USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 47
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1683, at the age of seventy years. His wife, Mary Perkins, died May 29, 1706, aged eighty-eight years. Children : Mary ; Abraham; Luke; Humphrey ; James, died young : Timothy, died young ; James, men- tioned below : Jonathan ; David ; Abigail : Timothy ; Sarah ; Humphrey.
(II) James Perkins, son of Abraham and Mary Perkins, was born October 5, 1647. He married. December 13, 1681. Leah Coxe, daughter of Moses Coxe, and settled on the land of the latter. Chil- dren: Sarah, born October 3, 1682, mar- ried Samuel Graves : Mary, born Decem- ber 2. 1686, married Jonathan Taylor : Lydia, born January 30. 1689. married James Clifford, died in Kensington, Sep- tember 8, 1723: Hannah, born August 18, 1691, married Simon Moulton ; Elizabeth, married Joseph Philbrick; James, men- tioned below : Moses, born July 30, 1698, married (first) Mary Marston, (second) Hannah Nay : David, born November 30, 1701.
(III) James (2) Perkins, son of James (1) and Leah (Coxe) Perkins, was born March 17. 1696, died in 1755. and his will is in the possession of his great-great- grandson, Charles Gove Perkins. He was the owner of Lot 59, range 2. in South Weare, which he secured through pur- chase. This lot was sold to Richard Nason, of South Weare, on November 9, 1749. for taxes. On May 5, 1750, it was sold by him to James Perkins, of Kensington, for ten pounds, ten shillings. The houses on the lot were: 1. Joseph Perkins (1772), Joseph Perkins, Jr., Ben- jamin Perkins. Lorenzo Dow, James Grant, Allen Grant. 2. Andrew Phil- brick, Hiram Philbrick, Hills Welch. In the historical records of South Weare, James Perkins is recorded as having worked on the public dam there in 1752, for six days. He was one of the promi- nent men of the town. He married, Feb-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ruary 22, 1728, Shuah Nason, daughter of Jonathan Nason, of South Weare, New Hampshire. Among their children was Joseph, mentioned below.
(IV) Joseph Perkins, son of James (2) and Shuah (Nason) Perkins, was born December 8, 1747, and died May 27, 1818. He came to South Weare from Kensing- ton with his father, and settled on lot 59. range 2, on the west slope of Mount Dear- born. He served in the French and In- dian War as a member of the Sixth Com- pany, Colonel Blanchard's regiment, which went into camp at Franklin, New Hampshire. He was one of the earliest members of the Universalist Society. which was formed prior to 1803, and was the first person buried in the Benjamin Perkins Cemetery, first used about 1818, where also are buried his son, Benjamin. and daughter-in-law. Ruth. He married Mary Gove. born October 28, 1752. died February 8, 1850, daughter of Enoch and Sarah (Rowe) Gove, of South Weare. Children: Benjamin, born 1770, died young; Hannah, born September 30, 1772, died unmarried : Benjamin, men- tioned below; Lydia, born July 6, 1777. died unmarried : James, born 1780, mar- ried Betsey Richardson: Enoch, born 1784: Shuah, born 1786, married Daniel Martin.
(V) Benjamin Perkins, son of Joseph and Mary (Gove) Perkins, was born in South Weare, New Hampshire, Novem- ber 12, 1774. and died January 6, 1873, aged ninety-eight years. He was born in the family homestead, which was built early in the seventeen hundreds. He is credited with having owned the first wagon built in Weare. On the list of taxpayers of South Weare in 1839, 1840, 1850 and 1860 are mentioned the names of Benjamin and Enoch Perkins. He mar- ried, September 7, 1797, Ruth Worthen, daughter of Samuel and Deborah Wor-
then. She was born June 29, 1774, and died at the age of ninety-two years, two months, twenty-four days. The section of NewHampshire in which South Weare is located is remarkable for the longevity of its inhabitants. Children: Mary, born 1798, married Hugh Crombie, of Chester, New Hampshire; Lydia, born 1801, died young ; Joseph, born 1804, married Colby: Enoch, mentioned below ; Ruth, born March 21, 1808, married (first) An- drew Philbrick, (second) Hills Welch.
(VI) Enoch Perkins, son of Benjamin and Ruth (Worthen) Perkins, was born at South Weare, New Hampshire, De- cember 14, 1804, died there at the age of seventy-seven years. He married, April 8. 1830, Sarah Currier, born September 3. 1814. daughter of Nathaniel and Polly (Bailey) Currier. Nathaniel Currier was the second son of Moses Currier, born 1746, died 1804. and Mehitable (Barnard) Currier, who died at the age of one hun- dred and three years at Danbury, New Hampshire, in 1852. Polly (Bailey) Cur- rier was born January 17, 1779, died No- vember 18, 1858. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Perkins: James W., born July 23. 1831 ; Mary, born October 22, 1832 ; Sarah J., born September 23, 1839; Squires G., born March 13, 1841 ; Millie, born Janu- ary 29, 1843: John Richard, born August 25. 1846, served in the Civil War, enlist- ing at the age of seventeen years in Com- pany G, Sixteenth Regiment, enrolled September 19, 1862, discharged August 20, 1863, at Concord, New Hampshire, by reason of expiration of term of service ; Charles Gove. mentioned below : Jane E .. born January 14, 1852: Nellie, born De- cember 4, 1854: Fred H., born September 29. 1857.
(VII) Charles Gove Perkins, son of Enoch and Sarah (Currier) Perkins, was born March 23, 1849, and was educated until he reached the age of fifteen years
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in the public schools of South Weare. The experience which fitted Mr. Perkins for the positions which he now holds as the head of one of the most important indus- tries of Hartford, Connecticut, was gained in occupations ranging from that of farm- ing to mechanical work requiring the greatest of skill and natural genius. Upon leaving school he went to work among the farms in the vicinity of his home, and for a period of three years continued to do work of the sort. At seventeen years, realizing the lack of opportunity in the work which he was doing and finding it distasteful because of his inclination to- wards work of a mechanical nature, he left South Weare and went to Lowell, Massachusetts, to learn the trade of tool maker. After five years at this work he accepted a position with the Putnam Ma- chine Company in Fitchburg. The next branch of his work that engaged his at- tention for a long period was that of mu- nitions making, and he left Fitchburg to enter the employ of the United States Cartridge Company, of which General Benjamin F. Butler was the principal owner. He next went to Ilion, New York, where he was employed in the factory of the Remington Arms Company. With the ambition to gain a thorough working knowledge of as many parts of his trade as possible, Mr. Perkins went to Amster- dam, New York, and took a position in a company which manufactured carpet and loom machinery, going after one year at this to Middletown, Connecticut, where he worked for a time on tools and dies. From Middletown he went to Bridgeport to accept a position with the Union Me- tallic Cartridge Company there. The termination of his employ with that com- pany ended the first period of Mr. Per- kins' work.
The second period, beginning in 1879 with his entering the employ of the United States Electric Lighting Company
at Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been de- voted exclusively to work in the field of electricity. The industry which was then in its infancy had not gained a foothold elsewhere than in the minds of a few men of inventive genius and business foresight keen enough to realize its possibilities. In the electric lighting business he was asso- ciated with the famous inventor, Hiram S. Maxim, and in 1880 the company re- moved to New York, where shortly after- ward they installed the first incandescent lamp which was used in a public way, in the vaults of a safe deposit company at 120 Broadway. The public interest and importance of this lighting project prompted the United States Electric Lighting Company to undertake a public exhibit of the work. The scheme en- countered so inany difficulties that they were on the point of abandoning it. It was, however, assigned to Mr. Perkins, who holds the unique position of having been the first man to give a public ex- hibition of a practical system of incandes- cent lighting. In 1882 he organized the Imperial Electric Lighting Company, which developed from the Faure Electric Storage Company, which took up adver- tising and manufacturing Mr. Perkins' numerous inventions, among which were dynamos, arc lamps, meters, switches, cut-outs, incandescent lamps in all their details, street lighting systems, regulators and storage batteries. It was during this period that he invented the "ratchet switch." of which there have been mil- lions sold in the United States alone. In 1885 the Mather Electric Company of Hartford, Connecticut. purchased the Im- perial Electric Light Company of New York, and removed it to Hartford.
Mr. Perkins' reputation for genius and ability as an inventor and promoter of electrical appliances, had, through his sev- eral successful ventures previous to his coming to Hartford, become country-
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wide. He is ranked to-day as one of the electrical inventors in the United States. In 1889 he organized the Perkins Lamp Company in Hartford. The same change and quest of an opportunity to advance himself which characterized the first period of his business life was also marked in his business ventures in the field of electricity. In 1890 he organized the Per- kins Electric Switch Company, which manufactured all kinds of electric lamps and switches. He sold out in 1900 to the Bryant Electric Company, and three years later organized the Arrow Electric Com- pany in Hartford, of which he is now president, one of the largest and most important of the industries in the city. The company manufactures all kinds of lighting fixtures. It employs from five hundred to six hundred hands, maintains travelers in Europe, and does an exten- sive export trade, distributing its product to practically every country of the civil- ized world. The product of the company is recognized everywhere for the uniform excellence of its character.
Mr. Perkins married Miss Emily F. Chandler, of Gorham, New Hampshire, daughter of Joseph Chandler, of Port- land. Maine. They have one son, Benja- min C. Perkins, who was born February 6, 1886. He was educated in Hartford in the elementary and high schools. He married Josephine Steadman, daughter of Harry B. Steadman, and they have one daughter, Marion Perkins. The Perkins family are members of the Asylum Hill Baptist Church. Mr. Perkins inherited the property of the family in South Weare. New Hampshire, and stills owns and maintains the old family homestead where he was born.
(The Gove Line).
(I) John Gove, immigrant ancestor of the Gove family in America, was born in
England in 1604. The name Gove is an ancient one in England, where it is re- corded in State papers as early as 1641.
He married Sarah who was born in 1601, and with her came from London, England, and settled in Charles- town, Massachusetts, prior to 1647. An examination of his will and schedule of his personal property shows that he was a worker and dealer in brass.
(Il) Edward Gove, son of John and Sarah Gove, was born in England in 1630, and came to America with his parents, settling with them in Charlestown prior to 1647. In 1660 he married Hannah Tit- comb. Five years later he settled in Hampton, New Hampshire, where he be- came a prominent citizen and important public man. In 1683 he was a member of the Legislature which was dissolved by Governor Canfield. This action aroused great resentment among the people. Ed- ward Gove headed a movement to over- throw the government, but surrendered without bloodshed. He and ten others, including his son John, were tried for treason and convicted. Edward Gove was sentenced to death. and his estate was seized as forfeit to the Crown; the others were pardoned. Gove was sent to Eng- land, where he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for three years, after which time he was pardoned and his estate restored to him in 1686.
(III) Ebenezer Gove, son of Edward Gove, was born June 23, 1671, and died August 16, 1758. He married Judith San- born, and was a resident of Hampton, New Hampshire.
(IV) Enoch Gove, son of Ebenezer and Judith (Sanborn) Gove, was born in Hampton, New Hampshire. Later in life he removed to South Weare, in the same State, and became one of the original pro- prietors of the place, and one of its promi- nent men. He married Sarah Rowe.
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(V) Mary Gove, daughter of Enoch and Sarah (Rowe) Gove, was born Octo- ber 28, 1752. She married Joseph Perkins, of South Weare. (See Perkins IV.)
(The Worthen Line).
(I) Samuel Worthen, according to the muster roll of South Weare during the Revolutionary War, was twenty-six years of age on July 11, 1775, on which date he was enrolled as a member of Captain John Parker's company and Colonel Timothy Bedell's regiment, which was at the siege of St. John on the Sorel, and was present at the surrender. He saw very active service during the war. His name appears on the list of signers of the "Association Test," dated June 6, 1776. He served two months in 1776 for which, with others, he was allowed one dollar per month. His name is also found on a list of men who went to Fort Edward in 1777 with the Continental army. Prior to 1795 he built a saw mill on site 30 on Huse Brook. It was run by his sons for several years and went out of use about 1820. His wife was Deboralı ( Perkins) Worthen.
(II) Ruth Worthen, daughter of Sam- uel and Deborah Worthen, was born June 29. 1774, and died at the age of ninety-two years. She married Benjamin Perkins, of South Weare. (See Perkins V.)
TOMLINSON, William Augustus,
Business Man.
The Tomlinsons have held a place of prominence in Connecticut for more than a century and a half. Fairfield county has been its principal seat during this period, though branches have spread outside its bounds. The name is of baptizmal origin, taking its rise from the nickname Tom, and the diminutive -lin. and means liter- ally "the son of Thomas." The Tomlin- son family in England belonged to the
landed gentry, the class next below the nobility, and they were descended from a member of the nobility of ducal rank. To this early ancestor was granted a coat-of- arms of which an ancient print is still ex- tant, bearing the inscription : "He beareth Sable a Fess between three Ravens Ris- ing Argent By the Name of Tomlinson." Another description is as follows: Arms : Sable a fesse between three falcons rising or. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet or, a griffin's head argent.
George Tomlinson, father of Henry Tomlinson, the immigrant ancestor of the American branch of the old English fam- ily of the name, lived in Yorkshire, Eng- land, where the name runs back into his- tory several hundred years. He removed to Derby, where his son was bred to the trade of weaver. In the records in the Parish Register of St. Werburgh. in Der- by, Derbyshire, England, there is a record which says that "George Tomlinson was married to Maria Hyde, in January, 1600. at St. Peter's Church." The following record was also found: "Henry Tomlin- son, son of George and Maria Tomlinson. was baptized at St. Peter's Church. in November. 1606."
Henry Tomlinson, immigrant ancestor and progenitor of the family in the New World, came to America with his wife Alice, and very likely two or three chil- dren, and settled in Milford, Connecticut, 1652. He was baptized in Derby, Derby- shire, England, in November, 1606. It is said that he went first to New Haven and to Milford from that colony. We find record in early annals of the New Haven Colony of one Thomas Tomlinson, who took the freeman's oath there, April, 1644, but it has never been determined whether or not he was a kinsman of Henry Tom- linson. There was a Robert Tomlinson of Milford whose wife was dismissed from the church there to unite with the church
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at Stratford, Connecticut, in 1648, and a William Tomlinson settled at Derby, Con- necticut, in 1677. It has been said that he was a nephew of Henry, and came with him to America, but this is doubtful, as the will of Jonas Tomlinson shows that William was born in 1643, and therefore must have been quite young when Henry came to Milford. On December 9, 1652, Henry Tomlinson was given a tract of land by the General Court, where he car- ried on his trade of weaver. December 16, 1652, he took the oath of fidelity, and at the same time was given another grant of land by the court. He was elected "keeper of the ordinary" at Milford, by the town, but the article of agreement could not have been very clear, for when he claimed the house as his property, both Alexander Bryan, of whom the property was obtained, and the town, disputed the claim. The matter was settled in court. June 13, 1654, he, with Ensign Alexander Bryan and Mr. East, were summoned to the court at New Haven for nonpayment of duties on imported twines. Although the other two paid the fines, he made opposition, declaring that he had paid all legal duties. Under a legal process he brought about the arrest of the Governor of the New Haven Colony, believing that the Governor had acted over his author- ity. For this he was called before the court and fined fioo but this seems to have been only a show of honor for the Governor, since the payment was never demanded. In 1656 Henry Tomlinson re- moved with his family to Stratford, Con- necticut, and on April 1, 1657, he pur- chased the estate of Joshua Atwater, which had been purchased from William Quenby, one of the original proprietors of the town. In 1668 he and Joseph Haw- ley purchased a large tract of land in Der- by from the Indians, and he gave most of this land to his son, Jonas, and his
family and descendants resided on it for several generations. In 1671 he and others bought a large piece of land from the Indians, at Weantinock, now New Milford, Connecticut. There was enough land for a township in his share of the property, and he gave it to his sons, who, however, never gained possession of it because of trouble with the Indians, and the General Court. At a town meeting at Stratford, Connecticut, January 2, 1670, he was chosen keeper of an "ordinary," and he remained in this post for several years. He died at Stratford, March 16, 1681, leaving a widow, two sons, and five daughters. He was probably buried in the first burying ground adjoining the first meeting house near Sandy Hollow. His will, dated March 15, 1680-81, was proved April 28, 1681. He married in England. Alice - -, who after his death married (second) John Birdsey, Sr., in 1688, and died January 25, 1698. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: 1. Abraham, born in England, and died on his way to America. 2. Jonas, settled in Derby. 3. Margaret, born about 1642. 4. Mary, died September 25, 1715. 5. Tabitha, married Edward Wooster, of Derby, in 1669. 6. Phebe, born August 14. 1656. 7. Agur, resided in Derby, and in Stratford, where he died. 8. Bathsheba, born January 3, 1661. 9. Abraham, born May 30, 1662, died the same day.
Through Jonas Tomlinson and Lieuten- ant Agur Tomlinson, sons of the founder, Henry Tomlinson, have descended a long progeny which has gained prominence in many phases of life in Connecticut. Mil- ford, Stratford, and other towns of Fair- field have been the seats of branches of the family for several generations. Ox- ford, Connecticut, has been the home of the branch of which the later William Augustus Tomlinson was a member for more than a century. The family has
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given a Governor to the State of Con- necticut, and has rendered valuable serv- ices in public offices.
Clarke Tomlinson, to whom the line has been directly traced, was a member of one of the very old branches of the Tomlinson family which had its seat in the town of Oxford, Connecticut. He was a farmer on an extensive scale, and the owner of much property in the vicinity. He was well known and highly respected in the town, and was active in its life, though taking no active part in public affairs. He married Sarah Hawkins, and they were the parents of the William Augustus Tomlinson, mentioned at length below.
William Augustus Tomlinson, son of Clarke and Sarah (Hawkins) Tomlinson, was born in the town of Oxford, Con- necticut, October 30, 1827. He was edu- cated in the local public schools, and sub- sequently attended the high school. After his graduation he devoted his entire time and attention to the grocery business in Bridgeport. He was highly respected as a man and as a citizen in Bridgeport, and held a prominent place in fraternal and social activities in the city. He was a member of the Masonic order. Mr. Tom- linson was affiliated with the Republican party and was a staunch supporter of its principles and policies, though allowing party lines to have no entry into his vote when the question of fittness for office arose.
William Augustus Tomlinson married, October 11, 1853, in Trumbull, Connecti- cut, Melissa Wheeler, daughter of Walker and Rebecca (Sherwood) Wheeler. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: 1. Walker Sherwood Tomlinson, born July 25, 1856; is to-day a success- ful merchant and wholesale grocer. 2. William Augustus, Jr., mentioned below.
William Augustus Tomlinson, Sr., died on February 25, 1900. His widow, Mrs.
Melissa Tomlinson, survives him, and re- sides in the city of Bridgeport, Connecti- cut.
William Augustus Tomlinson, Jr., late figure of prominence in the musical world of New England, a singer of note in the larger cities of Connecticut. was the son of William Augustus, Sr., and Melissa (Wheeler) Tomlinson, and was born Oc- tober 2, 1876. He was connected with the First National Bank of Bridgeport for a number of years. He was given a liberal education, and early in life formed the determination to follow a musical ca- reer, training under well known singers and teachers for the profession. He sub- quently attained much prominence in the musical centers of New England, and be- came a well known singer, appearing fre- quently in New York City in the famous choirs and musical societies of the me- tropolis. He was especially well known in bodies which devoted themselves solely to sacred music, and sang often in the churches of the city of Bridgeport, where he made his home. Mr. Tomlinson con- ducted a studio in the Segal Building in Bridgeport. Prior to his entering the musical profession he was engaged for a short period in the piano business.
William Augustus Tomlinson died in Bridgeport, Connecticut, January 14, 1916, at the age of forty years, a com- paratively young man in the prime of life. His death was greatly mourned, not only in professional circles, but in a circle of friends by no means small.
BECKWITH, Oliver Russell,
Lawyer, Aetna Insurance Company Counsel.
Oliver Russell Beckwith, graduate at law of Cornell University, admitted to the bar in 1899, and, at the present employed as counsel to the Accident and Liability Department of the Ætna Life Insurance
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Company, and also to the Ætna. Casualty and Surety Company, Hartford, was born in Canton, Connecticut, on July 15, 1877. the son of Oliver Allyn and Carrie (Perry) Beckwith.
The family of Beckwith has been known, in many generations prominently known, in America since early colonial days, and the Beckwith genealogy brings into the family relation many persons whose lives were worthy of creditable record in Amer- ican history. Such names as Richard Smith, of Saybrook; Thomas Harvey, of Taunton; Wolston Brockway, of Lyme; and Robert Royse, are frequently en- countered by students of early Connec- ticut and New England history.
Lower, an authority on England patro- nymics, states, regarding the origin of the name Beckwith: "The last syllable is a corruption of worth. Most of the armig- erous families of the name spring from Yorkshire, and Beckwith, a hamlet in the parish of Pannal, in that county, is prob- ably the cradle of the race. It is said that the original name of the family was Mal- bie, or Malbysse, and that it was changed to Beckwith, temp. Henry III." The name is evidently a compound. The Rev. Isaac Taylor, another English writer on the significance of names, says "the word beck signifies a brook, and that the An- glo-Saxon Weorthig, of which the modern English rendering is worth, denotes a place warded, or protected. Therefore, the name Beckwith would seem to signify a protected brook, or an enclosed field through which a brook ran." When sur- names originally came into general use, it was the common practice to adopt the name of the locality where a family was seated, as a patronymic. The seat of the Beckwith family was probably the hamlet of that designation in Yorkshire, Eng- land; it has been authenticated that from that county came Matthew Beckwith, progenitor of the Beckwith family in
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