USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 1 > Part 10
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CONN-Vol I -- 5
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professor of theory and practice of medi- cine in Bowdoin, which position he held until 1825. He was also lecturer on medi- cine and surgery at the University of Ver- mont, 1822-25. In the meantime he re- tained his position at the head of the medi- cal department of Yale College until his death. He possessed wonderful sagacity in diagnosis and prognosis. He was the originator of various methods of surgical operation, invented apparatus for the re- duction of fractures, and was the author of "Practical Essays on Typhus Fever" (1824), and "Medical and Surgical Memoirs," edited, with addenda, by his son, Nathan Ryno Smith (1831). He re- ceived from Dartmouth the honorary de- gree of Master of Arts in 1798, and that of Doctor of Medicine in 1801, and from Harvard that of Doctor of Medicine, 1811.
HILLHOUSE, James, Revolutionary Soldier, Strong Character.
James Hillhouse was born in Montville, Connecticut, October 20, 1754, second son of Judge William and Sarah (Griswold) Hillhouse. He was adopted into the fam- ily of his uncle, James Abraham Hill- house, of New Haven, in 1761 ; and was graduated from Yale College, Bachelor of Arts, 1773, receiving the degree of Mas- ter of Arts in 1776.
He commanded the Governor's Foot- guards, was entrusted by Governor Trum- bull with promoting enlistments, and on July 5, 1779, when Tryon invaded Con- necticut and attacked New Haven, his company stoutly resisted the advance. He was a State representative, 1780-89; a member of the first city council of New Haven, 1784; was elected, but did not serve as delegate to the Continental Con- gress, 1786-87 ; was a member of the coun- cil, 1789-91 ; a representative in the Sec- ond, Third and Fourth United States
Congresses, 1791-96; and United States Senator as successor to Oliver Ellsworth, resigned, 1796-97, and by election, 1797- 1815. He was president pro tempore of the Senate from February 28 to March 3, 1801. In the Senate he acted with the Federalist party, but in 1808 proposed amendments to the constitution intended to check the growing tendency toward presidential power and patronage, and to protect the independent self-government of the States within their separate sov- ereignties. He resigned his seat in the Senate in May, 1810, to accept the ap- pointment of first commissioner of the school fund of Connecticut. This fund was acquired by the sale of land on the southern shore of Lake Erie, of the same length and between the same parallels of latitude as old Connecticut, and known as New Connecticut, or the Western Re- serve, which Connecticut reserved when she ceded to the United States all her right and title in the land which she claimed under the charter which made the "South Sea," or Pacific ocean, her west- ern boundary. This fund, amounting to $1,200,000, consisted chiefly of the debts due from the original purchasers of the Western Reserve, and those substituted securities which had been accepted in their stead by a board of managers. Re- ports in 1801 showed a large amount of interest unpaid and portions of the capital in danger of being lost by the failure of collateral securities. Mr. Hillhouse straightened these affairs; and in fifteen years added to the fund by careful invest- ment, and on his resignation in 1825, had increased it by $500,000. Donations made to him by several of the original pur- chasers of the Western Reserve amount- ing to $9,982.02, and earned by extra offi- cial labor to which the State had no claim or right, was by him turned over to the Connecticut school fund through a "high
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sense of honor" not often exhibited in fiduciary history. Senator Hillhouse was an early counsellor of Yale College, and his advice largely insured its continuance at the critical period of its history, 1791- 92. He was treasurer of Yale 1782-1832, and received the honorary degree of Doc- tor of Laws from there in 1823. He died in New London, Connecticut, December 29, 1832.
He was married, January 1, 1779, to Sarah, daughter of John Lloyd, of Stam- ford, Connecticut, who died in the same year; and (second) in 1782, to Rebecca, daughter of Melancthon Woolsey, of Do- soris, Rhode Island. His second wife died December 29, 1813. Of their sons, James Abraham, was the well known poet, and Augustus L. became a resident of Paris, France.
HINSDALE, Theodore, Manufacturer, Public Official.
The family of Hinsdale had its origin in the district of Loos, in the county of Liege, now in Belgium, and various spell- ings are found, namely : Hinisdal, Hinis- dael, Henisdael, Hinesdale, Henesdale, Hinisdale, Hinnisdale, Hynsdale, Hins- dael and Hinnisdal. The only coat-of- arms granted to the family is: De Sable, au chef D'argent, charge de trois merles de sable. Crest: Couronne de Comte. Supports: Deux Levriers. Motto: Mod- erata durant. Deacon Robert Hinsdale, immigrant ancestor, came to Dedham, Massachusetts, from England, and was a proprietor of that town in 1637. He held various public offices. His son, Barnabas Hinsdale, was born November 13, 1639; he was a resident of Dedham, Hadley, Hatfield and Deerfield. His son, Barna- bas (2) Hinsdale, was born at Hatfield, February 20, 1668, and died in Hartford, January 25, 1725. His son, Captain John
Hinsdale, was in Hartford, Connecticut, August 13, 1706, and died December 2, I792. He removed to Berlin, Connecti- cut. He served as ensign, lieutenant and captain. His son, Rev. Theodore Hins- dale, was born in Berlin, Connecticut, November 25, 1738, and died at Hinsdale, December 29, 1818. He taught for sev- eral years after his graduation from Yale, and was ordained a minister at North Windsor, Connecticut, April 30, 1766, dis- missed March 4, 1795. He served the church at North Windsor for twenty- eight years. His son, Josiah Bissell Hins- dale, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, November 15, 1774, died at Rochester, New York, February 6, 1866, whither he removed in 1842. He married Temper- ance Pitkin and they were the parents of Theodore Hinsdale, of this review.
Theodore (2) Hinsdale, son of Josiah Bissell Hinsdale, was born at Colebrook, December 27, 1800, died November 27, 1841. He married, April 26, 1826, Jerusha, daughter of Solomon and Sarah (Mc- Ewen) Rockwell. She married (second) December 10, 1843, John Boyd, widower, of West Winsted. He was born at Win- sted, March 17, 1799, son of James and Mary (Monro) Boyd, and he died Decem- ber 1, 1881, at Winsted. He compiled the annals of Winchester, a work of six hun- dred and forty pages. Theodore Hins- dale graduated from Yale College in 1821, and read law for a short time with Seth P. Staples, Esq., of New Haven, after- ward studied at Andover for one or two years. In 1827 he went into the manu- facturing business with his father-in-law, in the firm name of Rockwell & Hinsdale. After the death of Mr. Rockwell, in 1837, he was associated in the same business (scythe making) with Elliot Beardsley, under the firm name of Hinsdale & Beardsley, until his death. He had charge of the school funds of the town. He was
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a prominent and energetic citizen and business man. He was a commanding person, with a fascinating personality and a native oratory which made him widely known and admired. He was constantly sought as a presiding officer or speaker at large public gatherings, and was noted for his zeal in advocating a cause. Mr. Hinsdale's profound interest in the indus- trial development of this country was far- reaching in its effect, and as a member of the Connecticut legislature in 1837 he framed and secured the passage of the "Connecticut Joint Stock Act." In an ad- dress delivered by the late Edward Ever- ett Hale, D. D., before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown University, and repeated before the Adelphi Union of Williams College, Dr. Hale refers to the above-mentioned act as follows :
The whole history of government in America from 1620 to this time is one illustration of the people's success in doing what no statesman or theorist, though he were John Locke or John Adams, could do single-handed. You start with the charter of a trading company. You come out at the end of a hundred and thirty years with organized, constitutional government. In that one hundred and thirty years you have not one Numa, or Solon, or Lycurgus, but you have the people. One experiment is tried, and fails. Another experiment is tried and succeeds. Fail- ure produces nothing, but success produces suc- cess. And the end comes, better than the begin- ning, because you relied on this simple law.
I had better take one simple instance. Here is our modern system of associated work, organ- ized in our several States under what we call the general corporation acts, what is called in England the limited liability act. Now that the thing is in easy running order every one says that it is a perfectly simple contrivance. It gives you almost all the advantages claimed for social- ism, and you pay none of the penalties. Three men, six, ten or a hundred men, who want to work together, can combine as much as they want to, and their corporation moves as one person, with law and freedom. Who invented this system? Did Robert Owen? or Charles Fourier? or the Count St. Simon? Not they. They did not know enough. They tried and they failed. Look in the books for its history. You
will have better success that I have had if you find it there. For we gentlemen scholars who write the books are a little apt to pass such trifles by. It came to life; it uttered its first cry in the State of Connecticut in 1837. If it lived-well; if it died-no matter. It chose to live. It lived and grew strong. It came to stay. "I attribute to it," said one of the first author- ities in that State, "much of our manufacturing success. It has always been a useful law." It lived. It did not die. So it was copied here. It was copied there. It is now in force, in some form or other, in almost every State of the Union. It is in force, in principle, in the English limited liability law of 1855, which is confessedly taken from it. Now, what scholar or statesman invented it? Did you find it in Adam Smith? Did you learn in from Say or from William Cobbett? "I never heard who got it up," this was the answer made to me by the same accom- plished writer in Connecticut, when I asked him for anything about its origin." I had the same answer from one of the veteran statesmen of that day, who was in public life the year in which it was passed and lives to an honored old age. This is what happened: A pure democracy like the State of Connecticut needed such an arrangement. This pure democracy was intel- ligent enough to know what it needed, and it had the power in its hands to fill the need. Your grand questions about the history and genesis of such a statute are answered as Topsy answered Miss Ophelia's theological question: "I 'specks it growed."
Since the delivery of this address in Providence a very interesting letter has come from Mr. Abijah Catlin, a member of the Connecticut Legislature of 1837, and gives the full detail of the origin of the act :
Theodore Hinsdale, a representative from the town of Winchester, introduced and advocated the bill, and, so far as I know, was the author thereof. Mr. Hinsdale was a graduate of Yale, as I believe, and was in the business of manu- facturing scythes in Winsted, Connecticut, with his father-in-law, Solomon Rockwell.
The manufactory still exists, under the name of the Beardsley Scythe Company. Mr. Hins- dale was a gentleman of fine appearance, of pleasing manners and of fluent speech. He was an ardent advocate of manufactures and of their encouragement. In advocating the bill he had no personal interest, as he and his father-in-
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law were able to carry on their manufactory without the aid of additional capital.
In 1837 the dominant political party was strongly opposed to the chartering of corpora- tions unless a provision was made for the liabil- ity of individual stockholders for the debts of the corporation. The joint stock law of 1837 was intended to enable men of small means to combine together for the efficient execution of their project, and has been, as you know, acted upon very extensively in this State.
This letter shows that to Mr. Theodore Hinsdale the thanks of half the working people of the world are due for an act of great simplicity, which sooner or later is a help to so many of them.
The following paragraph in reference to the Connecticut Joint Stock Act is from Johnston's "American Commonwealths," edited by the late Horace E. Scudder :
Apart from the peculiarly State features of the industrial development, at least one feature of it has had a national and international influ- ence, as Mr. E. E. Hale has pointed out. The Connecticut Joint Stock Act of 1837, framed by Mr. Theodore Hinsdale, a manufacturer of the Commonwealth, introduced the corporation in the form under which we now generally know it. Its principle was copied by almost every State of the Union, and by the English limited liability act of 1855, and the effects of its simple principle upon the industrial development of the whole modern world are quite beyond calculation. All that can be done here is to notice the wide influ- ence of a single Connecticut manufacturer's idea, and to call attention to this as another instance of the close connection of democracy with modern industrial development.
In the midst of Mr. Hinsdale's career of usefulness he was struck down by typhoid fever, and died November 27, 1841, aged forty. Children: Sarah McEwen, born April 2, 1827, died August 17, 1833; Mary Pitkin, born December 1I, 1828; Solomon Rockwell, August 25, 1835, died Novem- ber, 1908; he was in the treasury depart- ment, Washington, D. C., and married Julia Merritt Jackson, and had one son, Theodore Rockwell Hinsdale, of Seattle.
WEBSTER, Noah,
Lexicographer.
Noah Webster was born in West Hart- ford, Connecticut, October 16, 1758, son of Noah and Mercy (Steele) Webster, grandson of Daniel and Miriam (Kellogg) Webster, and a descendant of John Web- ster, one of the first settlers in Hartford and colonial governor of Connecticut, and on his mother's side, of William Brad- ford, of Plymouth.
He matriculated at Yale in 1774, joined his father's company to aid in repelling Burgoyne's invasion in the summer of 1777, and was graduated from. Yale, Bach- elor of Arts, 1778; Master of Arts, 1781. He taught school in Hartford, Connecti- cut, was admitted to the bar in 1780, established a school at Sharon, and re- moved to Goshen, Orange county, New York, in 1782. While there he compiled two small elementary books for teaching the English language, which were the be- ginning of his "Grammatical Institute of the English Language," which comprised, when completed, a speller, a grammar and a reader. Prior to this time all the school books were by English authors, and Web- ster felt that the pedantry of the English educator would not please the American farmers' sons, and that a young independ- ent nation needed new, sympathetic text- books. Accordingly in his "Grammatical Institute," quotations from the American patriots were as numerous as those from the classics. After compiling his speller, Webster, realizing the necessity of ade- quate copyright laws, traveled from State to State, importuning legislators to enact such laws, and in 1790 his efforts bore fruit in the passage by Congress of its first copyright legislation. From that time until 1832 Webster worked tirelessly for the extension of authors' rights. After the law was passed in 1790, Webster got a Hartford firm to print five thousand
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copies of his spelling book as a venture, and it is worthy of note that throughout the rest of Webster's life, whenever he was in need of funds he fell back on the proceeds of the spelling book sales. He resumed school teaching, started the "American Magazine," lectured, practiced law and did almost anything to turn a penny. He took a lively interest in poli- tics, showing the greatest confidence in the young republic that many regarded as a doubtful experiment in government. He delivered an address on "The Effects of Slavery on Morals and Industry" in 1793, and the same year, during the French Revolution, became editor of the newly established "American Minerva," an anti- French paper. He favored Jay's treaty, and together with Chancellor Kent wrote a series of twelve papers defending it, the first of which Jefferson ascribed to Hamil- ton. Webster was a strong Federalist, thoroughly loyal to Washington, and after abandoning the "Minerva" in 1798 as unprofitable he continued his interest in public affairs, writing "Essays on the Rights of Neutral Nations," attacking the spoils system at the time of its inception under Jefferson, and publishing a reply to Jefferson's inaugural address. But dur- ing all his interest in other matters he never lost his grasp on his speller. Its large sales necessitated many new edi- tions, and each edition was thoroughly revised, new spellings being adopted and definitions altered. Webster was strongly in favor of phonetic spelling, carrying it to an extreme in his essays, and introduc- ing it judiciously in his speller and dic- tionary. It is probable that his first im- pulse in this line was given him by Benja- min Franklin, with whom he was intimate. Franklin first projected the dictionary, but thinking himself too old to undertake the work, presented Webster with what manuscript and type he had. Webster
named his book the "American Diction- ary of the English Language," and al- though his first aim was to be correct, his book differed from the others in his class in that it was intended to go into the American household, and foreign words, foreign spelling of English words, and pedantic words, so common in John- son, were dealt with harshly. Webster maintained that the language spoken in America was not a dialect of the English, but a separate, legitimate branch of the parent stock; that Americans were better authority on good use in America than were Englishmen, and that simply be- cause a word was confined to America, it was not a provincialism. On the whole, Webster's dictionary was decidedly patri- otic. Etymology was the branch that at- tracted him most, and although it was the weakest point in his dictionary, his work in that line was remarkable. He traced words where they could be traced, and guessed at them when they could not, but his genius served him well, and modern comparative philology, of which he laid the foundation, shows some of his long- est shots to have been surprisingly near the mark. Webster began work in 1806; in 1812 he removed from New Haven to Amherst, Massachusetts, as a matter of economy, but in 1822, having exhausted his own library, he returned to New Haven, and in 1824, realizing the lack of material in America, he went to Cam- bridge, England, to use the university library. He finished the dictionary in January, 1825, and in 1828 the first edi- tion was published. It was the first American dictionary, and long after Web- ster's death was the standard in this coun- try. It is of especial interest to note that during the revision of the Bible (1870-80) there were several points of difference be- tween the English and American scholars, and on many of these points the Ameri-
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can company agreed with Webster's views as expressed in a revision of the Bible which he had made long before he compiled his dictionary. Webster revised his dictionary in 1840, and was engaged in another revision at the time of his death. He was married, October 26, 1789, to Rebecca, daughter of William Green- leaf, of Boston, and they had one son and six daughters. He served in the legisla- tures of Massachusetts and of Connecti- cut, was one of the founders of the Con- necticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, and during his residence in Amherst was actively interested in founding Amherst College, serving as first president of the board of trustees of Amherst Academy at the time Amherst College was founded. He received from the College of New Jer- sey the honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1795, from Yale that of Doctor of Laws in 1823, and from Middlebury that of Doctor of Laws in 1830. Besides many pamphlets and monographs, Webster's books published during his life include : "A Grammatical Institute of the English Language" (three parts, 1783-85) ; "The New York Directory" (1786; reprinted 1886) ; "Dissertations on the English Lan- guage" (1789) ; "A Collection of Essays and Fugitive Writings on Moral, His- torical, Political and Literary Subjects" (1790) ; "The Promptor, or a Commen- tary on Common Sayings and Subjects" (1791) ; reprinted as "The English Ship Righting Herself after 20 Years of Hard Fighting" (1806); "The Revolution in France" (1794); "Collection of Papers on Bilious Fevers" (1796) ; "A Brief History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases" (two volumes, 1799) ; "Miscellaneous Papers on Political and Commercial Sub- jects" (1802; containing "Rights of Neu- tral Nations," "An Address to the Presi- dent of the United States on the Subject of His Address," and "The Origin and
State of Banking Institutions and Insur- ance Offices") ; "A Philosophical and Practical Grammar of the English Lan- guage" (1807); "A Compendious Dic- tionary of the English Language" (1806) ; "Elements of Useful Knowledge" (two volumes, 1809); "History of Animals" (1812) ; "Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education" (1823) ; "An American Dictionary of the English Language" (1828); "Biography for the Use of Schools" (1830) ; "The Holy Bible, containing Old and New Testaments in the Common Version, with Amendments of the Language" (1833) ; "History of the United States" (1835) ; "Family of John Webster" (1836) ; "Manual of Useful Studies" (1839). See also "Websteriana, a Catalogue of books by Noah Webster, collected from the Library of Gordon L. Ford, by Paul Leicester Ford and Emily Ellsworth Ford" (1882). A good life of Webster, by Horace E. Scudder was pub- lished in "American Men of Letters" series (1881). He died in New Haven, Connecticut, May 28, 1843.
BRONSON, Bennet,
Capitalist and Judge.
John Bronson, the first ancestor of whom there is record, was living in Hart- ford, Connecticut, in 1639, from whence he removed to Tunxis, then to Farming- ton, and his death occurred in 1680. His son, Isaac Bronson, was baptized Decem- ber 7. 1645, resided in Farmington and Waterbury. His son, Lieutenant Thomas Bronson, was born in Waterbury, Con- necticut, January 16, 1685-86, and died May 26, 1777. His son, Thomas (2) Bronson, was born in Waterbury, Con- necticut, January 5, 171I, and died there, June 25, 1759. His son, Deacon Stephen Bronson, was born in Waterbury, Con- necticut. June 30, 1735, and died Decem-
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ber 15, 1809. He married, May 17, 1763, Sarah Humaston, and they were the par- ents of Judge Bennet Bronson, of whom further.
Judge Bennet Bronson, son of Deacon Stephen Bronson, was born November 14, 1775, died December II, 1850. He was fitted for college in the school of Messrs. Badger and Kingsbury, and graduated at Yale in 1797. In 1798 he was appointed lieutenant in the provisional army of the United States, and served about two years, when the army was disbanded.
He then studied law with Hon. Noah B. Benedict, of Woodbury, Connecticut, and in 1802 was admitted to the bar and opened an office in his native town. In 1812 he became one of the assistant judges of the county court, and held the position two years ; in 1825 he was one of the first burgesses of the town of Waterbury; he was a representative to the Legislature in 1829. He inherited a fair estate from his father, and soon became one of the leading capitalists of the town. For a time he was engaged in the business of clock-making, and he also invested suc- cessfully in other manufacturing. He was a large landholder and successful farmer. He was the first president of the Waterbury Bank, retaining that position until his death. On June 10, 1838, he was elected deacon of the First Church, and on August 31, having considered the mat- ter nearly three months, he "signified his consent to perform for a time at least the duties of that office ;" he remained a dea- con until 1843. He was one of the first trustees of the Second Academy at Water- bury. He took great interest in local his- tory and early began to collect material for the history of the town. It is largely due to his painstaking efforts that the his- tory of Waterbury could be so fully writ- ten. He was fond of old ways and estab- lished customs. At the time it was pro-
posed to heat the meeting house with stoves, he opposed the project, and when the congregation began to sit during the prayer and stand during the singing, he saw no need of the change, but remained loyal to the older forms, notwithstanding the change. In person Judge Bronson was tall, and in early life straight and athletic. He had sunken eyes, shaggy eye-brows and a capacious forehead. He was a good lawyer, but not a ready speaker, and made an admirable counselor and conveyancer. His excellent business judgment and thorough honesty gained for him the entire confidence of the com- munity. In his will he left a legacy of two hundred dollars for books for a pas- tor's library, and in 1857 these books were purchased.
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