USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 48
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America, and it has been rendered a strong probability that the said Matthew Beckwith was of the line of Sir Hugh de Malebisse who, according to the "Domes- day Book," held lands granted him by William the Conqueror. Sir Hugh de Malebisse had three sons, who, marrying, established lines from which came, with the generations, numerous descendants ; but while the Beckwith genealogy is quite complete from a certain early generation, it does not directly establish beyond per- adventure Matthew Beckwith as in lineal descent from Sir Hugh de Malebisse.
Matthew Beckwith was born in Ponte- fract, Yorkshire, September 22, 1610. State archives substantiate the fact that he was a resident in Hartford, Connecti- cut, in the year 1639; and that he pur- chased land in that locality from William Pratt in 1645. In 1651-52 he removed to New London and Lyme, and there passed the remainder of his life. His death was tragic, resulting from a fall over a preci- pice in the darkness of the night of De- cember 13, 1681. His widow Mary mar- ried Samuel Buckland. Matthew Beck- with participated in the division of lands in New London, and later, when the town of Lyme was set off, it was discovered that while his house was in New London most of his landed property was in the town of Lyme. Later he purchased large tracts of land on the Niantic river. Evi- dently a man of enterprise, he was re- sponsible for the building of the first vessel launched at New London, the firm of Mould & Coit building to his order the bark "Endeavor," which was sailed in the trade with Barbadoes, the vessel passing out of the possession of Matthew Beck- with in 1666, in exchange "for a cargo of sugar." The estate of Matthew Beckwith was after his death appraised at £293 IOS., indicating him to have ranked among the well-circumstanced class of that day.
Matthew Beckwith, son of Matthew
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and Mary Beckwith, was born about 1637. He reached the age of ninety years, his death occurring at Lyme on June 4, 1727. With his first wife, Elizabeth, he lived at Guilford, and while there aided in founding the Guilford church. His time was mainly spent at sea, but he appears to have been a resident of Waterford, Connecticut, in 1658, for in that year he was made a freeman there. He died at New London, most probably on the estate inherited from his father.
Jonah Beckwith, son of Matthew and Elizabeth Beckwith, was born in New London, Connecticut, on December 27, 1673, and there. on April 26, 1696, mar- ried Rebecca - He was a deacon in the church at Lyme. The date of his death has not been ascertained, but rec- ords show that his estate was admin- istered in 1744.
Phillips Beckwith, son of Jonah and Rebecca Beckwith, was born in Lyme, Connecticut, and there married, on Feb- ruary 17, 1732, Abigail Harvey. who was born June 13, 1712, the daughter of Thom- as Harvey. On April 14, 1758, he enlisted in Captain Timothy Mather's company, Third Regiment, Connecticut forces, and took part in the Ticonderoga expedition, dying in the service on June 10th of that year.
Thomas Harvey, father of Abigail, wife of Phillips Beckwith, was born in Taun- ton, Massachusetts, in 1678. He came with his parents to reside in New London in 1682, crossing the line into Lyme in 1687. in which place he lived until his death in March, 1725. His wife, whom he married on November 25, 1702, was Abigail, who was born about 1680, daugh- ter of Richard Smith (2nd). and his wife Elizabeth. Richard Smith (2nd) was granted land in Lyme in 1679-80-87-88. He married, about 1675, and died in 1720. his wife having predeceased him. His
father, Richard Smith, was an inhabitant of that part of Saybrook which later was included in the town of Lyme. Land was allotted to him in 1674; in 1678-79 he was deputy to the General Court; was constable in 1682; and died prior to March, 1688, survived by his wife Joanna and several children.
John Harvey, father of Thomas Har- vey, was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, in about 1647. Shortly after his mother's marriage to her third husband, Thomas Lincoln, John Harvey went to live with his eldest brother, and engaged with him in farming. About 1673-74 he removed to Charlestown, and was there at the outbreak of King Philip's War. In the fall of 1675 he married Elizabeth of Taunton, and in November of that year enlisted in Major Appleton's bat- talion, which went from Dedham to the Narragansett country. John Harvey was "wounded but not disabled" during the "Great Swamp Fight." Soon he was able to return to his wife, and they remained in Taunton until 1681, when they moved to New London, Connecticut. When the boundary line between New London and Lyme was delineated, it was known that his property was in Lyme, so that there- after he was considered a resident of Lyme. He died there on January 18, 1705. nine days after the demise of his wife Elizabeth.
His father, Thomas Harvey, was born in Somersetshire, England, in 1617; came to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1636; settled at Cohannet, 1638. Being at that time still in his minority. he could not be one of the "first and ancient purchasers," but he was one of thirteen persons who between 1639 and 1642 were admitted as proprietors of Taunton upon payment of twelve shillings each. About the year 1642 he married Elizabeth Andrews, of Taunton, who was born in England in
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1614. Thomas Harvey died in Taunton in 1651, but his widow survived him for sixty-six years. She reached the age of one hundred and three years, dying at Taunton in 1717. She was twice married after the decease of her first husband, Thomas Harvey. Thomas Harvey died in Somersetshire, prior to 1647.
The Harvey family name dates back to the time of the Norman Conquest, and the direct ancestry of the American fam- ily has been lineally traced to Humphrey Harvey, of Brockley, Somersetshire, who died January 4, 1526.
Thomas Beckwith, son of Phillips and Abigail (Harvey) Beckwith, was born about 1747, in Lyme, Connecticut, and died in Burlington, Connecticut, Octo- ber 22. 1829. About 1768 he married Par- nell, who was born in 1748 and died June 4, 1826, and was the daughter of Wolston Brockway. In 1780 they moved from East Haddam to West Britain, where in 1783 Thomas Beckwith became deacon of the Rev. Jonas Miller's church there.
Wolston Brockway was born about 1723; married, in 1744. Dorcas Weeden. He removed from Branford to Sharon in 1752, where he resided until his death in 1831. His father, Samuel Brockway, was born at Lyme, Connecticut, February 10, 1691-92. He settled in Branford prior to January 21, 1734-35. His father, Wolston Brockway, was born in Lyme, Connec- ticut, February 7, 1667-68; married, De- cember 4, 1688, Margaret - - -; died in Lyme early in 1707. His widow married Thomas Ennis, and reached the age of seventy-three, her demise occurring on January 17, 1738-39. His father, Wolston Brockway, was the founder of the family in America. On July 10, 1714, he stated his age as "seventy years or thereabouts," and that he had dwelt in Lyme for fifty years. On December 3, 1659, he pur- chased a house with barn and some land
for the sum of twenty dollars, and if at that time beyond his minority, which is considered a probability, the year of his birth would be approximately 1638. In November, 1717, his estate was probated, and his name is found on many instru- ments relating to real estate. He was a "planter," and in two deeds is described as a cooper. During his life he was hon- orcd by election to many town offices. His first wife was Hannah Briggs, widow of John Harris, of Boston, where she was born on August 28, 1642. She died in Lyme, Connecticut, February 6, 1687-88, and was the daughter of William and Mary Briggs, who, excepting for a period of three or four years in the decade 1680- 90 when they were at Lyme, were resi- dents of Boston.
Harvey Beckwith, son of Thomas and Parnell (Brockway) Beckwith, was born in 1782, and later in life lived in the town of Burlington.
His son, Lot Beckwith, was born in Burlington and lived there in his early manhood. From there he moved to New- ington, and still later became a resident of Canton, where he died. He was one of the first clock salesmen to travel through the Southern States, exhibiting what was then a novel mechanism. Later, when he settled in Canton, he became a farmer. He married Marian Allyn, daughter of a sea captain.
Oliver Allyn Beckwith, son of Lot and Marian (Allyn) Beckwith, was born in Burlington, Connecticut, in 1826. His business was always that of a merchant. In 1860 he opened a store of his own in Collinsville, which he operated until 1879, when he became manager of the book and stamp department of the Banner Tobacco Company of Detroit. After a while he returned to Hartford, and was employed for several years by the firm of Isaac Hill's Sons, wholesale boot and shoe
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dealers. While living in Collinsville, he was for a period a deputy sheriff of the county. His wife was Sarah J. Thomp- son. She died in 1894, and was the daugh- ter of Silas and Rosanna (Royce) Thomp- son, of Hartford. Silas Thompson was the son of Asa Thompson, a native of Cheshire. He married Sarah, daughter of Captain Ephraim Cook, who served during the Revolutionary War. Asa Thompson followed the sea, and died about 1800, of yellow fever, aboard a ship while in New York. Rosanna Royce, who married Silas Thompson, was a daughter of Miles Royce, who was born in Bristol, Connecticut, in 1806. In 1834 he traveled through the Great Lakes to Chicago, which at that time was merely a trading post in a swamp at the mouth of the Chicago river, and located southwest of Chicago at what is now Plainfield, where he manufactured agricultural implements. In 1836 he married Sarah Goodline Gil- man, who had been in the west for two years as a pioneer missionary. She was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1808, but her parents soon moved to Meredith, New Hampshire, where she grew up. Miles Royce was a descendant of Robert Royce, who came from England to Bos- ton in 1631, settled in Stratford, Connec- ticut, in 1644, and in New London in 1657, being one of the founders of that town. Later he moved to Wallingford.
Oliver Allyn Beckwith, Jr., son of Oliver Allyn and Sarah J. (Thompson) Beckwith, was born in Bristol. Connecti- cut, July 18, 1851, and died November 2, 1914. He was graduated from Williston Seminary and, after leaving school, he followed in the footsteps of his father, his business being that of a merchant during all his active life. For the greater part his business connections were in Union- ville, Connecticut, but when a young man he was for a time employed by the Michi-
gan Stove Company of Detroit, Michigan. He was for several years treasurer of the town of Farmington. He married twice, his first wife being Carrie O., daughter of George Perry, of Detroit. They had one child, Oliver Russell Beckwith. The sec- ond wife of Olive Allyn Beckwith, Jr. was Martha E., daughter of George H. Fuller, of Unionville, by whom two chil- dren were born to him: Royce Edward, and Olivette M.
Oliver R. Beckwith, son of Oliver Allyn and Carrie O. (Perry) Beckwith, attended the public schools and high school of Col- linsville. At the end of his junior year in the high school, he entered Cornell University, in the course in mechanical engineering. At the end of two years he entered the Cornell Law School, and was graduated in law with the class of 1898. Returning to Hartford, he entered the law office of the late T. M. Maltbie, Esq., and in 1899 was admitted to practice. Until 1905 he engaged in general practice, but in that year he was employed in the legal department of the Travelers' Insurance Company. He remained with that com- pany until 1910, when he resigned, and during the same year entered the employ- ment of the Aetna Life Insurance Com- pany.
While living in Canton, Mr. Beckwith was for two years a member of the town school committee, being the chairman for one year. He also held the office of judge of probate in that town for three years. Since 1912 he has been clerk and treasurer of the East Side Fire District of West Hartford. His fraternal and social affili- ations include membership in the Theta Delta Chi and Chancery fraternities at Cornell, the Society of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Hartford Club and the Hartford Golf Club. In 1904 Mr. Beckwith enlisted in Company K, of the Connecticut National
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Guard, the following year receiving ap- pointment as first battalion adjutant. He resigned in 1906.
On June 20, 1905, Mr. Beckwith mar- ried Sarah Upson, born June 1, 1879, the daughter of Charles Chauncey Goodrich, of Hartford. To them were born four children : Oliver Russell, Jr., born June 23, 1906, who died July 13, 1913; Philip Van Dyck, born March 27, 1908; Eleanor Van Dyck, born December 16, 1911; Corinne, born June 1, 1914.
Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith are members of St. John's Episcopal Church of Hartford.
NICHOLS, Stephen M.,
Civil War Soldier, Business Man.
The name of Nichols is a very ancient one, and undoubtedly belongs to that class of patronymics which have been de- rived from given names through abbre- viations or nicknames of these latter ; thus, Nichols comes from Nick, or Nichol, the nickname of Nicholas, and which probably originally signified the son of Nicholas. We find it, as is the case with ancient names, under a great variety of forms, such as Nichols, Nicholl, Nicholls, Nicholes, Nickalls, Nickels, Nicholds, Nickoles, Nicolson and many others. The family, which has been represented for many generations in America, indeed, since the earliest colonial period, may be traced back prior to that time in England to one Robert Nichols of London. He married Elizabeth or Isabel -.
His death occurred in 1548, and he left a man- sion in London with large landed estates. Three sons and a grandson are mentioned in his will, the sons being Thomas, who is mentioned below ; John, and Thomas, the younger.
His son Thomas married Elizabeth Popplewell, and died in 1561. His will was dated October 11, 1558, and he left
real estate in various parishes in London, Tottenhall, Tottenhall Court, and other places, to his sons. Besides family leg- acies he bequeathed fioo each to the four hospitals of London and smaller bequests appear to other charities. To him and his wife four children were born as follows: Robert, Antony, who is mentioned below ; Richard and John.
Antony, son of Thomas Nichols, mar- ried Mary Waldron, of Say, Somerset county. On the monument of his daugh- ter Elizabeth he is mentioned as living in Paddington, now a part of London. They were the parents of the following chil- dren : Francis, mentioned below ; Antony, William and Elizabeth.
His son Francis married Margaret, a daughter of Sir George Bruce, of Car- nock, who was a son of Robert Bruce. Edward Bruce, father of Robert, was born in 1656, and was a son of Sir Robert Bruce. He was a son of Sir David Bruce, born in 1497. Sir David Bruce was a son of Sir David Bruce, who was a son of Sir Robert Bruce, born 1393. Sir Robert Bruce was a son of Sir Edward Bruce. His father, Robert Bruce, of Clackmanan, was born 1367, a son of King Robert Bruce, who was born 1334. In 1613 the custody of the Great Park at Ampthill in Bedfordshire was granted to Sir George Bruce, Margaret's father, the honor of Ampthill being vested in the crown. Under this arrangement the Nichols fam- ily for many years leased the great Amp- thill Park under the Bruces, and lived at the great lodge or capitol mansion, as it was called then. It is occupied now by Lady Ampthill, one of the late Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, and it is called by the villagers "the Park House." Francis Nichols is called in the pedigree of 1628, of the Middle Temple, one of the squires of the Bath. He was buried at Ampthill, about forty miles from London.
Conn-3-22
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The will of his wife Margaret was dated April 20, 1651, and William Nichols, dean of Chester, and her "ancient servant," Thomas Green, alias Hodson, were ex- ecutors, and she left everything to her son Francis. In a will found on file in the prerogative court, Canterbury, Eng- land, there is a legacy to Francis and his wife. It is the will of Sir William Cra- ford, Knight, of Beckerings Park, Bed- fordshire, dated February 24, 1634, and proved May 28, 1636: "To Margaret Bruce, wife of Francis Nicholls, £50. Francis Nicholls, Esquire, now in the Indies, £150." Their children were: I. Edward, born before 1600; held military office in the Royalist cause, and was com- pelled to flee the country and never re- turned; died in Paris. 2. Francis, born before 1600, mentioned below. 3. Bruce, a daughter, married John Frecheville (baron), of Stavely, Derby ; died in 1629. 4. Richard, was governor of New York in 1664, and returned to England in 1667. 5. William, died young.
His son, Francis Nichols, was born in England before 1600. He was the immi- grant ancestor, and was among the first seventeen settlers and founders of Strat- ford, Connecticut, where he was living as early as 1639. He had a military training, and belonged to the Horse Guards of Lon- don, it is believed. He was a brother of Colonel Richard Nichols, the first Eng- lish governor. In 1639 he was chosen by the General Court to train and exercise the men of Stratford in military discipline. He owned land in Southold, Long Island. He lived at Stratford but a short time, and finally settled in Westchester county, New York. No mention is made in the records of his wife when he came to Stratford, so he was very likely a widower. He married (second) in 1645, Anna, a daughter of Deacon Barnabas Wines, of Southold, Long Island, by
whom he had a daughter. He died in 1650. His estate was distributed among his children before his death. His widow married (second) John Elton, a wealthy planter of Southold; (third) Captain John Tooker, of Setauket, Long Island; (fourth) Colonel John Youngs, son of Rev. John Youngs, the first minister at Southold. The children who were born in England are as follows: John, Isaac, mentioned below ; Caleb ; a daughter, who married Richard Mills. Child by the sec- ond marriage: Anna, married Christo- pher Youngs, Jr., nephew of her step- father.
His son, Isaac Nichols, was born in England, and died in 1695, at Stratford, Connecticut. He was a deputy to the General Assembly several terms. His will was dated September 28, 1694, proved November 6, 1695. He bequeathed his homestead and lands to Benjamin after the death of his wife, and states that he had given as he was able to his other children. These children are as follows: (Born at Stratford): Mary, February 2, 1648, married Rev. Israel Chauncey ; Sarah, November 1, 1649, married Stephen Burritt ; Josiah, January 29, 1652-53, mar- ried Margaret Nichols; Isaac, March 12, 1654, mentioned below ; Jonathan, Decem- ber 10, 1655, married Hannah Hawkins; Ephraim, December 15, 1657, married Esther Hawley, widow of Ebenezer ; Pa- tience, February 2, 1660; Temperance, May 17, 1662; Margery, November 30, 1663; Benjamin, February 2, 1666, re- moved to Derby ; Elizabeth, born April 2, 1668, married, July 9, 1691, Joseph Webb.
His son, Isaac Nichols, was born March 12, 1654. He owned a house and land at Stratford. He married Mary -, who died at Stratford in 1690. He died in 1680. Their children were: Francis, born June 3, 1676; Richard, November 26, 1678, men- tioned below; Joseph, November 1, 1680.
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His son, Richard Nichols, was born in Stratford, November 26, 1678, and died there September 20, 1756. He married, June 3, 1702, Comfort Sherman, who died January 1I, 1726-27, a daughter of Theo- philus Sherman, of Wethersfield.
His son, Theophilus Nichols, was born at Stratford, March 31, 1703, died there, April 7, 1774, buried in the old Stratford burying ground. He married, January 2, 1724, Sarah, daughter of Lieutenant Ebe- nezer Curtis. She died September 26, 1769.
His son, Philip Nichols, was born at Stratford, January 5, 1726, and died there, May 13, 1807. He held the office of magistrate for several years. His busi- ness was in horses and mules, exporting to the West Indies. His will was dated December 13, 1805, and proved June 9, 1807. Inventory amounted to £25,123, 4S. 9d. He was a man of great influence, and was the holder of much property in land and shares. He married (first) October 9, 1753, Mehitable Peet; (second) Sep- tember 9, 1757, Mary Prince, who died May 13, 1811, aged seventy-seven. They were members of the Protestant Epis- copal church. Their children were as follows: (born at Stratford, by first wife): William, March 10. 1755, men- tioned below ; Philip, September 11, 1756. Children by second wife (born at Strat- ford) : Mercy, January 23, 1759; Lucy, April 6, 1761; Hannah, December 29, 1762; Mary, May 9, 1765; Richard, Au- gust 5, 1767; Sarah, August 19, 1769, married Rev.
Abraham L. Clarke ; Charles Theophilus, July 21, 1771 ; George Kneeland, December 15, 1773, died young ; George Kneeland, Decemebr 26, 1776.
His son, William Nichols, was born at Stratford, March 10, 1755, and died at Stratford, July 22, 1837. He was buried in the Pequonnock Cemetery. He was a
farmer by occupation and an Episcopalian in religion. He married (first) - Ed- wards; (second) Huldah Downs, of Red- ding, Connecticut; children of the first wife were as follows: Sarah, married Isaac Seeley; Philip, accidentally shot and killed; Mehitable, married Asa Beardsley ; Prudence, married Captain William Goodsell; Hannah, died Octo- ber 2. 1855, aged sixty-seven ; Anna, married Levi Lyon ; Serena, married Abi- jah Beardsley; Betsey, married (first) George Remington, (second) - Pen- noyer. The children of the second wife were as follows: David, born 1797; Wil- liam Hanford, died January 26, 1838, aged thirty-nine; Wakeman, 1801 ; Elam, born 1802; Stephen, mentioned below; child, who died in infancy ; Philip Edwards, died September 26, 1855, aged forty-eight.
His son, Stephen Nichols, was born at Trumbull, formerly Stratford, Connecti- cut, September 16, 1804. His mother died when he was thirteen years old, and he had to seek a home for himself. He came to Bridgeport and lived with his sister, working for various farmers. He learned the trade of shoemaker, following it for twenty years, but eventually returned to farming. In politics he was a Whig until the party dissolved, and afterwards be- came a Republican. He represented Bridgeport in the Connecticut General Assembly in 1878, and was appointed to the committee on cities and boroughs. He was for many years a justice of the peace ; was an assessor, and selectman of the town, and member of the common council of the city of Bridgeport. He married, March 4, 1829, Emeline, daugh- ter of Aaron Beardsley, of Trumbull. The children born of this union were as fol- lows: Jane E., who died young ; Stephen Marcus, mentioned below.
Lieutenant Stephen Marcus Nichols, their son, was born in Bridgeport, July
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10, 1838, and made that city his home during his entire life, his death occurring there July 29, 1870. He received his edu- cation at the local public schools, and upon completing his studies at these in- stitutions engaged in a retail grocery business, opening a first class store on Maine street. In this enterprise he met with a high degree of success from the outset, but all his peaceful pursuits were cut short, as in the case of so many of his countrymen, by the outbreak of the Civil War. He enlisted in Company D, Twen- ty-third Connecticut Regiment Volunteer Infantry, and served for one year as first lieutenant in that body. At the com- pletion of his term of service he returned to the north and there once more resumed the interrupted grocery business. Later, however, he formed a partnership with Henry Porter, and the two engaged in a crockery business on Wall street, Bridge- port. He continued in this line for the remainder of his life, and his association with Mr. Porter was only closed by his death, which occurred when he was but thirty-two years of age. Lieutenant Nichols was active in many other re- spects besides that of business, and was a well known figure in social and fraternal circles in Bridgeport. He was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons of Bridgeport, and was active in the work of that body. In politics he was a Re- publican, but he never took any very active part in local politics and was en- tirely free from ambition to hold public office.
Lieutenant Nichols was united in mar- riage, on Christmas Day, 1861, with Miss Julia Gorham Hall, like himself a native of Bridgeport, where she was born Octo- ber 2, 1836, in the town of Trumbull, and a daughter of Alanson and Sophia Shel- ton (Edwards) Hall. Mrs. Nichols sur-
vives her husband, and at present makes her home at No. 727 State street, Bridge- port. She is a member of St. John's Epis- copal Church, and active in its work. To Lieutenant and Mrs. Nichols two chil- dren were born as follows: Lizzie Hall, born February 12, 1863, died March 23, 1891, and married Swan Brewster, to whom she bore one child, Stephen, who died in infancy ; and Wilbur Edwards, born in August, 1864, and died unmarried, March 1, 1891.
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