USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 29
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The death of Henry Beers Glover was deeply felt in Newtown. The board of directors of the First National Bank, of Bridgeport, at a special meeting, held on March 28, 1870. passed the following reso- lutions :
WHEREAS, It has pleased an All-wise Provi- dence to remove by death our late friend and as- sociate, Mr. Henry Beers Glover, who for many years was a prominent and efficient director of this bank.
Resolved, That we sincerely deplore the loss of our esteemed friend, endeared to us as he was by his superior business capacity and his many social virtues, and whose manly deportment has com- manded our highest regard,
Resolved, That we tender to the family and relatives of the deceased our sympathy in their affliction, knowing that the bank and the com- munity in which he lived, as well as his deeply afflicted family, have experienced an irreparable Joss.
Resolved, That the President, Cashier, and Messrs. Tomlinson and Nichols be appointed a committee to attend the funeral services of our deceased friend at his late residence in Newtown, to-morrow at 2 o'clock P. M.
Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolu- tions be transmitted to the friends of the deceased, be entered upon the records of this bank, and pub- lished in the papers of the city.
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CUTLER FAMILY.
The name Cutler is of that class of pat- ronymics which were originally derived from the trades or occupations of their bearers. Others of this class are Cooper, Smith, Miller, Gardner, etc. When the adoption of surnames became prevalent, the first member of the Cutler family to adopt the name was in all probability a cutler by trade, or a maker of knives or other cutting instruments.
Arms: (Stainborough Hall, County York, de- scended from John Cutler, standard bearer of the War of the Roses, temp. Henry VI.) Azure, three dragons' heads erased, within a bordure or. Crest : A wivern's head erased or, ducally collared azure.
The English bearer of the name of Cut- ler to whom the American family traces its ancestry was Sir Admiral Gervase Cut- ler, who was killed in 1645 in defense of the Castle of Pontificiato. Sir Gervase Cutler was a son of Thomas Cutler, who was buried at Silkton, January 21, 1622. Thomas Cutler was a descendant of Sir John Cutler, standard bearer during the War of the Roses, who was knighted in the reign of Henry VI. Sir Gervase Cut- ler married for his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Bently. The child of this marriage was Margaret, who mar- ried Sir Edward Mosely; there was also a son, Gervase, who died young. Sir Ger- vase Cutler married a second time Lady Magdalen, the ninth daughter of Sir John Egerton, Duke of Bridgewater, and of this marriage there were nine children.
The New England ancestors of the Cut- ler family in America were James, Robert and John Cutler, immigrants from Eng- land, who settled in Massachusetts in 1634. James Cutler came to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1634. The name of Robert Cutler first appears on the records of Charlestown, in 1636, where it is re-
corded that he was married. John Cutler, Sr., with a family, was settled at Hing- ham, Massachusetts, in 1637.
(I) James Cutler, born in England, set- tled as early as 1634 in Watertown, Mas- sachusetts, where the first record of the family name in New England, in America in fact, is to be found. He was one of the original grantees of land in the northerly part of the town on the road to Belmont. He married Anna Grout, a sister of Cap- tain John Grout, and tradition says that they were both so opposed and persecuted in England for their Puritanism that they resolved to seek their fortunes in New England, and accordingly came to Amer- ica unaccompanied by friends or near relatives. There is no authentic record by which to fix the year in which James Cutler arrived here. His first child, James, was born "Ye 6th day, 9th month, 1635." He had that year passed all necessary pro- bation and been received an inhabitant of Watertown, having a house lot assigned him. The lot contained eight acres, bounded on the east by the lot of Thomas Boylston, west and north by a highway, i. e. by Common street and Pond road, and south by the lot of Ellias Barron. In the first "great divide," July 25, 1636, he was assigned twenty-five acres, and three acres in the further plain (now Waltham) next to the river. In 1642 he had assigned to him eighty-two acres in the fourth di- vision, and four other farms. On October 2. 1645, he was one of the petitioners "in relation to Nashaway plantation, now Weston." On December 13, 1649, James Cutler and Nathaniel Bowman, for f70 bought of Edward Goffe, two hundred acres in Cambridge Farms. James Cutler sold his share of one hundred acres to Bowman for £39, on March 4, 1651. This land was adjoining Rock Meadow and near to or adjoining Waltham. About this time he settled at Cambridge Farms
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(now Lexington), on what is known as Wood street, and not far from the Con- cord (now Bedford) line, a part of which farm remained in the family until the heirs of Leonard Cutler sold it. James Cutler is supposed to have built one of the first houses at the Farms. Vestiges of the cellar of his house still remain. The house was located some thirty rods from the present highway, on an elevation com- manding an extensive view. He made his will on November 24, 1684, at Cambridge Farms, at the age of seventy-eight years, and died May 17, 1694, aged eighty-eight.
James Cutler buried his first wife, Anna, September 30, 1644, and married (second) on March 9, 1645, Mary, widow of Thomas King. She died December 7, 1654, and he married for his third wife, Phoebe, dangh- ter of John Page, in 1662. His children were: I. James, born September 6, 1635, mentioned below. 2. Hannah, born May 26, 1638, married John Winter, and died January 18, 1690. 3. Elizabeth, born No- vember 28, 1640, and died October 30, 1644. 4. Mary, born March 29, 1644, mar- ried John Collar, and removed to Sudbury. 5. Elizabeth, born May 20, 1646, married John Parmenter, of Sudbury. 6. Thomas, born 1648, and died at Lexington, July 13, 1722. 7. Sarah, born 1653, married, in 1673, Thomas Waight, settled in Weston, Massachusetts, and died January 17, 1744. aged ninety-one years. 8. Joanna, born 1660, married Philip Russell, and died No- vember 26, 1703. 9. John, born May 19, 1663, and died September 21, 1714. 10. Samuel, born November 18, 1664. II. Jemima, who married, September 22, 1697, Zerubabel Snow. 12. Phoebe, died un- married in 1684.
(II) James (2) Cutler, son of James (1) and Anna Cutler, was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, September 6, 1635. He was a farmer, residing at Cambridge Farms, near Concord line, and was a
soldier in King Philip's War. He made his will on the 28th and died on the 3Ist of July, 1685.
He married, June 15, 1665, Lydia, daugh- ter of John Moore, of Sudbury, and widow of Samuel Wright. She died in Sudbury on November 23, 1723. Their children, born at Cambridge Farms, were: 1. James (3), born May 12, 1666, and died Decem- ber 1, 1690. 2. Ann, born April 20, 1669, married, September 26, 1688, Richard Bel- vis, of Watertown. 3. Samuel, born May 2, 1672. 4. Joseph, twin of Samuel. 5. John, born April 14, 1675, and died at Kil- lingly, Connecticut, after 1727. 6. Thom- as, born December 15, 1677, mentioned be- low. 7. Isaac, born in 1684, at Killingly, Connecticut and died there, June 18, 1758.
(III) Thomas Cutler, son of James (2) and Lydia (Moore-Wright) Cutler, was born December 15, 1677, at Cambridge Farms (now Lexington), where he re- sided the greater part of his life. He was constable in 1719, and selectman in 1729, 1731, 1733 and 1734. About the year 1750 he bought a farm in Western (now War- ren), where he then went to live. Here he made his will, September 15, 1759, and died December 23, 1759.
He married (first) Sarah. daughter of Samuel and Dorcas (Jones) Stone, who joined the church in Lexington, July 4, 1708, and died January 10, 1750, aged sixty-nine. He married (second) Lydia Simonds, April 10, 1750, and with her was dismissed to the church of Western, May 17, 1752, having owned the covenant at Lexington, June 6, 1703. Children of first wife, born at Lexington, were: 1. Abigail, born June 2, 1703, married Joseph Bridge, of Lexington, November 18, 1722, and died November II. 1778. 2. David, born Au- gust 28, 1705, mentioned below. 3. Amity, born December 19, 1707, married John Page, of Bedford. 4. Sarah, born January 19, 1710, married Israel Mead. 5. Mary,
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born November 8, 1714, married Seth Johnson, of Nottingham, New Hamp- shire. 6. Hannah, born May 13, 1717, died March 2, 1724. 7. Thomas, born Sep- tember 30, 1719, died November 28, 1760. 8. Millicent, born July 29, 1722, and died January 2, 1741.
(IV) David Cutler, son of Thomas and Sarah (Stone) Cutler, was born August 28, and baptized September 9, 1705, at Lexington. He joined the church in Lex- ington, April 14, 1728. He resided in the family homestead near the Bedford line. He was surveyor of the township during the reign of King George III .; served as constable in Lexington in 1746, and as selectman in 1749, 1750 and 1751. He made his will, September 13, 1758, in which is mentioned his wife Mary. He left personal property inventoried at £573 15S.
He died December 5, 1760, of small-pox, which was particularly fatal in those days because of the fact there was no known way to combat its onslaughts. His wife survived him, and died May 25, 1797, aged ninety-three years. Their children, born at Lexington, were: I. Abigail, born May 31, 1728, married Samuel Hodgman, of Warren, May 7, 1755. 2. David, born July 15, 1730, and died probably at Bennington, Vermont. 3. Joseph, born May 31, 1733, mentioned below. 4. Isaac, born June, 1736, and died Jannary, 1737. 5. Mary, born April 12, 1738, married, September 15, 1757, John Page, of Hardwich, Massa- chusetts. and died there, May 3, 1812. 6. Solomon, born May 15, 1740, and died at Rindge, New Hampshire. 7. Thomas, born May 9, 1742, and died July 3, 1812. 8 Elizabeth, born August 4, 1744, mar- ried, May 3, 1768. Benjamin Moore, of Lexington. 9. Amity, born July 15, 1748. married, November 17, 1766, Nathan Leonard.
(V) Joseph Cutler, son of David and
Mary Cutler, was born at Lexington, Mas- sachusetts, May 31, 1733, in the second house which was built on the Cutler farm. His residence in Warren was on the west side of the river, and it was here that he died February 7, 1816, aged eighty-three years.
He married (first) May 6. 1755, Rebecca, daughter of John and Esther (Prince) Hoar, of Lincoln, Massachusetts, born July, 1735, and died September 16, 1758. He married (second) Mary, daughter of Major Reuben Reed, of Warren, Massa- chusetts, on September 20, 1759. She was born January 30, 1740, and died March 28, 1792. The children of Joseph Cutler were: 1. Converse, born March 3, 1756. and died at Hardwich, Massachusetts, be- fore 1815. 2. Joseph, born March 9. 1757, and died February 23, 1857. 3. Rebecca, born August 23, 1760, and married Dr. William Cutler, November 2, 1780; she died November 20, 1820. 4. Mary, bort March 23, 1762, married Joseph Batchel- der. and died in 1784. 5. Anna, born Jan- uary 3, 1764, married Joseph Dwight in 1786. 6. Sally, born January 30, 1767, married, January 1, 1793, George Bur- bank, and died October 14. 1833. 7. Lydia, born December 2, 1769, married Artemas Brigham, and died January 16, 1798. 8. Bethia, born May 15, 1773, married, March 2. 1794, Isaac Tyler, and died August II, 1848. 9. Reuben, born May 29, 1775, and died unmarried on September 14, 1838, in Warren. 10. Hon. Nathan, twin of Reu- ben, mentioned below.
(VI) Hon. Nathan Cutler, A. M., son of Joseph and Mary (Reed) Cutler, was born at Western (now Warren), Massa- chusetts, May 29. 1775, and died June 8, 1861. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1798, and was preceptor at Middlebury Academy for one year there- after. He then studied law with Judge Chipman, of Vermont, and later at
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Worcester, Massachusetts, and in the last mentioned city he was admitted to the bar in 1801. For a time he practiced in his native town, but in 1803 removed to Farmington, Maine, where he resided for the remainder of his life. For about thir- ty-five years he was engaged in the active pursuit of his profession, and was deeply interested in the educational and political affairs of his town and State. He was several times a member of the Legislature of Massachusetts, before its separation (1810-1811-1812-1819-1820). He was ap- pointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas by Governor Berry in 1812, and de- clined to accept the office. In 1819 he was a member of the Convention that framed the Constitution of the State of Maine, and many times a member of the Legisla- ture of that State. Upon the death of Governor Lincoln, early in the year 1829, by virtue of his office as President of the Senate, Hon. Nathan Cutler became Gov- ernor of the State of Maine. In 1829 he was one of the presidential electors. He was one of the incorporators of Farming- ton Academy, and during his lifetime president of the board of trustees. Gov- ernor Cutler was much interested in clas- sical studies, of which he was a lifelong student, and he did much to inculcate a love of learning in his associates.
He married (first) Hannah, daughter of Isaac Moore, of Warren, Massachusetts, on September 10, 1804. She died Febru- ary 20, 1835. Seven of the nine children of Governor and Mrs. Cutler grew to ma- turity. He married (second) in 1856, Harriet, widow of William Weld, and daughter of Colonel Easterbrooks, of Brunswick, Maine. The children of Hon. Nathan and Hannah (Moore) Cutler were: 1. Mary Reed, born March 13, 1806; married, November 15, 1827, Robert Godnow, of Hiram, Maine, and later re- moved to Farmington, Maine; she was
the mother of five children. 2. Nathan Moore, born August 2, 1808, mentioned below. 3. John L., born August 31, 1810, and died April 8, 1814. 4. Elbridge Gerry, born May 14, 1812, at Farmington, Maine, and died at Reading, Pennsylvania, April 28, 1846; he was graduated from Harvard University in the class of 1834, and later continued his studies at the Divinity School at Andover, Massachusetts, and at Yale University at New Haven, Con- necticut ; after completing his studies he was ordained a minister of the Congre- gational church, and served in Belfast, Maine, until his death. 5. Reuben, born October 20, 1815, and died January 12, 1816. 6. John Lewis, born December 15, IS16. 7. Reuben, born December 13, 1819. 8. Hannah Moore, born October 16, 1821 ; married, July 12, 1843, Philip Sidney Page; they resided at Malden, Massachu- setts, where she died March 10, 1855. 9. Isaac Moore, born November 3, 1823, was a successful merchant of Portland, Maine, but later removed to Malden, Massachu- setts.
(VII) Nathan Moore Cutler, son of Hon. Nathan and Hannah (Moore) Cut- ler, was born August 2, 1808. At the age of sixteen years he entered Phillips Academy at Exeter, New Hampshire. After graduating from that institution he attended Bowdoin College, but was obliged to discontinue his studies on ac- count of poor health. He then entered a business career, first at Warren, Massa- chusetts, and later at Bangor, Maine. Under the administration of President Martin Van Buren, he held the office of debenture clerk in the Boston Customs House. The collector of the port at the time was George Bancroft. This position he held until the time of his death on Oc- tober 30, 1849.
He married, September 12, 1836, Colum- bia Shearer, of Palmer, Massachusetts,
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who died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their children were: 1. Mary Columbia, born February 7, 1839, residing in Malden, Massachusetts. 2. Martha Jane (Jennie), born May 5, 1846, mentioned below. 3. Hannah Moore, born September 21, 1848, died March 31, 1870.
(VIII) Jennie Cutler, daughter of Na- than Moore and Columbia (Shearer) Cut- ler, is of the eighth generation in direct descent from James Cutler, who settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, as early as 1634. She married John McClary, of Bos- ton, Massachusetts, a sketch of whose life is appended hereto. Both Mr. and Mrs. McClary were born in Boston, Mas- sachusetts.
McCLARY, John,
McClary Arms: Or, a chevron azure, between three roses gules.
There is a duty which every American owes the land which gives him his oppor- tunity and fortune, a duty which, unless embellished and ornamented by unusual inducements, it is the custom of the aver- age citizen to overlook. On every hand one finds men whose talents and inclina- tions fit them preeminently for public service, but who shun this duty of patri- otism because of the greater benefits, pe- cuniary and of other natures, which accrue to them from the field of business. The country has its statesmen, but it needs in the ranks of its servants and advisors the trained and analytical mind of the busi- ness man to solve the problems which face the nation to-day-the problems within its own borders. The talents of the ordi- nary business men do not run to un- ravelling the intricacies of international law, but rather do they apply to and excel in the management of questions of com- mierce, labor, reform, etc., which agitate the public to-day. For men so endowed to reject office and government service
because of selfish reasons is a blot upon their citizenship. No man can truly up- hold the ideals and standards of America, who, being capable, refuses the high honor of public service. It may with truth and conviction be said of the late John Mc- Clary, of Hartford, Connecticut, that he did his duty to its full extent, in the long years in which he faithfully served the Government of the United States, sub- serving every personal wish to its de- mands, because of a high standard of pa- triotism and honor which put country be- for self.
Mr. McClary was of Scotch parentage, the son of John and Ellen (Reilly) Mc- Clary, natives of the tremendous ship- building city of Glasgow, Scotland. The Scotch are among the most intensely pa- triotic people in the world, a people whose love of home and country is a fire un- Quenchable, as is amply attested by his- tory. The allegiance which his parents brought to the land of their adoption was equally strong in their son, and was the moving factor in Mr. McClary's devotion to his service in the offices of the govern- ment, despite the fact that he was emi- nently fitted for success in a field of busi- ness which, when he finally entered it, comparatively late in life, proved lucra- tive and successful.
Shortly after their marriage, John Mc- Clary, Sr., came to America with his wife, settling in the city of Boston, where John McClary, Jr., was born. When he was quite young his parents moved to Wake- field, Massachusetts. It was here that he received his early education, attending school until he reached the age of fifteen years. While young McClary was still in his thirteenth year, 1861, the Civil War broke out, sweeping the country like a fever, and drawing men to the colors in a burst of enthusiasm which, to put it tritely, was no respecter of age. Youth and age stood side by side eagerly await-
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ing the chance to serve their country. All the willingness and eagerness which he could master did not stand Mr. McClary in the stead which additional years would have, and he found that enlistment was barred to him because of his age. Two years later, however, in 1863, he left school, and was admitted to the army as a member of the signal corps. From that time until the close of hostilities he saw active service with a branch of the army which is constantly exposed to greater danger than any other. To a man of spirit and courage, to live through the soul- stirring events of a great war is one of the greatest fortunes which can befall him. Mr. McClary came into close contact with inany of the great events of those days, wonderful yet terrible, and was one the audience in the Ford Theatre in Washing- ton, on the fateful night of the assassina- tion of Abraham Lincoln, the genius who had safely guided the country through the storms of Civil War, by John Wilkes Booth. Mr. McClary did not give up his position in the Signal Service at the end of the war, but retired for a period, and returning north, went to live with his sister, Mrs. Mary Wetherby, in Spring- field, Massachusetts, living with her for a number of years.
During his residence in Springfield, he became associated with Colonel Bartholo- mew and James L. Thompson in the American Express Company, with whom he was connected for several years. Short- ly after his marriage, Mr. McClary again entered the Signal Service and went west with his wife. The work to which he was then assigned was in connection with the Weather Bureau, and involved consider- able sacrifice of personal wishes and in- clinations, because of the fact that they had constantly to be moving from one section of the country to another. They have resided all over the United States.
Mr. McClary's last post was in California, where they were stationed about 1890. In 1891 he gave up active service and they returned to the east, making their home in Hartford, Connecticut. Here he bought out a woodworking factory and from that time until his death devoted himself to his business interests. In this enterprise he attained a high degree of success, and became known as one of the substantially successful business men of the city of Hartford, despite the fact that he had en- tered the field of business at a time of life when the majority of men are fairly estab- lished in it.
Mr. McClary was keenly interested in the political issues of the times, as an observer, and as a member of the body politic, but he never entered the political field as a candidate for public office. He was very active in the social and club life of Hartford from the time of his first residence in the city, and was a member whose presence was counted upon and whose voice was reckoned with in the council of many important and influential organizations in the city. He was a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Army and Navy clubs. He had at- tained the thirty-second degree in the Masonic order, and was a member of the Washington Commandery, Knights Tem- plar, and also of the Mecca Temple, Mystic Shrine.
On September 28, 1868, while a resident in the home of his sister in Springfield, Massachusetts. Mr. McClary married Miss Jennie Cutler, of Boston, a daughter of Nathan M. and Columbia (Shearer) Cut- ler, of that city. (See Shearer, on fol- lowing pages). Mr. Cutler was a native of Farmington, Maine, where his father had established himself. The genealogy of the Cutler family of which Mrs. Mc- Clary is a descendant in the eighth gener- ation is given at length on the preceding
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pages. Mrs. McClary's grandmother was Sarah (King) Shearer, a daughter of Jesse King (3), of Palmer, Massachu- setts, of an early and prominent family in that neighborhood. Jesse King (3) mar- ried Mary Graham, a daughter of Rev. Mr. Graham, of Pelham, Massachusetts. Both Mrs. McClary's parents died when she was very young, and she was brought up by her aunt, Mrs. A. V. Blanchard, of Palmer, Massachusetts. She resides in the beautiful McClary home at No. 56 Highland avenue, Hartford, where all her dearest associations are centered. She is deeply interested in charitable and philan- thropic work, to which her late husband devoted a large portion of his time. She is active in community welfare work and takes an unusual interest in the current topics of the day. Mrs. McClary's home engenders a charm of good feeling and hospitality which is felt alike by the oldest friend and the most casual visitor to it. Mr. and Mrs. McClary had no children. They were members of Christ Episcopal Church in Hartford, in the parochial in- terests of which she is still a figure of im- portance.
Mr. McClary died on July 7, 1909, and in his death Hartford lost a man who meant much to its interests, a man whose place was a truly enviable one in the com- mercial life of the city, in its social life, and in the estimation of scores of friends. whose opinion of him is adequately ex- pressed in the famous "Take him for all in all, we shall not look upon his like again."
SHEARER FAMILY.
According to Bardsley the surname of Shearer is of the occupative class, and signifies "the shearer," that is one who sheared the nap of cloth, or a cloth shear- man. 'The name is found in Lincolnshire, England, as early as 1273.
Arms: Argent a fesse gules between three torteaux, each charged with a mullet of the field argent. Crest : On a chapeau a dexter hand holding up by the band a garb, all proper.
The Shearer family herein dealt with is of ancient Irish origin, and was founded in the American colonies in the early part of the eighteenth century. The progeni- tor, James Shearer, was a native of Coun- ty Antrim, Ireland.
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