USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 4
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cember 21, 1817; Luke Case, June 13, 1821; Spencer Wallace, October 15, 1827 ; William Gilmore, mentioned below; Mary Jane, June 20, 1831.
(XVII) William Gilmore Coe, son of Jehiel Coe, was born at Winsted, Connec- ticut, September 10, 1829. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851 ; after a few years of practice in New Britain, Connecticut, he returned to Win- sted in 1857 and practiced there. He was an organizer and officer of the Western Connecticut Railroad ; served two terms in the Assembly ; was postmaster of Win- sted from 1858 to 1872; active in the church. He was president of the com- mittee in charge of the Centennial in 1871. He died at Winsted, May 31, 1872. He married (first) September 15, 1852, Mar- tha Amelia Williams, born at Ballston, New York, daughter of Uriah and Jane (Scribner) Williams; She died October 6, 1854, at Jonesville, New York. He mar- ried (second) May 27, 1856, Jeanette Todd Lee, born at New Britain, March 9, 1834, died February 4, 1910, daughter of Lo- renzo P. and Jeanette Todd (Hills) Lee ; a talented woman, especially in music and art. Child by first wife: Martha Jane, born at Jonesville, September 17, 1854, married Pliny Garnsey Brooks. By sec- ond wife : Minnie Agnes, at Winsted, Oc- tober 31, 1857, married Edward W. Bill (see Bill X) ; Alice Lee, at Winsted, Au- gust 12, 1859.
COLLINS, Benjamin White,
Business Man.
The Collins coat-of-arms is as follows : Vert, a griffin segreant or, beaked, legged and ducally gorged argent. Crest: A demi griffin or, beaked, legged and ducally gorged argent. Since 1663 descendants of John Collins, of Boston, Massachusetts, have been identified with the State of
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Connecticut, John (2) Collins, son of the founder, settling in Middletown, in that year. Meriden soon became the family seat of this branch, and they have been important factors in business and civic life. Benjamin White Collins, a twentieth century representative, has long been an important factor in corporative enter- prises in association with his honored father, Aaron L. Collins, in agriculture and business, and his successor as presi- dent of the Meriden Grain & Feed Com- pany. The name is an honored one in Connecticut, and in the present, as in the past, is borne by men of public spirit and enterprise. John Collins, of Boston, Mas- sachusetts, brother of Deacon Edward Collins, probably came from England a few years earlier than his brother. He was admitted to the church at Boston, April 4, 1646, and took the freeman's oath the following May 6. Like his brother he led an active life, was a shoemaker and tanner, and in 1640 had a grant of land at Braintree. He was a member of the An- cient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. He died March 29, 1670. By his wife Hannah he had sons, John (2) and Thomas; daughters, Susannah and Eliza- beth.
John (2) Collins may have been born in England, and come to New England with his parents. This, however, is con- jecture. In Boston he learned his father's trade, tanner and shoemaker, and worked with him until 1663 when he went to Middletown, Connecticut, at about the same time as did his cousins, Samuel and Rev. Nathaniel Collins. In 1664 he moved to Saybrook with Samuel Collins, signed the New Plantation Covenant of Bran- ford, and in December, 1669, was at Guil- ford, Connecticut. In 1682 he was ap- pointed to teach the grammar school for a quarter of the year on trial. This serv- ice must have proved satisfactory, as he
taught the school for several years there- after. His will was proved January 1, 1704-05. His first wife Mary died in 1667. He married (second) June 2, 1669, Mary, daughter of John Stevens, and widow of Henry Kingsworth. He married (third) March 6, 1699, Dorcas, daughter of Sam- uel Swain, and widow of John Taintor, who survived him and married a third husband, William Wheeler. By his first wife he had a daughter, Mary, and sons, John and Robert.
Robert Collins was born in 1667, died August 20, 1745. He resided in Middle- town and Meriden, Connecticut, had a house and listed in Guilford in 1690, joined the church in Meriden, October 22, 1729, and was in Wallingford in 1735 and 1740. His will, dated January 2, 1741, was proved September 2, 1745. His first wife, Lois (Bennett) Collins, of South- ampton, Long Island, died in 1704. He married (second) June 3, 1707, Eunice, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Foster. By his second wife he had a daughter, Mary, and sons, Robert and Edward. Ed- ward Collins, son of Robert Collins and his second wife, Eunice (Foster) Collins, was born at Meriden, Connecticut, August 7, 1711, died there, January 2, 1802. He married, August 29, 1738, Susanna Peck, and had a daughter, Molly, and sons, Daniel and Samuel.
Daniel Collins, eldest son of Edward and Susanna (Peck) Collins, was born in Meriden, February 16, 1741, and there died November 10, 1819. He was a soldier of the Revolution, always known as Cap- tain Dan Collins. He was a member of the Second Company, Captain Havens, serving as sergeant from May 6 to June 10, 1775. He reënlisted in 1777 and re- signed in 1778. He again was in the serv- ice in 1779, was a captain in 1780, and in 1818 was granted a pension. He married, May 17, 1774. Susanna Lyman, daughter
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
of Captain Aaron Lyman, of Wallingford. Children : Molly, married Benjamin Cur- tis ; Susanna, married Jonathan Edwards ; Lucy, married a Mr. Moran ; Aaron ; Ly- man, of further mention ; Betsey, married Colonel Stephen Seymour.
Lyman Collins, son of Edward and Su- sanna (Lyman) Collins, was a soldier of the War of 1812. He married Elizabeth (Betsey) Carter, daughter of Salmon Car- ter, of Wallingford, and had children : Aaron Lyman, of further mention ; Charles H., a manufacturer and merchant, mar- ried Sarah C. Brooks; Lucy A., married N. P. Ives.
Aaron Lyman Collins, son of Lyman and Elizabeth (Carter) Collins, was born at the Collins homestead, East Main street, Meriden, December 20, 1820, and there re- sided until his death, March 28, 1903. He attended the public school, and remained his father's farm assistant until coming of legal age, then with his brother, Charles H. Collins, started a grocery business in Meriden "Center." This partnership was dissolved in 1856, and then he became an employee of the cutlery firm of Pratt, Ropes & Webb, a business established in Meriden in 1846. The same year the busi- ness was incorporated as the Meriden Cutlery Company, Mr. Collins continu- ing in constantly increasing positions of responsibility until 1878, when he was elected president of the company, a posi- tion he held until his death. He also held official relation with other important busi- ness enterprises of Meriden; was presi- dent of the Wilcox Silver Plate Company until its absorption by the International Silver Company ; president of the Meri- den Grain & Feed Company; director of the Home National Bank and trustee of the City Savings Bank. He was a man of high business quality and sterling char- acter, a natural leader, a loyal friend and neighbor. He married Sylvia White,
daughter of the Rev. Benjamin White, of Middlefield, Connecticut. Sons: Charles Lyman, Edward John and Benjamin White Collins.
Benjamin White Collins, son of Aaron Lyman and Sylvia (White) Collins, was born at the Collins homestead, East Main street, Meriden, Connecticut, May 1, 1859. He attended the old Center street school, and until 1895 was associated with his father in the cultivation of the home farm and in the raising of blooded horses and cattle. In 1895, still in association, they assumed the ownership and management of the hay, grain and feed business of A. S. Russell, located on South Colony street, Meriden. They conducted that business as a firm until December, 1897, then in- corporated it as the Meriden Grain & Feed Company, Aaron L. Collins, presi- dent ; Benjamin W. Collins, manager, and since his father's death he has been presi- dent and treasurer. Thanks to his early training and association with his honored father, he has continued business enter- prises along both agricultural and manu- facturing lines, and in addition to his in- terests in the Meriden Grain & Feed Com- pany is an important stockholder in one of the largest potato dealing companies in all New England, and a large owner of real estate. He is an excellent business man, a good friend and neighbor, genial and friendly, highly esteemed in his com- munity. He is a member of the State Agricultural Society (ex-secretary) ; Meri- den Agricultural Society (ex-president) ; ex-treasurer of the Cattle Breeders' Asso- ciation, and a member of the Boston Chamber of Commerce. He has, in ad- dition to the interests named, acquired important holdings in Meriden corpora- tions and is closely identified with their management. He is president of the Meri- den Braid Company; director of the Meriden Cutlery Company ; and a direc-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
tor of the Home National Bank. Hardly yet in the prime of life he has accom- plished much. but with his broad vision and business ability he may aspire to any position in the business world. In the Masonic order he is popular and promi- nent, holding the thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and all the degrees of Center Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Keystone Chapter. Royal Arch Masons; Hamilton Council, Royal and Select Masters; and St. Elmo Commandery. Knights Templar. He is also a member of Pyramid Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In political faith he is a Republican, and served for years on the Meriden School Board. His clubs are the Masonic, Home, and Highland Coun- try.
Mr. Collins married, March 5, 1895. Sophy Lowell Northrop, daughter of Lu- cius Northrop. They are the parents of a daughter Betsey, born October 9, 1901.
COWLES, Walter Goodman, Lawyer, Insurance.
John Cowles, immigrant ancestor, was born in the west of England, it is thought, about 1598. He came from there to this country in 1635. locating in Massachu- setts. He came to Hartford, Connecticut, 1635-39, in 1640 he removed to Farming- ton, Connecticut, and in 1652 was one of the organizers of the church there. He purchased land at the north end of Farm- ington village, which he later sold, and purchased three lots just south of the present meeting house and erected a house there. He was deputy to the Gen- eral Assembly in 1653-54. He removed to Hadley, Massachusetts, about 1663, but was probably not among the first settlers. His remains were interred in the cemetery at South Hadley. He was one of the com- mittee that laid out a burying place for
the town, February 14, 1669, and there was no other cemetery there until 1848. He spelled his name Cowles in order to distinguish himself from another man named Cole of the same town; and from that time to the present the descendants of his eldest son Samuel have spelled the name Cowles and those of the youngest son John, until the beginning of the nine- teenth century, favored the spelling Cowls. His widow, Hannah Cowles, went to live with her son-in-law, Caleb Stanley, of Hartford, where she died, March 16, 1683; and was buried there. Her will was dated October 27, 1680, and in it she states that her husband's last will was dated Decem- ber II, 1674. Children : Samuel, mentioned below; John, born 1641 ; Hannah, 1644, married Caleb Stanley, of Hartford ; Sarah, 1646. married Nathaniel Goodwin ; Esther, 1649, married Thomas Bull; Elizabeth, 1651, married Edward Lyman ; Mary, June 24, 1654, married Nehemiah Dickin- son.
(II) Samuel Cowles, eldest son of John and Hannah Cowles, was born in Hart- ford, Connecticut. in 1639, and died in Farmington, Connecticut, April 17, 1691. He resided at Farmington practically all his life, his parents removing there in 1640, and was one of the eighty-four pro- prietors of the town in 1672. He became the progenitor of the Connecticut branch of the family, his brother John being the ancestor of the Massachusetts branch. He married, February 14, 1660, Abigail, daughter of Timothy Stanley, one of the leading men of Hartford, who came from County Kent, England, in 1634, and was a member of the Rev. Hooker's company that went from Cambridge to settle Hart- ford in 1636. Children, born at Farming- ton : Samuel, March 17, 1661 ; Abigail, January, 1663, married Thomas Porter ; Hannah, December 10, 1664; Timothy, November 4, 1666; Sarah, December 25,
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TILDEN F.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1668, married Stephen Hart; John, Janu- ary 28, 1670; Nathaniel, February 15, 1673; Isaac, March 23, 1674-75; Joseph, January 18, 1677-78; Elizabeth, March 17, 1680; Caleb, mentioned below.
(III) Caleb Cowles, youngest son of Samuel and Abigail (Stanley) Cowles, was born at Farmington, Connecticut, June 20, 1682, and died November 15, 1725. He settled in Kensington, then called the "Great Swamp," and was one of the original "seven pillars" of the church formed there, December 10, 1712. He married. August 8, 1710, Abigail, daughter of Joseph Woodford. She died in 1736. Children: Hezekiah, born 1711, died 1736; Daniel, mentioned below ; Caleb, Jr., born 1719, died 1753.
(IV) Daniel Cowles, son of Caleb and Abigail (Woodford) Cowles, was born at Kensington, Connecticut, December 14, 1717, and died in 1798. Previously he had disposed by sale of his property in Ken- sington and removed to Worthington, lo- cating on Lovely street (now West Avon), where he spent the remainder of his days. He married Martha Powell, who died in 1810, aged ninety years. Children: Dan- iel, mentioned below; Selah, died 1821 ; Ziba.
(V) Daniel (2) Cowles, son of Daniel (1) and Martha (Powell) Cowles, was born in 1741, and died in Worthington (West Avon) in 1809. He was a soldier in the Revolution. He removed from Kensington to Lovely street, Worthing- ton (West Avon), in 1779, and there spent the remainder of his days. He married, April 25, 1765-66, Esther Rhodes, daugh- ter of Joseph Rhodes. She died in 1815, aged seventy-three years. Children : Dan- iel, born 1767; Lemuel, mentioned below ; William, born 1781.
(VI) Lemuel Cowles, son of Daniel (2) and Esther (Rhodes) Cowles, was born in 1776, and died in 1815. He mar-
ried Esther Gridley, daughter of Seth Gridley, who was a soldier in the Revolu- tion. Children: Walter H., born in 1802, died same year; Walter Hamilton, men- tioned below; Edward, born in 1806.
(VII) Walter Hamilton Cowles, son of Lemuel and Esther (Gridley) Cowles, was born at the old homestead on Lovely street, West Avon, Connecticut, Decem- ber 15, 1803. When he was twelve years of age his father died. He had an invalid mother and one brother, then nine years of age. After the death of his mother, the home farm was divided between the brothers, and Walter H. sold his part and opened a country tavern. At one of the country fairs he exhibited a working model of a railroad train, then a most decided curiosity, and this demonstrated that he possessed inventive genius. Later he occupied and conducted a large farm known as the Gridley Farm in Unionville (a village in Farmington). About 1850 he, with his son Samuel, began the manu- facture of soap. The start was made with a rough iron kettle bought at a junk shop for thirty-five cents and some wood ashes and "soap grease" picked up in the neigh- borhood. The sole product was "soft soap," so common in those days. The soap was traded for more ashes and grease, also for the necessities of life, and rarely was there any sold for money. The father was the practical soap maker and the son was the salesman. He made long wagon trips and rapidly increased the volume of business. A factory became necessary and was built in Unionville on what is now called Water street. The old factory, altered and divided into two tene- ment houses, is still standing. Here the father developed the process of making "bar soap," and a little later the manu- facture of candles was added. In 1859 they removed their factory to Hartford. locating at the foot of Talcott street,
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
where the factory still stands. A Mr. Gridley was admitted as a partner and the firm name was then Cowles & Grid- ley. In 1864 the Cowles interest was bought by Lemuel T. Frisbie, who after- wards acquired the Gridley interest. Walter H. Cowles was considered an ex- pert practical soap maker and was paid a large sum by Mr. Williams, the now famous soap manufacturer of Glaston- bury, Connecticut, for some of his formu- lae and personal instruction in the soap maker's art. After this he was engaged in a general and successful real estate business in Hartford. The partnership between father and son was strictly gen- eral. There was never a balance sheet or a division. They always lived together and all earnings or profits of either from any source were put into a common fund. Walter H. Cowles was one of the founders and ardent supporters of the Windsor Avenue Congregational Church and was one of its deacons for many years. Mr. Cowles married, July 10, 1822, after the death of his mother, Azuba Steadman, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Watts) Steadman, the latter named a relative of Isaac Watts, the well known hymn writer. Mrs. Cowles was a tailoress of much skill. Their children were: Lem- uel W., born 1823, died 1878; James P., born 1825, died 1895; Samuel W., men- tioned below: Marietta. born 1828, died 1831. Walter H. Cowles died February 7, 1888, and his wife died October 22. 1872, aged seventy-eight years. Both are buried at Hartford.
(VIII) Samuel W. Cowles, son of Walter Hamilton and Azuba (Steadman) Cowles, was born in Avon, Hartford county, Connecticut, November 10, 1826, and died at his home on Windsor avenue, Hartford, Connecticut, February 14, 1900. He engaged in business with his father, as aforementioned, and in 1864, when the
business was disposed of by sale, he be- came identified with life insurance in- terests, and as a member of the Board of Trade was also prominently connected with the material growth and prosperity of his adopted city. He was a well in- formed man, being especially interested in historical research, and he was a mem- ber of the Connecticut Historical Society from April. 1891, until his decease. He was one of the founders of the Windsor Avenue Congregational Church of Hart- ford, in which he took a keen interest, and was a member of St. John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revolu- tion ; and the Putnam Phalanx, of which he was an honorary member. He was the owner of the Peregrine White Bible. He was highly regarded in commercial circles as a man of the strictest honor and in- tegrity, and his demise was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He married, December 31, 1851, Harriet Sophia Goodman, born in West Hartford, June 20, 1829, died April 24, 1896, daughter of Childs and Sarah (Porter) Goodman (see Goodman line). They were the parents of two children : Walter Goodman, mentioned below; and Arthur James, born October 31, 1861, died January 29, 1904; he was the senior part- ner of the firm of Cowles & Howard, grocers, of Hartford.
(IX) Walter Goodman Cowles, son of Samuel W. and Harriet Sophia (Good- man) Cowles, was born in Farmington, Connecticut, April 4. 1857. Two years after his birth his parents removed to Hartford. Connecticut, and from that date to the present time (1917) he has been a resident of that city save as the require- ments of his business have made other residence temporarily necessary. His edu- cation, begun in the public schools of Hartford, was continued at the Connecti-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
cut Literary Institute, located at Suffield, where he completed preparatory study. He prepared for the profession of law at Yale Law School, from which he was graduated with the degree of LL. B., class of 1879, and the same year was admitted to the Connecticut bar. He began prac- tice in Hartford and in Bristol, but in 1882 withdrew from private practice to become private secretary to J. G. Batterson, of the Travelers' Insurance Company. On July 1, 1884, he entered the employ of the company to look after the company's land titles and legal matters, having previous to that date performed this work in the evenings during his tenure of the office of private secretary to Mr. Batterson, and thereafter devoted his entire time to that branch of the business for many years. There was trouble in Kansas, through a land agent, and in May, 1885, Mr. Cowles went to that State, expecting to remain only a short period of time, but he re- inained nearly ten years in that State and in Colorado looking after the company's interests, investments and litigation. In December, 1894, he returned to Hartford. Connecticut, and was made attorney of the liability department, in charge of the adjustments. On January 2, 1904, he was elected secretary of the company, and on January 24, 1912, was elected vice-presi- dent of the company, still retaining charge of the liability department. He was the organizer of the liability claim depart- ment of this company. He has specialized liability and workmen's compensation in- surance lines, has originated many of the current practices, has written extensively, and is an interesting and forceful public speaker, his services of this sort being much in demand. Mr. Cowles is a mem- ber of the Connecticut Historical Society ; Casualty, Acturial and Statistical Society : St. John's Lodge, No. 4. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Pythagoras Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Washington Com-
mandery, Knights Templar; Connecticut Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret; Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; is past master, past high priest and past eminent commander of Masonic lodges in the West; member of the Hartford Club, Hartford Golf Club, and Country Club of Farmington. He is a member of the Windsor Avenue Congregational Church, and was chairman of the committee for many years. He is a member of the Vet- eran Corps, Governor's Foot Guard. He is a Republican in politics.
Mr. Cowles married (first) June 9, 1886, in Cambridge, Illinois, Nellie Francis, born in Cambridge, April 10, 1862, died October 12, 1905, daughter of Morrison and Mary C. (Moor) Francis, the former named, now deceased, having been a farmer, stock raiser and miller. Mary C. (Moor) Francis was a descendant of John Moor (1683-1774) and his wife, Janet Moor (1687-1786) ; through their son, Elder William Moor (1717-1784), and his wife, Mollie (Jack) Moor ; their son, John Moor (1746-1839), and his wife, Betsey (Miller) Moor; their son, Captain John Moor (1790), and his wife, Deborah (Sherman) Moor, the latter named daugh- ter of Reuben Sherman, and they were the parents of Mary C. Moor, aforementioned. Mr. and Mrs. Cowles were the parents of three children: Francis Walter, born Oc- tober 28, 1888, educated in the public schools of Hartford, entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, now engaged in business; Donald Buford, born July 26, 1895, educated in the Hart- ford public school, Holderness School, Plymouth, New Hampshire, and the New York Military Academy at Cornwall-on- the Hudson, from which he was gradu- ated in June, 1915; and Richard Good- man, born June 18, 1900, died October 7, 1905.
Mr. Cowles married (second) Novem-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ber 2, 1907, Mrs. Elgitha (Wyckoff) Mills, widow of Hiram R. Mills, of Hartford. Mrs. Cowles had one son by her first mar- riage, Hiram Wyckoff Mills, who graduated from Harvard College. Mrs. Cowles was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut, at the summer home of her parents, June II, 1859. She was the daughter of Amos Dayton Wyckoff, a large and successful importer of rubber in New York City, and Julia (Davis) Wyckoff. Mr. Wyckoff died in New York City, August 5, 1871, and Mrs. Wyckoff died in Hartford, June 12, 1913. Both are buried in Bloomfield.
(The Goodman Line).
(I) Deacon Richard Goodman, born in England, 1609, settled at Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts, in 1632, removed to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1639, where he was one of the original proprietors. He owned "a lot on Main street north of the meeting house yard." He was a builder and constructed several buildings in Hartford including the jail. He was elected a constable, per- haps the first in Hartford. He was con- cerned in the church dissensions and left with a large party of dissenters. He set- tled in Hadley, Massachusetts. He was made captain of a militia company organ- ized to protect the town from the Indians. On April 3, 1676, while walking alone in a field near town, he was shot by the In- dians from ambush. On December 8, 1659, he married Mary Terry, daughter of Stephen Terry, of Windsor. She was born December 31, 1635, died in 1692, and buried at Deerfield, Massachusetts. Chil- dren: John, born 1661, died 1725; Rich- ard, mentioned below; Stephen, born 1664; Mary, born 1665; Thomas, born 1668, died 1670; Elizabeth, born 1671 ; Thomas, born 1673, died 1748; Samuel, born 1675.
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