USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 4 > Part 48
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Roy Timothy Higgins Barnes, invest- ment broker of Hartford, while not him- self a native son, carries in his veins the blood of families distinguished in New England and in Connecticut from early colonial days. His own success in the field of finance and his standing in busi- ness and social circles stamp him as a worthy scion of the early pioneers of free- dom to whom he owes so much. Mr. Barnes was born December 28, 1871, in Moline, Illinois, son of Rev. Henry El- bert Barnes, D. D., and Amelia Eliza (Carpenter) Barnes.
Though diligent efforts have been made to trace in England the origin of the Barnes family to which our subject be- longs, success has not thus far rewarded the searches. Nor has it been shown that there was any relationship between Wil- liam Barnes, the founder of this family, and the heads of any of the other families of this name. The first record of the family that we find is at Easthampton, Long Island, where William Barnes (supposed son of Charles and Mary ) died December 1, 1669. The Christian name
of his wife was Elizabeth, and she died February 28, 1724, "aged near eighty." Several tracts of land were allotted to him at Easthampton, Long Island, July 5, 1653. On April 16, 1706, land was as- signed to him and to some of his brothers. His son, Stephen Barnes, Sr., married Mary Barnes, whose mother was Han- nah Linsley. Stephen was of record as a church member at Branford in 1711, and Mary Barnes in 1712. He had removed to Branford between April 6, 1701, and December 13, 1702. He entered an ear- mark for his cattle at Easthampton, May 26, 1696. His son, Stephen Barnes, Jr., was born January 2, 1705, at Easthamp- ton, Long Island. He removed from Branford to Southington in its early set- tlement, and located in the southwest part of the town, where he died March 27, 1777. He married, January 5, 1726, Mar- tha Wheadon, of Branford, died March 18, 1773, and was the first one buried in Plantsville Cemetery. Their son, Asa Barnes, was born August 24, 1745, kept a tavern in the southwest part of South- ington, and was known as "Landard" (Landlord) Barnes. He was very popu- lar. The officers of the French army made his house their headquarters while camping for a little time on French Hill. He gave a ball in honor of his guests which, at the time, created some excite- ment. He married, October 20, 1765, Phebe, daughter of Luther Adkins, bap- tized September 21, 1746, died April 25, 1826. Luther Adkins was born in 1718,
removed from Southington to Wolcott, where he died August 3, 1788. He mar-
ried, November 14, 1743, Eunice, daugh- ter of Daniel Andrews, of Farmington. Benoni Adkins, father of Luther, was born in 1690, married, August 20, 1715, Esther Hall, of Wallingford. He re- moved to Southington about 1733, and died there April 28, 1756. His father,
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Thomas Adkins, came first to Hartford, was located in East Hartford in 1682, and seems to have died in Middletown, the date, October 23, 1694. Selah Barnes, son of Asa and Phebe (Adkins) Barnes, was born March 4, 1769, lived near the tannery of Higgins & Twichell, in South- ington, and for many years was engaged in preparing and shipping corn meal to the West Indies. He died October 15, 1850. He married for his second wife, Adah, widow of David Clark, who died February 7, 1858. His son, Rev. Henry Elbert Barnes, D. D., was born October 21, 1832, and until the age of sixteen worked on the farm in summers and at- tended school in the winters. During the winter of 1850-51 he attended school at Springfield, Massachusetts, and again in the winter of 1853-54, with the pur- pose of completing a business education. It was about this time that his attention was turned to the ministry. He had united with the church three or four years before. After spending some time at Monson Academy he entered Amherst College in 1856 and at the close of the first term of the freshman year left and was admitted to Yale, where he gradu- ated with high grade in 1860. The same year he entered the Chicago Theological Seminary, but did not finish the pre- scribed course. Following a sense of duty he was ordained a minister of the Congregational church in May, 1862, and accepted the chaplaincy of the Seventy- second Illinois Regiment, continuing in the service for a year. He was connected with the memorable siege of Vicksburg. Resuming his theological studies for a year he was called to Newton. Iowa, in 1864. There he labored until 1868, when he was called to Moline, Illinois, where he remained until the fall of 1874, when he accepted a call to Worcester, Massachu- setts. From there he went to a church
in Boston. Three or four years prior to his death, which occurred in March, 1911 he retired from active work in the minis- try, and during this time resided in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was very active in Grand Army of the Republic work, and was a past commander of the post in Brookline. He married, May I, 1862, Amelia Eliza, daughter of Dr. Nel- son of Eliza S. (Sessions) Carpenter, of Warren, Massachusetts. They had the following children : Harry E., born Janu- ary 24, 1863; Mary L., born January I, 1866; Alice W., born July 3, 1868; Ralph N. C., born September 4, 1870; Roy T. H., born December 28, 1871, mentioned be- low.
Amelia Eliza Carpenter was born July 12, 1832, daughter of Nelson Carpenter, M. D., born January 12, 1801. He mar- ried (first) Eliza Sabin Sessions, Janu- ary 21, 1829. He resided at Willington, Connecticut, and Warren, Massachusetts. Dr. Carpenter's father died when he was four years old, and when he was nine years old he was compelled to contribute towards his own support. He was ambi- tious and persistent, and succeeded in ac- quiring a good education. At the age of twenty-one he entered a medical school, and at the age of twenty-three established himself in the practice of his profession at what is now Warren, Massachusetts. He had a large practice and was noted for his skill. He died August 21, 1872. His father was Joseph Titus Carpenter, born January 2, 1774; married, April 15, 1800, Huldah Davidson, daughter of Peter Davidson, of Brooklyn, Connecticut. Jo- seph T. Carpenter was a farmer and died April 11, 1805, at Ashford, Connecticut. His father was Jonah Carpenter, born 1744, in Sutton, Massachusetts ; married, November 22, 1769, Zeruiah, daughter of Isaac Whitmore, of Killingly or Thomp- son, Connecticut. She died August 29,
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1834, and he January 31, 1805, in Ashford, Connecticut. His father was killed about the time he was born, and he was adopted by a Mr. Whitmore, probably the father of the lady he married. Jonah Carpenter was a minuteman of the Revolution, and went to Dorchester when the British in- vaded Boston. His father, Isaiah Car- penter, was born February 7, 1714; mar- ried, September 12, 1734, Althea, widow of John Titus. She was born May 29, 1714. Isaiah was killed by a falling tree, March 23, 1744. Althea Titus was the daughter of Joseph and Jane Titus, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, the line tracing back through John (4); John (3); John (2), to Robert (1), who with his wife Hannah emigrated from London in the spring of 1635 in the ship "Hopewell." They located in Salem and removed to Rehoboth in 1644. Althea Titus married for her first husband, her second cousin, John Titus, son of - Titus, who was half-brother to her grandfather, Joseph Titus. John Titus (2) was eight years old when he came to America with his parents. He married Abigail, born April 9, 1643, at Weymouth, died February 22, 1687, daughter of Captain William Car- penter. He was born in England in 1605, and came to America in the ship "Bevis." He was admitted freeman of Weymouth, May 13, 1640; represented Weymouth in the General Court of Plymouth in 1641 and 1643, and represented Rehoboth in 1645. He was one of the most prominent men in the colony and the intimate friend of Governor Bradford, who married his cousin. Isaiah Carpenter was the son of Noah Carpenter, who was born March 28, 1672 ; married Sarah, daughter of Mat- thew Johnson. She was born April 4, 1677, and died September 29, 1726. Her grandfather, Edward Johnson, was born at Hernehill, near Canterbury, County Kent, England, and came over with Win-
throp's company in 1630. He was first commissioned lieutenant of "The Mili- tary Company of Middlesex, Massachu- setts," in 1650 he was called captain ; served during Samuel Gorton's rebellion ; in 1643 was elected deputy from Woburn, and held that office for many years, serv- ing through one session as speaker of the house of deputies. Noah Carpenter was proprietors' and town clerk of Attleboro for some years. On November 1, 1734, he, with Caleb Hall, donated the land on which the new meeting house was built. He was a farmer and linen wheelwright. His father was William Carpenter, who was born about 1631 or 1632 in England. He was the son of Captain William Car- penter, above referred to, whose daughter Abigail married John Titus. He married for his second wife, December 10, 1663, Miriam Searles, who died in Rehoboth, May I, 1722, aged ninety-three years. William Carpenter died in Rehoboth, January 26, 1703, aged seventy-two years. With the exception of the year 1693 he served as town clerk of Rehoboth from May 13, 1668, until his death. In 1656 and 1668 he was deputy to the General Court of Plymouth; was elected deacon of the church the same year, and in 1670 was a member of the committee chosen to settle the bounds between the town of Taunton and the north purchase, he being one of the purchasers. It is said of him : "He was a man of superior ability, accu- rate in all of his business transactions, and a reliable counsellor in the colony ; and he was noted for his superior pen- manship, as all his writings show." In England the ancestry of this family has been traced back without a break to John Carpenter, born prior to 1300. He was a member of Parliament in 1323 for the borough of Leskard, in Cornwall. He was in the service of the city from his youth, and was generally known as John
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Carpenter, Town Clerk of London, to which office he was elected April 20, 1317. He was educated for the law ; was a man of attainments superior to many of his contemporaries, of intellectual capacity, and of high moral worth. His office was one of considerable authority, placing him next below the recorder in the local courts of law, called the Hustings and the Mayor's Court, which had extensive juris- diction in civil matters. He was executor of many wills, among them that of the ever famous Sir Richard Whityngton, "thrice Lord Mayor of London." The Carpenter coat-of-arins is as follows: Arms-Argent, a grayhound passant, and chief sable. Crest-A grayhound's head, erased per fesse sable and argent. Motto -Celeritas, virtus, fidelitas.
Roy Timothy Higgins Barnes, son of Rev. Henry Elbert and Amelia Eliza (Carpenter ) Barnes, was sent to Bishop's College, Lennoxville, Canada, for his early education. When he was fifteen years of age he went to Boston to spend his summer vacation. That is about the age when many boys are moved by a strong desire to make their start in the world of business, and young Barnes was one of those lads in whom the desire could not be quenched. Results have shown the wisdom of his parents in per- mitting him to yield to this impulse. His first employment was with the Boston News Bureau, doing such work as falls to an inexperienced youth. He made the most of his opportunities for observation, diligently and intelligently performing such tasks as were assigned to him, and it was not long until he was made one of the reporters of the bureau. That bureau is Boston's headquarters for financial in- formation and news; and during the five years that he was there, Mr. Barnes laid the foundation of his education in finance. In December, 1893, he resigned to enter
the employ of the municipal bond house of Dietz, Denison & Prior. He was with them five years, handling all kinds of mu- nicipal securities, and strengthening and broadening his knowledge of the invest- ment business. In 1898 he removed to Hartford to become a representative of Harvey Fiske & Sons, investment brokers, and after five years with them, he started in business for himself, with H. H. Whaples and W. P. E. Vierning as partners, under the name of Roy T. H. Barnes & Company. The firm handles a general line of investment securities.
Mr. Barnes is a member of Griffin A. Stedman Camp, No. 4, Sons of Veterans ; St. John's Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons: Washington Com- mandery, Knights Templar; Connecticut Consistory ; Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Hart- ford Club, Country Club of Farmington, Hartford Golf Club, Union League Club of New York, Fisher's Island Game Club, and Delta Duck Club of New Orleans. Mr. Barnes is a lover of the great out-of- doors, and whenever possible seeks men- tal relaxation and physical invigoration in such outdoor sports as golf, hunting and fishing. He married Louise, daugh- ter of Dr. B. N. Towle, of Effingham Falls, New Hampshire. They have one daughter, Barbara.
HENRY, Robert Guilliou,
Manufacturer.
Robert Guilliou Henry, president of the Henry & Wright Manufacturing Com- pany, of Hartford, was born in Hamden, Connecticut, December 24, 1851, the fourth child of John Tyler and Amelia (Parker) Henry, grandson of Robert B. and Cynthia (Tyler) Henry, the former named born July 18, 1792, great-grand- son of Robert B. and Sarah (Bellows)
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Henry, the former named born June 6, 1762, great-great-grandson of William and Mary (Harper) Henry, of Charles- town, New Hampshire, and great-great- great-grandson of William Henry, of Topsfield, Massachusetts, formerly of Framinghanı, Massachusetts.
From Hotten's "Lists of Emigrants to America 1600 to 1700," page 85, January, 1635. "These underwritten names are to be transported to the Barmoodes or Somer Islands, imbarqued in the True- love de London." Robert Dennis, Mr., being examined by the minister at Grave- send concerning their conformity to the order and discipline of the Church of England as it now stands, established, and tooke the oath of allegeance, Wil- liam Henry, 18 years." Id., page 425. "Barbados, the Parish of St. Michaels, Burials : 1678 November 26 Anna Henry, ye daughter of Anthony Henry," and from Savage's "Genealogical Dictionary of New England," volume 2, page 403, "Isaac Henry, Medfield, Massachusetts, freeman, 1675."
A review of the Henry family in Amer- ica shows that Robert Henry bought land in Leicester, Massachusetts, of Daniel Denny in 1728. The Henry's it is said were of Scotch-Irish extraction, but it is a paradoxical fact that the Scotch-Irish are very little Scotch and much less Irish. They do not belong mainly to the so- called Celtic Race, but they are the most composite of all the people of the British Isles, Scots because they lived in Scotia, Irish because they moved to Ireland.
Robert Henry sent to Londonderry, Ireland, for Miss Charity Ash Thompson, who was his destined bride, and from a private record of Lieutenant David Henry some facts show that said Robert Henry was a cousin of Patrick Henry, of Vir- ginia. The Henry or Henri family were originally of French extraction, which is
shown from records in the possession of Clifton Tyler Henry, of Hartford, Con- necticut, tracing in Normandy to the fif- teenth century.
William Henry, aforementioned, was a resident of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, from whence he removed to Charlestown, New Hampshire. He married, December 6, 1753, Mary Harper, and among their children was Robert B., of whom further.
Robert B. Henry, son of William and Mary (Harper) Henry, was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, June 6, 1762. He married Sarah Bellows, daugh- ter of Peter and Mary (Chase) Bellows, both prominent Colonial families. Among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Henry was Robert B., of whom further.
Robert B. Henry, son of Robert B. and Sarah (Bellows) Henry, was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, July 18, 1792, and died in Hamden, Connecticut, October 16, 1859. He married, February, 1818, at Claremont, New Hampshire, Cynthia Tyler, born August 29, 1799, daughter of Benjamin Tyler, the inven- tor of the first turbine water wheel, and a descendant of the Virginia Tyler family, from which sprang John Tyler, tenth president of the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler moved from New Haven to Farmington, in 1767, was there at- tacked by Indians, after which they moved to Claremont, New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Henry were the parents of three sons and three daughters: I. Ben- jamin Tyler, born in Woodstock, Ver- mont, 1821 ; was the inventor of the fire- arm known first as the Henry Martini rifle, but after the patent was sold to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, it was renamed the Winchester rifle; one patent is in the patent office at Washing- ton, D. C., and another in Europe; the original rifle invented by Mr. Henry is now owned by his nephew, Robert G.
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Henry, of Hartford ; Mr. Henry was also the maker of the first metallic cartridge produced in the United States. 2. John Tyler, of whom further. 3. Cynthia, born at Woodstock, Vermont, 1825; became the wife of Rene Guilliou, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, forinerly of Paris, France. 4. Mary, born 1827; became the wife of Mr. Bulkley, of New Haven, Connecticut. 5. Sarah, married (first) February II, 1855, Henry G. Gerrish, of Hamden, Con- necticut, married (second) Hiza Harris. 6. Charles, born 1829, died at Ilion, New York, while in the employ of the Rem- ington Arms Company.
John Tyler Henry, second son of Rob- ert B. (2) and Cynthia (Tyler) Henry, was born in Rockingham, Vermont, Feb- ruary 11, 1823, died in Hamden, Connecti- cut, April 21, 1900. During his boyhood his parents removed to Claremont, New Hampshire, and there he attended the public school. He accompanied the fam- ily in their removal to Hamden, Connec- ticut, completed his studies in the schools of Wallingford, and later began business life as clerk in a general store. In course of time he became a general merchant, but the mechanical genius of his grand- father, Robert B. Henry, reappeared in him, and the machine shop was a greater attraction than the store. Finally he in- vented and patented shears for pruning purposes, which proved so valuable a tool to horticulturists and fruit growers that he closed out his mercantile business and thereafter devoted himself to the manu- facture and sale of the shears. His in- ventions included a number of novel arti- cles, the shears, however, being the most important and profitable. Mr. Henry was a Republican in politics, served as jus- tice of the peace, and was a man of ster- ling character, highly regarded.
Mr. Henry married, June 21, 1845, Amelia E. Parker, born September 20,
1826, died February 15, 1858, sixth child of Philo and Roxana W. (Taylor ) Parker, of Wallingford, and a descendant of Wil- liam Parker, of Hartford and Saybrook. Mrs. Henry was the great-great-great- granddaughter of the Right Honorable Thomas Parker, Earl and Baron of Mac- clesfield, Viscount Parker, born October 12, 1723, succeeded his father, March 17, 1769, and married, December 12, 1779, Mary, eldest daughter of Sir William Weathercote, Baronet, of Northampton- shire, by whom he had issue. Philo Parker was born in Hartford, Connecti- cut, April 18, 1798, died June 3, 1874; a merchant tailor; married Roxana W. Taylor, born in Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Henry were the parents of two sons and two daughters: 1. John Guilliou, died in infancy, October 7, 1848. 2. Isabelle, baptized March 18, 1849, then aged twenty-one months, fifteen days; she is a resident of New Haven, Connec- ticut, unmarried. 3. Fanny Amelia, bap- tized August 6, 1854, then aged five years; she is a widow, resides in New Haven. 4. Robert Guilliou, of whom fur- ther.
Robert Guilliou Henry, son of John Tyler and Amelia E. (Parker) Henry, was born in Hamden, Connecticut, De- cember 24, 1851. He spent the first six- teen years of his life at home, obtained his education in the public school, and gained his mechanical experience with his father, being well advanced in the ma- chinist's trade when he entered the em- ploy of the Howe Sewing Machine Com- pany at a salary of ninety cents per day. He remained with that company a num- ber of years as a sub-contractor of ma- chine parts, but later went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he perfected his knowledge of the general machinist's trade with E. J. Manville, where he was largely employed on experimental work,
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perfecting new devices and striving for improvement on those already in use. From New Haven he went to the Holmes, Booth & Hayden Company of Water- bury, with whom he remained eighteen months, going thence to the Smith & Griggs Company of Waterbury, with whom he spent three years, engaged in tool making and on experimental work. He then entered the employ of the Amer- ican Pin Company, having charge of their tool department. Leaving Waterbury, he went to Hamden, Connecticut, and re- organized and equipped his father's fac- tory for the manufacture of pruning shears. Later he located in Hartford, where for about eighteen months he was connected with the American Specialty Company. In 1900 he was sent to France, Belgium, England and Germany, to erect machines the company had sold to manufacturers in those countries. In 1901 he was again sent abroad on a simi- lar errand, his mission also including financial settlements, the machines being sold under contract, payment being due only when they were in satisfactory oper- ation.
On his return from his European trip, affairs of the American Specialty Com- pany having reached an unsatisfactory stage, Mr. Henry formed a partnership with Daniel M. Wright, organized a new company, took over the plant and avail- able assets of the old company and con- tinued the business. They incorporated as the Henry & Wright Company, Rob- ert G. Henry, president and general man- ager, and Daniel M. Wright, secretary- treasurer, as at present. The history of the company has been one of success and expansion, the plant now covering 21,500 square feet, and employing one hundred and fifty men in its operation. The plant was at first operated on experimental work and in the making of special tools
and fixtures for varied purposes on order, but in time valuable patents were pur- chased or obtained on their own inven- tions, and for several years the company has been exclusively manufacturers of their own patented drilling machinery. They were the first to build and introduce to the trade a ball-bearing drilling ma- chine, and also introduced the first drill- ing machine, interchangeable in all its parts. Dire misfortune was prophesied by the wiseacres when their machine were first introduced, but these drilling machines, made in over one hundred styles, are now accepted as the standard by a majority of the largest manufac- turers. In Hartford alone about thirty- five plants are using from one to eighteen hundred spindles, replacing an equal num- ber of other makes, it being claimed that the Henry & Wright machine has com- pletely revolutionized this class of work, enabling the operator to get from two hundred to four hundred per cent. greater output with the ball-bearing machine than from one with plain bearings, with- out increase of power. It is also claimed that the machine is the first material im- provement made in sensitive drilling ma- chines in over a quarter of a century. Another device manufactured by the com- pany is the invention of Charles D. Rice by which four speeds can be secured by 2,2 stop pulleys, this device representing a new mechanical idea, for which the United States Patent Office had no classi- fication that covered it. These are but few of the patents manufactured by the company, many of which are their own invention or taken out in their name. The company has representatives in all parts of the country where there are manufacturers using their line of machin- ery.
Mr. Henry married, April 20, 1880, Elizabeth Allen, daughter of Richard
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Allen, of Rockville, Connecticut. They are the parents of a son, Clifton Tyler, born in Westport, Connecticut, May 8, 1881. He was educated in private and public schools of Hamden and Hartford, Connecticut, also Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania. For several years he has been en- gaged in the insurance business, and is now connected with the Phoenix Fire In- surance Company of Hartford. He mar- ried, June 28, 1902, in Philadelphia, Rosa- lie, daughter of Marcy Fletcher and M. Gertrude (Rider) Fontaine, of Princess Anne, Maryland. The Fontaines are one of the oldest Maryland and Virginia fam- ilies ; they were Huguenots and granted land in Maryland and Virginia. The Henrys and Fontaines, or de la Fontaine, as it was spelled in the early days, have intermarried, the first record being in Normandy, France, June 28, 1602.
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