USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 36
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5. Elijah Backus, born March 14, 1726, died suddenly, September 4, 1798; mar- ried (first) January 9, 1753. Lucy Gris- wold, who died December 16, 1795 ; mar- ried (second) October 30, 1796, Margaret
Tracy, a widow; children of first wife: Elijah, born February 17, 1754, died March 8, 1755; a daughter, born January II, 1756, died February 21, 1756; Lucy, born January 31, 1757, became the wife of Dudley Woodbridge, and moved to the Ohio; Elijah, born May 2, 1759; James, born July 10, 1761, died January 17, 1762 ; a daughter, born March 18, 1763, died April 21, 1763 ; James, born July 14, 1764; Matthew, born September 24, 1766; Clar- ina, born August 7, 1769.
6. Simon Backus, born January 17, 1729, died February 16, 1764.
7. Eunice, born May 17, 1731, died Au- gust 10, 1753; married, January 4, 1753, John Post; their daughter, Eunice, was born July 27, 1753.
8. Andrew, born November 16, 1733, died November 20, 1796; married, Febru- ary 8, 1759, Lois Pierce, born August 14, 1732 ; children : Stephen, born November 27, 1759; Thomas, May, 1762; Simon, April 12, 1765, went through college, and died, unmarried, September 19, 1788; Syl- vanus, born June 3, 1768; Eunice, June 14, 1770, died July 7, 1792; Mary, born January 8, 1773; Lucy, March 14, 1777; Stephen, Thomas, Sylvanus and Mary had families ; Lucy died unmarried.
9. Asa Backus, born May 3. 1736, died July 23, 1788; married, May 12, 1762, Esther Parkus ; children: Asa, born May 12, 1763; Esther, October, 1765; Mary, August 29, 1767, died October 10, 1785; Joseph, February 3, 1770, died April 22, 1771; Eunice, February 23, 1772; Lucy, March 26, 1774 : John, July 17, 1777 ; Sam- uel, October, 1780; Asa married and had a family, the remainder of the children died unmarried.
10. Lucy Backus, born April 18, 1738, died May 20, 1808; married, August 16, 1764, Benajah Leffingwell, born January, 1738, died September, 1804. Children : Benajah, born June 22. 1765 ; Lucy, born January 31, 1767, died June 27. 1797, mar- ried and had children: Elizabeth, born October 8, 1768 : a daughter, born January 31. 1771, died February 21, 1771 ; Richard, born October 3, 1773 ; Mary, born Novem- ber 21. 1775: Oliver, born October 28, 1778, died in New York. October, 1798.
II. John Backus, born October 16, 1740, died unmarried ; he served as a selectman
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and a representative of Norwich, and was an active and useful citizen. His brothers, Elijah and Andrew Backus, also served as representatives and both served as jus- tices of the peace, one at Norwich and the other at Plainfield.
Samson Mason, ancestor of Susanna (Mason) Backus, aforementioned as the wife of Isaac Backus, was a soldier in Cromwell's army, but after the death of Cromwell he came to America and settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where his sons resided. His sons were : Noah, Sam- son, James, John, Samuel, Joseph, Isaac, Pelatiah, and Benjamin, and perhaps his posterity are now as numerous as those of any man who emigrated to this coun- try. Peletiah married and was the father of four sons, Joseph, Job, Russell and John, all of whom were ministers of the Gospel. Joseph for many years pastor of the second church in Swansea, and all lived to above eighty years of age. Samuel Mason, son of Samuel Mason, son of Sam- son Mason, was born in June, 1683, died June 3. 1772. He married (first) a Miss Reed, in Rehoboth, and their children were as follows: Rabina, became the wife of ---- Chaffee, and was the mother of Deacon John Chaffee, of New Bedford ; Elizabeth, became the wife of Gideon Franklin, and died at Cheshire, May, 1795, aged above eighty years: Sarah, died young : Hannah, died young ; Sam- uel, married, had a family, and died De- cember 1, 1786, in his seventy-third year, survived by his widow ; Moses, married, had a family, and died July 2, 1798, aged seventy-eight years; Mary, became the wife of Ichabod Ide; Lydia, became the wife of John Mason; Susanna, became the wife of Isaac Backus ; and a child that died in infancy. Samuel Mason married a second wife, who bore him three chil- dren : John, Sarah and Hannah, all of whom married and had families.
WHIPPLE, Frank Herbert, Business Man.
Frank H. Whipple is a member of an old and distinguished New England fam- ily. It was founded in this country by Captain John Whipple, of Providence, Rhode Island, who came to that region at an early period in colonial history from some part of England. It is now repre- sented in various parts not only of New England but of the United States gen- erally, but nowhere more worthily than by the distinguished gentleman whose name heads this brief sketch, who is re- garded as one of the most public-spirited citizens of Hartford, Connecticut, and ex- hibits in his own person and character the talents and virtues of a long line of worthy ancestors.
Mr. Whipple's grandfather was Thomas Whipple, who resided at New Braintree, Massachusetts, where he owned a valu- able farm. He also made his home for a time at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. He married for his third wife Miss Susan Allen, a member of a very old family which is the subject of extended mention elsewhere in this work. The children of this marriage were : John C. Whipple, the father of the subject of this sketch; and Nancy, who became the wife of Daniel Bartlett. John C. Whipple had two half- brothers by his father's first and second marriages-Francis and Frederick.
John C. Whipple, the son of Thomas and Susan (Allen) Whipple, was born May 20, 1825. at Canterbury, Connecticut. When he was about four years of age his parents removed to. New Braintree, Mas- sachusetts, where they owned the farm already referred to. The early life of John C. Whipple was that of the typical farmer's lad of that period, and he grew up in the midst of a healthy rural environ- ment there. Indeed, he continued to live
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on the farm formerly owned by his father until he had reached the age of forty years, and then went to Springfield, Mas- sachusetts. In Springfield he became a successful dealer in milk, and ran a milk route in the city and surrounding region. Still later he came to Hartford, Connecti- cut, where he worked in the store of Olds & Whipple. While residing at New Braintree, Mr. Whipple, Sr., took a prom- inent part in the general life of the com- munity, and held the post of first select- man of the town for many years. He was overseer of the poor there, and a staunch and active Republican. He married Miss Elizabeth Quimby, a daughter of Isreal Allen, and a native of Spencer, Massachu- setts, where she was born May 1, 1825. The death of Mr. Whipple, Sr., occurred at Hartford, December 22, 1898, and that of his wife in the same city, January 27, 1908. They were the parents of five chil- dren, two of whom grew to maturity, as follows: Lizzie, who became the wife of Alfred A. Olds, the partner of our subject, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; and Frank Herbert, with whose career we are especially concerned.
Frank Herbert Whipple, son of John C. a1.d Elizabeth Quimby (Allen) Whipple, was born April 23, 1856, on his father's iarm at New Braintree. He received his education in the public schools of New Braintree, at Worcester Academy, and Eastman Business College at Poughkeep- sie, New York. He then went to Spring- field, Massachusetts, at the same time his father moved to that city, and there se- cured a position in the employ of Homer, Foot & Company, dealers in hardware, iron and steel. The concern was a large one and did a very extensive business at that time, and there Mr. Whipple laid the foundation of his thorough knowledge of business and business methods generally. He remained for three years with Homer, Foot & Company, and then withdrew from
that concern to take the position of head bookkeeper for J. S. Carr & Company, which did a large cracker baking busi- ness. After one year there, he formed his present partnership with Mr. Olds and came to Hartford, Connecticut, where they now operate a very successful busi- ness under the name of Olds & Whipple. Besides this concern, Mr. Whipple is as- sociated with many others, among them being the Windsor Tobacco Growers' Corporation of which he is the president ; the New England Tobacco Corporation of which he is the treasurer; and Steane, Hartman & Company, a large corporation in Hartford. The firm of Olds & Whipple is a very old one and deals now on a large scale in agricultural implements, stoves and furnaces, fertilizers and seed, and of recent years has taken up extensively the growing of tobacco. It is at present one of the largest dealers in fertilizers in the region.
Mr. Whipple was united in marriage, on the first day of November, 1888, at Huntington, Massachusetts, with Miss Clara Williams, a daughter of Augustus Williams, of Springfield, Massachusetts; she was born on the 21st of June, 1860, at Ashfield, Massachusetts. To Mr. and Mrs. Whipple three children have been born, as follows: Frank A., who is con- nected with the Hampton Institute of Hampton, Virginia; Merle W., who is now a student at Yale University, class of 1917 ; and Marion E., of the class of 1919, of Wellesley College. Mr. Whipple and his wife are members of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, of which he is a deacon.
GILBERT, Charles Edwin,
Secretary Aetna Life Insurance Company.
He comes from ancient English ances- try, it being written of the Gilbert fam- ily, that they are "ancient and honorable."
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In Volume IV of the "New England His- torical and Genealogical Register," J. Wingate Thornton says of the Gilbert family: "It stands conspicuous among the illustrious names of Raleigh, Drake, Cavendish, Gosnold, Hawkins, and a host of naval worthies, and with singular hap- piness is joined with the three first named in lineage as well as in the less tangible but generous relationship of mind. The name Gilbert is Saxon, signifying, it is thought, 'Bright or brave pledge.' from the fact that it is written in 'Domesday Book,' 'Gislebert,' and that 'Gisle' in old Saxon signifies a pledge. It is written on the Roll of Battle Abbey, T. Gilbard. Richard Fitz Gilbert, a kinsman of the Conqueror, and a principal personage, was for his services advanced to great honors and possessions. 'The name is eminent in the annals of the church, state and learning of England, through several cen- turies. Its early and principal home is in Devonshire, and from this stock, distin- guished in naval and commercial history and geographical science and discoveries, issued many branches, planted in other portions of the country.' Arms-'Argent, on a chevron sable three roses of the first. Crest-A dolphin, naivant embowed'."
The English history of the family has been traced to that Gilbert of Compton, parish of Marldon, County Devon, Eng- land, who was succeeded by his son Thomas Gilbert and his wife Amy. The line of descent is through their son Jef- frey Gilbert, married Jane or Joan, daugh- ter and coheir of William Compton. Esq., of Compton ; their son, William Gilbert, of Compton, married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Oliver Champernon, Esq., by his first wife Egelina, daughter of Hugh Valetort, Esq .. of Tamerton; their son, William Gilbert, of Compton, mar- ried Isabel, daughter of William Gambon, Esq .. of Mareston; their son, Ortho or
Otes Gilbert, sheriff of Devonshire under Edward IV., 1475, married Elizabeth, daughter of John (or Robert) Hill, Esq., of Shilston in Modbury; their son, Wil- liam Gilbert, of Ridge Rule. in Cornwall, married Carlisle. Richard Gilbert, of the eighth generation, son of William, was of North Fetherwin, Devonshire, moved to Norfolk, and became lord of the manor of Waldcote in North Burling- ton, where he died in 1545. He married a second wife, Elizabeth, and was succeeded by their son, Thomas Gilbert, lord of the manor of Waldcote, who married Aubray, daughter of Thomas Brooks, in Norfolk.
The American history of the family be- gins with Jonathan Gilbert, son of Thom- as and Aubray (Brooks) Gilbert, of the manor of Waldcote. Jonathan Gilbert is on record as of Hartford in 1645, and was then a bachelor landholder aged about twenty-seven. No doubt he arrived in New England at a much earlier date, for in April, 1646, he was sufficiently familiar with the language of the Indians to act as interpreter between them and the govern- ment officials. This ability, coupled with personal bravery, enabled him to render valuable service. He was generally se- lected as a leader in emergencies, and was a man of eminent respectability and enterprise, engaged in mercantile busi- ness and coasting trade of the young colo- nies, possessed of great wealth for that day. He held various civil offices; was collector of customs at Hartford; served as marshal of the colony : office corres- pondent to the high sheriff; representa- tive to the General Court ; and by govern- ment grants and purchase became pos- sessed of large tracts of land. He mar- ried a second wife, Mary Welles, born 1626, died July 3, 1700, a sister of Gov- ernor Thomas Welles, and daughter of Frances Colman, by her first husband, Hugh Welles. Jonathan Gilbert died De-
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cember 10, 1682, and his tombstone is yet to be seen in the burying ground in the rear of the Center Congregational Church, Hartford.
Samuel Gilbert, son of Jonathan, "the founder," was one of the proprietors of the town of Colchester, Connecticut, set- tling about 1698 and there residing until his death in 1733.
His son, Samuel (2) Gilbert, settled in Gilead, Connecticut, and was a member of the church there from the date of the or- ganization of the parish in 1748.
He was succeeded by his son, Captain Samuel (3) Gilbert, of Gilead, born Octo- ber 16, 1711, died in Lyme, New Hamp- shire, October 16, 1774. He served in the French and Indian wars as ensign of the North Company of Hebron in May, 1745; captain of the Gilead Company in 1749; and as captain of the Seventeenth Com- pany, Third Connecticut Regiment, for the expedition against Crown Point in 1755. He is said to have left an estate inventoried at £6,000. He married (first) February 17, 1732, Elizabeth Curtice. One of his sons, Sylvester Gilbert, from whom Charles Edwin Gilbert also descends in a maternal line, was a graduate of Yale Col- lege, a lawyer of Hebron. Connecticut, judge of Tolland county court for many years, member of the State Legislature eighteen semi-annual sessions, member of the commission which made the sale of the Western Reserve lands, and all his life conducted a farm.
Samuel (4) Gilbert, half-brother of Judge Sylvester Gilbert, and son of Cap- tain Samuel (3) Gilbert, was born in Gilead, Connecticut, June 3. 1734. He settled in Hebron, Connecticut, April 21, 1818. He was employed on the farm until reaching legal age, but in the mean time had acquired a good preparatory educa- tion. He then entered Yale College, was graduated in the class of 1759, admitted
to the bar, became eminent as lawyer and judge, serving as judge of the Court of Common Pleas for twenty-one years. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Assembly in 1790-92-93-99; also held many important civil offices, and the mili- tary rank of lieutenant, serving in the Twelfth Regiment in 1775 In his judicial capacity he proved the high quality of his mentality and uprightness of character, and all through his life was a man held in the very highest esteem. The end of life saw him in full possession of his lofty mind, and with perfect composure he passed to that "bourne from which no traveler ever returns." He married (sec- end) September 3, 1775, Deborah Cham- pion, born May 3, 1753, died November 20, 1845, youngest daughter of Colonel Henry and Deborah (Brainard) Cham- pion, granddaughter of Lieutenant Henry Champion, son of Thomas Champion, son of Henry Champion, the American foun- der of the family. Henry Champion, born in England, settled in Saybrook, Connec- ticut, as early as 1647 and in 1670 moved to Lyme, Connecticut, and there died, February 17, 1708, aged ninety-eight years. His grandson, Lieutenant Henry Champion, settled in East Haddam, where he bought fifty acres in the first division of land. He is described as "a man of more than medium height, square and compactly built, all his joints seemingly double, and possessed of great strength." His son, Colonel Henry Champion, born 1723, died 1797, began his military career at the age of eighteen as ensign of the East Haddam South Company ; was cap- tain of a company serving in the French and Indian War in 1758; captain of the Fifth Company of the Second Regiment in 1759. and transferred to the command of the Twelfth Company in 1760. He was appointed major of the Twelfth Regiment of Colonial Militia, May 14, 1772; com-
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missary to supply Washington's troops until March, 1776; colonel of the Twenty- fifth Regiment, 1775; and after the army began to assemble at New York, was in charge of the commissary. In April, 1780, he was appointed sole commissary-gen- eral for the Eastern Department of the Continental army, and relieved the army at Morristown, New Jersey, largely from his own resources. He resigned in May, 1780. He was many times elected to the Connecticut Legislature, and from 1775 until his death in 1797, was deacon of the Westchester church. His first wife, Deborah Brainard, who was the mother of all his children, was born June 20, 1724, died March 17, 1789, daughter of Captain Joshua and Mehitable (Dudley) Brainard.
Peyton Randolph Gilbert, son of Judge Samuel (4) and Deborah (Champion) Gil- bert, did not follow the professional lead of his father, but was a substantial farmer of Gilead all his life, also an eminent citi- zen of Tolland county, serving in the House of Representatives and in the State Senate. He married Anna, daughter of Elisha and Mary Gillett Porter.
Rev. Edwin Randolph Gilbert, son of Peyton Randolph Gilbert, was born in Gilead, Connecticut, February 10, 1808, died in April, 1874. He prepared in Gilead public schools and Monson Acad- emy (Massachusetts), and entered Yale College. whence he was graduated, class of 1829. He then pursued studies in divin- ity at Yale Theological Seminary, was graduated in the class of 1832, ordained pastor of the Wallingford, Connecticut, Congregational church the same year, and continued its pastor forty-one years. He knew no other pastorate than Walling- ford, his connection with that church end- ing with his resignation two months prior to his death. He was dearly beloved by his people and townsmen ; was a man of deep piety and intellectuality, serving well
the cause of Christianity. For twenty-five years he was a member of the corporation of Yale College, his alma mater. He mar- ried Ann Langdon, born 1809, died 1841, daughter of Reuben Langdon, of Hart- ford, Connecticut, a descendant of George Langdon, who came from England to Wethersfield, Connecticut, about 1636. The line of descent from George Lang- don was through his son John, a deputy to the General Court from Farmington, Connecticut, in 1668; his son, Joseph Langdon, of Farmington ; his son Joseph (2), of Farmington and Southington ; his son Giles, of Farmington and Southing- ton ; his son Reuben, of Farmington, New London and Hartford.
Reuben Langdon was born in Farm- ington, Connecticut, in 1777, was engaged in business in New London until about 1817, when he moved to Hartford, there establishing a dry goods business which under varied ownerships yet continues. After his withdrawal from the dry goods business he became treasurer of the Soci- ety for Savings, popularly known as the Pratt Street Bank, and was a director of the Phoenix Bank. He died in Hartford in 1849. Reuben Langdon married, in 1803. Patience Gilbert, daughter of Judge Sylvester Gilbert and niece of Judge Sam- uel (4) Gilbert, grandfather of Rev. Ed- win Randolph Gilbert, both he and his wife, Ann Langdon, being great-grand- children of Captain Samuel (3) Gilbert.
From such distinguished ancestry comes Charles Edwin Gilbert of the eighth Gilbert American generation, son of Rev. Edwin Randolph and Ann (Langdon) Gilbert. He was born November 8, 1836, ir: Wallingford, Connecticut, and received his education in the schools of that town and Farmington. For some years he was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Hart- ford and New York. In 1868 he entered the office of the Ætna Life Insurance
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Company, in Hartford, and his adapta- bility to insurance business soon became manifest. He served successively as ac- countant, cashier, assistant secretary and secretary, being elected to the latter posi- tion in 1905.
While for nearly a half century his identity has been merged with that of the Ætna Life Insurance Company, Mr. Gil- bert has taken an active part in city affairs, and has been prominent in many of its most important organizations. He was an original member of the old City Guard, and for several years was a mem- ber of the Governor's Foot Guard, hold- ing rank as adjutant ; and is yet an hon- ored member of its Veteran Corps, and a trustee of the Foot Guard Armory. He was an original Republican in politics, and was one of the thirty organizing members of the famous "Wide-Awake" marching club of Hartford in 1861, an organization which spread throughout the entire North, and whose advocacy of Lin- coln for the Presidency was an all-impor- tant factor in bringing that great man to his mission as the Savior of the Union. Mr. Gilbert is a member of the Hartford Club, the Hartford Golf Club, the Repub- lican Club, the Twentieth Century Club, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Connecticut Historical Society, and is a trustee of the Good Will Club. He and his wife are both members of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, in which he has served as deacon, and also as chair- man of the society's committee. Mr. Gil- bert's life has been one of continued activ- ity from youth. He has borne well his part in the development of one of the greatest insurance corporations of the world, and has uninterruptedly enjoyed the confidence and highest personal re- gard of his official associates-men who are best qualified to judge of the value of his business abilities and the worth of his personal character.
Mr. Gilbert married Virginia Ewing Crane, daughter of Aaron G. Crane, of New York City, and they are the parents of three sons-Albert Waldron Gilbert, an insurance broker, of Hartford; Edwin Randolph Gilbert, a business man of Chi- cago; and Charles Allan Gilbert, a well known illustrator and artist of New York City.
GROSS, Charles Edward,
Attorney, President of Connecticut Histori- cal Society.
By his personal efforts and through his qualities of industry, perception and steady application, Mr. Gross has attained a high position at the bar of the State. He is among the most public-spirited citizens of Hartford, has given freely of his time and services to the city, and is interested in several of its most important business enterprises. From early New England ancestors, Mr. Gross has drawn the qualities that make for success and that constitute good citizenship.
It is supposed that his first American ancestor, Isaac Gross, was born in or near Cornwall, England. He settled in Bos- ton, Massachusetts, and there his name appears under a variety of spellings such as Groce, Grose, Grosse and Growse. He was accompanied to this country by his brother, Edmond Gross, who was a sea- faring man and a proprietor of Boston as early as 1639. Isaac Gross was a brewer by trade, but seems to have engaged in agriculture after his arrival in America. He was admitted to the Boston church April 17, 1636, but accepted the teachings of Wheelwright, and was dismissed from that church to Exeter, New Hampshire, January 6, 1638. He had a grant of land in 1636 in the great allotment at what is now Brookline, and after his dismissal to Exeter he returned again to Boston, where his will was proved June 5, 1649.
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It is probable that he was possessed of some means when he crossed the ocean, for he left one of the largest estates of his time at his death. His wife's bap- tismal name was Ann, and after his death she married (second) August 15, 1658, Samuel Sheere, of Dedham.
Clement Gross, son of Isaac and Ann, born in England, accompanied his father to Boston, where he lived, and was also a brewer by trade. His first wife Mary was the mother of Simon Gross, born about 1650 in Boston, died at Hingham, Massachusetts, April 26, 1696. He had settled there as early as 1675, and married there, October 23rd of that year, Mary, daughter of John Bond, born December 16, 1657. Simon Gross was a boatman, and had a residence on Scituate street, Hingham. His estate was valued at £198 5s. 3d. His second son, Simon Gross, was born February 4, 1678, in Hingham, lived in that town and Eastham, Massa- chusetts. He married, October 13, 1709, Experience Freeman, daughter of Lieu- tenant Edmund and Sarah (Mayo) Free- man, granddaughter of Major John and Mercy (Prence ) Freeman. The last named was the daughter of Governor Thomas and Patience (Brewster) Prence, and granddaughter of Elder William Brew- ster, of the "Mayflower" colony. She was also descended from Edmund Free- man, the pioneer, and Rev. John Mayo, the pioneer clergyman. Her eldest child was Freeman Gross, born about 1710-11, at Eastham, or Truro, died in 1742. Two of his uncles removed from Hingham to Hartford, Connecticut, and he joined them there. He was admitted to the first church of Hartford, October 15, 1732, and married Susannah Bunce. They were the parents of Thomas Gross, born in 1738, died August 26, 1773. He married, May 1762, Huldah Seymour, born January I 14. 1745, died January, 1836, daughter of
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