president for ten years ; for twenty-five years also has been jus- tice of the peace : three terms he nas served as grand juror ; and was appointed county auditor for 1893- 1894. He held the office of prosecuting agent for New Haven County for two years. from 1893 until 1895. In 1898 he was the Democratic candidate for State Senator from the Seventh district, and though defeated reduced the Republican majority from 2621 in 1896, to 880 in 1898.
On June 8. 1887, Mr. Tuttle was married to Miss Emma J., daughter of Eber and Almira Downs, of New Haven, the former of whom was formerly a farmer of Woodbridge, and died at the age of fifty years; the mother died in 1901, aged eighty years. Mrs. Tuttle has one sister, now the wife of L. W. Hotchkiss, of Shelton. Socially he is popular in Adelphi Lodge, F. & A. M., and is considered one of the leading men in New Haven.
CAPT. OLIVER N. BROOKS, one of the old- est and most respected citizens of the town of Guil- ford, and a member of the Legislature, was born in West Brook. Conn .. Feb. 7, 1822, a son of Nathan Brooks. Simeon Brooks, an uncle of the Captain. was a prominent manufacturer in the town of Chester.
Nathan Brooks was a stone-cutter by trade. He married Nancy A. Clark, a daughter of Joseph Clark. a farmer in Chester, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and a man of much char- acter and ability. After marriage Nathan Brooks was located for a time at Westbrook, but after- ward removed to Killingworth, where he followed his trade for many years. In 1839 he located at Guilford, where he made his home until his deatit at the ripe age of eighty-eight years, and was
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buried in the Guilford cemetery. He was a Demo- crat in early life, but in his last years was a Re- publican. Mrs. Nathan Brooks also died in Guil- ford and was buried in the same cemetery. The few who are alive to remember her speak well of her as a woman of high character and religious faith. She was the mother of thirteen children. three of whom died in infancy. Those who lived to maturity are the following: (1) Julius died in 1849. (2) Zera C. resides in Derby, Conn., at the age of eighty-one years. (3) Roxanna M., the widow of George H. Chapman, of Saybrook, for many years a merchant in Boston, is living in Win- chester, Mass. (4) Capt. Oliver N. (5) Eliza F. is the widow of Jamies H. Prince, of Winchester, Mass. (6) Laura A. married Frederick H. Fowler, and both are deceased. (7) John G. was drowned in Nebraska in 1859, while on his way to California. (8) Julia A. married Richard H. Woodward, a real- estate man in Long Branch, N. J. (9) Cynthia E. married Erastus H. Cusby. (10) Frances E. mar- ried R. H. Chipman, a coal dealer in New York, who has his home in Philadelphia.
Capt. Oliver N. Brooks removed with his par- ents to Clinton when he was four years old, and there attended the public school and the academy. When thirteen years of age he went out as a cabin boy with Capt. Eldikin, on board the schooner "Planet," making a short voyage from Clinton to Philadelphia to take on a coal cargo for New Haven. From this humble beginning he worked himself up in rank to a position as commander and master, when he was only nineteen years old. At that early age he was perfectly competent to com- mand a vessel, and the first in his charge was the sloop "Ostrich." For eleven years he commanded different vessels in the Atlantic coast-wise trade. In 1851 Capt. Brooks was appointed keeper of the Faulkners Island Lighthouse, receiving his appoint- ment from Thomas Corwin, Secretary of the Treas- ury, and for thirty-one years he was always at his post of duty, and rendered valiant service in the res- cue and service of those imperilled by wind and water. During his long term of activity over one hundred vessels were stranded near the Island; in seventy-one of these disasters, eight of which were total wrecks, Capt. Brooks rendered valuable as- sistance in an open boat, often at the great peril of his life. One noble rescue he effected was that of the crew of the schooner "Moses F. Webb," which went ashore on Goose Island on Nov. 23, 1858. Single handed and alone he rescued the crew. and his daring efforts won the applause of the whole country. Many valuable and touching letters and testimonials were sent him, and are now preserved as valuable mementoes of a noble deed.
From the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York he received a letter of ardent appre- ciation, accompanying the bestowal of a gold medal, only bestowed where "Life has been exposed in saving life," which was signed by Daniel Lord,
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the vice-president of the association. The medal bears this inscription: "Presented to Oliver N. Brooks, keeper of the Faulkners Island Light, for rescuing with great courage and humanity four lives from the wreck of the schooner Moses F. Webb, on the 23rd of November, A. D. 1858." The value of this medal was fifty dollars, and its weight forty dollars.
From the citizens of New Haven he received the following letter, bearing date Dec. 6, 1858:
"Impressed by the account of your bravery on the 23rd of November, 1858, in rescuing five per- sons from the wreck of the schooner Moses F. Webb, at the hazard of your own life, we have pro- cured the accompanying testimonial of our admira- tion of your courage and your humanity. We present your wife the salver and tea set, your chil- dren the cups and napkin rings, and yourself the purse containing $126, in the hope that your ex- ample may encourage others to succor the im- perilled. That your life may long be spared and your health and prosperity be continued is the earn- est wish of yours respectfully, Washington Webb. In behalf of Thos. R. Trowbridge ; Hotchkiss Bros. & Co .; L. W. & P. Armstrong; E. C. Scranton ; James W. Brester ; Canfield & Spencer; D. M. Welch ; English, Atwater & White ; George D. Eng- lish ; C. L. English; Minott A. Osborn; D. S. Graves : S. W. King ; C. T. Candee ; P. A. Pinkman ; Dr. Bishop ; E. A. Mitchell ; T. Q. Betts ; R. Chap- man : C. B. Whittlesey; City Fire Insurance Co., N. H .; William Conner ( Secretary Springfield Fire Insurance Co.) ; S. A. Thomas ; Fred Lines ; S. W. Mansfield ; Wylie & Brother; C. P. Hubbell ; Law- rence, Bradley & Pardee; Lindsley & Carlisle ; James E. English ; Lucus Gilbert ; S. L. Smith & Co .; Sylvanus Butler; S. D. Cooley, Jr .; D. A. Benjamin ; C. M. Ingersoll ; Bishop & Bros .; W. A. Ensign ; Wm. B. Johnson; S. B. M. Huges; S. Punderford; Leonard Daggett; S. S. Griffing ; S. S. Atwater ; D. S. Glenney ; Isaac Thompson ; W. T. Bradley & Co .; Isaac Anderson ; Bushnell & Co .; L. Treadway & Co .; D. Trowbridge; Solomon Collis ; John Walker ; H. J. Norton ; M. R. Shepard ; S. G. Peck: John W. Russell; C. S. Chaplain; E. Arnold & Co .; Benjamin Noyes ; C. H .. Tuttle : E. Marble; Cowles & Leete; Strong & Hall; E. E. Hall; R. P. Cowles ; Joel Ives; D. Killam & Co .; F. L. Bostwick; C. O. Crosby; S. R. Spencer ; S. S. Rowland ; S. E. Stone; Saml. Rowland; Edw. Bromley; D. S. Stout; J. H. Benham; N. D. Sperry ; Alfred Blackman; W. T. Eustis, Jun .; G. S. Sheffield ; and W. Bristol."
The original documents are in script, executed by D. Stanton, beautifully done, and could not be duplicated for less than thirty dollars. The salver bears the following inscription : "Presented to Mrs. Mary M. Brooks, by the citizens of New Haven, in honor of the noble conduct of her husband, Capt. Oliver N. Brooks, who at the peril of his own, saved the lives of five persons from a wrecked ves-
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sel during a storm in Long Island Sound, on the 23d of November, in 1858." The salver alone is worth $80. At this time the citizens of Guilford presented him with a membership in the Masonic lodge.
During Capt. Brooks' term of service in the lighthouse many improvements were made, such as the introduction of kerosene oil. He had three as- sistants from 1866 to 1882, in which latter year he retired from the service, with a record of which any man might be proud. Locating on the old home- stead in Guilford, he became interested in real es- tate at Sachem's Head, where he built a number of summer cottages. In 1887 he went to Cali- fornia, and located in Arch Beach, where he was in business, and where he spent three years. During this time he was appointed postmaster, and visited many places of interest in the southern part of the State. In 1890 Capt. Brooks came back to his Guil- ford home, and has since lived retired from active business. The Captain is a keen observer, and a fine conversationalist, being a well-read man and widely informed on all current topics. Capt. Brooks was elected to the Legislature in 1892, though he is a Democrat, and was a member of the Committee on Temperance. In 1898 he was again elected by a good majority.
On Jan. 4, 1846, Capt. Brooks was married to Mary M., who was born in Guilford, a daughter of John and Betsy (Field) Hart; she was a lady of a charming personality, with fine artistic tastes, and was highly esteenied by those who had the privilege of her acquaintance. In her home are many creations of her artistic skill, especially notice- able being preparations of rare and beautiful sea shells, which evidence her love of nature. Mrs. Brooks died Oct. 28, 1899, and was buried in Guil- ford cemetery. The Captain and Mrs. Brooks were the parents of three children: (1) Oliver N., Jr., who died in infancy; (2) Mary E., who married Henry I. Thrall, formerly of Guilford, now of Cuba. has two children, Allison Irwin and Edith Amelia, both born in Riverside, Cal .; (3) Nancy Amelia, who married Edwin G. Hewsted, a nephew of Prof. Cyrus Northrop, president of the University of Minnesota, and has two children, Oliver Brooks and Edwin G. Capt. Brooks is a skilled taxider- mist, and has a valuable collection of animals and birds. Mrs. Thrall, his daughter, has much ability in music and art.
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HARVEY W. BEACH, late of Branford, where in his lifetime he was a successful and popular business man, was born May 1, 1834, in that bor- ough, a son of Timothy and Esther ( Cook) Beach. The father, a native of Branford, and a farmer all his life, was a son of Andrew Beach. The maternal grandfather of Harvey W. Beach was Joseph Cook. a resident of Branford for many years, who mar- ried a Miss Wheadon. He served as a private in the war of the Revolution.
Harvey W. Beach grew to manhood in Bran- ford, where he obtained his education in the com- mon schools. A miller by trade, he owned and operated a combined grist and sawmill. For many years he was in the ice business. During the Civil war Mr. Beach was a member of Company B. 27th Conn. V. I., enlisting Aug. 22, 1862. He partici- pated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chan- cellorsville, was taken prisoner May 3, 1863, in- careerated in Libby prison six days later, and pa- roled on the 21st of the same month. Mr. Beach was honorably discharged at New Haven after nine months' service. For some five years after his re- turn from the war he was a member of the State militia, in which he rose to the rank of captain.
On coming home Mr. Beach resumed his busi- ness of milling, and carried it on until his death, May 3, 1881. He was married, Nov. 16, 1856, to Cornelia Hubbard, daughter of Richard and Rhoda (Andrews) Hubbard, of Durham, Conn., and to them were born nine children: (1) Willys E., born Dec. 27, 1857, married Frederica Miller, and has one son, Lewis, born March 8, 1880. (2) An- zonitta, born Dec. 20, 1858, died Dec. 12, 1863. (3) Isaac P., born March 20, 1860, married Grace Wheeler ; they had no children. (4) Harvey E., born Aug. 14, 1861, died Aug. 30, 1862. (5) Cor- nelia A., born Jan. 20, 1863, married Walter Boyn- ton, and has two children-Nellie May, born May 15, 1885, and Clarence N., born April 29, 1888. (6) Fred A. M., born Feb. 28, 1868, died April II, 1899. (7) Clara L., born Jan. 4, 1871, died Oct. 2, 1891. (8) Edna L., born Sept. 15, 1873, died Jan. 3, 1874. (9) Ada V. was born Nov. :8, 1877.
Mr. Beach was a member of the Baptist Church, with which his widow also unites. He was en- rolled in Widows' Sons Lodge, No .. 66, F. & A. M. In politics he was a Republican.
RUFUS M. GILLETTE, an honored and high- ly respected citizen of Naugatuck, who is now liv- ing a retired life, was born in Prospect, this coun- ty, March 30, 1829, and is of French descent. His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Gillette, was born in France, and on his emigration to America lo- cated on a farmi in Milford, New Haven Co., Conn., where he spent the remainder of his life. He had only two children: Garret, father of our subject ; and Benjamin, who never married and was en- gaged throughout life in farming in Milford.
Garret Gillette was born and reared in Milford. and there he was married, Oct. 23, 1804, to Nancy Platt, of the same town, but shortly after his mar- riage he removed to Prospect and located upon a farm, where he spent the remainder of his life. dying there April 16, 1874. His wife passed away May 6, 1841. To them were born eleven children. as follows: Abigail, born Jan. 1, 1810, married Lucius Talmadge, a farmer of Prospect, now de- ceased, and she died in March, 1892; George S.,
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Harry MBeach
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born March 26, 18II, was a mechanic, and died in Seymour ; Martha, born June 19, 1813, died Oct. 22, 1835; Nancy, born Nov. 4, 1815, died Aug. 29, 1836; Jonathan, born June 19, 1817, was a carpenter of Prospect and died in 1880; Mary, born Sept. 18, 1819, married Harry Smith, a manufacturer of Prospect, and died Jan. 1, 1877; William, born Nov. 12, 1821, was a farmer of Milford, and died in 1878; Sarah Ann, born Jan. 8, 1824, is the widow of Harry Morse, a farmer of Prospect; Bennett, born Sept. 5, 1826, was a carpenter of Prospect, and died in 1876; Rufus M., our subject, is next in order of birth; and Garret, born Feb. 4, 1831, was a farmer of Prospect, and died Dec. 8, 1878.
The boyhood and youth of Rufus M. Gillette were passed in Prospect, and his education was ac- quired in its district schools. In early life he learned the carpenter's trade with his brother, and continued to follow the same throughout his active business life, but for the last three years he has lived retired. On April 1, 1896, he removed from Pros. pect to Naugatuck, where he owns a beautiful home and is surrounded by all the comforts which make life worth the living.
Mr. Gillette was married, May 20, 1854, to Miss Abigail Payne, also a native of Prospect and a daughter of Stephen and Abigail (Doolittle) Payne, who were born in the same town. Her maternal grandfather was Joseph Doolittle, a farmer of Pros- pect. In early life her father was a speculator and manufacturer of buttons, but later engaged in the hotel business in Naugatuck, Waterbury and Mil- ford. He died in 1892, and her mother departed this life in 1854. To our subject and his wife were born three children, namely: Rubie, who died at the age of twenty-one years ; Mary, wife of George W. Andrew, of Naugatuck ; and Joseph, an electri- cian of New London, Connecticut.
Politically Mr. Gillette is identified with the Re- publican party, and in 1888 he represented his town in the State Legislature. He and his family are in- fluential members of the Congregational Church, and he has always taken an active part in church work. He has championed every movement de- signed to promote the general welfare, has sup- ported every enterprise for the public good, and has materially aided in the advancement of all so- cial, educational and moral interests. After a use- ful and honorable career he can well afford to lay aside all business cares and live in ease and retire- ment at his elegant home in Naugatuck, which, in its appointments, evinces the refinement and culture of the inmates.
JOSEPH T. BEARD. The Beard family is one of the oldest and most prominent in the town of Milford, and the old. homestead, now occupied by the subject of this sketch, has been held by the family since 1639-the only tract of land in town which can show a title running unchanged in one family since the first settlement. The Fowler prop-
erty, with which the Beard homestead formerly divided that honor, has changed hands, being sold first to George Gunn, and by him to the New Haven Water Company
Joseph T. Beard traces his descent from Capt. John Beard, the pioneer, through Benjamin, son of Capt. John; Joseph; Benjamin, who married bi- gail Clark; Andrew ; and Joseph Beard, his father.
Andrew Beard, our subject's grandfather, was born March 3, 1752, on his farm in Milford. Dur- ing the Revolutionary war he served as a soldier. He married Susan Rogers (who was born in Milford) Nov. 30, 1779, and eleven children came of this union : Sally, 1781 ; Andrew, 1784; Andrew (2), 1786; Benjamin, 1788; Susan, 1790; Abigail, 1793; Abigail (2), 1794; Mariah, 1796; David, 1798; Joseph, 1800 ( father of our subject ) ; and Minerva, 1802.
Joseph Beard was born in Milford in May, 1800, and, like his ancestors, carried on farming as an occupation. Politically he was a Whig, and later a Republican. His death occurred Oct. 4, 1870, from an accident on a railway. He married Mary Ann Baldwin, daughter of Hezekiah Baldwin, of Mil- ford, and she lived to the good old age of ninety- two, dying Feb. 17, 1892.
Joseph T. Beard was born in Milford April 19, 1840, and, as the only child, inherited the home- stead. He attended the district schools near his home and the high school at Milford, and on leav- ing school at the age of nineteen gave his attention to farming as a business. He is a general farmer, and is noted for his excellent management. At present the farm comprises 200 acres, a portion of his inheritance at the site of Naugatuck Junction having been sold to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company.
Politically Mr. Beard is a Republican, and he and his family are members of the Congregationa! Church. In 1872 he married Miss Alice A. Davis, of Seymour, Conn., and they have had five children : Nellie is a school teacher in Milford; Ernest T., a farmer in Milford, married Fannie W. Booth, of Shelton ; Alice married Fred M. Smith, of Milford ; Warren is a machinist of Bridgeport, Conn .; and Harold is at home.
Mrs. Alice A. (Davis) Beard is of Welsh de- scent in the paternal line, and her family is well known in Seymour, where her grandfather, Dr. James W. Davis, practiced medicine at an early day. Her father, Henry P. Davis, was born in Smith- town, Montgomery Co., N. Y., May 16, 1818, and spent the greater portion of his life in Seymour. His death occurred there March 31, 1885. By oc- cupation he was an axmaker and later a farmer. He married for his second wife Almira Steele Holcomb, who was born in Seymour Feb. 22, 1810, and died March 20, 1885. Of their three children, George S. is a mechanic in Waterbury, Conn .; Burr S. is a miner in California; and Alice A. married our subject. The Steele family is one of the oldest in.
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