USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 49
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In the death of a brilliant young man such as Lieutenant Stephen Marcus Nichols, whose career seems to have barely more than entered upon the course destined for it, the community instinc- tively feels that it has sustained a loss ; but when that career is not concerned purely with private affairs and plans, and is directed toward the benefit of his fellows, that feeling is most legitimately increased until it becomes a more personal sorrow than it is the privilege of most men to enjoy from others than their personal friends. But, indeed, it might be said that a very large proportion of his fellow citi- zens felt themselves in a measure the friends of Lieutenant Nichols, whose truly democratic attitude towards other men attracted all and repelled none. He was unusually easy of approach, and there was no one so mean but that his hand was held out to him in friendship and ready assistance in any trouble. This unusual amiability of manner was supplemented by a very real concern for the welfare of others less fortunate than himself, which made him the leader in many movements undertaken for the common weal, for the betterment of conditions in the city, or the promotion of social relations among the people. He was universally loved and universally mourned, and most certainly he deserved to be universally remen- bered.
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MEIGS, Hon. Charles Edward, Lawyer, Public Official.
Among the lawyers in Connecticut whose reputation for soundness and in- tegrity stands high, is Charles Edward Meigs, of Waterbury, Connecticut, whose name heads this sketch.
Judge Meigs comes of old New England stock. Among some of his direct ances- tors who were early settlers in this coun- try, were: John Meigs, who was born in Dorsetshire, England, coming to this country in 1635 and landing at Wey- mouth, Massachusetts, and in 1655 set- tling in Madison, Connecticut, and from whom are descended most of the Meigs family in America; Edward Riggs, who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1633; Henry Tomlinson, who settled in Milford, Connecticut, in 1652; Nathaniel Bacon, who settled in Middletown, Con- necticut, in 1655; and the Rev. Jeremiah Peck, who in 1691 was the first ordained pastor of the Congregational church in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Judge Meigs was born on June 1, 1872, at Oxford, New Haven county, Connec- ticut, being the son of Charles A. and Bernice Riggs Meigs. In 1882 Judge Meigs' parents removed to Waterbury, taking him with them, and it was in the public and private schools of Waterbury that he received his preliminary educa- tion. He then matriculated at Yale Uni- versity, from which institution he re- ceived the degree of Ph. B. in 1895.
After receiving his degree from Yale, Judge Meigs attended both the Yale and the Harvard Law Schools, and was ad- mitted to the Connecticut bar in 1898. He immediately began practice in Water- bury, and in February, 1904, was appoint- ed prosecuting attorney of the city of Waterbury. He continued in this office until March 25, 1910, at which time he
resigned in order to accept an appoint- ment by Governor George L. Lilley to the office of deputy judge of the District Court of Waterbury. He served in this office for a term of four years, and in 1914 was reappointed by Governor Simeon E. Baldwin for a second term. He continued to serve as a judge of the District Court of Waterbury until November 15, 1916, when on account of ill health he felt obliged to resign. Upon his retirement from the bench, Judge Meigs was ten- dered a banquet by the members of the Waterbury Bar Association, and during the speaking incident to the occasion, Judge Meigs was referred to as "one who has by his official conduct merited the highest respect and esteem, and been in every way an honor to his profession, his city, and himself"; "a judge to whom it made no difference what ticket you voted. what shrine you worshiped at, or what was your nationality," and "a judge who gave everyone the fairest and squarest kind of a deal."
While Judge Meigs has retired from public office, he expects to continue the practice of law in a private capacity in Waterbury.
Judge Meigs is a prominent figure in the community, and is by no means one of those men who confine their activities solely to their profession. On the con- trary, there are few departments of the city's life in which he does not participate. He is a member of several of the most prominent organizations in the city and State. Among these should be mentioned Harmony Lodge, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons; and the Connecticut branch of the Sons of the American Revo- lution. He is also a member of the Coun- try Club of Waterbury, of the Waterbury Club, and of the Connecticut State Bar Association. In religious belief he is an Episcopalian, and attends divine service
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at St. John's Church of that denomination, in Waterbury. He is a man who makes his presence in the community felt in the interest of good and his name is associ- ated with the highest type of integrity both in his business and in the personal relations of life.
ROGERS, Gilbert,
Manufacturer, Banker, Sunday School Worker.
The Rogers family is one of the oldest in America, and is said by tradition to have descended from the martyr, John Rogers. One authority gives the origin of the name as French, and states that the original was Roger I. of Sicily and Calabria, born about 1031, in Normandy, France. The family has been traced to James Rogers, who was born in England, about 1615, parentage unknown, and came to this country in 1635. Among the manuscripts preserved in the public rec- ord office in England and printed in Drake's "Founders of New England," there is a copy of a "licens to go beyond the seas," dated April 15, 1635, and among others "to be transported to New Eng- land imbarqued in the Increase" is named "James Roger, aged 20 years."
This immigrant is generally conceded to have been the James Rogers of this sketch. He settled first in Saybrook, Con- necticut, and a few years later is recorded as of Stratford. From there he went to Milford, where he joined Mr. Prudden's Congregational church in 1653. His wife had joined the same church in 1645, and some of their children were baptized there. In 1637 he was one of six men from Saybrook who under Captain John Underhill took part in the Pequot War. November 22, 1645, he was granted a home lot in Milford; in 1646 he "hath three acres or more;" in 1648 he was
granted an addition to his lot. He had dealings with New London as early as 1656; between that time and 1660 he became an inhabitant of that town, and was made freeman, March 14, 1661. Both he and his wife joined the church in New London and became prominent in church affairs. In the rate lists of the town for 1664 the amount of each man's property is given and the rate levied on it is noted. In this list John Rogers is assessed for £548, and he was evidently the largest property holder in the town. He was chosen by the townspeople to fill many important positions in church and State ; deputy to the court of elections, May, 1661, and May and October, 1662; corn commissioner for New London in 1662; representative to the General Court seven times between 1662 and 1673; and with his son Samuel on the committee of forti- fications for New London. Ile was a baker and tradesman by occupation, and for many years previous to 1666, when he retired in favor of his son Samuel, carried on by far the most extensive foreign and domestic trade of any man in New Lon- don. His real estate holdings were very large. He owned several hundred acres on Great Neck and a fine tract at Mohe- gan called Pamechang farm, which was one of the first grants within the Mohe- gan reservation north of New London. and was made to him by Uncas in August, 1658. He owned also several house lots in the town proper in partnership with Colonel Pyncheon, of Springfield, Massa- chusetts, twenty-four hundred acres, east of the river. For some years previous to his death, which occurred in 1687, in New London, his home was on that portion of the Great Neck called Goshen. James Rogers was an early convert to the Sev- enth Day Baptist church, of which his son John was pastor, and with his wife and daughter Bathsheba was baptized in
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1676. Throughout the remainder of his life he was subject to fines and imprison- ment for non-conformity to the rules of the Established Church. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Rowland, of Stratford; she died about 1709.
Their fourth son, James Rogers, was born February 15, 1652, in Milford, and was baptized by Rev. John Crandall of Westerly, becoming early one of the most active members of the Rogerene church. He was a large landholder, and was often fined by the Established Church for var- ious infractions of its rules. He was also described as a cooper and had a tannery. He died November 6, 1713, in New Lon- don. He married, November 5, 1674, Mary, daughter of Jeffrey Jordan. The Jordan family belonged to a large class known as redemptionists, who pledged their service in return for transportation to the American colonies. In the crude language of the time, "James Jordan, his wife Mary, that is, he paid her redemption fee." He often said that this was the best bargain he ever made. She died De- cember 7, 1713. They were the parents of James Rogers, born February 2, 1676, and died July 9, 1735, in Norwalk, Con- necticut. He was admitted to the church in New London, March 15, 1713, and re- sided on Great Neck in that town until 1726, when he removed to Norwalk. In 1708 he was admitted to the bar, in 1714 was captain of the Fourth Train Band, was deputy to the General Court sixteen times, at one session being speaker. His wife Elizabeth is said by some authorities to have been born Harris, born 1680-81, died February 28, 1713. She was the mother of James Rogers, born August 20, 1704, in New London, died before 1754, in the West Indies. He was one of the leading ship carpenters of New London, and lost his life while on a voyage. He married, March 21, 1722, Mary, daughter -
of Peter Harris, born 1702-03. Their third son was Ichabod Rogers, born Feb- ruary 14, 1727, in New London, died there about 1767. He was a mariner, and the inventory of his estate, made 1767, placed its value at seventy pounds. He married, April 21, 1751, Ruth Shapley, born 1722, daughter of Daniel and Abigail (Pierson) Shapley. Daniel Shapley was a son of Benjamin and Mary (Pickett) Shapley, the latter a daughter of John and Ruth (Brewster) Pickett. Ruth Brewster was born October 3, 1631, daughter of Jona- than and Lucretia (Oldham) Brewster, and granddaughter of Elder William Brewster, who came in the "Mayflower," and was prominent in the Plymouth Colony. He was a son of William Brew- ster, who lived in Scrooby, Nottingham- shire, England, as early as 1571, in which year he was assessed in that town on goods valued at three pounds. Subse- quently he was receiver of Scrooby. and bailiff of the manor house in that place belonging to the bishop. Not far from 1588 he was also made postmaster under the crown.
Ichabod (2) Rogers, son of Ichabod (1) and Ruth (Shapley) Rogers, was born 1754, in New London. and died there June IO, 1821. He was a soldier of the Revolu- tion, serving first as a private in the com- pany of Captain Samuel Mather, of Lyme and vicinity, according to a return made in July, 1776. He enlisted, July 18, of that year, in Captain Smith's company, Colo- nel Bradley's battalion of General Wads- worth's brigade, and was discharged De- cember 28 of the same year. He was one of the little band which held Fort Trum- bull at New London on the memorable sixth of September, and his house was exposed to the fire of the British force which made the attack on New London at that time. He was a farmer, a sailor, and at one time a privateer, and is said
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to have been a bold and fearless servant of the colonies. He married, November 22, 1778, Mary Hall, born 1752-53, daugh- ter of John and Susan (Hobbs) Hall, died January 28, 1828. Their eldest child was Ichabod Rogers, born April 2, 1781, in that part of New London now called Win- throp's Neck, and died in March, 1843. He was a blacksmith, a soldier at Fort Saybrook in 1812, and joined the Congre- gational church at Chester, Connecticut, October 20, 1822. He married, August 23, 1801, Rhoda, daughter of William and Rhoda (Blakesley) Southworth, of Deep River, then part of Saybrook, born No- vember 15, 1785, died April 12, 1841. Their second son, Elam Hervey Rogers, was born January 19, 1805, in the town of Middletown, Connecticut, and re- moved in 1849 from Saybrook to Meriden, Connecticut, where he took the manage- ment of what was known as Rogers Hotel, in which he continued until his death, March 13 1881. He married, November 16, 1826, Elizabeth Anne Tryon, born June 11, 1807, at Saybrook, died February 27, 1886, in Meriden, daughter of Jedediah and Belinda (Jones) Tryon. Both Mr. Rogers and his wife were deeply religious people of plain and simple manners, who commanded the respect and esteem of those with whom they came in contact. They had a large family of children ; the eldest, George W., was somewhat active in politics, and was postmaster at Mer- iden under the administration of Presi- dent Lincoln. Hervey, the second, lives in Meriden. Watson Brewer, a graduate of Wesleyan University, was lost at sea in 1857. Cephas B., Gilbert and Wilbur F. are also residents of Meriden. Isabella Virginia died in childhood, and a second of the same name became the wife of Egbert Young. Nathaniel Burton was a soldier of the Civil War, in Company C, Seventh Regiment Connecticut Volunteer
Infantry, under Captain Joseph Hawley, later United States Senator, and has been for many years president of the Rogers Silver Plate Company of Danbury, Con- necticut, and also interested in other manufacturing industries.
Gilbert Rogers for more than seventy- eight years lived a worthy and upright life, and contributed much to the advance- ment of morals and the material develop- ment of his home city of Meriden. Gil- bert Rogers was born July 4, 1838, in Say- brook, Connecticut, fifth son of Elam Hervey and Elizabeth A. (Tryon) Rogers. In his native town he attended the little brick school, which structure sheltered in youth many men now noted. When still a small boy his parents re- moved to Meriden, where he attended a private school taught by Henry D. Smith.
His education was chiefly supplied, how- ever, in the great school of experience, for he had little opportunity to advance be- yond the elementary grades in any school of his time. When only fourteen years of age he began to sustain himself by work- ing in the shop of Luther Webb, a manu- facturer of pocket books. After two years in this establishment he entered the fac- tory of the Charles Parker Company, where he learned the trade of buffer, and continued to work five years, receiving a very small salary at first, the amount be- ing seventy-five cents a day. At the end of his service there he was receiving double this amount. In 1858 he removed to Hartford and was employed by the Hartford Silver Plate Company, later re- moved to Waterbury, where he entered the service of Rogers, Smith & Company. Here he became superintendent of the buffing department, and filled the place to the satisfaction of all for two years, after which he formed a partnership with Asa H. Rogers and began making plated ware on Nassau street, New York City,
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producing silver plate spoons and hollow ware. This business was successful until the outbreak of the Civil War, when it was found desirable to close out. Re- turning to Meriden, Mr. Rogers was ap- pointed enrolling officer by the United States government, and filled this posi- tion for a year. He then formed a connec- tion with the Meriden Britannia Com- pany, where he continued about a year, and in 1866 he united with his brothers in forming the firm of C. Rogers & Brothers, with which he continued to be associated until its disposal to the Inter- national Silver Company in 1902. The company was incorporated in 1899 in New Jersey, and two years later under the laws of Connecticut. Mr. Gilbert Rogers continued as treasurer of the com- pany, and was also interested in other institutions of the city, being a director of the City Savings Bank, and was the first president of the Puritan Trust Com- pany. He was also one of the organizers of the Walnut Grove Cemetery Associ- ation, and was a director of the Inde- pendent Thread Company. Mr. Rogers died at his home in Meriden, Monday, January 8, 1917. For many years he took a prominent part in the affairs of the First Methodist Church, was many years superintendent of its Sunday school, and served as secretary of the official board. He was often requested to accept public offices of honor and credit; served as a member of the town board of selectmen, and a member of the city council. He was a member of the building committee which erected Meriden's present beauti- ful town hall, and was a member of the committee of citizens to arrange a cen- tennial celebration in 1906. In politics he was always a staunch Republican. and cast his first presidential vote for Abra- ham Lincoln. During the popularity of the bicycle he was active and prominent
in the State-wide movement for better roads. Mr. Rogers was active in the Ma- sonic fraternity, affiliating with Meriden Lodge, No. 77, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons ; of the Royal Arch Chap- ter and Council ; and was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
He was married, February 6, 1867, to Miss Estelle Victorine Rogers, born No- vember 23, 1845, daughter of Julius W. and Esther Elizabeth (Culver) Rogers. Esther Elizabeth Culver was a daughter of Moses and Esther (Hall) Culver, and granddaughter of Lieutenant Titus Hall, a soldier of the Revolution. Mrs. Rogers was a member of Susan Carrington Clark Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, of Meriden. She survived her husband but two days, and died Janu- ary 10, 1917. Both were buried on the twelfth, in a double funeral, when Rev. Dr. Frank D. Walter, pastor of the First Methodist Church, conducted their serv- ices. In speaking of them he said : "How fortunate that these two dear souls were privileged to spend such long and happy lives together in the Master's service. They lived very happily together all these years and their love for each other was remarkable. They were one in life, one in death and are now one in eternal life. How beautiful that they never had to be separated upon earth. There was one quality in their lives which was ever prominent. They never grew old. The young people loved them and they seemed to be as young in spirit as any of them. We never think of them as old but as ever bright and active and interested in every- thing which would help and interest the young people. The church has lost a tower of strength in these two noble souls. Our loss is Heaven's gain."
Children : I. Mabel Estelle, born March 23, 1871; married Frederick Arthur Wright, February 12, 1889, and
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is the mother of two children: Harold Gilbert, born March 31, 1890, and Mildred Estelle, born March 21, 1892. 2. Eugene Culver, born January 8, 1876; graduated from the district and Meriden High schools; he is a young man of much ability, his energetic character and busi- ness acumen commanding the respect and esteem of those with whom he is asso- ciated. 3. Ralph Gilbert, born April 8, 1878 ; is a graduate of the city high school. 4. William and 5. Emerson (twins), born February 3, 1893, died in infancy.
ROBINSON, Colonel Charles L. F., Man of Affairs, Art Lover.
The well-rounded, finished, and broad culture which characterized more com- pletely an age past, has been for the most part lost to the present day with its ma- chine made automatons of specialization. Efficiency propaganda, while giving to our business life an impetus of value, has developed that side of our life at the expense of the other. It is unusual to find in a man who has attained the pinnacle of business success a breadth of culture and scope of education which entitles him to be known as a truly finished gentleman. In our devotion to industrial progress and commercial upbuilding we have over- looked that very important phase of our national life. One experiences a feeling of pleasure and delight in encountering the life story of a man whose talents and faculties had been developed to the point where he was the welcomed confrere of men in business and professional life, and in the broad fields of literature, the arts and sciences. A lover and patron of the arts, a literary man of considerable ability, a business man whose name was known throughout the length and breadth of the country, and a sportsman of national reputation, was the late Colonel Charles
L. F. Robinson, of Hartford, Connecticut. It would be difficult to find a man of more rounded life. Of distinguished birth and breeding, he was a descendant of Rev. John Robinson, leader of the Pilgrims in Leyden, Holland, and the associate of Elder William Brewster, who became the leader of the Pilgrim band in the New World.
(1) Rev. John Robinson, progenitor of the family, was born in England in 1575. Research has failed to reveal anything of his early life, and has failed to definitely establish whether or not he attended Cambridge University. He was the son of John Robinson, of Sturton le Steeple, Nottinghamshire, England, whose will, dated May 14, 1613, was probated August 19, 1614. His mother, Ann Robinson, died some time prior to January 16, 1616, when her will was probated. Genealogists in- cline to the opinion that John Robinson matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, England, in 1592, and became a fellow in 1598. After gradu- ation from college he was ordained a minister in the Church of England, but was suspended by the Bishop of Norwich for the omission of some ceremony or the disuse of some prescribed vestments. He therefore resigned his fellowship in 1604, and severed his connection with the Established Church, shortly afterward becoming an assistant to Rev. Mr. Clyf- ton. pastor of a Separatist church which met at the home of William Brewster, a gentleman of fortune and education near Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, England, who was subsequently ruling elder of the church at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Persecution by civil and religious author- ities becoming unbearable in the mother country, Mr. Clyfton removed with sev- eral of his church to Holland in 1606, and John Robinson became pastor of those who remained at home. In 1608,
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in charge of the remaining members of the church, he went to Amsterdam, there joining those who had preceded him in exile. Finding dissension rife among them, he removed with a small band to Leyden, in 1609, where they elected him their pastor, and William Brewster, their ruling elder. Rev. John Robinson be- came a member of the university at Ley- den. The community of English Pil- grims there grew from one to three hun- dred, and in January, 1611, Mr. Robin- son and three others purchased for eight thousand guilders a house, "by the bel- fry," of which they took possession in May of the following year. As early as 1617 emigration to America was con- sidered, and in 1620 the younger and physically stronger portion of the Leyden church departed for New England under the guidance of Elder William Brewster. Rev. John Robinson remained at Leyden at the head of the older and feeble mem- bers, with the intention, however, of join- ing those in America eventually. Dis- appointed in his hope, he died at Leyden, March 1, 1625, aged fifty years. On March 4th he was buried in the church- yard of the Cathedral of St. Peter's, in the presence of the university magistrates, scholars, and gentry of the city. Rev. John Robinson married Bridget White, daughter of Alexander and Ellenore White, of Sturton, February 15, 1603-04 ; the record of their marriage is found in volume xiii, page 99, of the parish regis- ter of Treasley, Nottinghamshire, Eng- land, a town thirty-five miles from Scrooby.
(II) Isaac Robinson, son of Rev. John and Bridget (White) Robinson, was born in 1610, and is first of mention in the Plymouth Colony in 1630. He resided at Plymouth, Duxbury, and Barnstable. In 1659 he was disfranchised for protesting against the unfairness of the anti-Quaker
laws. He was twice married, Peter, next in line of descent, being the son of his second wife. Isaac Robinson died in 1704.
(III) Peter Robinson, son of Isaac Robinson, was the first of the family to remove to Connecticut. He inherited his father's real estate, and dwelt for a period at Tisbury, removing to Norwich, Con- necticut, in 1722-23. He finally settled in Windham, where he died in 1740. He married Experience, daughter of John Manter, of Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard.
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