USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
Meriden, December 18, 1891. She is buried beside her husband in Indian Hill Cemetery. She was a daughter of Arden and Sarah Maria (Clark) Grover, a grand- daughter of Oliver and Asenath (Eaton) Grover, great-granddaughter of John and Abigail (Flint) Grover. Asenath Eaton was a descendant of William Eaton, who was in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1642, and Abigail Flint was descended from Thomas Flint, of Salem, Massachu- setts, in 1650. Sarah Maria (Clark) Grover, mother of Mrs. Hall, was a daughter of Daniel Clark, a Revolution- ary soldier. Mr. and Mrs. Hall were the parents of two children: Effie Maria, born March 13, 1860, died March 1, 1862, and Eugene Ashley, of further mention.
Eugene Ashley Hall was born August 7. 1865. in Meriden, where he has con- tinued to be identified with business and social life to the present day, prominent among financiers and business men. He attended the district schools until he had attained the age of fifteen years, and leav- ing school he was employed by the firm of J. Cook & Company, manufacturers of printing presses, the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company, The Meriden Britannia Company and in the stationery and toy store of William Hagadon, enter- ing the employ of the Meriden Savings Bank, May, 1883, as office boy, he won rapid promotion in that institution by his industry and business aptitude. At the time of his father's death he was teller of the bank, and resigned his position in order to take care of the business estab- lished by his father. He continued to serve the Meriden Savings Bank as trus- tee, director and auditor, and in 1914 was elected its president, in which posi- tion he has continued to the present time. He is president and treasurer of The Hall's Market Company. From 1899 to 1907 he was treasurer of the town of
58
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Meriden, and has been actively interested in the Meriden Board of Trade and the Meriden Chamber of Commerce. For several years he served as trustee, secre- tary and treasurer of the Connecticut School for Boys, and was also treasurer of the Connecticut State and Meriden Agricultural societies.
For many years Mr. Hall has been prominently identified with Free Masonry in Connecticut, presiding over Meriden Lodge, Keystone Chapter, Hamilton Council, St. Elmo Commandery of Meri- den, the Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Ma- sons, and Grand Commandery. Knights Templar, of Connecticut; is a member of the Scottish Rite bodies of New Haven, LaFayette Consistory, Scottish Rite, and Pyramid Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Bridgeport, and the Masonic Charity Foundation of Connecticut. He is a mem- ber of the Connecticut Society and Cap- tain John Couch Branch, Sons of the American Revolution, a member of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church, Home Club and Colonial Club of Meriden. In political principle he is a Republican, and is always active in promoting the best government for the city and State.
Mr. Hall married, December 15, 1897, Edna Adele Mix, daughter of ex-Senator John Walter and Kate Urana (Wallace) Mix, of (Yalesville) Wallingford. Con- necticut, a direct descendant of Thomas Mix, who was in New Haven as early as 1643, granddaughter of John and Eliza (Merriman) Mix, the last named a daugh- ter of Albert Merriman, a Revolutionary soldier. Mrs. Hall's mother was a daugh- ter of Franklin and Fanny (Hall) Wal- lace, of Cheshire, Connecticut, the latter a daughter of Lyman and Milla Hall, both direct descendants of John Hall, of Wall- ingford. Benjamin Hall, father of Lyman Hall, was a soldier of the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Eugene A. Hall are the par-
ents of three children : Fanny, born No- vember 15, 1898; Edna, February 3, 1900, and Eugene Mix, June 27, 1903.
WILLIAMS, Charles Merriam, Superintendent of Connecticut School for Boys.
In 1874, Mr. Williams, then a young man of twenty-three. entered the teaching profession, as principal of the Railroad District School in Meriden. Twenty-one years later the boys and girls who had sat under his instructions during those years had become the voters and custo- dians of the city interests, including the oversight and management of the public schools. When it was deemed the part of wisdom that the schools be consoli- dated and placed under the care of a gen- eral superintendent, their thoughts with one accord turned to their former prin- cipal, and Mr. Williams was chosen for the post. A few years later, in 1898, per- haps some of his former pupils were members of the board of trustees on whom devolved the duty of choosing a superintendent for the Connecticut Boys Home, but whether or not, the reputation won during a quarter of a century was well known to the board and Mr. Wil- liams was declared the choice of the board. Nineteen years have elapsed since he first assumed the duties of his office, but he is still the honored head of the institution, a longer term than any pre- vious superintendent ever served. Length of service implies peculiar fitness for the position filled, and this holds true of the veteran educator, who had not only the problems of the teacher to solve but those of the reformer, the philanthropist and the humanitarian. How well he has solved those problems the records of the School for Boys show. Minds have been trained, talents developed, genius encour-
59
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
aged and lives of usefulness opened to boys whose mornings were darkened by error. As the guiding head of the insti- tution, Mr. Williams has been placed in the most responsible position to which a man can be called, and to his credit is placed the fact that he has shirked no issue, evaded no responsibility, but with an eye single to the best interests of those placed under his care has labored untir- ingly and intelligently. Thousands of boys have passed out into the world from under his guidance, from both the public school and the School for Boys, and thou- sands testify to the influence for good he has been in their lives.
Mr. Williams is a descendant of Thomas Williams, who bought land in Wethers- field, Connecticut, in 1661, and in the same year was granted river lands at Rocky Hill. His son, Jacob Williams, born in 1664, a sea captain, died at Rocky Hill in 1712. He married Sarah Gilbert, and their son, Ephraim Williams, was a merchant of Wethersfield, trading with New York and the West Indies until his death in 1761, aged seventy-one. He mar- ried Elizabeth Russell, a great-grand- daughter of John Russell, founder of his line in New England, and of Stephen Terry, one of the first settlers of Wind- sor, Connecticut.
Captain Ephraim Williams had a son, Captain Elias Williams, born in Wethers- field, in 1719, who was a man of promi- nence there and in Stepney Parish both before and during the Revolution. He served on various committees in aid of the Colonial cause, and in 1777 was a captain in the Sixth Connecticut Militia. He died in 1798. He married Prudence Robbins, a great-granddaughter of John Robbins, the early settler, son of John Robbins, who is believed to have come to Wethersfield with his son and died soon after coming.
Captain Elias Williams was the father of Corporal Eliel Williams, born in Step- ney Parish, January 30, 1746, died there August 2, 1819. He was one of the four corporals enrolled under Captain John Chester, and sent from Wethersfield on the Lexington Alarm and fought at Bunker Hill. He married Comfort Mor- ton, a maternal descendant of Governor Thomas Welles, and her great-great-pa- ternal grandmother, Honor Treat, was a sister of Governor Robert Treat, and wife of John Deming, one of the first settlers of Wethersfield.
Merriam Williams, son of Corporal Eliel Williams, was born in Stepney Parish, July 3, 1785, and died May 10, 1857. He was a tanner and currier and shoe manufacturer of Rocky Hill, also a landowner and farmer. He married Eliza- beth Danforth, daughter of Thomas Dan- forth, a manufacturer and merchant of Rocky Hill.
Thomas Danforth Williams, son of Merriam Williams, was born at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, December 4, 1819, died there December 4, 1881. He was a farmer all his life, a deacon of the Congregational church for thirty years, and for twenty years (not consecutively) town assessor. He married, April 6, 1842, Mary Jane Boardman, born at Rocky Hill, March 20, 1820, died August 7, 1888, the last sur- vivor in the town of the twelve children of Captain Jason Boardman. who for fifty years was a shipbuilder, owner and cap- tain of vessels. Her father, Captain John Boardman, owned vessels sailing and trading with the West Indies and was lost at sea. Captain John Boardman was a son of Jonathan Boardman, son of Na- thaniel Boardman, son of Samuel Bore- man (the original spelling), who came to New England in 1638. and settled at Wethersfield about 1641. Thomas Dan- forth and Mary Jane (Boardman) Wil-
60
THE NETK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ATOM, L NO.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
liams were the parents of two sons and two daughters: Luther Boardman, a prominent agriculturist of Rocky Hill and an ex-member of the Legislature; Caro- line Elizabeth, of Rocky Hill; Charles Merriam, of further mention ; Anna Jane, died at the age of nineteen years.
Charles Merriam Williams was born at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, November 13, 1851. His youth was spent at the home farm and in attendance at the public school, after which he completed his studies at Williston Seminary, Easthamp- ton, Massachusetts. Choosing the profes- sion of teaching he became principal of the Railroad District School in Meriden in 1874, he establishing so good a reputa- tion that he was advanced later to the principalship of the Center School and finally to the same post in the West Dis- trict School which included the Lewis Avenue School and the control of about five hundred pupils. In these three schools twenty-one years were passed, years of wonderful expansion and improvement in the schools and equal development in the Educator. As principal he won the loyal support of his teaching staff, and the full confidence of his pupils who, as they passed on into high school, bore testi- mony to the thoroughness of their prepa- ration. In 1895 the schools of the city were consolidated and brought under the general management of a superintendent appointed by the Board of Education. His long experience and the high reputa- tion Mr. Williams held as an educator eminently fitted him for the position, a fact recognized by the board by his ap- pointment. He retained the office of superintendent until 1898, when he with- drew to accept the appointment of super- intendent of the Connecticut School for Boys, a State institution. This office he has now (1917) held for nineteen years with great acceptability.
In the profession he adopted when a young man, he has attained prominent position and is numbered with the strong, capable and devoted men of that profes- sion. He is a member of several societies dealing with the problems which are his and also is interested in fraternity and social organizations. He is a member of Meriden Lodge, No. 77, Free and Ac- cepted Masons ; - Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Hamilton Council, Royal and Select Masters; St. Elmo Com- mandery, Knights Templar ; the Sons of the Revolution ; and the Home and High- land Country clubs. In politics he is a Republican.
Mr. Williams married, June 17, 1881, Emeline McFarland, daughter of Joseph and Emeline (Bulkeley) McFarland. They are the parents of a son, Stanley Thomas Williams, born October 25, 1888, a gradu- ate of Yale University, A. B., 1911 ; A. M., 1912; Ph. D., 1914; now an instructor at Yale.
WHEELER, Frederick James,
Merchant.
As the oldest merchant in Meriden, not only in years, but in the period engaged in business, and as a citizen of highest integrity, great industry and commercial success, Mr. Wheeler has earned a place in the annals of the people in the State. His ancestors, both paternal and maternal, have been long established in the State, and have borne no mean part in promot- ing its development and progress. The founder of the Wheeler family in Connec- ticut was Moses Wheeler, born 1597-98, in Kent, England, who came, with others, from London, England, and settled in New Haven in 1638. There is a tradition that he lived in London during the prev- alence of the plague in that city, which caused many people to flee. According
61
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
to this tale, Moses Wheeler was stricken and, supposing he was about to die, dug his own grave and lay down in it. His neighbors, believing him to be dead, were about to bury him but, discovering evi- dences of life, desisted. After this narrow escape from being buried alive, he de- cided to leave the country, and thus be- came a pioneer of Connecticut. At New Haven he was granted an allotment of land in 1643. Subsequently he removed to Stratford, where the family has been prominent for many generations, ranking among the most influential citizens of the town. In 1648 Moses Wheeler was granted the ferry across the Housatonic river, in Stratford, and in 1670 he received a lease of the ferry and lands adjoining, for a period of twenty-one years, at a rental of six pence per year. This indi- cates the great confidence felt in him by the citizens of the town, and the impor- tance of maintaining a reliable ferry. He gave most of his property to his children ten years before his death. His will was made February 16, 1690, and he probably died very soon thereafter. His descend- ants have occupied conspicuous places for two hundred and seventy-five years in the territory now comprising the counties of Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield. He married Miriam Hawley, a sister of Jo- seph Hawley, and their second son was Moses Wheeler, born July 5, 1651, in Stratford, died there January 30, 1725. He was one of the wealthiest citizens of the town, and the inventory of his estate amounted to £1463 5s. and 6d. He mar- ried, October 20, 1674, in Stratford, Sarah, daughter of Caleb and Anne (Ward) Nichols, born December 1, 1651, in Strat- ford. Their son, Elnathan Wheeler (known as Nathan), was born January 31, 1681, in Stratford, where he was a large landowner, and died 1765-66. By his will each of his four sons received a
tract of land. His third wife, Elizabeth, surname unrecorded, was born 1688, and died 1739. Their youngest child was Ephraim Wheeler, baptized in July, 1723, and resided in Stratford. He married, March 7, 1743, Sarah Wilcoxson, born June 6, 1719, daughter of William and Hester (Brinsmade) Wilcoxson. Samuel Wheeler, third son of Ephraim and Hester (Wilcoxson) Wheeler, was born October 4 1757, in Stratford, and lived there. He married (second) November 26, 1781, Hannah Hawley, daughter of Matthew, Jr., and Bethiah Hawley. Her eighth child and his sixth son and eleventh child was Everett Wheeler, born in September, 1796. His home was in Stratford, where he was a large farmer and prominent citi- zen, and died February 22, 1878. In 1847 he was elected on the Whig ticket as a member of the Legislature, and acquitted himself well in that body. He married, in December, 1825, Mary Curtis, born about 1796-97, daughter of Dr. Ezra and Anna (Ufford) Curtis. Their children were: Henry Gould, born January 21, 1827, re- sided in Stratford: Caroline, August 4, 1829, married Curtis Wells; Frederick James, of further mention ; Thomas Ever- ett, born October 18, 1836, died 1857.
The Curtis family, from which Mary (Curtis) Wheeler was descended, was founded by William Curtis, who lived in England and probably died there. His widow Elizabeth and sons John and Wil- liam settled in Stratford, Connecticut, in 1639. The Curtis family was a prolific one in England, and had many repre- sentatives in Kent, where several were mayors of Tenterden, and in County Sus- sex, England. The ancient coat-of-arms is thus described: Argent, a chevron sable, between three bulls' heads ca- boshed, gules. Crest : A unicorn passant, or, between four trees proper. John Cur- tis, son of William and Elizabeth Curtis,
62
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
born 1613, came to Stratford, and died there December 2, 1707, aged ninety-four years. His wife Elizabeth died in March, 1682. His eldest son and namesake set- tled in Newark, New Jersey. The fourth son, Joseph Curtis, was born November 12, 1650. He married, November 9, 1676, Bethiah, daughter of Richard Booth, and their eldest son was Ephraim Curtis, born December 31, 1684, in Stratford, died in 1776. He married, June 26, 1706, Eliza- beth, daughter of Ephraim Stiles. She died in October, 1775. Their eldest child was Stiles Curtis, born March 18, 1707, in Stratford, during the lifetime of his great- grandfather. He married, November 7, 1730, Rebecca Judson. Their fourth son was Silas Curtis, baptized June 14, 1743, in Stratford, lived at Oronoke, in the northern part of the town of Stratford, where he died January 15, 1816. He mar- ried, February 17, 1765, Hannah Birdsey, born December 15, 1746, died November 25, 1811, daughter of Rev. Nathan and Dorothy (Hawley) Birdsey, of Stratford. Their eldest child was Ezra Curtis, born August 26, 1765, in Stratford, was edu- cated as a physician, engaged in practice, and died at Litchfield, Connecticut, No- vember 17, 1797, in his thirty-eighth year. He married Anna, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Gold) Ufford, of Stratford, born October 24, 1772. After the death of Dr. Curtis she married (second) John Wells. Mary, daughter of Dr. Ezra and Anna (Ufford) Curtis, born about 1796- 97, became the wife of Everett Wheeler, as previously noted.
Frederick James Wheeler, second son of Everett and Mary (Curtis) Wheeler, was born March 4, 1834, in Stratford, and was reared upon his father's farm, sharing in its labors, and receiving his education in the neighboring district school. While his educational opportunities were some- what limited, he was always of an observ-
ant nature, and by study and experience was fitted for the contest in which every man must work out his own destiny. When sixteen years of age he went to Seymour, Connecticut, where he learned the trade of tinsmith, and following this was employed for seven years as a jour- neyman in Waterbury. As a young man. Mr. Wheeler did not fritter away his time or his earnings in dissipation, and he was soon enabled to establish himself in busi- ness. In 1862 he located in Meriden. where he established himself as a tin- smith, and in time added to his industries those of plumbing, heating and ventila- tion. He was a skillful workman, honest and persevering, and rapidly built up a profitable business. In time his store in- cluded general hardware, cutlery, stoves, crockery and woodenware, and for many years he has operated one of the largest and best stocked establishments in the city. He has ever been a conscientious and upright dealer, has enjoyed the con- fidence and respect of his neighbors, and has gained a competence by his own energy, industry and courteous consider- ation for the welfare of his patrons. Mr. Wheeler is a member of the First Con- gregational Church of Meriden, and is ever ready to further any good work or any undertaking calculated to promote the interests of the community and of the world at large.
Mr. Wheeler married, July 17, 1866, Mary Elizabeth Bennett, born October 27, 1838, died December 24, 1907, daugh- ter of William Lewis and Mary A. (Ben- jamin) Bennett, of Huntington, Connec- ticut, and they were the parents of one son, William Bennett, born September 15, 1868, died September 10, 1882.
Isaac Bennett, the progenitor of the branch of the Bennett family of which Mrs. Wheeler was a member, was a na- tive of England, from whence he came to
63
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
this country in 1650, and settled in Strat- ford, Connecticut. He married Elizabeth Rose. The line is descended through their son, Captain Nathan Bennett, who mar- ried Deborah Curtis. Their son, Nathan (2) Bennett, married Elizabeth Lewis. Their son, Nathan (3) Bennett, a farmer of Huntington, Connecticut, married Nancy Beard. Their son, William Lewis Bennett, born in Huntington, Connecti- cut, July 3, 1811, died there, September 25, 1871. He was reared on his father's farm, attended the district schools of his native town and the high school at Huntington Center, and followed agricultural pursuits for a number of years, first with his father, and on his marriage purchased a farm adjoining his father's farm, and there resided for the remainder of his days, achieving a large degree of success in his undertaking. He was active in public affairs, served as selectman of his town, as a member of the House of Representa- tives one term, as senator from the Tenth Connecticut Senatorial District in 1863- 64, and again served as representative in 1866-67. He was a man of singular ability and merit, possessed a clear head, honest heart and sound judgment, also of un- bending integrity and Roman firmness, and was an off-hand debater, having no equal in the House of Representatives. He married, November 16, 1837, Mary A. Benjamin, born May 8, 1810, in Derby. Connecticut, died September 30, 1881, in Huntington, Connecticut. Children : Mary Elizabeth. aforementioned as the wife of Frederick J. Wheeler, and Frances Sarah. born February 2, 1845, at present residing in Meriden, Connecticut.
SEELEY, George Simeon,
Public Official, Real Estate Dealer.
The late George S. Seeley, of Meriden, held a high place in the esteem of the
people as an upright and incorruptible official, a faithful and earnest worker in promoting the welfare of his home city. He was descended from good ancestry. The first authentic record of this name, which has been variously spelled Seely, Sealy, Sealey, Seelye, Seeley, appears in Froude's "History of England," vol. viii, P. 452, as follows: "In the year 1563 the following petition was addressed to the Lords of Elizabeth's Council: 'In most lamentable wise showeth unto your hon- ors, your humble Orator Dorothy Seeley of the City of Bristol, wife of Thomas See- ley of the Queen's Majesty's guard, that where her said husband upon most vile, slanderous, spiteful, malicious, and most villainous words spoken against the Queen's Majesty's own person by a cer- tain subject of the King of Spain, here not to be uttered ; not being able to suffer same, did flee upon the same slanderous person and gave him a blow. So it is most honorable Lords that hereupon my said husband, no other offense in respect of their religion then committed, was secretly accused to the inquistion of the Holy House, and so committed to most vile prison, and there hath remained now three whole years in miserable state with cruel torments."
A son of the aforesaid Thomas Seeley is mentioned as captain in command of the "Minion," accompanying Drake in his famous voyage to the West Indies in 1685-86. The name Seeley is associated with the early history of England, Shakes- peare, in his play "Richard II.," represent- ing Sir Bennet Seeley as having been be- headed by the followers of Bolingbroke for his loyalty to Richard, who was de- throned in 1399.
Robert Seeley came to America with Governor Winthrop, landing at Salem, June, 1630, and bringing with him his wife Mary and sons. Nathaniel and Obadiah.
64
William . Bennett.
T:
EY
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
From thence he proceeded with Sir Rich- ard Saltonstall, Rev. George Phillips and others up the Charles river four miles from Charlestown, commencing a settle- ment, which was called Sir Richard Sal- tonstall's plantation, and afterward named Watertown. Homesteads averaging five or six acres were assigned, Robert Seeley receiving the maximum allotment of six- teen acres, near the north bank of the Charles river. This homestead was later sold to Simon Erie, and is easily located at the present day by reference to "Bond's Map of Ancient Watertown." In July, 1630, upon the formation of the Water- town Church, which was the second church in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first being that at Salem, Robert See- ley was one of the forty who entered into covenant ; in 1631 he was one of the first twenty-five, together with Rev. George Phillips. R. Saltonstall, Jr., and Captain Patrick. to be made freemen. In 1635 Robert Secley, with Rev. John Sherman and others, removed from Watertown and formed a settlement in Connecticut, which they also named Watertown, this name being later changed to Wethersfield. There he was made sergeant in command of the military organization, and when war was declared against the Pequots in 1637, Captain John Mason and Lieutenant Robert Seeley led the combined forces of Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield in an expedition which resulted in the anni- hilation of Fort Mistick and three hun- dred Indians, and eighteen days later in the complete overthrow of the Pequot tribe in the swamp of Unguowa, subse- quently called Fairfield. Captain John Mason's "A Brief History of the Pequot War" says: "Lieutenant Seeley was shot in the eyebrow with a flatheaded arrow, the point turning downward. I pulled it out myself." At the close of the Pequot War Captain Robert Seeley withdrew
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.