USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 32
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His son, Samuel Williams, was born in
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1632, probably in England, the eldest of the four sons. He settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he became a free- man in March, 1658. He was a man of considerable repute, and was deacon of the church for many years. He married Theodosia, daughter of Deacon William Park, who was a man of note and prop- erty in Roxbury and was a representative to the General Court for many years. Deacon Park died May II, 1685, aged sev- enty-five years. Deacon Samuel Williams died September 28, 1698, aged sixty-five years. His widow married Stephen Peck, and died August 26, 1718, aged eighty-one years.
His son, Samuel Williams, born April 15, 1655, died August 8, 1735. He mar- ried for his first wife, February 24, 1679, Sarah May, who died December 29, 1712.
His son, Samuel Williams, born April 6, 1681, died August 13, 1751. He mar- ried Deborah Scarborough, who survived him ten years, and was killed by the over- throwing of her chaise.
His son, William Williams, was born April 24, 1698, died June 21, 1766. He married, October 20, 1720, Sarah Stevens, of Roxbury, and moved to Pomfret in the same year. She died June 6, 1786, in her eightieth year. Mr. Williams was dea- con of the first church in Roxbury.
His son, Samuel Williams, died Febru- ary 4, 1805, aged eighty-nine years. He was married three times ; by his first wife he had four children, and by his second wife three who grew to maturity.
His son, William Williams, married Martha Williams, of Roxbury.
His son, Howell Williams, was born June 24, 1769, died July 18, 1819. He married Dorothy Wheat, born February 4, 1768, died July 14, 1823. They were the parents of Sophia Jenkins Williams, born August 19, 1798, who became the wife of Samuel St. John, Jr., and the mother of Howell W. St. John.
HYDE, William Waldo,
Lawyer, Enterprising Citizen.
Beyond argument one of the foremost men of the Connecticut bar, Mr. Hyde in ability and achievement was comparable with the best lawyers of any period of the State's history. A keen intellect, allied with the judicial temperament, force of character, and poise of judgment, pro- duced the able lawyer ; a charming per- sonality won him warm friendships; while his courage, independence and pub- lic spirit won the respect and confidence that gave his leadership force. His vision rose above the needs and aspirations of his home city, Hartford, though they never ceased to concern his great heart, and in a large sense and wholly through his own impressive personality he be- longed to the State. In all gatherings of men, large or small, which had the good fortune to number him among them, his force, poise and quality were instinctively felt. He did not have to argue himself into the good graces of men, his mental and emotional attitude being convincing of themselves, where his conclusions did not always win the sympathy of his hearers. One knew that he was striking at what he believed to be the truth, and the idea of his ever faltering in the line of conduct he had adopted for his guid- ance, was never expressed.
Few men have ever so succeeded in winning the affection of a community, an affection that came not because he sought for popularity, but because it was his due. He never sought office, nor did he ever shirk a public duty. No man was more independent in forming opinions or more ready in expressing them. He was incapable of currying favor; his warm heart, his genial sympathetic disposition, his public spirit, combined to win that favor. Great as were his legal attain- ments, great as was his public service,
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they pale before the fact that men loved him, and that :
None knew him but to love him, None named him but to praise.
Mr. Hyde traced his paternal ancestry in America to William Hyde, born in England. one of the founders of Hartford, also of Norwich, Connecticut-a gentle- man of wealth and importance. The line of descent is through Samuel, the only son of William Hyde, born 1637, died 1677, a leading citizen of Norwich West Farms; he married Jane Lee. Thomas, son of Samuel Hyde, born in July, 1672, died April 9, 1755, married Mary Backus. Their son, Captain Jacob Hyde, born January 20, 1703, married Hannah Kings- bury, who bore him Ephraim, April 23, 1734; he married Martha Giddings.
Nathaniel, son of Ephraim Hyde, was born at Stafford, Connecticut, March 7, 1757, and was an iron founder. His first wife, Sarah Strong, bore him a son Alvan, who succeeded his father in business, and was for many years an iron manufac- turer of Stafford. He married Sarah Pinney, whose second child, Alvan Pin- ney Hyde, married, September 12, 1849, Frances Elizabeth Waldo, daughter of Judge Loren P. Waldo, with whom his son-in-law was associated in legal prac- tice. Their eldest son was William Waldo Hyde, to whose memory this trib- ute of respect is dedicated.
The Waldo ancestry traces in America to Cornelius Waldo, first mentioned in Salem (Massachusetts) records July 6, 1647. He married Hannah, daughter of John Cogswell, who came from England on the ship "Angel Gabriel." Their son, John Waldo, a soldier of King Philip's War, married Rebecca Adams. Their son, Edward Waldo, teacher, farmer, dea- con, deputy and lieutenant, built a house in that part of Windham, now Scotland,
about 1714, that is yet standing, occupied by a descendant. He married (first) Thankful Dimmock. Their son, Edward (2) Waldo, married Abigail Elderkin. Their son, Zachariah, an eminent citizen, was a soldier of the Revolution from Canterbury. Zachariah married (first) Elizabeth Wright. Their son, Ebenezer Waldo, born in Canterbury, died in Tol- land, Connecticut, a man of prominence ; he married Cynthia Parish. Their son, Loren Pinckney Waldo, born February 2, 1802, died 1881, became one of the leading lawyers of Connecticut, filled many offices in State and Nation, member of Thirty-first Congress, judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, one of the leading Democrats of his day. He married Frances Elizabeth Eldridge, a granddaughter of Charles Eldridge, se- verely wounded in the massacre at Fort Griswold, and of Captain Elijah Avery, killed in the same massacre. Their daughter, Frances Elizabeth Waldo, mar- ried, September 12, 1849, Alvan Pinney Hyde. Their son was William Waldo Hyde.
From such distinguished paternal and maternal ancestry came William Waldo Hyde. He was born in Tolland, Connec- ticut, March 25. 1854, died in Hartford, at the Charter Oak Hospital, Saturday, Oc- tober 30. 1915. When he was ten years of age his parents removed to Hartford, where in connection with Judge Loren P. Waldo and Governor Richard D. Hub- bard, Alvan P. Hyde became a member of one of the leading law firms of the State, that of Waldo, Hubbard & Hyde. Until 1872, William Waldo Hyde at- tended the public schools of Hartford, finishing with the high school graduating class of 1872. He then entered Yale Uni- versity, whence he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in the class of '76, a class distinguished in the qual-
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ity of its members. Among his class- mates were Arthur Twining Hadley, president of Yale; Otto T. Barnard, and General Theodore A. Bingham, of New York; Dr. E. J. McKnight, of Hartford ; and Elmer P. Howe, the widely known Boston lawyer.
Logically, he was destined to become a lawyer, heredity and environment almost compelling that profession. Fortunately his personal inclinations agreed with the logical view, and after two years' study under his honored father and a year at Boston University Law School, he was in 1878 admitted to the Connecticut bar at Hartford. His first experience in law practice was as clerk in the office of Waldo, Hubbard & Hyde. At Judge Waldo's death in 1881 the firm reorgan- ized as Hubbard, Hyde & Gross, the part- ners being Governor Hubbard, Alvan P. Hyde and Charles E. Gross, but later William Waldo Hyde and Frank E. Hyde were admitted. On Governor Hubbard's death the four remaining partners re- organized as Hyde, Gross & Hyde. When the death of Alvan P. Hyde again dis- rupted the firm, Charles E. Gross, Wil- liam Waldo Hyde and Arthur L. Shipman formed the firm of Gross, Hyde & Ship- man. Later, Charles Welles Gross, a son of the senior partner, and Alvan Waldo Hyde, a son of William Waldo Hyde, were admitted to partnership.
Mr. Hyde was identified with much important litigation in the State and Fed- eral courts, appearing before State and United States Supreme Courts in cases of unusual importance and involving mo- mentous issues. For twenty-five years he was general counsel of the board of water commissioners, and was the leader in the passage of the special act of General As- sembly legalizing the acquisition of the Nepaug property. From April, 1910, to May, 1912, he was corporation counsel,
and in March, 1914, was appointed by Mayor Cheney a member of the city char- ter revision committee, and to present the revised charter to the General Assembly of 1915. His last appearance in the Su- preme Court was early in the month of October, 1915, when he argued the case of the Hartford Board of Water Commis- sioners against property owners, on de- fendants' appeal from a decision by Judge Case, of the Superior Court.
Another important work of his last two years was as trustee of the Connec- ticut Company, appointed with four others to take over that company. To this work he brought wide experience and ripened judgment that rendered him a most valuable addition to the board. He declined many offers of financial trust, devoting himself to his large and weighty practice, though always responding to every call to the public service.
From 1885 to 1899 he was actively iden- tified with civic affairs other than legal. From 1885 to 1891 he was a member of the board of school visitors, and acting school visitor, or superintendent of schools during that period. In that capa- city he labored earnestly to bring the schools to a higher plane of efficiency, a work in which he succeeded. From 1888 to 1891 he was a member of the board of street commissioners, also from 1897 to 1899, and president of the board in 1890, 1891 and 1899. In 1895 and 1896 he was a member of the board of health.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hyde in 1892 as candidate for mayor carried Hart- ford for the Democracy for the first time in a decade in an important city election. He had as an opponent on the Repub- lican ticket, General Henry C. Dwight, who polled 3.828 votes against Mr. Hyde's 4,607. He is yet spoken of as "one of the best mayors Hartford ever had."
Neither legal life, to which he brought
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an inherited and personal love; nor pub . lic life, which he met as a duty of good citizenship-filled the measure of his activity. He was a trustee of the Con- necticut Hospital for the Insane, and a director of the Dime Savings Bank. As a member of South Congregational Church he met the responsibility of a churchman as he met every other obliga- tion of life. In social intercourse he met his fellowmen in club, fraternity and so- ciety, and with them pursued the highest objects of each. His clubs were the Hart- ford, Hartford Golf, Country, University (New York), Yale (New York), Gradu- ates (New Haven), and Nayasset of Springfield, Massachusetts. His patriotic and Colonial ancestry rendered him eligible to about every organization of note based on Colonial residence and Rev- olutionary service. He was affiliated with the Society of Mayflower Descendants in Connecticut, the Colonel Jeremiah Wads- worth Branch of the Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revolution, and of the Society of Colonial Wars in Connec- ticut. In fraternity, his affiliations were entirely Masonic, and included all de- grees of the York Rite and of the Scot- tish Rite up to and including the thirty- second. He was a Master Mason of St. John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons; a companion of Pythagoras Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; a cryptic Ma- son of Wolcott Council, Royal and Select Masters; a sir knight of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar; and a noble of Sphinx Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In Scottish Rite, he held the fourteen degrees of Charter Oak Lodge of Perfection : the degrees of Hart- ford Council, Princes of Jerusalem ; Cyrus Goodell Chapter of Rose Croix; and of Connecticut Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret. Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
This necessarily brief review of the life activity of a great man would be incom- plete did it not refer to that under side of his nature, not so well known to the public as his legal and civic greatness. His love of fun, his genial good nature, and the charm of his social qualities, were known and appreciated only in fullest measure by those privileged to call him friend. He had a quick sympathy which responded instantly to the good fortune or misfortune of his friends; and the warmth of his congratulations made suc- cess sweeter ; while his word of consola- tion lightened the heaviness of sorrow, and he was always ready to help the weak one or aid the discouraged. His cour- tesy to young lawyers was unfailing, and, while an opponent at the bar to be dreaded, he was always willing to extend any courtesy to opposing counsel, consist- ent with the proper conduct of his case.
There was another element of his char- acter worthy of special note-his courage and adaptability. It was said of his father, that "as a rough and tumble fighter in court he had no superior. All cases were the same to him. Cases involving bookkeeping, patents, contracts, the usual run of disputes of all kinds, and criminal cases, he could try with equal facility, and his courage never failed him." The son inherited many of his lawyerlike charac- teristics from that father, and men called him a man of "indomitable courage," pursuing what he believed a proper course in the face of all obstacles and any opposition. A quiet man, yet, when aroused, one of the most eloquent.
Mr. Hyde married, December 1, 1877, Helen Eliza Watson, his classmate in high school, daughter of George W. Wat- son, of Hartford, who survives him, with two children - Elizabeth; and Alvan Waldo Hyde, the latter his father's part- ner in the firm, of Gross, Hyde & Ship-
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man ; he married (first) Helen Howard, who bore him two children : Helen Waldo and Elizabeth Howard; he mar- ried (second) Theresa MacGillivray, and has two children: Jeannette MacGilli- vray, and William Waldo Hyde (2nd).
ENGLISH, Joel L., Life Insurance Official.
The English family is one of the oldest in New England, its progenitor, Clement English, who was the first of the name in America, living in Salem. Massachusetts, as early as 1667, and being married there on August 27 in that year to Mary Waters, like himself a resident of the town. He is spoken of as a wealthy mer- chant, who stood high in the esteem of his fellow citizens, and his death occurred there December 23, 1682.
Benjamin English, son of Clement English, was born in Salem, October 19, 1678, and removed to New Haven, Con- necticut, about 1700. He married (first) at Salem, June 8, 1699, Sarah Ward, who died December 9, 1700. He married (sec- ond) April 21, 1703, Rebecca Brown, of East Haven, who died May 6, 1768. By his first wife a son was born, May 19, 1700. The children of the second wife were: Sarah, born February 7, 1704-05 ; Benjamin, October 8, 1705 ; Mary, Febru- ary 10, 1707-08; Joseph, 1709; Mary, 1714; Clement, October, 1716.
There is little doubt that one of the sons just mentioned was the father of Richard English, who was the great- grandfather of Joel English, the subject of this sketch.
Richard English married, in 1762, Free- dom, born in Hebron, Connecticut, 1747, a daughter of Captain John Strong. She died October 6, 1839. Captain Strong was born September 5, 1723. Until 1769 he was probably a resident of Hebron, Con-
necticut. From 1769 to 1772 he engaged in farming at Hartford, Vermont. Dur- ing this period we find his name on rec- ords as town clerk and as a surveyor. In 1773 he and a few others began the set- tlement of Woodstock, Vermont. He and his son-in-law, Benjamin Burtsch, erect- ed a log house and opened the first tavern in the town. In 1775-76 he was one of the Council of Safety for Cumberland county, and in the following year served as captain of a company of rangers under General Schuyler. He was a member of the Vermont Legislature, 1777-78-79-82, and held various town offices. He also rendered valuable service in connection with public fairs, and enjoyed a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens. In 1778-79 he built a saw mill and grist mill, which he conducted at the same time that he kept the tavern. He was a man of great enterprise and his ventures were uniformly successful. In the year 1804 he removed with his grandson, Ben- jamin Burtsch, Jr., to Argenteuil, Can- ada, where he died two years later. His first wife, whose name is not known, died at Woodstock, January 15, 1784, at the age of sixty years.
His father, Lieutenant Jedediah Strong, was born January 15, 1700, and was a farmer at Lebanon, Connecticut, all his life. On December 4, 1722, he married Elizabeth Webster, a daughter of Captain John and Elizabeth Webster, who was born February 26, 1700-01. Captain Web- ster was born at Northampton, Massa- chusetts, September 11, 1672 (also given as February 26, 1673). He was one of the original proprietors of Lebanon, Con- necticut, and it was there that he died November 3, 1735-
His father, Thomas Webster, married June 16, 1663, Abigail Alexander, a daugh- ter of John Alexander, of Northampton, Massachusetts. Before his marriage
Conn-3-15
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Thomas Webster was a resident of Farm- ington, Connecticut, where several sales of land by him are recorded, between Oc- tober, 1651, and 1656. He was a resident of Northampton as late as 1670, but we find him in Northfield, Massachusetts, soon after that. He was driven from there by the Indian attacks in 1675, and resided at Hadley from 1676 to 1682. After the close of King Philip's War, however, he returned to Northfield, where his death occurred. His estate was in- ventoried October 20, 1686, and his wife Abigail died before 1690.
His father, Governor John Webster, the immigrant ancestor of the most nu- merous family of Websters in America, was a native of Warwickshire, England. He came to Massachusetts probably dur- ing the period between 1630 and 1633, and lived for a time at Newton. From there he went to Hartford, Connecticut, prob- ably with the Hooker Company, which founded the city. He was one of the eleven out of the one hundred and fifty- three original settlers of Hartford who received the distinction of "Mr." From 1639 to 1659 he was continuously in pub- lic office, and was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1656, holding that office during the year. Besides this he also held the office of deputy to the General Court, chief magistrate and deputy gov- ernor. He was one of the most impor- tant men in the colony, and a more de- tailed account of his career is to be found elsewhere in this work. On April 5, 1661, "the Puritan and Pilgrim of two Hemis- pheres, the Faithful Judge, the Deputy Governor and Governor of an Incipient American State, the public-spirited citi- zen and public servant, in old age an exile for conscience * closed his labors." His widow, Agnes Webster, died in 1667.
Jedediah Strong, Jr., father of Lieuten-
ant Jedediah Strong, was born August 7, 1667, and married, November 8, 1688, Abiah Ingersoll, born August 24, 1663, a daughter of John and Abigail (Bascom) Ingersoll. He was a farmer at North- ampton, Massachusetts, until August 24, 1696, when he removed to Lebanon, Con- necticut. His name frequently appears in the records of that town as a member of committees having in charge impor- tant public affairs. He met his death at the hands of the Indians, being killed by them at Wood Creek, New York, October 12, 1709. His widow died November 20, 1732.
His father, Jedediah Strong, was born May 7, 1637. He was twice married, his first wife with whom he was united No- vember 18, 1662, being Freedom Wood- ward, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Woodward, of Dorchester and North- ampton, Massachusetts. Mr. Strong was engaged in farming at Northampton until 1709, when he removed with his family to Coventry, Connecticut, where he died May 22, 1733. His wife had already died May 17, 1681.
His father, Elder John Strong, was born at Taunton, England, in 1605, and came to this country in 1630, arriving in Massachusetts on May 30 of that year. In 1635 he was one of the founders of Dorchester, and on March 9, 1636, was admitted a freeman at Boston. On De- cember 4, 1638, we find him a resident proprietor of Taunton, Massachusetts. He was a prominent man in the com- munity, and held the office of deputy to the General Court at Plymouth in 1641- 43-44-45. He next removed to Windsor, Connecticut, where he was one of a com- mittee appointed "to superintend and bring forward the settlement of that place." In 1659 he was active in found- ing and settling Northampton, Massa- chusetts, where he engaged in business
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as a tanner, was one of the most pros- perous citizens and ruling elder of the church there. He married, in December, 1630, for his second wife, Abigail Ford, who died July 6, 1688. He died April 14, 1699. A more detailed account of his life is to be found elsewhere in this work.
Joel English, son of Richard and Free- dom (Strong) English, was born Decem- ber 9, 1766, at Andover, Connecticut. When about the age of twelve years, he was bound out as an apprentice to Ben- jamin Burtsch in Woodstock, Vermont, and was sent to work tending the saw and grist mill of Strong & Burtsch. During these years his fare was meager and very plain, and the growing boy, possessed of a healthy appetite, often found it neces- sary to appease his hunger to take the meal made at the mill, mix it with water and bake it at the fireplace there. At the home of Mr. Burtsch the young man be- came acquainted with his cousin, Tri- phena, who was born June 12, 1770, a daughter of Benajah Strong, and they were married July 25, 1788. They made their home with Mr. Burtsch for about two years after their marriage, but in 1789 Mr. English purchased a farm of one hundred acres, and in 1793 bought a saw mill, which had been built a few years before on a hundred acre lot just below his first purchase. Two years later, in partnership with a Mr. Bennett under the firm name of Bennett & English, he bought the Davis Grist Mill. Both these mills were enlarged and improved and from that time on the place was known as English's Mills. Joel English and wife first occupied a log house, but in 1804 they began the erection of a frame house in which he lived during the re- mainder of his life. He also laid out a road which branched from the Bridge- water road and ran south of this house, and which later became the established
line of travel. Triphena (Strong) Eng- lish died December 28, 1846. She was a member of the Christian church at Wood- stock for thirty-nine years. Her father, Benjamin Strong, born January 17, 1734- 35. was a son of Lieutenant Jedediah Strong, who has already been referred to in this article. Benajah Strong was twice married, his first wife having been Polly Bacon, of Lebanon, Connecticut. He removed to Hartford, Vermont, in 1764, where he was one of the first set- tlers, and in the following year held the office of town clerk. In 1774 he was con- stable and commissioner of highways. His first wife died August 8, 1790, and after his second marriage he removed to Bethel, Vermont, and resided there until his death in March, 1815.
Henry W. English, son of Joel and Triphena (Strong) English, was born January 27, 1805, at Woodstock, Ver- mont. He was a justice of the peace for over forty years, held other important town offices and served as selectman for a considerable period. He inherited his father's saw and grist mill and was en- gaged in operating them all his life. He also had a fifty acre farm. He married Eliza A. Steele, a daughter of Stephen and Chloe (Hubbard) Steele, and they were the parents of six children, five of whom grew to maturity. The children were as follows: Hiram S., deceased ; Caroline Louisa, deceased; Charles H., of Woodstock, Vermont; Joel Lathrop, with whose career this sketch is particu- larly concerned ; Chloe T., who became the wife of Charles. Adams, of Peacham, Vermont. Henry W. English died April 2 1887, and his wife November 1I, 1880.
Joel Lathrop English, son of Henry W. and Eliza A. (Steele) English, was born October 1, 1843, at Woodstock, Vermont. He received his education at the local public schools, at Randolph Academy and
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Woodstock Academy, located respec- tively in the towns of the same names. He was one of the first men in the country to learn shorthand, and in 1867 became stenographer and general clerk to Thomas O. Enders, secretary of the Aetna Life Insurance Company. He continued in this position until 1872, when he was elected secretary of the company to suc- ceed Mr. Enders. This position Mr. English held until February, 1905, when he was elected to his present responsible position as vice-president of this great concern. Mr. English is at the present time one of the oldest and best known life insurance men now actively connected with the business. He is a member of the Hartford Club.
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