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 53
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farm, the murderer being later hanged for the crime in New Haven; Rebecca, who married Julius Smith and now lives in North Haven; Julia, who married George Riley and lived in North Haven; Jesse O .; Elizabeth, who married Alexander Rob- inson, of Racine, Wis .; and Lois, who married R. A. Smith and lives in North Haven.
(VII) Jesse O. Eaton was born May 27, 1820, on the farm where he passed the greater part of his life, and in a house that stood immediately south of the present dwelling. His educational advan- tages were limited to those offered by the district school, and when he had finished the course there he settled down to the assistance of his father on the farm. When a dairy business was opened up, he peddled milk in New Haven, beginning in 1855 and continuing for twelve years. Leaving the farm at this time, he went to Hamden and entered a shop owned by the Churchills, who were engaged in the manufacture of augers, remaining in this employ- ment for a number of years, but he finally returned to the farm, and upon the death of his father, pur- chased the interests of the other heirs, and was engaged in agricultural work until the last few years of his life, when he retired from active work, the labor being ably performed by his sturdy sons. The farm comprises 125 acres of fertile, well-culti- vated land, and Mr. Eaton successfully carried on an extensive business in market gardening. This line is not pursued at present, but the dairy business is still retained, although the milk is all disposed of to dealers. Mr. Eaton passed away at his home in Montowese in June, 1901.
On Oct. 8, 1846, Mr. Eaton was married in New Haven to Mary Ann Bradley, born Oct. 1, 1825, a native of Cheshire, and her death, which occurred May 15, 1899, was a severe blow to her husband, her companionship having lasted through a half a century. A noble woman, a devoted wife and mother, she was sincerely mourned by the bereaved family. The two sons of this union have taken prominent positions in the county, and have been the best of testimony to the wisdom and care given their rearing by their devoted parents.
THEOPHILUS EATON, eldest son of Jesse O. Eaton, was born Nov. 28, 1849, and married Bertha M., the daughter of Willard Robinson, of North Haven, and now is manager of the farm. Promi- nent in political affairs, he has been successively on the board of education, selectman, registrar of voters, justice of the peace, and was elected by the Republicans as representative to the Assembly from 1889 to 1892.
ROBERT EATON was born Feb. 20, 1857, and after completing the course in the common schools was a student in the Hillhouse high school and the French Collegiate Institute. In polities he is a stanch Republican, a good political organizer and faithful worker. As president of the Young Men's Republican Club, of North Haven, and as chair- man of the Republican town committee, he has be-
come very prominent, and is also well known throughout the State as assistant dairy commis- sioner, having been appointed such in May, 1891, by Com. Winslow. Both he and brother are so- cially connected with the North Haven Grange, of which Robert has been master, and both are con- nected with Adelphi Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and Quinnipiac Council, O. U. A. M., while Robert has also been a member of the board of relief and as- sessor. Robert Eaton was married to Carrie A. Grannis, of East Haven, and two children, Cora and Mary, belong to his home. All of the family are consistent and valued members of the Congre- gational Church.
During his vigorous years Jesse O. Eaton was a hard and persistent worker and enjoyed the healthful results of temperate living; and his only serious injury occurred from the thrust in his eye, made by a vicious animal, by which he lost the use of that member. Although eighty-one years of age he possessed at his death in many ways the youth of a man of many years his junior, and his re- tentive memory made him a delightful host. His friends were legion throughout North Haven.
CHARLES B. TILEY, D. D. S., a well-known dentist of Derby, was born in Goodspeeds, Conn., Nov. 27, 1861, a son of Stillman J. and Ophelia (Bates) Tiley. His early life was spent at Essex, Conn., and he later graduated from the Phila- delphia Dental College. He then located in Derby for the practice of his profession.
Dr. Tiley was united in marriage with Lilla Morton, of New Haven, and they have become the parents of two children, Hazel and Morton. Fra- ternally the Doctor is a Mason, and is affiliated with Bridgeport Commandery, K. T., and Pyramid Temple of the Mystic Shrine.
CORNELIUS JOSEPH DANAHER, prose- cuting agent for Meriden and Cheshire, and assist- ant city attorney of Meriden, is one of the rising young members of the legal profession in New Ha- ven county. He is a native of Meriden, born Aug. 10, 1870, son of John and Margaret (Sullivan ) Danaher. The father served in the Civil war under Gen. Terry, of New Haven, and left an honorable record which reflected great credit upon himself and which his posterity can justly take pride in re- viewing. Mr. Danaher was a man of education, in- dustrious and energetic. He had an excellent li- brary, which was made to serve the best ends.
Cornelius J. Danaher received his early educa- tion in the common schools of Meriden, and com- meneed his law studies in the office of United States Senator Orville H. Platt and his son, J. P. Platt, who were engaged in legal business under the firm name of O. H. & J. P. Platt. After three years' study under these able tutors he en- tered the senior class in the Law Department at Yale, graduating therefrom in 1893 with the de-
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Cornelius INaucher
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gree of LL. B. He was admitted to the Bar at New Haven June 29, 1893. and became identified with the well-known law firm of O. H. & J. P. Platt, of Meriden. This connection brought him into cases of importaiice and he soon became a well- known figure in the courts of the State, and has ever since been foremost among the promising young members of his fraternity in the county. He is one of the youngest prosecutors in the State, and the ability with which all his professional duties are performed holds forth promise of high honors in the future. Among the many cases of importance with which Mr. Danaher has been con- nected the most important may be said to be the celebrated Bradley Court Martial, which lasted for three months, and resulted in an acquittal of Mr. Danaher's client. Through his studious habits, his industry and force of character Mr. Danaher has gained the confidence of the people and forged his way to a most creditable standing in the profession and community. He possesses that keen and bright wit characteristic of his nationality, is eloquent be- fore the court and jury, and a young man of great promise.
Mr. Danaher's political affiliations have been with the Democratic party, and he is a prominent factor in local politics. In 1895 he was chosen sec- retary of both the City and County Democratic Committees. From 1893 to 1895 he served as as- sistant city attorney of Meriden, and during the same period as liquor prosecuting attorney of New Ilaven county, the youngest to hold that office in the State. He has served as president of the Cath- ohc Club of Meriden, and in 1892 was business manager of the Young Men's Total Abstinence Society.
On June 30, 1897, Mr. Danaher was married to Ellen Jane Ryan, of Meriden, and they . have one child, John.
JAMES GRANT, superintendent of the fire alarm telegraph system in New Haven, has dis- charged the duties of that responsible incumbency with a fidelity alike creditable to himself and satis- factory to his fellow citizens, and his administration has been characterized by marked improvements in the methods of the department. Mr. Grant began at the foot of the ladder, and has worked his own way to the high position he now occupies.
Our subject is a native of Scotland, born March 30, 1855, and his parents, James and Barbara (Peebles) Grant, were also natives of that country. His father, a carriage builder by occupation, died in Australia in 1899, at the age of seventy-nine, while his mother died at the age of forty-three. Of the seven children born to this union but three survive: Annie, Mrs. Den, of Australia ; Isabella, Mrs. Heywood, living in New Zealand ; and James.
James Grant lived in Florida and Alabama from the age of eleven to that of twenty, and during that time had but meager educational chances. Since 1
coming North he, has made his home in New Haven, where he first took a position with the Western Union Company, later entering the employ of the Southern New England Telephone Company, with whom he remained until 1883. He assisted in put- ting in their first wires in New Haven, about six miles to a circuit. After leaving this employ he be- came a lineman of the City Fire Department, was promoted in time to the position of principal line- man, and was eventually made superintendent of the fire alarm wires. He now has charge of all the fire department wires in New Haven, including 167 fire alarm boxes, seventy miles of underground wires and sixty-five miles of overhead wires. The ,system introduced by him, known as the fast time system, is the only one of the kind in the country in which a "repeater" is used. Mr. Grant was also responsible for the system of call boxes of the police department, and was assistant in charge for a number of years. He occupies a high standing among public officials in his adopted city, and his long retention in so important a position is the strongest evidence of the satisfaction which his services afford.
Mr. Grant was married, in March, 1885, to Miss Rosa Rudolph, a native of Philadelphia, where her father, John Rudolph, who was engaged in the teaming business, died at the age of seventy-eight years. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Grant, James A. and David R. The family attend the First M. E. Church of New Haven. So- cially Mr. Grant belongs to the F. & A. M .; Olive Branch, No. 84, I. O. O. F. (at Quinnipiac) ; Knights of the Golden Eagle; A. O. U. W .; and the Firemen's Mutual and Active Firemen's Associ- ations.
GEORGE L. CLARK, foreman of the New Haven Webb Manufacturing Co., of Centreville, eminently deserves classification among the purely self-made men of Handen who have distinguished themselves for their ability to master the opposing forces of life and to wrest from fate a large meas- ure of success and an honorable name.
Mr. Clark was born in Milford, Conn., May 13, 1853, a son of Daniel and Charlotte ( Prince) Clark, aiso natives of that town, where the mother died. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church and a most estimable lady. During his youth the father learned the carpenter's and join- er's trade, which he followed in Milford for some years, and then removed to Iowa, where he con- tinued to engage in his chosen occupation until his death. He attended the Methodist Episcopal Church and was a stanch supporter of the Demo- cratic party. In his family were six children, namely: George L., our subject ; Albert, a resident of Milford, Conn .; William, of Jersey City, N. J .; Charles, of Torrington. Conn .; Edward, of New Haven ; and Mary, wife of George Morse, of Ham- den.
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George L. Clark was but three years old when taken by his parents to Iowa, where he passed his boyhood and youth, his education being acquired in the district schools of that State. At an early age he began the battle of life for himself as a farmi hand, and was thus employed until after his return East at the age of seventeen years. After working for a short time on a farm in Milford, he took up the carpenter's trade, which he followed there for two years, and then came to New Haven, where he entered the employ of Horace M. Shipley, working as a journeyman principally in Naugatuck. In 1875 and 1876 he aided in the construction of the New Haven Webb factory in Hamden, and on its completion obtained a position as repairer with the company. He has been connected with the factory for the past quarter of a century, and has gradually worked his way upward until he is now serving as foreman. Our subject fills this responsible position in a most creditable and acceptable manner, and has the entire confidence and respect of the company and those working under hin.
Mr. Clark married Miss Elizabeth Moss, a daughter of Joseph Moss, a weaver of Hamden, and to them have been born six children: Lillian, wife of Edgar W. Munson; Eva, wife of Charles Hall; Estella; Fannie; Charlotte; and Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are both prominent members of Hamden Grange, and both belong to Grace Episcopal Church at Centreville, of which he has been warden for the past two years and vestryman for several years. Fraternally he is a member of Day Spring Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 30, of Ham- den, of which he is past master, and he has filled all the chairs in Montowese Lodge, I. O. O. F., of New Haven. His political support is always given the men and measures of the Republican party, and he is now efficiently serving as a member of the school board. He has filled the positions of justice of the peace and grand juror, and in 1889 was a member of the State Legislature. His official duties have always been most conscientiously and faith- fully discharged, and in all the relations of life he has been found true to every trust reposed in him. His career is one well worthy of emulation and contains many valuable lessons of incentive, show- ing the possibilities that are open to young men who wish to improve every opportunity for advance- ment.
HENRY L. HOTCHKISS is a prominent manufacturer and banker of New Haven. For nearly two hundred and sixty years the name of Hotchkiss has figured more or less in the business and social life of New Haven, and for the past one hundred years, such names as Justus, Russell, Henry, Lucius and the subject of this sketch have played an important part in New Haven's history, and especially prominent through a long lifetime was the late Henry Hotchkiss, whose mantle fell . upon his son, Henry L. Hotchkiss, who has proven
himself worthy of it. That branch of the Hotch- kiss family in New Haven of whom we especially write, has descended from Samuel Hotchkiss, a native of Essex, England, and who came to New Haven as early as 1641.
Of his posterity, one Justus Hotchkiss, asso- ciated with his brother-in-law, Russell Hotchkiss, was engaged in the lumber business in New Haven early in the present century. Justus Hotchkiss died in 1812, and his only children, Henry and Lucius, were sent to Fairfield to attend the academy, and remained there until Henry reached the age of eighteen. Upon returning to New Haven, he was a clerk for his uncle, who was still in the lumber business, for three years, and on reaching his ma- jority, became associated in the business as a part- ner. In 1828, the uncle retired from active busi- ness, and his two nephews succeeded him, and under the firm name of H. & L. Hotchkiss, continued the house until 1850. They were live, energetic and shrewd business men, and as the years passed, de- veloped a large trade. They, too, in the meantime, were interested in other lines, among which was that of private partners from 1842 to 1852 in the business of L. Candee & Co., manufacturers of rub- ber shoes, Mr. Leverett Candee having secured the right of manufacturing under the Goodyear patent, one of the first in the world to make rubber shoes. In 1852, the business of L. Candee & Co. was or- ganized into a stock company, with a capital stock of $200,000, and Mr. Candee became its first president. In 1863 he was succeeded by Henry Hotchkiss, who was also made treasurer and held the latter office until 1869, when his son, Henry L. Hotchkiss, was chosen treasurer, although the father remained president until his death in 1871. Henry L. Hotchkiss then became president and has since continued in that office. Under the wise and careful management of these two gentlemen, the vast business of the corporation of today has devel- oped to its present enormous dimensions. The plant consists of several large four and five story build- ings, all equipped with modern machinery, covering an area of four acres. The company are engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of foot-wear ; some fifteen hundred hands are employed, who make 20,- 000 pairs of boots and shoes per day, or upwards of 6,000,000 per year.
Henry Hotchkiss was a sagacious and far- seeing business man, and to him is given the credit of being among the earliest of New Haven's citizens to see the need of a wider field for the investment of the capital of the growing city. He was first in a marked way to exhibit the spirit of broader enter- prise in the line of joint stock corporations, and other forms of business enterprise. He was one of the original corporators of, and a director in, the large Waterbury brass manufactory of Holmes, Booth & Ilaydens ; an original corporator of the N. H. & New London R. R., now the Shore Line Rail- road Company, and later a trustee and manager
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for several years. For upwards of twenty years he was president of the New Haven County Bank, a position demanding at one time special financial ability on account of its large and complicated in- terests. He became the first president of the Union Trust Company of New Haven, at its organization in 1871, and held this office at the time of his death, his son, Henry L., succeeding him, a position which he still occupies. Henry Hotchkiss was greatly in- terested in New Haven's Colonial Historical Society, in which he was a director, and in his early life, was active in military affairs, and also in the New Haven Fire Department. Having no taste for civic honors, he never allowed his name to be used as a candidate for political office. During the Civil war Mr. Hotchkiss was fully in sympathy with the government, and realized the great necessity of sav- ing the Union, exerted his influence in every way possible to uphold the great cause. Never making any parade of philanthropy, he was yet very helpful in a quiet way, especially to young men.
On May 22, 1823. Mr. Hotchkiss married Eliza- beth Daggett Prescott, born May 3, 1803, and died in September of 1882. Mrs. Hotchkiss was a daugliter of Benjamin Prescott of the shipping firm of Prescott & Sherman of New Haven, and a de- scendant in the sixth generation from John Pres- cott, who emigrated from England to Boston and Watertown in 1640, and who was the first set- tler of Worcester county, and the founder of Lancaster. He was an ancestor of Colonel Will- iam Prescott, of Bunker Hill fame, of Judge William Prescott, and of William H. Prescott, the historian. John Prescott was the fourth generation from James Prescott, of Standish, Lancaster. The line of Mrs. Hotchkiss' descent was through Cap- tain Jonathan, Rev. Benjamin, Benjamin, Benjamin, the latter born Oct. 27, 1757, in Salem, Mass. At the age of fifteen he left Salem and came into the family of Hon. Roger Sherman, whose wife was his sister, and in 1793 he formed a partnership with Roger Sherman, Jr., under the firm name of Pres- cott & Sherman. He was thus engaged up to the time of his death, October 23, 1839. In 1783 he married Hannah Blakeslie ( daughter of Tilly and Thankful ( Allen ) Blakeslie ), who died May 10, 1824. To Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkiss have been born six children, viz: Elizabeth S., died Jan. 26, 1896; Mary A. F., died Oct. 3, 1839; Martha married Dr. John O. Bronson, died Feb. 22, 1898; Susan V .; Mary A., married Captain Charles H. Townshend, formerly in command of a French passenger steam- er plying between New York and Havre; Henry Lucius.
HENRY LUCIUS HOTCHKISS was born on Dec. 18, 1842, married on Feb. 25, 1875, Jane T., daugh- ter of the late Henry Trowbridge and Mary Web- ster Southgate Trowbridge. the latter a grand- daughter of Noah Webster, the lexicographer. Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkiss had the following family : Henry Stuart, born Oct. 1, 1878, graduated from Yale
scientific department, in 1900; Helen Southgate, born Nov. 24, 1880, married Elisha E. Garrison, a graduate of Yale in the class of 1897; Elizabeth Trowbridge, born March 26, 1885. Mrs. Hotch- kiss died April 20, 1902. The New Haven Register, under date of April 21, 1902, said, editorially : "The death, after a protracted and painful illness, of Mrs. Henry L. Hotchkiss carries with it, to a very large circle of friends and acquaintances, more deep and profound sorrow than is occasioned by the average affliction of that character, sad though each may be. Mrs. Hotchkiss was a very remarkable woman in more ways than one. It is said of some men, who are more fortunate in the world of commerce than others, that whatever they touch turns to gold. It can be said of Mrs. Hotch- kiss that she never came into contact with her fel- low beings without adding to her rich store of friendships. She was such a true-hearted and gen- erous woman herself that her presence inspired the kindliest feelings and the warmest sympathies in others. Though a woman whose sphere in life carried her triumphantly into the most delightful and cultivated society, there were no restrictions placed upon her friendships. There are to-day friends who mourn her death in every section of the city, and justly so. The loss therefore is one in which the community shares, as must always be the case when a representative man or woman dies. To her family goes a keenness of sympathy which cannot help but console them in their grief and make them thankful that so noble a friend was spared to them through so many years of rich asso- ciation."
DAVID EVANS, a representative dairyman and farmer, of Yale avenue, Meriden, was born in Llanarmon, County of Flint, North Wales, Jan. 27, 1842, and by industry and integrity has made him- self an enviable position in his adopted country.
David Evans obtained his education in the sub- scription schools of his native community. He worked with his father on the farm, and while still a boy was employed in the local lead mines for some time. He continued, however, to make farming his main business until 1872, in which year he sought the larger life of the United States, landing at New York, and coming to Meriden, where he found em- ployment at farm labor with Zina K. Murdock, with whom he remained several months. For nine years he lived in Shawnee county, Kans., where he was farming on shares at first, and later on land which he purchased. In 1882 he sold out, and com- ing to Meriden entered the finishing department of the Wilcox White Organ Co., engaging steadily in that work for eight years. At the end of that time he found himself blacklisted for unknown reasons and unable to secure employment in the town. As he had saved enough to build a home, on land already bought, he was not dismayed. This Meri- den property he exchanged for a thirty-acre farm in
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Middlefield, and for a number of years he was en- gaged in its cultivation, finding a market for his milk and other products in Meriden. In 1897, after a prolonged legal struggle with the Middletown Water Co., which sought his farm as an addition to its reservoir, he won his suit. He came to Meri- den, where he bought the Gilbert farm, in Yale avenue, and at once entered the dairy business, hav- ing now a herd of Jersey cattle. He has made many valuable and extensive improvements on the farm, has built up a fine business, has a good outlook for the future, and is ranked among the valuable citi- zens of the day. On his farm there is a splendid silo, which is counted one of the best in the town, and attracts the admiration of those well versed in agricultural matters.
Mr. Evans was married in 1881 to Martha Hob- son, who was born in Birmingham, England, daugh- ter of William H. and Mary Ann ( Hobson) Hob- son, of Wallingford. To this union have been born four children, as follows: Hiram, Alice, Jennie and Henry George. Mr. Evans belongs to the Meriden Grange, and also to Center Lodge, No. 97, A. F. & A. M., at Meriden. In politics he takes an independent position, while in religion he ac- cepts the faith of the Congregational Church, of which both he and his wife are members, affiliating with the Center Church at Meriden. Our subject is a hard-working and honest man, anxious to do right, and has had much to contend against in order to maintain himself.
LOUIS R. HEMINGWAY. No history of the people of East and North Haven would be complete without a full account of the Hemingway family. Throughout eight generations the ancestors and de- scendants of the late Merwin E. Hemingway have been identified with the best interests of these towns in business, social and political life.
The ancestral line reads thus: Samuel Heming- way married Sarah Cooper in 1662, and they had these children : Sarah, born July 26, 1663, married in 1684 Thomas Goodsell; Samuel, born Dec. 13, 1665; Mary, born July 5, 1668; Hannah, born Sept. 14. 1670, married John Howe, Jr .; Abigail, born Feb. 16, 1672, married in 1706 Joseph Holt ; John, born May 29, 1675; Abraham, born Dec. 3, 1677; and Isaac and Jacob, born Dec. 6, 1683. Three brothers came, to East Haven, and from them is descended this branch of the Hemingway family.
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