USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 53
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Leslie Emerson Adams, fourth child of Russell and Mercy M. (Griswold) Adams, was born February 25, 1847, in Wethers-
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field. He received his education in that town, passed through grammar school, and spent one year at the Hartford High School. Ever since leaving school he has been engaged in agriculture upon the pa- ternal homestead, at South Wethersfield (formerly South Lane), and has been active and useful in many capacities in the public service. As a young man he taught fifteen winter terms of school. From 1900 to 1912 he was superintendent of the local schools, and since 1892 has been secretary of the school board. For more than twenty years he has been treas- urer of the Wethersfield public library, from its organization. In 1903-04, he rep- resented the town in the State Legisla- ture. His political associations have always been with the Republican party, because he accepts its principles and poli- cies as best calculated, in his opinion, to promote the general welfare. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, An- cient Free and Accepted Masons, of Hart- ford, and of the Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revolution. With his family, Mr. Adams has always attended and sustained the Congregational church at Wethersfield.
Mr. Adams married, June 5, 1895, Jen- nie Wilson Havens, born February 3, 1855, daughter of Frederick A. and Jemi- mah (Dunham) Havens, and died March 22, 1916.
ADAMS, Clarence Eugene,
Retired Farmer, Public Servant.
From several of the pioneer settlers of Wethersfield, Mr. Adams has inherited those qualities of enterprise, energy and intelligence which lead to success. The early generations of his ancestry are very fully covered in the preceding sketch.
Chauncey Adams, fourth son of Wil- liam and Mary (Wells) Adams, was born
November 6, 1808, in South Lane, now known as South Wethersfield, and died in the latter part of June, 1883. His educa- tion was supplied by the public schools of his native town, and his life work was farming. In early years he was accus- tomed to assist his father in the tillage of the homestead, and after his marriage he settled on the Willard Farm near the south end of Broad street, Wethersfield, where he continued until his death. He was a faithful member of the Congrega- tional church ; in politics a Republican, he served as selectman and in various other town offices, and in 1856 represented the town in the session of the Legislature at New Haven. He married, October 10, 1843, Julia Ann Willard, born December II, 1815, died March 14, 1871, daughter of Deacon William and Anna or Hannah (Wolcott) Willard. The Willard family is an ancient one in New England, founded by Major Simon Willard, an early resident of Wethersfield. This is a personal name which in time became a surname, having been used in England as a place name. The ancient coat-of- arms is :
Arms-Argent, a chevron sable between three Fish Weels proper, five ermine spots.
Crest-A Griffin's head erased argent. Motto-Quadet Patientia Duris.
Richard Willard was a yeoman at Brentley, England, where he made his will, September 18, 1558, proved October 24, following. His fourth son, Richard Wil- lard, lived at Horsmonden, Kent, Eng- land, and had three wives. His second wife, May, died February 12, 1608. She was the mother of Major Simon Willard, born in 1605, at Horsmonden, baptized December 14, 1614; a soldier in Kent when a young man. In April, 1634, he came to New England in company with his brother-in-law, Dolor Davis, the
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ancestor of a large New England family. Major Willard was an extensive trader with the Indians, and acquired a thou- sand acres of land on the Charles river in Cambridge adjoining the town of Bos- ton. Subsequently he had several grants of land, and was one of the founders and first settlers of Concord, Massachusetts ; its first deputy to the General Court, elected September, 1636, and continued with the exception of four years until 1664. In 1654 he was elected, but de- clined to serve. For fifteen years he was a member of the Council, twenty-two years assistant and served as magistrate, attending over seventy terms of the County Court between November, 1654, and April, 1676. For forty years he was active in military affairs, attaining the rank of major, and commanded the Massa- chusetts troops against the Indians. In 1655 he led the expedition against the Narragansetts, and was a Brookfield and Hadley in King Philip's War, leading the Middlesex Regiment. He was offered lands and privileges to become a citizen of the town of Lancaster, and decided to locate there, selling his Concord estate in 1657. His first home in Lancaster was on the Nashua river commanding a superb view of the valley. After twelve years he removed to a more extensive farm in the south part of Groton, where he was prominent in civil and church affairs. He also had a fine farm at Still river in what is now the town of Harvard. By occupa- tion he was a surveyor, and often was engaged in fixing town boundaries. His death occurred April 24, 1676, during an epidemic of influenza. He was a stalwart Puritan, conscientious and of sound un- derstanding, of brave and enduring spirit. After giving large amounts of land to his children, he left thirteen hundred acres and much other property at his death. After this event the General Court
granted a thousand acres to be divided among his six youngest children because of his losses in the Indian Wars. His first wife, Mary (Sharpe) Willard, was born in 1614, at Horsmonden, daughter of Henry and Jane (Filed) Sharpe. His eldest son, Josiah Willard, probably born in Concord, lived six years in Hartford, Connecticut, and was admitted an inhabi- tant of Wethersfield in September, 1662. He settled in that part which is now Newington, where he kept school, and died in July, 1674, leaving an estate valued at two hundred and eighty-five pounds, sixteen shillings. He married, March 20, 1657, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Hos- mer, of Hartford. Their third son, Simon Willard, born 1661-62, in Wethersfield, lived in Newington, was one of the peti- tioners for a separate parish in 1712, and died January 8, 1727. He was the first male buried in the Newington Cemetery. He married, February 12, 1691, Mary Gil- bert, born November 18, 1670, died De- cember 5, 1712, fourth daughter of Josiah and Elizabeth Gilbert. Their fifth son, Ephraim Willard, born in 1707, received by will of his uncle, Stephen Willard, the latter's land and estate valued at four thousand and twelve pounds, three shill- ings and eleven pence. The uncle sought to fix the succession of the estate, under the English law of entail. Ephraim Wil- lard was a farmer, and died March 30, 1766. He married, August 17, 1738, Lydia Griswold, born September 4, 1707, died April 1, 1770, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Francis) Griswold. His second son, Stephen Willard, born February 9, 1740, was a prosperous farmer in Weth- ersfield, and died April 29, 1817. He married, March 24, 1768, Anna Harris, born in 1741, died June 1, 1824, daughter of Thomas and Anna (Knott) Harris. Deacon William Willard, fifth son of Stephen and Anna (Harris) Willard, was
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born November 21, baptized November 30, 1783, and died March 8, 1832. His home was on the western side of Broad street, near the southern end, where the widow of his grandson, Ellis D. Adams, now resides. He married, August 28, 1804, Anna or Hannah Wolcott, born April 17, 1785, died November 4, 1864, daughter of Elisha and Mary (Welles) Wolcott. Julia Ann Willard, daughter of Deacon William Willard, born Decem- ber II, 1815, became the wife of Chaun- cey Adams, as before noted. They were the parents of two sons, Clarence Eugene and Ellis Dwight Adams.
Clarence Eugene Adams was born Au- gust 15, 1844, in the house adjoining his present residence on the west side of Broad street, Wethersfield. After attend- ance at the local schools, he was a stu- dent at Williston Seminary, Easthamp- ton, Massachusetts, and at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1856, at the age of nineteen years, he left his books and began steady labor upon the paternal farm, where he had previously rendered active service during vacations. He continued upon the homestead and in time it was divided, one part being occupied by his brother. In 1874 Mr. Adams erected the handsome residence which he now occupies, a short distance south of the house in which he was born. He was an industrious and successful farmer, but now rents his land and lives in a well-earned retirement. He has long been an active member of the Wethersfield Congregational Church, of which he was a deacon four years. He is one of the founders of Wethersfield Grange, No. 114, of which he is the pres- ent chaplain, serving in that capacity for about five years ; he was the first master of the Grange, serving as such two years since, but not consecutively, and was also lecturer for one year. He was master of
Central Pomona Grange for two years, and was deputy master of the Connecticut State Grange for Hartford county for two years. Having settled principles and con- victions, he is naturally a partisan in political matters, and has always acted with the Republican party. For many years he has served as tax collector, and in 1891 represented the town in the State Legislature, acting as a member of the committee on agriculture. Of genial nature and agreeable manners, Mr. Adams enjoys the friendship and esteem of his contemporaries.
Mr. Adams married, December 22, 1869, Alice Sophia Bailey, born February 18, 1845, in Griswoldville, daughter of Arn- old and Nancy (Lockwood) Bailey. The children of this marriage reflect credit upon an honored ancestry and a worthy parentage. I. Lena Maud, born Septem- ber 24, 1870, is the wife of Dr. John Pren- tice Rand, living in Worcester, Massa- chusetts. 2. Etta May, born March 16, 1872, died May 28, 1913, unmarried. 3. Harriet Julia, born March 22, 1874, is now residing in Chicago, Illinois, with her brother. 4. Clarence W., born November 24, 1877, died in early infancy. 5. Alice Lockwood, born May 25, 1879, is now employed in the offices of the Phoenix Insurance Company of Hartford, and resides with her parents. 6. Willard, born February 28, 1884, is an electrical engineer, residing in Chicago; he mar- ried, December 23, 1912, Katherine Seig- ler, who died September 11, 1916. 7. Jes- sie Eugenia, born April 17, 1885; was married in September, 1914, to Ralph P. Chaffee, of Wethersfield and has a son, Ralph Garrett Chaffee, born June 28, 1916.
The Bailey family was early in Con- necticut, founded by John Bailey, presum- ably of English birth, who was in Hart- ford as early as 1648, when he was viewer of chimneys and ladders. He was con-
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stable in 1657, in which year he appears on the list of freemen. In 1662 he re- moved to Haddam, Connecticut, of which he was one of the original proprietors, and lived in that part of the town now known as Higganum. He left an estate valued at one hundred and eighty-six pounds, ten shillings and six pence. His wife was, probably, Lydia, daughter of Thomas Smith, of Haddam. Their eldest child, John Bailey, lived in that town, where he died January 15, 1719. He mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Beckwith) Bate, who survived him. Their second son, Ephraim Bailey, born January 1, 1691, in Haddam, made his home in that town, and died March 29, 1761. He married there, October 3, 1716, Deborah Brainerd, born April 3, 1698, eld- est daughter of James and Deborah (Dud- ley) Brainerd, granddaughter of Daniel and Hannah (Spencer) Brainerd; the lat- ter a daughter of Gerrard and Hannah Spencer, formerly of Lynn, pioneers of Haddam, as was Daniel Brainerd. De- borah (Brainerd) Bailey died about 1746. Their eighth son, William Bailey, born August 1, 1736, married Betsey Horton, and lived in Haddam where the birth of one child is recorded, namely: Christo- pher Bailey, born in March, 1756. The family history states that Christopher and Eliakin Bailey were brothers, both serv- ing in the Revolution. The latter was ten years younger than his brother, must have been born about 1766, and entered the Revolution toward the close, as he would be too young at the beginning. In 1832 he was living in Middlesex county, and in receipt of a pension for his Revo- lutionary service. His son, Enos Bailey, born October 4, 1788, in Haddam, died April 1, 1869. He married, in 1811, Ada Burritt, born in 1790, half-sister of the celebrated Elihu Burritt, the learned blacksmith. She was descended from
William Burritt, who was among the first settlers of Stratford, Connecticut, where he died in 1651, being survived many years by his wife, Elizabeth. Their son, Steven Burritt, was very active in the Colonial Militia, and died at Stratford in 1698. He married Sarah, daughter of Isaac Nichols, of that town. Their son, Charles Burritt, born in 1690, married, April 18, 1717, Mary Lockwood. Their son, Elihu Burritt, was the father of Elihu Burritt, born in 1764, and lived in New Britain, where he was a farmer and shoemaker, died in Jan- uary, 1827. His daughter Ada became the wife of Enos Bailey, as above men- tioned. Because of the death of her mother she was reared in the family of Rev. Dud- ley Field, of Haddam. Their eldest son, Arnold Bailey, was born December 17, 1814, in Haddam, and died in Wethers- field, March 18, 1865. He married Nancy Lockwood, and they were the parents of Alice Sophia Bailey, who became the wife of Clarence Eugene Adams, as previously noted. Nancy Lockwood was a daughter of Captain Samuel and Eunice (Crane) Lockwood, of Wethersfield, and was born March 13, 1815.
KEEP, William Ezra,
Retired Business Man.
A descendant of sturdy old New Eng- land stock, who bears the distinction of being one of the oldest members of the contracting and building profession in the city of Hartford, William Ezra Keep was born in Paxton, Massachusetts, Septem- ber 14, 1844, son of Josiah Otis and Ann Eliza (Southworth) Keep.
The immigrant ancestor of this family was John Keep. He was admitted an inhabitant of Springfield, Massachusetts, February 18, 1660, and on March 13 fol- lowing was granted five acres of meadow on Fresh Water brook in what is now
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Enfield, Connecticut. At a meeting of the selectmen, January 6, 1662, he was granted four acres of "wet meddow on ye back side of ye Long Meddoe," and on February 6, 1664, he received another four acres "at ye grape swamp by the Long Meddow," and other land. He was often selectman, served on juries, was a thrifty farmer and a useful man in the community, acting in various official ca- pacities. He was killed by Indians while going to church at Springfield, March 26, 1676, and was buried in the old cemetery at Springfield. He married, December 31, 1663, Sarah Leonard, who was born December 13, 1645, in Springfield, daugh- ter of John and Sarah (Heald) Leonard. She married twice after the death of John Keep, and died in February, 17II. The inventory of John Keep's estate placed its value at £329 IIS. 7d.
Samuel Keep, eldest son of John and Sarah (Leonard) Keep, was born August 22, 1670, in Long Meadow, and was for some time under the care of his grand- mother, Sarah Leonard, afterward was with his uncle, Samuel Bliss. He was among the petitioners for the establish- ment of the town of Brimfield, and con- tributed £12 IOS. for the benefit of the settlement, receiving one hundred and twenty acres of land there. He died Au- gust 23, 1755, and was buried at Long- meadow. He married, February 27, 1695, Sarah Colton, of Longmeadow, born September 25, 1678, daughter of Captain Thomas and Sarah (Griswold) Colton, granddaughter of George Colton, who came from Sutton Cofield, eight miles from Birmingham, England, to Spring- field, in 1644. Sarah Griswold was a daughter of Matthew and Anna (Wol- cott) Griswold, granddaughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Saunders) Wolcott. Henry Wolcott came from Tolland, Somerset- shire, England, where his family was
seated as early at 1525, and settled at Dor- chester, Massachusetts, in 1630, later at Windsor, Connecticut. His wife was a daughter of Thomas Saunders, of Lidiard, St. Lawrence, Somerset. Their daughter. Anna, became the wife of Matthew Gris- wold, who came to Connecticut about 1639, and was a prominent man at Wind- sor. Their daughter, Sarah, was the wife of Captain Thomas Colton, and their eld- est child, Sarah, was the wife of Samuel Keep.
Josiah Keep, son of Samuel and Sarah (Colton) Keep, was born November II, 1713, in Longmeadow, and settled in Brimfield, near Monson, where he died July 29, 1777. He was a member of the church at Brimfield in 1757, and one of the organizers of the Monson church in 1762. He married, May, 1737, Lois Noble, of Westfield, born July 4, 1708, daughter of Deacon Thomas Noble.
Their eldest son, Josiah Keep, was born August 30, 1745, in Monson, where he was a farmer, and served as a corporal in the Revolution in Captain Reuben Munn's company, Colonel David Leon- ard's regiment, March I to April 11, 1777, sent to reinforce the army at Ticonder- oga. He was killed by a sled at Wood- stock, December 9, 1799. He married, November 28, 1771, Love Kibbe, born March 7, 1745, in Somers, Connecticut, died May 7, 1824.
Their third son, Josiah Keep, was born January 26, 1778, in Monson, where he was a farmer, and died October 1, 1851. He married, October 27, 1801, Lucy Tucker, and they were the parents of Josiah Otis Keep.
Josiah Otis Keep was born April 23, 1812, at Monson. He was a blacksmith at West Brookfield, Warren and Paxton, Massachusetts, and died August 2, 1895, in Paxton. Most of his life was passed at Paxton, and he was the original mem-
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ber from that town of the Free Soil party. He was long a deacon of the Congrega- tional church, active in town affairs, a lover of nature, and spent the last half of his life on a farm which he greatly im- proved. On September 27, 1836, he mar- ried Eliza Ann Southworth, daughter of Ezra Southworth. She was born Sep- tember 19, 1813, at Ashford, Connecticut, and died August 28, 1891, in Hartford. She was descended from Edward South- worth, who was born about 1690, was a silk maker, and died about 1621. He married, May 28, 1613, Alice Carpenter, of Wrentham, Somersetshire, England, daughter of Alexander Carpenter, and after his death she became the wife of Governor William Bradford, of Ply- mouth. With her two children, she came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the ship "Ann" in 1623, and was soon after mar- ried to Governor Bradford. The young- est child, Constant Southworth, was born in 1615, and was brought up in the family of Governor Bradford, of Plymouth; was admitted a freeman in 1636-37, and in the latter year engaged in the service against the Indians. He was deputy to the Gen- eral Court, assistant to the Governor, and treasurer of the Colony from 1659 to 1673. Besides his lands in Duxbury, he was also the owner of lands in Tiverton and Little Compton, Rhode Island, then a part of Massachusetts. He died March 10, 1679. He married, November 2, 1637, Elizabeth Collier, of Duxbury, daughter of Wil- liam Collier, a London merchant, who assisted the Plymouth Colonies and came over in 1633, residing at Plymouth until his death in 1670. William Southworth, youngest child of Constant Southworth, was born in 1659, in Duxbury, and settled in Little Compton, where he died June 25, 1719. He married, in 1680, Rebecca Peabody, born October 16, 1660, in Dux- bury, died December 3, 1702, in Little
Compton, daughter of William and Eliz- abeth (Alden) Peabody, granddaughter of John Peabody. The last named was born in 1590, and about 1635 he settled in the Plymouth Colony and spent most of his life thereafter in Duxbury. He was one of the original proprietors of Bridge- water, Massachusetts, and died in that town in 1667. His wife, Isabel, survived him. Their third son, William Peabody, was born 1619-20, in England, came with his father, lived in Duxbury, was an orig- inal proprietor of Bridgewater, and died in Little Compton, December 13, 1707. He married, December 26, 1644, Elizabeth Alden, born 1623-25, the first white woman born in New England, daughter of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden, died at Little Compton, May 31, 1717. The house in Little Compton where they lived was very lately in a good state of preservation, as was their gravestones in the old cemetery in Little Compton. Steven Southworth, youngest child of William and Rebecca (Peabody) South- worth, was born March 3, 1696, in Little Compton, and sold land there in 1727, at that time removing to Freetown, Massa- chusetts, where he sold land in 1733 and again in 1738. In the deeds he calls him- self of Little Compton, and he probably returned there after selling his Freetown property. He married in Little Compton, January 27, 1726, Lydia Warren, who was undoubtedly a descendant of Richard Warren, of the "Mayflower." Their sec- ond son, Steven Southworth, was born January 12, 1732, in Freetown, Massachu- setts, and was living in Douglass, in 1762, with his wife, Hannah. On August 30 of that year, two of his sons, Solomon and Steven, were baptized in Douglass. Sal- mon or Solomon Southworth, son of Steven and Hannah Southworth, was born in 1754, baptized August 30, 1761, in Douglass, and lived in Pomfret, Con-
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necticut, Douglass, Uxbridge, and North Brookfield, Massachusetts, dying in the last named town, November 14, 1829. He married in Douglass, January 22, 1777, Lydia Cummings, born there October 20, 1755, died February 9, 1818, in North Brookfield, daughter of Joseph and Mar- tha (Smith) Cummings, formerly of Topsfield, Massachusetts. They had five children recorded in Douglass. Of these, Ezra Southworth, born February 6, 1788, in Douglass, lived in Ashford, Connecti- cut. He married Eliza Sherman. Their daughter, Eliza Ann Southworth, born September 19, 1813, in Ashford, became the wife of Josiah Otis Keep, as before noted.
William Ezra Keep, third son of Josiah Otis and Eliza Ann (Southworth) Keep, was educated in the public schools of his native town of Paxton, and during the vacations he was employed in assisting his father and also in tilling the paternal homestead. At the age of ten years his summer schooling ended, and most of his education has been supplied by reading, observation and experience of the world. Blessed with a fine memory, he may well be rated among the well informed men of his time. When eighteen years of age, he enlisted in Company B, Fifty-first Reg- iment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, serving his term, and reënlisted again in the First Battalion, Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, in which he served until the close of the war. After that time he was a resident of Hartford for a period of one year, removing thence to Worcester, Mas- sachusetts. He later returned to Hart- ford, in 1871, and has been a citizen of that city ever since. He had learned the trade of carpenter, and after serving for sev- eral years as a journeyman he engaged in
the contracting and building business, in which he was deservedly successful. No greater tribute to his skill and workman- ship could be shown than that he has been employed more than once by the same persons to erect buildings. This is proof that his work is satisfactory in every sense. The southwest section of the city of Hartford, including the vil- lage of Elmwood, contains many houses that were built by Mr. Keep and also a factory, school house and church. He is held in high respect by the business men of Hartford, and through his upright deal- ings and high integrity holds an honored place among them.
Mr. Keep is a member of the Republi- can party in political affiliation, and has served as a member of the Court of Com- mon Council for two terms. He is a member and past commander of Robert O. Tyler Post, Grand Army of the Repub- lic, and was formerly affiliated with Cus- ter Council, No. 85, Order of United American Mechanics, now extinct. In 1918, he was appointed patriotic instruc- tor by Tyler Post, and has visited nearly all the schools of Hartford in discharge of his duties. Both in business and social circles, Mr. Keep enjoys a large acquaint- ance. Through his genial personality, he has made many friends not only in Hart- ford but in other cities where he has trav- eled. He is a man worthy of confidence, a citizen of the best type.
Mr. Keep married, October 15, 1873, Adelaide M., daughter of Horatio A. Gid- dings. She was born June 29, 1845, in Hartford, and died January 23, 1918, at her home on Webster street, Hartford. She was a member of the South Congre- gational Church of Hartford.
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ADDENDA AND ERRATA
Mulligan, p. 171, William J. Mulligan, in addition to his activity in the Knights of Columbus as mentioned in his sketch, served as chairman of the Knights of Columbus Committee on War Activities, and pledged himself to spend a million dollars a week for the order during the following twelve months. Symonds, p. 216, Mrs. William F. Symonds died August 8, 1895.
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