USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 10 > Part 37
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Always a good citizen, Mr. Schlichting gave conclusive evidence of his loyalty when his country stood in need of his services as a soldier. In December, 1917, he was drafted and became a member of the 102nd Company, 26th Division. On March 18, 1918, he was sent to France, and had been there only about six weeks when he was assigned to Company D. He saw in all thirteen months' foreign service. Company D, it may be mentioned, was
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popularly known as the "New Haven Blues." Mr. Schlichting was slightly wounded in the ankle, but as he refused to go to a hospital the wound did not receive official recognition. As an able business man, a brave soldier and a good citizen, Mr. Schlichting is a man who would be a valuable acquisition to any community.
ERSKINE, Ralph Child, Furniture Manufacturer.
The mental and spiritual qualities which first impelled the American pio- neers to build a new civilization were neither changed by the untoward condi- tions which they met, nor lost in the long struggle which conquered these condi- tions. From generation to generation were handed down, along with the pa- trician features and gentle manners, the lofty ideals and artistic tastes which are now finding expression in the everyday life of the Nation. This trend has broad- ened out to include the manual, as well as the fine arts, and in this fact is found the source of that culture which has be- come the distinguishing characteristic of the present day American, child and man. A noteworthy instance of this significant development is that of Ralph Child Er- skine, of Stamford, Connecticut, who has built an important industry on the com- bining of art and utility.
According to Harrison, an eminent au- thority on the derivation of names, the surname of Erskine is of Celtic origin, first being Iriskine, subsequently Erskin. The meaning of many names is lost in the mists of antiquity, but it is clear from ancient records that the name of Erskine signifies literally "height of the cleft." It belongs to the class of surnames known as "local."
(I) Christopher Erskin came from Ire- Ireland, and settled near Boston, Massa-
chusetts. He died April 19, 1775, at the age of seventy-five years. He married, in 1729, Susannah Robinson, daughter of Gaius Robinson; she died August 19, 1787.
(II) John Erskine, son of Christopher and Susannah (Robinson) Erskin, was born in 1732. It was in this generation that the use of the final "e" was begun in writing the name.
(III) John (2) Erskine, son of John (1) Erskine, was born in 1752, and lived in Winchester, New Hampshire. He won his rank in the Revolutionary war, where, among the flower of the sturdy pioneer youth, he helped lay the foundations of the Republic which has now taken the lead among the nations of the world.
(IV) Walter Erskine, youngest son of Lieutenant John (2) Erskine, was born May 8, 1795. He married, May 16, 1816, Margaret Bowen, born May 15, 1802, daughter of Zephaniah Bowen. Her grandfather was Thomas Bowen, for- merly a resident of Warren, Rhode Is- land. He left that section in 1767, and married Penelope Aldrich, of North- bridge, Massachusetts, who was born November 26, 1748, daughter of John and Mary Aldrich. Thomas Bowen died July 12, 1834, and his wife June 10, 1825. His son, Zephaniah Bowen, was born October 10, 1776, in Richmond, New Hampshire, and died June 4, 1851. He married, Feb- ruary 25, 1798, Martha Alden, daughter of Moses Alden, Sr. She died October 10, 1854. Their daughter, Margaret, became the wife of Walter Erskine, as above noted.
(V) Massina Bertier Erskine, son of Walter and Margaret (Bowen) Erskine, was born December 19, 1819, and died in 1893, in Royalston, Worcester county, Massachusetts. From infancy until he was fifteen years of age he lived in Richmond, New Hampshire. From there
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he removed to Massachusetts, and learned the trade of shipwright. As was entirely natural, the atmosphere of the shipyards was a keen incentive to the lad toward travel by sea. On March I, 1849, when the first California gold fever was at its height, he took a sailing vessel bound around Cape Horn, and in due course reached the Western coast. He located on the Sacramento river, and built there the first steamboat constructed on the Pacific coast. He spent some time in the gold district, and when he returned East brought some gold nuggets which are still in the possession of the family, al- though, in truth, he came back much richer in experience and practical knowledge of the world than in material wealth. He re- mained on the Western coast for about two years, returning overland to Mas- sachusetts, where he rejoined his family. The call of the West was not to be en- tirely forgotten, however, and on June 8, 1852, he started for Racine, Wisconsin, with his family. At that time Racine was a typical New England settlement in the then Far West. In the development of the little frontier town the young man was to be a prominent figure. He helped to establish one of the early industries of the town, organizing, in 1863, the firm of J. I. Case & Company, which manufac- tured threshing machinery designed by Jerome I. Case. His first threshing ma- chine, which was the first ever built in the West, was a great improvement over any theretofore built, and in the rapid development of the immense fertile prai- ries into productive grain fields, the machinery found a waiting market. Not long after this start, Mr. Erskine designed the first combined thresher and separator built in the West. He had practical charge of the marketing end of the busi- ness, which became the leading industry of Racine, capitalized in the millions and
having five hundred agencies in North America. Mr. Erskine is considered the father of the exclusive agency idea, which now generally governs the marketing of special products, such as talking ma- chines, automobiles, office specialties, etc. He also founded the Racine Wagon and Carriage Works, which he developed to the largest business of its nature in his time. He was a man of broad interests and quick sympathies, interested in all public affairs, and always ready to do his share in public matters. He was treasurer of the Taylor Orphan Asylum for a num- ber of years, served as school commis- sioner and supervisor; was mayor of Racine in 1869, 1870 and 1871; was a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church ; and was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Racine. He was far from being a poli- tician for the game's sake, but held that obligation to public service rested upon every citizen in proportion to his abilities. In every way in his power he furthered every movement for the public good, and with the indefatigable energy and keen business acumen which made him a power in the business world made him a force for progress in the world of public life, and in organized benevolence. A record of his life would lack simplest justice without saying that in all his business interests, as well as in public and private life, he was actuated by the highest prin- ciples, holding lofty ideals and demanding of himself that every word and deed should measure up to these ideals. Upon such a foundation he built the success which was due entirely to his own efforts.
On April 7, 1841, Mr. Erskine married Susan Perry, of Matick, Massachusetts, daughter of William and Hannah (Le- land) Perry (see Leland). Mrs. Leland was a descendant of the old Massachu- setts family, originating in England.
(VI) Charles Edwin Erskine, son of
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Massina Bertier and Susan (Perry) Er- skine, was born December 26, 1847, and died July 8, 1908. At the time his par- ents went to Wisconsin, the public schools of that section were for the greater part in the unformed condition of all pioneer institutions. But in Racine the schools were under the supervision of Colonel McMinn, a man whose skill as an edu- cator gave him more than local renown, and provided the youth of the town with training of a standard rarely to be found in a frontier town. After completing the public school course, young Erskine be- came associated with his father in busi- ness, and was soon made treasurer of the J. I. Case Company, a position which he held for about fifteen years. While his start in the business world was made under auspicious circumstances, nothing but the sterling worth and aggressive spirit of the young man could possibly have such a record as that which he left on the history of the business world of Racine. He had charge of the credits of the company, and built up a splendid sys- tem, making for himself an enviable repu- tation in business sagacity and judgment. He became a director of the company, and was largely responsible for its success, remaining in this office until the business was sold. The growing town did not fail to appreciate the solid business ability of the man, and deferred to him in public matters, also in the affairs of the economic institutions of the town. He was for years a director of the Manufacturers' National Bank, of which his father had at one time been president.
But Charles Edwin Erskine was a man of broad interests, and the foregoing gives only one side of his nature. He was a man who delighted in his home and fam- ily, a man of native culture and refine- ment. Music was his chief interest and recreation. Naturally talented along this
line, he was possessed of an infinite ca- pacity for patient and intelligent applica- tion, and early became a really fine performer, playing the organ in the Pres- byterian church when a lad of seventeen. He also possessed a very fine voice, rich and strong, yet exceedingly flexible and sympathetic. His early circumstances had made it necessary to work out his own financial independence, and his en- vironment had placed him in the business world, but as soon as he was able com- fortably to retire from business, he with- drew from all active mercantile interests and devoted himself to music. Long habit made it impossible for him to re- linquish all active interests, and he spent a considerable share of his time in gar- dening. He was also deeply interested in the raising of fine cattle, his herd of Jerseys being the pride of that section. In these varied lines of congenial effort he found the self expression which the business man too often foregoes. He was very fond of flowers, for his esthetic in- stincts were highly developed, and his delight in lovely form and color was as keen as his appreciation of harmony. He spent considerable time in travel with his family, for after all his chief pleasure was in his family circle. He had a home in Pasadena, and one in North Carolina.
Mr. Erskine married Emma Payne, daughter of Alfred Payne, an artist, born in England. Her mother was Olive (Child) Payne, a descendant of Benjamin Child, who came from England with Gov- ernor Winthrop, and settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Of the six children of this marriage, all have shown, to a marked degree, the native ability and mental ca- pacity which are but the natural legacy of such an ancestry. Alfred, the eldest, was an explorer, and has added an appre- ciable contribution to the sum of human knowledge; Harold Perry, following an-
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other art with gratifying success, is a sculptor in New York City; Ralph Child, of whom extended mention follows, is the third; Violet Leland, the elder daughter, married Parish Watson, of New York City ; Malcolm Edwin, the youngest son, has for some years been an officer of the J. I. Case Plow Works, of Racine, Wis- consin; Susan, the youngest daughter, married C. P. Rogers, of Flat Rock, North Carolina. The parents were for many years devout and earnest members of the Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Er- skine was an elder, and in which Mrs. Erskine was a leader in the various social and benevolent organizations.
(VII) Ralph Child Erskine, son of Charles Edwin and Emma (Payne) Er- skine, was born in Racine, Wisconsin, November 10, 1880. He received his ele- mentary education in the public schools of the place, then fast becoming a thriv- ing young city. As he grew to manhood, he faced life with the assured confidence of the youth with a record of honorable achievement behind him. But he was possessed of an aggressive spirit of his own, not content to rest upon the dignity of his forbears. As the field of higher education opened before him, he left no stone unturned that could yield him use- ful material for the building of his career. He prepared for college at St. Paul's School, in Concord, New Hampshire, and Lake Forest, (Illinois) Academy. Ma- triculating at Williams College, he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1904. During all his school life he was wise enough to keep a sane balance between the active sports of the campus and study. He found study no grind. He was keenly interested in the fine arts, and found most absorbing those courses which disclosed the history of civilization as interpreted in the things which men have made, the inception and
slow, but wonderful, development of the arts and industries.
Social by nature, and holding high ideals of life, the welfare of the younger lads appealed to him strongly, and after his graduation he taught in a boy's school in Hoosick, New York, for six years. But his personal taste was the determining factor in his choice of a life work. He began, in 1911, in Tryon, North Carolina, the manufacture of period furniture, pay- ing special attention to the Colonial school of design. He searched New Eng- land for the best products of old Colonial handiwork, and used as models the finest examples of American Windsors, fiddle- backs and other distinctive designs. He brought skilled artisans from Scotland, and began the manufacture of copies of these models, all work being done by hand as it was in Colonial days. The business soon gave promise of future success. But his social responsibility toward those in his employ was not forgotten. The edu- cational facilities of the South by no means measured up to the standard which he considered proper for the families of his workmen, so in 1915 he brought the manufacturing department of his business North, locating in Stamford, Connecticut.
This venture has evoked a hearty re- sponse from cultured people who have been quick to avail themselves of the opportunity of securing choice reproduc- tions of furniture, the originals of which are now to be found almost exclusively in the possession of museums and discrimi- nating private collectors. At present about one hundred and twenty-five skilled workmen are employed in this industry. The products now include many charm- ing bedroom, breakfast-room, dining- room and sun-room pieces, reproducing some of the most exquisite designs of Sheraton, the Adams Brothers, Chippen- dale and Hepplewhite. The finishes in-
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clude the natural wood, and beautiful lacquer colors of the Colonial period, har- monizing with the fine English fabrics used for upholstery and hangings. In the entire history of the industry very little money has been spent on the sort of pub- licity to be gained from printer's ink. Nevertheless, the fame of this beautiful furniture has reached a wide range, and it now adorns homes in various European countries, and even in far-off South Africa. In 1914 the business was incor- porated as the Erskine-Danforth Corpora- tion, with Mr. Erskine as president.
In the social and public life of Stam- ford, as well as in the business world, Mr. Erskine is a prominent and welcome fig- ure. He is a member of Delta Psi, the Williams Club of New York, St. Anthony Club, and Mendelssohn Glee Club. In his senior year at college he was leader of the Williams Glee Club, of which he was a member during the entire four years' course.
Mr. Erskine married (first) Barbara Peattie, dughter of R. B. Peattie, of Chi- cago. She died in 1915, aged thirty-one years, leaving three young children : Charles Robert, born July 31, 1907; Mal- colm Edward, born February 8, 1909; and Ralph Child, Jr., born September 15, 1912.
Mrs. Erskine's mother has been an author since girlhood, writing under the pen name of Payne Erskine, novels of American life. Among these are "When the Gates Lift Up Their Heads ;" "Joyful Heatherby ;" "The Eye of Dread;" etc. Perhaps the one which reached the widest audience was "The Mountain Woman," published serially in The Ladies' Home Journal. A warmly sympathetic picture of Southern mountain life, it still gives the world, to an unusual degree, a keenly interpretative analysis of the true char- acter of the mountain people-wildly rugged, like the physical character of their
uncultivated home country ; tenacious of possession, fiercely jealous, yet loyal as truth itself to the traditions of the hills. "Payne Erskine," Mrs. Eliza W. Peattie, was literary editor of the Chicago "Tribune" for many years, and Mr. Peat- tie is now the head of the New York of- fice of that paper. Mrs. Peattie is the author of a play, "Sunrise," a story of the North Carolina mountains, which is be- ing produced by Smith & Goldberg. Her poems, which have been grouped together and published, seem to her friends to breathe her own personality, that rich essence, which, with every really gripping novel, is utterly lost in the story.
Mr. Erskine married (second) Margaret Burbank MacCullen, daughter of Frank R. MacCullen, a leading clothing mer- chant of Boston.
Mr. Erskine has always been cordially interested in the prosperity of the church. While a resident of Tryon, he was a mem- ber of the vestry of the Episcopal church there, and also sang in the choir. The family now attend and support the Epis- copal church in Stamford, where they reside.
In such a record as the foregoing it is difficult to present the personality of the man whose life is under review. What he does seems to overbalance what he is. But after all, the achievement measures the man, as no other estimate can do, and with Ralph Child Erskine it is a true index of the man and his character.
(The Leland Line).
(I) Henry Leland was born in Eng- land about 1625. He married Margaret Badcock. Coming to America in 1652, he united with the Dorchester church in 1653; then settled soon after in Sher- burne, Massachusetts, where he died April 4, 1680.
(II) Hopestill Leland, son of Henry
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and Margaret (Badcock) Leland, was born November 15, 1655, and died in Sherburne, in 1729. He married (first) Abigail Hill; (second) Patience Hol- brook. He was thrifty and industrious, a farmer, and highly respected in the com- munity.
(III) Hopestill (2) Leland, son of Hopestill (1) Leland, was born in 1681, and died in 1760, in Sherburne. He mar- ried Mary Bullard. He also followed farming, and was a prominent man in the church, holding the office of deacon for many years.
(IV) Daniel Leland, son of Hopestill (2) and Mary (Bullard) Leland, was born in 1707, and died in 1764. He married Mary Death. He passed his life in Sher- burne, on his father's farm, surviving his father by only four years.
(V) Adam Leland, son of Daniel and Mary (Death) Leland, married Prudence -, and they were the parents of Hannah, of whom further.
(VI) Hannah Leland, daughter of Adam and Prudence Leland, was born in 1781. She married William Perry, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Rowe) Perry, born in 1777, in Natick, Massachusetts. He was a grandson of Samuel and Ruth (Leland) Perry.
(VII) Susan Perry, daughter of Wil- liam and Hannah (Leland) Perry, married Massina Bertier Erskine, as above noted.
CORBETT, Matthew, Manufacturer.
Among those who have made a marked success in manufacturing interests in Con- necticut, Matthew Corbett, late of Nor- walk, is well deserving of mention. Very early in his life Mr. Corbett realized the truth of the old adage that "Fortune's best fruit grows on the mountain top. It falls unheeding, but only those who have the
strength to climb may gather it." Mr. Corbett not only had the strength, but he possessed the ambition and thrift, com- bined with an honesty of purpose which enabled him to gain his goal. From a very modest beginning, he worked him- self upward in his business to the position which he held at the time of his death, that of president of the Old Well Cigar Manufacturing Company.
Mr. Corbett was born in Boston, Mas- sachusetts, December 25, 1852, son of James and Elizabeth (McCauley ) Corbett. His father, James Corbett, was born in Rathfrilend, County Down, Ireland, where he died at the age of seventy-eight years. Three years of his life were spent in America, at which time he was a resi- dent of South Boston, Massachusetts. He had come to New England in the interests of the British army to purchase horses for their needs. Mr. Corbett married Elizabeth McCauley, daughter of Samuel McCauley ; she was a native of the same town in Ireland and they grew up to- gether. They were married before com- ing to America.
Matthew Corbett was educated in the parochial school of the Episcopal church in Rathfrilend, and when he was seven- teen years of age he came to America, settling first in Boston, Massachusetts, and soon after removing to Norwalk, Connecticut. In the latter city Mr. Cor- bett learned the trade of cigar maker with C. Swartz & Company. He was an ambi- tious lad and faithful to the interests of his employers. In 1880 he was rewarded by being admitted to the firm, and in this same year the business was incorporated under the name of The Old Well Cigar Manufacturing Company. About 1900 Mr. Corbett became superintendent of the plant, and in 1910 was appointed presi- dent, which office he held until his death. About forty people are employed, and
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sales are made direct to the retailers through a force of traveling men who cover Southern New England and New York City.
In politics Mr. Corbett was a Republi- can, and served as treasurer of the old city of South Norwalk; he was a member of the Common Council. He was in no sense of the word a politician, but was a pub- lic-spirited citizen and willing at all times to further any movement for the public welfare. He served as a member of the board of directors of the South Norwalk Trust Company. The fraternal affiliations of Mr. Corbett were: Member of Butler Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and Colfax Encampment, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows; he was a mem- ber of the Country Club of Norwalk; and the South Norwalk Club, of which he was also president and a director.
Mr. Corbett married Isabelle Powell, daughter of John W. Powell, of South Norwalk, and they were the parents of two children: Grace, who lives at home, and Matthew, Jr., who is married and the father of two daughters, Ruth and Ethel. Mrs. Corbett was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Mr. Corbett died July 10, 1921. His wife died March I, 1906.
WEBB, Charles Pond, Business Man.
Since 1626 the name of Webb has been an honored one in New England. The name itself is very ancient in England, being derived from the old English word, meaning weaver. Thus we learn that the early ancestors of this family were weav- ers by occupation, as it is from trades, or characteristics, that the first surnames were derived.
Richard Webb, the first of the name in America, came in 1626 from Dorsetshire,
England, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, thence moving to Boston, where he was made a freeman in 1632. In 1635 he was in Connecticut; in 1650 in Norwalk, and in 1655 in Stamford, where he died Jan- uary 1, 1656. He married Elizabeth Gregory, daughter of John Gregory, and they were the parents of eight children, all of whom settled in the vicinity, and today are the ancestors of many of the leading citizens of Fairfield county. One of the latter, Charles Pond Webb, is among the prominent business men of Stamford.
(I) Henry Webb, great-grandfather of Charles Pond Webb, was a seafaring man. He married a Miss Bell.
(II) Charles H. Webb, son of Henry Webb, was born on Noroton Hill, Con- necticut. He began following the sea as a boy, and later became owner of a sloop and sailed between Darien and New York City. He carried freight and prod- uce. When the railroad was built, Mr. Webb gave that up and bought the dock where J. H. Webb's grocery store is now located ; there Mr. Webb engaged in busi- ness as a general merchant, at the same time carrying on business as an oyster planter and dealer. He sold most of his oysters in Norwalk, and a few years be- fore his death retired from active work. He married Mary Shaw.
(III) James Harvey Webb, son of Charles H. and Mary (Shaw) Webb, was born on Noroton Hill, Connecticut, De- cember 20, 1858. He was educated in the public schools of Darien, and as a boy, when not at school, began following the water with his father. He grew up in the oyster business, in which his father was engaged, and succeeded him in it. About 1905 he gave up the oyster business to engage in the grocery business, in which he also succeeded his father. Mr. Webb has been very successful, and is one of the
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