USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 41
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homa." 4. Sarah Aiken, born December 2, 1864, died November 3, 1870. 5. Edwin Stanley, born September 5, 1866; gradu- ated in 1892 at Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown; lives on the homestead in Newington. 6. Lemuel Aiken, born No- vember 18, 1870; graduated in 1893 at Yale University ; now practicing law in New York City. 7. Grace Mather, born May 12, 1874; graduated in 1893 at Miss Burnham's School, Northampton, Massa- chusetts ; married, September 3, 1895, H. Leonard Beadle, of Hartford. In May, 1904, Mr. Welles closed a long and useful life. His widow still survives him.
(IX) Martin, son of Roger (3) and Mercy Delano (Aiken) Welles, was born April 15, 1859, in Henderson, Minnesota, and received his preparatory education at the Hartford High School. In 1882 he graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was fitted for the legal profession at the Columbian Law School, Washington, D. C., gradu- ating in 1885 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. The following year the institu- tion conferred upon him the degree of Master of Laws. During the time that Mr. Welles spent at the Law School he held a position in the United States Pen- sion Office, which he resigned on the com- pletion of his legal studies. He then went to New York, where he was associated with the Title Guarantee and Trust Com- pany until 1893, when he severed the con- nection in order to become assistant sec- retary of the Bond and Mortgage Guaran- tee Company of New York. Later he suc- ceeded to the offices of treasurer and fourth vice-president of the organization. In the autumn of 1907 Mr. Welles came to Hartford to assume the position of vice-president and director of the Con- necticut River Banking Company, posi- tions which he still retains. In 1913, when the Travellers' Bank and Trust
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Company was organized, Mr. Welles be- came its secretary-treasurer, and these offices he has ever since continued to hold.
During the period of his connection with the New York financial institutions mentioned above, Mr. Welles resided in Westfield, New Jersey, and took an active interest in politics, being identified with the Republican party. He was treasurer of the town, and when it became a city was elected its first mayor. That was in 1904. For one year Mr. Welles was presi- dent of the Board of Education, and for a number of years served as one of its members. In 1916 he was appointed by Mayor Lawler a member of the commis- sion to build the new high school, and is acting as secretary of that commission. In 1906 his health failed and he went abroad, remaining a year and a half, and on his return taking up his abode in Hartford. He is treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Association and the Charity Organization Society, and affili- ates with Hartford Lodge, No. 88, An- cient Free and Accepted Masons. He and his wife are members of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church.
Mr. Welles married, June 12, 1888, Mary A., daughter of the Rev. William W. Patton, president of the Howard Uni- versity of Washington, and of the chil- dren born to them the following are now living: Carolyn Aiken; Margaret Stan- ley ; Mary Patton ; and Roger Patton.
The prestige of the Welles family has been maintained and increased by men in various walks of life. Martin Welles is one of those who have upheld it as busi- ness men and financiers.
CASE, William Scoville, Lawyer, Jurist.
William. Scoville Case, now a judge of the Superior Court of Hartford, Connec-
ticut, comes from a long line of ancestors who have been prominent in the State of Connecticut since Colonial days. In connection with his ancestry it is inter- esting to note that he traces twice to Mary Bliss-first, through her daughter, Sarah Holcomb, who married Samuel Barber, the maternal grandfather of Levi Case (V); second, through Mary Bliss's daughter, Esther Holcomb, who married Brewster Higley. He also traces twice to William Phelps. Mary Phelps, the great-grandmother of Levi Case (V), who married Thomas Barber, was a daughter of William Phelps by his second wife, Mary Dover. Polly Humphrey, who married Levi Case (V), was the granddaughter of David Phelps, who was the great-grandson of William Phelps, by his first marriage.
(I) Early records show that John Case was a resident of Windsor, Connecticut, about the year 1657, and resided there until 1669, when he removed to Massa- coe, which later became the town of Simsbury. He was the first constable for Massacoe, and was the first represen- tative of his town at the General Court in 1670 and several times at later dates. He married, about 1657, Sarah Spencer, born in 1636, daughter of William Spen- cer, of Hartford. She died November 3, 1691, aged fifty-five years, and he sur- vived her for a number of years, his death occurring February 21, 1703-04. Wil- liam Spencer is of record in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1631. He was admitted freeman, March 4, 1632-33; was select- man in 1635; representative to the Gen- eral Court, 1634-37 ; was one of the com- missioners to frame a code of laws; was lieutenant of the first trainband in Cam- bridge in 1636. He is the fourth person named in the charter of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. In 1639 he removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where he served as selectman, deputy and
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a member of the committee to frame a code of laws. He died in 1640, leaving a widow Agnes, who later married William Edwards.
(II) John (2) Case, eldest son of John (1) and Sarah (Spencer) Case, was born November 5, 1662, and died in 1733. He was a resident of Simsbury. He was twice married ; his second wife was Sarah Holcomb, born June 23, 1668, daughter of Joshua Holcomb, of Simsbury, and married in 1693. Joshua Holcomb was born September 22, 1640. He was a farmer, and removed from Windsor to Simsbury, where he represented that town in the General Court. He died in 1690. He married Ruth Sherwood. His father, Thomas Holcomb, was born in Wales in 1601 ; came to Dorchester, Mas- sachusetts, in 1629; was made freeman in 1634, and in 1639 was one of those who represented Windsor and Hartford in forming the constitution of the colony of Connecticut. In 1635 he removed to Windsor, Connecticut, where he engaged in farming until his death, September 7, 1657.
(III) John (3) Case, son of John (2) and Sarah (Holcomb) Case, was born August 22, 1694, and died December 2, 1752. He married, January 24, 1716-17, Abigail, daughter of Lieutenant Samuel Humphrey, who was born May 15, 1656, in Windsor, and died June 15, 1736, in Simsbury. He married Mary Mills, born December 8. 1662, died April 4, 1730, daughter of Simon and Mary (Buell) Mills. About 1669 he and his father re- moved to Simsbury. He represented the town of Simsbury in the General Assem- bly, 1702-19 and 1722-25; was commis- sioned lieutenant about 1709-10. His father, Michael Humphrey, the founder of this branch of the family in America, is first on record in Windsor, Connecti- cut, where in 1643 he was engaged in the
manufacture of tar and turpentine. He also was a merchant of prominence. On October 14, 1647, he married Priscilla Grant, born September 14, 1626, daughter of Matthew Grant, of Windsor, Connec- ticut. The latter was the ancestor of General Ulysses S. Grant. He removed to Windsor in 1635. He was a man of position and influence in the town and church; was the second town clerk; was made freeman May 21, 1657 ; was a mem- ber of the Dragoons in 1667, and in 1670 was a deputy to the General Court. As early as 1667 he had received a grant of land in Simsbury, and with his family became a resident of that town. The date of his death is unknown, but his estate was divided March 19, 1695-96.
(IV) Captain John (4) Case, son of John (3) and Abigail (Humphrey) Case, was born February 19, 1718-19, and died May 24, 1776. He married, November 7, 1745, Sarah Barber, born April 1, 1722, died December 19, 1785, daughter of Samuel Barber, who was born May 17, 1673, and died in December, 1725. He married, December 17, 1712, Sarah Hol- comb, born in 1691, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Bliss) Holcomb, and grand- daughter of Thomas Holcomb, the immi- grant, aforementioned. Thomas Barber, father of Samuel Barber, was born July 14, 1644, died in Simsbury, May 10, 1713. He married, December 17, 1663, Mary Phelps, born March 2, 1644, daughter of William Phelps, Sr. The latter was born in England in 1599, came to Dorchester in 1630; removed to Windsor, Connecti- cut, 1636 ; was a member of the first jury impaneled in New England; in 1636 was a member of the first court held in Con- necticut and of the court which the fol- lowing year declared war on the Pequots ; was magistrate from 1638 to 1642, and in 1658 to 1662; foreman of the first grand jury in 1643 ; deputy to the General Court,
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1645-49 and 1651-58. He married for his second wife, Mary Dover. She died No- vember 27, 1675. He died July 14, 1692.
(V) Levi Case, son of Captain John (4) and Sarah (Barber) Case, was born December 14, 1760, and died at Simsbury, April 23, 1802. He married Polly Hum- phrey, born March 18, 1764, died Janu- ary 19, 1849, at Hartford, Connecticut, daughter of Hon. Daniel Humphrey, of Simsbury, who was born August 17, 1737, in Simsbury, Connecticut, and died Au- gust 27, 1813; married, April 10, 1760, Rachel Phelps, born December 10, 1741, died September 23, 1809, daughter of Hon. David and Abigail (Pettibone) Phelps. Daniel Humphrey settled first at Norfolk, Connecticut, served there as constable in 1765. Not long after that date he returned to Simsbury. He and his wife were members of the Congrega- tional church there in 1777. He was a lawyer ; justice of the peace in 1778-1803 ; in 1787 was a delegate to the convention that ratified the Federal Constitution ; and served many terms as member of the Legislature. His father, Deacon Michael Humphrey, was born in Simsbury, Con- necticut, November 20, 1703, and died in 1778; married, September 15, 1735, Mercy Humphrey, born October 21, 1717, and died in 1793, daughter of Jonathan and Mercy (Ruggles) Humphrey. Jonathan Humphrey was born December 2, 1688, and died June 14. 1749; married, June 30, 1714, Mercy, daughter of Rev. Benjamin and Mercy (Woodbridge) Ruggles, of Suffield, Connecticut. Jonathan Hum- phrey received grants of land from the town and held several local offices. His father was Lieutenant Samuel Humphrey, aforementioned. Deacon Michael Hum- phrey, who married Mercy Humphrey, introduced the manufacture of leather in his native town of Simsbury. He was deacon in the Congregational church
there and later in the church at Norfolk. He represented Simsbury in the General Assembly in 1759. The following year he removed to Norfolk and also repre- sented that town in the General Assem- bly. He held the offices of selectman, justice of the peace, and was town clerk from 1760 until his death. His father, Deacon John Humphrey was born No- vember 18, 1671, and died December 31, 1732-33. He married, July 6, 1699, Sarah, widow of John Mills, and daughter of John Pettibone, Sr. She was born in 1665, and died April 3, 1748. He served the town as surveyor of highways, fence viewer, member of school committee, grand juryman and town clerk. He was made freeman, December 26, 1717. Hi: father, Sergeant John Humphrey, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, June 7, 1650, and died January 14, 1697-98. He married Hannah Griffin, born July 4, 1649, daughter of Sergeant John and Anna (Bancroft ) Griffin. Sergeant Grif- fin had as a partner Michael Humphrey and they were the first manufacturers of tar in the colony. He held a number of town offices and owned considerable land. His father was Michael Humphrey aforementioned.
(VI) Hon. Jairus Case, M. D., son of Levi and Polly (Humphrey) Case, was born at Simsbury, Connecticut, March 20, 1802, and died December 30, 1874. He was educated in the public schools of Hartland, whither his widowed mother had removed with her family shortly after the death of her husband. Later he entered Yale College and was graduated from its medical department, after which hie located first in Torrington, and after at Granby, Connecticut, where he was engaged in the active practice of his profession until his death. He was suc- cessful in his chosen line of work. He was elected to the State Senate in 1868.
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He was a member of the Congregational church. He married, October 5, 1830, Mary Theresa, daughter of Hon. Silas Higley, of Granby, Connecticut, who was also descended from one of the early settlers of Windsor. She was born Feb- ruary 22, 1808, and died February 6, 1889. They were the parents of two children: John, who became a lawyer and died in 1890, aged fifty-seven years ; and William Cullen. Hon. Silas Higley was born in Granby, in 1780, and died June 21, 1853; married Melissa Hayes, who died May 16, 1856. Silas Higley was admitted to the bar after a course of study in law, but believing himself called to the work of the ministry, he aban- doned this profession and took up the study of theology. After the necessary preparation, he was ordained as a clergy- man of the Congregational church, and held three successive pastorates, the more important of these being at Whitehall, Vermont. He was a justice of the peace for many years. His father, Ozias Higley, was born at Simsbury, Connecticut, March 2, 1748, and died at West Granby, June 22, 1827. On December 3, 1772, he married Martha Gillette, whose family was one of the oldest and best known in the colony. When he was about twenty- three years of age, Ozias Higley and his brother, Asa Higley, bought lands on the mountainside at West Granby. He was made freeman, September 19, 1775. He held various town offices and was often appointed to perform services of a public nature. His father, Captain Joseph Hig- ley, was born October 21, 1715, and died in May, 1790; married, March 19, 1740, for his second wife, Sarah Case. That part of Simsbury known as "Higleytown" received its name from the family, there being no less than twenty-seven families of the name settled there about that time. Joseph Higley was well known in this bury in 1688. During the twenty-two
community. He was possessed of con- siderable land, holding various offices. His father, Brewster Higley, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1680, and died November 5, 1760. On February 17, 1709, he married Hester Holcomb, born in 1682, died December 17, 1775, sister of Sarah Holcomb who married Samuel Barber, aforementioned, and daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Bliss) Holcomb. Brewster Higley was only seventeen years old when his father secured for him a grant of thirty acres from the town, and during the remainder of his life he continued to accumulate land. He be- came a member of the military company at a very early age. Besides carrying on his farm, he was associated with his brother John in the manufacture of tar, and judging by the tools itemized in the inventory of his estate he was also a cooper. He studied and practiced medi- cine, though no record of his having been licensed appears. In 1726 he was com- missioned ensign of the train band. He was highly esteemed by his neighbors for his splendid moral qualities, for his public spirit and for his sound business judgment. His father, Captain John Higley, founder of the American family, was born in Framley, July 22, 1649, son of Jonathan and Katherine (Brewster) Higley. His mother was a daughter of Rev. Jonathan Brewster, who died at Framley, August 14, 1656. He was chosen constable of Windsor in 1680. He was made a freeman in 1683. The following year he removed to what is now Simsbury, where he had purchased land. From 1686 until the close of his life his name appears on the records in connec- tion with nearly all the important inter- ests of his time. He was commissioned by Governor Treat as ensign of the train band. He was commissioner of Sims-
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years following 1687 he served thirty- seven terms as deputy to the General As- sembly. In 1690 he was commissioned lieutenant; was commissioner from 1691 to 1705 ; in 1710 he was appointed justice of the quorum; in 1692 he received his commission as captain. He died August 25, 1714. His first wife, Hannah (Drake) Higley, died August 4, 1694. One his- torian says: "Captain Higley's career was a part of the history of Simsbury. He was a marvel of uniform courage, energy and industry, and must have pos- sessed almost inexhaustible vitality."
(VII) Hon. William Cullen Case, son of Hon. Jairus and Mary Theresa (Hig- ley) Case, was born at Granby, Connec- ticut, February 17, 1836, and died at Hartford, December 23, 1901. He pre- pared for college at the Connecticut Liter- ary Institute, Suffield, and was graduated from Yale in 1857, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then took a course in Yale Law School and completed his preparation for the bar examination in the office of Rockwell & Colt at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1860 he was admitted to the bar at New Haven, and immedi- ately entered upon a career which was to place him in the front rank of his profes- sion. He was an indefatigable worker, neglecting no detail in the preparation of a case. He possessed exceptional power of concentration, and was able to state his case in a clear and convincing man- ner. He attained an unusual success in both civil and criminal practice, and acted as counsel in many famous cases. As a speaker he was forceful, and his strong individuality found expression in a style of diction that was striking in its original- ity. He was a man of wide and varied reading and he was familiar with the best work of our masters of literature. He was a staunch Republican and stood high in the councils of his party. He served
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many terms as member of the House of Representatives and served as speaker of that body in 1881. He was a man of broad mind and of magnetic personality. He was generous and public-spirited, always ready to give his support to those measures that promised to enhance the public good. He married, in 1862, Mar- garet Turnbull, of Tariffville, Connecti- cut. They were the parents of two chil- dren: William Scoville, and Theodore.
(VIII) Hon. William Scoville Case, son of Hon. William Cullen and Mar- garet (Turnbull) Case, was born at Tar- iffville, Connecticut, June 27, 1863. He completed his preparation for college at Hopkins' Grammar School at New Haven, and was graduated from Yale in 1885 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then entered the law office of his father, and was prepared for the bar examina- tion which he successfully passed in 1887. He was clerk of bills in the sessions of 1887-89 of the State Legislature. In Octo- ber, 1891, he was appointed law clerk at the United States Patent Office and held this position until April, 1893. He was appointed judge of the Hartford Court of Common Pleas, in July, 1897, and con- tinued in that office until October, 1901, when he became judge of the Superior Court. He has sat upon the bench con- tinuously in that court to the present time, his present term expiring in 1917.
He has a taste for literature, and in the intervals of a busy life has indulged his talent for writing. He is the author of a brief history of Granby that was incor- porated in the "Memorial History of Hartford County," and is the author of "Forward House," a novel, published by Scribners, in 1895. Judge Case is a member of the Scroll and Key and Psi Upsilon fraternities, the Graduates Club of New Haven, the Thames Club of New London, and the Hartford Golf Club.
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Judge Case married, April 8, 1891, Elizabeth, daughter of Nathan Nichols, of Salem, Massachusetts. They are the par- ents of two children: Mary, born Janu- ary 19, 1895, now Mrs. George Hart, of Hartford; John Rodman, born December 5, 1904.
SCHNELLER, George Otto, Father and Son, Leaders in Industry.
The family patronymic, Schneller, is of ancient German origin, and is referred to in Helmer's work on heraldry, published in the city of Nuremberg, Germany, in the year 1701. The coat-of-arms of the family has been in use between four and five hundred years, and during this period numerous representatives of the family have settled in the various principalities and states of Central Germany. The name, signifying "swifter, more rapid, faster," was originally derived from a per- sonal characteristic of the ancestor of the family who first adopted it.
Arms-Lower half of shield azure with four spheres or, upper half of shield or, and half full figure of man with left arm extended from the elbow, holding in his hand three stems with wild flowers, the same azure, or and gules. Helmet, ar- gent. Crown or, and issuant therefrom three-quarter figure of man between two buffalo horns argent, azure and or.
George Otto Schneller, in the gener- ation just past, one of the leaders of industry and manufacturing in the State of Connecticut, and one of its best known inventors of machinery for use in manu- facturing plants, was a scion of this an- cient and aristocratic family, and was born in Nuremberg, Germany, June 14, 1843, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Schneller. Henry Schneller was a civil engineer and architect in the service of the government, and a man of promi-
nence in the city of Nuremberg, and his son was given the education which be- fitted his station, but prepared more fully for the life of a gentleman to whom work is an avocation, rather than for the stren- uous career into which he later entered. The desire to see the world, a spirit of ad- venture, and a wish to have a hand in shaping a career for himself which would be of value not only to himself but to others. led Mr. Schneller to leave Ger- many and emigrate to America. He came to America when emigration from Ger- many in large numbers was just begin- ning, and when the vista of opportunity and economic independence which Amer- ica opened up, was bringing material for future citizenship to our shores of the best and most valuable kind.
George O. Schneller arrived in the port of New York at the age of seventeen years, and for the first few years following his arrival lived in New York City, filling unimportant positions of a clerical nature, and devoting his spare time to learning English and becoming thoroughly ac- quainted with the conditions of living and customs here. The first connection which he had with the business in which he later became a leader, was in the capacity of clerk. This he secured with O. W. Bird, of New York City. a commission mer- chant who represented Osborne & Cheese- man, manufacturers of elastic webbing, of Ansonia, Connecticut. Shortly after- ward he was transferred to the Ansonia office of the firm as accountant. In 1870 Mr. Schneller returned to Germany, and after a stay of two years came back to Ansonia, where he resumed his connec- tion with the Osborne & Cheeseman Com- pany. He was rapidly promoted, and in the course of a very short time became one of the highest paid and most valued employees of the firm. Shortly after his return from Germany. Mr. Schneller
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spent some time in making an engineering map of Ansonia and Derby and the sur- rounding country, after the plan of the engineering maps made in Germany of the various sections of the country. Through judicious and well-placed in- vestments Mr. Schneller had gradually accumulated a small fortune, and in 1876 he purchased a spectacle factory at Shel- ton, Connecticut, and immediately took over its management. He was thoroughly skilled in the handling of machinery and knew factory conditions well. He was talented as an inventor, and after his pur- chase of the spectacle factory devoted much time to improvements in the ma- chinery used. The result was an inven- tion which revolutionized old methods, and so incresaed the output and quality of the product that he was able at the end of six months to sell the factory at three times its original cost. Mr. Schneller's inventive genius had by this time brought him a reputation which made his service in demand by other enterprises in that section of Connecticut.
His work in the period following this first successful venture took on some- what the character of the modern effi- ciency expert, inasmuch as he became a student of factory and manufacturing conditions, and an inventor of means by which factory output could be increased. He next turned his attention to the manu- facture of eyelets. The manufacture of eyelets was then done under the most primitive conditions. After a short time Mr. Schneller perfected a machine which revolutionized the eyelet industry throughout the entire world. This ma- chine turned out ninety pounds of eye- lets to the hundred at the rate of sixty thousand a minute. Under the former conditions of manufacture fully one-half of the metal used was wasted; Mr. Schneller's invention overcame this diffi-
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