USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 11
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To these vast business engagements he added public service of a high order. He was an alderman from the time of the incorporation of Meriden as a city ; was fifth mayor of the city, 1875-76; State Senator in 1877, and but for his refusal to accept could have had other and higher
elective offices. He was a member of the First Congregational Church, was a mem- ber of the committee in charge of the erection of the present church edifice and until 1884 served upon various commit- tees of the church. Thus his life was passed, and countless monuments to his tireless energy and business sagacity arise on every hand. He brought prosperity to his city and to the individual worker, but above all he left an honored name.
Mr. Wilcox married (first) August 3, 1849, Charlotte A. Smith, who died in 1864, daughter of Jabez Smith, of Middle- town. He married (second) May 31, 1865, Ellen M., daughter of Edmund Parker.
George Horace Wilcox, son of Horace C. Wilcox and his first wife, Charlotte A. (Smith) Wilcox, was born in Meriden, Connecticut, August 22, 1856. After courses of study at Washington, Connec- ticut, a private preparatory school at Ithaca, New York, and at Hopkins Gram- mar School at New Haven, he entered Sheffield Scientific School, Yale Univer- sity, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Philosophy, class of '75. He at once began business life with the Meriden Britannia Company, advanced to higher position, and in 1893 became its presi- dent. When in 1898 the Meriden Britan- nia Company and several other com- panies engaged in the silver business con- solidated as the International Silver Com- pany, Mr. Wilcox was chosen vice-presi- dent, and in 1907 was elected president, an important office he now holds. The interests founded by his honored father have been conserved and developed by the son, and the same spirit of fairness to all and consideration for even the hum- blest employee marks his administration. He is a director of the Meriden National Bank, Wilcox & White Company, Meri- den Trust & Safe Deposit Company, trus-
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tee of the City Savings Bank, and is a business man of the highest quality. His interest in all that concerns the welfare of his city is visible on every hand. He is president of the Curtiss Memorial Li- brary, a member of the First Congrega- tional Church, lodge, chapter, council, commandery of the Masonic order and also is a noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the executive committee of the National Civic Federation, and in political faith a Republican. His clubs are the Home, Colonial and Highland Country of Meriden.
Mr. Wilcox married, January 24, 1884, Nettie B. Curtis, of New Britain, Connec- ticut, daughter of Lucius W. and Olive (Hotchkiss) Curtis. Mr. and Mrs. Wil- cox are the parents of three sons, all now associated in business with their father : Harold Curtis, born January 7, 1889, Yale, 1912; Roy Cornwell, born December 24, 1891, Yale, 1916; Horace, born October 7, 1893, Yale, 1916.
BLISS, William Edgerton, Jewelry Manufacturer.
One of the oldest and most notable families of New England is that of Bliss, which seems to be descended from the Norman family of Blois, gradually modi- fied to Bloys, Blyse, Blysse, Blisse, and in America finally to Bliss, dated back to the time of the Norman Conquest. The name is not common in England. The coat-of-arms borne by the Bliss and Bloys families is the same: Sable, a bend vaire, between two fleur-de-lis or. Crest: A hand holding a bundle of arrows. Motto: Semper surum. The ancient traditions of the Bliss family represent them as living in the south of England and belonging to the class known as English yeomanry or farmers, though at various times some of the fam- ily were knights or gentry. They owned
the houses and lands they occupied, were freeholders and entitled to vote for mem- bers of Parliament. In the early days, of course, they were faithful Roman Catho- lics, but later, after England had become Protestant, they became Puritans and be- came involved in the contentions between Charles I. and Parliament. The Blisses who settled in New England in 1636 had dwelt in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England, for one hundred and fifty years before the emigration. Daventry is twelve miles from Ecton, from which came the ancestors of Benjamin Franklin, and twenty-five miles from Stratford-on- Avon, where Shakespeare was born, and close by the battlefield of Naseby, where the forces of Cromwell crushed the army of Charles I. The early Daventry ances- tors of the Bliss emigrants were mercers or linen drapers, and since 1475 they were blacksmiths. The religious controversies of the times leading up to the overthrow of King Charles were partly responsible for the departure of the Blisses, who were non-conformists, but the hunger for land had probably more to do with the emigra- tion.
Thomas Bliss, the progenitor, lived in Belstone parish, Devonshire, England. Very little is known of him except that he was a wealthy landowner, that he be- longed to the class stigmatized as Puri- tans on account of the purity and simplic- ity of their forms of worship, that he was persecuted by the civil and religious au- thorities under the direction of Arch- bishop Laud, and that he was maltreated, impoverished and imprisoned and finally ruined in health, as well as financially, by the many indignities and hardships forced on him by the intolerant church party in power. He is supposed to have been born about 1550 or 1560. The date of his death was 1635 or about that year. When the Parliament of 162S assembled, Puritans
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or Roundheads, as the Cavaliers called them, accompanied the members to Lon- don. Two of the sons of Thomas Bliss, Jonathan and Thomas, rode from Devon- shire on iron grey horses, and remain- ed for some time in the city-long enough at least for the king's officers and spies to learn their names and condition, and whence they came; and from that time forth, with others who had gone to London on the same errand. they were marked for destruction. They were soon fined a thousand pounds for non-conform- ity and thrown into prison, where they remained many weeks. Even old Mr. Thomas Bliss, their father, was dragged through the streets with the greatest in- dignity. On another occasion the officers of the high commission seized all their horses and sheep, except one poor ewe that in its fright ran into the house and took refuge under a bed. At another time the three brothers, with twelve other Puritans, were led through the market- place in Okehampton with ropes around their necks, and fined heavily. and Jona- than and his father were thrown into prison, where the sufferings of the son eventually caused his death. The family was unable to secure the release of both Jonathan and his father, so the younger man had to remain in prison and at Exe- ter he suffered thirty-five lashes with a three-corded whip, which tore his back in a cruel manner. Before Jonathan was released the estate had to be sold. The father and mother went to live with their daughter who had married a man of the Established Church, Sir John Calcliffe. The remnant of the estate was divided among the three sons, who were advised to go to America, where they might escape persecution. Thomas and George feared to wait for Jonathan, who was still very ill, and left England in the fall of 1635 with their families. Thomas, son of
Jonathan and grandson of Thomas (1), remained with his father, who finally died, and the son then came to join his uncles and settled near Thomas. At various times their sister sent from England boxes of shoes, clothing and articles that could not be procured in the colonies, and it is through her letters, long preserved, but now lost, that knowledge of the Devonshire family was preserved. Chil- dren : Jonathan, mentioned below ; Thom- as, born in England, about 1585, at Bel- stone; Elizabeth, married Sir John Cal- cliffe. of Belstone; George, born 1591, settled at Lynn and Sandwich, Massa- chusetts, and Newport, Rhode Island ; Mary or Polly.
Jonathan Bliss, son of Thomas Bliss, of Belstone, was born about 1580, at Bel- stone, died in England, 1635-36. On ac- count of his non-conformity he was per- secuted, and suffered heavy fines, eventu- ally dying at an early age from a fever contracted in prison. Four children are said to have died in infancy, and two grew up: Thomas and Mary. Thomas (2) Bliss, son of Jonathan Bliss, of Belstone, England, was born there, and on the death of his father, in 1636, he went to Boston, Massachusetts, and from there to Braintree, same State. He next went to Hartford, Connecticut, and finally to Weymouth, Massachusetts, whence, in 1643, he joined in making a settlement at Rehoboth. He was made freeman at Cambridge. May 18, 1642, and in Plym- outh Colony, January 4, 1645. In June, 1645, he drew land at the Great Plain, Seekonk; in 1646 he was fence viewer; surveyor of highways in 1647. He died at Rehoboth, in June, 1649, and is buried in the graveyard at Seekonk, Massachu- setts, now Rumford, East Providence, Rhode Island. His will was proved June 8. 1649. His wife's family name was Ide. Jonathan (2) Bliss, son of Thomas (2)
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Bliss, was born about 1625, in England, and in 1655 was made freeman of the Plymouth Colony. He was "way wardon" at the town meeting in Rehoboth, May 24, 1652, and May 17, 1655, was on the grand jury. He was a blacksmith, was made a freeman in Rehoboth, February 22, 1658, drew land June 22, 1658, and was one of the eighty who made what is known as the North Purchase. He mar- ried, 1648-49, Miriam Harmon, probably a daughter of Francis Harmon, born 1592, and came to Boston in the ship "Love" in 1635. Jonathan Bliss died in 1687. The inventory of his estate was sworn to May 23, 1687; the magistrate was the famous governor, Sir Edmund Andros. Jonathan (3) Bliss, fourth son of Jonathan (2) and Miriam (Harmon) Bliss, was born September 17, 1666, and died October 16, 1719. His name was sometimes recorded Timothy. He was a man of standing and influence in Reho- both and held various town offices. It is said that he gave the land for the old cemetery about two miles south of Reho- both Village, whereon a church was built. He married, June 23, 1691, Miriam Carpenter, born October 26, 1674, died May 21, 1706, daughter of William and Miriam (Searles) Carpenter. Daniel Bliss, son of Jonathan (3) and Miriam (Car- penter) Bliss, was born January 21, 1702, in Rehoboth, died August 25, 1782. He married, January 26, 1726, Rev. David Turner officiating, Dorothy Fuller, of Re- hoboth, born July 12, 1706, in Rehoboth, died there January 7, 1778, daughter of Samuel and Dorothy (Wilmarth) Fuller. Daniel (2) Bliss, son of Daniel (1) and Dorothy (Fuller) Bliss, was born No- vember 16, 1726, in Rehoboth, died June 30, 1815, in Leyden, Massachusetts. He married, November 16, 1752, Sarah Allen, of Warren, Rhode Island, born June 2, 1734, in that town.
Peter Bliss, fifth son of Daniel (2) and Sarah (Allen) Bliss, was born August 2, 1765, in Rehoboth, lived for some time in Leyden, Massachusetts, whence he re- moved to Truxton, Cortland county, New York, and died there February 17, 1853. He married, December 7, 1787, Molly Perry, born April, 1772, in Rehoboth, daughter of Ezra and Jemima Perry, of that town. Their third son was George Bliss, born September 11, 1799, in Ley- den, Massachusetts, died May 11, 1871, in that town. He was a farmer and en- ergetic business man, who was successful and respected as a citizen. He married, in Leyden, September, 1821, Charlotte Charity Ames.
Their ninth and youngest child, Edger- ton Ames Bliss, was born October 25, 1846, in Hornellsville, New York, and for several years conducted a jewelry store at No. 182 Broadway, New York City, making his home at Jersey City Heights. He was educated in the public schools of Cortland, New York, and at the age of sixteen years went to New York City, where he became identified with the jewelry business, and in time engaged in the manufacture of jewelry in association with his uncle, Eliakim Rice. This asso- ciation continued until 1878, when Mr. Bliss became the sole owner of the busi- ness, which was conducted under the name of the 'E. A. Bliss Company. Manu- facturing was carried on in North Attle- boro, Massachusetts, and the main office maintained in New York City until 1890, when the entire plant was transferred to Meriden, Connecticut, and some forty families of the employes removed with it. The business has experienced a re- markable growth, and its output, com- prising novelties for personal adornment, made in nickel, silver, gold and silver plate, combined with enamel, leather and comb-making material, is very widely
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used. The Meriden establishment is known as the "Tiffany of the Plated Novelty Trade," a sobriquet justly ap- plied, as it leads in that trade in the United States. Mr. Bliss was an exten- sive traveler, and was known to the trade everywhere. He died suddenly at Mag- nolia Beach, Massachusetts, July 26, 1911. He was a member of the Home and High- land Country clubs of Meriden. While in New York he was a member of Com- pany A, Seventh Regiment, National Guard, State of New York, and for thirty years was a trustee and vestryman of St. John's Episcopal Church of Jersey City. He married, June 27, 1871, in Jersey City, Margaret Emma Jones, daughter of John and Phebe (Morgan) Jones, of Jersey City. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss were the par- ents of ten children, four of whom are now living: William Edgerton, men- tioned below: Florence Jones, born July 12, 1875, married Samuel Van Dusen White, of New York; Adeline Burdett, wife of Dr. Alexander Nicoll, a member of the staff of Fordham Hospital in New York; and Hazel Y. Bliss.
William Edgerton Bliss was born May 19, 1873, in Jersey City, and received his education in the schools of that city, in- cluding the high school. On the comple- tion of his studies he became associated with his father in the jewelry business at Meriden, where he gradually advanced by promotion until 1906, when he was made vice-president of the company. On the death of his father, in 1911, he became president of the company, and under his management it has continued to grow and prosper. The output has been largely in- creased, new lines of manufacture de- veloped, and Mr. Bliss has earned a place among the leading business men of the United States. Besides being a compe- tent business man, he is well known as a citizen, active in promoting the social
and moral interests of the community, and is reckoned among the most progres- sive citizens of the thriving city of Meri- den. He is a member of the Home and Highland Country clubs of that city, and has passed through the various grada- tions in Free Masonry, attaining the thir- ty-second degree. He is a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church of Meriden, and of the Republican Club of New York City. For ten years he was a member of Company G, Seventh Regiment, National Guard of the State of New York, for three years a member of the First Artillery of that body, and was subsequently captain of Company I. Second Regiment, Connec- ticut National Guard, of Meriden. Mr. Bliss was married, June 6, 1902, to Eliza- beth B. Cochran, daughter of Richard Ellis and Annie (Bockius) Cochran, of Englewood, New Jersey, and they have two children: Elsa Anne and Richard Ames Bliss.
MILLER, Isaac Burton,
Manufacturer.
In his rise from office boy to that of vice-president of a great corporation, Mr. Miller illustrates the possibilities of the American nation. While few achieve these results, it is not for lack of opportu- nity, and it is only the individual with force of character and perseverance who succeeds in overcoming obstacles and ob- taining a position of importance in the world.
The Miller family is one of the oldest in Connecticut, having been founded in America by Thomas Miller, of Birming- ham, England, who came to Rowley, Mas- sachusetts. where he was made a freeman in 1639, removing thence to Middletown, Connecticut, where his name appears in the records as early as 1654. He was a carpenter by trade, was in Rowley as
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late as 1651, and was admitted to the church in Middletown through letter from Rowley after 1654. He built the first grist mill in Middletown on Miller's Brook, where one of the factories of the Russell Manufacturing Company now stands, at the "Farms." His first wife, Isabel, was the mother of one child, Ann, who became the wife of Nathaniel Bacon, in 1653. At the age of fifty-six years Thomas Miller married (second) Sarah, daughter of Samuel Nettleton, of Bran- ford, Connecticut. They were the par- ents of eight children, of whom the fourth son was Benjamin.
Benjamin Miller, born July 20, 1672, was one of the first three to settle in what is now Middlefield, and located in the southern part of the town, on the east side of the Coginchaug or West river, not far from the Durham line. Tra- dition has it that the title of "governor" was conferred upon him, partly because of his influence with the Indians, partly on account of his being a large land- cwner, and partly on account of his domi- 1.ant disposition. He was not, however, exempt from the action of the law, as will be seen. He was greatly annoyed at the frequent loss of his pigs, and sus- pected that they were devoured by bears ; he accordingly kept watch, and one Sun- day morning caught Bruin in the act, and shot and killed the animal. For this he was arrested on the charge of desecrating the Sabbath. He married (first) Septem- ber 18, 1695, in Woodstock, Connecticut, Mary Johnson, born in 1676, daughter of John and Margaret Johnson, of that town. His first child, Rebecca, was born Deceni- ber 5, 1698, in Woodstock. He married (second) Mercy Bassett, of North Haven, born 1677, presumably a daughter of John and Mercy (Todd) Bassett, of that town. There were seven children of the first marriage, and eight of the second.
The eldest child of the second wife was Ichabod Miller, born December 15, 1709, in Middlefield, where he passed his life, and died August 9, 1788. He married (first) a Miss Stow, of Middletown, prob- ably a daughter of John Stow, and (sec- ond) Elizabeth, widow of Jeremiah Ba- con, daughter of Captain Joseph and Abi- gail (Harris) Cornwall, of Middletown, born March 7, 1716, died August 22, 1787. He had sons, Ichabod, Jesse and Jere- miah.
Lieutenant Ichabod Miller, son of Icha- bod Miller, died in Middlefield, Septem- ber 20, 1794. He married Elizabeth Ba- con, of Newfield, probably a daughter of John Bacon, of Westfield. She survived him.
They were the parents of Captain Icha- bod Miller, born January 25, 1771, in Mid- dlefield, resided in the northern district of that town, where he died in November, 1829, at the age of fifty-eight years. He was a vigorous, active man, always at work, and probably shortened his life by his severe exertion. He married Sarah E. Birdsey, born January 18, 1776, sup- posed daughter of John (5) Birdsey, of Middletown, son of John (4) Birdsey, grandson of Abel Birdsey. The Birdsey family is among the earliest, planted in Connecticut by John Birdsey, a native of Reading, Berkshire, England, who came to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1636, with his adult sons, settled at Milford, Connec- ticut, in 1639, was one of the first settlers there, and died in 1649. His son, John Birdsey, born in 1616, died at Stratford, Connecticut, April 4, 1690. His wife, Philippa, was a daughter of Rev. Henry Smith, and they were the parents of John (3) Birdsey, born March 28, 1641, died July 9, 1697. He married, December 1I, 1669, Phebe Wilcoxson, and they were the parents of Abel Birdsey, born No- vember 20, 1679, in Stratford, died June
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8, 1704, in that town. He married Com- fort, a daughter of Jolin Wells, grand- daughter of John Wells, and great-grand- daughter of Thomas Wells, who was Gov- ernor of the Connecticut Colony during the years 1655 and 1658, whose ancestors included Simon de Welles, one of the cru- saders in Palestine, who was in the siege of St. Jean d'Acre during the year 1191, with Richard Couer de Lion. A copy of the arms granted to him by the king is now preserved by his descendant in Meri- den. John (4) Birdsey, son of Abel Birdsey, of Stratford, was born Septem- ber 26, 1712, and lived in Middletown, Connecticut, where he died June 5, 1798. Middletown records give the name of his wife as Sarah. Their second son was John (5) Birdsey, born March 16, 1736, lived in Middletown.
The eldest son of Captain Ichabod Miller and his wife, Sarah (Birdsey) Miller, was David B. Miller, born March 5, 1805, in Middlefield, where he was a farmer, and died. He was twice married, one of his wives bearing the family name of Bowe, and the other of Hale. His wife, Cornelia (Hale) Miller, died in Sep- tember, 1844. The death of one child is recorded in Middlefield : Nancy, died Oc- tober 1, 1835.
Hezekiah H. Miller, known to be a son of David B. Miller, was born Octo- ber 22, 1829, in Middlefield, was reared on the paternal farm there, where he re- mained until he attained his majority. Subsequently he became one of the most prominent citizens of Meriden, where he located, January 13, 1815, having traveled over the mountains intervening through the snow. His first employment was with Jedediah Wilcox, where he was engaged in making carpet bags. He was industri- ous and saved his earnings, so that when his year's contract was ended he was ready to engage in business on his own
account. He entered into partnership with his uncle, William Hale, and for a period of four years they engaged in the manufacture of carpet bags. In 1856 Mr. Miller accepted a partnership with Mr. Wilcox, his former employer, and con- tinued in this association a period of seventeen years, until 1873. . They built a large plant, their products were steadily increased, and included leather belts, hoop skirts and corsets. Looms were set up for weaving tape for hoop skirts and for the general trade. They also manu- factured balmoral skirts, and in one year their profits on this single line of goods amounted to seventy-five thousand dol- lars. The tape mill was burned in 1865. In July of that year the foundations were laid for the J. Wilcox & Company Woolen Mill, then one of the finest structures of the kind in the State. The mill was of brick and stone, four hundred feet in length and five stories in height, and fully equipped with machinery. In 1873 this establishment passed into new hands, and Mr. Miller formed a partnership with Charles H. Collins, and established a grocery store on Colony street, where the Byxbee Block now stands, opposite the railroad station. They began business, February 4, 1874, and after a few years removed to the Palace Block. In 1887 Messrs. Collins and Miller built a store for their own use, at the corner of Colony and Brooks streets, where they continued to conduct a very prosperous trade until May 30, 1905, when Mr. Collins died. His partner then wound up the business and retired from active life. He died Octo- ber 22, 1911, at his home in Meriden. Mr. Miller was active in promoting the in- terests of the community, and served as a member of the first City Council in Meriden under Mayor Charles Parker. He was a regular attendant of the First Baptist Church, and was ever ready to
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support any proposition calculated to be of value to the community. He married, November 27, 1861, Harriet Atwood, of Meriden, who died October 18, 1905. They were the parents of three children : Charles B. and Isaac Burton Miller, of Meriden, and Nettie M., wife of Edwin W. Kirschner, of New Haven:
Isaac Burton Miller, second son of Hezekiah H. and Harriet (Atwood) Miller, was born April 24, 1868, in Meri- den. He received his education in the public schools of that city, graduating from the high school. When a youth of some eighteen years he began his busi- ness career as an employee of the Wilcox Silver Plate Company of Meriden. In 1887 he became office boy of the Edward Miller Company, one of the largest manu- facturers of lamps and lighting fixtures in the United States. As a wide-awake youth he was attentive to everything go- ing on about him, and gradually mastered the details of the business, rising through successive promotions until, in 1915, he was made vice-president of the company. For some time previous he had been a director. To-day Mr. Miller is esteemed among the business men of his native State as one of its most reliable, progres- sive and capable citizens, whose success in life is fully due to his own industry, capacity and upright conduct. He is active in promoting the various social and moral influences of the city; is a member and past president of the Home Club; one of the board of governors of the Highland Country Club, and a trus- tee of the Meriden Savings Bank. Under its present management, the Edward Miller Company fully maintains the pres- tige gained many years ago, and no small part of its success is due to the energetic efforts of Isaac Burton Miller. He mar- ried, September 25, 1894, Effie Spencer Hotchkiss, daughter of Frederick M. and
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