USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 1 > Part 13
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in pamphlet form. Bishop Seabury died in New London, Connecticut, February 25, 1796, in the twelfth year of his episco- pate, having been in orders nearly forty- three years.
MUNSON, Aeneas, M. D., A Founder of Yale Medical School.
Aeneas Munson was born in New Haven, Connecticut, June 13, 1734, and died there, June 16, 1826, a son of Ben- jamin and Abigail (Punderson) Munson. The former was an excellent mechanic, a successful schoolmaster, and a highly re- spected citizen.
Aeneas Munson attended the schools in the neighborhood of his home during his early years, and then became a stu- dent at Yale College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1753. In order to further continue his studies, he ac- cepted a position as school teacher in Northampton, Massachusetts, thus secur- ing the necessary funds to study divinity. Having secured his license to preach he was recommended by the Litchfield As- sociation of Ministers to a vacant parish in that county, which he secured and where he labored for a short period of time, but his health becoming impaired he was forced to abandon that line of work, and he then turned his attention to the study of medicine, placing himself under the competent instruction of Dr. John Darby, of Oyster Ponds, Southold, Long Island. Becoming thoroughly com- petent to practice, he removed to Bed- ford, New York, about the year 1756, and there opened an office and practiced his profession until 1760, when he removed to New Haven, Connecticut, and there continued along the same lines for many years, gaining a high reputation. He took an active interest in public affairs in New Haven, and in 1776 he became a jus- tice of the peace. holding a commission
for several years, and in 1778 he was chosen to represent New Haven in the General Assembly of the State, and re- mained in office until 1781. He actively championed the cause of the Revolution, and for a time was chaplain in Washing- ton's army on Long Island. He was one of the founders of the Connecticut Medi- cal Society, incorporated in 1792, and was elected its first vice-president. On the death of Dr. Leverett Hubbard, the first president, he was chosen to succeed him in this office, which he filled during 1794- 1801. On the organization of the medical department of Yale College in 1813, Dr. Munson's name was placed at the head of the list of professors, and although he performed no duties, he retained the title of Professor of Materia Medica and Bota- ny until his death. In addition to medi- cine and botany, he also interested him- self in chemistry and mineralogy, attain- ing considerable proficiency in these branches. He published two articles in "Cases and Observations by the Medical Society of New Haven County" (1788), and "A Letter on the Treatment Most Successful in the Cure of the Yellow Fever" (1794).
GOODRICH, Elizur,
Clergyman, Educator.
The Rev. Elizur Goodrich, D. D., was born in Wethersfield (now Rocky Hill), Connecticut. October 6, 1734, son of David and Hepzibah (Boardman) Good- rich. The family is of Saxon origin, many of its members appearing in the Domes- day Book as small holders under Norman lords. The American branch traces its descent from Dr. Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely in 1534. Ensign William Goodrich came from Hedgessett, Suffolk county, England, and settled in Wethers- field. Connecticut, in 1643; he then mar- ried Sarah Marvin, in 1648: was made a
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freeman in 1656, and in 1662 and thereafter represented Wethersfield in the General Court.
Elizur Goodrich, fourth in descent from the original settler in America, was grad- uated from Yale College in 1752, and upon taking his master's degree was en- gaged for two years as tutor in that in- stitution, meantime preparing for the ministry by theological studies. His first and only pastorate was over the Congre- gational church at Durham, Connecticut, which he retained until his death, a period of forty years. Dr. Goodrich soon attained prominence in the ministry, and was fre- quently sent by the General Association of Connecticut as a delegate to conven- tions and synods in New York and Phila- delphia. He was even more widely known as a scholar and an educator. He began teaching early in his ministry, pre- paring young men for college in order to supplement his slender income, and for twenty years continued this work with great success, more than three hundred students passing under his instruction. The library which he collected was the largest and most complete ever brought into the colonies at that time on private account. He was for many years officially connected with Yale College, becoming a fellow of the corporation in 1776, and retaining a seat on that board until his death, serving as secretary from 1777 to 1788, and was a member of its presidential committee for many years. During the ad interim administration of Dr. Daggett, following the retirement of President Clap, Dr. Goodrich was a prominent can- didate for the presidency of Yale, Dr. Stiles receiving the election by a small majority of the votes of the corporation. In addition to his ministerial duties and those in connection with the administra- tion of Yale College, he also devoted much time to mathematical studies. He calculated the eclipses each year, and his
account of the remarkable display of the aurora borealis in 1780 remains the full- est and most accurate ever published. At one time Dr. Goodrich was a candidate for Governor of Connecticut, but was not elected. He received the degree of Doc- tor of Divinity from Princeton College in 1783. He married, February 1, 1759, Katherine, daughter of the Hon. Elihu and Mary (Griswold) Chauncey, by whom he had seven children. His eldest son, Chauncey (Yale, 1776), was a mem- ber of Congress, United States Senator and Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut ; his second son, Elizur, is further men- tioned below. Dr. Elizur Goodrich died in Norfolk, Connecticut, November 22, 1797. His son,
Elizur Goodrich, LL. D., jurist. was born in Durham, Connecticut, March 24, 1761. He was prepared for college by his father and was graduated from Yale College in 1779. He then took up the study of law, and at the completion of a term of two years' service as tutor at Yale, in 1783, was admitted to the bar and began practice in New Haven. There he rose steadily in his profession, display- ing judicial qualities of mind which later brought about his elevation to the bench, on which he served seventeen years as judge of probate and twelve years as judge of the county court. As a young man he took an active interest in public affairs, associating himself with the Fed- eralist party, and was chosen a presiden- tial elector in 1797. He was elected to Congress by his party in the following year, serving for one term, 1799-1801, when he was appointed collector of cus- toms at New Haven as one of the last acts of President John Adams before re- tiring from office. On the accession of President Jefferson, in March of the same year, he was promptly removed, this act giving rise to the discussion of the ques- tion of the propriety of removal on ac-
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count of political opinion, which brought out the notable letter of Jefferson defend- ing his course and approving the practice. Judge Goodrich held the office of mayor of New Haven for nineteen years, 1803- 1822, and was long connected with Yale College in an official capacity, being Pro- fessor of Law there from 1801 to 1810, secretary of the corporation for thirty years, 1816-1846, and ex-officio fellow, and receiving the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1830. He married, September 1, 1785, Anne Willard Allen, of Great Barring- ton, Massachusetts, and had three chil- dren : Elizur Chauncey, Chauncey Allen and Nancy Goodrich. Judge Goodrich died in New Haven, November 1, 1849.
TRUMBULL, John,
Famous Historical Painter.
John Trumbull was born at Lebanon, Connecticut, June 6, 1736, son of Gov- ernor Jonathan and Faith (Robinson) Trumbull.
He attended Nathan Tisdale's school at Lebanon, and then entered Harvard Col- lege, from which he was graduated in 1773. During his student days he de- voted his leisure to painting, in which art he attracted much attention. He taught in Tisdale's school after his graduation. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, he went to Boston, and was made adjutant of the First Connecticut Regiment, Colonel Joseph Spencer com- manding. When Washington assumed command of the army before Boston, Trumbull, by creeping through the tall grass, approached the enemy's works on Boston Neck, and drew a plan of the for- tification that so pleased Washington that he appointed him his second aide-de- camp. In June. 1776, he was appointed adjutant on the staff of General Gates, with the rank of colonel, and took part in the advance upon Crown Point, and in
the subsequent retreat to Ticonderoga. In November, 1776, he joined Washing- ton in New Jersey, and in 1777 resigned from the army on account of a misunder- standing regarding his commission. He now devoted himself to the study of his art in Lebanon, and subsequently in Bos- ton, and in 1780 went to London, where he became a pupil of Benjamin West. In 1780 when the British government learned of the execution of Major Andre he was arrested and imprisoned, and on his release in 1781, set sail for America. arriving in Boston in January, 1782. The next year he returned to London and con-
tinued his studies under Benjamin West and at the Royal Academy. Conceiving the idea of painting historical pictures of scenes of the American Revolution, he went to Paris, where he painted "The Declaration of Independence" and the "Sortie from Gibraltar." As private sec- retary, he was associated with John Jay. special envoy to Great Britain (1794-96). in the executive of the Treaty of Peace. In the latter year he was appointed com- missioner to carry out the treaty negoti- ated by Jay between the United States and Great Britain. In 1804 he estab- lished himself in New York City as a portrait painter. In addition to his his- torical paintings before mentioned are : "The Battle of Bunker Hill:" "Battle of Quebec ;" "Surrender of Lord Cornwal- lis;" "Surrender of General Burgoyne :" "Washington Resigning His Commission to Congress," and "Peter the Great and Narva." His portraits include, besides thirty-four of General Washington : Gen- erals Putnam, Knox, Schuyler, Gates, Stark, Greene, Lafayette, Clinton, Mont- gomery. Lee, Moultrie, Pinckney and Arnold. He also produced portraits of John and Samuel Adams ; Clymer, Frank- lin, Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman, John Jay. Alexander Hamilton, ' Timothy Dwight, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Jona-
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than Trumbull, Rufus King, Christopher Gore, and a portrait of himself. His re- ligious paintings include : "Our Saviour with Little Children," and "The Woman Accused of Adultery." In 1831, being re- duced to poverty, he arranged with Yale College to bestow upon the college his unsold paintings for an annuity of one thousand dollars for the remainder of his life. After his death the proceeds of these paintings were used for the education of poor students at Yale. He died in New York City, November 10, 1843.
PARSONS, Samuel H.,
Revolutionary Soldier, Pioneer in Ohio.
General Samuel Holden Parsons was born at Lyme, Connecticut, May 14, 1737, son of Rev. Jonathan Parsons, who was one of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal church in America.
Samuel Holden Parsons completed his education at Harvard College, from which he was graduated in 1756, after which he studied law: was admitted to the bar, and practiced for many years in Lyme. he was for eighteen years a member of the Provincial Assembly, and an active leader of the patriot party in the years immediately preceding the Revolution. In 1773 he removed to New London, where in April. 1775, he was commis- sioned colonel of the Sixth Connecticut Regiment. Two weeks afterward he en- tered upon active duty, and planned the expedition which under the command of Ethan Allen effected the capture of Ti- conderoga, and with it a large number of prisoners and considerable military stores. He was promoted to brigadier-general in August, 1776, and after taking part in the battles of Long Island. Harlem Heights and White Plains, for some time guarded the posts on the North River. Subse- quently he served under Washington in the New Jersey campaign. In 1778 Gen-
eral Parsons commanded in the New York Highlands, and in July, 1779, he gave battle to a British force at Norwalk, Connecticut, forcing them to retire from the State. In 1780 he was a member of the court that tried Major Andre, and in the same year was promoted to be major-gen- eral and assigned to the command of the Connecticut Line, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. It has been charged against General Parsons that he, during the Revolution, through the medium of William Heron, a member of the Connecticut Legislature, held com- munication with Sir Henry Clinton and supplied him with information of the movements and condition of the patriot troops ; but this accusation was refuted by George B. Loring in a pamphlet en- titled "A Vindication of General Par- sons," published in 1888. General Par- sons was the author of an essay on the "Antiquities of the Western States." pub- lished in the transactions of the Ameri- can Academy.
General Parsons was primarily instru- mental in opening up for settlement the region now comprised in the State of Ohio. In 1785 Congress appointed him as one of the commissioners to treat with the Miami Indians for cessions of land in the Ohio country. Two years later he was made judge for the Northwest Terri- tory, and Washington, soon after his in- auguration as President, made him chief justice of that territory. During his stay in that region, he became familiar with the land ; and he bought a tract of twenty- five thousand acres from the commis- sioners appointed by the Legislature of Connecticut to sell "Western Reserve" lands. This tract, in Trumbull county, Ohio, he undoubtedly chose because the Indians and traders had cleared land in that neighborhood, for the reason that the springs found there contained brackish water from which he hoped to
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manufacture salt, and for the further reason that Pittsburgh was comparative- ly near at hand. However, he never occupied his purchase, having come to his death by drowning, November 17. 1789, in the Beaver river, while journey- ing homeward. He had actually paid little if any money for the land, and it was in controversy for some time. The Connecticut Land Company ignored the transaction, terming the claim by Par- son's heirs "a pretended claim:" but the company ultimately abandoned it to his heirs.
MITCHELL, Stephen Mix, Congressman, Jurist.
Stephen Mix Mitchell was born at Wethersfield, Connecticut, December 9, 1743. He was educated at Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1763, and taught in his alma mater from 1766 to 1769. He then studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1772, practicing in his native town.
He was elected a delegate to the Con- tinental Congress in 1783, serving by re- election until 1787, meantime also serving as associate justice of the Hartford County Court, of which he was presiding judge from 1790 to 1795. He was a United States Senator (1793-95), filling the seat made vacant by the death of Roger Sherman, and as such was instru- mental in establishing Connecticut's title to the "Western Reserve" tract in Ohio, which was subsequently sold for the benefit of the school fund. He became judge of the Superior Court of the State in 1795, and in 1807 was made its Chief Justice, holding the office until 1814, when age disqualified him. In 1805 he was a Whig presidential elector. The de- gree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by Yale College in 1807. He died in his native town, September 30. 1835.
IVES, Eli,
Physician of Note.
The surname Ives is derived from the name Iver or Ives, Gaelic, meaning chief or leader, and the family in England doubtless takes its name from St. Ives, County Huntington, England, or some other locality, though it may have been adopted from a personal name, as many other surnames have been. John Ives, of the Manor Woodnos, in Orington, Nor- folk, left his estate to his son Thomas, then less than twenty years old. The father died October 23, 1568.
Captain William Ives, believed to have been of the county of Norfolk family, was born in England, and came to Boston in the ship "Truelove," in 1635. In 1639 he located at New Haven, Connecticut, his name appearing in the civil compact, dated June 4. 1639, and in the allotment to the first settlers. He and his wife had seats in the meeting house at New Haven in 1646. His son, Captain Joseph Ives, was born about 1660, and married Mary Yale. His son, Samuel Ives, was born in Wallingford, Connecticut. June 5, 1696. He married Mary Gilbert. His son, Dr. Levi Ives, was born at New Haven, June 1, 1750, and died there October 17, 1826. He was a physician and surgeon of rare qualifications and wide practice. He was a patriot in the Revolutionary days, served in the continental army as surgeon, and was at Quebec with General Montgomery. He practiced at New Haven from 1773 to the time of his death. From 1773 to the present day there has been at least one Dr. Ives among the leading physicians of New Haven, and since 1801 an "Old Dr. Ives," as the senior doctor of this remark- able family has been called affectionately by his patients and the public. Dr. Ives was an active, conscientious and success- ful physician, who won the reputation of a public-spirited and patriotic citizen in troublous times. During the Revolution
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he was frequently in active service as sur- geon to the forces in the field. Once he bore a lieutenant's commission in the line during the campaign against General Burgoyne.
When the British made their wearisome and futile expedition from Savin Rock to New Haven, he was one of the hardy guerilla volunteers that maintained a waspish resistance to the slow advance of the enemy, and he was not only a sur- geon but a sharpshooter himself. He married Lydia Augur. His son, Dr. Eli Ives, was born at New Haven, February 7. 1779. As a youth he was studious and earnest. He fitted for college partly through his own exertions and partly under the tuition of Dr. Aeneas Munson and Rev. A. R. Robbins of Norwalk, Con- necticut. He entered Yale College and was graduated in the class of 1799. Pro- fessors J. L. Kingsley and Moses Stuart were classmates. He was for two years rector of the Hopkins Grammar School of New Haven. He declined the tutor- ship offered to him in Yale College, and proceeded to study medicine under the instruction of his father and Dr. Aeneas Munson, a physician of unusual attain- ments in botany and chemistry. He at- tended lectures under Drs. Rush and Wooster in Philadelphia, and in 1801 began to practice in New Haven in asso- ciation with his honored father. He achieved a notable success in practice from the outset. He was an influential factor in the establishment of the Yale Medical School in 1813, and became one of the first five instructors, as assistant professor of materia medica and botany, conducting all the duties of that depart- ment for a period of sixteen years. He devoted much time and labor to the making of a botanic garden, which was located on the present site of the Sheffield Scientific School. In 1829 he was trans- ferred to the department of theory and
practice of medicine, and continued in this chair until he resigned in 1852 on account of age and infirmity. During the thirty-nine years in which he was a teacher in the Yale Medical School he had in his classes more than fifteen hun- dred students. He had the advantage in youth of being the son of a learned and able physician, and he began his career with a thorough and practical knowledge of medicine and a good general education. He was versed in Latin and Greek and ranked well in college. When he was but twenty-three years old he was honored by his selection as the Phi Beta Kappa orator. He spoke on botany and chem- istry. He had the additional advantage of studying under Rush, Shippen, Wistar and Barton, at the University of Pennsyl- vania, then the best of their profession in this country. He was given the degree of M. D. causa honoris, by the Connecticut Medical Society. Though his practice was large, he was not strict in his busi- ness methods and he was satisfied with modest fees when he might have acquired wealth. His skill in the use of medicine showed a wide acquaintance with drugs not then generally known, and he was always a leader in study and practice. He and his eldest son, Dr. N. B. Ives, in 1832 applied chloroform, discovered by Samuel Guthrie, of Sacketts Harbor, and de- scribed in the "Journal of Science" that year, but just failed of discovering its properties and usefulness as an anaes- thetic. He was a member of the conven- tion of physicians that framed the first United States Pharmacopeia in 1820, and ten years later at the next meeting of the convention he was the presiding officer. He was vice-president of the Connecticut Medical Society, 1824-27, and in 1861 was president of the American Medical Asso- ciation. He was a candidate for lieuten- ant-governor of Connecticut on the Anti- Masonic ticket in 1831. He was simple
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in his tastes and lived plainly. It has been said that his face was a plain index of his character, showing a charming com- bination of benevolence, shrewdness and simplicity and often lighted with mirth- fulness. He enjoyed the privilege and happiness of a serene and beautiful old age, closely surrounded and consulted by two sons and one grandson, all engaged with conspicuous success in the practice of medicine. He was tender and generous in disposition and made many friends among all ages and classes.
He was a man of varied interests, lov- ing horticulture and agriculture especi- ally, and was president of the horticul- tural and pomological societies. He was an earnest promoter of the Shef- field Scientific School. He sought after the truth, it has been said, in all its forms, and recognized the common bond which connects arts and sciences. He received many diplomas and degrees from institutions of learning in this country and abroad. He possessed a retentive memory, clear insight and profound knowledge of many things. He had the courage to undertake bold treatment in desperate cases. In all the walks of life he was thoroughly honorable and upright. He was one of the founders of the New Haven Medical Association, and was active in the State Medical Society. When an old man, he was president of the National Medical Association. He was an earnest opponent of slavery, and an advocate of total abstinence, when his position on both issues was extremely unpopular. He joined the North Congre- gational Church in 1808 and was a promi- nent member for many years.
Dr. Ives married, September 17, 1805, Maria, daughter of Dr. Nathan and Mary (Phelps) Beers. Her father was an adju- tant in the Revolution, and had charge of Major Andre the night before his execu-
tion. During that time Major Andre drew a pen portrait of himself and gave it to Mr. Beers. This interesting heir- loom is now in the Yale Art Gallery. Children of Dr. and Mrs. Ives: Levi and Nathan Beers. Dr. Ives died October 8, 1861.
SWIFT, Zephaniah,
Lawyer, Jurist, Author.
Zephaniah Swift was born in Ware- ham, Massachusetts, February 27. 1759, and died in Warren, Ohio, September 27. 1823. He was a son of Roland and Mary (Dexter) Swift, grandson of Jireh and Abigail (Gibbs) Swift, great-grandson of William and Ruth Swift, and a descend- ant of William Swyft, born in England, who settled at Sandwich in 1638.
He was graduated from Yale College. A. B., in 1778, and received the A. M. de- gree in 1781. He studied law, and upon his admission to the bar settled at Wind- ham, Connecticut, where his thorough preparation for the work and unusual ability and talent procured him a large practice, which steadily increased. He was a Federalist representative from Con- necticut in the Third and Fourth Con- gresses, 1793-97. In 1800 he served as secretary to Oliver Ellsworth, United States Minister to France, 1800. He was judge of the State Supreme Court, 1801- 06, and Chief Justice, 1806-19. He was several times elected to the State Legis- lature, and was one of a committee to revise the statute laws of the State. He was a member of the New England Fed- cralist Convention at Hartford, Connecti- cut, December 15, 1814. He received the honorary degree of LL. D. from Yale College in 1817, and from Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1821. He was the author of and published the following works: "Oration on Domestic Slavery"
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