USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 24
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Mr. Holley married, June 10, 1897, Calista Vinton Brockett, daughter of Asa- hel and Mariett Brockett. Mr. and Mrs. Holley are the parents of two children : I. Julian Lawrence, born August 25, 1898; attended Bristol school and high school, Williams College and later Harvard; he joined the Harvard Naval Unit and was stationed at the Harvard training camp during the year 1918. 2. Margaret Storrs, born October 31, 1899. The family home is at Bristol.
RUSSELL, William H.,
Man of Lofty Character.
The surname Russell belongs to that class of English surnames which had their origin in nicknames. It is derived directly from the cognomen Russell, the diminutive of Rous, a sobriquet for one
with hair or complexion of a reddish- brown. Just as the old French brun (brown) took in English two diminutives, burnett and burnell, so roux (reddish brown) found two diminutives-russet and russell. From nicknames these be- came hereditary surnames, and are all in existence to-day with the exception of Russet. The first entry of the name in English records of medieval date occurs in the Hundred Rolls in the year 1273.
Russell Arms -- Argent a chevron between three crosses crosslet fitchée sable, all within a bordure engrailed gules charged with four bezants, and as many escallops or, alternately.
Crest-A demi-lion rampant holding in the dex- ter paw a cross crosslet fitchée sable.
Motto-Constans justitiam moniti.
The Russell family has figured notably in New England life and affairs since the middle of the seventeenth century. Among its members have been famous patriots, public men, divines, and cap- tains of industry and finance. Several emigrants of the name left England in the early decades of the colonization period, and became the founders here of families which have since spread to every part of the United States. The line of ancestry herein under consideration descends from John Russell, of Woburn, through the Revolutionary patriot, Major Thomas Russell, and his son, Thomas Handy Rus- sell, to the late William Henry Russell, founder of the famous old Russell House of Detroit, Michigan, and one of the best known figures in the life of the Middle West in the stirring period which pre- ceded the Civil War.
Major Thomas Russell, son of Thomas and Honora (Loud) Russell, was born September 28, 1758. He was a descend- ant in the sixth generation of John Rus- sell, one of the earliest inhabitants of Woburn, Massachusetts. Thomas Rus-
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sell was pursuing his studies in Boston at the time of the occupation of that city by the British, in 1775. After the battle of Bunker Hill, he and his sister Elizabeth went to Providence and took up their residence with their brother, Jonathan Russell, a merchant of prominence there, who at that time was captain of the well known Providence Cadet Company, which was called into active service and of which Thomas Russell was made ensign. In October, 1777, although but eight- een years of age, he was commissioned by General Washington as ensign in Col. Sherburne's regiment of Continental troops, then being formed. The regiment was then ordered to garrison the High- lands of the Hudson, and passed several months at Fishkill and various places along the river. In March following the regiment proceeded to West Point, where it erected what was afterwards known as "Sherburne's Redoubt," after which it went into garrison at Fort Arnold (now Fort Clinton, No. 2). On June 24, 1778, Col. Sherburne's regiment set out for White Plains, whence it proceeded with Gen. Varnum's brigade to Rhode Island, and went into camp near Providence. In August, 1778, Gen. Sullivan assembled his forces at Portsmouth, R. I., for the cam- paign against the British troops in New- port. In the memorable battle which followed on August 29, Gen. Varnum's brigade, to which Russell (who had been promoted) was attached, was on the right and bore a prominent part in what Gen. Lafayette characterizes as "the best fought action of the war." Gen. Wash- ington, in a communication to Gen. Sul- livan, officially expressed his thanks for the "gallant behavior" of the American forces, and Congress, on September 19, presented thanks to the officers and troops for the "fortitude and bravery displayed." On August 31, Col. Sherburne's regiment
took post at Bristol, Rhode Island, where it remained until July, 1779. It then pro- ceeded to Providence, where it was in- spected by Major-Gen. Baron Steuben. Gen. Varnum having resigned his com- mission, Brig .- Gen. Stark assumed com- mand of the brigade, which in November joined the main army, then with Gen. Washington in New Jersey. Russell's soldierly qualities having attracted the attention of his commander, the following brigade order appeared on November 20, 1779: "Adj't Thos. Russell, of Col. Sher- burne's Regt., is appointed A. D. Camp to B. Genl. Stark. He is to be respected ac- cordingly." After which he was known as Major Russell. He remained with the main army at Morristown until June, 1780, and was with Gen. Stark's brigade in the affair at "Connecticut Farms," and on duty at various posts until October 6, when the brigade marched to West Point. In October, 1780, Congress re- solved on a reduction of the army. Under this resolve nine Continental regiments were consolidated into five, the junior officers in each regiment becoming super- numerary, retired on half pay. Under this arrangement Russell was retired on January 1, 1781, after a faithful and hon- orable service.
Repairing to Newport, he married, No- vember 29, 1783, a daughter of Charles Handy, of that town, and with his wife removed to Philadelphia, where he em- barked in mercantile business, in which he continued until 1785; returning again to Newport, he entered into foreign com- merce, which led him abroad in voyages to London, Canton, and other distant parts. He became a member of the Ar- tillery Company at Newport, and one of its commissioned officers ; subsequently he was in command there of a volunteer company of cavalry. Major Russell died in the city of New York, February 19.
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1801. His children were: I. Ann Brown. 2. Mary. 3. Thomas Handy, mentioned below. 4. Charles Handy, married (first) Ann Rodman; (second) Caroline How- land. 5. William Henry, married (first) Mary Alice Crapo; (second) Anna Kane.
Thomas Handy Russell, son of Major Thomas Russell, was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He married Anna P. Bos- worth, of Bristol, Rhode Island, and in middle life removed to Western New York, where he rose to considerable prominence in public life.
William Henry Russell, son of Thomas Handy and Anna P. (Bosworth) Russell, was born in Rhode Island, February 8, 1824. He was educated in the schools of his native State, and on the death of his father went as a youth to live with his uncle, Charles Handy Russell. When about thirty years of age he went to De- troit, Michigan, to accept the post of con- fidential agent with the firm of Crane & Wesson, real estate dealers. Shortly afterward he conceived the plan of con- ducting a first class hotel, and to this end leased the National Hotel, which stood on the site now occupied by the Pontchar- train. Changing the name to the Russell House, and inaugurating a new policy of management, Mr. Russell in the five years preceding his death made the Russell House one of the most noted hostelries of the Middle West. It was known from coast to coast in the stirring period of bit- ter controversy which directly preceded the Civil War, and in its lobbies gathered the men who directed the destinies of the times. Mr. Russell was a prominent fig- ure in Republican politics in Detroit. He was also active in the Episcopal church, of which he was a valued member.
William Henry Russell married Emily L. Baldwin, daughter of Col. Lyman and Mancy (Booth) Baldwin, both of whom were descendants of Connecticut families
of ancient date. (See Baldwin VII. and Booth VII). Mrs. Russell, who survives her husband, has made her home in the handsome Russell residence on Jefferson avenue for forty-five years. She is an honored member of the First Congrega- tional Church of Detroit.
BALDWIN FAMILY,
Ancestral History.
Baldwin Arms-Argent a chevron ermine be- tween three hazel sprigs vert.
Crest-A squirrel sejant or, holding a hazel sprig vert.
Motto-Vim vi re pello.
The surname Baldwin is of ancient Ger- man or Scandinavian origin, and signifies literally "Bold-Winner" or "Bold, Cour- ageous Friend." The name or its coun- terpart is found in practically every lan- guage in use in medieval Europe. The Latin form, Baldwinus, takes the form Baudouin in French, in Italian Balduino, and in German, Baldwin.
The first mention of the cognomen in a place of historic importance occurs after the battle of Roncenvalles. A. D., 778, when Baldwin, son of Gan, a young French knight, fell with so many other noble youths. Another Baldwin, son of Ogier, the Dane, was slain by Charlon, son of Charlemagne. This would seem to fix the name as of Danish origin, and to establish the fact that it was intro- duced into France by the Norsemen from whom historic Normandy takes its name. In 837, A. D., we hear of "Baldwin of the Iron Arm," the founder of Bruges, so called from his skill in wielding the battle axe. He was the first ruler of Flanders of whom history has left any record. A brave and daring warrior, and a "for- ester" of Flanders, under Charles the Bald, Baldwin in his visits at court fell in love with the king's daughter, Judith,
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VIM VI
REPELLO
Baldwin
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the youthful widow of two English kings, married her, and fled with his bride to Lorraine. The king, then harassed by the Danes, was unable to avenge what lie re- garded as an insult. He applied to the Pope, who excommunicated Baldwin. The latter in turn pleaded his "cause of true love" so eloquently that the Pope with- drew his censures and induced Charles to pardon his children. Charles was at last conciliated, and made his son-in-law margrave (Marchio Flandriae) of Flan- ders, which he held as an hereditary fief. The Northmen were at this time con- tinually devastating the coast lands, and Baldwin was entrusted with the posses- sion of this outlying borderland of the west Frankish dominion in order to de. fend it against the invaders. He was the first of a line of strong rulers, who at some date early in the tenth century ex- changed the title of margrave for that of count. His son, Baldwin II., "the Bald," from his stronghold at Bruges main- tained, as did his father before him, a vigorous defence of his lands against the incursions of the Northmen. On his mother's side a descendant of Charle- magne, he strengthened the dynastic importance of his family by marrying Aelfthryth, daughter of Alfred the Great. On his death in 918, his possessions were divided between his sons Arnulf the Elder and Adolphus. Direct descendants of Baldwin I. ruled the Dukedom of Flanders for several centuries.
In the tenth and eleventh centuries the Crusades convulsed all Europe. Every family of note was constrained to send its representatives to the East. The Counts of Flanders and the English branches of the family were numerously represented as leaders in the successive armies that went forth to deliver Palestine from the infidels. Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, known in history as Baldwin I.,
was one of the most prominent leaders of the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the capture of Constantinople, the con- quest of the greater part of the East Roman Empire, and the foundation of the Latin empire of Romania. Baldwin, Prince of Edessa, and first King of Jer- usalem, was one of the "adventurer princes" of the first crusade, and as such he stands alongside of Bohemund, Tan- cred and Raymund. Tasso in his poem "Jerusalem Delivered" speaks often of the Baldwins:
Baldwin he does ambitiously aspire
The height of human grandeur to attain.
At Patti, Sicily, repose the ashes of Queen Adelaide, mother of the great King Roger, who became the wife of Baldwin, King of Jerusalem. After two years' residence there, discovering that he had another wife living, she returned to Sicily and taking the veil, buried her grief and mortification in a convent founded by her brother, and died in 1178.
Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, with a train of two hundred horse, three hundred foot, his banner inscribed with the name of Thomas A' Becket, accom- panied Richard Cœur de Lion on a cru- sade in 1120. Matilda, daughter of the Duke of Flanders, married William of Normandy, the Conqueror, and went to England with him. History and tradi- tion preserve an interesting story of the romance of William and Matilda. Ma- tilda, it is said, showed an inclination to play the coquette, and refused to give a positive consent to marriage. William was not to be trifled with and adopted heroic measures. One day, accompanied by some of his boon companions, he met her at Tours, and contrived to have her hustled and crowded through the street and even tumbled in the dust. The lady
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forthwith concluded not to further incur the anger of so rough a lover, and they were married shortly afterward. One of their sons ruled Normandy. Another, William Rufus, became King of England on the death of his father.
Baldwin as cognomen and surname fig- ures notably in English history from the end of the seventh century. The ancestor of John Hampden, the English patriot of ship money fame, was Baldwin de Hamp- den. We read of Baldwin D'Anesnes, son of Margaret, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut. He is known as the historian of his house in the thirteenth century. Wil- liam the Conqueror created one Baldwin hereditary Viscount of Devonshire and Baron of Okehampton. He was succeeded by his son Richard. Hemington was held by Baldwin de Pettour, who was obliged every Christmas to go to Saltus, Sufflus, and Pettus, to retain his estate.
Rev. Thomas Baldwin, who died in 1190, at the siege of Petolemais, was the author of "De Sacremento Atlantis," "Bibliotheca Patrum Cisterciensum," and several other commentaries. Rev. Wil- liam Baldwin, scholar and divine, was the author of a work called "A Mirror for Magistrates," and of several plays, poems, comedies, tragedies, similes, etc. We read also of Benjamin Baldwin, an arch- eologist of the sixteenth century; of Sir Thomas Baldwin, a miscellaneous writer of the seventeenth century ; of Fredericus Baldwin of Wittenberg, in 1628, who wrote a Latin "Treatise on Cases of Con- science."
Mr. C. C. Baldwin, in his "Baldwin Genealogy," gives much interesting infor- mation concerning the family in Eng- land, and particularly of the Bucks county branch from which the American emi- grants came. He tells us that "The most eminent Baldwin of Bucks was Sir John
Baldwin, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas of England, 1536 to 1546, when he died. He was lord of the Manor of Ayles- bury. His office was very lucrative and he was very rich. In 1540 Henry VIII., granted him the home and site of Gray Friars in Aylesbury." Richard Baldwin, of Dundredge, County Bucks, was the direct ancestor of the American Baldwins. The first Baldwin settlers in New Eng- land were all kindred, but not all broth- ers. The family to-day is found in every part of the United States, and for two and a half centuries has been honorably rep- resented in professional, business and public life. Henry Baldwin was a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Baldwins have been governors of states, members of congress, divines, authors, and leaders in every honorable walk of life. One Abram Baldwin was a member of the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States. He later was instrumental in the founding of the Georgia University. Matthias Bald- win, the distinguished inventor, rose from a humble place to the foremost rank. Be- ginning in a small shop, of which he was the sole occupant, he became the head of an establishment employing a thousand workmen. He was the builder of the first American locomotive.
Connecticut has been the home of one of the most distinguished branches of the family for over two hundred and fifty years. It was here, in the early town of New Haven, that John Baldwin, founder of the line herein under consideration, settled prior to 1648.
(I) John Baldwin, the progenitor, was born in England; all evidence points to the fact that he was of the distinguished County Bucks family, and kinsman (brother, nephew or cousin) of Sylvester Baldwin, whose nuncupative will he wit-
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- Ayman Balkon
:
Many Baldwin
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
nessed. The family of Sylvester Bald- win came from Aston Clinton, a quiet little parish four miles from Aylesbury. It has a small church called St. Leonard's, built in the old English style. The walls are the same that the Baldwins were familiar with before coming to these shores. The roof had been burned in the Revolution of 1640, but was replaced. The Chapel farm, formerly in the tenure of Sylvester Baldwin, lies directly across the street. At the end of the farm are the Baldwin woods. A little way from St. Leonard's lies Great Hampden, the paternal home of Hampden, with its grand old avenue of beeches, so long that one imagines the four thousand yeomen who are said to have ridden to London in sympathy for the patriot, congregated about it. Hampden was buried here in 16.43. In his will he remembers John Baldwin. From this region came the Baldwins, Bryants, Fenns. Fowlers and others of Milford, Connecticut, in 1638. John Baldwin was among the earliest planters of Milford, but was not a men- ber of the church, and hence not a free- man. He joined the Milford church, March 19, 1648, and was buried at Mil- ford, 1681. He married (first) Mary -; (second) Mary Bruen, of Pequot. daughter of John Bruen, who came from Stapleton, Cheshire, England. She died September 2, 1670.
(II) Josiah Baldwin, son of John and Mary Baldwin, was baptized at Milford, Connecticut, March 20. 1648, aged six years. He was a lifelong resident of Mil- ford, a prosperous landowner and lead- ing citizen. On January 30, 1671, he joined the church at Milford in full com- munion. On June 25, 1667, he married Mary Camp, who is thought to have been a daughter of Edward Camp, of New Haven.
(111) Samuel Baldwin, son of Josiah and Mary (Camp) Baldwin, was born at Milford, Connecticut, March 14, 1674-75. He was called "senior" in the records after 1711. He owned lands at Chestnut Hill. Samuel Baldwin was a wheel- wright by trade. He disposed of his prop- erty by deed to his sons before his death. He married Rebecca Wilkinson, who was born in 1676, daughter of Edward and Rebecca (Smith) Wilkinson, of Milford. He and his wife and oldest children were baptized at Milford, August 1, 1703. He died in Milford, January 8, 1737-38. His will is dated February 14, 1734.
(IV) Caleb Baldwin, son of Samuel and Rebecca (Wilkinson) Baldwin, was born at Milford, Connecticut, July 26, 1704. He married, January 29, 1729, Ann Tibbals, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Tibbals. Her mother, Sarah Tibbals, was a daughter of Nathaniel Bristol. Caleb Baldwin joined the church at Milford in 1741. His will, which bequeathed to his widow and children, was dated Decem- ber 20, 1763. and proved April 2, 1782. He resided at Milford and Newtown.
(V) Jared Baldwin, son of Caleb and Ann (Tibbals) Baldwin, was born at Mil- ford, Connecticut, January 30, 1731. He married, September 18, 1753, Damaris Booth, of Newtown. In 1775 he had a deed of land from his parents, then of New Milford. Jared Baldwin served with the Continental forces during the Amer- ican Revolution, as a member of Captain Caleb Mix's company, Colonel Increase Mosell's regiment, in 1778; and in 1780 was in Colonel Heman Swift's regiment. After the war he removed to Luzerne county (Wyoming Valley ) Pennsylvania, and settled on a large tract of land there. His wife died in 1816, and he in 1817, at the residence of his son, Dr. Gabriel Bald- win, in Connecticut.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
(VI) John (2) Baldwin, son of Jared and Damaris (Booth) Baldwin, was born November 17, 1768, and settled in Wes- ton, Connecticut, where he died July 7, 1840. He resided in Weston and in Bridgeport, following agricultural pur- suits in both places. He married (first) October, 1790, in Weston, Naomi Brins- made, who was born February 27, 1769, and died December 16, 1812. He married (second) in 1814, Mariane Smith, who died in Weston in 1819. Children: 1. Eli, born July 30, 1791, died in Columbus, Ohio. 2. Josiah, born February 28, 1793, died October 25, 1867; married (first) May 20, 1818, Jeanette Wells, who died December 5, 1826; (second) May II, 1828, Sarah Burr, who died in 1864. 3. Clar- issa, born February 14, 1795, died Sep- tember 25, 1880; married, November 6, 1817, Levi Beardsley. 4. Esther, born April 16, 1797, died March 15, 1852. 5. Nathan, born May 8, 1799, died May 21, 1854; married Julia Ann Wheeler, and among their children was Samuel Wheel- er Baldwin, a notable figure in financial and business circles in Bridgeport, Con- necticut, and for several decades presi- dent of the Connecticut National Bank. 6. Lyman, mentioned below. 7. Abel, born May 3, 1804, died October 15, 1872. 8. Edwin, born April 29, 1808; was iden- tified with his brother Josiah in the print- ing and bookbinding business; died May 12, 1882.
(VII) Lyman Baldwin, son of John (2) and Naomi (Brinsmade) Baldwin, was born in Weston, Connecticut, March 27, 1802. He removed to Michigan in middle life, and until his death occupied a prominent place in public life in that State. Colonel Lyman Baldwin was high sheriff of Wayne county, Michigan, for the years 1853 and 1854, having previous- ly held other important offices. In 1855
Baldwin avenue, Detroit, was named in his honor. That city was his home dur- ing the greater part of his residence in the West, and he figures notably in the history of the early years of its industrial and commercial expansion. Colonel Bald- win married Mancy Booth, daughter of Eben and Sarah (Steele) Booth, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. (See Booth VII). He died in Detroit, October 8, 1875.
BOOTH FAMILY,
Ancestral History.
Booth Arms-Argent three boars' heads erect and erased sable langued gules.
Crest-A lion passant argent. Motto-Quod ero spero.
The Booth family has figured promi- nently in English history since the middle of the thirteenth century. The name, which is of local origin and has become strongly ramified in South Lancashire, England, is first of record on the ancient rolls of the county palatine of Lancaster, in the year 1275. All families of the name in various parts of England, and those American branches which claim descent from the founder, Richard Booth, are believed to be derived from one parent stock, of which William de Boothe of Lancaster county was the progenitor.
The New England Booths, prominent from the beginning of Colonial history to the present day, descend from four pro- genitors. Robert Booth settled at Ex- eter, Massachusetts, in 1645, whither he removed to Saco, Maine, in 1653. John Boothe was of Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1656, and probably of Southold, Long Island. Humphrey Boothe, merchant of Charlestown, Massachusetts, married a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Symes, about 1656. Richard Boothe, of Stratford, was
174
QUOD
ERO
SPERO
BOOTH
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
one of the original proprietors of the town, and a leading figure in its early life. His descendants have ranked among the foremost families in Connecticut for two hundred and fifty years, and have never relinquished the prestige of early generations.
The pedigree of the English house of which the American Booths are an off- shoot, is herewith appended :
(I) William de Boothe, son of Adam de Boothe, of Lancaster county, in 1275, married Sybil, daughter of Ralph de Brer- eton, of the county palatine of Chester, descendant of an ancient English family.
(II) Thomas de Booth, son of William de Boothe, and his heir, married and had Robert, mentioned below.
(III) Robert Booth, son of Thomas de Booth, married into the Barton family of Lancashire, but evidence is not clear whether his wife was Agnes, daughter and heir of Sir William de Barton, or her daughter and heir Loretta.
(IV) Thomas (2) Booth, Knight (styled Thomasin of the Booths), son of Robert Booth, was living at the time of Edward III., 1327-77. His seal (as ap- peared in an ancient document in posses- sion of Lord Delamere in 1680) was, in 1372, "a chevron engrailed in a canton, a mullet, and for crest a fox and a St. Cath- erine wheel," with the motto "Sigillum Thoma." He married Ellen, daughter of Thomas De Workesley, near Booths, in Lancashire.
ried Maude, daughter of Sir Clifton Sav- age, of Clifton, in Cheshire, Knight.
(V1) Sir Robert (2) Booth, son of John Booth and his wife Joan, was the first of the Booths who settled at Dunham Mas- sey, in Cheshire. Ile died September, 1450, and is buried in the parish church of Wil- merton, in Cheshire. He married Dulcis, daughter and heir of Sir William Ven- ables, of Bollen, Knight. She died Sep- tember, 1453. Sir Robert Booth and Wil- liam, his son, had a grant of the shrievalty of Cheshire for both their lives.
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