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 4 > Part 28
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Enfield, Conn., who settled at Hadley in early man- hood, and became a well-known citizen. Mrs.
Goldstein's grandmother, Theodocia Smith, attained the advanced age of eighty years, and reared a large family of children.
CHARLES ELLIOTT PICKETT was born in Seymour, Conn., Sept. 3, 1871, a son of Charles Howard Pickett, who was born at Danbury, Conn., April 8, 1844. Warner Pickett, the grandfather of Charles E., was a resident of Naugatuck, and his father, Mason Pickett, married Eunice, a daugh- ter of Reuben Warner, and a descendant of Eben Warner, who was born in Scotland.
Warner Pickett married Mary Jane Taylor, who was born in Bristol, Conn., lived the most of his life in Naugatuck, where he taught school, and in his later years was engaged in the manufacture of knives.
Charles Howard Pickett was reared in Nauga- tuck, and in early manhood settled at Seymour, where he was long engaged in tool making. His wife, Annie Eliza Culver, a daughter of Aretus and Betsy (Reed) (Bailey) Culver, was a grand- daughter of Rhoda Yale, and a great-granddaugh- ter of Eli Yale. He died in Seymour Aug. 29, 1901, and his widow, Mrs. Pickett, is still living in Sey- mour. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Howard Pickett were the parents of three children: Harold Warner, born Sept. 6, 1869, is a bookkeeper in the New Ha- ven Copper Co., of Seymour; Charles Elliott; and Sarah Burton, born Sept. 3, 1876.
Charles Elliott Pickett spent his early school days at home, and was thoroughly prepared for the legal profession, in which he has already become prominent. In 1894 he was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was connected with the Philomathean Society; and in 1896 from the Law Department of Yale, where he was asso- ciated with the Book and Gavel fraternity. On finishing his school he went into the law office of Watrous & Townsend, where he soon displayed such intimate acquaintance with legal procedure and the forms of law that he was appointed assistant clerk of the United States Circuit and District Courts in 1898. His friends anticipate for him a brilliant ca- reer before the Bar if no untoward events interfere.
Mr. Pickett was married in Trinity Church, New Haven, Dec. 11, 1900, to Henriette G., the daughter of Edward F. Mansfield, of New Haven, Conn. A daughter, Dorothy Mansfield Pickett, born Dec. 6, 1901, at New Haven, has blessed this union.
PAUL B. KENNEDY, M. D., is one of the bright, progressive young physicians of Derby, be- fore whom lies a future full of promise. He is of Irish descent, both his father, John, and his grand- father, Bernard, having been born in County West- meath, Ireland. Bernard Kennedy brought his fam- ily to America when his son John was a boy of but five or six years. He settled on a farm in South- ington. Conn., where he passed the remainder of ' his life.
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John Kennedy grew up in that town, and learned the trade of a die sinker. He married Miss Cath- erine McAlenny, who was also a native of Ireland. After marriage he removed to Plainville, Hartford county, where he worked at his trade, which he still follows. He is the father of ten children, all en- dowed with intelligence of a high order and whose education either has been, or is being, carefully cared for by their parents. Dr. Kennedy is the eldest; the second son, John, is studying for the Catholic priesthood; Sylvester, the next in order of birth is acquiring the profession of a mechanical engineer; and Edward, the fourth son, is a ma- chinist. None of these young men are married. The younger children-William, Peter, Mary, Cath- erine, Margaret and Josephine-are still attending school. Both John Kennedy and his wife, as well as their children, are devout members of the Cath- olic Church.
Dr. Paul B. Kennedy was born in Plainville Oct. 28, 1871. He attended school there while a child, and in 1881 was sent by his parents to Derby, where he completed his common-school education. For two years lie was a clerk in the post office, and spent three years in the works of the Birming- ham Brass Co. For a year he was a bookkeeper in the store of D. H. Kelly, but his inclination was toward a professional career, and the trend of his mind led him to choose the practice of medicine as his life work. He began his studies by reading at home, and in 1893 entered Bellevue Hospital Med- ical College, New York, graduating in 1896. After taking a supplementary course in the New York Post-Graduate College he went to Bridgeport, where he remained from December, 1897, until May, 1898. In that month he removed to Derby, where he has since been engaged in practice. He is an enthusiast in his profession and a close stil- dent, keeping fully abreast of the rapid advance constantly going forward in medical science. He is of a generous, kindly disposition and urbane man- ners, and is deservedly popular and highly respected. He is a member of Indian Well Court. Foresters of America, and of St. Aloysius Catholic T. A. B. Society. In politics he is a Democrat.
FRANK ELBERT SANDS, treasurer of the Journal Publishing Co., was born in New Fairfield. Fairfield Co., Conn., July 17. 1863. a son of Jesse and Mary Melvina ( Turner ) Sands, the former a native of England.
his profession, he was for a time engaged in the wholesale produce business, later entering news- paper work. In 1886, his attention having been at- tracted to Meriden, he became one of the four men who formed The Journal Publishing Co., established the Meriden Daily Journal, and founded the present extensive publishing business of that very success- ful corporation. Mr. Sands has since held the office of treasurer, as well as that of business manager, of the Daily Journal, and the other periodical publica- tions of the company.
On April 26, 1888, Mr. Sands married Alice Louise Brasee, daughter of Judge John Schofield Brasee, of Lancaster, Ohio, the compiler of Ohio's code of laws, and one of the most eminent jurists of that State. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sands: Anna Brasee, born Dec. 10, 1889; and Trafford Turner, who died in infancy.
In maternal lines, Mr. Sands is connected with the WAKEMAN family, whose history is very inter- esting. John Wakeman, the emigrant ancestor, was born about 1598-99, at Bewdley, Worcestershire, England, and baptized there March 29, 1601, a son of Francis and Anne (Goode) Wakeman. On Jan. 28, 1628-29, he was married at Bewdley, Eng- land, to Elizabeth Hopkins, daughter of William and Helen ( Vickaris) Hopkins, who were married Oct. 30, 1609. Elizabeth was baptized Oct. 7, 1610, in Ribbesford Church, England, and she died in 1658, at New Haven, Conn. John Wakeman died in 1661, at Hartford, Conn. He emigrated to New Haven, Conn., in 1640-41, living there until within a few months of his death. He held many important offices, among them that of deputy to General Court from 1641 to 1661, and he was the first treasurer of New Haven Colony, serving until his death. He was active in religious affairs, and served as deacon of the First Church. Of his four children, all born and baptized in Bewdley, England, one died there while young, but the other three accompanied the parents to New England. They were as follows : ( I) John, baptized July 25, 1630, died Jan. 19, 1636. (2') Helena, baptized Dec. 23, 1632, married Oct. 29, 1650, Lieut. Coi. John Talcott, of Hartford, Conn., and died June 22. 1674. On Nov. 9, 1676, Lieut. Col. Talcott married Mary Cook, daughter of Rev. John Cook, of New Haven, and he died July 23, 1688. (3) Samuel, baptized June 7, 1635, died at Fairfield, Conn., March 8, 1692. (4) Elizabeth, bap- tized Sept. 16, 1638, married Samuel Kitchell, of Newark, N. J. ( born in 1633, died April 20, 1690), March 11, 1656-57.
During his early years Frank E. Sands attended school in Danbury, Conn., later pursuing his studies Rev. Samuel Wakeman, son of John, the emi- grant, was educated at Harvard College, which he left in 1655. He settled at Fairfield, Conn .. where on Sept. 30, 1665, he was ordained, becoming the second pastor in that town. His death occurred there March 8. 1692. On Oct. 29. 1656, he mar- ried Hannah Goodyear. daughter of Gov. Stephen in New Fairfield. In 1879 he went to New Haven, where his father had engaged in business. After preparation under private tutors, he entered the Scientific Department of Yale University, and was graduated therefrom as a civil engineer in the class of 1885, with degree of Ph. B. While waiting for the consummation of plans by certain capitalists | Goodyear, of New Haven. Their eight children through which he was to take up the practice of were: Samuel, born Oct. 12, 1657, died in 1691;
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John, born in 1659, died Feb. 15, 1709; Ebenezer, born in 1668. died in 1690; Joseph, born in 1670, died Dec. 5, 1726; Jabez, born in 1678, died Oct. 8. 1704; Mary, who married Michael Clugstone; Ann, who married Abraham Howell, a major of a regi- ment in Suffolk county, L. I., in 1700; and Eliza- beth, wife of Albert Denny. After the death of Rev. Wakeman, his widow married Nathaniel Burr, and she died in 1721.
Capt. John Wakeman, son of Rev. Samuel, born in 1659, was a prominent man in the Colony of Connecticut, and was appointed deputy to the Gen- eral Court from Fairfield, serving twenty-three sessions-1690-1706. He was appointed commis- sioner in 1695, 1696 and 1697, also justice of Fair- field in 1698, and many times thereafter. In May, 1697, he was appointed lieutenant, and in May, . 1704 and 1705, was appointed captain. On April 24, 1687, he married Martha Hubbell, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Hubbell. Martha Wakeman died June 5, 1710, and her husband died Feb. 5, 1709, leaving an estate of 1,000 pounds. Their children, all born in Fairfield, were: Helena, born Aug. 24, 1689, died Feb. 12, 1710-II: Ann, born March 24, 1692; Samuel, born Feb. 24, 1693, died Oct. 19, 1771 ; Elizabeth, born June I, 1695, died in 1737; Martha, born Sept. 24, 1700, married Israel Chauncey, son of Rev. Charles Chauncey, Feb. 2.' 1720-1 ; Stephen, born Oct. 15, 1702. died in 1761- 2; and John, born Aug. 27, 1705, died in 1789-90.
Stephen Wakeman, son of Capt. John Wake- man, was married in Fairfield, Conn., April 28, 1727, to Rebecca Morehouse, a daughter of Daniel More- house. ' She was baptized Feb. 24, 1712, and died 'in 1762. Stephen Wakeman died in 1801. Their children, all born in Fairfield, were: Sarah, born March 15, 1728, died June II, 1728; David, baptized Jan. II, 1730, died in 1813-14; Daniel, born April 6, 1732; Eunice, born Jan. 31, 1735, died Jan. 29, 1765, married Nathan Hill, July 3, 1735, the latter born Oct. 9, 1731, a son of John and Esther ( Bradley) Hill; Squier, born June 29, 1738; Stephen, born Nov. 19, 1740, died May 7, 1744; James, born March 19, 1743, died about April 1768; Stephen (2), born Oct. 23, 1745, died about April, 1768; Sarah, born Jan. 26, 1748, died April 26, 1779, married, Nov. 11, 1772, John Alvord ( he was born July 11, 1750, and died July 3. 1845 ) ; and Noah, born' Nov. 28, 1751, died Nov. 5, 1777.
David Wakeman, son of Stephen Wakeman, was born in Fairfield, and until 1757-58, he re- mained in his native town, and then removed to . New Fairfield, and there settled on land inherited from his father and grandfather. On May 9, 1775. he enlisted in the Colonial army. in Capt. Beards- ley's company, of New Fairfield, Conn., under Major Tafford of the 5th regiment. He was discharged in October, 1775, after a term of service chiefly along the upper Hudson. When he and John Hendrick returned from the war, they first stopped at the
home of the latter, but finding no one there, went across lots to the Wakeman homestead. There they found a pleasant party, Mrs. Hendrick helping Mrs. Wakeman spin yarn, and the young people in the field with Jeremiah Wakeman harvesting buck- wheat. Prior to eulisting in the spring, David had prepared a number of his fields for corn, but Jere- miah, knowing it would be impossible to cultivate so much land in that cereal, placed part of it in buck- wheat. Although David did not literally leave his , plow in the furrow to answer to the call of duty, he left his fields unplanted and his farm neglected. During the bitter struggle which followed, the two families ( Wakeman and Hendrick ) helped each other, the girls working in the fields as well as the boys, while the men were away on the field of battle. On Feb. 17, 1754, in Fairfield, David Wakeman married Mary E. Jennings, a daughter of Jeremiah and Elizabeth ( Coley ) Jennings, of Fairfield, Conn. The children born of this union were: Twins born in Fairfield in April, 1756, of whom Jeremiah died in New Fairfield in the spring of 1801 ; Mary, bap- tized Sept. 5. 1762, married David Gilbert, of Ridge- field, Conn .; Sarah, born about 1774, in New Fair- field, married in 1793, Thomas Ludington, of Dutchess Co., N. Y .: David; Eunice, born about 1778, married John Treadwell, of Danbury, Conn. David Wakeman, the father, died in . 1813-14.
Jeremiah Wakeman, son of David Wakeman, served in the Revolutionary war as a private in Capt. Hickox's company, Third Regiment, Conn. Light Horse, under Major Starr, enlisting at Dan- bury, Aug. 20, 1780, and was honorably discharged Jan. 1, 1781. His regiment was one of the four organized in. May, 1776, from the twenty-four troops of Light Horse then in existence. When his father. David Wakeman, returned from service, he was too exhausted to assist in gathering the crops, and at first was not willing that the young man should enter the service, fearing the effect of the hardships upon him. Still, when he realized the need for good, brave men, he consented, and lived to see Jeremiah become a gallant soldier, and give longer service to his country than he himself had been able to give. In 1781-83 Jeremiah married Phoebe Hendrick, daughter of John Hendrick, of New Fairfield, Conn., formerly of Fairfield. Phoebe was born Nov. 14, 1754, and died April 3. 1836, in
: Ridgefield, Conn. After her husband's death she married, in 1820, Nehemiah Keeler, of Ridgefield. The children of Jeremiah Wakeman were: Eunice married Aaron Platt, of Weston, Conn., March 27, 1819; Martha, born in 1793, married in the fall of 18II, Hezekiah Wellman, of New Fairfield, Conn., and died Feb. 22, 1819 (he was born March 26, 1780, and died Sept. 15, 1865) ; Mary died June 13, 1813.
Martha (Wakeman ) Wellman had a daugh- ter, Phoebe, born June 17, 1817, who married in March, 1834, in New Fairfield, Napoleon Bonaparte
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Turner, of Ridgebury and Danbury, Conn., and died Feb. 20, 1843. Mr. Turner was born June 1, 1816, and died Sept. 26, 1852.
Phoebe ( Wellman ) Turner became the mother of the following children: Fannie Augusta, born Aug. 16, 1836, died July, 1864. married Elbert C. Howes, of. Brewster, N. Y .; Mary Melvina, born Sept. 13, 1839, died March 21, 1865, married on Nov. 21, 1860, Jesse Sands, of New York city, now of Meriden, and they had two children, Clara Louise, and Frank Elbert.
Frank Elbert Sands is one of the leading young men of Meriden, and takes a deep and public- spirited interest in all measures calculated to prove of benefit to the community. Broad-minded, cul- tured, thoroughly conversant with all the details of his chosen calling, he exerts a substantial in- fluence through the medium of his well conducted and enterprising periodical.
REV. JOHN TYLER AND MRS. MARIETTE R. PETTEE, who are now passing the evening of life in Meriden, where they have long resided and been prominent in the various activities of citizen- ship, are among that city's refined and cultured peo- ple, and have a host of warm friends and admirers. They are descended from a sturdy New England ancestry.
Born Sept. 5, 1822, in the town of Sharon, Nor- folk Co., Mass., John Tyler Pettee is the son of Ty- Ier and Esther M. ( Hewes) Pettee. the former a son of Hezekiah and Chloe ( Ware) Pettee, of Fox- boro, Mass., and the latter a daughter of John Hewes, of Foxboro, and Esther Mann, of Wrent- ham, „Mass .; both belonged to families of intelli- gence and worth in their respective communities. John T. Pettee attended the district school of the locality of his early youth ; Rice's Academy, New- ton ; and the Holliston and Lowell high schools. In the summer of 1839 he came to Meriden, Conn., and immediately entered the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, where he was graduated in 1843. later receiving therefrom the degree of A. M. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for a quarter of a century was in the itinerancy of that denomination in the eastern part of Massachusetts, preaching in the towns of Win- chendon, Templeton, Millbury, Leicester, Walpole, Framingham, Hopkinton, Dorchester and Boston. Following this, in 1866, began another epoch in his life. Settling in Meriden in that year, he was en- gaged for the next seven years in teaching, serving also as a "spare liand" in the ministry, and some years preaching as often as the regular pastors. In 1892 Mr. and Mrs. Pettee gave five thousand dollars for a parsonage for the First Methodist Church of Meriden, on condition that the debt of twenty thou- sand dollars resting upon the church property be cleared off, and this was accomplished.
Since its organization, in 1880, he has been an active member of the Meriden Scientific Association, the secretary of its astronomical section, its vice-presi- dent, and for several years its president. Several of his annual addresses have been published, and met with great favor. He is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence, and an associate member of the Victoria Insti- tute, or Philosophical Society, of Great Britain. His interest in astronomy has led him to making tele- scopes, and the citizens of Meriden will not soon forget the 6th of December, 1882, when two thou- sand of them assembled on his lawn to witness the transit of Venus. Mr. Pettee had mounted that day seven reflecting telescopes, all of his own con- struction, each of which gave as good a view as was obtained at any of the colleges, and gave the citizens of Meriden such an opportunity to witness that great phenomenon as was enjoyed by no other city in the country.
In his political views Mr. Pettee is a Democrat, having left the Republican party in the Greeley cam- paign of 1872. In1 1876 he was elected judge of pro- bate, and served one term. For twenty-five or more years he was a member of the Meriden school board, and for seven years was principal of the Corner, Center and West district schools. For a decade and more he was acting school visitor or superintendent. He is an enthusiastic and earnest Odd Fellow and a Free and Accepted Mason. When he vacated the chair of Prelate in St. Elmo Commandery, which he held for twenty-one years, the Sir Knights gathered at his hearth and presented him with an elegant and costly "jewel." When the Grand Commandery of Connecticut celebrated its Centennial Anniversary, July 10, 1889. Mr. Pettee was honored with the office of "Centennial Poet," and his poem was pub- lished in the history of that great anniversary. In the last twenty-five years Mr. Pettee has appeared in such occasional exercises perhaps oftener than any man in the State.
On Oct. 26, 1843, Rev. Pettee was married to Mariette Roxanna, daughter of Hon. Jonathan Y. and. Roxanna ( Yale) Clark, of Pittsfield, Mass., and to them was born a daughter, Emily Parker Pettee, who is now deceased.
Mrs. Pettee was born Nov. 22, 1826, in Pitts- field, Mass., and comes of a distinguished ancestry. Her father was one of the leading men of Pittsfield and one of the most active politicians in Berkshire county. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention which revised the Constitution of Mas- sachusetts in 1820. and his house was always the headquarters of the leading members of his party. Mr. Clark's parents were Jaleel and Esther ( Law) Clark, the latter a lineal descendant of Jonathan Law, who from 1742 to 1751 was governor of Con- necticut. Jaleel Clark, of Lanesboro, and his eldest son participated in the battle of Bennington, and Mrs. Clark was accustomed to tell, in after years,
During the last decade and a half Mr. Pettee . has given much of his time to scientific matters. | with what emotions she heard the guns of that bat-
Pravelt R. Peter
J. J. Peter
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tle at Lanesboro, where, with her younger sons, she was gathering the wheat harvest, a duty which de- volved upon many a mother during the Revolution.
On her mother's side Mrs. Pettee is a descend- ant in the eighth generation from Thomas Yale, who came to New Haven in 1637 with his mother and step-father, Theophilus Eaton, who soon be- came governor of the Colony of Connecticut. Thomas Yale was born in about 1616 in England or Wales, son of David Yale and Ann Morton, David descending from an ancient family of Wales. Da- vid Yale died in 1617, and in 1618 his widow mar- ried Theophilus Eaton, an opulent merchant of Lon- don, and with him and her children ( by Mr. Yale) and a company came to America in the ship "Hec- tor," arriving at Boston in 1637, and at New Haven, then Quinnipiac, in 1638. Thomas Yale settled as a merchant in New Haven. As early as 1660 he lo- cated on lands he purchased in North Haven. He was one of the principal men in the Colony, was a signer of the Plantation Covenant of New Haven, and filled with honor many offices of public trust. He married in 1645 Mary, daughter of Capt. Na- thaniel Turner, of New Haven, formerly of Lynn, Mass. She died in 1704, and Mr. Yale in 1683. From this Thomas Yale, the settler, Mrs. Pettee's line is through Thomas ( 2), Theophilus, Samuel, Street, Samuel (2), and Roxanna Yale.
(II) Thomas Yale ( 2), son of Thomas the set- tler, born about 1647 in New Haven, married ( first ) in 1667 Rebecca, daughter of William Gibbards. Mr. Yale removed in 1670 to Wallingford, as one of the first planters of the town, and was one of the most active and energetic men among them. He was a justice of the peace, surveyor of land, captain of trainband, etc., and assisted in the formation of the church there. His death occurred in 1736. His first wife; who was the mother of all his children, was born in New Haven in 1650, and died in Wal- lingford.
(III) Theophilus Yale, son of Thomas (2), born in 1675, married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Samuel and Anna Street, of Wallingford. Mr. Yale served as a magistrate from about 1724 to the time of his death, in 1760. His widow died in 1785.
(IV) Samuel Yale, son of Theophilus, born in 1711, married in 1736 Susannah Abernethy, of Wal- lingford. Mr. Yale was a farmer in what is now Yalesville. He died in 1754, leaving a large estate, and his wife Susannah died May 30, 1770.
(V) Street Yale, son of Samuel, of whom little is known, lived in Wallingford. The names of his children, with dates of birth, etc., and that Mary, his widow, died in Balston, N. Y., are all that the records reveal.
manufacture of cut nails, and in 1794 the manufac- ture of pewter buttons. He was successful, and ac- cumulated a handsome estate. He died Sept. 18, 1810, and his wife Eunice Ang. 18, 1804. Mrs. Mehitabel Yale died Sept. 17, 1808.
(VII) Roxanna Yale, daughter of Samuel (2), born to the first marriage, married Jonathan Y. Clark, and removed to Pittsfield, Mass. Mrs. Clark died Sept. 6, 1828, aged forty-one years.
Mrs. Mariette R. Pettee came to Meriden when she was but fourteen years old, attended school at Post's Academy, and Oct. 26, 1843, married Rev. John T. Pettee, who had just graduated from the Wesleyan University. With him she shared the ups and downs of ministerial life till 1866, when, finding the east winds of the Massachusetts coast too brac- ing for her, Mr. Pettee brought her back to Meri- den. Since her return to Meriden Mrs. Pettee has been recognized as a woman of exceptional execu- tive and constructive ability, and in consequence has often been called upon to organize and preside. She assisted in organizing the first Eastern Star Chap- ter, and presided over it for three years. In 1873 she was appointed by Gov. Ingersoll to the State Board of Charities, an office which she held until family cares and failing health forced her to resign. When L. C. Curtis founded the Curtis Home, at his request she was appointed president of its first Board of Managers : she may also be said to have organized the board, as Mr. Curtis took no step without consulting her. She was also chosen first president of the Political Equality Club, though she did not accept the office. She does not expect so much from female suffrage as many women, but claims it as a right and exercises it when possible.
Mrs. Pettee is a prominent Methodist, exceed- ingly liberal, and is one of the few survivors of the first Methodist class formed in the "Old Bethel," in this city. Although making no pretensions as a speaker, Mrs. Pettee has within the past dozen years spoken as often, and on occasions as import- ant, as any woman in Meriden ; and on more than one occasion has taken the place of professional speakers who failed to keep their engagements with Meriden audiences.
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