USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 51
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The ancestor of the Lines family in this country was Ralph Lines, who was prob- ably a son of John Lyne, of Badby, North- amptonshire, England. Ralph Lines was a resident of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1643, and in the next year was admitted a free burgess. He was one of two who built the first houses within the limits of the present town of Woodbridge, form- erly that part of New Haven known as Amity. He aided in the concealment and care of Goffe and Whalley, the regicides, in 1661-62. Ralph Lines died September 7, 1689, and his estate was valued at £242 a goodly sum in that day. His eldest child, Samuel Lines, was born April, 1649, and baptized, an adult, August 28, 1687. He lived in Woodbridge, and married, in November, 1674, Mary, daughter of John and Ellen (Harrison) Thompson, and five of their children were baptized Sep- tember 25, 1687. Samuel Lines was a
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very substantial citizen, as shown by the inventory of his estate made June 8, 1692, amounting to £400. After his death his widow married (second) John Hitchcock, and (third) Samuel Clark. The third son of Sammel Lines, Ebenezer Lines, was born August 18, 1684. He lived in Wood- bridge, where his will was dated January 3, 1741. He married, July 30, 1713, Re- becca, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Dickerman) Sperry, born March 28, 1690. Captain John Lines, their third son, was born March 13, 1720, in Woodbridge, in which town he lived. There he mar- ried, March 29, 1743, Deborah, daughter of Abraham and Deborah (Thomas) Hotchkiss. Their fourth son, Eber Lines, was born about 1755, and lived in Beth- any, Connecticut, where he died Febru- ary 20, 1844. He married Hannah Wel- ton, and their eldest child was Calvin Lines, born January 8, 1780. He married, October 13, 1808, Sally Newton Booth, daughter of Walter Booth, a soldier of the Revolution from Woodbridge, in Captain Peck's company, Colonel Doug- las' regiment, Fifth Battalion of Wads- worth's brigade. He participated in the battles of Long Island, White Plains and Kips Bay, and later, in Colonel Samuel B. Webb's regiment, took part in the battles of Rhode Island, and Springfield, New Jersey. His period of service covered six years. Henry Willis Lines, son of Calvin and Sally Newton (Booth) Lines, was born December 5, 1812, in Bethany, and died January 30, 1863. He married, June 2, 1835, Harriet Bunnell, who died Feb- ruary 24, 1898, granddaughter of Enos Bunnell, a Revolutionary soldier from Cheshire, Connecticut, who enlisted in 1775 under Captain James Arnold, Colo- nel David Worcester, in the Ninth Com- pany of the First Regiment. He partici- pated in the capture of St. Johns and the siege of Montreal. In 1776 he was in
Colonel Stephen R. Bradley's regiment, and in July, 1779, responded to an alarm at New Haven. Another Revolutionary ancestor of Mr. Lines was Elisha Ste- phens, who enlisted from Glastonbury, Connecticut, in Captain Jonathan Hale's company, Colonel Erastus Wolcott's regi- ment, and served during the siege of Bos- ton in 1776. In the next year he was a member of Captain Clark's company, Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin's regiment of artificers, and subsequently wintered at Valley Forge, and took part in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Camden, and the siege of Yorktown, be- ing present at the surrender of Corn- wallis, his service covering a period of seven years. He was one of seven brothers, all of whom were in military service of the colonies. Sally Newton Booth, Mr. Lines' grandmother, was a granddaughter of Lieutenant Samuel Newton, of Woodbridge, Connecticut, a member of the Tenth Company, Second Regiment of Connecticut, in 1776, served at the battle of Long Island, and in the following year was attached to Captain Samuel Camp's company, Colonel No- adiah Hooker's regiment.
Henry Wales Lines, son of Henry Willis and Harriet (Bunnell) Lines, was born June 3, 1838, at Naugatuck, and has lived through nearly eighty years of strenuous life, winning the respect and esteem of his contemporaries and neigh- bors. As a youth he attended the public schools of his native town, and graduated as valedictorian of his class in the Nau- gatuck High School. He very early be- came a teacher, and taught two winter terms in Prospect, Connecticut, and one in Naugatuck. He served an apprentice- ship to the mason's trade at Naugatuck and New Haven, and in August, 1862, went to Meriden, same State, where he has continued to reside to the present
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time. He came to Meriden to fill a two weeks' contract at his trade, and decided to make that place his home. Previous to May 23, 1864, he was employed by George Bassett, and on the date named formed a partnership with his uncle, Charles Per- kins, under the firm name of Perkins & Lines, engaged in mason contracting and dealing in building material. The mem- bers of the firm were men of energy and character, and they rapidly built up a prosperous business. In 1878 Mr. Perkins retired from the firm, and Mr. H. E. Fair- child became a member, under the style of H. Wales Lines & Company. In 1888 the business was incorporated as a joint stock company under the title of the H. Wales Lines Company, of which Mr. Lines has continued to be president and treasurer to the present time. One who travels about New England cities with his eyes open will see ample evidence that this concern transacts a very large business. It ranks among the foremost in its line of business in New England, and has erected a large number of factories, business buildings, churches and elaborate dwell- ing houses of Meriden, as well as similar buildings in various other cities. From the beginning the establishment has dealt in building material, wholesale and retail, and its mercantile department has grown to great importance. It occupies a very desirable location on State street, with four hundred feet of railroad trackage. The main storehouse is one hundred and fifty feet long, forty feet in width, and two stories high. The office is a model of convenience. A large stock of lumber, cast iron, metal lath, steel, supplies for concrete work, Portland cement, lime, granite, marble, bluestone, and every sort of material employed in the building trade is always on hand, ready to serve the multitude of the company's cus- tomers. Many carloads of sewer and
drain pipe are kept on hand. Many of the important buildings in this and other States were erected by this concern, in- cluding churches, manufacturing plants, schools, hotels and public institutions.
Mr. Lines has reason to be gratified with his success in life, and may point with pride to an unbroken record of more than forty-five years when the weekly payroll has never been postponed, and no lawsuits have ever been encountered. With the policy of just dealing and the fulfilment of every contract, a high reputation has been established, and patrons are always satisfied. Mr. Lines has been very active as a public- spirited citizen, and has done much to advance the interests and growth of his home city. He is a director of the C. F. Monroe Company, of Meriden; of the Chapin-Stephens Company, of Pine Meadow, Connecticut; treasurer and director of the New Haven Investment Company ; president of the Pacific Real Estate Company ; president of the Mer- iden Machine Tool Company ; vice-presi- dent of the Meriden Savings Bank, and has been from time to time interested in various other industries and enterprises. He has had a notable public career. He served two terms as a member of the board of education and two terms in the common council of the city of Meriden, 1868-69. In 1872 he was elected a mem- ber of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of Connecticut, and served on the committee on railroads. He was nominated for mayor of Meriden in 1876, and was the first mayor elected under party alignments, having a major- ity of 161. He was reelected next term with a majority of 318, and for a third term with a majority of 566. He declined a unanimous nomination at the end of his third term. During his first term the common council was evenly divided polit-
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ically, while during his last term it was unanimously Republican. At the begin- ning of his administration, offices of var- ious municipal departments were scat- tered in six different locations, and before the close of his administration all except the police department were concentrated under the roof of the town hall. Under his administration the fire alarm system was introduced. He found recorded only surveys of improvements on two streets, and he placed on record the surveys of nearly all the streets of the city. During his first year the revenue of the water department scarcely sufficed to pay the interest on the water bonds. A new main was laid from Merimere to the center of the city; the meter system was intro- duced; and the management of the de- partment placed under one responsible and capable commissioner. Consumption of water was diminished by reducing waste, revenues were increased and at the close of his third term, a sinking fund was established to enable the department to set aside funds out of its earnings to pay the water bonds. During his first term the city was involved in old lawsuits, more than a score being pending, but at the end of his term every lawsuit had been settled and the legal expenses reduced to a minimum. Two new houses for the fire department were built while he was mayor, the equipment improved, and effi- ciency increased. Economy was intro- duced in the management of every city department, the efficiency increased, and the expenses reduced. The first year that the city had been managed within its in- come and the city debt reduced was the first year of his administration, and his first annual report gave to the citizens of Meriden the first debt statement and first table of appropriations, expenditures and unexpended balances. The rate of tax during his first term. was eight and one-
half mills, and the city debt was reduced that year $6,519. The tax rate was eight mills, and the debt reduced $17.537 the second year. The tax rate was seven and a half mills, and the debt was reduced $24,954 in the third year. Under his administration a complete revision of the city charter was made and a thorough re- formation in the methods of the depart- ments. The system of keeping accounts that he introduced has been continued to the present time. Not only was due re- gard paid to economy and reforms in methods of doing city business, but very creditable public improvements were made.
In 1879 Mr. Lines was elected from the Sixth Senatorial District to the State Senate by a majority of 491, and served in that body two sessions. He was chair- man of the committees on cities and bor- oughs, and of capitol furnishings, build- ings and grounds, and of contested elec- tions. During the three terms he served in the house and senate, every Meriden matter that he presented was passed with- out change or amendment. He never lost a committee report when he was chair- man, and never had one amended except upon his own motion. During his term as senator, Hon. O. H. Platt was first elected to the United States Senate. In 1888 Mr. Lines was the Republican can- didate for Congress from the Second Dis- trict, and was defeated by some seven or eight hundred, the Democratic presiden- tial ticket carrying the same district by 2,500 plurality, and the Democratic guber- natorial candidate by 3,200. In 1902 Mr. Lines was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, receiving a majority of 690, and was twice appointed a member of special committees to secure an agree- ment on the representation question. Mr. Lines was a member of the commission to remodel and improve the State Capitol
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and to build a State Library, Memorial Hall and Supreme Court building. He was a member of the Fort Griswold Tract Commission in charge of the old Fort Griswold Battle Ground at Groton Heights, and was chairman of the Senator O. H. Platt Memorial Commission.
No citizen has taken a keener interest in the welfare and improvement of the city. In March, 1871, at a meeting of the citizens of Meriden held in the old town hall, he recommended a plan of action which, being followed, secured to the business of Meriden its first general and considerable reduction of freight rates and improvement in the delivery of manu- factured goods at destination. He was one of those who after several defeats in town meeting finally secured the passage of a vote to establish a high school in Meriden and an appropriation for the pur- pose. He was chairman of the Town Hall building committee, chosen March 25, 1904. The building was erected at a cost of over $200,000, and is a substantial fire- proof structure, an ornament to the city.
Mr. Lines has been active in charitable work. In August, 1878, when a tornado devastated Wallingford, Mayor Lines called the first public meeting held in the State to raise relief funds for sufferers, was appointed chairman of a committee that secured more than $2,000, and sent it to Warden Charles D. Yale for relief work. During the famine in Ireland, Mr. Lines was one of the speakers at a meet- ing held in the old town hall, February 9, 1880, and in response to his appeal a large sum was then and there raised for the needy and unfortunate Irish people. He was for two years in succession chairman of the committee that raised a goodly sub- scription for the relief of fever-stricken Memphis, Tennessee. He has always been a staunch friend of Civil War vet- erans, and keenly appreciates the numer-
ous votes of thanks that the Grand Army Post has had occasion to send to him for favors done both in private and public life. Mr. Lines is a member of the Young Men's Republican Club, of New Haven ; of the Home, Colonial, and Highland Country clubs of Meriden ; the Mayflower Society of Connecticut ; the Connecticut Historical Society; the New Haven Colony Historical Society; life member of the New London County Historical Society ; the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities ; one of the board of managers of the Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revolu- tion, and president of Captain John Couch branch, of Meriden ; director of the Mer- iden Board of Trade and member of the Mayor's Association of Connecticut. He belongs also to Pilgrim Council, Royal Arcanum: Wilson Lodge, Knights of Honor : of Meriden Lodge, No. 77, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was worshipful master in 1872 ; Meriden Chap- ter, Order of the Eastern Star; Keystone Chapter, No. 27, Royal Arch Masons ; Hamilton Council, Royal and Select Masters; St. Elmo Commandery, No. 9. Knights Templar, of Meriden, of which he was eminent commander in 1869-70- 73-74-75-88, and of which he has been treasurer since 1879. He belongs to Mecca Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, New York City. He received his thirty-third and highest Masonic degree, September 19, 1893, at Chicago, Illinois, becoming a member of the Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the highest governing body of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. He is also a member of the Royal Order of Scotland ; honorary member of Harmony Lodge, No. 42, Free Masons, of Water- bury, Connecticut : chairman of the board of visitors of the Connecticut Masonic Home at Wallingford. In 1877-78 he was
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Amos Whitney
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
grand commander of the Grand Com- mandery, Knights Templar, of Connecti- cut, and for a number of years has been grand treasurer of the Grand Encamp- ment, Knights Templar, of the United States. His first election was in 1886, and all subsequent elections have been by unanimous vote. He is a member of Pacific Lodge of Odd Fellows, and is president of the Pacific Real Estate Com- pany, which owns the Odd Fellows Temple, Meriden. His Masonic biog- raphy says of him: "In all these organi- zations he has shown the qualities that adorn his individuality. Possessed of a well-balanced mind and of a tenacious purpose, he has exercised an influence upon his associates, and in many things of enterprise and larger undertaking he has made good proof of his capabilities as a prudent adviser and a wise and coura- geous leader. He is a man possessed of strong convictions and of generous and gentle sentiments as well; large minded and tolerant, his heart responds to the truths and principles fundamental in Ma- sonic teaching and whose life is held to loving service in the ways of righteous- ness and true benevolence."
We quote the following from "A Cen- tury of Meriden:" "His opinion and judgment upon any matter are slowly formed and firmly held. Precise in speech, accurate in method, and of a com- manding personality, his mental strength and his large grasp upon affairs have always made him a dominating force in any company. He was never known to use illiberal language towards an enemy nor to abandon a friend. He is a force- ful public speaker, of the deliberative type, carefully weighing every word, seeking always to be correct in what he states rather than to please." In politics he is a Republican, and though he has had many honorable offices he has never
been self-seeking. He has always been ready and active in supporting his party and the cause of good government. In 1879 he was chairman of the organiza- tion which conducted the campaign when the Hon. O. H. Platt was elected United States Senator, and in 1902 he conceived the idea and directed the campaign which resulted in the nomination of Hon. Abir- am Chamberlain for governor, and he made the nominating speech for him in the State Convention.
He married, June 23, 1861, Sarah Cong- don Munger, daughter of Rev. Washing- ton and Louisa (Nichols) Munger, of Waterford, Connecticut. She is a mem- ber of Susan Carrington Clarke Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and was for eleven years vice-regent, two years regent. Children: I. Harriet L., married Robert L. Peck, of Kensington, Connecticut ; children : Norman V., Frederick Lines, and Amy L. 2. Henry WV., died in infancy. 3. Sarah L., married Frank L. Hamilton, of Meriden ; children : Mande Lines and Lorenzo. 4. Clara B., married Roger B. De Bussy, of Mount Vernon, New York ; children: Beatrice, Wales Lines and Roger B., Jr., who died April 12, 1901. 5. Ellie M., married Frank M. Chapin, of Pine Meadow, Con- necticut ; she is grand worthy matron of the Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star of Connecticut, and associate grand conductress of the General Grand Chap- ter. Order of the Eastern Star of United States of America; child : Catharine Lines.
WHITNEY, Amos,
Man of Affairs.
Among the many pioneer New England families who have contributed much to the industrial development of the United States, none has been more conspicuous
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than the Whitney family. A single ac- complishment of this family has revolu- tionized the cotton production of the nation by the invention of Eli Whitney's cotton gin. Various descendants have been conspicuous in inventive and manu- facturing lines.
The subject of this sketch is among the best known citizens of Hartford, and no man of his time has contributed more to the industrial prosperity of the State than he. From an humble apprentice he rose to be president of one of the largest manufacturing establishments of New England. This progress is not due to a lucky chain of circumstances, but to his own keenness, ability and untiring appli- cation. From a long line of worthy and industrious sires he has inherited traits which have made the New Englander foremost in every community where he may have cast his lot.
Many members of this family have attained distinction in various walks of life. Among these may be mentioned William Dwight Whitney, an eminent philologist, who became Professor of Sanscrit at Yale; and Joseph Dwight Whitney, a geologist of the first rank, who became head of the State Geological Survey of California.
The name is of remote English anti- quity, founded by Eustace, living in 1086, and styled de Whitney, from the lordship of Whitney, which he owned. The pres- ent form of the name has been established about four centuries, and the American Whitneys are descended from many fam- ilies whose names are most familiar in English history. Before the day of sur- names for individuals, the land owners were known as Eustace, Baldwin or Rob- ert, usually coupled with the name of the estate which they possessed. Thus we have Robert of Whitney, who dwelt in the present parish of Whitney, situated
in the county of Hereford, upon the ex- treme western border of England, ad- joining Wales. The name of the place appears in Domesday Book, 1086. The parish of Whitney is traversed by the river Wye, from which it takes the name Whitney-on-the-Wye. The literal signi- fication of the name is white water. Var- ious other names are derived from its foundation, such as Whitbourn, signify- ing white brook, Whitchurch and Whiton. From Sir Robert of Whitney is traced the descent of John Whitney, one of the founders of Watertown, Massa- chusetts. The line from Sir Robert (1) of Whitney, living in 1242, passed to an- other Robert (2) of Whitney, and then by Sir Eustace (3) of Whitney to Sir Eus- tace (4) of Whitney, Sir Robert (5), Sir Eustace (6) de Whitney, knight, Robert (7) of Whitney, James (8) of Whitney, Robert (9) of Icond, Sir Robert (to) of Whitney, knight, Robert (II) of Whitney, esquire, Thomas (12) of West- minster, England, gentleman, to John Whitney. Sir Randolph de Whitney, who accompanied Richard Coeur de Lion to the Holy Land, distinguished himself by a single-handed combat with three Saracens, one of them the brother of Saladin, in which he was victorious through the cooperation of a Spanish bull. From this episode dates the adoption of the bull's head as the crest of the Whit- ney coat-of-arms.
Arms: Azure, a cross chequy or and gules. Crest: A bull's head couped sable, armed argent, the points gules. Motto: Magnanimiter Crucem Sustine.
(1) John Whitney, above mentioned, was the third son of Thomas Whitney, gentleman, and dwelt for several years in the parish of Isleworth, near London, England. He was baptized in the parish church of Saint Margaret, July 20, 1592. Accompanied by his wife Elinor and sev-
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eral sons, he emigrated from London, England, in 1635, and settled in Water- town, Massachusetts, where he was a highly respected citizen and shared with the schoolmaster and the minister the then highly esteemed title of "Mr." He served the town of Watertown as town clerk, selectman and constable for many years, being the first man to fill the former named office. He was the owner of extensive lots of land, on one of which he resided. He was the first of the name in America, and the ancestor of a great majority of the Whitneys now living in this country. Died at Watertown, June 7, 1673, aged eighty-four years.
Married (first ) Elinor --- , who died at Watertown, May 11, 1659, aged fifty- four years. Married (second), September 29, 1659, Judith Clement, who died before her husband.
(II) Jonathan Whitney, son of John Whitney, was born in England, and be- came a resident of Sherburne, Massachu- setts, in 1679. He left a will dated Janu- ary 12, 1702. Died in Sherburne, Massa- chusetts, 1702. Married, in Watertown, October 30, 1656, Lydia, daughter of Lewis and Anna Jones, of Watertown.
(III) Jonathan Whitney, son of Jona- than and Lydia (Jones) Whitney, was born October 20, 1658. He served in King Philip's War, 1676; built a house in Sherburne in 1691, but soon afterwards returned to Watertown, and later resided in the towns of Sudbury and Concord. His will, dated March 14, was proved March 18, 1735. Died in Concord, March 17, 1735. Married Sarah, daughter of Shadrach and Elizabeth (Treadway ) Hapgood, of Sudbury.
town of Boylston. Died at Boylston, October 18, 1779. Married, at Shrews- bury, March 8, 1739. Thankful, daughter of Elnathan and Mercy (Rice) Allen.
(V) Lieutenant Levi Whitney, eldest child of Daniel and Thankful (Allen) Whitney, was born December 5, 1739, in Shrewsbury, and resided in the towns of Townsend and Shrewsbury. He was a member of Captain James Prescott's com- pany, Colonel William Prescott's regi- ment, which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, to Cambridge ; first lieu- tenant of Captain Henry Farwell's com- pany, Colonel William Prescott's regi- ment, at the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775 : served throughout the Revolu- tionary War as an officer in the commis- sary department. He was a manufac- turer of agricultural tools by occupation, and a man of much mechanical ingenuity ; was selectman of Townsend in 1777; held a number of public offices in Water- town, and was a man of high standing in the community. Died at Townsend, Jan- uary 8, 1809. Married (first) December 19, 1764, Rebecca, daughter of Deacon Samuel Clark, of Townsend. Married (second) November 13, 1780, Lydia (Randall) Price, of Townsend, widow of Major Henry Price, first deputy grand master of Masons in America.
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