USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 1 > Part 34
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Dr. Kirtland was twice married; first, at Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1815, to Caroline Atwater, who died in 1823, leav- ing a daughter. His second marriage, in 1825, was to Hannah F. Toucey, who died in 1837. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, De- cember 10, 1877.
COIT, Charles M., Soldier, Financier.
Colonel Charles Morgan Coit was born in Norwich, Connecticut, March 28, 1838. His father, Colonel Charles Coit, born February 19, 1793, was a soldier of the
War of 1812, and a prominent business man of Norwich for thirty-eight years. He was thrice married, Charles M. being a child of the third marriage.
Charles M. Coit was thrown on his own resources at the age of seventeen by the death of his father. This event changed his life plans to a considerable extent, in that he was compelled to abandon a col- lege course for business. He first en- tered the Uncas Bank, but at the age of twenty-one was made treasurer of the Chelsea Savings Bank, which responsible position he occupied at the breaking out of the war of the rebellion. Although ardently desirous of enlisting under the first call for troops, the claims of his family, of which he was the oldest male member, seemed to render imperative for him the duty of remaining at home. But as re- verses occurred to our armies and Presi- dent Lincoln's second call for troops was made, young Coit, after mature and prayerful deliberation, decided that the claim of his country was paramount to all others, and entered the service as adju- tant of the Eighth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, then being organized under Colonel Edward Harland. His military record in brief is as follows: Enlisted September 18, 1861, mustered into serv- ice October 5, 1861 ; promoted from adju- tant of Eighth Connecticut Volunteer In- fantry to captain of Company B of that regiment, March 27, 1862; wounded Oc- tober 28, 1864, at Fair Oaks, Virginia ; brevetted lieutenant-colonel, March 13, 1865; discharged May 27, 1865. But to give more in detail the operations of the Eighth Regiment and Colonel Coit's identity with it, the following is appended, taken from a sketch of Colonel Coit in the chapter on the military history of Con- necticut published in the "History of New London County," by Hurd :
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This regiment left the State on October 17, 1861, joining the Burnside expedition to North Carolina, and on the 8th of January following had its first experience of actual battle at the capture of Roanoke Island, when by their cool- ness and good discipline the men won the hearty approval of Generals Burnside and Foster. From this time onward until the close of the war, the career of this gallant regiment was one of un- usual hardship and honor. Almost uninterrupt- edly in the front and in active service, its en- gagements were many, its losses, both from the casualties of the field and from exposures inci- dent to the service, terribly severe, and the rec- ord always of work well and bravely done. After its North Carolina campaign, in which the regi- ment had borne a prominent part at the siege of Fort Macon and the capture of Newberne, and during which Adjutant Coit had been pro- moted to a captaincy, the Ninth Army Corps, to which the regiment was attached, was ordered north to join General McClellan, and partici- pated in the fiercely contested battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Especially in the lat- ter action was the gallantry of the Eighth Regi- ment conspicuous and of the highest service to the whole corps. Nine color bearers were struck down, yet another always stood ready to fill the vacant place and uphold the flag. The entire list of casualties included more than one-half of those who entered the battle. The regiment was in front of Burnside's advance with the Army of the Potomac, helping to lay the pon- toon bridge at Fredericksburg, and after the battle serving on the picket line beyond the city, and being among the last to recross the river. In the spring of 1863 the Eighth saw active serv- ice at the siege of Suffolk and the brilliant storm- ing of Fort Huger. During the following fall and winter, while the regiment was enjoying its longest experience of the comparative comfort of quiet camp life, Captain Coit was ordered to duty at the conscript camp at New Haven, a service which, though in some respects an ex- ceedingly agreeable change from field service, was in other respects most unpleasant and diffi- cult. Returning to the regiment before the com- mencement of active operations in the spring of 1864, he was constantly on duty with his com- mand through the terrible campaign on the James, commencing with the severe engagement at Walthall Junction, in which the regiment lost seventy-four men, and immediately followed by the four days' battle at Drury's Bluff, with fur- ther heavy loss. During the "battle summer"
that followed, in the absence of the field officers, the regiment was commanded by Captain Coit. Its history and his is a record of marches and battles almost daily, until the latter part of June, when it was ordered to the front of the line investing Petersburg. From June 21 to Au- gust 27, under the scorching summer sun, the men lay in their rifle pits, rarely by day or night beyond the range of the enemy's cannon. In one of the regiment's charges on the enemy's works so gallantly did the men do their work that their commander, General "Baldy" Smith, said that he "felt like giving a commission to the whole regiment that had done that gallant deed." The last severe fighting of the regiment, at Fort Harrison, September 29, was another of its most gallant achievements. Charging across nearly a mile of open field, still commanded by Captain Coit, the men stormed the fort, driving the gunners from their places and planting their flag on its ramparts. The regiment lay in the trenches about the fort nearly a month, repuls- ing in the meantime all attempts of the enemy to regain their lost ground. When at the end of the month the men were relieved and assigned to lighter duty, the regiment had become so thoroughly reduced by the casualties of the field, "fatigue duty, watching, picketing, storms, and lack of even shelter tents, which were not then allowed at the front," that but ninety mus- kets could be mustered.
Soon after the capture of Fort Harrison, Cap- tain Coit was assigned to duty as assistant adju- tant-general on the brigade staff, and while here received a commission as major of his regiment, which he declined. He had been with his regi- ment in every action in which it had taken part without receiving a wound; but October 28, while on staff duty at Fair Oaks, in one of the latest engagements of the army before Rich- mond, he was wounded, it was supposed mor- tally. He was removed to Chesapeake Hos- pital, Fortress Monroe, where he remained four months, lying for many weeks with the scales trembling between life and death, suffering not only from his wound but from the almost fatal effects of the severe service of the past summer. But skilled treatment and the tender care of lov- ing friends, aided by his naturally strong consti- tution and good habits, were finally blessed to his recovery. As soon as health would permit he returned to his regiment, but the war being over, army life had no charms for him and he resigned May 30, 1865. He was brevtted lieu- tenant-colonel from March 13, 1865.
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Soon after his return to Norwich from the war, Colonel Coit was chosen to his former posi- tion as treasurer of the Chelsea Savings Bank, and filled the position with marked ability and to the entire satisfaction of all interested. He served one term as postmaster of Norwich. He was an aide on the staff of General Joseph R. Hawley, when that gentleman was Governor of Connecticut. Colonel Coit was prominent among the founders of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, and was a member of the Boston Com- mandery of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
Colonel Coit was a consistent and active mem- ber of the Second Congregational Church, hold- ing the offices of deacon and treasurer of the church, and librarian of the Sunday school. Colonel Coit lost his life on July 3, 1878, by drowning in New London Harbor; his little son had fallen overboard from a yacht, and in an effort of the father to rescue him, in which he was successful, he lost his own life.
On June 18, 1872, Colonel Coit was married to Miss Mary B. Hillard, and to them were born two children: Charles, March 28, 1873, and Augustus, April 29, 1876. At a meeting of the directors of the Chelsea Savings Bank, held July 5, 1878, the following resolutions were unan- imously passed :
Resolved, That in the recent sudden death of Colonel Charles M. Coit, our secretary and treasurer, this bank has suffered the greatest loss which it has ever been called upon to bear. We have lost one who has been identified with the bank for nearly twenty years, in whose sound judgment and business capacity we have always had the greatest confidence, one whose integrity both in thought and deed, was such that it seems impossible to replace him.
Resolved, That in Colonel Coit's death this community suffers a loss of one who, having passed his entire life among them, except that portion given to his country, had gained their confidence, respect and love to a very unusual degree. As a citizen, a patriot soldier, and a public officer, he has always shown those quali- ties of mind and heart, which endeared him to all who were brought in contact with him. Though cut off in his prime, the example of such a life is of incalculable value to the com- munity.
Early professing his love for Christ, Colonel Coit exhibited through the pleasures of youth, the trials and temptations of army life, and the cares of business, such a sincere, unostentatious, but decided Christian spirit as left no room for question or cavil. His unswerving allegiance to his God controlled all his life, and has, we be- lieve, won for him at the judgment on high the same verdict so heartily given by all who knew him here :- "Well done, good and faithful serv- ant."
DWIGHT, Dr. Timothy, Educator, Author, Theologian.
Dr. Timothy Dwight, for half a century a member of the Yale faculty and the twelfth president of Yale University, from 1886 to 1899, was born at Norwich, Con- necticut, November 16, 1828, his grand- father of the same name having been the eighth president. He was a son of James and Susan (Breed) Dwight, the former named having been a son of President Timothy Dwight, who was a son of Major Timothy Dwight, who was a son of Colo- nel Timothy Dwight, who was a son of Nathaniel Dwight, who was a son of Cap- tain Timothy Dwight, who was a son John Dwight, the immigrant ancestor.
After preparatory school work at Nor- wich, Connecticut, he entered Yale Col- lege and was graduated in 1849 as salu- tatorian of his class. In 1851 he returned to New Haven and remained four years tutoring in the college and studying the- ology in the New Haven Theological School. In 1856 he went abroad to study at the universities of Bonn and Berlin, and remained for two years, and upon his return to his native land, in 1858, was appointed assistant professor of sacred literature in the Yale Divinity School. He became a professor in 1861, and in the same year was ordained a Congregational minister. He was elected president of Yale in 1886, and, as it was stipulated that he should not be required to take an
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academic chair, he speedily set on foot the movement to transform the college into a university, and within seven months the Legislature authorized the use of the name Yale University. Under the administration of President Dwight many new buildings were erected, en- dowments were increased, and the num- ber of students steadily grew and the work of the university was carried into seven departments. Nearly two thou- sand five hundred students were gradu- ated during his incumbency. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on President Dwight by the Chicago Theo- logical Seminary and by Yale, and that of Doctor of Laws by Harvard and Prince- ton. He was a member of the committee for the revision of the English Bible from 1872 until its completion in 1885. He preached frequently in the college pulpit and elsewhere throughout his connection with the college. He was the editor of several volumes of the American edition of Meyers' "Commentary on the New Testament," to which he added extended notes; was for some years editor of the "New Englander," and in 1870-71 pub- lished in that magazine a notable series of articles on "The True Ideal of an Ameri- can University," afterward published in book form; he published a translation of "Godet's Commentary on John's Gospel," with additional notes ; a volume of twenty of his sermons entitled "Thoughts Of and For the Inner Life;" "Memories of Yale Life and Men;" also various articles and addresses on educational and other sub- jects. At the celebration of the bicentennial of Yale in 1901, Dr. Dwight was president of the general bicentennial committee.
Dr. Dwight married, December 31, 1866, Jane Wakeman Skinner, daughter of Roger Sherman and Mary Lockwood (De Forest) Skinner, of New Haven. Children: Helen Rood, born December
8, 1868, died October 20, 1909; Winthrop Edwards, born December 23, 1872, grad- uate of Yale, 1893, an attorney-at-law in New York City.
Dr. Dwight died May 26, 1916. The tributes to his long and useful life were fervent and many: "Dr. Dwight," said Chauncey M. Depew, "had a wonderful fund of humor and was one of the most charming men I ever met. When he pro- posed resigning I went to his house to ask him to remain. He told me then that the Dwights died at seventy, and he felt that if he remained in harness he wouldn't be able to break the record. He did break it by seventeen years."
Henry W. Taft said: "He lived up to the best traditions of a line of eminent presidents of Yale. He was a man of the highest character and ability-a classic figure in the history of the university."
Payson Merrill's comment was: "He was one of the best presidents Yale ever had."
George Adee said of him: "No man was ever more respected and loved than Dr. Dwight. Every Yale man holds him in abiding love and affection."
"The most conspicuous thing about Dr. Dwight was his lovable character and his universal kindness," was the tribute of Frederick C. Walcott.
Voicing the university sentiment, Dean Jones said: "He was everywhere recog- nized as one of the great presidents of Yale. He was famous as a scholar, a wit and a divine, but his great life work was, as the president of Yale, in creating it a genuine university."
Dean Brown, of the Divinity School, said: "Dr. Dwight's thorough scholar- ship, administrative ability and noble Christian character have enabled him to render a conspicuous and memorable serv- ice to Yale and to the Kingdom of God."
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COAN, Titus,
Missionary.
Titus Coan was born in Killingworth, Connecticut, February 1, 1801. He was educated by private tutors, and at the age of eighteen began to teach a country school, continued the business of instruc- tion for about ten years, and then entered the Theological Seminary at Auburn, New York. Being graduated in 1833, he undertook for the Boston Board of Mis- sions an exploration of southern Pata- gonia, for the purpose of establishing a mission there. Narrowly escaping with his life, he returned home the following year, and was sent as missionary to the Sandwich Islands, where he served for forty-eight years. He was regarded by the natives of the islands with an affec- tion that was well-nigh veneration, and his work among them was attended with most important results. In his interest- ing account of a visit to the Sandwich Islands in 1873, Charles Nordhoff gives the following sketch of his life and work :
In Hilo, when you go to visit the volcano, you will find Dr. Coan, one of the brightest and love- liest spirits of them all, the story of whose life in the Umato Island, whose apostle he was, is as wonderful and as touching as that of any of the earlier apostles, and shows what great works un- yielding faith and love can do in redeeming a savage people. When Dr. and Mrs. Coan came to the island of Hawaii its shores and woods were populous, and through their labors thousands of men and women were instructed in the truths of Christianity, inducted into civilized habits of life. and finally brought into the church. As you sail along the green coast of Hawaii from its northern point to Hilo, you will be surprised at the number of quaint little white churches which mark the dis- tances almost with the regularity of milestones; if, later, you ride through this district or the one south of Hilo, you will see that for every church there is also a school house; you will see native children reading and writing as well as our own at home; you may hear them singing tunes fa- miliar to our own Sunday schools; you will see the native man and woman sitting down to read
their newspaper at the close of the day; and if you could talk with them, you would find they knew almost as much about our late war as you do, for they took an intense interest in the war of the rebellion. And you must remember that when, less than forty years ago, Dr. and Mrs. Coan came to Hilo, the people were naked savages with no church and but one school house in the district; without printed books or knowl- edge of reading. They flocked to hear the Gospel. Thousands removed from a distance to Hilo, where, in their rapid way, they built up a large town, and kept up surely the strangest "protracted meeting" ever held; and going back to their homes after many months they took with then knowledge and zeal to build up Christian churches and schools of their own. Over these Dr. Coan had presided many years, not only preaching regularly on Sundays and during the week in the large native church at Hilo, and in two or three neighboring churches, but visiting the more distant churches at intervals to examine and instruct the members and keep them all on the right track. He had seen a great population turned from darkness to light, a great part of it following his own blameless and loving life as an example, and very many living to old age stead- fast and zealous Christians.
He wrote books on "Patagonia" and "Life in Hawaii," and numerous contri- butions to periodicals. He continued to reside in the Sandwich Islands until his death in Hilo, Hawaii, December 1, 1882.
CLEVELAND, Chauncey Fitch, Governor.
Chauncey Fitch Cleveland was born at Hampton, Windham county, Connecticut, February 16, 1799, youngest son of Silas and Lois (Sharpe) Cleveland. He was sixth in descent from Moses Cleveland, of Ipswich, England, who emigrated to Mas- sachusetts about 1635, and in 1640 became a resident of Woburn, where he married Ann Winn. Edward, son of Moses, re- moved to Kingston, Rhode Island, and thence, in 1816, to Canterbury, Windham county, Connecticut, where he founded a large family.
Chauncey F. Cleveland was educated in
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the public schools, and at the age of fif- teen began teaching, which occupation he followed until he was twenty. At the age of seventeen he began the study of law ; in August, 1819, was admitted to the bar of Windham county, and in September began practice, being yet under age. "He won," says a contemporary, "immediate success by his intuitive skill in seizing upon the salient points in a case. * * He rarely failed to convince a jury." Be- fore many years he was made prosecuting attorney for the county, and next State's Attorney. For about twenty years he was in the military service of the State, hold- ing office from the lowest to the highest. In 1837 he served as a bank commissioner. His political ardor as a Democrat brought him election to the Legislature in 1826, and he was frequently reelected to that body, and was speaker in 1836, 1838 and 1863. In 1849 an attempt was made to form a new town called Putnam, out of parts of Windham and other towns, and which met with bitter opposition, both sides employing counsel, and the case be- ing argued before the Legislature, Cleve- land appearing in behalf of the applicants, while Hon. Charles Chapman, of Hart- ford, made an eloquent argument against the division, the result being that Cleve- land carried the Legislature and audience with him. The popular votes for Gov- ernor being indecisive in 1842 and 1843, he was chosen Governor by the Legisla- ture. In 1849 and 1851 he was elected to Congress, where he opposed slavery, and thus alienated many of his constituents ; but was supported by the Free Soil party. He aided in organizing the Republican party in the State, and headed the elec- toral ticket in 1860. He was a delegate to the Peace Congress in February, 1861, being appointed by Governor Bucking- ham, and made every exertion to prevent the threatened collision. On April 22 he
presided at a mass meeting at which the inhabitants of Windham county pledged their money and services to support the government, and throughout the war his patriotism was fervid. He retained his interest in public affairs through life, al- though the last twenty years were spent in retirement. The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by Trinity College.
He was married at Hampton, Decem- ber 13, 1821, to Diantha, daughter of Dr. Jacob and Olive (Scott) Hovey, and cousin of Hon. Galusha Grow. She bore him a son, John Jacob (Trinity, 1845) and a daughter, Diantha Delia, who was mar- ried to Hon. Alfred A. Brenham. Mrs. Cleveland died October 29, 1867. Gov- ernor Cleveland was again married, Janu- ary 27, 1869, to Helen Cornelia, daughter of Dr. Eleaser and Marina (Hovey) Litch- field, of Hampton. His brother Mason was a State Senator, comptroller and com- missioner of the school fund. A nephew, Edward Spicer Cleveland, was the Demo- cratic candidate for Governor in 1886. Governor Cleveland died at Hampton, Connecticut, June 6, 1887.
HART, Samuel, D. D., Clergyman, Educator, Author.
The Rev. Dr. Samuel Hart, dean of the Berkeley Divinity School, whose death occurred at Middletown, Connecticut, February 25, 1917, from pneumonia, after an illness of only a few days, was one of the most scholarly and influential divines and theologians of his day.
He was born in Old Saybrook, June 4, 1845, the son of Henry and Mary Wit- ter Hart, his father being a prosperous farmer, who was also justice of the peace and judge of probate. He was descended from Stephen Hart, who came from Eng- land to Cambridge in 1637 and later mi-
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DHLIONS
BERKELEY DIVINITY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
grated to Hartford and finally to Farm- ington. Among his ancestors were also Captain Thomas Hart, and John Hart, who graduated from Yale College in 1703, its second graduate, and who later became a tutor at the college.
Young Hart was reared on his father's farm in Old Saybrook, and when not in school was busy in farm work. His father was well-to-do, and his son, after his edu- cation in the district schools, was sent to the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire, where he prepared for college. He en- tered Trinity College, from which he re- ceived his B. A. degree in 1866. Before this date he had decided to enter the ministry, and upon completing his aca- demic course he entered the Berkeley Di- vinity School in Middletown, where he was graduated in 1869, receiving his Mas- ter's degree at Trinity the same year. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Williams on June 2, 1869, and to the priesthood the following year. At the time of his death he had been a priest for forty-seven years and in orders for nearly forty-eight, was seventh among the priests of the diocese in order of canonical residence. During the last year of his course in Berkeley Divinity School he was a tutor in Trinity College.
The work of an instructor appealed to the young priest, more than did the rou- tine of a parish, and shortly after his or- dination he was made Assistant Profes- sor of Mathematics and in 1873 he be- came professor of that subject. Ten years later he became Professor of Latin at Trinity College, and he held that post until he left in 1899 to become vice-dean of Berkeley Divinity School, and removed from Hartford to Middletown and became leader and chaplain in 1908.
He had already become well known in the church outside the diocese of Connec- ticut, and in 1886 was made custodian of
the Book of Common Prayer, an office which he held until the time of his death. An intimate friend of Bishop Williams, his name was used as one of the candi- dates when the failing health of Bishop Williams led to the election of a bishop coadjutor in 1897, and at that time he had already declined an election to the bishop- ric of the diocese of Vermont to take the place later filled by Bishop A. C. A. Hall. His name was again used as a candidate when Bishop-Coadjutor Brewster became sole bishop of the diocese. In 1892, at the general convention of the Protestant Epis- copal church, he was secretary of the House of Bishops, which honor he held until his death, officiating at the recent triennial convention held in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1898 he was made histori- ographer of the Protestant Episcopal church. He had been a senator of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity since 1892.
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