USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 1 > Part 16
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are : "Remedy for Duelling" (1809), "Six Sermons on Temperance" (1842), "Ser- mons on Various Occasions," "Views in Theology," "Skepticism," "Lectures on Various Occasions," "Political Atheism," etc. He died in Brooklyn, New York, January 10, 1863.
LAW, Lyman, Lawyer and Congressman.
Lyman Law was born in New London, Connecticut, August 19, 1770, died there, February 3, 1842. He was a son of Rich- ard and Ann (Prentiss) Law, and on the maternal side was a lineal descendant of William Brewster, who came to this country on the "Mayflower" in 1620.
After acquiring a rudimentary educa- tion in the common schools of New Lon- don, he enrolled as a student at Yale Col- lege, from which institution of learning he graduated in the class of 1791. Hav- ing chosen the profession of law as his life work, he studied under the preceptor- ship of his father, and after a successful competitive examination was admitted to the bar of his native State. He opened an office for the active practice of his pro- fession in New London, and became an eminent counsellor of that town, honored, respected and esteemed. He was equally prominent in public affairs, being well qualified both by knowledge and experi- ence, and he served faithfully and well in every capacity. He was a representative in the State Legislature, and during one session was speaker of that body. His ability being recognized, he was placed on the Federal ticket as a candidate for the National Legislature, and was elected, serving from 1811 to 1817 in the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses, the service he rendered amply proving his qualifications for public life. He married a daughter of Amasa and Grace (Hal- lum) Learned.
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WILLEY, Calvin,
Lawyer, Legislator.
Calvin Willey was born in East Had- dam, Connecticut, September 15, 1776, died in Stafford, Connecticut, August 23, 1838. After completing his studies in the institutions of learning in his native State, he placed himself under the com- petent instruction of John T. Peters, and was admitted to the bar in 1798, and established himself for active practice in Stafford, Connecticut. He was a repre- sentative in the State Legislature, lower house, serving continuously for nine years; State Senator for two years ; post- master at Stafford Springs, 1806-08, and at Tolland, whither he removed from 1808 to 1816; probate judge for the Staf- ford district for seven years ; presidential elector on the John Quincy Adams ticket in 1824, and on December 29, 1825, he was elected United States Senator, filling the place of James Lanman, whose ap- pointinent was not accepted, and con- tinued as a member of the upper house until March 3, 1831, when he retired to his private practice at Stafford, in which place he spent the remainder of his days.
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GOODWIN, James,
Representative Citizen.
The surname Goodwin is of ancient English origin, derived from the per- sonal name, Godwin, meaning good friend. Ozias Goodwin, ancestor of the line herein followed, was born in Essex county, England, in 1596, came to this country in 1632, was a resident of Hart- ford, Connecticut, and died in the spring of 1683. His son, Nathaniel Goodwin. was born about 1637, and died January 8, 1713-14. He resided in Hartford. His son, Ozias (2) Goodwin, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, June 26, 1689, and died January 26, 1776. He held various
public offices. His son, Jonathan Good- win, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and died there, September 2, 1811. He was a farmer and innkeeper, and was cor- poral of the Hartford train band which for several years performed escort duty to the Governor. He married, November 26, 1761, Eunice Olcott, and they were the parents of James Goodwin, of this review.
James Goodwin, son of Jonathan Good- win, was born in Hartford, December 27, 1777, died September 13, 1844. He inher- ited the property on the Albany road, and after 1783 spent his whole life on the homestead.
During the War of 1812 the recruiting barracks (standing in 1890) were nearly opposite his house. He added to his hold- ing of real estate in the neighborhood, and among other properties bought about fifty acres on the south side of the Albany road, nearly opposite his place, giving it to his son Jonathan for a home. He was first lieutenant of the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, in 1807, and be- came its captain in 1809, when General Nathaniel Terry was made the first major of the guard, which then became famous as a military organization.
Following his father, he attended the old First (Centre) Church, but when the present church edifice was built (1807) his attendance there became less regular, and by 1820 had ceased altogether, thus ending the connection of the family with the church, which they had attended from the settlement of the town. Most of the family have since been connected with the Episcopal church. Mr. Goodwin was physically a larger man than his father- the tallest of the family-standing over six feet, and weighing over two hundred pounds. He was strong and active, in youth fond of athletic sports, a deep, clear thinker, of kind and tender feelings. Two silhouettes, representing Mr. and Mrs.
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Goodwin, were in possession of their daughter, Mrs. Walter Keney, in 1890, the profiles furnishing an interesting study in the lines of character.
They and their descendants have been prominent and useful citizens of Hartford during the whole of this century, quiet, conservative people, as a rule, but hold- ing firmly to their own convictions, thrifty, home-loving, and public-spirited citizens. They have been generally suc- cessful in business, and also have used their property for the improvement of the city, the construction of better buildings, for the development of home industries, and for Hartford's prosperity as well as their own. In politics they have been Federalists, then Whigs, and then Repub- licans.
James Goodwin married. in Winton- bury (now Bloomfield), Connecticut, March 3, 1799, Eunice Roberts, born there August 22, 1774, died of typhus fever, Au- gust 13, 1825, daughter of Captain Lem- uel and Ruth (Woodford) Roberts, and a descendant of John Roberts, who in 1688 became a resident of Simsbury, Connecti- cut. Children : 1. Jonathan, born Decem- ber 23, 1799, mentioned below. 2. James. March 2, 1803. 3. Mary Jeannette, De- cember 6, 1813; married Walter Keney.
Jonathan (2), son of James Goodwin, was born on the homestead in Hartford. December 23, 1799. died October 8, 1877.
His education was of the common schools and the select private school of John J. White, a teacher of considerable distinction in Hartford during the early years of the nineteenth century. The in- fluence of this school he carried through life, and he was fond of referring to the educational drill and the fundamental principles which he mastered there, and subsequently taught to others. In early manhood he employed his winters in teaching, but his principal occupation
through life was that of a farmer. His farm was on Albany avenue, and came to him from his father in 1827, and this he occupied without change during his en- tire married life. When quite young he became interested in military affairs, and in May, 1818, enlisted as a private in the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, with which his family was already identi- fied. He was promoted, step by step, to be captain in 1828, and major in 1830. He resigned in 1832, but was reelected major in 1861, and resigned in 1862. He held various public offices by the gift of the people-representative to the Legislature in 1836; assessor in 1838 and from 1846 to 1862; member of the board of relief in 1840-43-44-45; selectman from 1842 to 1852 and a member of the high school committee in 1849. He was one of the incorporators of the Hartford Hospital in 1854, and from August, 1859, until his death, a director of the Farmers' and Me- chanics' Bank.
He was a tall man, of large frame and commanding presence, and throughout his life enjoyed the entire confidence and re- spect of all who knew him. In politics he was a Whig in the times of Webster and Clay, and a Republican in the times of Buchanan and Lincoln. In religion he was a Unitarian, and one of the organ- izers of the Unitarian church of Hartford. His convictions led him to adopt the teachings of Dr. Channing and others of the same school, to whose writings he gave most careful thought and earnest attention. He had an unbounded charity for the convictions of others, but made no compromises with his own. Of sound judgment and economical habits, he ac- cumulated a good property. He found his chief enjoyment in the quiet of his home, the society of his family, and in his books.
He married, at East Windsor, Connec- ticut, June 7, 1826 (Rev. Thomas Rob-
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bins, D. D., officiating), Clarinda New- berry, born January 1, 1800, died May 5, 1866, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ellsworth) Newberry, and a descendant of John Ellsworth and Benjamin New- berry, two of the settlers of ancient Wind- sor, and also a descendant of Rev. Timo- thy Edwards, of East Windsor.
WILLIAMS, Thomas Scott, Lawyer, Public Official.
The Williams family is of English de- scent, and Robert Williams, immigrant ancestor of the line herein followed, set- tled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, after his emigration to this country. He died there, in September, 1693. His son, Cap- tain Isaac Williams, was born in Rox- bury, September 1, 1638, settled in New- ton, Massachusetts, and was deputy to the General Court. His son. the Rev. William Williams, was born February 2. 1665. He was a graduate of Harvard College in 1683, and settled at Hatfield, Massachusetts, in 1685, as a minister. He died suddenly at an advanced age. about 1746. His son, the Rev. Solomon Wil- liams, was born June 4. 1701, and died in 1769 or 1776. He was a graduate of Har- vard College in 1719; was ordained De- cember 5. 1722, and was a distinguished minister at Lebanon, Connecticut. His son, Ezekiel Williams, was born in Leb- anon, Connecticut, May 4, 1729, and died February 12, 1818. He resided in Wethersfield, Connecticut. He was ac- tive in the service of his country during the Revolution. He was from 1774 until his death deacon of the Church of Christ in Wethersfield. He married, November 6. 1760, his second cousin, Prudence Stod- dard, daughter of Colonel John Stoddard. of Northampton, Massachusetts, and they were the parents of Thomas Scott Wil- liams, of whom further.
Thomas Scott Williams, son of Ezekiel
Williams, was born June 26, 1777, at Wethersfield. He was educated at Yale College, from which he graduated in 1794. He attended Judge Reeves' lectures at Litchfield from March 4, 1797, until the summer of 1798; he then read law with Zephaniah Swift, Esquire, of Windham county, from August, 1798, to February. 1799, when he was admitted to the bar in Windham county. He removed to Hartford in December, 1803. In 1809 he was appointed attorney of the board of managers of the school fund, and held the position about a year, when the board it- self was superseded. He represented the town of Hartford in the General Assem- bly, October, 1813, to October, 1815. when he was appointed clerk in the House of Representatives, October, 1816. and again clerk in 1819-25-27-29. He rep- resented the State in the Fifteenth Congress of the United States, from March 4. 1817, to March 4, 1819. In May, 1829, he was oppointed associate judge of the Supreme Court of Errors, from and after Decent- ber 30, 1834. From March, 1831, to April. 1835. he was mayor of Hartford. In Au- gust, 1834, he received from the corpora- tion of Yale College the honorary degree of LL. D. Soon after he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, in which office he continued until ( 1847) he attained the age at which he was no longer eligible. Judge Wil- liams was as highly esteemed in his na- tive State, and perhaps in New England. as any man who was contemporary with him. He was closely identified with the public life of both city and State and with most of Hartford's financial and charit- able institutions.
He married (first) January 7, 1813. Delia, youngest daughter of Hon. Chief Justice Ellsworth, of the United States Supreme Court. She was born January 23. 1789, and was a sister of the wife of his brother Ezekiel. She died June 25,
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1840. He married (second) November I, 1843, Martha M., daughter of Elisha Coit, of New York City. She died April 22, 1867, in Boston. Judge Williams died December 22, 1861. He had no children by either marriage.
SILLIMAN, Benjamin, Scientist.
Benjamin Silliman was born in New Stratford (now Trumbull), Connecticut, August 8, 1779, was a descendant of a dis- tinguished family, presumably of Swiss origin. From the early colonial days some of its members have been residents of Fairfield, Connecticut. Ebenezer Silli- man. grandfather of Benjamin Silliman, was graduated from Yale College in 1727, and Gold S. Silliman, the father, in 1752. The last named was a lawyer, and during the Revolutionary War served efficiently as brigadier-general of State militia. He enjoyed the confidence of Governor Trum- bull, and for a time was charged with the protection of the Long Island coast, which his residence at Fairfield readily enabled him to have in charge. In 1780 a party of British troops took General Silliman prisoner. but he was exchanged six months later for Judge Jones, of Long Island, who had been taken by the Con- tinentals by way of retaliation. The mother of Benjamin Silliman was a daughter of the Rev. Joseph Fish, for fifty years pastor of the Second Church of Stonington. General Silliman had two sons, Benjamin being the younger.
General Silliman dying in 1790, the task of educating young Benjamin de- veloped upon his mother. He was fitted for college, entered Yale and was gradu- ated in the same class with his brother, at the age of seventeen years. Three years later he was appointed a tutor, and served in that position five years. After his graduation he spent some time in studying law, and was admitted to the
New Haven bar in 1802, but almost im- mediately abandoned his intention of fol- lowing that profession in order to devote himself to the study of chemistry and natural history. This radical change in his plans came through the influence of Dr. Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College, who had seen the young man's capacity to teach and govern tested dur- ing his several years' experience as a tutor. After two years spent in Philadel- phia as a pupil of Dr. Woodhouse, in preparation for his new occupation, he de- livered a partial course of lectures on chemistry, a science then in its infancy, to the students of the college at New Haven. In the winter of 1805 he gave his first full course of lectures, and then visited Europe to further prosecute his studies, returning after an absence of fourteen months and resuming his pro- fessorship. He subsequently published an account of his European tour, entitled "Journal of Travel in England, Holland and Scotland, and Two Passages on the Atlantic, in the Years 1805 and 1806." Shortly afterward he made a geological survey of a part of Connecticut, which is believed to have been the first geological exploration in the United States. In con- junction with Professor Kingsley he pub- lished a paper on the famous Weston me- teorite. In 1818 he founded the "Ameri- can Journal of Science and Arts," of which he was sole editor for twenty years, and for eight subsequent years senior editor. Bowdoin College conferred upon him the degree of M. D. in 1818, and Middlebury (Vermont) College gave him the LL. D. degree in 1826. In the years between 1835 and 1840 Professor Silliman gave courses of lectures in most of the principal cities in the United States, and he was also invited to deliver the Lowell lectures at about the same time. He made a second visit to Europe in 1851. In 1853 he resigned his professorship, and was
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made professor emeritus; but at the re- quest of his colleagues he continued to lecture on geology until June, 1855, when he gave his closing academic course.
Professor Silliman was an active and valued member of numerous American and European scientific societies. He was preëminent as a teacher, and as a lecturer he was almost unsurpassed. A biogra- pher said, "Without a severe logical method, he threw so much zeal into his discourse, expressed himself with such an attractive rhetoric, and supported his doc- trine by experiments of such almost un- failing beauty and success, that all audi- ences delighted to hear him; so that for years no lecturer so attractive could ad- dress an assembly, whether gathered within the walls of a college or from the people of crowded cities." Outside of the lecture room, by the profound investiga- tions given to the world through the press, he rendered invaluable service to the cause of science, and he was aptly styled by Edward Everett, "the Nestor of American science." Professor Silliman opposed to slavery in all its forms, and subscribed to aid in arming the Kansas colonists for their contest with the pro- slaveryites. He was an earnest advocate of the prosecution of the Civil War. Pro- fessor Silliman was a finished gentleman, and a social favorite. His person was commanding, his manner dignified and affable, and his general traits of character such as to win universal respect and ad- miration.
He married a daughter of the second Governor Jonathan Trumbull, of Con- necticut, and had a family of two daugh- ters, and one son who afterward rose to eminence as a chemist. A bronze statue of Professor Silliman stands upon the university grounds at New Haven. His life in two volumes was written by Pro- fessor G. P. Fisher. He died in New Haven, November 24, 1864.
EDWARDS, Henry W.,
United States Senator, Governor.
Henry Waggaman Edwards, tenth, elev- enth and twelfth Governor of Connecticut (1833-34; 1835-38), was born at New Haven, Connecticut, in October, 1779, second son of Hon. Pierrepont and Frances (Ogden) Edwards, and grandson of Jonathan Ed- wards, the great theologian. His father, a graduate of Princeton, served in the Revolutionary army and in the Conti- nental Congress, practiced law in New Haven for many years, and at the time of his death was a judge of the United States District Court. His mother was a daughter of Moses Ogden, of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Henry W. Edwards was graduated from Princeton College in 1797, and then studied for his chosen profession at the Litchfield (Connecticut) Law School, after which he settled in New Haven, and engaged in practice. He was twice elected to Congress as a Democrat, serv- ing from December 6, 1819, until March 3, 1823. He next entered the Senate, ap- pointed to fill vacancy caused by the death of Elijah Boardman, serving from December 1, 1823, until March 4, 1827. He was a member of the State Senate in 1827-29, and of the House of Representa- tives, of which he was speaker in 1830. In 1833, the year of his election as Gov- ernor, he received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Yale College. During his administration he recommended a geo- logical and mineralogical survey of the State, which was made. "As a man and citizen," says the biographer, Blake, "Governor Edwards practiced the cardi- nal virtues, was true and sincere in his professions and attachments-benevolent, hospitable and frank. In public life he was safe, firm in his principles, yet cour- teous, patriotic, attentive and intelligent."
He was married to Lydia, daughter of
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John and Lydia Miller, who bore him four sons and a daughter. Their son, Henry Pierrepont, was judge of the Su- preme Court of New York for upwards of seven years. Governor Edwards died at New Haven, Connecticut, July 22, 1847.
TOMLINSON, Gideon,
Governor, United States Senator.
The earliest ancestor in this country of Governor Tomlinson was Thomas Tom- linson, who took the freeman's oath at New Haven, Connecticut, about 1644, re- moved to Milford in 1652, and thence to the town of Stratford. Among his de- scendants was Gideon Tomlinson, grand- father of Governor Tomlinson, who was an officer in the Colonial army, and who was present at the capture of Ticonder- oga, May 10, 1775. He married Hannah, daughter of Colonel Jabez Huntington, of Windham. His son, Jabez Hunting- ton Tomlinson, while a student at Yale, in 1779, returned to Stratford to visit the family of his betrothed, and while there was captured by a party of British or Tory raiders and taken to New York. On his release he entered the army ; in April, 1780, was appointed ensign of Colonel Samuel B. Webb's Continental regiment, and was one of the officers detailed to guard Major Andre's quarters during his captivity and trial. In return for some kindness, he received a pen and ink sketch of Major Andre, which is pre- served in the library of Yale College. He married Rebecca Lewis.
Gideon Tomlinson, eighth Governor of Connecticut, was born at Oronoque, Stratford, Fairfield county, Connecticut, December 31, 1780, and died at Greenfield Hill, October 8, 1854. After completing his studies in the schools of his native place, he matriculated at Yale College, from which institution of learning he was
graduated in 1802, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then turned his attention to the study of law, was later admitted to the bar, and removed to Fair- field, where he engaged in the active practice of his profession, making his home on Greenfield Hill, in that town, and there spent the remainder of his days. He was elected a representative from Connecticut to the Sixteenth and to the three succeeding Congresses, 1819-27. He was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1827, and by successive reëlections_ to 1831, when he resigned the governorship to enter the United States Senate, serv- ing from 1831 to 1837, a period of six years, and on the expiration of his term of office withdrew to private life. In politics he was a Whig. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Yale, 1808, and the degree of Doctor of Laws from Trinity in 1827; and was a trustee of Trinity College, 1832-36. He married Sarah Bradley, of Greenfield Hill, and they were the parents of two sons, both of whom died young.
FOOTE, Samuel A., Governor, National Legislator.
Samuel Augustus Foote was born at Cheshire, New Haven county, Connecti- cut, November 8, 1780, son of Rev. John Foote, a graduate of Yale in 1765, and pastor of Congregational churches at Branford and Cheshire. His first an- cestor in this country, Nathaniel Foote, of Colchester, England, became a settler of Wethersfield, where he married Eliza- beth Deming. Samuel A. Foote's mother was Abigail, daughter of Rev. Samuel Hall, of Wallingford, and granddaughter of Governor Jonathan Law.
Samuel Augustus Foote completed his literary education at Yale, graduating in 1797, in his seventeenth year, having as classmates Lyman Beecher and other
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men who became noted. He then began the study of law at Litchfield, under Judge Tapping Reeve, but his health, which had always been delicate, began to fail, and he was obliged to engage in ac- tive life. In 1803 he engaged in business in New Haven as junior partner with his wife's father, in the West India trade, occasionally making voyages, and so con- tinued until 1813. The crippling of busi- ness by the war and the infirmity of his father led him to return to Cheshire, and there he resided until his death. He was in public life continuously from 1817 until 1835, serving in the legislature repeatedly, and was speaker of the house in 1825-26. He was elected to Congress as a Whig, and served in 1819-21, and again in 1823- 25. In 1827-33 he served a term in the United States Senate, and was renomi- nated, but was defeated by Nathan Smith. In December, 1829, while in the Senate, he introduced a resolution instructing the committee on public lands to inquire into the expediency of limiting the sale of public lands, etc., which aroused the Senators of the west, who claimed it to be a part of a plan concocted by eastern Senators to check migration to the west and to hinder the growth of that section. The southern Senators joined those of the west and added to the motive the charge that the eastern Senators desired to limit the public revenue and centralize the government. This sentiment was voiced by Senator Robert T. Hayne, of South Carolina, and replied to by Senator Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, which re- sulted in their celebrated debate that in- volved the constitutional right of seces- sion. The controversy thus begun still further separated the two sections of the Union, and paved the way for the Civil War. The "second speech on Foote's resolution," generally called the "reply to Hayne," delivered January 26-27, 1830, has always been regarded as the greatest
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