USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11 > Part 2
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Rev. Joseph Hull was twice married, but the names of both his wives remain unknown. The first died in England, and he married again, about 1635. Issue: I. Joanna, born in England, married (first) at Sandwich, Massachusetts, Colonel John Bursley, of Barnstable. Married (second) Dolor Davis. 2. Joseph, born in England, settled at York, Maine. 3. Tristram, of whom further. 4. Temperance, born in England. 5. Elizabeth, born in England. 6. Grisselds, born in England. 7. Dorothy. 8. Benjamin, born in Hingham. 9. Naomi, born in Barnstable. 10. Ruth.
(II) Captain Tristram Hull, second son of the Rev. Joseph Hull, was born in Eng-
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land, in 1626. He was a selectman of Barnstable, a military officer, and left property to the value of £1150 2s. 5d., sterling, a large amount in those days. In February, 1656, he was fined for reliev- ing some persecuted Quakers of Boston. He joined the Society of Friends.
Captain Tristram Hull married, but the name of his wife is unknown. Issue: I. Mary, born in Yarmouth, September 16, 1645; married Joseph Holley, of Sand- wich. 2. Sarah, born in March, 1650, at Barnstable; married Robert Burgess, of Linn. 3. Joseph, of whom further. 4. John, born in Barnstable in March, 1654; married, in London, October 23, 1684, Alice Tidemann. 5. Hannah, born in Barnstable, February, 1656; married, Sep- tember 15, 1674, Joseph Blish, and died November 15, 1733.
(III) Joseph (2) Hull, eldest son of Captain Tristram Hull, was born at Barn- stable, in June, 1652. He was made a freeman in 1696, and was governor assist- ant in 1699 and from 1701 to 1703. He suffered much persecution because he was a member of the Society of Friends, of which community he was a minister. In 1681 he was fined for beating the sheriff who had persecuted him as a Quaker. He died at South Kingston, Rhode Island, about 1709. Joseph (2) Hull married, in October, 1676, Experience Harper, daugh- ter of Robert Harper, who was one of the first Quakers to suffer in body and estate, and was in 1660 banished from Boston.
(IV) Tristram (2) Hull, son of Joseph (2) and Experience (Harper) Hull, was born in 1677, lived in Westerly, and owned lands there. He died in 1718. Tristram (2) Hull married Elizabeth Dyer, daughter of Charles Dyer, son of William Dyer, whose wife Mary was executed on Boston Common, January I, 1660, because she was a Quakeress.
(V) Stephen Hull, son of Tristram (2)
and Elizabeth (Dyer) Hull, was born at Westerly, Rhode Island, in 1715. He lived at South Kingston, and witnessed many stirring events during the Revolutionary War. He died in 1798. Stephen Hull married Martha Clark.
(VI) Latham Hull, son of Stephen and Martha (Clark) Hull, was born at South Kingston, Rhode Island, in 1750. He died at North Stonington in 1807. Latham Hull married (first) Anna Wheeler. He married (second) Desire Williams, born January 24, 1751, a lineal descendant of John and Elizabeth Tilley, both of whom were passengers on the "Mayflower." Issue: 1. Jeremiah, married Keturah Randall Williams. 2. John W., of whom further.
(VII) Colonel John W. Hull, son of Latham and Desire (Williams) Hull, was born in January, 1789. He lived at North Stonington, Connecticut, and served in the army, being colonel. John W. Hull married (first) Elizabeth Smith, of Waterford, Connecticut, granddaughter of Charles Stewart and Hannah Williams Smith. He married (second) Nancy York. Issue by first marriage : I. Eunice, married Benjamin Franklin Browning, brother of John Hazard Browning. 2. John Pomery, married Harriet Jane Argall, of New York City. 3. Eliza Smith, of whom further. Issue by second marriage: 4. Jesse Y. Lathrop. 5. Charles S. 6. Ann, married (first) Eras- tus Hewitt; (second) Latham Stewart. 7. Elmire, married William Argall.
(VIII) Eliza Smith Hull, daughter of Colonel John W. and Elizabeth (Smith) Hull, was born May 26, 1812. She was a woman of great literary accomplish- ments. She died April 21, 1875. Eliza Smith Hull married, September 21, 1829, John Hazard Browning, when she was seventeen and he was twenty-eight years old (see Browning VI).
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SISSON, Charles G.,
Man of Great Enterprise.
Arms-Per fesse embattled or and azure, three griffins' heads erased counterchanged.
Crest-A griffin's head erased or.
Motto-Hope for the best. (The motto, Si sonent tubae paratus, has been sometimes used over the crest).
This family name was probably derived from Soissons, a province of France, the progenitors of the English branches doubtless having come to Britain with William of Normandy. In the poll tax returns of Howdenshire (Yorkshire) for the year 1739 the following names are found: Johannes Sisson, Robertus Cis- son, Henricus Sisson, Thomas Cysson, and William Cisson. An English gene- alogist concludes that in one instance the name is derived from Syston, a populous village in Leicestershire, but here again the real origin leads to France. The Eng- lish Sissons were, as a rule, non-conform- ists and engaged in commerce.
: (I) Richard Sisson, the first of the name in America, is of record at Ports- mouth, Rhode Island, where on May 17, 1653, he was admitted a freeman of the town. On July 2, 1653, he was on a jury that found in the case of Thomas Brad- ley (discovered dead on the highway) "that by extremity of heat the said Thomas was overcome and so perished by himself in the wilderness." On July 6, 1658, he bought of William Hall one three-hundredth of the island of Quonon- oquett (Conanicut), and one three hun- dredth of Dutch Island, and two years later he disposed of this property and a like amount in the same locality. In 1667 he served on the grand jury, being then at Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and in 1668, at the age of sixty or thereabouts, he gave the following testimony: "John Archer, being at my house, did speak as follow-
eth, and said the deed of gift made by Namumpan to John Sanford and himself was a cheat, and the intent thereof was to deceive Namumpan, squaw Sachem, of her land ; and they were to have both corn and peague to secure her land, from Wamsutta or Peter Talman, and was to resign up the deed at her demand." In 1671 he was surveyor of highways. He died in 1684. The inventory of his estate amounted to £600 19d, and included one Indian servant, valued at £10, and one negro servant valued at £28. His wife Mary died in 1692. They were the par- ents of six children : I. George, of whom further. 2. Elizabeth, born April 8, 1650; married, 1670, Caleb Allen. 3. James, died in 1734; married Elizabeth Hatha- way. 4. John, died in 1687; married Mary 5. Anne, died in 1713, married Peleg Tripp. 6. Mary, died in 1674; mar- ried Isaac Lawton.
(II) George Sisson, son of Richard and Mary Sisson, was born in 1644, and died September 7, 1718. About 1667 he went with his father to Dartmouth, and after remaining a few years returned to Ports- mouth. In 1671 he was on the grand jury at Dartmouth, and in the same year was on a committee to view the damage done the Indians by the horses and dogs of the English. In this year, too, he sold prop- erty in Portsmouth for three-eighths of one share in Dartmouth. George Sisson in 1684 was on a jury which found a ver- dict on a dead Indian "that he murdered himself," etc. On June 24, 1687, he was appointed administrator of his brother John's widow, Mary. In the same year he was constable, in 1688 grand juryman, in 1690, 1702, 1705, and 1707 deputy, and in 1703 justice of the peace. His will, made August 20, 1718, disposed of an estate of £451 18s. 8d., the homestead farm given to Richard, his eldest son. This property, lying in Portsmouth,
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Rhode Island, has descended from father to son to the present time.
George Sisson married Sarah Lawton, daughter of Thomas Lawton. She died July 5, 1718. Children: I. Elizabeth, born August 18, 1669, died in 1752; mar- ried Jeremiah Clark. 2. Mary, born Octo- ber 18, 1670, died in 1718. 3. Ann, born December 17, 1672; married Philip Weeden. 4. Hope, born December 24, 1674; married William Sanford. 5. Richard, born September 10, 1676, died in 1752; married Ann Card. 6. Ruth, born May 5, 1680, married Richard Tew. 7. George, born March 23, 1683; married (first) Mercy; (second) Lydia Cole. 8. Abigail, born March 23, 1685, died August 30, 1723; married William Tew. 9. Thomas, of whom further. 10. John, born June 26, 1688, died in 1784; married Rebecca -. II. James, born July 26, 1690, married Deborah Cook.
(III) Thomas Sisson, son of George and Sarah (Lawton) Sisson, was born September 10, 1686, and died in 1775. Under his father's will he inherited prop- erty in Newport, and there spent the greater part of his life. His wife, Jane, died in 1758. Children: 1. Giles, 2. Wil- liam, of whom further. 3. Thomas. 4. Peleg. 5. Rebecca.
(IV) William Sisson, son of Thomas and Jane Sisson, was a prosperous farmer and well known resident of Stonington, Connecticut, where he married and where his children were born, as follows: I. Oliver, born March 30, 1738. 2. Nathan, born April 14, 1740. 3. Hannah, born June 17, 1742. 4. William, of whom further. 5. Benajah, born September 17, 1746. 6. James, born August 15, 1748. 7. Abigail, born October 24, 1750. 8. Jona- than, born May 2, 1753. 9. Hannah, born June 17, 1755. 10. Thomas, born April 4, 1758, died October 2, 1841.
(V) William (2) Sisson, son of Wil-
liam (1) Sisson, was born July 12, 1744, and died October 15, 1798. He was a leading merchant at Stonington, and prominent in military affairs. William Sisson married, April 10, 1766, Mary or Marcy Noyes, daughter of John and Mary or Marcy (Breed) Noyes, descendant of James Noyes, who came to England in 1634 in the "Mary and John." Children : I. Gilbert, of whom further. 2. Marcy, born April 15, 1771. 3. Lucy, born Janu- ary 28, 1773. 4. Abigail, born July II, 1775. 5. Huldah, born February 28, 1778. 6. Nancy, born July 9, 1780. 7. William, born April 29, 1784. 8. Polly, born May 20, 1787. 9. Hannah, born August 25, 1792.
(VI) Major Gilbert Sisson, son of Wil- liam (2) and Mary (Noyes) Sisson, was born at Stonington, March 13, 1769, and died September 11, 1840. He was a not- able figure for decades in the public life of the town and a leader in its military activity. Major Gilbert Sisson married, March 22, 1791, Desire Maine, daughter of Amos and Abigail (Brown) Maine, of Stonington, and a descendant of Ezekiel Maine, founder of the family of America, and one of the early residents of Stoning- ton. She was born March 31, 1772, and died November 17, 1842. Children: I. Polly, born November 17, 1791, died August 17, 1794. 2. Esther, born Decem- ber 8, 1793, died February 18, 1875; mar- ried William Lewis. 3. Betsey, born Sep- tember 19, 1796; married Clark D. Thompson. 4. Noyes, born September 21, 1798, died August 7, 1872 ; married (first) Eliza Browning, (second) Rachel Avery. 5. Gilbert, born September 1, 1800, died July 27, 1876; married Elizabeth Lewis. 6. William, born September 6, 1802, died April 6, 1875; married Abbie Browning. 7. Lucy A., died November 26, 1890; mar- ried Henry Bliven. 8. Charles Grandison, of whom further. 9. Emily, born June 7, 1809, died February 19, 1855; married
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Robert A. Bliven. 10. Benjamin F., born April 20, 1811, died September 8, 1885; married (first) Marritta York; (second) Margaret Hilliard. II. Cyrus S., born March 5, 1813, died March 22, 1813. 12. Oliver A., born May 1, 1816, died in 1885; married (first) Mary M. Segar; (second) Sarah M. Perry.
(VII) Charles Grandison Sisson, son of Major Gilbert and Desire (Maine) Sisson, was born in Stonington, Connecti- cut, April 15, 1807, and died August 21, 1874. Mr. Sisson was a projector, con- tractor, and railroad president, and one of the foremost citizens of New Jersey dur- ing a residence in that State of more than a quarter of a century.
Charles Grandison Sisson married (first) Martha Wheeler, daughter of Asa and Polly (Brown) Wheeler, of Stoning- ton; (second) Mary Hewitt, daughter of Elias and Polly (Miner) Hewitt, of Ston- ington; (third) Mary Elizabeth Garra- brant, who was born in New Jersey, in 1836, daughter of Myndert Garrabrant, and member of an old Knickerbocker family. She died in 1870. Charles Grand- ison Sisson and Mary Elizabeth (Garra- brant) Sisson were the parents of Eva B. Sisson, who married John Hull Brown- ing (see Browning VII).
PORTER, Rev. Noah,
Clergyman, Educator, Author.
Arms-Argent, on a fess sable, between two bar- rulets or, three church bells of the first.
Crest-A portcullis proper, chained or.
Motto-Vigilante et virtute. (By watchfulness and bravery).
Genealogists trace the origin of this family to the Norman Conquest, to one William de la Grande, a Norman knight who fought at Hastings in the train of William the Conqueror, and for his ser-
vices was given lands at or near Kenil- worth in Warwickshire. His son held the court office of grand porteur under the reign of King Henry from 1130 to 1140, and when the adoption of surnames be- came prevalent throughout England took the name of his office. It would be an extravagant exaggeration to assert that all the English Porters and their Ameri- can descendants are the progeny of Wil- liam de la Grande, but beyond any doubt the families of the name who have figured prominently in English life and affairs for centuries, as well as several branches of the New England Porters trace an authentic lineage to this progenitor.
The Massachusetts and Connecticut Porters have included many persons of note in the learned professions, and in civic and military life. By far the most distinguished member of the family in recent generations was the late Noah Porter, D. D., noted scholar and educator, the eleventh president of Yale University, son of Rev. Noah Porter, D. D., and brother of Miss Sarah Porter, the founder of the celebrated Porter School at Farm- ington, Connecticut. In the American Revolution, members of the Porter family of New England were zealous and active patriots. At the first fire of the British at Lexington a Porter fell, and the first name inscribed on the monumental tablet of the slain at Bunker Hill is that of a Porter.
Rev. Noah Porter, above mentioned, was a lineal descendant of Robert Porter, founder of the family in America.
(I) Robert Porter, immigrant ancestor and founder, was a native of England. The exact date of his coming to New England is not known. He was one of the first settlers of the ancient town of Farmington, Connecticut, and one of its eighty-four original proprietors, up to the time of his death playing a leading role
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in civic and religious affairs in the little community. He was one of the seven pillars of the church, but at a later date left it to settle in Mattatuck, now Water- bury, where he was granted a lot in 1684. His property extended from what is now West Main street to Grove street. He was one of the original proprietor inhabi- tants of Waterbury. Robert Porter died in Waterbury in 1689, and at the time of his death was the oldest man in the com- munity. He married Mary Scott, and among their children was Thomas, men- tioned below.
(II) Thomas Porter, son of Robert and Mary (Scott) Porter, was born in 1650, in Farmington, Connecticut. He married Abigail Cowles, who was born in 1664, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Stanley) Cowles, and granddaughter of John Cowles.
(III) Robert (2) Porter, son of Thomas and Abigail (Cowles) Porter, was born in 1697. He married Sarah Smith, daugh- ter of Jonathan Smith.
(IV) Deacon Noah Porter, son of Rob- ert (2) and Sarah (Smith) Porter, was born in 1733, and died in 1818. He was prominent in religious affairs, and was one of the foremost citizens of Farming- ton to the time of his death. He married Rachel Merill.
(V) Rev. Noah (2) Porter, D. D., son of Deacon Noah (1) and Rachel (Merill) Porter, was born in Farmington, Connec- ticut, in 1781, and died there in 1866. He was graduated in the class of 1803 at Yale College, and carried off highest honors. After pursuing studies preparatory to entering the ministry, he was settled over the Congregational church in his native town, and remained at its head until his death, his pastorate covering a period of more than sixty years. In 1828 he re- ceived the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Dartmouth College. For nearly
forty years from 1823 to 1862, he was a Fellow of Yale College, and during the greater part of that time served on its most important committees. He was one of the foremost divines in New England in the first half of the nineteenth century, and it was in his study at Farmington on the fifth of September, 1810, that the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was organized and held its first meeting. Noah Porter married Mehitable Meigs, daughter of Captain Giles and Anne (Green) Meigs, of Middle- town, Connecticut. The wife of Noah Porter was a descendant in the sixth gen- eration of Rev. Samuel Whiting and Elizabeth (St. John) Whiting. The lat- ter traced a distinguished lineage through twenty generations from King Henry I of France. They were the parents of Noah, mentioned below.
(VI) Rev. Noah (3) Porter, D. D., son of Rev. Noah (2) and Mehitable (Meigs) Porter, was born in Farmington, Connec- ticut, December 14, 1811. He received his early educational training under Simeon Hart, principal of the Farming- ton Academy, and for a short time studied under John H. Lathrop, who afterwards became chancellor of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin. He also studied under the direction of Elisha N. Sill. In 1824, following a fashion common among the prominent New England families of the day, Noah Porter was received- into the family of an uncle, Dr. Humphrey, president of Amherst College, one of whose sons took the place of Noah Porter in the Porter family in Farmington. Here he studied under Ebenezer Snell, who afterwards became professor of Natural Philosophy at Amherst College. With the exception of one or two terms spent in the school in Middletown, Connecticut, Noah Porter received his elementary edu- cation and made his preparation for col-
1
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lege under some of the foremost educators of the day, who fostered in him an inher- ited love of learning and laid the founda- tions of his subsequent notable career as an educator. At the age of sixteen years he matriculated at Yale College, entering with the class of 1831, which possessed an unusual number of brilliant students. He took high rank as a scholar, winning the esteem of the faculty, and at the same time the confidence and friendship of his classmates, among whom he formed many warm attachments which proved lifelong.
Following his graduation, Dr. Porter became rector of the Ancient Latin School in New Haven, which was founded in 1660, and is now known as the Hop- kins Grammar School. His ability as an instructor and especially his success in administering discipline in a school which was proverbially unruly, brought him considerable renown in educational circles in New Haven. In 1833 he was elected tutor in Yale College, and for two years served in the capacity of Greek instructor to the somewhat famous class of 1827. While tutoring he pursued the regular course in theology in the Yale Divinity School under Dr. Nathaniel W. Taylor, and in April, 1836, was ordained to the ministry. Shortly afterwards he was installed in the pastorate of the Con- gregational church in New Milford, Con- necticut, one of the largest in the State. During the seven years of his identity with this parish, Dr. Porter's fame spread gradually beyond the borders of the State, and he became recognized as one of the eminent divines of New England. It was while settled over this rural church that he began his writings, which were pub- lished extensively in the leading periodi- cals of the day and which attracted to him wide attention as an original and vigorous thinker on theological and philosophical subjects.
In 1843, Dr. Porter was called to the pastorate of the South Congregational Church in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1846. In the latter year he accepted the chair of mental and moral philosophy at Yale, and during the twenty-five years of his occupancy rose to a position of undisputed leadership in educational circles in America and to country-wide recognition as an author and writer on philosophy and meta- physics. When in 1871 Professor Wool- sey resigned as president of Yale, Dr. Porter was universally regarded as his natural successor, both because of his eminent reputation as a scholar and edu- cator, and because of his thorough acquaintance with all the traditions of the college and his sympathy with them. His views on the subject of college education were set forth in his inaugural address and in his writings on American colleges. His administration was marked by a progressive conservatism, which while it forged forward in great strides along the paths of progress and advancement, pre- served a decent regard for the achieve- ments and associations of the past. Many important changes were made under his direction in the methods of instruction. Under his guidance the college prospered exceedingly, several costly buildings were erected, and the corps of instructors greatly enlarged. The Department of Philosophy and Arts was reconstructed to include instruction for graduate students. The different departments of the college were officially recognized by the corpora- tion, having "attained to the form of an university." These are only a few of the vital changes which took place under Dr. Porter. In 1886 he resigned his office, finding its duties too onerous for a man of his years, and was succeeded by Dr. Dwight. However, he retained his pro- fessorship of philosophy and maintained
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his active interest in the university to the recognition of his scholarly attainments. time of his death.
Dr. Porter was a clear and virile thinker, and wielded a powerful, facile and apparently indefatigable pen. His writings cover the widest range, and a complete bibliography includes at least one hundred and seventy-five separate volumes, essays, reports and lectures. Some of his most notable works are "The Human Intellect," "Books and Reading," "Science and Sentiment," "Elements of Moral Science," "Life of Bishop Berke- ley," and "Kant's Ethics," a critical ex- position. His best known work, how- ever, is "The Human Intellect, with an Introduction Upon Psychology and the Human Soul" (1868), comprehending a general history of philosophy, and follow- ing in part the "common-sense" philos- ophy of the Scottish school, while accept- ing the Kantian doctrine of intuition and declaring the notion of design to be a priori. He also edited several successive editions of Webster's Dictionary from 1847 until his death. His reputation as a philosopher and theologian was world- wide, while his knowledge of the classics, of New England history, and English etymology, was exceptionally deep. He published in 1840 a "Historical Discourse in Commemoration of the 200th Anniver- sary of the Settlement of Farmington ;" he was the author of the "Educational System of the Puritans and the Jesuits," published in 1851; a "Review of the Philosophy of Herbert Spencer ;" and a "Review of Evangeline," published in 1882. Dr. Porter was undoubtedly one of America's most scholarly metaphysicians. His labors as a lexicographer in connec- tion with the revision of the second and later editions of "Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language" were very arduous and brought him great honor and fame, as well as universal
The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by the University of the City of New York in 1858, and that of Doctor of Laws by the Western Reserve College in 1870, by Trinity College of Connecticut in 1871, and by the Univer- sity of Edinburgh in 1886, the year after that famous institution of learning cele- brated its tercentenary.
There were few men better known or more deeply revered in the city of New Haven than Dr. Porter. He was a vital figure in the public life of the city for more than a quarter of a century through his efforts to secure cooperation between the University and the city. He was one of the pioneers in the New Haven City Missions, and identified himself through- out the entire period of his residence in the city with every movement designed to advance civic welfare.
In 1836, Dr. Porter married Mary Taylor, of New Haven, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel W. Taylor, D. D. (see Taylor VI). On coming to New Haven in 1846, he took up his residence on Hillhouse avenue, where his wife passed away in 1888, aged seventy-six years, and where he died four years later. Both are buried in the Taylor family lot in the Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven. Dr. and Mrs. Porter were the parents of four chil- dren: 1. Martha Day, who resided in the old Porter homestead on Hillhouse avenue, New Haven ; her death occurred November 6, 1922. 2. Rebecca Taylor, deceased. 3. Nathaniel Taylor, deceased in early childhood. 4. Sarah, died just before reaching womanhood.
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