USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 50
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Mr. Hunter married Leila May Clark, of Windsor Locks, and resides on High- land street, West Hartford.
HASTINGS, Wells Southworth, Author.
A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Mr. Hastings is descended from one of the most prominent families of Massa- chusetts and New York. The name Hast- ings is older than the Norman Conquest in England. It was spelled Hastang also. The castle and seaport of Hastings were owned by the family that adopted the surname as early as 911, before the Nor- mans were in Gaul. There was a Danish pirate, not of this family, perhaps, who was a formidable foe of the Saxons occu-
pying a part of Sussex. In nearly every county of England the family has estab- lished itself. Branches bearing coats-of- arms are found at Agmondisham, Buck- shire; in Dorsetshire and Leicestershire ; in Cambridgeshire; in Gloucestershire and Derbyshire; in Ireland : at Billesby, Lincolnshire; at Hinton, Northampton- shire; in Nottinghamshire and North Cumberland; in Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Oxfordshire and in Scotland. Of the num- erous coats-of-arms of Hastings, the American branch claims the following :
Arms-A maunch sable.
Crest-A buffalo's head erased sable, crowned and gored with a ducal coronet and armed or.
Supporters-Two man-tigers affrontee or, their visages resembling the human face proper.
Motto-In virtue victoria. Also-Honorantes me honorabo.
A plate on which this armorial was en- graved was brought to this country by the pioneer. On one side were the arms given above and an antique ship with two flags. Three lions passant, guard- ant in pale, and on the reverse of the seal St. Michael slaying the dragon.
The ancestor of the family in this country was Deacon Thomas Hastings, born in England in 1605, who embarked on the ship "Elizabeth" at Ipswich, Eng- land, William Andrews, Master, April 10, 1634. He settled at Watertown, Massa- chusetts, where he was made a freeman, May 6, 1635, filled many town offices, was deputy to the General Court, long held the office of deacon, and died in 1685, aged eighty years. He left an estate of four hundred and twenty-one pounds. His home was on the west side of School street, then called Hill street, which was bequeathed to his son, Samuel. His wife, Susannah, died February 2, 1650, and he married in April, 1651, Margaret Cheney, daughter of William and Martha Cheney, of Roxbury, Massachusetts.
Conn-5-23
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The eldest child of this marriage was Dr. Thomas Hastings, born July 1, 1652, in Watertown, died July 23, 1712, in Hat- field, Massachusetts. He studied medi- cine and practiced in Hatfield, North- ampton, Hadley and Deerfield, being for many years the only physician in those towns. He was also the first school teacher in Hatfield, and a remarkable thing for the times is that girls were ad- mitted to his school on the same footing as boys. Elsewhere in New England, until after the Revolution, girls were not taught in the public schools, not even in Boston until 1789. He married, October 10, 1672, Anna Hawks, baptized August 4, 1649, in Windsor, daughter of Sergeant John and Elizabeth Hawks, of Hadley. She died October 25, 1705.
Their eldest son, Dr. Thomas Hast- ings, was born September 24, 1679, in Hatfield, was like his father a school teacher and physician, and died April 4, 1728, a comparatively young man. He was taken ill on a visit in Boston and pre- dicted the date of his own death. He mar- ried, March 6, 1701, Mary, daughter of John and Mary Field, born February 20, 1680, died November 9, 1764.
Their fourth son, Hopestill Hastings, born April 13, 1718, in Hatfield, was a farmer there, and died November 24, 1766, in his forty-eighth year. He mar- ried, in 1741, Lydia Frary.
Their second son, Dr. Seth Hastings, was born December 6, 1745, in Hatfield, and settled in the practice of his profes- sion at Washington, Connecticut, whence he removed, in 1777, to Clinton, Oneida county, New York, and there died April 29, 1830, aged eighty-four years. He married, November 10, 1779, Eunice Parmlee, eldest daughter of Captain Thomas Parmlee, born December 30, 1763, died May 2, 1821.
Their eldest child, Seth Hastings, was
born August 23, 1780, in Clinton, and after due preparation commenced the practice of medicine there in 1802. He married, September 12, 1802, Hulda, daughter of John Clark, of Clinton, form- erly of New York, born May 14, 1783.
Their second son, George Hastings, was born March 13, 1807, in Clinton, graduated at Hamilton College, in 1826, when nineteen years of age, and engaged in the practice of law at Mount Morris, Livingston county, New York. He was a member of the Congregational church. He married, October 10, 1832, Mary H. Seymour, born July 31, 1808, in Herki- mer, died February 25, 1845, in Mount Morris, daughter of Norman Seymour, of Rome, New York.
Their eldest son, George Seymour Hastings, was born September 24, 1836, at Mount Morris, and became very con- spicuous in public life. For some time he served as private secretary to Gov- ernor Fenton, of New York, and subse- quently engaged in the practice of law in New York City. At the beginning of the Civil War, he raised a company which became a part of the Twenty-first Artil- lery of New York. He was made pris- oner by the Confederate forces in battle, but finally escaped from captivity and returned to his practice in New York, where he died January 1, 1909. He mar- ried, January 27, 1876, Harriette Mills Southworth, who was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, daughter of Wells and Maria (Gillette) Southworth, descended from Edward Southworth, born about 1590, in England, and died about 1621. He was a silk worker in Ley- den, one of the Pilgrim exiles who formed Rev. John Robinson's church, a descendant of the Southworths of Sam- ulesbury Hall, Lancashire, established in the thirteenth century. He married, May 28, 1613, Alice Carpenter, who after
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his death came to America and be- came the second wife of Governor Wil- liam Bradford, of Plymouth. Tradition states that William Bradford and Alice Carpenter were sweethearts in youth, but that her parents prevented their mar- riage. After Bradford's wife, Dorothy, was drowned in Provincetown Harbor, he wrote to the Widow Southworth, in Eng- land, and she came over in 1623, in the ship "Ann." Constant, eldest child of Edward and Alice Southworth, born in 1615, in Leyden, was brought up in the family of his stepfather, Governor Brad- ford, at Plymouth, was admitted a free- man in 1637, and was in service against the Indians at that time. He filled many important offices, was treasurer of the Plymouth Colony from 1659 to 1673, and besides his home in Duxbury owned lands in Tiverton and Little Compton, Rhode Island. He married Elizabeth Collier, of Duxbury, daughter of William Collier, a London merchant, who assisted the Ply- mouth colonists, and himself made a home, in 1633, at Plymouth, where he died in 1670. Constant Southworth died March 10, 1679. His second son, Na- thaniel Southworth, born 1648, in Ply- mouth, settled in Middleboro, Massachu- setts, where he filled many important offices, and died January 14, 1711. He married, January 10, 1672, Desire Gray, born November 6, 1651, died at Plymouth, December 4, 1690, daughter of Edward and Mary (Winslow) Gray. Their young- est child, Edward Southworth, was born in 1688 in Plymouth, and was among the early settlers in the north parish of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he died April 26, 1748. He married, in Hull, June 25, 1711, Bridget Bosworth, born June 2, 1691, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Bosworth, of Hull. Their third son, Edward Southworth, was born in December, 1718, in Bridgewater, and
married there, December 16, 1750, Lydia Packard, daughter of John and Lydia (Thompson) Packard. They had a large family, all of whom except one son, Peres, removed to Pelham, Massachusetts. Their fourth son, Abiah Southworth, was born March 9, 1760, settled in Pelham, and died December 27, 1835, in South Had- ley, that State. He married( intentions published October 20, 1794) in Pelham, Keziah Boltwood, of Amherst, born De- cember 18, 1763, died April 28, 1835, in South Hadley, daughter of Solomon and Mary (Strong) Boltwood, a descendant of Sergeant Robert Boltwood, who came from Essex, England, and was one of the first settlers of Hadley. She was also descended from Elder John Strong, who was born in Taunton, England, in 1605, a son of Roger Strong, of a family origi- nally located in Shropshire, England. John Strong lived at London and Ply- mouth, and because of his Puritan sym- pathies and convictions, came to New England in 1630 in the ship "Mary and John." He was admitted a freeman in 1636, removed to Taunton before the close of 1638, and in 1645 was in Hing- ham. In 1641 and 1643-44, he was a deputy to the General Court at Plymouth, removed later to Windsor, Connecticut, and finally settled in Northampton, Mas- sachusetts, where he was for forty years a prominent and influential citizen. He married, in December, 1630, Abigail, daughter of Thomas Ford, of Dorchester, and from them are descended a very num- erous progeny. Abigail Ford was the mother of sixteen children, and at the time of her death, in 1699, one hundred and sixty descendants were living. Wells Southworth, second son of Abiah and Keziah Southworth, was born August 17, 1799, and in 1823 was a merchant in Pel- ham. In 1828 he removed to Chicopee, then in the town of Springfield, and rep-
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resented the town in the Legislature in 1836-37, and West Springfield in 1850. In 1847 he built a factory operated by the Southworth Manufacturing Company, and he was afterward agent of the Aga- wam Canal Company. He erected mills which operated 20,000 spindles, and in March, 1855, he removed to New Haven, Connecticut, where he was president of the City Fire Insurance Company. He was one of the first to engage in the man- ufacture of paper by machinery, and was the first to place a traveling salesman on the road. He married Maria Gillette, and they were the parents of Harriette Mills, born December 13, 1846, who became the wife of George Seymour Hastings, as previously stated.
Wells Southworth Hastings, son of George Seymour and Harriette Mills (Southworth) Hastings, was born June 24, 1878, in New Haven, Connecticut, and was reared in New York City. He pre- pared for college at the famous St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and entered Yale University in 1897, graduat- ing with the degree of A. B. in 1902. For a short time he was interested in manu- facturing in New York and Brooklyn, and is a director of the Hampshire Paper Company, of South Hadley Falls, the pro- ducer of the famous "Old Hampshire Bond." He was also a director in the Phoenix Hermetic Company of New York, which manufactures caps for seal- ing fruit jars, and is also interested in the Metallic Decorator Company. For many years Mr. Hastings has given much at- tention to literary work, and several pop- ular works of fiction from his pen have been published, some of them ranking among the "best sellers." Among these may be mentioned "The Professor's Mys- tery," which was prepared in collabora- tion with Brian Hooker, and published in 19II. In the same year was published
"The Man in the Brown Derby," and many verses and essays and short stories have been published by Mr. Hastings. In 1912 he took up his residence in Farm- ington, three of whose original settlers are among his ancestors. He purchased considerable land in Farmington, includ- ing two farms, and what is known as the Gad Cowles House, and is giving con- siderable attention to agriculture during the summer season. Farmington is the home of several authors, and here Mr. Hastings finds congenial society and health-giving exercise in outdoor life. He is vestryman of St. John's Episcopal Church of Farmington, a member of the local Grange, of the College fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon, and of the Yale and Players' clubs. He is a man of pro- gressive ideas, independent of the old party dictum in politics, and has been actively associated with the Progressive movement, so ably headed by ex-Presi- dent Theodore Roosevelt.
Mr. Hastings married, June 28, 1902, Elisabeth Putnam Stearns, who was born October 14, 1880, in West Hartford, daughter of Charles C. and Sophronia (Seymour) Stearns. Mr. and Mrs. Hast- ings are the parents of five children : Elisabeth P., born May 14, 1903; Isobel, December 22, 1904; Wells S., Jr., July 9, 1908; Constance Southworth, April 6, 19II; Elinor, August 24, 1912.
WOODHOUSE, Edward Rogers, Merchant.
From humble beginnings in the busi- ness world Mr. Woodhouse has worked his way upward to a partnership in one of the largest business establishments of the city of Hartford. This has not been the result of chance, but is the natural outcome of his industry, aptitude and up- right conduct.
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He is a descendant of Joseph Wood- house, who came from Hertfordshire, England, in 1710, sailing from Bristol, and appears in the records of Wethersfield in November, 1716, when he purchased a dwelling house in that town, said to have been the first brick house erected there. He continued to reside in Wethersfield until his death, August 1, 1774. His wife, Dorothy (Buck) Woodhouse, died Octo- ber 18, 1771.
Their third son, Samuel Woodhouse, was born October 1, 1728, in Wethers- field, where he died August 11, 1800. He married, October 24, 1754, Thankful Blinn, born November 24, 1729, died Oc- tober 27, 1813, daughter of William and Thankful (Nott) Blinn.
The eldest child of this marriage was Samuel Woodhouse, born December 23, 1756, in Wethersfield, a soldier of the Revolution, serving through several en- listments. He first entered the service at Wethersfield in January 1776, and after serving altogether fifteen months was discharged in 1780. At the battle of Long Island, August 28, 1776, he was a member Colonel John Chester's battalion, of Gen- eral Wadsworth's brigade, and also par- ticipated in the battle of Westchester on October 28, following. He was in the service in New Jersey at the time of the battle of Trenton, but was not in the en- gagement. He died in Wethersfield, Sep- tember 6, 1834. He married, March 14, 1781, Abigail Goodrich, who was baptized September 16, 1759, and died October 27, 1851, daughter of Nathaniel and Martha (Deming) Goodrich, a descendant of one of the oldest Connecticut families.
Their fourth son, Solomon Woodhouse, was born August 30, 1798, in Wethers- field, where he died February 8, 1888, in his ninetieth year. He lived in Stepney Parish, where he married, January 30, 1821, Lura Adams, born August 10,
1800, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Hatch) Adams, great-granddaughter of Benjamin Adams, who was born about 1649, was a soldier of King Philip's War, and settled in Wethersfield. He was bap- tized and admitted to full communion in the Second Church of Hartford, March 31, 1678 ; was a carpenter and builder ; had a home lot in Wethersfield, December 28, 1696, and served in various town offices. He married, about 1690, Eliza- beth Dickinson, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Grow) Dickinson, granddaugh- ter of Nathaniel Dickinson, of Hadley, Massachusetts, pioneer ancestor of a very large family. She was born December 6, 1668, in Hadley, and was the mother of Amasa Adams, baptized October 24, 1708, in Wethersfield, where he was a farmer and shipbuilder, and purchased lands in 1735. He owned one-half of Chester Mills, which were afterward operated by several generations of his descendants. In 1761 he contributed generously toward the construction of the present Congrega- tional church building, and later aided in the construction of the residence for the pastor. He joined the First Church, Feb- ruary 5, 1738, had all his thirteen children baptized there, and died July 6, 1790. He married, March 16, 1732, Hannah Camp, who was baptized September 28, 1712, in Hartford, daughter of Captain Joseph Camp, granddaughter of John and Mary (Sanford) Camp. Joseph Adams, son of Amasa and Hannah (Camp) Adams, was born 1755, and lived on Harris Hill in Wethersfield, and was a farmer and mil- ler. After his second marriage, he moved to the home of his wife on West Hill, where he died September 10, 1801. He married (second) January 9, 1800, Mary, widow, successively, of John Forbes and Leonard Dix, daughter of Zephaniah and Esther (Dickinson) Hatch, born April 13,
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1762. She was the mother of Lura Adams, wife of Solomon Woodhouse.
Edward Gardner Woodhouse, fourth son of Solomon and Lura (Adams) Woodhouse, was born February 24, 1841, and lived in Wethersfield, where he died, June 14, 1915. He married, Novem- ber 30, 1864, Abigail Louise Rogers, of Wethersfield.
Edward Rogers Woodhouse, son of Edward Gardner and Abigail Louise (Rogers) Woodhouse, was born Febru- ary 21, 1869, in Wethersfield, and was educated in the public schools of his native town. At an early age he began his business career, being employed by various mercantile firms in Wethersfield and Hartford, and about 1887 became connected with the William H. Post Company, large dealers in carpets and draperies with a warehouse on Asylum street. By his faithfulness and consistent attention to business, he gained the approval of his employers, won rapid pro- motion, and for several years has been a partner in the firm. Mr. Woodhouse has given his attention chiefly to business and has had no time for political movements or other affairs outside of his own, but he is firmly settled in principle as a Re- publican, and is a member and supporter of the Republican Club of Hartford. He is also a member of the City Club, of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce and the Wethersfield Business Men's Associa- tion. He is a member, was commander in 1917, and now president of the Hart- ford Camp, No. 50, Sons of Veterans, and treasurer of the Automobile Club of Hartford. He and his family are mem- bers of Trinity Episcopal Church of Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he now makes his residence. Mr. Woodhouse married, January 26, 1898, in Hartford, Mabelle Burnham, daughter of Patrick Henry and Martha (Carter) Burnham, of
Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse are the parents of a son, Frederick Burnham Woodhouse, born February 27, 1899.
The Burnham family, from which Mrs. Woodhouse is descended, was founded in America at Chebacco, in the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, by Deacon John Burnham, who was born about 1616, and came to Massachusetts before he was of age with other members of his family. In 1637 he participated in the expedition against the Pequot Indians, and two years later received a grant of land from the town of Ipswich in reward of these services. He was long a deacon of the church in Chebacco. He owned a large tract of land bordering on what is now called Haskell's creek, and died Novem- ber 5, 1694. Nothing is known of his wife beyond her baptismal name, Mary. Their second son, Josiah Burnham, born May 9, 1662, in Ipswich, died there Octo- ber 25, 1692, leaving a son, Ebenezer Burnham, born December 23, 1691, in Ipswich, who settled in the town of Hampton, Windham county, Connecti- cut, where he purchased one hundred acres of land, February 6, 1734, for three hundred and fifty pounds, bordering on Merricks brook. Both he and his wife were received in full communion at the Hampton church, October 20, 1734. He married Dorothy Andrews, who was born November 23, 1697, in Ipswich, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Ring) Andrews, died June 26, 1760, in Hampton. Their fourth son, Andrew Burnham, born in 1726, baptized May 28, 1727, in Ipswich, died 1787 in Hampton. He married, May II, 1757, Jane, daughter of William and Sarah (Giddings) Bennett, baptized Octo- ber 27, 1734, in Ipswich. Their third son, Adonijah Burnham, was born July 25, 1770, died May 31, 1827. He married, January 9, 1800, Abigail Fuller, born May 22, 1777, died August26, 1861, doubtless a
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descendant of John Fuller, of Ipswich. Their second son, Asa Burnham, born August 28, 1802, was a member of the Connecticut Legislature in 1856, and died January 19, 1857. He married, May 3, 1831, Mary Eliza Burnham, born Novem- ber 20, 1812, daughter of Ebenezer and Eunice (Holt) Burnham, descendant of deacon John Burnham, of Ipswich. Their second son, Patrick Henry Burnham, was born October 31, 1838, and married, March 24, 1864, Martha Carter. Their daughter, Mabelle Burnham, became the wife of Edward R. Rogers Woodhouse, as previously noted.
WOODHOUSE, David Robbins, Lawyer.
As shown in the preceding sketch, the Woodhouse family is an old one and one of good standing in Wethersfield, where it flourished for many generations. His great-grandfather, Samuel Woodhouse, was a Revolutionary soldier whose rec- ord appears above; his grandfather was Samuel Woodhouse, and his father was Samuel Newton Woodhouse.
David Robbins Woodhouse was born September 15, 1884, on the Woodhouse homestead in the village of Griswoldville, Wethersfield, Connecticut, son of Samuel Newton and Phoebe Elvira (Dudley) Woodhouse, and there his boyhood was spent. He was educated in the local schools, giving his time in vacation per- iods to the labors of the home farm, and after spending two years in the Hartford High School, he was for two years a stu- dent in the Stearns School of Hartford, preparing for college. In 1908 he entered Trinity College, Hartford, and in the following year entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was gradu- ated in 1911, in the law course. On account of the illness of his father, he was
obliged to cut short his studies, but in 1912 received from Georgetown Univer- sity the degree of LL.D. For two years Mr. Woodhouse engaged in practice in Meriden, Connecticut, in association with Judge Frank Fay, of that city, and in 1914 removed to Hartford, where he be- came associated with the Hartford Acci- dent and Indemnity Company as claim examiner. He continues in this capacity, has made himself extremely useful in the business, and has gained many friends in Hartford. Mr. Woodhouse is a member of the Congregational church of Weth- ersfield, is affiliated with the leading Ma- sonic bodies of Hartford, including St. John's Lodge, No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons, Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, Royal Arch Masons, Wolcott Council, No.7, Royal and Select Masters, and Washington Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar. He is also identified with the college fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon. He is a member of the City Club of Hart- ford and the Country Club of Wethers- field. He has made no effort to mingle in public affairs, but entertains settled opinions and is a staunch Republican in principle.
Mr. Woodhouse married, December 30, 1913, Mabel Burwell, daughter of J. C. and Elizabeth (Kirk) Burwell, of Win- sted, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Wood- house are the parents of two daughters : Barbara, born January 4, 1915, and Phoebe Dudley, April 4, 1917.
OSBORN, Newton,
Retired Business Man.
The Osborn family is of English ances- try, and several immigrants of the name, which is spelled either Osborn or Os- borne, settled in America, among the earliest of which was Richard Osborne, who sailed from London in 1634, was in
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Hingham, Massachusetts, the following year, and in New Haven, Connecticut, 1639. John Osborne was an early set- tler of East Windsor, Connecticut, where he owned nearly one thousand acres of land, and died October 27, 1686. He mar- ried, May 19, 1645, Ann Oldage, a daugh- ter of Richard Oldage. She died August 28, 1669.
Their eldest child, John Osborn, was born January 10, 1646, in East Windsor, was a sergeant of the militia company, and married, October 14, 1667, Abigail Eggleston, born June 12, 1648, died July 30, 1689, fourth daughter of Begat and Mary (Talcott) Eggleston.
Their eldest son, John Osborn, born 1668, was probably the strongest man in New England, and interesting incidents of his career are related. On one occa- sion an athlete came from Virginia to seek a contest with John Osborn, but after seeing the latter lift a barrel of cider and drink from the bung hole, retired in discomfiture. John Osborn married, De- cember 7, 1696, Elizabeth Gibson, who died May 8, 1735.
Their eldest child, Benjamin Osborn, born October 20, 1700, died February 21, 1777. His wife, Priscilla, died May 23, I774.
Their youngest son, Thomas Osborn, was born March 25, 1737, in Windsor. His wife was probably a Canfield.
Their eldest child, Thomas Canfield Osborn, was born September 12, 1776, was a
farmer in Harwinton, Connecticut, where he died April 21, 1854. He mar- ried, June 7, 1798, Susanna Hotchkiss, born July 18, 1773, in Cheshire, Connecti- cut, died December 2, 1856, in Harwin- ton.
Their son, Ruben Canfield Osborn, was born September 15, 1821, in Harwinton, and died August 22, 1883, in Hartford, Connecticut. He married in the spring
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