Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5, Part 28

Author:
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 736


USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 28


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earthquake he acted as chairman of a local committee to collect funds for the aid of the stricken city, and from this sprang the local chapter of the American Red Cross, Mr. Watkins being the first president. Mr. Watkins was not asso- ciated with any clubs nor societies other than the Second Advent Church of New Britain, of which he was a trustee. In political principles he was a sound Re- publican. Clarence G. Watkins died Sep- tember 7, 1915, at his home in South Manchester, where he had continued to reside throughout his business career.


He was married in Wapping, Connec- ticut, in 1877, to Jennie E. Thrall, who sur- vives. She is a daughter of Norman and Harriet (Grant) Thrall, one of the old Windsor Grant families from which Pres- ident Ulysses S. Grant was descended. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins were the parents of the following children: Florice A., born March 9, 1879, married S. Culyer Jenkins, of Hampton, Virginia, and is now deceased; C. Elmore, born July 3, 1882; Lura C. (Watkins) Rush, born November 20, 1883; Ralph C., born April II, 1888, died July 30, 1902.


SNEATH, Elias H., Educator, Author.


The Sneath family is one of promi- nence in England, where it is very large and well established. The branch of the English family from which the Ameri- can Sneaths herein dealt with are de- scendants, settled in Ireland during the Revolutionary period, driven there per- haps by the confiscation of lands which was prevalent on all sides, or perhaps by revulsion against the debauchery and degeneration then rife in England. The accession of Charles the Second to the throne initiated a period of unrest and social decadence in England, which


brought with it later the natural upris- ing of the sane and more sober of the populace, and culminated in the stern hatred and enmity of the Royalists and Roundheads, as the supporters of Crom- well were derisively called. It is a mat- ter of record that the members of the Sneath family supported Cromwell in his effort to restore order and peace in England, for one William Sneath, of Bos- ton, England, is said to have given his sympathy entirely to the Roundhead par- liament and government. It was most probably during this period that the founder of the Sneath family in Ireland left England. From him was descended Richard Sneath, emigrant ancestor of the family in America.


(I) Richard Sneath, a native of Lon- donderry, Ireland, born September 2, 1751, came to America in 1774. He set- tled in Chester, Delaware county, Penn- sylvania, where his death occurred Octo- ber 24, 1824. He married, and among his children was William, of whom fur- ther.


(II) William Sneath, son of Richard Sneath, was born in Chester, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. He married a Miss Lingerfelter, a member of a Penn- sylvania family, and among their chil- dren was Robert, of whom further.


(III) Robert Sneath, son of William Sneath, was born in Chester, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and during his active career devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. He married Mary Todd, a resident of York county, Penn- sylvania, and among their children was Jacob, of whom further.


(IV) Jacob Sneath, son of Robert and Mary (Todd) Sneath, was born in Mount- ville, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. A man of prominence in the life of the community, he was interested in poli- tics and civic betterment, and was also


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a business man with large interests. He married Elizabeth Witmer, born August 19, 1833, a lineal descendant of Peter Witiner, and in the maternal line a direct descendant of Hans Hier, the founder of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Among their children was Elias Hershey, of whom further.


(V) Professor Elias Hershey Sneath, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Witmer) Sneath, was born in Mountville, Lancas- ter county, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1857. He received his early education in the elementary schools of Mountville, and later, in preparation for college, attended Wyoming Seminary at Kings- ton, Pennsylvania. Upon his graduation from that institution he became a student in Lebanon Valley College, Pennsyl- vania, from which he was graduated in 1881 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He next entered Yale Divinity School, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Di- vinity in 1884. The academic year of 1884 to 1885 he devoted to graduate work in theology and philosophy at Yale. He had already studied extensively in the field of philosophy, and, upon completing his studies in the Divinity School, he was appointed Instructor in Philosophy in Wesleyan University, Middletown, Con- necticut (1885-1888). For the following two years he taught Psychology and Ethics in Miss Porter's School at Farm- ington, Connecticut. During the years spent at Wesleyan and Miss Porter's school, Professor Sneath pursued studies in philosophy in the Graduate School of Yale University, receiving the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1890. In 1889 he became a member of the faculty of Yale, as Lecturer in Philosophy in the Graduate School. In 1891 he was ap- pointed Instructor in Philosophy at the same institution. In 1893 he was elected


Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and in 1898 became Professor of Philosophy at Yale.


Professor Sneath's writings on philo- sophic subjects show a wide field of research and unusual literary ability. His works are: "Modern Philosophers Series," 8 vols .; "Ethical Series," 3 vols .; "The Ethics of Hobbes;" "The Philoso- phy of Reid;" "Philosophy and Petry ;" "The Mind of Tennyson ;" "Wordsworth, Poet of Nature and Poet of Man;" and he is co-editor of a series of books for the purpose of teaching morals through the medium of history, literature and biography, and of similar series designed for the teaching of religion, a unique effort in these fields of educational liter- ature. He is also co-author of two teachers' manuals in moral and religious education. Professor Sneath was Pro- fessor of the Theory and Practice of Edu- cation in Yale College in 1904-06, and director of the Summer School of Arts and Sciences during the same period of time. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence, the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Association, the National Religious Edu- cational Association, the New Haven Historical Society, and the American Theological Association.


Professor Sneath married, June 19, 1890, Anna Sheldon Camp, daughter of John and Sarah Gould (Williams) Camp, of Middletown, Connecticut, and a de- scendant on the paternal side of Nicholas Camp, one of the founders of Milford, Connecticut, and on the maternal side of Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Stocking, original settlers of Middletown, Connec- ticut. The children of Professor Sneath and Mrs. Sneath are: Herbert Camp, Katherine Williams, and Richard Shel- don.


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OUTERSON, Andrew Mansergh, M. D., Physician.


Andrew Mansergh Outerson, M. D., of Hartford, graduate in medicine of the Jefferson Medical College of Philadel- phia, highly regarded physician and sur- geon of Hartford and gynecologist at St. Francis' Hospital, was born in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, June 16, 1876, the son of Andrew and Mary (Lawlor) Out- erson.


For three generations the Outerson family has been resident in America. It is of Danish origin, and the family were papermakers for generations. A branch of the family appears to have crossed to Scotland, for Scottish records show that Andrew (?) Outerson, grandfather of Dr. Outerson, was born in that country, and that he there learned the papermaking trade. Eventually he came to America, and in this country also followed the trade of papermaking. His wife was Sarah Mansergh, but the place of their marriage does not appear; it was apparently in Scotland, or in Ireland, where their son, Andrew, father of Dr. Outerson, was born.


Andrew Outerson, son of Andrew and Sarah (Mansergh) Outerson, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1834, and came with his parents some years later to America, the family settling in South Carolina, where Andrew attended school. But at some time prior to the commencement of the Civil War, the Outerson family came North, and both father and son found work in the paper mills of Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Andrew, the son, eventually became general superintendent of the old Seymour Paper Mill in Wind- sor Locks. He was a man of much inge- nuity, and early recognized that educa- tion should not cease after having reached the point of present requirement. Thus,


while at practical work in the paper mills, he also studied the scientific phase of papermaking, and was not content until he had become master of every detail connected with the manufacture. Also, it is said, he was especially skillful in coloring papers; at a time when the only illuminant was the unsteady and dim light from kerosene lamps, Andrew Outerson was reputed to have had so thorough a knowledge of color, the result of minute study under all conditions, that he could match colors even under that light. He also was the inventor of a filter, widely used in paper mills, and even now in use in some of the biggest breweries in the country.


Mr. Outerson married Mary, daughter of Timothy Lawlor, of Queenstown, and to the union came eventually eight chil- dren : Sarah, who married John J. Burke, of Windsor Locks; Mary; John W., of Philadelphia; James D., town treasurer and town clerk of Windsor Locks; An- drew M., of whom further ; Richard A., of Windsor Locks; Daniel L., of Wind- sor Locks; and Katarina. Mr. Outerson died in 1907, aged seventy-three years.


Dr. Andrew Mansergh Outerson, fifth child of Andrew and Mary (Lawlor) Out- erson, was given a good preliminary edu- cation in the public schools, and later attended the Connecticut Literary Insti- tute of Suffield, but as a younger son of a large and not overly-wealthy family, it may be said that the medical education obtained by Dr. Outerson was mainly attributable to his own energy, initiative and determination. He was enabled eventually to attend the Jefferson Medi- cal College of Philadelphia, at which he assiduously applied himself to the study of the science, diligently following the lectures, and intelligently observing the clinical demonstrations. He was conse- quently well able to meet the graduation


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requirements, and in good place in the class of 1906, was granted the medical degree. He then, by competitive exam- ination, obtained appointment to the house staff of St. Francis' Hospital, Hart- ford, where an interneship of fifteen months furnished him with extensive practical knowledge of his profession. He had undertaken special research in the gynecological branch of surgery, and to further the study he, after having com- pleted his interneship, took a special graduate, or post-graduate, course in sur- gery in Harvard Medical School. In 1908 Dr. Outerson opened an office for gen- eral practice in Hartford, and in 1909 was appointed assistant surgeon of St. Fran- cis' Hospital, where two years ago his knowledge of gynecology brought him the staff appointment as gynecologist. Dr. Outerson does not enter into public, municipal, or State affairs; he, like most men of professional achievement, places his profession before all else, and at pres- ent it occupies almost all of his time. He is a member of the Board of Police Sur- geons, and holds membership in the City, State and County societies, and also in the American Medical Association; and is affiliated with the Alpha Kappa Kappa fraternity.


ARNOLD, Frederick W., Corporation Executive.


A native of Connecticut, and a family for many generations identified with con- sequential affairs within the State, Fred- erick W. Arnold has spent most of his life within it, his industry and public endeavor bringing material advantage to himself and to the city of Hartford, in one phase of its requirements. Frederick W. Arnold, as president and treasurer of the Trout Brook Ice and Feed Company of Hartford, directs a useful public utility, with profit and ability.


Mr. Arnold genealogically connects with Elder William Brewster, of Scroosby Manor, Yorkshire, England, he being tenth in descent. His father, Edwin Hopkins Arnold, was born at East Hamp- ton, Connecticut, November 27, 1830, and married for his second wife Harriet Maitland Wadsworth, mother of Fred- erick W. Arnold. The Wadsworth fam- ily has a prominent place in the annals of the Connecticut colony, and in the early history of the nation. The American pro- genitor was William Wadsworth, who came to America in 1621 ; a distinguished descendant was the poet, Henry Wads- worth Longfellow; and there was Cap- tain Joseph Wadsworth, whose name was famous for hiding the Connecticut char- ter.


William Wadsworth was one of the pioneer settlers of the State; was ap- pointed collector of the Hartford Settle- ment in 1637, and later held other respon- sible offices. Frederick W. Arnold was of the ninth generation of descent from William Wadsworth, the American grand ancestor.


Mr. Arnold was born in Hartford, July 25, 1863. His father in early manhood followed agricultural pursuits, but about 1880 entered commerce, establishing the Trout Brook Ice and Feed Company, Edwin H. Arnold and Son, Proprietors. In course of time, the firm secured cor- porate powers, with Edwin H. Arnold as its president, a capacity he held until his death, when his son, Frederick W., suc- ceeded to his office. He has since con- tinued in the business, and aided its de- velopment from an insignificant begin- ning to a present business of considerable importance. Mr. Edwin H. Arnold died October 13, 1905, in his seventy-fifth year. Mr. Arnold is director and treas- urer of the Hartford Ice Company, the oldest ice company in the city; he also organized the Metropolitan Storage and


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Transfer Company, of which he is presi- dent and treasurer. In 1915 he was unan- imously elected president of the West Hartford Business Men's Association. Mr. Arnold is a member of the Mayflower Society, the Hartford Club, the Farm- ington Country Club, and the Hartford Yacht Club.


On December 18, 1915, Mr. Arnold married Mary Ringler Heppe, daughter of John Conrad and Katherine (Ringler) Heppe, of Los Angeles, California.


WELDON, Thomas Henry, Physician.


Dr. Thomas Henry Weldon, graduate in medicine of the New York University Medical College, and for more than thirty years a well-regarded and successful phy- sician in Manchester, Connecticut, was born in that town on March 19, 1861, the son of Thomas and Mary (Campbell) Weldon, both natives of Ireland, the former born about 1827, and both resi- dents in this country from about 1850 until their deaths, which occurred, re- spectively, in 1909 and 1900. The fam- ilies, Campbell and Weldon, are of good lineage, former generations of both hav- ing been granted coats-of-arms, and former generations of the Weldon family in particular having been possessed of much wealth. But Thomas Weldon at the time of his emigration was poorly cir- cumstanced. In this country he engaged, firstly, in agriculture, later in weaving, and latterly in independent business, as a retail liquor dealer in Manchester, Con- necticut, where he gained an enviable reputation for integrity and honesty.


His son, Thomas Henry Weldon, born in Manchester, in 1861, in due course attended the public schools of that place, and for more advanced academic instruc- tion eventually took the course at Hart-


ford High School, from which he gradu- ated in the class of 1880. He had resolved to qualify for entrance to professional life, and therefore, soon after leaving high school, went to New York City and ma- triculated at one of the leading American medical colleges, that of New York Uni- versity, and in 1883 successfully gradu- ated with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. Before entering general practice, Dr. Weldon determined to undergo exten- sive and exhaustive practical research in the large hospitals of America's chief city, as the clinical material always available in such a thickly populated metropolitan area would in a short while give him a wider knowledge of practical medicine than would be possible by many years of private practice. And he was fortunate in securing staff appointments to two of the largest hospitals of New York City. By competitive examination, he gained a place on the junior medical house staff of Bellevue Hospital, an institution hav- ing accommodation for about 2,000 pati- ents, and invariably filled to fullest ca- pacity. In that hospital, Dr. Weldon served an interneship of eighteen months, then going to an even greater establish- ment, the almshouse and workhouse of the City of New York on Blackwell's Island. He remained a member of the resident medical staff of the hospital of those city institutions for one year, at the end of which time he was undoubtedly well capable, in theoretical and practical knowledge of medicine, of undertaking the responsibilities of a general practition- er. He decided to open a medical office in his native town, which he did in 1885, and since then has been continuously engaged in general practice in Manches- ter. Thus Dr. Weldon has served the people of the community and vicinity for more than thirty years, during which practice much credit has come to him.


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Like most men of professional life, at least of the medical branch of professional life, Dr. Weldon has held aloof from active participation in political work. As an interested townsman, he consented to sit as selectman of Manchester during the years 1903-04, but with that excep- tion he has not taken public nor political office, preferring to devote all his efforts to his profession.


His affiliation with organizations bear- ing on medical science and research include membership in the following : American Medical Association, the Med- ical Society of the State of Connecticut, and the Manchester Medical Society. Fraternally, Dr. Weldon has been an Odd Fellow, a Mason (blue lodge), and mem- ber of the orders of Foresters, Maccabees and Hibernians. Socially, he belongs to the Manchester City Club, and religi- ously, he and his family are members of the St. James Roman Catholic Church, Manchester.


Dr. Weldon is of retiring disposition, modest, and liberal in contributions to causes he has satisfied himself to be worthy; and he has done much for the poor of Manchester, both in his profes- sional capacity, without heed or sugges- tion of remuneration, and in other chan- nels of charity. Latterly, advancing years have caused him to become less active in general practice than he form- ally was.


On December 30, 1892, in St. James Roman Catholic Church, Manchester, Dr. Weldon was married to Annie Jessie Dickinson Carter, daughter of Henry and Betty (Ratcliff) Carter. Their children are: Thomas Carter, born October 1, 1897; Elizabeth Lucile, born September I, 1898; Annie May, born August, 1899; Edith Arline and Ethel Lorraine, twins, born December 22, 1900; Mary, born May 18, 1903; and Margaret. born May


22, 1905. Also of the Weldon household are Harriet and Dora Foss, adopted daughters.


GOODRICH, Charles Clinton, Active Man of Affairs.


As industries multiply, the need for capable administrators grows in propor- tion-as new forces are discovered, so are openings for men who can apply them-as commerce extends its scope, the field for executives broadens-as science provides substance, a correspond- ing provision for their utilization is neces- sary-as railroads push into virgin terri- tories and trolley lines nose into isolated districts, the demand for business and professional pioneers increases-as in- ventive imagination pours its dreams into foundry moulds, the prospects of another group of men are recast.


To inspect as one would any work of genius the career of a man who has been one of the leaders of a State in his own line of industry is to inspect the mould which has been made by the day to day toil, mental and manual, of a great worker ; and it is to gain inspiration and incentive for the creation of such another. The career of Charles Clinton Goodrich, vice-president and general inanager of the Hartford and New York Transportation Company, has been identified with the great business and transportation inter- ests of the State of Connecticut for forty- five years.


The Goodrich family, of which Mr. Goodrich is a member, is one of the old- est in Connecticut. and the tribe or fam- ily existed in Great Britain at a very early period of English history. The name is obviously of Saxon origin, hav- ing been spelled Godric in the beginning. which spelling was gradually varied as time altered the language to Godricus,


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Godryke, Goodryke, Guthrich, Gultiridge, to Goodridge. During all these changes the significance of the root of the name has not been changed, nor has the suffix, and we find the name meaning as it did originally "Rich in God," or "Rich in Goodness," derived from God, meaning good, and the suffix ric, rick or rich, meaning rich. We find it stated in In- gulph's "History of the Abbey of Croy- land" that Father Godric was elected Abbot in the year 870. One of the earli- est evidences of the establishment of the family is the famous old Goodrich Castle on the eastern bank of Wye in Hertford- shire. This antedates the battle of Hast- ings. Beacuse of its loyalty to the King it was dismantled and destroyed by the Roundheads in the spring of 1647. Its ruins, still standing on a commanding eminence, show it to have been a typical medieval fortified castle such as was built by the Saxons and later improved and added to by the Normans. It is to-day one of the most picturesque and most interesting remains among the many that are to be found in that part of Eng- land. The Domesday Book shows that the landholders among the Goodrich fam- ily were then numerous and prominent. The English ancestors of the progenitor of the Goodrich family in America are not definitely known.


William Goodrich, the founder of the Connecticut family, was born in what is now Hessett, Bury St. Edmunds, County Suffolk, England. He most probably came to America with his brother John, settling in Wethersfield, where he mar- ried, on October 4, 1648, Sarah, daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Marvin, of Hartford. On May 5, 1656, he was admit- ted as a freeman, and in 1662 he was deputy to the General Court and also served on the Grand Jury. He was ensign of the train band in 1676, in which year he died.


William (2) Goodrich, son of William (I) and Sarah (Marvin) Goodrich, was born February 8, 1661, and lived in Weth- ersfield. He was twice married, marry- ing for his first wife Grace, daughter of John and Grace Riley, on November 22, 1680. She died October 23, 1712.


Lieutenant Joseph Goodrich, son of William (2) and Grace (Riley) Good- rich, was born February 29, 1691, and died January 31, 1768. He resided in Wethersfield, and on December 23, 1714, married Mehitable, daughter of Nathan- iel Goodwin.


Nathaniel Goodrich, son of Lieutenant Joseph and Mehitable (Goodwin) Good- rich, was born July 15. 1717, and resided in Wethersfield, where, on August 25, 1743. he married Martha Deming.


Isaac Goodrich, son of Nathaniel and Martha (Deming) Goodrich, was born March 23, 1752. He married Elizabeth Raymond, February 15, 1784; she was born in New London, November 25, 1761, and was buried on June 3, 1833, at the age of seventy-two years. Isaac Good- rich died at Waterford, New London, September 27, 1813.


Deacon Joshua Goodrich, son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Raymond) Goodrich, was born at Wethersfield, December 5, 1789. Throughout his life he engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Congre- gational church. He was a substantial citizen, well known, and of upright char- acter, and had the respect and esteem of all those who knew him. Deacon Good- rich married (first) February 14, 1882, Clarissa Francis, who died at the age of thirty-six and was buried December 4, 1834. He married (second) Mary A. Welles, born November 8, 1808, died March 23, 1873. The children of the first marriage were: Joseph, baptized August 31, 1823; Caleb Raymond, bap- tized August 28, 1825, died December 31,


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1825; Joseph Francis, baptized July I, 1827; Pamelia, baptized May 7, 1829; James, baptized June 20, 1831; Mary ; Elizabeth, married James A. Stillman. The children of the second marriage are: Charles Clinton, mentioned below; Nel- lie, married Henry Strong; Frederick W .; Emma; Raymond.


Charles Clinton Goodrich, son of Dea- con Joshua and Mary A. (Welles) Good- rich, was born July 30, 1846, in Wethers- field, Connecticut. After completing his elementary education at the South Gram- mar School, he continued his studies in Williston Seminary, in Easthampton, Mas- sachusetts. Upon finishing his course he immediately entered business for himself as a seed grower, in partnership with his brother, F. W. Goodrich. In this he en- gaged for a short time only. Later, for six years, he conducted a freighting busi- ness in New York. During this period Manuel R. Brazos, who was one of the most prominent men in the shipping bus- iness on this coast, placed Charles C. Goodrich in charge of his freighting interests on Long Island Sound. This continued until the death of Mr. Brazos in Hartford, upon which occasion Mr. Goodrich went to that city to settle his affairs. To take over the Brazos busi- ness a new company was organized, the Hartford and New York Transportation Company, with the following officers : C. C. Goodrich, manager; E. S. Good- rich, president; E. B. Williams, superin- tendent. During the first few years of its organization the company had the mis- fortune to lose several of its boats, thus suffering a severe financial setback. By careful management the losses were re- trieved, and the business gradually placed on a paying basis. In 1896 the twin- screw steamer "Hartford" was built, and put in service, followed two years later by the "Middletown." These vessels




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