USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 4 > Part 23
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age at the time of his death, his birth having occurred in 1615, and he was three times married and had nine children, seven by his first wife and two by the second. From this distinguished ancestor there has come down a long line of worthy descendants, the members of each gener- ation having been capable, public-spirited men, who have done much through all these many years for the development of the community. A great proportion of them have held public office and dis- charged their duties in connection there- with with high distinterestedness. The members of the family were without ex- ception men of deep religious convictions, and much of their activity has been in connection with the church and the cause of religion generally. Many of their mar- riages have affiliated them with other of the most prominent families in Connecti- cut and other parts of New England. A son of the founder, Hezekiah Usher, Jr., was married to a daughter of Dr. Leon- ard Hoar, then president of Harvard Col- lege, and their son, a third Hezekiah Usher, was married to Abigail Cleveland, a daughter of Aaron Cleveland, the latter an ancestor in the direct line of the late Grover Cleveland, President of the United States. Ever since that time the name of Cleveland has been quite a family name with the Ushers.
The grandfather of the present Mr. Usher was Dr. Robert Usher, born Janu- ary 31, 1742, a son of Hezekiah and Abi- gail (Cleveland) Usher, of Chatham, Con- necticut. It was in this town that Robert Usher was born and reared during his childhood, but he later moved away and made his home in Colchester, Connecti- cut, where he resided during all the latter portion of his life. He was a physician of note and practiced in Colchester for many years. He was appointed surgeon and physician for the First Connecticut Regi-
ment, January 30, 1776, when that body was mustered by Colonel Wadsworth for service in the Revolution. He was sent with his regiment to Cambridge and there joined the army of General Washington under whom he saw much active service. His first wife was Susannah Gates, daugh- ter of Jonathan Gates; she died in 1777, and he was married, January 25, 1779, to Anna Cone. This lady survived him many years, attaining the great age of ninety- four years, so that Mr. Usher remembers her and recalls her telling of personal ex- periences in the Revolution, describing scenes and recounting stirring episodes. Robert Usher was the father of sixteen children, the youngest of which, Josiah Cleveland Usher, being the father of the Mr. Usher of this sketch. He was the son of Dr. Robert and Anna (Cone) Usher, and was born at Westchester Par- ish, August 24, 1802. He married Ruth Frisbie, of Burlington, Connecticut, a daughter of Zebulon Frisbie. Three chil- dren were born to them : James, born July II, 1831, died February 20, 1837; Ruth Ann, born August 19, 1834, and became the wife of Francis H. Smith, of New Britain. April 25. 1855 ; and Robert Cleve- land. of whom further.
Robert Cleveland Usher was born April 19, 1841, at Plymouth. Connecticut, and lived there until four years of age, when the family moved to Plainville, Connecti- cut. There he received his education, and would probably have entered business there also had it not been for the outbreak of the Civil War. In common with his fellows, Mr. Usher felt the great wave of patriotism which swept the country at that time and the enthusiasm to do some- thing for the cause of the Union. This he put into practice by enlisting in the Twen- tieth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, in 1862. From that onward to the end of the great conflict he saw much
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Jer G. Jungley
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active service and took part in many of the greatest engagements. He was at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and then took part in the later western campaigns, at first under General Williams, of the Twelfth Corps, and was finally with Gen- eral Sherman, of the Twentieth Corps, on his march through Georgia to the sea. At the close of the war he received his honorable discharge and returned to the North, where he soon became connected with the worsted business. In the year 1845 he came to Plainville, Connecticut, which has ever since that time been his home. In 1875 he became a partner of E. N. Pierce in the lumber and coal busi- ness and remained as such until 1900. In 1891 he entered the employ of the Plain- ville Manufacturing Company, where he proved himself of great value to the con- cern and was rapidly promoted in rank. In 1891 he became the superintendent and assistant secretary and treasurer of one of the great knitting mills, and held these positions until 1904, when the mills were sold to the Bristol Manufacturing Com- pany.
But it was rather in connection with his political career than his business that Mr. Usher was prominently known. He is a member of the Republican party and has always taken a prominent part in the deliberations of its local organization, be- ing recognized as one of the leaders in the county. He is now, and has been town clerk, since the organization of the town in 1869 (excepting the time when in the knitting mill), serving thirty-five years. He became that party's candidate in 1885 to the Legislature, and was reelected to that office in 1905. Mr. Usher has always been a prominent figure in the social world of Plainville and is affiliated with a number of the most prominent fraternal orders as well as several other organiza- tions, among which should be mentioned
the Plainville Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Usher has always kept up the old associations formed by him dur- ing the terrible campaigning of the Civil War, and as the most effective way of do- ing this he is a member of Newton S. Man- ross Post, No. 57, Department of Connec- ticut, Grand Army of the Republic, with its headquarters at Forestville. Mr. Usher is a Congregationalist in his religious be- lief, and has for many years been iden- tified with the church of that denomina- tion in Plainville. Very active in the work of the congregation, he has given much of his time and energy to the so- ciety and has served at various times as its treasurer and a member of the board of trustees.
It was on June 15, 1870, that Mr. Usher was united in marriage to Antoinette Cora Pierce, daughter of Edward N. and Henrietta Pierce, old and highly respected residents of that place. To Mr. and Mrs. Usher there have been born six children as follows: Jessie Henrietta, born Sep- tember 3, 1872, and is now the wife of Charles R. Clark, of Plainville; Maud Pierce, born January 26, 1874, and is now the wife of John H. Trumbull, of Plain- ville; James Edward, born December 16, 1875; Frank Pierce, born April 21, 1878, married Clara L. Oakes, of Hartford ; Robert Cleveland, Jr., born March 16, 1880, married Ethel Eleanor Humphrey, of New Britain; Howard Josiah, born September 23, 1881, married Ruby Louise Cooke, of Plainville.
QUIGLEY, George A., Insurance, City Official.
Among the self-made men of the State, Mayor Quigley has been instrumental in promoting the prosperity of his native city and in making it a desirable home for all classes, rich and poor alike. He was
Conn -- 4-11
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born October 9, 1880, and is the young- est man ever elected to the chief magis- tracy of the city. His father, Thomas J. Quigley, was born in Winsted, Connec- ticut, of Irish parentage, and his mother, Caroline L. (Partridge) Quigley, is a native of Sheffield, England. In him are united the warm, impulsive nature of the Irish people and the staid, substantial character of the Anglo-Saxon race.
As a boy he sold newspapers in the streets of his city, contributing to his own support at ten years of age. At an early age he began to take serious views of life and its responsibilities, and he inade the best use of his opportunities, pursuing his studies in the public schools until thirteen years of age, when he found employment in a factory. When only eighteen years old he began doing busi- ness on his own account, and has built up an extensive real estate and insur- ance business. This is not the result of chance or fortuitous circumstances, but the certain reward of energetic and capa- ble attention to business through every working day of the year, and a careful study of the public wants. His methods naturally led to his selection for public service, and he was elected a member of the Common Council from the Fourth Ward when only twenty-three years old, the youngest man ever chosen for that position. In 1912 he was elected alder- man from the Second Ward, where he then resided. His earnest and fearless efforts for the advancement of the public interest while in these bodies made him a leader and brought him many friends. Doubtless, he created some enemies also, for no man can accomplish much without incurring the opposition or ill will of some one. Mr. Quigley, however, pursued his way and was instrumental in secur- ing lower water rates for the small con- sumer, the enforcement of the fire escape
law, better building laws and otherwise labored continuously for the interest of the general public, thus securing the good will of a large number of the electorate. He has always been an earnest Repub- lican, but there was no partisanship in his determination to advance the inter- ests of the city and its people. In the caucus and election of 1914, he met little opposition, and was elected mayor by the largest majority ever given a candidate for that office, and in 1916 was elected for a second term by a still larger majority. His previous business experience and his unquenchable public spirit qualified him to be the head of a rapidly growing municipality, and his duties as mayor have been faithfully and judiciously car- ried out, to the lasting benefit of the com- munity. Mayor Quigley has a fine pres- ence and strong personality, is a forcible public speaker, and his clean, though aggressive, campaigns in the elections set an example worthy of emulation in the future.
Mr. Quigley married, June 1, 1907, Edith Louise Wood, of Suffield, Connec- ticut, and they are the parents of a son and daughter.
HOWARD, Major James Leland, Secretary of the Travelers' Insurance Com- pany, Hartford.
Major James Leland Howard, son of Frank Leonard Howard, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, March 21, 1878. His grandfather, Rev. Leland Howard, removed from Brooklyn, New York, to Rutland, Vermont, when his father was an infant.
Frank Leonard Howard attended the public schools of Rutland, Vermont, and the Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield. Connecticut. He engaged in the harness and saddlery business in Spring-
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field, Massachusetts, in partnership with an elder brother, James L. Howard, under the firm name of Howard Brothers, and in 1869 the business was moved to Hart- ford, Connecticut. It was afterward in- corporated as James L. Howard & Com- pany, and as such has continued to the present time, manufacturing railroad car supplies and furnishings. Frank L. How- ard was the first president of the Cape- well Horse Nail Company. He was for many years a member of the Park Con- gregational Church of Hartford, and for twenty-five years was chairman of the society. In politics he was a Republican, and he served the city of Hartford in the Board of Aldermen and as park com- missioner for a number of years. He mar- ried, May 19, 1864, Julia L. Cutler, who was born at Dorchester, Massachusetts, October 25, 1843, daughter of Eben and Julia A. (Leath) Cutler (see Cutler VII). Children : Julia, born June 23, 1866, mar- ried C. H. Wiley, of Hartford; Leland, born June 28, 1868, died July 28, 1890; Frank Edgar; James Leland, mentioned below ; Helen E., born February 28, 1882, died November 9, 1906, married Alvan W. Hyde.
Major James Leland Howard attended the public schools, and was graduated from the Hartford High School in 1895. He entered Yale University and was graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School in the class of 1898 with the de- gree of Bachelor of Philosophy. He en- listed immediately afterward in the Yale Battery (Battery A, First Connecticut Volunteer Artillery, Spanish-American War), but his regiment was not called into active service. Afterward, in 1903, he was appointed commissary of the First Connecticut Regiment, National Guard, with the rank of first lieutenant ; subse- quently commissioned captain and adju- tant in 1904, retiring in 1906. In March,
IQII, he was commissioned captain of Troop B, Connecticut Cavalry, National Guard, and was promoted to major in October, 1915, and transferred to the re- serve. He was ordered into the federal service for Mexican border service, Au- gust 28, 1916, and served as adjutant of the Third Brigade, Sixteenth Division, at Nogales. In October, 1916, he was trans- ferred to Fort Sam Houston as adjutant of the First Brigade, Twelfth Division, and remained there until he was mus- tered out, November 18, 1916.
Major Howard's business career began in the company of which he is now sec- retary, in December, 1898, as clerk in the actuarial department. He won promo- tion rapidly. In 1903 he was appointed assistant secretary of the life department of The Travelers Insurance Company, and in 1911 assistant secretary of the company. Since January 24, 1912, he has been the secretary. He is a member of the Delta Psi fraternity of Yale Univer- sity ; of the Hartford Club ; the Hartford Golf Club; the Country Club of Farm- ington; the Graduates' Club of New Haven ; the Yale Club of New York; the Thames Club of New London, and other social and business organizations.
He married, April 30, 1913, Mabel H. Hume, daughter of Frank Hume, of Washington, D. C.
(The Cutler Line).
(I) James Cutler, the immigrant an- cestor, was born in England, and is be- lieved to have hailed from Sprowston, a village near Norwich. He settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1634, and was one of the original grantees in what is now Belmont. In 1649 he added to already large holdings of land by pur- chase of two hundred acres at Cambridge Farms, near Waltham, and in the same year settled in what is now Lexington on
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Wood street, not far from Bedford. He built the first house in Lexington, and was one of the petitioners for the incor- poration. He contributed the fund to erect the first meeting house. His wife Anna, who came with her sister unat- tended by other relatives, to escape perse- cution in England, died September 30, 1644. He married (second) March 9, 1645, Mary King, widow of Thomas King, and she died nine years later. He married (third) Phebe Page, daughter of John Page. James Cutler died May 17, 1694. His will was dated November 24, 1684, and proved August 20, 1694. Chil- dren by wife Anna: James, mentioned below; Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary. By wife Mary : Elizabeth, Thomas and Sarah. By wife Phebe: Joanna, John, ancestor of the famous Rev. Manasseh, founder of Ohio; Samuel, Jemima and Phebe.
(II) James (2) Cutler, son of James (1) Cutler, was born in Lexington, Sep- tember 9, 1635, and died there July 31, 1681. He lived in Lexington near the Concord line; was a soldier in King Philip's war. His will was dated July 28, 1681, proved October 8, 1685, his widow Lydia and son Benjamin, execu- tors. He married Lydia Wright, daugh- ter of John Moore, of Sudbury, and widow of Samuel Wright. She died No- vember 23, 1723. Children : James, born May 12, 1666; Samuel, May 2, 1672; Joseph, twin of Samuel; John, April 14, 1675; Thomas, mentioned below; Eliza- beth, March 14, 1681; Isaac, 1684; and perhaps others.
(III) Lieutenant Thomas Cutler, son of James (2) Cutler, was born in Lexing- ton, December 2, 1677, and died at War- ren, Massachusetts, December 23, 1759. He was a constable in 1719; selectman, 1729-31-33-34. He joined the Lexington church, June 6, 1703, and was dismissed to Warren, then Western, March 17,
1752. He owned land in Lancaster and Narragansett No. 2, granted for the serv- ice of his father in King Philip's War. His will was dated September 15, 1759, and among his personal property was a negro slave. He married (first) Sarah Stone, daughter of Samuel and Dorcas (Jones) Stone. She died January 10, 1750, aged sixty-nine years. He married (second) April 10, 1750, Lydia Symonds, and both were dismissed to the Warren church, May 17, 1752. Children by first wife, born at Lexington: Abigail, born June 2, 1703; David, August 28, 1705; Amity, December 19, 1707 ; Sarah, Janu- ary 19, 1710; Mary, November 8, 1714; Hannah, May 13, 1717; Thomas, Jr., men- tioned below ; Millicent, July 29, 1722.
(IV) Deacon Thomas (2) Cutler, son of Thomas (1) Cutler, was born at Lex- ington, September 30, 1719, and died of smallpox, November 28, 1760, at Warren. He was a farmer. He married Sarah (Reade) Fiske, daughter of Samuel Reade, of Burlington, born October 8, 1724, and both joined the Lexington church, December 6, 1741, and were dis- missed to Western, May 17, 1752. She married (third) Elisha Allis, of Hatfield, and died March 25, 1807, aged eighty- two years. Children by first wife : Amos, born September 28, 1742, at Lexington ; Sarah, April 30, 1747; Ebenezer, men- tioned below; Bethia, July 19, 1750; Thomas, November 11, 1752; Anna, Sep- tember 2, 1755 ; Oliver, October 21, 1759. (V) Lieutenant Ebenezer Cutler, son of Deacon Thomas (2) Cutler, was born April 30, 1747, at Lexington, and was a small boy when the family went to War- ren. He inherited the homestead and followed farming. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, holding the rank of lieutenant. He married (first) April 7, 1768. Abigail Stone, who died May II, 1790, aged forty-one years; married
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(second) Cynthia S. Bonney, of Bridge- water, who died December 18, 1821, aged fifty-five years. He died October 29, 1814. Children, born in Warren: Han- nah, born August 1, 1769; Amos, January 17, 1771; James, mentioned below; Abi- gail, October 31, 1778.
(VI) James (3) Cutler, son of Lieuten- ant Ebenezer Cutler, was born in War- ren, November 5, 1774, and inherited part of the old homestead, on which he re- sided. He married, December 8, 1803, Betsey Rich, daughter of Captain Cyrus Rich. She was a woman of rare Chris- tian grace and dignity. He was an active citizen, member of the Congregational church. He died August 13, 1843; she died March 8, 1862, aged eighty-eight years, two months. Children, born in Western : Alonzo, born October 16, 1804; Thomas Fiske. August 18, 1806; Amos, August 6, 1808; James Marshall, Septem- ber 5, 1810; Abigail Maria, February 17, 1813; Eben, mentioned below.
(VII) Eben Cutler, son of James (3) Cutler, was born at Warren, April 26, 1816. He served as councilman of Bos- ton, in the Board of Aldermen and in both branches of the State Legislature. He was a very successful merchant in Boston. His home was at No. 95 Boyls- ton street, Boston. He married (first) November 26, 1840, Julia A. Leath, of Watertown, who died October 30, 1849, aged twenty-nine years. He married (second) November 4, 1851, Carrie E. Holman, of Newton, who died November 7, 1873, aged thirty-nine years. He mar- ried (third) July 8, 1875, Sarah E. Burr, of Colchester, Connecticut. Children by first wife: Julia L., born October 25, 1843, at Dorchester; married, May 19, 1864, Frank L. Howard, of Hartford and Springfield (see Howard). 2. Francis Leath, born January 23, 1846, died Sep- tember 16, 1846. By second wife : 3.
Ralph William, born February 21, 1853, at Newton. 4. Carrie Clark, born Sep- tember 19, 1861, at Newton.
JACKSON, Charles Warren, M. D., Proprietor of Successful Health Resort.
One of the greatest, if not the greatest advance that has been made in the science and practice of medicine in our modern epoch, is that of the general recognition of what may perhaps best be expressed as the therapeutic value of normal condi- tions. More and more have our wisest physicians, the leaders of their profession, come to realize that although acute cases often require extreme remedies, the vast majority of human ailments yield to nothing so readily and so finally as to the healing powers of nature itself. How strikingly true is the fact that if the patient can be placed under normal con- ditions where these natural healing agen- cies can operate fully, he will in almost every case recover, and this is shown by the recent discoveries in connection with the healing power of nothing more com- plex than a solution of salt in water for even severe wounds, and the treatment of tubercular children with an agency as simple as sunlight in the high altitudes of the Alps. Indeed, it may be said that it is those physicians who have the clearest appreciation of this broad truth that are to be regarded as the pioneers and proph- ets in the science of medicine to-day. It is in line with this idea that the work of Dr. Charles Warren Jackson, of Water- town, Connecticut, has been carried on during the entire length of his career, but more especially for the past thirteen or fourteen years, it being for about that period that he has been able to put his theories to the test of actual experience on a large scale through his proprietor- ship of the well-known health resort "On- the-Hill" at Watertown.
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Charles Warren Jackson was born Oc- tober 29, 1864, in New York City, and there lived for the major part of his life. He is the son of Ebenezer C. and Mary Frances (Sillcocks) Jackson. His educa- tion was a fine one, the first part of it being gained in the excellent public schools of the city, where he showed him- self an apt student, and capable of close application and hard work. He did not however push his studies any further at that time, but upon graduating from these institutions entered the wholesale drug business, an occupation that he followed for some two years. He had always been keenly interested in medicine, and had cherished an ambition to study in a medi- cal school and prepare himself to practice it. His mercantile venture having suc- ceeded admirably, he decided to carry out his intention, and accordingly in 1884 he entered the Medical School of the New York University, graduating with the class of 1887. During his career in this institution he once more proved his ex- cellent scholarship, distinguished himself in his classes and gaining for himself a splendid grounding in the theoretical basis of the art. He was also a student under the famous heart and lung special- ist, Dr. Alfred L. Loomis, of New York. For the requisite experience Dr. Jackson then went to Bellevue Hospital, where he acted as interne in the surgical depart- ment for the two years between 1887 and 1889. At the end of this time, being pos- sessed of more than the average of knowl- edge and experience, he began his private practice, the location chosen for his first office being No. 120 West Seventy-ninth street, New York City. Thereafter he had a number of different offices situated at various points in the same general region, going from the Seventy-ninth street place, after a two years' occupancy, to No. 168 West Eighty-first street, where
he remained about three years, thence to 130 West Eighty-first street, and eventu- ally to No. I West Eighty-third street, on the corner of Central Park West.
It was in 1902 that he came to Water- town, Connecticut, on account of ill health, having previously the New York office of the "On-the-Hill" institution, and this latter city has since been his headquarters. In 1903 he purchased the property which he has developed into a most successful health resort, known as "On-the-Hill." The success of "On-the- Hill" is twofold, and both of them re- dound to the credit of the brilliant man at its head. It is successful, first of all, in its function of restoring health to those who seek its treatments, the proportion of cures wrought there being exceedingly high ; and it is successful as a business institution, a side just as essential, if it is to continue as an institution at all. The method in operation at "On-the-Hill" is that which most nearly restores its patients to normal conditions, and in- volves rest in the open air, and sunshine, and well regulated and graded exercises, with plenty of opportunity for amuse- ment and quiet social intercourse. The limit to the number of patients it can accommodate is low, only twenty-five in all, so that the greatest personal attention can be given each case. In a descriptive pamphlet issued by Dr. Jackson, the fol- lowing occurs, which gives a clear idea of his aims and methods, though in brief. Says Dr. Jackson :
No small part of ill health, physical and mental, is directly traceable to overtaxation of one's powers. Too great indulgence in social affairs ; too great a burden of business cares; troubles of one kind or another often cause that condition of mind or body, which can be remedied best by a complete change of scene, of atmosphere, of mode of living. To get such change it is not necessary that you go to Europe, or even to some faraway Southern resort. * * Consider yourself con-
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