USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 30
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The Merwins for ten generations have been connected with the Colony and State of Connecticut. Miles Merwin, the pro- genitor of the Connecticut house of that name, was born in Wales in 1623, became a settler in Milford, Connecticut, in 1645, locating on what became later known as Merwin's Point, and during his life acquiring considerable property. He died in Milford, April 23, 1697, and his grave in the old burial plot of Milford was the only one of the first Wepawang planters marked by a headstone. His will was probated May 12, 1697, and it was found that he had followed the custom then, as now, observed by most leading British families. i. e., he had entailed his estate. This resulted in many generations of his descendants remaining in Milford; in fact, the Merwin family has held almost unbroken residence in that vicinity from the time of the coming of Miles Merwin, in 1645, to the present. One of the an- cestors of George Jared Merwin was David Merwin, who was born on the old homestead at Merwin's Point, October II, 1746, and died in New Milford, April 25, 1826. He was a Revolutionary sol- dier, serving with the New Haven forces
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in 1781, and must have had other services in the Continental army, for he was a pensioner in later life. Thus, and prob- ably by the military services of other males of the fifth Merwin generation, is George Jared Merwin entitled to mem- bership in the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
James J. Merwin, father of George Jared Merwin, was born in Milford, Con- necticut, March 18, 1837, the son of Jared and Sarah G. (Stowe) Merwin, the former a shoemaker in Milford. When seventeen years of age, James J. Merwin, having graduated from the High School of Milford, entered business life in New Haven, there becoming bookkeeper, and eventually head bookkeeper to George W. Goodsell, in whose service he remained for ten years. In 1866, upon the death of his father-in-law, George L. Hodge, owner of paper mills in the vicinity of Windsor, Connecticut, he removed to that place, so that he and his wife's brother, George W. Hodge, who later became Sen- ator, and eventually State treasurer, might form a partnership to continue in operation the paper mills established by the deceased. The partnership continued for three years, then being dissolved by mutual agreement, the interest of James J. Merwin being purchased by the other member of the firm. Mr. Merwin then went to Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he engaged in the paper business, in part- nership with a William A. House, of that place. In 1877 he returned to Rainbow, and entered the insurance business, in time developing an extensive connection. And he also at that time interested him- self actively in undertaking and embalm- ing, which business, then established by him, has been maintained in continuous operation to the present, its affairs of late years coming under the supervision of the son, George Jared Merwin.
James J. Merwin was a prominent worker for the Republican party, and after his return to Windsor he took a keen interest in the public affairs of the vicinity, and was elected to many town offices of honor and responsibility. He served on the grand jury for six years; was notary public for eighteen years; justice of the peace for ten years; and assessor for seven years. Manifestly, he was much respected in the district, for in 1896 he was elected from Windsor to the State Legislature by the largest ma- jority ever up to that time given a candi- date in that district. During his term in the General Assembly, Mr. Merwin was a member of the committee on humane institutions, of which Governor Louns- bury was chairman. On July 25, 1900, Governor Lounsbury appointed Mr. J. J. Merwin one of the trustees of the State Historical Museum and Library, known as the "Old Stone House," at Guilford, Connecticut. He was a sincere Christian, member of the Baptist church of Wind- sor, and for many years a deacon, and superintendent of the Sunday school.
His marriage was in 1865 to Mary A., daughter of George L. and Hannah M. (Pelton) Hodge, of Windsor, the former a well-known and successful paper manu- facturer of that town. Mrs. Mary A. (Hodge) Merwin died January 10, 1918. George L. Hodge was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, January 28, 1815, and his wife in Middlefield, Massachusetts, Novem- ber 28, 1810. When a boy of eight, George L. Hodge came to America with his father, a Baptist minister, who soon thereafter located on Long Island, but later held charges in Connecticut. George L. Hodge was early apprenticed to a papermaker named Melank Hudson, with whom the boy served his indentures, after which he found employment as journeyman with a papermaker in Sau-
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gerties, New York, where he met the lady who later became his wife. After a per- iod he went to Willimantic, Connecticut, and about 1839 removed to Westville, Connecticut, continuing all the time to work at his trade. Eventually he went to Seymour, Connecticut, and there formed partnership with his brother, Wil- liam A. Hodge, also a papermaker. In 1853 he went to Poquonock, Connecticut, there to undertake the general manager- ship of three paper mills, one in Rainbow and two in Poquonock, owned by Wil- liam H. Imlay. Later, his brother, Wil- liam A. Hodge, also came from Seymour, Connecticut, and took charge, under the direction of his brother, of the mill in Rainbow. In course of time the brothers Hodge purchased the Rainbow mill of Mr. Imlay, and prospered, so that soon they were able to purchase another mill, that known as the Stockinet mill, the owner of which was Charles W. Denslow. Subsequently the brothers acquired the wire mill of Mr. Denslow, and with these three mills continued to produce a con- siderable output of high grade paper. George L. Hodge was apparently the principal owner, and in 1865 became sole owner, by purchase of his brother's inter- est, and that of a nephew, W. L. Bidwell, who had latterly been associated with them. In the following year, 1866, he died, and thereafter for some years the mills were maintained in operation by his son, George W. Hodge, and his son- in-law, James J. Merwin, and the Hodge and Merwin families have ever since been connected with the paper manufacture in this section.
To the union of James J. and Mary A. (Hodge) Merwin were born five chil- dren: I. Sadie, who married Charles Strong, who is now connected with the Ætna Insurance Company. 2. George Jared, of whom further. 3. May, unmar-
ried, and remaining with her, now infirm, mother in Windsor. 4. Kitty, who died in infancy. 5. Frances, who married John B. Cone, formerly a teller at the Ætna National Bank.
George Jared Merwin attended the public school of his native town, and subsequently was sent for advanced aca- demic instruction to the Connecticut Lit- erary Institute at Suffield, leaving there to take his place in the paper business in which his father, grandfather, and other relatives had been interested. At that time the mills were conducted by his uncle, George W. Hodge, and the boy, whose heredity inclined him in that direc- tion, resolved to as quickly as possible become possessed of a comprehensive knowledge of all phases of paper making. and particularly of the making of press paper, which at that time was the spe- cialty of the mill. After a mill experience of six years, he took up the study of the commercial end of the paper industry, and having had a satisfactory offer entered the service of the Hartford Paper Company, which company operated mills in Poquonock. In clerical capacity he remained with that company for five and one-half years, leaving to become secre- tary to his uncle, George W. Hodge, who had recently been elected State treasurer. He acted as such during the whole of his uncle's term of two years, after which he became identified with the new business department of the Hartford office of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany. He, however, continued to wish himself back in the business he first entered, and in which his relatives had labored for so long, and he realized his wish within five years after entering the insurance field. He apparently did well during that period, for he was then able to purchase from his uncle, George W. Hodge, the paper plant in which he, as a
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boy, had started to learn the trade of his ancestors. And he did well as an inde- pendent manufacturer. At the outset the fırın name was George J. Merwin & Com- pany, but in 1906 the business had grown so that it then became advisable to seek corporate powers, which were granted, the mills being from that time conducted under the corporate name of the Merwin Paper Company, the main specialty of which is a paper used in textile finishing, and electrical insulation. It must be said of Mr. Merwin that he is a successful paper manufacturer, in fact, a man natur- ally adapted and inclined to that indus- try, and that fact is made clear by the development of the mills under his man- agement. In the Merwin plant he has successfully developed a high grade article of paper specialty which, up to a few years ago, was mainly manufactured abroad, in England and Germany. The firm has practically been alone in the de- velopment, in America, of this grade of paper. Evidently heredity directed Mr. Merwin back into the occupation for which he was best suited. Mr. Merwin has also had to devote some of his time to the undertaking business established by his father in 1877. It is the oldest in the Windsor section, and although Mr. Merwin does not take active part in its management, he is partner of the firm of Merwin & Leek.
Mr. Merwin, since he purchased the paper plant, has taken no prominent part in political affairs, as his time has been primarily devoted to the building up of his branch of the paper industry, but for a number of years he served as a mem- ber of the Republican town committee of Windsor. Religiously he is a Baptist, and was a communicant of the Baptist church of Windsor until its services were discontinued. Fraternally, he is a Ma- son, member of Washington Lodge, No.
70, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Windsor. He is also a member of the Windsor Business Men's Association.
On December 28, 1897, Mr. Merwin married Leliaone Flavia, daughter of Edward F. and Flavia A. Thrall, of Po- quonock. They have one child, Dorothy Flavia, born February 5, 1903. Mr. Mer- win's sisters are members of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution Society, and Mr. Merwin, who has hitherto neg- lected to take that privilege, which is his birthright, has resolved to make applica- tion forthwith for admittance to member- ship in the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
ELA, Elwood Starr,
Writer, Newspaper Editor, Publisher.
Elwood Starr Ela, the founder and pub- lisher of the "Manchester Herald," prom- inent in Connecticut journalistic circles. and for fourteen years secretary and treas- urer of the Connecticut Editorial Associa- tion, was born in Decatur, Illinois, July 2, 1859, but is a descendant of a Colonial New England family. The progenitor in Amer- ica of the Ela family of New England was Daniel Ela, who came from England to settle in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1656, at the age of twenty-four years. His descendants spread throughout the New England States, especially New Hamp- shire and Maine, where some of the fam- ily rose to prominence in State and church affairs, and more than one gave military service during the Revolution.
Elwood Starr Ela, of Manchester, Con- necticut, was the son of Rev. Walter Ela, a well-known divine of the Methodist Episcopal church, who for more than fifty years held pastorates in the South- ern New England Conference. The son was born in Decatur, Illinois, at a time when his father, young then in the min-
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isterial service, was in that territory as a Methodist circuit rider. Soon after his mother's death, young Elwood S. was brought east by his father, who there- after was, during his long and noteworthy church service, in New England charges. The Rev. Walter Ela died in 1915, at Pascoag, Rhode Island.
Elwood Starr Ela was educated at Wil- braham Academy and at Wesleyan Uni- versity. His inclination was literary, and while still in college he began regular newspaper work. At the age of twenty- one he, with another young man, estab- lished the Decatur (Illinois) "Morning Herald." The venture was successful, but the young editor's fondness for New England led him a year later to sell his interest in the Decatur daily and return to Connecticut. At Manchester, Connec- ticut, Mr. Ela founded the "Manchester Herald," the first issue of which appeared in December, 1881. At the outset the paper was a weekly, but in October, 1893, it was made semi-weekly, and in October, 1914, it became a daily. Those who have any knowledge of newspaper work know that the early years of the existence of a journal are years in which the qualities of the publisher are tested to the utmost, and a successful newspaper editor-founder has definitely graduated in some of the finest qualities in man-aggressiveness, persistence, optimism, and intelligent, alert enterprise. Mr. Ela has controlled the editorial policy of his journal from its first issue, and his writings have done much to mould public opinion in the sec- tion of Connecticut in which the "Man- chester Herald" circulates. Mr. Ela also comes to some extent into the business circles of Hartford, being vice-president of the Plimpton Manufacturing Com- pany, of which corporation he has for ten years been a director. And, as might have been expected, Mr. Ela has been
prominently identified with most public movements in his district. He has worked enthusiastically and unceasingly to fur- ther any project that, in his judgment would tend to advance the interests of his adopted town, and his active advo- cacy of progressive measures must have appreciably aided the growth of Man- chester from a town of 6,000 people, as it was when he first entered it, to a thriving, up-to-date community of 20,000 popula- tion. Mr. Ela is an ex-president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce; in 1916 he was elected to the Board of Se- lectmen.
Mr. Ela is associated with many State organizations; professionally he was a member of the Connecticut Editorial As- sociation, in fact he was active in its for- mation, and his professional standing in the State is indicated by his official con- nection with that association-he was its president for two years, and was for four- teen years its secretary and treasurer ; fraternally a Mason, member of Manches- ter Lodge, and an Odd Fellow, connected with King David Lodge; politically a Republican; and socially a member of the Hartford Club and the Transporta- tion Club of New York. In collegiate association he is a member of the board of trustees of Wilbraham Academy, has been a member of its executive board for five years, and belongs to the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Religiously Mr. Ela is connected with the Congregational church of Manchester.
A noteworthy achievement of Mr. Ela was his writing and publication of the work, "The Miracle Workers," a compre- hensive brochure, descriptive of one of the important industries of Connecti- cut, that of silk manufacture. Mr. Ela spent more than a year in the preparation of the volume, which was translated into Italian, German, French and Swedish,
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and placed into permanent record valu- able information regarding the American silk manufacturing industry, and living conditions of silk workers.
One December 21, 1882, Elwood Starr Ela married Jennie, daughter of Maro Spaulding Chapman, a descendant of a New England family which dates back to 1635, in which year Robert Chapman came from Hull, England, to Boston. Children: I. Jeanette, married in 1906, Charles Denison Talcott, of Vernon. 2. Lucy, married, in 1911, Dr. William L. Cramer, of Manchester.
HIGGINS, Joseph Ambrose, M. D., Physician.
Dr. Joseph Ambrose Higgins, a well- regarded resident of South Manchester, and a prominent young Connecticut phy- sician, graduate of the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons of Baltimore, and experienced by staff work at some lead- ing hospitals, was born December 8, 1883, at Westerly, Rhode Island, the son of Michael Joseph and Mary E. (Burke) Hig- gins, the former a native of Ireland, born there in 1852, and eventually a resident of Westerly, Rhode Island, where he en- gaged in an independent mercantile busi- ness. He was evidently a man of good education and business adaptability, for he later became a druggist, continuing in that profession at Westerly, Rhode Island, until his death. Mary E. (Burke) Higgins, the wife of Michael Joseph Hig- gins, was born in Westerly, Rhode Island. She became the mother of nine children : , who became the wife of Charles Mattingly, now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington, D. C .; Margaret A., Rosalie, Charles Leo, Cyril, who is now studying theology at St. Mary's College, Balti- more, Maryland; Edwin, Walter, Made-
line, and Joseph Ambrose, mentioned below.
Dr. Joseph Ambrose Higgins gained primary knowledge in the schools of Westerly. He advanced to the grammar and high schools of that place, and his education thereat completed his pre- medical instruction. Having decided to enter professional life, and selecting the branch of medicine, he proceeded to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, where he matriculated in 1903 and graduated four years later with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. The cur- riculum was rigid, taking both theoretical and practical phases of medical science, the third and fourth years including con- siderable clinical and practical observa- tion, but, so as to be thoroughly profici- ent in practical knowledge of medicine before entering private practice, Dr. Hig- gins sought experience in hospitals. He, by competitive examination, secured ap- pointment to the resident medical staff of the Baltimore City Hospital, where he served a valuable interneship, later get- ting further hospital experience at St. Francis' Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut, in all serving a post-graduate course at these two institutions of two years. In 1910 he opened an office at North Manches- ter, and some time later opened another office in South Manchester, the latter being in the House and Hale Block, which in 1912 became his chief office. He is well thought of in Manchester, and has the confidence of an increasing clientele. He does not enter much into political activities, the best possible execution of his professional responsibilities being his chief concern. He is constantly under- taking research, and indicates by his handling of cases that he follows clearly the development of medical science. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the following orders : Knights of Columbus, Foresters
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William F. Symonds,
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
of America, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Hartford Lodge of Elks, and his med- ical college fraternity, Phi Chi. Religi- ously, he is a member of the Catholic church.
SYMONDS, William Francis, Merchant.
A native son of Connecticut, Mr. Symonds is the scion of an early family of Hartford county, originally established in Massachusetts. The name is found under various spellings in the earliest days of New England. Among the settlers of Plymouth Colony was a Dutchman whose name was spelled Simons, who probably became acquainted with the Puritans in his native land. His descendants are found under various names including Simmons, and are scattered throughout the country. The others were undoubt- edly of English descent, and the name corresponds in meaning to Simon's son. The contraction of this name readily brought it to its present form. Many members of the family herein traced spell the name Simons, Simmonds, and other- wise.
The founder of this family in America was William Symonds, who settled in Woburn, Massachusetts, about 1644, and resided near Dry Brook, where he died June 7, 1672. He married, January 10, 1644, Judith (Phippen) Hayward, widow of James Hayward, who came in the "Planter" in 1635 to America. She died January 3, 1690.
Their fourth son, Lieutenant Benjamin Symonds, was born March 18, 1654, in Woburn, where he died September 21, 1726. His wife, Rebecca, died in April, 1713.
Their third son, Joseph Symonds, born March 1, 1683, was among the early set- tlers of Hartford, Connecticut. He lived
on the east side of the Connecticut river in that part of the town which is now Manchester, and purchased, March 28, 1732, one hundred acres of land from Tim- othy and Abigail Woodbridge. This land was bounded on the north by that of Lieutenant Thomas Olcott, and on three sides by undivided common land, indi- cating that it was on the remote out- skirts of the settlement at that time. He married, March 2, 1709, Abigail Spencer, daughter of Samuel Spencer, and grand- daughter of Thomas Spencer. He owned the covenant at the First Church of Hart- ford, July 10, 1709. The baptisms of four of his children are recorded there, namely: Abigail, Joseph (died young), Mary and Joseph.
Their third son, Samuel Symonds, was baptized at the Second Church in Hart- ford, November 20, 1715. He probably formed other church relationships soon after this. Records of his descendants are found in the East Hartford Church.
His son, Samuel Simmons, was among the proprietors of Hartford in 1754, and received a lot in the distribution of com- mon lands, February 18, of that year. This was lot No. 21, in the second tier of lots south of the Farmington road, west of the Connecticut river, and in- cluded four acres, one rood, and thirty- six rods. This he sold, April 17, 1783, to Isaac Sheldon. He made his home on the East Side, and several of his children were baptized in the East Hartford Church, from 1751 to 1763.
His third son and fourth child was Ashnah Symonds, who was born August 2, and baptized August 14, 1757, in the East Hartford Church, lived in that part of East Hartford which is now Manches- ter, where he died January 20, 1850. He was a soldier of the Revolution, enlisting first in December, 1775, for two months, in Captain Jonathan Wells' company,
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Colonel Gay's Connecticut regiment ; in August of the same year he enlisted for two months under Captain Timothy Cheney, Major Pease's regiment : in 1777, he enlisted for two months under Cap- tain David Johnson; in 1778 for one month in Captain Henry Amid's com- pany, Colonel Worthington's regiment ; in 1779, for two months, and in 1780 for two months in Captain Ozias Bissell's company. This is his own record, as fur- nished in application for a pension, made August 4, 1832, at which time he was liv- ing in Manchester, and his claim was allowed. He enlisted at East Hartford. He married Ruth Slate, and they were the parents of eleven children.
His son, Allen Symonds, was born No- vember 21, 1795, and was a mill-wright, residing at Burnside, Connecticut, where he died December 5, 1877. He married, about 1817-18, Amanda Hancock, who was born February 24, 1800, and died March 26,, 1873, at Burnside.
Their second son, Sylvester Russell Symonds, was born August 16, 1824, in Manchester, and in early life was a sailor. He made three voyages on a whaling ves- sel, and for two years subsequently sailed on coast trading vessels. He enlisted as a soldier in 1862, in the Civil War, becom- ing a member of Company K, Twenty- fifth Regiment of Connecticut Volun- teers, and served one year. Later, he set- tled at Unionville, Connecticut, where he engaged in painting, and died September 15, 1905. He married, August 25, 1851, at Greenport, Long Island, Sarah Bogar- dus Wetmore, who was born August 16, 1828, in Brooklyn, New York, died Sep- tember 16, 1916, in Unionville, daughter of William Whiting and Eleanor (Beebe) Wetmore. They were the parents of eleven children.
William Francis Symonds, third son of Sylvester Russell and Sarah Bogardus
(Wetmore) Symonds, was born Decem- ber 10, 1861, at Burnside, Connecticut, and was a child of three years when his parents settled in Unionville. After attending the public schools, he took a course in shorthand, and was subse- quently a student at Bowers' School of Photograph in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he graduated in 1884. For three years he continued in this occupation in Minneapolis, and in 1888 returned to Unionville, where he has been continu- ously engaged to the present time as a tinning, plumbing, and hardware mer- chant. He is well-known and respected in Unionville as a useful and patriotic citizen. He is a member and past mas- ter of Evening Star Lodge, No. 101, An- cient Free and Accepted Masons; also a member of Columbia Chapter, No. 31, Royal Arch Masons, and Lee Council, No. 25, Royal and Select Masters; he is a past patron of the local chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, in which he served two terms. He was long a member of Tunxis Hose Company, No. I, of Unionville, and belongs to the Association of Veterans of that company. In political principle Mr. Symonds is a Republican, but he has never participated in active politics, although he is a steadfast supporter of its principles.
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