USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 10 > Part 12
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about five years. He then purchased his present farm in Stamford, a part of the Charles Brown estate. Mr. Case was the pioneer peach grower in that part of Con- necticut. He has had varying success, as is inevitable with this crop, but year by year has developed the place and its re- sources, and become more and more of an enthusiast on peaches. The severe winter of 1917-18 did not spare him, and along with probably every peach grower in the East he suffered heavy losses, be- tween seven and eight thousand trees being ruined. He now has about 1,200 trees in bearing and, undismayed by mis- fortune, is planting others to replace those destroyed. He has developed the science of peach growing to a remarkable degree, and his reputation for fine fruit has reached far. He markets mostly in New York City, and commands the exclusive trade of the connoisseur, many of his peaches running only sixty to seventy to the basket, and retailing at twenty-five cents each. He also grows small fruits quite extensively, producing three or four acres of strawberries annually, besides quinces, pears, blackberries, raspberries and currants; and he has a fine apple orchard of two acres. He has won such a reputation along these lines that, with the exception of peaches, nearly all his fruit is sold to patrons who go to the farm for it. As a war measure Mr. Case grew about eleven acres of wheat and two acres of buckwheat. The former is a crop which has been deplorably neg- lected in Connecticut in recent years.
Mr. Case is a Republican by political affiliation but for many years has de- clined office. When a resident of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, he took an active part in politics and largely as a result of his efforts the vote of that county was changed from an average Democratic ma- jority of 126 votes to a Republican major-
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ity of 240. He did a great deal of work on the stump, besides personal man-to- man propaganda. Socially he has always been well connected. When a resident of New York City, he was a member of the Union League Club ; he was made a Mason at Dad Lodge, Key West, Florida, when he was twenty-one years of age; was admitted to the Pennsylvania Lodge, from which he afterwards demitted. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Newton, Hamilton county, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Case married, June 12, 1873, in Westchester, New York, Frances Living- ston Waring, daughter of William Frost and Frances Livingston (Ferris) Waring, of Throggs Neck. She was born Decem- ber 5, 1847. Their children are : Florence Livingston, born February 22, 1874; Alice Waring, born May 21, 1876; and Augusta Ludlow, born December 6, 1882. Mrs. Case is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church.
JESSUP, Arthur Grant, Real Estate Dealer.
The surname of Jessup is one of the many forms of the Christian name of Joseph. Among the other spellings fre- quently found are: Jossop, Jesup, and Gossop. In the early records in Wethers- field, Connecticut, the immigrant ances- tor's name is found in the latter spelling.
(I) Edward Jessup, the ancestor, came to New England prior to 1649, in which year he was a citizen of Stamford, and the owner of lands there. In 1652 he removed to the west end of Long Island, and was a pioneer settler of Middleborough. He served as magistrate in 1659-60-61-62. In 1653 he disposed of his Fairfield property. Subsequently he was a resident of West- chester county, New York, where he served as magistrate in 1663. He died
between August 6 and November 14, 1666. His wife's Christian name was Elizabeth, and they were the parents of :
(II) Edward Jessup, born either in Newton or West Farms, New York, in 1663. He was brought by his mother (who married second, Robert Beacham), to Connecticut, and in due course of time became a freeman of the town of Fair- field. He acquired considerable property through purchase and by inheritance, and established his home at Greens Farms. In 1720 he removed to Stamford, and died December 28, 1732. He married, in 1692, Elizabeth Hyde, born August 23, 1669, died October 2, 1747, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Harvey) Hyde. Their son,
(III)Jonathan Jessup, baptized August 3, 1707, was born in Fairfield. He lived in Greenwich from 1732 until his death. He was a farmer and also a skilled car- penter. He married Sarah, and they were the parents of :
(IV) Samuel Jessup, who lived in Stamford and died there, November 17, 1812. He was a farmer and married Abigail Hait, born in 1741, died in 1796, a daughter of John Hait.
(V) Jonathan Jessup, son of Samuel and Abigail (Hait) Jessup, was born April 14, 1782, in Stamford, and baptized September 10, 1795. He died April 14, 1843; married April 8, 1806, Martha Sco- field, born August 12, 1787, died May 21, 1873. They were the parents of :
(VI) William Jessup, who was widely known as a house builder and carpenter. He also was a farmer on a small scale. He married Ann Eliza Waterman, who died February 23, 1867. He died October 22, 1865, aged fifty-eight years. He was the father of two sons: Charles H. and George Washington Jessup.
(VII) Charles H. Jessup, the elder son of William and Ann E. (Waterman) Jes-
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sup, was born in 1844, in Stamford, and died in 1910. He was educated in the public schools and learned the trade of carpenter, which occupation he followed but a short time, when he learned the trade of blacksmith and horseshoer. He was established in business when but twenty-two years of age, and until his death continued successfully. At that time his shop was located at what was called Bagnall, in the north part of Stam- ford. He married Jane B., daughter of Thomas Merritt, born in Port Chester, New York. Thomas Merritt came from Whitestone, Long Island, and was a blacksmith in Port Chester for many years. He married Susan Mott of Mount Vernon, New York, and they were the parents of Jane B. Merritt, wife of Charles H. Jessup. Mr. and Mrs. Jessup were the parents of the following children : Arthur Grant, of further mention; Josephine, wife of Granville G. Pierce, mother of Kathryn Pierce; Annie, wife of William Joyce, and mother of Walter, William and Howard Joyce; Benjamin, married Hattie Bottomley and has four children : Benjamin Harrison, Ralph Robinson, Ruth Louise, and Robert. For many years Mr. and Mrs. Jessup were actively identified with the Congregational church of Stamford.
(VIII) Arthur Grant Jessup, the eldest child of Charles H. and Jane B. (Merritt) Jessup, was born August 19, 1866, in Stamford, Connecticut. He attended the public schools of his native town, and after completing the courses there, went to Port Chester, New York. There he learned the trade of blacksmith from his grandfather, Thomas Merritt, and when nineteen years of age went into business for himself. He formed a partnership with Moses Sargent, under the firm name of Sargent & Jessup, and for four years conducted a most successful business.
The energy and ambition of Mr. Jes- sup were combined with a sound business judgment and it was not long before he purchased the interests of his partner and carried on the business alone. He was prosperous and successful from the beginning and was keenly alert to the possibilities in other lines of progress. In 1906 he began to deal in real estate, at first on a very small scale, gradually increasing until July 1, 1916, he disposed of all other interests to devote his entire time to this business. He has developed several tracts of land, among them being what is known as the Stamford Hospital tract, comprising twenty-five acres. This was cut into building lots in 1915. In 1917 Mr. Jessup purchased the Dr. I. F. Wardwell estate, corner of Shippan ave- nue and Elm street, comprising fifteen acres, and these building lots are practi- cally all sold. A man of the business acumen and executive ability of Mr. Jes- sup is naturally found to be interested in other undertakings. Mr. Jessup is presi- dent of The Marsh Bakeries, Inc .; direc- tor of the H. & H. Foundry Company. He is a Republican in politics, and has served three terms as councilman from the Third Ward.
Fraternally, he is affiliated with Union Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons ; Clinton Commandery, No. 3, Knights Templar, of Norwalk; Lafayette Consis- tory ; Pyramid Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; Rip- powam Lodge, No. 24, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows; Wascussee Encamp- ment, No. 14, of the same order ; is Past Chancellor Commander of Excelsior Lodge, No. 49, Knights of Pythias, of Stamford, in which he has been active for three decades ; member of the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 899, of Stamford; member of the Subur- ban Club, and the Ponus Yacht Club.
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Mr. Jessup married Laura E., daughter of William W. Studwell, of Stamford, and they are the parents of a daughter, Mrs. Edith A. (Jessup) Miller. With his fam- ily, Mr. Jessup attends and aids in the support of the Congregational church of Stamford.
HACKLEY, Charles Elihu, Physician, Civil War Veteran.
A veteran of the medical profession as well as a veteran of the Civil War, Dr. Hackley is enjoying in Rowayton, on the shore of Long Island Sound, Connecticut, a rest and quiet well earned after strenu-
ous duty along professional lines. Dr. Hackley is a son of Archibald Blair Hack- ley, and grandson of Philo M. Hackley.
Philo M. Hackley was a land owner of Herkimer, Herkimer county, New York, and married Almira Griswold, daughter of Elihu and Mary (Wolcott) Griswold. Mary Wolcott was the daughter of Dr. Alexander Wolcott, who was the son of Governor Roger Wolcott, of Connecticut. The Wolcotts have from early times been singularly prominent in public life. Roger Wolcott (1679-1767) was com- mander of the Connecticut forces at the siege of Lewisburg (1745), and second in command under Sir William Pepperell. He was governor of the Connecticut Col- ony (1751-54). His son, Oliver Wolcott (1726-97), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, performed distinguished service in the Revolution, and was second State Governor of Connecticut (1796-97). Oliver Wolcott's son, Oliver (2) Wolcott (1760-1833), was Secretary of the Treas- ury of the United States (1795-97), and seventh State Governor of Connecticut. Roger Wolcott was the thirty-fifth gov- ernor of Massachusetts.
Archibald Blair Hackley, son of Philo M. and Almira (Griswold) Hackley, was
a civil engineer by profession, and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, when but thirty years of age. He married Eliza Stott, daughter of James Stott, a civil engineer, who aided in the building of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad. Eliza Stott was born in Eng- land, and was brought to the United States as a girl of five years by her mother, when the family joined the father, who had been in the United States one year engaged in professional work.
Dr. Charles Elihu Hackley, son of Archibald Blair and Eliza (Stott) Hack- ley, was born in Unadilla, New York, February 22, 1836. He was less than a year old when his father died, and his mother moved to Carbondale, Pennsyl- vania. A little later Harrisburg became the family home, and after he had at- tended the public schools he became a student in the boarding school known as St. James' College, Hagerstown, Mary- land. After preparatory study he entered the University of Pennsylvania, and was graduated A. B. in the class of 1856. Con- tinuing work at the university in the med- ical department, he was given the degree of M. D. in 1860, and was engaged in hospital work in New York until the out- break of the war between the States. He enlisted in the Union army as surgeon of the Second Regiment of New York Cav- alry, and was in active service for three years, serving as surgeon-in-chief of the Third Cavalry Division, Army of the Po- tomac. From the close of his war service until his retirement in 1896, Dr. Hackley was engaged in general practice in New York City, and gained important stand- ing in metropolitan medical circles. Dr. Hackley was appointed physician to the New York Hospital in 1867, and this in- stitution expressed its appreciation of his faithful service and its high personal re- gard for him by retaining him as a mem- ber of its consulting staff. From 1865 to
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1875 he was surgeon to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and from 1870 to 1876 he was clinical physician on diseases of the eye in the Women's Medical Col- lege of New York. His skill and learning were the result of the deepest study and research, and his pursuit of professional knowledge carried him to the various centers of medical science in Europe. Dr. Hackley was a trustee of the Northeast- ern Dispensary in New York City, and was responsible for the inauguration of the practice of paying attending physi- cians for their service at the dispensary, a regulation which placed the work of the institution on a practical basis, and ren- dered possible a greater degree of effi- ciency and responsibility than under the old system.
While in active practice Dr. Hackley was in close touch with his professional colleagues through the various leading medical societies, and his professional work included the translation of several important medical works from the Ger- man, including the "Stellway on the Eye," "Niemeyer's Medicine," and "Billroth's Surgical Pathology." In addition to this work, Dr. Hackley contributed numerous original articles to the medical journals of his time, embodying the results of his own careful investigation and research. He keeps alive the enduring associations of war times by his membership in the Loyal Legion, and he is also a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. Dr. Hack- ley's active career covered a period of great advancement in medical methods and knowledge, and since his retirement he has been an interested observer of the further progress that has come along medical and surgical lines, especially those lessons taught by the great profes- sional tasks of the World War.
Dr. Hackley married, December 16, 1867, Emma Wetherby Kent, daughter of
Gabriel Kent, of New York City. Two of their three children grew to maturity : Mary Frances, who resides with her fa- ther, who, when a resident of New York, was a member of the Art Students' League; Kent, who resides in Madison, Ohio, who married Alice Murphy, daugh- ter of George Murphy, of Madison.
PARSONS, Harold Ashton, Civil Engineer, Contractor.
It is enough to excite our admiration of a man if we learn that he has succeeded in any one particular line of endeavor. Harold A. Parsons, of this review, is a splendid example of the type of capable business man of affairs who has achieved success not by accident, but by the con- stant application of effort.
The patronymic, Parsons, is derived from persona, Latin for mask. Actors wore a wooden mask in early times so as to throw their voice out, a presage- ment of the modern telephone. Eventu- ally the actor was called after the mask he wore-dramatis personae. The pos- sessor was called by the thing he possessed. The word had a double sig- nificance. In ecclesiastical language, it was referable to a man of dignity, and be- stowed upon one with a benefice or living who committed the cure of souls to a vicar. Thus actors and parsons derived their names from the same root, though they are now diametrically opposed to each other. We first had the form the parson's son, or the parson's John. This was finally and formally abbreviated to Parsons. Among those of the name in America who have especially distin- guish themselves have been the learned Theophilus Parsons, chief justice of Mas- sachusetts; Andrew Parsons, governor of Michigan ; and Lewis P. Parsons, gov- ernor of Alabama. We find by the Her-
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ald's visitations that the oldest known Parsons of record was John Parsons, of Cuddington, A. D., 1284. In the roll of possessions in the Abbey of Malmesbury is the name of William le Parsons, in 1307.
(I) Cornet Joseph Parsons, the ances- tor of the family, sailed from Gravesend, England, July 4, 1635, in the "Transport." He was a son of Sir Thomas Parsons, of Great Milton. He was among the follow- ers of William Pynchon's colony of planters who settled in Agawam, now Springfield, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1636. On July 15th of the same year his name appears on a deed of cession from the Indians of the Connecticut Val- ley to Pynchon's company. Joseph Par- sons was a man of considerable impor- tance in the Colony, and in 1642 was one of the founders of the new plantation at Northampton, and one of the first pur- chasers of land from the Indians there in 1645. He was a fur trader and had the sole right of barter and traffic in furs in the valley, for which right he paid annu- ally the sum of twelve pounds. He ac- cumulated a large estate in land and goods. He married, November 26, 1646, Mary Bliss, daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Ford) Bliss, of Hartford. Cor- net Joseph Parsons died October 9, 1683.
(II) Samuel Parsons, son of Cornet Joseph and Mary (Bliss) Parsons, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Janu- ary 23, 1652. In 1709 he removed from Northampton to Durham, Connecticut. He married (second) about 1691, Rhoda Taylor, daughter of Robert and Thank- ful (Woodward) Taylor.
(III) Ithamar Parsons, son of Samuel and Rhoda (Taylor) Parsons, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, June 9, 1707, and died in Durham, Connecticut, June 21, 1786. The Christian name of his wife was Sarah.
(IV) Nathan Parsons, son of Ithamar and Sarah Parsons, was born September 23, 1744, baptized September 30, 1744, and died June 23, 1785. He married Sarah Bancroft, baptized May 27, 1744, daugh- ter of Samuel Bancroft, first settler and patriarch of Granville, Massachusetts. He was a son of Nathaniel and Ruth Ban- croft, and his wife was Sarah (White) Bancroft. Nathan Parsons removed to Granville about 1760.
(VI) Levi Parsons, son of Nathan and Sarah (Bancroft) Parsons, was born March 8, 1788, and died in 1866. From the year he was eight until he reached fifteen years of age he lived with his grandfather, Ithamar Parsons. He mar- ried Abigail Ward.
(VI) William Henry Parsons, son of Levi and Abigail (Ward) Parsons, was born in SaĊdisfield, Massachusetts, Au- gust 27, 1812, and died April 5, 1898. Al- though his educational opportunities were rather poor, Mr. Parsons never lost an opportunity to increase his fund of knowl- edge through observation and extensive reading. He was one of the best known men of his community, active in all pub- lic measures and a high type of citizen. His early years were spent on the home farm, assisting his father, who was en- gaged in blacksmithing as well as farm- ing. On April 1, 1833, he went to Collins- ville, where he bound himself to the Col- lins Company as apprentice for three years. On September 10, 1834, this agree- ment was dissolved owing to the failure of the company, and Mr. Parsons took advantage of the chance to rest and re- cuperate from a breakdown in his health. In April, 1835. he took up the selling of silverware; he carried two tin trunks on his shoulders and sold from house to house, continuing in this line of work for four and one-half years. In April, 1840, he returned to farm life again, living on
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a farm owned by the heirs of an uncle, where he remained in charge for a year, removing thence to Sandisfield. There he engaged in the wagon building busi- ness in partnership with his wife's brother, Royal Oatman, under the firm name of Parsons & Oatman. They built several buildings and three dwelling houses for their help, two shops, a store and barn. Mr. Parsons left Sandisfield in 1866 and removed to Dorchester, Vir- ginia, where he engaged in the lumber business with Lester Oatman, brother of his former partner, the firm name being L. H. Oatman & Company. This ar- rangement continued for two years, when it was changed to Oatman, Parsons & Kinzer. In 1871 the partnership was dis- solved and Mr. Parsons . removed to Spring Valley, Rockland county, New York. In 1872 he became a resident of Ramapo, New York, where he became one of the most influential citizens.
Mr. Parsons was active in public af- fairs throughout his lifetime. When but twenty years of age he was commissioned lieutenant of the Granville Militia. He was a member of the Democratic party and a firm believer in its principles. Sev- eral times he was honored with public office. In 1846 he was the choice of his party as representative to the State Leg- islature in Boston, and the following year served as selectman. In 1854 he was elected assessor and served six years ; was town auditor from 1843 to 1850. Upon his removal to Ramapo he entered in the public life there and was elected town clerk, which office he held for twelve years.
Mr. Parsons married, October 21, 1839, Maryette Oatman, born September 27, 1815, daughter of Arnold and Abigail (Hayes) Oatman. She died in South Norwalk, Connecticut, April 13, 1898. Her mother, Abigail (Hayes) Oatman,
was born May 2, 1788, and died January 24, 1843, daughter of Titus Hayes, and granddaughter of Richard Hayes, both of Hartland, Connecticut. She married, October 14, 1809, Arnold Oatman, of Arlington, Vermont, born September 22, 1788, died August 8, 1867.
(VII) Milo Holcombe Parsons, son of William Henry and Maryette (Oatman) Parsons, was born in Granville, October 5, 1840, and died July 11, 1904, in Stam- ford, Connecticut. He was reared in New Hartford and Collinsville, Connecticut, and as a young man went into a wholesale shoe house where he learned the business and later went on the road as a shoe sales- man. Subsequently Mr. Parsons went to New York City and engaged in the wholesale oil business on his own account. He later formed a partnership, under the firm name of Parsons & Hastings, with George S. Hastings. For ten years they were successfully engaged in this busi- ness, but in 1878 the development of the Standard Oil Company forced them to discontinue. Mr. Parsons went West, locating in Silver Cliff, Colorado, and be- came superintendent of a mine, remaining for five years. Returning to New York City, he purchased a membership in the New York Produce Exchange and en- gaged in the grain commission business until 1885. In the latter year, ill health forced him to retire from the strenuous cares of a business life, and he became a resident of Stamford, Connecticut, where he took up farming in order to have the most outdoor exercise possible. Mr. Parsons regained his health and went to South Norwalk, where he lived for twelve years and then went West for the second time. He was engaged in selling high grade Percheron horses for breeding pur- poses. In the last year of his life his health again became so poor that his ambitious spirit was overcome and he re-
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turned to Stamford, where he resided until death relieved his suffering.
Mr. Parsons married, October 9, 1867, Georgianna Hull, born October 26, 1840, daughter of George and Clara (Nichols) Hull, of Redding, Connecticut. Mrs. Parsons was a direct descendant of the immigrant, George Hull.
Mr. and Mrs. Parsons were the parents of six children, three of whom grew to maturity. They are: Frederick H., born July 20, 1870, of New Rochelle, New York; Harold A., of further mention; Waldo Hull, who died in June, 1910, in Stamford.
(VIII) Harold Ashton Parsons, son of Milo Holcombe and Georgianna (Hull) Parsons, was born June 13, 1872, in Brooklyn, New York. There he attended the public schools, and later was a stu- dent in the South Norwalk High School, from which he was graduated in June, 1889. The following year he entered Columbia University and was graduated from there in 1894, on his twenty-second birthday, with training as a Civil Engi- neer. His first position after graduating was as assistant engineer for the Darien Water Company ; in 1895 and 1896 he was special draftsman for the chief engineer of the New York Central Railroad Com- pany. The business of road building next claimed his attention and he completed the contracts for two State roads, one in Norwalk and one in Litchfield, Connec- ticut. In 1897 Mr. Parsons embarked in the engineering business on his own ac- count, and in 1901 added general con- tracting to his professional work. The scope of his activities includes land sur- veying, bridge building, and he has made a specialty of legal engineering work covering all engineering matters and building contracts. From 1900 to 1902 Mr. Parsons was city engineer of Stam-
ford, and again from 1909 to 1913. He designed and built under his own super- vision the West Side sewer extension which comprises about one-third of the sewerage system of Stamford.
In April, 1918, Mr. Parson tried to en- list in the service, but was rejected on the grounds that he was engaged in more valuable work, but on November 4, 1918, he was admitted to the rank of captain in the Quartermasters Corps, Construc- tion Division. He was engaged entirely on contracts for private enterprises that were doing one hundred per cent. gov- ernment work and for the government itself. Particularly notable was the hur- ried construction of the plant for the manufacture of gas-mask cloth and the remodelling and reconstruction of the Stamford branch of the Edgewood Arse- nal, which was almost exclusively used for the manufacture of chlorine gas. This work was under the personal supervision of Mr. Parsons. In 1906 Mr. Parsons be- came an associate member of the Ameri- can Society of Civil Engineers, and was made a full member in December, 1910; he is a member of the Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers and of the Engineer's Association of Fairfield County, of which he is organizer and also was its first president. He is a member of Union Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Stamford Council, No. 999, Royal Arcanum; Columbia University Club of New York City ; and the Presby- terian church.
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