USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 8
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Since the year 1673, the family of Hal- laday has been known to Suffield. It was in that year that Walter Halladay came from near Boston, Massachusetts, where he was born, and settled in Springfield, which at that time was part of Suffield. He engaged in agriculture, and followed that occupation throughout his entire life. He married Catherine Hunter, and they were the parents of five children.
The youngest child was Aaron Halla- day, who was born in Suffield, and lived there during his lifetime, engaged in farm- ing. He was a large land owner and very active in the civic life of Suffield, a mem- ber of the Congregational church of that place until his death. He married Naomi Smith, and they were the parents of eight children.
The first child and eldest son of Aaron and Naomi (Smith ) Halladay was Moses Halladay, born in Suffield. In his early youth he followed the cultivation of the land as his forefathers had done for so many years, but he also learned the trade of carpenter and worked for some time at this occupation. He married Mary Tobin, and to them were born four children.
The eldest child, Edmund Tobin Hal- laday, was born in Suffield, March 7, 1799, and died December 3, 1852. His educa- tion was received in the public schools of Suffield, and in his youth he was taught the trade of wheelwright, which he fol- lowed successfully for many years. He owned one of the largest farms in the vicinity, and later in life he gave up his
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Edmund Malladay
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
trade to take up the cultivation of tobacco. He was most successful in this; his farm of five hundred acres extended into the township of Hamden county, Massachu- setts. His political affiliations were with the Whig party, and although he was most active and interested in the public affairs, he did not desire nor seek public office of any kind. He was a prominent member of the Baptist church. Mr. Hall- aday married (second) Clarissa Kendall, born in Suffield, March 10, 1817, a daugh- ter of Simon and Elizabeth (Kent) Ken- dall. Mrs. Clarissa (Kendall) Halladay was a descendant of a very old New Eng- land family. Captain Elihu Kent, her grandfather, and her great-grandfather, Major Elihu Kent, fought in the Revolu- tion, and his great-grandson, Edmund Halladay, has in his possession a flint lock musket, used by Captain Kent, and which is beyond monetary value in his estima- tion.
Major Elihu Kent was captain of the Suffield Company of Minute-Men, who marched in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775, Major of the First Regiment of Militia of the Connecticut State Troops. Promoted from captain, May, 1777, and served during the war until 1783. Colonel Elihu Kent, Jr., was born December 15, 1757, went with his father, Major Elihu Kent, into the Revolutionary Army, and was captured by the British on Long Island and was confined for a long time as a prisoner of war in the old sugar house in New York, where he suffered greatly.
Edmund Halladay, the son of Edmund Tobin and Clarissa (Kendall) Halladay, was born in Suffield, May 8, 1852, and died October 16, 1914. He attended the schools of his native town, and Hillside Academy (the Connecticut Literary In- stitute). After finishing his schooling he settled down in earnest to the work of raising tobacco and general farming. He
did a great amount of experimenting in tobacco culture for the United States Government. His political beliefs were strongly Republican, and he filled many offices for this party. He was constable for three years, and assessor for the same period of time. In 1884 he was elected to the State Legislature, and served on the Committee of Cities and Boroughs. In 1886, and for eleven consecutive years, he served as selectman, and during this period was given the position of chairman of the board. While Mr. Halladay was selectman, there were twenty miles of stone road constructed, together with seven iron bridges. The schools also showed a great improvement under his administration. From 1907 to 1914 he was the town clerk of Suffield, elected on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. For five years, January, 1908, to July, 1913, he was postmaster. At the time of the St. Louis Exposition, Mr. Halladay was chosen to take charge of the Connecticut tobacco exhibit there, and also in the Jamestown Exposition. He was a director of the Connecticut State Agricultural College at Storrs, Con- necticut, for many years, and also was an organizer of the Suffield Agricultural Society. Mr. Halladay held high stand- ing in the Masonic order ; he was a mem- ber of Apollo Lodge, No. 59, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Washington Chapter, No. 30, Royal Arch Masons ; Suffield Council, No. 23, Royal and Select Masters (all of Suffield) ; and Washington Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar, and Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Hartford; as well as of the Order of United American Mechanics, Lyman Council, and Gideon Granger Lodge, Knights of Pythias, both of Suffield. Mr. Halladay also was a member of the Tobacco Growers' Association, and one
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of its executive committee. Both he and in 1856, and his wife in 1884. Their eld- his family were members of the Second Baptist Church of Suffield, and all took active interest in matters pertaining to the church.
On November 12, 1879, Mr. Halladay married Eloise L. Warner, daughter of Charles C. and Jane E. (Holcomb) War- ner, born in Suffield, November 9, 1855. Mrs. Eloise L. (Warner) Halladay is a descendant of John Warner, the first member of the family in Suffield, about 1690. His wife was Elizabeth (Mighel) Warner, and they were the parents of John Warner, Jr., born May I, 1694. He married, in 1722, Elizabeth French, and their son, John Warner, was born August 9, 1723 ; he married, in 1754, Mary and they were the parents of Isaac War- ner, born August 24, 1760. The latter engaged in farming and the raising of cattle in Suffield, in which he was very successful. He was a Democrat, and a faithful member of the Baptist church. He married Adah Phelps, March 8, 1786, and she died on the homestead in Warner- town, July 29, 1824. Their son, Curtis Warner, was born June 5, 1793, in War- nertown, and was educated in the public schools. Afterwards he engaged in teach- ing for a number of years. Previous to his marriage, he was engaged in the ped- dling of tinware and Yankee notions in the States of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. On November 2, 1824, he married Parmelia Cushman, a native of Southwick, Massachusetts, a daughter of Simeon Merritt and Zibah (Moore) Cushman. She was descended from Rob- ert Cushman, who chartered the "May- flower" and attended to the business of the emigrants on the other side, but did not come over to this country on that ship. Mr. Warner was a Whig in poli- tics of the old line, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he died
est son, Charles C. Warner, was born in Suffield, October 7, 1826, died July 6, 1898; married, October 11, 1854, Jane E. Holcomb, born in Southwick, Massachu- setts, December 15, 1830, died in Suffield, September 16, 1892, and they were the parents of Eloise L. Warner, who became the wife of Edmund Halladay, as previ- ously noted. There were three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Halladay : I. Clarissa Jane, born June 21, 1882 ; mar- ried, September 1, 1909, Benjamin Judah Phelps, of Suffield. Mr. Phelps is at the present time the superintendent of schools at High Bridge, New Jersey. 2. Marjorie Eloise, born September 9, 1884, and is living at home with her mother. 3. Helen Kendall, born October 29, 1887, and also lives at home.
The entire life of Mr. Halladay was de- voted to the progress and improvement of the town which gave him birth, and despite the many demands upon his time, he was always ready to make any sacri- fice in order that something or some one might be better for it.
STRONG, Harry Barnard, Merchant, Financier.
The Strong family has been one of the largest and best of the original families of New England. In its widely ramified history we have a picture, on a broad scale, of men founding families in the fear of God, and training them to His service from generation to generation, according to the best typical forms in church and State of our ever-expanding home growth. They have ever been among the foremost in the land to found and to favor those great bulwarks of our civilization, the church and the school. Many have been the towns, the territories and the States into whose initial forms and processes of
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establishment they have poured the full by some of his Dorchester friends. John currents of their life and strength. Few families have had more educators and professional men among them, scholars, physicians, lawyers, teachers, preachers, judges, senators and military officers ; and a host of successful business men whose high ideals and straightforward methods have won the confidence of the communi- ties in which they reside.
It has been stated that the patronymic of the family was originally McStrachan, and that it has gone through the follow- ing changes: McStrachan, Strachan, Strachn, Strong. The family is an ancient one in England, the County of Shrop- shire being its original seat. One of the family married an heiress of Griffith, of the County of Caernarvon, Wales, and went there to reside in 1545.
Richard Strong, of that family, was born in that county in 1561. In 1591 he removed to Taunton, Somersetshire, Eng- land, where he died in 1613, leaving a son John, then eight years of age, and a daughter Eleanor. John removed to Lon- don, and thence to Plymouth, England. The cause of the Puritans enlisted his sympathies, and he joined the company of one hundred and forty who sailed from Plymouth in the "Mary and John," March 20, 1630, arriving at Nantasket, May 30, 1630.
This company finally decided upon a site for their settlement, which they called Dorchester. Having assisted in founding and developng the town of Dorchester, John Strong, in 1635, re- moved to Hingham. He was made free- man in Boston, March 9, 1636. On De- cember 4, 1638, we find him recorded as an inhabitant and proprietor of Taunton, Massachusetts, and he was made a free- man of the Plymouth Colony in the same year. He removed from Taunton to Windsor, Connecticut, probably about 1645. That town had been settled in 1636
Strong was appointed one of the commit- tee of five leading citizens "to superin- tend and bring forward the settlement of that place." In 1659 he removed to Northampton, Massachusetts, of which he was one of the most active founders. There he lived for forty years, one of the leaders in affairs of church and State. He was a prosperous tanner and acquired considerable land. He was an elder in the church and is generally spoken of as Elder John Strong.
He married, for his second wife, in December, 1630, Abigail, daughter of Thomas Ford, of Dorchester, Massachu- setts. She died July 6, 1688, the mother of sixteen children, after fifty-eight years of married life. John Strong died April 14, 1699. Thomas Ford came to Amer- ica with John Strong, and was one of the founders of Dorchester. He was one of the early settlers of Windsor, Con- necticut ; was deputy to the General Court in 1637-38-39-40; grand juror in 1643. He removed to Northampton, probably at the same time with John Strong in 1659. His wife died in Windsor, April 18, 1643.
Thomas Strong, son of Elder John Strong, was a trooper in 1658, under Major Mason, at Windsor, and he re- moved to Northampton with his father. He married, December 5, 1660, for his first wife, Mary, daughter of Rev. Eph- raim Hewett, of Windsor. She died Feb- ruary 20, 1670-71. Thomas Strong died October 3, 1689. Rev. Ephraim Hewett had been settled at Wraxall, Warwick- shire, England, but was proceeded against in 1638 by Archbishop Laud, of unpleas- ant memory, for neglecting ceremonies, and came to America in 1639 with his wife Isabel, settling in Windsor. It was said of him: "He was a man of superior talents and eminent usefulness." He died September 4, 1644.
Asahel Strong, youngest child of
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Thomas Strong, by his first wife, was born November 4, 1668. He removed to Farm- ington, Connecticut, where he engaged in farming. He married, June 11, 1689, Margaret, said to be a daughter of Deacon Stephen Hart. Asahel Strong died Octo- ber 8, 1739.
Captain Asahel (2) Strong, son of Asahel (1) Strong, was born October 13, 1702; married, January 8, 1729, Ruth, born April 16, 1708, daughter of Hon. John and Abigail (Standley) Hooker. Captain Strong was a lawyer and a promi- nent man in the public affairs of the town. He died March 3 (or 30), 1751. Hon. John Hooker was born February 20, 1664- 65 ; married, November 24, 1687, Abigail, daughter of Captain John and his second wife, Sarah (Fletcher) Standley. She was born in Farmington, July 25, 1669. Captain John Standley was a man of wealth and high social position, and had won distinction as a lieutenant and cap- tain in the Indian wars. Hon. John Hooker was one of the best known men of his day and for many years was the leading man in Farmington ; was magis- trate; judge of the Supreme Court of the colony, 1724-32; member of the Lower House of the Assembly, 1699-1723; then became member of the Upper House, serving twenty-one sessions; was clerk two sessions and speaker six sessions; was chosen assistant in 1723, and filled the office continuously for eleven years. He served on important committees, and was frequently appointed to settle diffi- culties in towns, churches, etc., and many other responsibilities were placed upon him, attesting his ability and the implicit confidence reposed in him. He is de- scribed as having "dark hair and dark eyes, and a dignity in his air and expres- sion that procured profound respect." Another description says : "He was a fine looking man, tall, very erect, and had a
prominent large nose." He died Febru- ary 21, 1745-46. His wife died February 21, 1742. His father, Rev. Samuel Hooker, was born in 1633 ; married, September 22, 1658, Mary, daughter of Captain Thomas and Mary (Brown) Willet, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, where she was born No- vember 10, 1637. Rev. Samuel Hooker entered Harvard in 1651, and was gradu- ated in 1653 ; entered the ministry in 1657, and preached at Plymouth, Massachu- setts. He removed to Farmington, in 1661, where he preached until his death in 1697. He was famous as an eloquent preacher. Captain Thomas Willet was at that time a successful merchant at Plym- outh. He succeeded Captain Miles Stand- ish in command of the famous military company at Plymouth and he afterward became the first mayor of New York City. Rev. Samuel Hooker was the son of Rev. Thomas Hooker, a sketch of whom ap- pears elsewhere in this work. The latter was born in England about 1586; entered Emanuel College, Cambridge, in 1604; received degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1608; that of Master of Arts in 1611; entered a divinity course and was elected a fellow of the college. He left college before completing the course and received the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. He came to America in the ship "Griffin," in 1633, and was settled as the pastor of Newton, Massachusetts, that year. Owing to differences with the leaders of the Massachusetts colony, more political and commercial than religious in their nature-though in his day religion and politics were not divorced-Rev. Thomas Hooker, in 1636, gun in one hand, and Bible in the other, led a company of his followers through the wilderness to what is now Hartford, Connecticut, where he became the leader of the colony. He died in 1647, leaving an estate inventoried at one pound, one hundred and thirty-six
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
shilling and fifteen pence, which shows he was one of the wealthy men of New England. The name of his first wife, whose youngest child was Samuel, is not known.
Rev. Cyprian Strong, son of Captain Asahel (2) and Ruth (Hooker) Strong, was born May 26, 1743. He was gradu- ated at Yale in 1763; served as town clerk of Farmington in 1766; and was ordained a pastor of the church at what is now Portland, Connecticut, August 9, 1767. It is said that "his preaching abounded in clear reasoning and sound instruction rather than in power of imagi- nation or fervor of feeling." He married for his second wife, May 4, 1786, Abigail, born August 8, 1760, daughter of Judge Ebenezer White, of Chatham, now Port- land, Connecticut, and Ruth (Wells) White, of East Hartford, daughter of Captain Samuel, Jr., and Esther (Ells- worth) Wells. She died May 2, 1795, aged thirty-five years. Rev. Cyprian Strong died November 17, 18II. (An ex- tensive sketch of his life and character appears in volume I, Sprague's "Annals of the American Pulpit").
Erastus Strong, son of Rev. Cyprian Strong, was born May 6, 1789. He was a farmer and for many years was clerk of the Congregational church in Portland. He married, April 22, 1818, Mary, born April 28, 1800, daughter of Abel and Mary (Cruttenden) Lewis, of Portland, Con- necticut.
John Ellsworth Strong, son of Erastus Strong, was born August 28, 1824, in Portland, Connecticut, and died in Hart- ford. He was a retail hatter in Hartford, following this line throughout his active business years. He was a captain of foot guards for many years, and was elected major, a commission which he resigned, however, two days after he received it. He was affiliated with the Masonic order.
He married, February 1, 1860, Eunice, daughter of Captain Henry and Eunice (Clark) Barnard. Captain Henry Bar- nard gained his title through sea service ; he was a cousin of Henry Barnard, the educator. Mr. and Mrs. Strong were the parents of two children : Harry Barnard, mentioned below ; and Mary Amelia, born October 15, 1863, married A. W. De- barthe, of Wethersfield, who died May 7, 1917, at the age of fifty-six years.
Harry Barnard Strong, son of John Ellsworth and Eunice (Barnard) Strong, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, July 25, 1861. He was educated in the gram- mar and high schools of his native place, being a member of the class of 1880 in the latter institution. Upon leaving school he entered the employ of "The Beehive," where he remained a short time. In 1876 he entered the employ of Brown, Thom- son & Company, which was then a small concern, but now carries on the largest department store business in Connecticut. His rise in this connection has been rapid and he has been a member of the firm since 1895. Mr. Strong is a director of the Phoenix National Bank and the Syn- dicate Trailing Company of New York City. He is affiliated with the great Masonic body, being a member of Lafa- yette Lodge, No. 100, of Hartford; the Hartford Golf Club; City Club of Hart- ford; Country Club of Farmington ; Au- tomobile Club, and Wethersfield Country Club. His residence is in the town of Wethersfield.
Mr. Strong married, October 20, 1886, Hattie, daughter of William Meggat, of Wethersfield. Mr. and Mrs. Strong have three children: I. James M., born Sep- tember 15, 1888, was educated at the Westminster School, Simsbury, Connec- ticut, and is now associated with the house of Brown, Thomson & Company, of Hartford. 2. Eunice Barnard, born
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March 29, 1894, was educated at the Westover School, Middlebury, Connecti- cut, and was married February 24, 1916, to Burton Bolles. 3. Henry Barnard, born October 5, 1899, is a student at Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut, preparing for college.
(The Barnard Line).
The Barnard family from which Mr. Strong is descended was founded in Con- necticut as early as 1644, when Francis Barnard was residing there. He was born about 1616-17, in England, was a malster by trade, was one of the first set- tlers of Hadley, Massachusetts, a free- man in 1666, and died February 3, 1698. He married, August 15, 1644, Hannah Marvyn, a daughter of Matthew Marvyn, an early settler of Hartford.
They were the parents of Captain Sam- uel Barnard, born 1654, in Hartford, died October 17, 1728, in Hadley. He mar- ried, November 5, 1678, Mary Colton, born September 22, 1649, daughter of George and Deborah (Gardner) Colton, of Springfield, Massachusetts.
Their son, John Barnard, was born May 6, 1688, in Hadley. He purchased land in Hartford, March 15, 1733, and in several subsequent years, October 14, 1738, in 1739, 1741, 1753-54. He was a blacksmith by trade, and is called "the blacksmith" to distinguish him from an- other John Barnard living in Hartford at the same time. He married Catherine Case, of East Hartford, who died July 8, 1755. He died at Hartford about 1771.
His eldest child, John Barnard, born 1731-32, died December 28, 1813, in Hart- ford. He married Hannah, daughter of Jonathan and Tabitha Bigelow, of Hart- ford, born about 1739, died March 13, 1800.
Their second son, Dorus Barnard, born 1759, in Hartford, died January 18, 1818.
He married Abigail Dodd, of Hartford, born 1759-60, baptized February 24, 1760, at First Church, Hartford, died Novem- ber 23, 1811, a daughter of Timothy and Abigail (Benton) Dodd, of Hartford.
Their second son, Captain Henry Bar- nard, was born January 24, 1788, in Hart- ford, in a house which stood on the site of the present Barnard block, and which was his home until his death, June 4, 1861. In early life he followed the sea and was engaged in West India and South American trade. He was the owner of considerable land in and about Hartford, and after retiring from the sea engaged in its cultivation. The family had been identified with the South Congregational church of Hartford, but Captain Henry Barnard assisted in the organization of the Universalist church of Hartford, and the construction of its church building. Politically, a Whig, he was among the most public-spirited citizens of Hartford, and was employed by the government in establishing the channel of the Connecti- cut river below Hartford. He married Eunice Clark, who was born February 23, 1790, in Hartford, and died December 6, 1873, a daughter of Dorus and Clarissa Clark. Mr. and Mrs. Barnard were the parents of Eunice Barnard, who became the wife of John Ellsworth Strong, in 1860, as above noted.
WILSON, James Cornelius,
Physician and Surgeon.
Dr. Wilson's grandfather, Cornelius Wilson, born about 1820, in Kennebunk, Maine, became a millwright, residing for some time at Biddeford, Maine, and later located in Palmer, Massachusetts, where he was agent and superintendent of the Thorndike Mills. He married Sarah F. Emery, who was born April 25, 1828, in Kennebunk, a descendant of Anthony
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James C. Wilson M. H.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Emery, who was born soon after 1600, in Romsey, Hants, England, second son of John and Agnes Emery. With his elder brother, John Emery, who was born in 1598, he came in the ship "James," which landed at Boston, June 3, 1635. After a short residence at Newbury, he removed in 1646 to Dover, New Hampshire, whence he removed in 1649 to that part of Kittery, Maine, which is now Eliot. His residence in Dover was at Dover Point, where he kept an ordinary, was selectman of the town in 1644 and 1648. Near the close of the latter year, he pur- chased a house and lands in Kittery, but continued to reside in Dover until the next year, when he served as grand juror in that town. In Kittery he received four grants of land, served as selectman and constable. In 1660 he sold his property in that town and removed to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where he was made free- man, September 29, of that year, held various offices, and was deputy to the General Court in 1672. The last record of him is in 1680, when he deeded some land to a daughter. He was accompanied from England by his wife, Frances, who was the mother of James Emery, born about 1630, in England. He had grants of land in Kittery in 1653, 1656, 1659, and 1671, was selectman eight years, deputy two years, and filled various other offices. He was a man of large frame, weighing more than three hundred and fifty pounds, and no carriage made in his day could carry his weight. When he made a trip to Boston, he was accustomed to ride in a chair placed in an ox cart drawn by a pair of steers. During his last years he resided at Dedham, Massachusetts, and died before 1714. His wife's baptismal name was Elizabeth, and their fifth son, ยท Joseph Emery, born 1670, resided in Ber- wick, Maine, was a deacon in 1717, and ruling elder in 1735, held many civil
offices, was selectman three years, and died between February 6, and December 26, 1738, leaving an estate valued at five hundred and nineteen pounds and ten shillings. He married, April 6, 1696, Charity Nason, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Jenkins) Nason, granddaughter of Richard and Sarah Nason, who came from Stratford-on-Avon, the home of Shakespeare. She died between 1748 and 1752. Her fifth son, Jabez Emery, bap- tized July 13, 1718, settled in that part of Wells, Maine, which is now Kennebunk, and died May 19, 1790. He married, Feb- ruary 6, 1745, Elizabeth Butler, probably the eldest child of Moses and Mercy (Wentworth ) Butler, of Kittery, baptized September 2, 1727. Her fourth son, Isaac Emery, born April 22, 1756, in Kenne- bunk, lived in that town, where he was a merchant and importer, and died June 14, 1826. He married, May 15, 1783, Eunice Perkins, born March 6, 1761, died August 20, 1834. Her second son, Benjamin Emery, born February 26, 1793, in Kenne- bunk, died there, July 20, 1871. He mar- ried, October 5, 1817, Sally Towne, and their third daughter, Sarah F. Emery, born April 25, 1828, became the wife of Cornelius Wilson, of Biddeford, Maine.
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