USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 1 > Part 22
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Governor Seymour died at Hartford, Connecticut, September 3, 1868, and was buried with military and Masonic honors. Charles H. Pond, Lieutenant-Governor, served as Acting Governor in 1853-54.
ELTON, John Prince, Banker and Public Official.
The surname Elton is of ancient Eng- lish origin, taken from some place name. As early as 1500 the family of this name was well known in Wiltshire, England. One of the early settlers of Southold, Long Island, was an Elton, and was ad- mitted a freeman of Connecticut in 1662.
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John Elton, the progenitor of the line here under consideration, came from Bris- tol, England, and settled finally in Mid- dletown, Connecticut. His son, Ebenezer Elton, was born in Middletown, May II, 1686, and was lost at sea when a young man; his home was in Branford, Con- necticut. His son, Ebenezer (2) Elton, was born in Branford in 1712, removed from there to Middletown, and later to Harwinton, Connecticut. His son, Dr. John (2) Elton, was born in Harwinton or Waterbury, October 6, 1755, died at Watertown, October 9, 1800. He was a leading physician and surgeon, and served in the latter capacity in the Revolutionary War, a member of Lieutenant-Colonel Baldwin's regiment. His son, Dr. Samuel Elton, was born at Watertown, Septem- ber 6, 1780, died December 8, 1858. For sixty years he practiced the profession of medicine, beloved by all with whom he was brought in contact. He married Bet- sey Merriman, of Watertown, and they were the parents of John Prince Elton, of this review.
John Prince Elton, son of Dr. Samuel Elton, was born in Watertown, April 24, 1809. He attended the district schools of his native town, and when about fifteen years old became a pupil in the school of Simeon Hart, of Farmington. He after- ward worked on his father's farm until 1832, when he came to Waterbury. Con- necticut, to become a partner in the firm of Holmes & Hotchkiss. He had become used to hard labor on the farm and at once took his place in the mill and made himself thoroughly familiar with all the practical details of the business. It was his practice for many years not only to share in the manual labor in the mill, but to walk to and from business, a distance of two miles. The firm of Holmes & Hotchkiss was organized with a number of partners in 1830 and began the manu- facture of brass at Waterbury. Mr. Elton
came into the firm two years later with a thousand dollars in capital, making the total investment nine thousand dollars. The factory was on Mad river. The firm made sheet brass chiefly at first. Mr. Elton and Philo Brown, who had been special partners, became general partners, January 30, 1833, and the name was changed to Holmes, Hotchkiss, Brown & Elton. In January, 1837, the name be- came Hotchkiss, Brown & Elton, and a year later, Brown & Elton, continuing thus until the partnership was dissolved. The capital was at this time $40,000, all derived from earnings except the $12,000 invested by the partners. In February, 1838, the firm became a limited partner- ship and the stock was raised to $75,000, afterward to $100,000. The company was never incorporated, however. From time to time brass wire, brass and copper tubing and other articles were added to the output of the concern and this firm may be considered the pioneer of the brass wire industry in the United States. The manufacture of tubing, although at- tended with many difficulties and discour- agements at first, became a very impor- tant and profitable branch of the business. In April, 1842, the firm bought a third- interest in the business of Slocum, Jillson & Company, the pioneers in making solid- headed pins in this country, and in Sep- tember acquired the ownership of the Fowler pin machine. In 1846 the pin- making business of Brown & Elton was incorporated with that of Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company under the name of the American Pin Company. with a capital of $50,000, making one of the staple industries of Waterbury. Mr. Elton retired from the firm in 1850, on account of ill health, and the firm was dissolved in 1856, half the business going to the firm of Brown & Brothers, the other half to Holmes, Booth & Haydens.
In 1845 Mr. Elton had become inter-
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ested in the Waterbury Brass Company, was one of the first directors, and in 1855 was elected its president, an office he held until his death. After the dissolution of Brown & Elton in 1856 Mr. Elton was not actively engaged in manufacturing, but he devoted much time to the various cor- porations, industrial and financial, in which he was interested. He was elected president of the Waterbury Bank, De- cember II, 1850, to succeed Judge Bron- son, and he held this office until his death. In 1860 he established a private banking house called at first the Elton Trust Com- pany and later the Elton Banking Com- pany, organized under the joint-stock law and continued after the death of Mr. El- ton by his son-in-law, C. N. Wayland, until 1877.
He was elected to the General Assem- bly of Connecticut in 1840-49-50 as a can- didate of the Whig party. He was one of the founders of the Republican party and was elected as a Republican to the General Assembly again in 1863. He was a presidential elector in 1864, but he died two days after he was elected. He was a member of the Episcopal church and throughout his life contributed liberally to the expenses and benevolence of St. John's parish. On the day of his funeral, which took place on Sunday afternoon at the house at which public worship was then usually held, all the Protestant churches of the city were closed as by a common impulse, to give the members of the congregations opportunity to pay their last respects to Mr. Elton. In early manhood he enjoyed a vigorous constitu- tion and for many years performed a large amount of physical and mental labor. He was, however, twice prostrated by illness which partly unfitted him for continuous work. His final illness lasted but ten days and he died in the zenith of his career, full of plans and hopes for the
future. He was kindly, earnest and sym- pathetic by nature. While always bear- ing heavy cares and responsibilities of his own, men came to him constantly for aid and advice in their private affairs and they never came in vain, for he was always ready to give to others the benefit of his experience and judgment, and to help the unfortunate. He often used to say that he was troubled in mind more by the affairs of those in whom he had no more than a friendly interest than with his own extensive business. He gave evidence often of his large public spirit and fond- ness for the city of his home. He was one of the greatest of the captains of in- dustry in his day, having a large part in creating the great manufacturing city of Waterbury. A public memorial service was held after his death to give expres- sion to the feeling of appreciation of his usefulness and service and of regret at his loss. He was a generous benefactor of Trinity College.
He married, May 18, 1835, Olive Mar- garet, born June 25, 1816, died November 2, 1892, daughter of Captain Moses Hall. Children, born at Waterbury: Lucy Eliz- abeth, April 16, 1837, married C. N. Way- land; James Samuel, November 7, 1838; Charles Prince, August 17, 1840, died April 12, 1845; John Moses, March 19, 1845, died aged eighteen years.
BURRITT, Elihu,
Accomplished Linguist, Philanthropist.
Elihu Burritt was born in New Britain, Connecticut, December 8, 1810, son of Elihu Burritt, and grandson of Elihu Bur- ritt, both soldiers in the Revolution.
He was brought up on the home farm, and upon the death of his father in 1828 he apprenticed himself to a blacksmith. He was extremely studious, and was as- sisted by his brother, who conducted a
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small academy which Elihu attended for a time. With his brother's help he mas- tered Greek, Latin and mathematics, and the modern languages. He became a grocer, but the financial crisis of 1837 wrecked his business, whereupon he removed to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he resumed his work at the anvil, and his study of the languages in the libra- ry of the Antiquarian Society. In 1839 he commenced the publication of the "Liter- ary Geminæ," a monthly periodical print- ed in French and English, and designed principally as a guide to students of the French language. His translation of the Icelandic sagas relating to the discovery of America, drew attention to his scho- lastic achievements and he acquired the sobriquet of "The Learned Blacksmith." During the season of 1841-42 he delivered his lecture on "Application and Genius," in not less than sixty cities and towns, and always attracting unusually large audiences. He argued that all attain- ment was the natural result of persistent application, of the possibilities of which he was himself an exponent, since he had mastered some thirty-two languages dur- ing the course of his busy life. His next lectuure on "Universal Peace," was de- livered before a large audience at Boston. He was warmly welcomed as an able co- worker by the prominent little band of peace advocates at Boston, and, upon his return to Worcester, established and edited "The Christian Citizen," a journal advocating among other reforms the peaceable settlement of international dis- agreements. In 1846 he sailed for Eng- land, where he accomplished much good in conjunction with the peace advocates of that country, and while there he laid the foundation for the international asso- ciation called "The League of Universal Brotherhood," with which his name is in- dissolubly linked. He edited and pub- lished for many years "The Bond of
Brotherhood," a periodical which he established while in England, and he was prominently instrumental in organizing the first Peace Congress, held in 1848, and also those held in 1849 and 1850. In the latter year he returned to America. lecturing on peace, temperance, anti- slavery, and self-culture. In 1852 he as- sumed editorial charge of the "Citizen of the World," a Philadelphia paper, and in its columns he strenuously advocated the emancipation of the slaves by purchase, the failure of which project caused him bitter disappointment. He was success- ful in his efforts to secure cheap ocean postage. In 1865 he was appointed United States Consul at Birmingham, England, retaining that office until the inauguration of President Grant. The later years of his life were spent in retire- ment on his farm at New Britain, Con- necticut, where he devoted himself to study, to literary work, and to the moral, religious and educational development of his fellow citizens.
A list of his books includes some thirty-two volumes, among the more not- able of which are: "Sparks from the Anvil" (1847) ; "Peace Papers for the People" (1848) ; 'Olive Leaves" (1850- 53) ; "Thoughts and Things at Home and Abroad" (1854) ; "Year Book of Nations" (1856); "Walk from London to John O'Groat's, with Notes by the Way" (1864); "Walk from London to Land's End and Back" (1865) ; "Lectures and Speeches" (1866) ; "The Mission of Great Sufferings" (1867) ; "Walks in the Black Country and its Green Borderland" (1868) ; "Ten-Minute Talks on All Sorts of Subjects ; with Autobiography" (1873) ; "Why I Left the Anvil" (1877) ; and "Chips from Many Blocks" (1878). See "Elihu Burritt; A Sketch of His Life and Labors," by Charles Northend (1879). He died in New Britain, Connecticut, March 9, 1879.
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COLT, Samuel,
Inventor.
Samuel Colt, inventor, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, July 19, 1814, son of Christopher and Sarah (Caldwell) Colt, grandson of Colonel Benjamin and Lucretia (Ely) Colt, great-grandson of John Colt, and great-great-grandson of John Colt, who came to America with the Rev. Thomas Hooker in 1636.
In 1824 Samuel Colt was sent to his father's factory at Ware, Massachusetts, where he remained until he went to Am- herst to school. In 1830 he was sent by his father to sea, sailing from Boston for Calcutta in August, 1830. During his voyage he conceived his first idea of "Colt's revolver," and constructed a little wooden model, which combined a number of long barrels. so as to rotate upon a spindle by the act of cocking the lock. Though discarding this as too heavy to be practicable, Mr. Colt was convinced that his invention would ultimately be successful. In 1831 he returned from the sea and entered the dyeing and bleach- ing department of his father's factory, there acquiring a practical knowledge of chemistry. In order to carry on his ex- periments with firearms, he determined in 1832 to go on a lecture tour, and assum- ing the name of "Dr. Coult," he visited every town of two thousand or more in- habitants in the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia, illustrating his experi- ments by administering laughing-gas. He paid all his expenses and saved sufficient money to continue his work. In 1835 he went to Europe, secured his patents there, and returning early in 1836 began to manu- facture arms at Paterson, New Jersey, with the "Patent Arms Manufacturing Company," with a capital stock of $300,000. The first rude model had been changed into a pistol with a rotating cylinder con-
taining six chambers discharging through a single barrel. Mr. Colt used every effort to prevail upon the United States govern- ment to adopt the arm, and after an ex- amination the committee reported "that from its complicated character, its liabil- ity to accident, and other reasons, this arm was entirely unsuited to the general purposes of the service." In October, 1837, Mr. Colt received a gold medal from the American Institute, and was elected a member. The opposition of the govern- ment greatly injured the sale of the arms, but many were sold to the Texan rangers. Soon after the breaking out of the Semi- nole War in 1838, he went South, carry- ing some of his arms, which met with ap- probation. Fifty were purchased and General Harney reported, "I honestly be- lieve that but for these arms the Indians would now be luxuriating in the ever- glades of Florida." In 1839 a second patent was taken out covering several im- provements, chiefly the loading lever. In March, 1840, a board of naval officers tried the arms and made an unfavorable report, recommending them, however, for arming boat expeditions, and acknowledg- ing the great superiority of the percussion to the flint lock. A subsequent examina- tion resulted in the purchase by the gov- ernment, in 1841, of one hundred and sixty carbines. In 1842 the company failed, and until 1847 all manufacture of arms was suspended. Meanwhile, Mr. Colt became interested in the offing tele- graph, and in 1842-43 laid submarine tele- graph lines from New York City to Coney Island, and to the Fire Island light, the first submarine cables ever successfully operated. At the beginning of the Mexi- can War in 1847, he received an order from the government for one thousand pistols, which marked the beginning of his success. In 1848 he returned to Hart- ford, his native city, and began the manu-
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ture of arms on Pearl street. In 1852 the business had so greatly increased as to warrant the erection of a new armory, and he bought up a large tract of land in the south meadows, enclosing it by a dyke one and three-fourths miles long, and from ten to thirty-two feet in height, for protection from inundation. The armory consisted of three large buildings, to which a fourth was added in 1861. As early as 1854 he had sold to the viceroy of Egpyt five thousand, and to the British government two hundred thousand revol- vers.
Mr. Colt was married, June 5, 1856, to Elizabeth Hart, daughter of the Rev. Wil- liam Jarvis, of Middletown, Connecticut. He died in Hartford, Connecticut, Janu- ary 10, 1862.
LYON, General Nathaniel, Soldier of Two Wars.
General Nathaniel Lyon, hero of Wil- son's Creek, Missouri, in the first year of the Civil War, was born at Ashford, Con- necticut, July 14, 1818, son of Amasa Lyon, a farmer. The lad early formed the idea of a military career, and bent his energies in that direction by diligent study, especially of mathematics. His mother, Kezia (Knowlton) Lyon, also in- fluenced his career by narrating to him the story of the privations and achieve- ments of the men of the American Revo- lution.
He was a student at the Brooklyn (Connecticut) Academy, and in 1837 was appointed to the West Point Military Academy by Orrin Holt, member of Con- gress from Connecticut. He was eleventh in a class of fifty-two at graduation, June 30, 1841, and was appointed second lieu- tenant in the Second Regiment United States Infantry. In November of that year he joined his regiment in Florida,
engaged in the war against the Seminole Indians, and in which he distinguished himself. From May 27, 1842, until the summer of 1846 he was stationed at Sack- ett's Harbor, New York. After the Mexi- can War began in June, 1845, with his regiment he was ordered to the front, and left Comargo, Mexico, for the interior, December 8, 1846. Thence General Twigg's division, to which Lyon's regi- ment belonged, proceeded to take part in the attack upon Vera Cruz. February 26, 1847, it reached Lobos Island, one hun- dred and twenty-five miles north of that stronghold. On March 9th it landed, with other United States troops, in front of the city. In the operations that fol- lowed, Lyon's regiment bore a full part, and after the surrender (March 27) the division to which it belonged left Vera Cruz for the City of Mexico. February 16, 1847, he was promoted to first lieu- tenant. His regiment was sharply en- gaged at Cerro Gordo (April 17), and the army then rested for a month at Jalapa. Another took place at Puebla, until Au- gust 8th, when renewed advance toward the capital began. For gallant and meri- torious conduct at the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, Lyon was made brevet captain August 20, 1847, and full captain, June II. 1851. When the Americans en- tered the City of Mexico (September 14) he was wounded in the leg by a musket ball. At the close of the war his regi- ment was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, and thence trans- ferred to California, reaching Monterey, April 6, 1849. The gold excitement was at its height, and troops were needed to protect the frontier against the incursions of Indians. April 16th Captain Lyon's company sailed for San Diego. His serv- ice in California continued for several years. In the second year (1850) he con- ducted a brilliant enterprise against In-
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dians among the fastnesses of northern California. In the autumn of 1851 he took command of Fort Miller, in the San Joa- quin valley, at the base of the Sierra Ne- vada mountains. In the spring and sum- mer of 1852 he was in the east, on leave of absence on account of the fatal illness of his mother, but returned to California in the fall, and was employed during the winter in laborious and fatiguing service. In February and March, 1853, he was at Washington, D. C., his regiment having been ordered east. During the following summer he was posted at Fort Riley, Kansas, and his observation of events in that State, with the Congressional debates with regard to the extension of slavery, led him to espouse the cause of the Free State party with earnestness. His biog- rapher says that for the next few years the question of liberty or slavery en- grossed his thoughts and offered a fruit- ful theme for his pen. In the summer of 1855 he served in an expedition under General Harney against the Sioux In- dians. In 1856 he was stationed at Fort Lookout, two hundred miles from Sioux City. He was in the east in 1857, mak- ing what proved to be his last visit to the region of his birth. Returning he was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, and then at Fort Randall, Ne- braska territory, until July, 1859, whence he was ordered to Fort Kearney, and thence to Prairie Dog Creek, Kansas, to protect emigrants on their way to the mines.
On January 31, 1861, Captain Lyon was ordered to St. Louis, Missouri, and after Mr. Lincoln became President he was made commandant at the St. Louis Ar- senal. Here he gained a thorough under- standing of political conditions, and of the machinations of the secessionists. His force was small, but, to make it appear the stronger, he often sent out squads of
soldiers in disguise during the night, while others slept, with orders to rendez- vous at a distant point, and march back to the arsenal the next morning in uni- form, with drums beating and flags flying. Union men in the city were organized into companies, armed and carefully drilled. Every precaution was taken to insure the security of the post, for an immense amount of public property, arms and ordnance was stored in the arsenal, and Governor Claiborne F. Jackson, of Mis- souri, had established a camp of State militia near St. Louis, ostensibly for in- struction, but really to subvert the na- tional authority in the State. On May 10, 1861, Captain Lyon surrounded this camp with his troops, and gave General Frost, its commander, thirty minutes in which to surrender. At the end of that time he took possession of the camp. The night following General Harney reached St. Louis, and took command of the United States troops; but a few days later Captain Lyon was elected brigadier- general of a brigade of volunteers, and May 17 President Lincoln commissioned him to that rank, relieved General Har- ney and gave the command to General Lyon. In a personal interview with Gen- eral Lyon in June, Governor Jackson offered to pledge the State of Missouri to strict neutrality in the event of civil war, on condition that the United States gov- ernment should disband the home guards organized and armed throughout the State, and agree not to occupy with its troops any localities in the State not then occupied by them. This proposition Lyon indignantly rejected, demanding the disbanding of the State militia, the nulli- fication of the act of the Legislature by which it was created, and admission of the right of the United States government to march and station its troops as it pleased, either for the protection of loyal
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subjects, or to repel invasion. He also asserted his determination to protect all Unionists to the extent of his power. The same evening Governor Jackson and Gen- eral Price returned to Jefferson City, and issued a proclamation asserting that the State of Missouri had been invaded by United States forces, and calling into service fifty thousand State militia to re- pel them. On June 13th General Lyon left St. Louis for Jefferson City with one thousand five hundred troops, and Jackson fell back forty miles to Boone- ville. At Jefferson City General Lyon issued a proclamation counter to that of Jackson, and pushing on to Booneville, issued a second proclamation, defining the issues and counseling Missourians in arms against the United States to lay them down and return to their homes. On July 3rd he set out for Springfield, Missouri, with two thousand seven hun- dred men, four pieces of artillery and a baggage train. The Confederate army of General Ben McCulloch, marching from the south and west, had made a junction with the scattered Missouri militia troops, and was advancing against the Federal forces in numbers far greater than Lyon's. General Lyon had called upon the govern- ment for additional troops in vain, and now, learning that McCulloch's forces were marching upon Springfield in two divisions, he determined to make a forced march and attack them separately. Au- gust 4th, after moving from the city for this purpose, by the advice of a council of officers it was decided to return, and on the 6th the Federals were restationed at Springfield and on the adjacent roads. On August 10th, at Wilson's Creek, Mis- souri, twelve miles southwest of Spring- field, twenty-three thousand Confederates and Missourians were encamped, while to oppose them Lyon had but five thousand effectives. He determined, however, upon
a night march, and to make a surprise attack upon their camp in two places. The surprise seems to have been com- plete, McCulloch having, by a strange coincidence, determined to throw his forces upon Springfield the same night, then having countermanded his orders on account of threatened rain, and drawn in his advanced pickets. In the engagement that ensued, Lyon moved along the Fed- eral lines encouraging his men by ex- ample and by words. His horse was shot under him, and he received three wounds -one near the ankle, one in his thigh, and another which cut his scalp to the bone. Mounting another horse, and with face pale from loss of blood, he rode to the head of a column, and ordered a bayonet charge. As his men rushed forward, he fell from a ball which entered his left side near his heart. His orderly received him in his arms, as he died on the field with- out a struggle. Major Sturgis, succeed- ing to the command, ordered a retreat to Springfield after continuing the battle for three hours longer, and thence the Fed- eral forces fell back to Rolla without pur- suit from McCulloch. General Lyon's operations had enabled the loyal men of Missouri to organize a State government and hold the commonwealth in the Union. After his death his body remained in pos- session of the Confederates, but was given up on application, and was interred at Eastford, Connecticut, September 5, 1861, after receiving appropriate honors on the way from west to east, in the vari- ous larger cities and towns of the north- ern States. The General Assembly of Connecticut at its session in October that year mourned his sudden death as that of "a beloved son who bore so distinguished a part in defense of the constitution and the suppression of rebellion," and the State received his sword, belt and chapeau for safe keeping. In December the United
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