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 52
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A Democrat until 1896, in that year Mr. Rogers voted the Republican ticket, and has acted with the latter party to the present time. In 1900 he was elected from the Fourth ward to the city council, where he is serving on the committees on License and Fire, and is a faithful worker for the best in- terests of the city. Mr. Rogers is a member of Pilgrim's Harbor Council, No. 543, Royal Ar- canum, and Meriden Lodge, No. 35, of the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks. He believes in the Golden Rule as a large and noble expression of life, and strives to guide his steps by it. Socially he belongs to the Constellation Club of Meriden, and is chairman of its executive committee, and he is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
On Jan. 19, 1885, Mr. Rogers married, in Meri- den, Miss Clara Louise. Walkley, a native of Brook- lyn, N. Y. They have had one child, Harold Gale, who was born Nov. 9, 1885, and is now a student in the city high school.
FRANK A. BECKLEY. For many years the name of Beckley has been connected in New Haven with successful business enterprises and has been and is borne by most worthy citizens. William Au- gustus Beckley, the late father of our subject, whose death occurred at his home in New Haven, May II, 1892, was, for many years, a prominent business man and substantial citizen of that city. His de- scent, on his mother's side, was from one of the first families that came to settle New Haven.
William Beckley was born Oct. 16, 1827, at Cedar Hill, Conn., a son of Silas and Amelia ( At- water ) Beckley. Until twelve years of age he lived with his parents at Cedar Hill and Whitneyville, and attended the John A. Lovell Lancasterian School for a period of three years. Subsequently he lived on two different farms, with his parents, in the town of Orange, and for two years attended a school kept by Amos Smith, in New Haven. At the age of seventeen he left home to learn the car- penter trade under Russell Alling, with whom he lived until twenty-one years old, and received as compensation $30 for the first year, with an ad- vance of $5 a year until he had served out his time. After finishing his trade he went to Twinsburg, Ohio, where he passed one and one-half years, dur- ing which period he attended school one winter at the seminary of Rev. Samuel Bissell. After this experience he returned to New Haven, where his subsequent career was passed.
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Upon locating in New Haven, Mr. Beckley for a dozen years was occupied in contracting and build- ing, and erected upwards of 300 buildings in the city and vicinity. In 1860, associated with Nathan A. Sanford, he became engaged in the lumber busi- ness, the style of the firm being Sanford & Beckley. Some four and one-half years later Mr. Beckley bought Mr. Sanford's interest in the business, and shortly thereafter associated with himself his brother, Elihu A. Beckley, the firm name being W. A. Beckley & Co. for upwards of twenty-five years. The business was conducted all this time on the same corner, and by good judgment, fair dealing and careful management they were emi- nently successful. These gentlemen were substan- tial men of the community in which they lived, and held the esteem and respect of their fellow-citizens. W. A. Beckley was a member of the Church of the Redeemer. Socially he was a member of City Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of Sassacus Encampment.
Orr Nov . 12, 1851, William A. Beckley was married to Cordelia Wheeler, and two children were born to this marriage: Annie J., who married Charles Brewster, of Brooklyn, N. Y .; and Frank A., the immediate subject of this record.
Frank A. Beckley was born in Westport, Conn., May 31, 1868, and received his education in the public, and also in the private, schools, for which New Haven is celebrated. At the age of sixteen he began to assist his father, and early displayed an aptitude for business. The William A. Beckley Co. was incorporated May 8, 1893, and Frank A. Beckley, already a valuable member of the company, was made its president. The other officers are: Charles B. Foote, secretary and treasurer, and Louis A. Lampson, general manager.
Mr. Frank A. Beckley was married, in New Haven, June 12, 1889, to Miss Louise Macdonald, a daughter of Charles Macdonald, of New Haven, and one daughter has been born to them, Doris C., born July 8, 1893. Mr. Beckley is a member of City Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of Hiram Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He is one of the progressive, intelligent and successful young business men whose character is such as to promise a continuance of the prosperity which followed the methods adopted by his la- mented father.
WILLIAM J. ADAMS, proprietor of "Yale Dairy Lunch," corner of Chapel and High streets, is one of the most successful restaurant men in New Haven, one whose success in the same length of time in that line stands without an equal in the Elm City. Close and careful attention to the de- tails of his business have been prominent factors in his success, which has given him a most creditable position among the thrifty and reliable business men of his city. Mr. Adams conducted the first lunch wagon in New Haven, being the pioneer in that business.
William J. Adams was born March 9, 1857, in
Willimantic, Conn., son of Samuel G. and Mary E. (Bailey) Adams, and comes from an old and hon- orable family of New England. His ancestors took a prominent part in the Revolutionary war, and have been for generations the type of citizens that any community would be proud to claim. Samuel G. Adams was born in Lebanon, Conn., June 24, 1829, on a farm which is now near the city line of Willimantic, and which was then the home of his parents, Samuel and Jemima (Gardner) Adams:
Ebenezer Adams, grandfather of Samuel G., held a major's commission in the Revolutionary army, and in after years he was known as Col. Adams. He was a volunteer from Rhode Island un- der Arnold, and became a captain of artillery. One of the originators, he took a conspicuous part in the capture of Gen. Prescott in 1777, serving as cap- tain under Col. Barton. "This exploit, though cer- tainly one of the most hazardous attempted during the war, is just casually mentioned in history, ac- cidentally brought in as it were, and yet it was very important in its results." For this act Lieut. Col. Barton was brevetted colonel, and a sword was voted him by Congress. This exploit was the cap- ture of Gen. Prescott by thirty-eight men on the night of July 12, 1777. They crossed Narragansett Bay in four whaleboats under the command of Col. Barton, and, passing unobserved three British frigates, landed and made their way to a farm house five miles above Newport, R. I., where Gen. Pres- cott had his headquarters. The guards were. sur- prised, the door of Prescott's room broken in by a negro of the party, who used his head as a bat- tering ram, and the British commander was hurried away, half dressed, to Warwick Point, and after- ward to the headquarters of Gen. Washington, in New Jersey. Col. Adams was buried on the old Adams homestead near West Kingston, R. I. He was twice married, and his second wife, who was a Miss Fanning, was the mother of Samuel Adams, and the grandmother of Samuel G.
Samuel Adams was born in the town of Rich- mond, Washington Co., R. I., and was a lifelong farmer. His first marriage, to Penelope Card, took place in Rhode Island, and they removed to Lebanon, Conn., to settle on a farm. There the wife died, and Mr. Adams married Jemima Gard- ner. He passed away at the age of seventy-four years, and his remains are resting in the cemetery at Willimantic. To the first union was born one child, Mary Ann, who became the wife of Dunbar Loring. By the second marriage there were the following children: (1) John Quincy, who lived to be about sixty-four years old, learned the car- penter's trade in Willimantic. where he lived and died; (2) Samuel G. was the father of William J .: (3) Elsie married William Bailey, and died in Willimantic. The father was a Democrat, but when he had cast his vote according to his best judgment he felt that his political duties were well discharged, and he never had aspirations for of-
1
Amy Adams
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ficial honors. From his sixteenth to his twenty- seventh year he followed the sea, and, having saved his money, was able while still a young man to re- tire from the water and engage in the cultivation of his own farm at Lebanon, which he bought with his savings. At first it consisted of only ten acres, but he added to it from time to time as his circum- stances permitted until he had come to own a choice farm of seventy-five acres. He obtained a start by his own labors and modest savings, which by thrift and industry grew into a very handsome competence.
Samuel G. Adams obtained his education at what was known as the Village Hill District school, in his native town of Lebanon, and had among his teachers a Mr. Abell, Joseph Foster, John Maxwell, Asaph Kingsley and Hon. Silas F. Loomer, late of Willimantic. Mr. Adams had but limited educa- tional opportunities, as he lived three miles from the school house, and could attend only in the win- ter season, after he was able to do any work on the farm. At fourteen years of age he began work in a stone quarry, and two years later shipped from New London on a whaler, the brig "Columbus." For some three years he was several times at sea, but a sailor's life did not prove to his liking, and when he was about nineteen he gave it up entirely. For the ensuing two years he was employed in the bridge building department of the New London, Willimantic & Palmer railroad, then building, and which is now a part of the Central Vermont rail- road. Mr. Adams was engaged for a number of years in getting out ship timbers and shipping his products to the coast by the new railroads, which had penetrated regions hitherto impossible to the dealer in ship material. In 1862 he began the busi- ness of house-moving, which has been his occupa- tion to the present time, and in which he has gained a creditable reputation for himself all over the east- ern part of Connecticut.
Mr. Adams was married, Feb. 18, 1850, in Greenville, Conn., to Miss Mary E. Bailey, a na- tive of North Stonington, and a daughter of James and Emily (Green) Bailey. The young married couple made their first home on Village Hill, in the town of Lebanon. A year or two later they set- tled on the farm where Mr. Adams was born, and in February, 1881, removed to Pleasant street, in Willimantic, where they are found at the present time. This Pleasant street home has been greatly remodeled since it passed into the possession of Mr. Adams, and is now one of the most attractive
on the street. To Mr. and Mrs. Adams have come the following family: Albert C., a farmer of Lebanon, lives on the old AAdams place; Julia is Mrs. Alvin Lyman, of Lebanon, Conn .; William J. lives in New Haven ; Mary Ann is the wife of Philip Bowen, a deputy marshal of New Haven ; Nelson B. is associated with his father in business in Willimantic ; Samuel is a market man in Willi- mantic. Three daughters died in childhood. Mr.
and Mrs. Adams have had a wedded life of over fifty-two years and in that time have made a host of friends, being highly esteemed in the commu- nity where they have lived so long and well. Sam- uel G. Adams is a Democrat, and served as a burgess while Willimantic was a borough, but has never been an office seeker. He is an active and influential member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and the local division of the Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pythias bears his name as a token of the respect the brethren bear for him. Mr. Adams has extensive real-estate holdings in Willimantic, where he has built six houses and owns several others. Tireless energy and a boundless ambition to get ahead, backed up by an iron constitution and most industrious habits, have been the principal factors in his success. All his life he has been a hardworking man, but he is a remarkably well pre- served and active man. His heavy head of dark hair, hardly streaked with gray, gives no evidence of his age, and his keen perception, quick decisions and retentive memory bespeak a wonderfully rug- ged intellect. Throughout his long business ca- reer his personal standing has been beyond ques- tion, and he has met every obligation without hesi- tation.
William J. Adams was educated in the schools of his native town. When a young man he began business for himself and on his own resources. Success greeted his efforts, and subsequently he took up the business of contracting, which included extensive work in the laying of concrete walks, in which line he did a great deal of work and met with success. This business he gave up in order to take up his present line, in which, as in about all his previous undertakings, he has been successful. It was in October, 1894, that Mr. Adams opened the first lunch wagon in New Haven. It stood on Chapel street, where the building of Lewis & May- cock is now located. A lunch wagon was then a decided novelty, and at once became immensely popular. The volume of business done in that small space would have been very acceptable to many merchants with their large store-rooms and thou- sands of dollars worth of stock. Encouraged by his success, Mr. Adams later established three other wagons of the same kind in different parts of the city. When the business became established he profitably disposed of them. Being obliged to sur- render his original stand when the Lewis & May- cock building was to be built, he secured the quar- ters he now occupies, which were tastefully and at- tractively filled up at considerable expense. As proprietor of this place of business he is but repeat- ing the success of his former venture. By a care- ful study of his line Mr. Adams has familiarized himself with its every detail, and with his business acumen he is not only able to make his business a popular one with the patrons, but also a profitable one to himself. He has also become the owner of
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considerable real estate in his native city. Fra- ternally Mr. Adams is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of Willimantic, and of the Royal Ar- canum of New Haven. Politically he is independ- ent, not bound to any party.
Mrs. Adams previous to her marriage was Miss Lura Hyde, of Willimantic, a daughter of Na- thaniel Hyde, in whose death, at the age of over ninety, Willimantic lost one of its best known and most highly respected old citizens. One daughter, Bernice, has brightened the home of Mr. and Mrs. Adams. Mr. Adams' success in life has been won by his own efforts, not from a life of self-denial, as he takes all the pleasures and comforts that the pressure of his business permits.
GEORGE MILO BARNES. The Barnes fam- ily settled in New Haven county very early in its history, Thomas Barnes, the first of the family to come here, emigrated from England and made his home on what was then known as Muddy River, but what is now East Haven, where he signed the Constitution of the Colony in 1644. Daniel Barnes, his brother, was also a settler in the same com- munity.
(I) Thomas Barnes was three times married, and became the father of five children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Elizabeth, May 28, 1650; Thomas, Aug. 26, 1653; Abigail, Jan. II, 1656; Daniel, 1659; Maybee. Jan. 25, 1668.
(II) Thomas Barnes, not above, was born in East Haven, where he lived, engaging all his life in farming. He married and became the father of twelve children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Mary, 1682; Thomas, July 21, 1684 (died young) ; Thomas (2), July 26, 1687; Sarah, 1689 (married Samuel Moulthrop) ; Rebecca, March 12, 1691 ; Abigail, June 10, 1693; Elizabeth, Nov. 10, 1695; Deborah, Feb. 1, 1698; Hannah, May 31, 1702; Samuel, April 11, 1705; Nathaniel, Jan. II, 1707; Abraham, 171I.
(III) Samuel Barnes, mentioned above, passed his life in farming in East Haven, and made his home on the land which had come to him from his parents. He married Rebecca Parker, and became the father of seven children: Justus, born Jan. 3. 1730; Rebecca, April 28, 1733 (died young ) ; Han- nah, Sept. 5, 1735; Titus, Dec. 21, 1739 (he mar- ried Elizabeth Tuttle) ; Rebecca, July 27, 1741 ; Samuel, April 24, 1743; Isaiah, Jan. 1, 1748. The mother of these children died, and Samuel Barnes married Dorcas Turner, by whom he had two chil- dren : Dorcas, born Dec. 26, 1753; and Justus, born March 6, 1756.
(IV) Samuel Barnes, son of Samuel (I), was married in 1764 to Hepzibah, a daughter of Abel Collins, who became a captain in the Revolutionary war. They had the following children: Samuel, born Jan. 3, 1705: Jeremiah, born March 9. 1767; Elizabeth, born March 18, 1769; Chauncey, born Feb. 1, 1771 ; Elizabeth (2), born March 7, 1773;
Sarah, born Nov. 4, 1775; Polly, born June 29, 1777; Amos, born Oct. 14, 1779; William Collins, born Dec. 18, 1781. Samuel Barnes was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and rose to the rank of captain. He was a prominent landowner and farmer in East Haven, where he was one of the founders of the local Episcopal Church. He died in East Haven, where his ashes were interred.
William Collins Barnes was educated in the public schools, and became a sailor while a lad. While on a foreign voyage he was taken prisoner by the French and detained with the rest of the crew on an island in the Pacific ocean. No apology or compensation was ever obtained from France for this high-handed outrage. After his release he re- turned home, and spent the rest of his life as a farmer on the old homestead. He died in 1834, and was buried in the East Haven cemetery. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and stood very high in the community. William Collins mar- ried Nancy, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth ( Bradley ) Davidson, and granddaughter of Zebulon and Elizabeth ( Hemingway) Bradley, whose brother, Abraham Bradley., was one of the first mer- chants of New Haven. To this union were born nine children : James: Amos; George; Dennis; Saralı, who married William Ames, of Fair Haven ; Caroline, who died at the age of twenty-two years ; Maria, who married James William Russell ; James Dennis, mentioned below; and Elizabeth, who died young.
James Dennis Barnes was reared in New Haven, where he learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner. In 1853 he went to California, and was so pleased with that section that he remained and made his home on the Pacific coast, now residing in Eureka, Cal. He married Maria Kingsbury, and they had two children : Frederick, who died in Cali- fornia ; and George Milo.
George Milo Barnes was born Jan. 31, 1849, and was reared in New Haven from the age of four years, and received excellent educational advan- tages, being sent to private schools in New Haven and in Worcester until he reached the age of eight- een ycars. At that time he began his business career, buying out a milk route between East Ha- ven and New Haven, with which he was occupied for some two years. At the end of that time he sold out and came to Meriden to enter the office of James W. Russell, a carriage manufacturer, with whom he remained ten years as bookkeeper. In 1878 he abandoned this connection, and entered the meat business. He located at No. 310 East Main street, and has the leading market in the city. Mr. Barnes possesses those qualities which command success, and has been singularly fortunate in all his dealings. Since 18)5 Mr. Barnes has also been connected with the livery business, in which he has been very successful.
Mr. Barnes was married, in 1873, to Rosa Faulk- ner, of East Haven, and to this union were born
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two children, Frank H. R. and one who died in in- fancy. The former is associated with his father as a clerk. He was married Dec. 25, 1889, to Sadie Lawrence, a daughter of Jefferson and Sarah (Cochran) Lawrence, and a native of Meriden. To this union has come one child, Joyce Lawrence. George Milo Barnes is a Democrat, and is some- what prominent in the ranks of that organization. As a business man he enjoys the confidence and esteem of the community, and is regarded as one of the substantial citizens of East Meriden.
James William Russell was for more than forty years a well-known citizen of Meriden, where he took rank among the most enterprising and pro- gressive men of the city. . He was born in the town of Branford, Sept. 28, 1818, and was the only son of Frederick Russell, a well-known farmer of his day. Mr. Russell was educated in the public schools of Branford, and remained at home until he was seventeen years of age. He learned the trade of carriage painting, which he followed for a time in Milford and in the Southern States. When he was twenty-two he came to the town of Meriden, and, starting in business as a carriage and wagon manu- facturer, built a fine brick factory on East Main street, employing some twenty men. For more than half a century he was one of the busiest and most active residents of Meriden. He died at his home on East Main street Dec. 9, 1885, and was buried in the East cemetery at Meriden. In politics he was a stanch Democrat, and he was elected a member of the council and alderman for the Fifth ward, though he was no office seeker. He belonged to St. An- drew's Episcopal Church, where he filled the posi- tion of vestryman. He was a member of the I. O. O. F. in Middletown.
James William Russell was married in 1848, in East Haven, to Maria A. Barnes, daughter of Will- iam Collins Barnes. She is still living at her home on East Main street, Meriden, and, notwithstand- ing her years, is quite active and energetic. Of a' kind and loving disposition, she was much devoted to her husband, and still reveres and cherishes his memory.
JESSE O. EATON (deceased), one of the prominent and successful citizens of that part of North Haven known as Montowese, resided upon a farm which has been handed down from Governor Theophilus Eaton, who for twenty consecutive years was governor of the colony. It was in June, 1639, that Theophilus Eaton and his Puritan con- temporaries formed their government, called the "House of Wisdom."
In his will Gov. Eaton mentions three children, Theophilus, Mary and Hannah, and of these, the first returned to England and afterward lived in Dublin, Ireland : Mary married Valentine Hill and removed to Piscataqua, N. H. : and Hannah re- turned to England with the widow of Gov. Eaton, but finally married William Jones, an English law-
yer and returned to New Haven in 1660, Mr. Jones afterward becoming Lieutenant-Governor of Con- necticut.
(II) James Heaton, by a second marriage of his father, the Governor Eaton. mentioned above, mar- ried Sarah Streete.
(III) Theophilus Heaton, son of James and Sarah, married Sarah Earll in 1709.
(IV) Theophilus Heaton, son of Theophilus and Sarah, married Hannah Cooke, of Long Island, a devout and pious woman, and the family has in its possession a book written by her, a sort of diary, the penmanship being yet easily discerned. A re- ligious denomination called the "Separate Church" existed in New Haven, and this scholarly and pious ancestress was one of the leading spirits. This. book of Christian experiences has been read by many persons, and the late Rev. W. T. Reynolds, of North Haven, declared that for thirty years he had found appropriate texts in her little volume. Her husband was the great-grandfather of our subject, a large land owner, the house being located north- east of our subject's late home. The old home has been removed, but the farm which for 200 years has been in the family is still its property. But two chil- dren were born to the pious and worthy Theophilus and wife : Jonathan and Calvin, the latter being the ancestor next in line. Theophilus died in July, 1791, his wife, Hannah, surviving until 1794, and in her will she made her son Calvin her executor.
(V) Calvin Heaton was born on the old farm on Aug. 14, 1755, became a large farmer and did much trading, engaging extensively in the hay business, buying and pressing it, and finally shipping it to the West Indies. At one time he bought a vessel at New Haven, which at the time of purchase was undoubtedly unseaworthy. This was loaded with hay and went to the bottom on its first voy- age, the loss of hay and mules being $20,000, with no insurance, and this crippled the owner finan- cially. Prior to this he was considered one of the wealthiest men of the locality, two others possessing equal wealth with him. This loss saddened the last years of a busy life, and his death occurred March 26, 1820.
(VI) Theophilus Eaton (the "H" having been dropped during the passing years) was born in the late home of our subject, his father, Calvin, hav- ing built the main part of it in 1780. His education was received in the district schools, and later he en- gaged in conducting a store in Montowese, but later bought the interests of the other heirs in the farm and lived there until his death, May 11, 1869. His wife had been Elmira C. Bronson, of North Guil- ford, and these children were born to them: Laura, who married Bethuel Brockett, a shoe manufac- turer, whose factory was located on his farm in North Haven ; Louisa, wife of William E. Brockett, who lived in North Haven; Esther, who married Brazil Bradley, lived in North Haven, and met her death from the hand of a former laborer on the
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