USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 27
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(III) John Suydam, son of Ryck Suy- dam, was born in Flatbush, New York, and resided in Flatbush and in Brooklyn throughout his life. He died in Brooklyn, about the close of the American Revolu- tion. His children were: I. Ryck. 2. Ferdinand. 3. Hendrick, mentioned be- low. 4. Rynier. 5. Maria.
(IV) Hendrick Suydam, son of John Suydam, was born in New York, in 1736. Prior to the Revolution he removed to Hallett's Cove, Long Island, and bought the mill on Sunswick creek, which he con- ducted during the rest of his life. He was one of the foremost citizens of Hallett's Cove, and was for many years an elder of the Dutch church in Newtown. A con- temporary tribute to him, which gives an insight into his life and character, states that "urbanity of manners, * *
* hos- pitality without grudging, characterized his life. He lived esteemed, loved, re- vered." From this we may draw a clear picture of him as a representative of the finest type of Dutch gentleman and
planter of his day, living a useful life on his broad well-cared-for acres, dispensing hospitality and good cheer with a lavish hand, after the fashion of the Knicker- bocker patriarchs whom Washington Ir- ving has immortalized.
Hendrick Suydam was thrice married; (first) August 30, 1762, to Letitia Sebring, who died February 14, 1765. He married (second) Harmtie Lefferts, who died childless. His third wife, whom he mar- ried, August 3, 1770, was Phebe Skid- more, daughter of Samuel Skidmore. She died April 11, 1832, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. He died February 9, 1818, aged eighty-one years.
(V) Ferdinand Suydam, son of Hen- drick and Phebe (Skidmore) Suydam, was born at Hallett's Cove, Newtown, New York, September 13, 1786. He passed the early years of his life on his father's estate at Newtown, but removed to New York City, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits later in life. He died at Buffalo, New York, March 23, 1851, and was buried in the vault of Trinity Church, New York. He was well known in business and financial circles in New York City. Mr. Suydam was a member of Trinity parish. His home at No. 3 Bowling Green, New York, stood on the site of the present Custom House.
He married, October 21, 1810, Eliza Un- derhill, daughter of Anthony Lispenard and Clarina (Bartow) Underhill, who was born in New York City, November 8, 1788, and died there June 16, 1844. (See Underhill VI).
(VI) Henry Lispenard Suydam, son of Ferdinand and Eliza (Underhill) Suydam, was born November 7, 1813, in New York City. He resided in Babylon, Long Island, a well known citizen there, living the life of a retired gentleman. He was a man of culture and of quiet, scholarly
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tastes. He married Phoebe Higbie, and died at Babylon, Long Island, where he was buried, October 25, 1879. Henry Lispenard and Phoebe (Higbie) Suydam were the parents of one child: Louise, mentioned below.
(VII) Louise Suydam, daughter of Henry Lispenard and Phoebe (Higbie) Suydam, was born August 17, 1853, at Babylon, Long Island. She married, Feb- ruary 12, 1874, at New York City, Rev. Carter officiating, Denning Duer, who was born September 15, 1850, at Wee- hawken, New Jersey, son of Denning and Caroline (King) Duer, of New York. Mrs. Duer resides at No. 691 Whitney avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, and is well known in the more conservative of the social circles of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Duer were the parents of two chil- dren : 1. Caroline Suydam, born in 1876, married George Xavier McLanahan, of Washington, D. C., where she now re- sides. 2. Louise, born in 1882, died in November, 1890.
UNDERHILL FAMILY, Ancestral History.
Underhill Arms-Argent a chevron sable be- tween three trefoils slipped vert.
Crest-On a mount vert a hind lodged or.
The Underhill family in America dates from the year 1630, when Captain John Underhill, its founder, came to America. Since the time of the early Dutch settle- ments in New Amsterdam, and along the Hudson river, in what is now the State of New York, the old Westchester coun- try has been the home of descendants of the pioneer Underhills. The family has been prominent in official life in this sec- tion of New York since the middle of the seventeenth century. Captain John Un- derhill, the progenitor, was a man of cul-
ture, considerable wealth according to the standards of the day, whose progeny have never relinquished the prestige and prom- inence of the earlier generations of the family in the affairs of New York. The Underhills intermarried with some of the foremost of the old Dutch and English families of New York, among them the Suydams.
(1) Captain John Underhill, immigrant ancestor and founder, came to America in 1630, settling first on Long Island. He was a man of excellent education, evi- dently a keen observer and scholar, for in 1638 he published his "Newes from Amer- ica." This valuable comment on the life and manners of the times has been pre- served and printed in book form by his descendants, and is among the most in- teresting documents which come down to us from early New York. Captain John Underhill was a prosperous planter and farmer, and after a short period became one of the leading figures in the affairs of Matinnecock. He died in 1672, and was buried in the Underhill burying ground at Matinnecock (Locust Valley), Long Island. Captain Underhill married Eliz- abeth Feke, daughter of Robert Feke (or Feak). They were the parents of sev- eral children, among them Nathaniel, mentioned below.
(II) Nathaniel Underhill, son of Cap- tain John and Elizabeth (Feke) Under- hill, was born on Long Island, February 22, 1663, and passed the early years of his life at the home of his parents on Long Island. He removed later to Westchester county, New York, and was the founder of the Westchester branch of the family. He was a farmer on a large scale there, and one of the leading men of the sur- rounding country. Nathaniel Underhill married Mary Ferris, December 2, 1685; she was the daughter of John and Mary
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Ferris. He died November 10, 1710, and was buried in the old burying ground on the Lorillard Spencer estate in West- chester. Nathaniel and Mary (Ferris) Underhill were the parents of seven chil- dren, of whom Nathaniel, mentioned be- low, was the second.
(III) Nathaniel (2) Underhill, son of Nathaniel (1) and Mary (Ferris) Under- hill, was born August 1I, 1690. He re- sided in Westchester, New York, in what is now Williamsbridge, and was prom- inent and active in the affairs of the county. In 1720 he held the office of trustee of the town of Westchester, and in 1772 was its mayor. Nathaniel Under- hill married, April 19, 1711, Mary Hunt, who was born July 22, 1692, daughter of John and Phebe (Seaman) Hunt. He died November 27, 1775, at the age of eighty-five years, and was buried on the Lorillard Spencer estate at Williams- bridge, New York. His will, dated De- cember 1, 1775, is recorded in the surro- gate's office, New York.
(IV) Israel Underhill, son of Nathaniel (2) and Mary (Hunt) Underhill, was born in Westchester, New York, September 10, 1732, and resided in New Rochelle, New York. He was prominent in official af- fairs in New Rochelle, and was active in the militia, holding the rank of ensign. He was a member of the Protestant Epis- copal church, and in 1784 was a trustee in St. Peter's Church. In 1787 he held the office of supervisor, and in 1803 was trustee of Ladies' Seminary and Boys' School at West Farms, New York. He was a pewholder for several years in St. Paul's Church, at Eastchester, New York. Israel Underhill married, March 4, 1761, (license granted by the Secretary of the Province of New York), Abigail Lispenard, daughter of Anthony and Maria (Milburne) Lispenard, and a mem-
ber of the noted Lispenard family of New York. She was born December 4, 1739, and died February 3, 1806, and was buried on the Lorillard Spencer estate. Israel Underhill died September 23, 1806, at the age of seventy-four years, and was also buried on the Lorillard Spencer estate. His will, probated in 1807, is recorded in the surrogate's office, White Plains, New York.
(V) Anthony Lispenard Underhill, son of Israel and Abigail (Lispenard) Under- hill, was born December 30, 1763. He removed to New York, and resided there during the greater part of his life, on Dey street, first at what is now No. 31, later at 41-44, in 1827, removing from the latter house to No. 28 Cortlandt street. He was one of the foremost merchants and pub- lic men of New York of his day, an alder- man of the city in 1817 and 1818; in 1814- 1815-16 he held the office of assistant al- derman. In 1826-27 he was president of the Fulton Fire Insurance Company of New York. Anthony L. Underhill was a member of Trinity Church, New York, and was a pewholder in St. Peter's at Westchester, New York.
Anthony Lispenard Underhill married, July 4, 1783, Clarina Bartow, who was born March 4, 1769, the daughter of Basil and Clarina Bartow, of Westchester, New York. She died July 9, 1836, and was buried at Eastern Shore, Maryland, on the Dr. Sykes farm. He died July 18, 1847, at Saratoga Springs, New York, and was buried in Trinity vault, Trinity Church, New York.
(VI) Eliza Underhill, daughter of An- thony Lispenard and Clarina (Bartow) Underhill, was born November 8, 1788, at No. 31 Dey street, New York City. She married, October 21, 1810, Ferdinand Suydam, who was born September 13, 1786, at Hallett's Cove, Newtown, New
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York, the son of Hendrick and Phebe (Skidmore) Suydam. He died at Buffalo, New York, March 23, 1851, and was bur- ied in Trinity vault, Trinity Church, New York, of which parish lie and his wife were members. Mr. and Mrs. Suydam resided at No. 3 Bowling Green, New York, on the site of the present Custom House in New York City. Eliza Under- hill Suydam died at her home in New York City, June 16, 1844, and was buried in Trinity vault.
ABBE, Albert Parker, Business Man.
There are many and varied spellings of the name Abbe, among them the follow- ing: Abba, Abbe, Abbec, Abbie, Ab- baye. The Enfield branch of the family has used the spellings Abby and Abbey as well as the present Abbe. The name is undoubtedly derived from some location at or near an Abbey from which an early ancestor took his name, as was the olden custom. The Abbe coat-of-arms is as follows :
Arms-Gules five fusils in fesse between three scallop shells.
Crest-On a wreath of the colors of the shield, gules and argent, an eagle's head erased or.
(I) John Abbe, the ancestor of the family, was born in England, about 1613, and died in Salem, Massachusetts, about 1689-90. He became an inhabitant of the town of Salem, January 2, 1636-37, and was allotted land for a home. He re- ceived a further grant of ten acres, in 1642, in that part of Salem which later became the town of Wenham. John Abbe was a prominent and influential citizen of the latter town, and was constable there in 1669. John Abbe married (first) Mary Loring, who was born in England about
1615, and died in Wenham, September 6, 1672. He married (second) November 25, 1674, Mrs. Mary Goldsmith. His youngest son and seventh child was Thomas, of whom further.
(11) Thomas Abbe, son of John and Mary (Loring) Abbe, was born probably in Wenham, about 1650-56, and died at Enfield, Connecticut, May 17, 1728. He was an original proprietor of the town in 1683, and held many offices, selectman, fence viewer, and assessor. He held the rank of sergeant in 1711, served in King Philip's War, and was lieutenant of the Train Band in 1713. He married, at Marblehead, Massachusetts, December 16, 1683, Sarah Fairfield, born December 24, 1655, at Reading, died at Enfield, Novem- ber 27, 1742, daughter of Walter and Sarah (Skipper) Fairfield. They were the parents of Jolm, of whom further.
(III) John (2) Abbe, son of Thomas and Sarah (Fairfield) Abbe, was born September 27, 1692, and died in 1790, near or in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a farmer by occupation, and held many high offices in the town. He mar- ried Hannah Boardman, of Wethersfield, born December 18, 1693, daughter of David and Hannah (Wright) Boardman. They were the parents of John, of whom further.
(IV) John (3) Abbe, son of John (2) and Hannah (Boardman) Abbe, was born in Enfield, April 18, 1717, and died there, August 1, 1794. He settled near Scantic, on the east side. He served from April 14, to October 5, 1755, in the First Regi- ment, Second Company, under Lieuten- ant-Colonel John Pitkin, a company raised for the defense of Crown Point, and also served in Captain Slapp's com- pany, in May, 1755. He was a soldier of the Revolution and marched on the Lex- ington Alarm, a member of the Third
ConD-7-13
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Regiment, Second Company, Colonel Is- rael Putnam, and Captain Experience Storrs, commanding. This company was recruited in Windham, Connecticut, in April, 1775. John Abbe married, in En- field, February I or II, 1738-39, Sarah Root, born October 18, 1714, died Novem- ber 23, 1771, daughter of Captain Tim- othy and Sarah (Pease) Root, of Somers, Connecticut. They were the parents of Daniel, of whom further.
(V) Daniel Abbe, son of John (3) and Sarah (Root) Abbe, was born in Enfield, November 7, 1749, and died September 26, 1815. He married, November 13, 1774, Sarah Pease, born December 2, 1756, in Enfield, died there November 23, 1808, daughter of Aaron and Anna (Geer) Pease. They were the parents of Daniel, of whom further.
(VI) Daniel (2) Abbe, son of Daniel (1) and Sarah (Pease) Abbe, was born in Enfield, August 22, 1775, and died there, August 2, 1833. He was a farmer and an inn keeper. His will, made July 15, 1833, was probated September 6, 1833. He married, March 9 or 19, 1795, Eliza- beth Morrison, born in Enfield, June 10, 1772, died there, May 25, 1842, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Giffin) Morrison, of Enfield. They were the parents of Henry Augustus, of whom further.
(VII) Henry Augustus Abbe, son of Daniel (2) and Elizabeth (Morrison) Abbe, was born in Enfield, March 24, 1799, and died August 29, 1893. He was a hotel keeper and known as "Dick" Abbe. He married (first) November 28, 1820, Elizabeth Allen, born in Enfield, Febru- ary 16, 1798, died there, April 1, 1849, daughter of George and Betsey (Rich) Allen. He married (second) about 1850, Marietta, whose surname is not recorded. She was born about 1821. Child of first wife, Albert, of whom further.
(VIII) Albert Abbe, son of Henry Augustus and Elizabeth (Allen) Abbe, was born in Enfield, June 17, 1824, and died March 19, 1895. He was a farmer. He married, at Enfield, April 9, 1846, Maria Abbe, born April 18, 1823, died September 5, 1892, daughter of Levi Pease and Dorcas (Wolcott) Abbe. They were the parents of Albert Howard, of whom further.
(IX) Albert Howard Abbe, son of Al- bert and Maria (Abbe) Abbe, was born April 8, 1852, and died April 20, 1915. After completing his primary education, he was a clerk in the hardware store of the Wolcott-Abbe Company, of New Haven, Connecticut, where he remained for a few years. Then he came to Hart- ford, where he was employed in a whole- sale cigar store, remaining until 1880, in which year he went to New Britain, Con- necticut, and there opened a hardware store under the style of A. H. & E. W. Abbe. This soon became a flourishing business, and Mr. Abbe attained wide prominence in business organizations. It was through his efforts that the first Bus- iness Men's Association was formed in New Britain, and of which he was presi- dent for a number of years. He was vice- president of the National Hardware As- sociation, and held the same office in the Connecticut Association.
Mr. Abbe married (first) at Hartford, November 6, 1878, Minnie Seymour, daughter of Sylvester and Mary (Warner) Seymour. She died June 12, 1879, and he married (second) January 17, 1883, Nellie Parker, daughter of Emory and Eunice (Stebbins) Parker, of New Britain. By his second wife Mr. Abbe had three chil- dren : I. Harry Allen, born October 21, 1883, married, November 20, 1913, Elsie Mayhew Peck, daughter of Edward F. and Mary (Booth) Peck, of Hampton,
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Virginia, and they reside in Manlius, New York. 2. Albert Parker, of whom further. 3. Helen Howard, born June 21, 1890, died February 4, 1907.
(X) Albert Parker Abbe, second son of Albert Howard and Nellie (Parker) Abbe, was born September 13, 1886. He was educated in the public and high schools of his native town, and was graduated from Yale College in the class of 1908. He then engaged in business in New York City with the firm of Brown Brothers & Com- pany, bankers, in their accounting and bond department, and there remained for five years. Mr. Abbe was in Providence, Rhode Island, in the bond business for a short time subsequent to 1913, in which year he came to New Britain, and as a clerk in his father's hardware store made a complete study of the business in detail. Upon the death of his father, Mr. Abbe assumed the management of the store, which is now doing a large and flourish- ing business under his judicious manage- ment. Mr. Abbe is unmarried.
ABBE, Albert Norton,
Business Man, Public Official.
A prominent figure in the business and financial circles of New Britain, Albert Norton Abbe has been identified with the best interests of that town since 1884. He has won his way to public esteem and confidence by his business ability, his in- tegrity, and his social gifts. He is a fine type of the New England business man of the most representative kind. He was born in Enfield, Connecticut, July 12, 1859, the son of Norton and Eliza (Tur- vey) Abbe.
(VI) Levi Pease Abbe, son of Daniel and Sarah (Pease) Abbe (q. v.), was born in Enfield, April 14, 1781, and died there, August 6, 1848, at the age of sixty-seven
years. He was a farmer in Enfield. He married, in East Windsor, Connecticut, November 12, 1801, Dorcas Wolcott, born in East Windsor, December 9, 1784, died in Enfield, March 5, 1855, daughter of Henry and Dorcas (Allen) Wolcott.
(VII) Norton Abbe, son of Levi Pease and Dorcas (Wolcott) Abbe, was born in Enfield, November 2, 1825, and was a farmer of prominence in the community. He married, November 27, 1856, Eliza Turvey, daughter of William and Sarah (Mehrell) Turvey, a native of England. They were the parents of the following children : 1. Edwin Wolcott, born Octo- ber 13. 1857; was in the hardware busi- ness in New Britain for thirty-three years ; married, February 19, 1885, Agnes J. Moses, born January 12, 1864, and they have one son, Luther Norton, born Feb- ruary 18, 1886. 2. Albert Norton, of whom further. 3. Herbert A., who is in business in Springfield; married Elise C. Bridge, daughter of George and Jeanette (Law) Bridge, and they are the parents of a son and daughter. 4. Levi P., a farmer, cultivating the paternal home- stead ; married (first) Cora E. Havens, who died September 21, 1907; married (second) in March, 1912, Adelaide Varno, daughter of Arthur Varno.
(VIII) Albert N. Abbe, son of Norton and Eliza (Turvey) Abbe, was born in Enfield, Connecticut, July 12, 1859. He was educated in the public schools of En- field, Connecticut, and then went to the high school at Springfield. After finish- ing the course he accepted a position as bookkeeper in a provision house in New Haven, and here he worked for three years. A new position also as book- keeper in a car trimming company was offered to him and here he remained until 1884. In that year he came to New Brit- ain, working as a bookkeeper for a plumb-
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ing house for three years, or until 1887. His experience along similar lines led to his engagement by the P. & F. Corbin Company, as a purchasing agent, giving great satisfaction to his employers and gaining a wealth of valuable experience. This position he held until 1903, when the American Hardware Company assumed the affairs of the P. & F. Corbin and Rus- sell & Erwin companies. Mr. Abbe was then made the general purchasing agent of the firm and he still continues to hold the position. He is a public-spirited cit- izen, and has served the city on the Board of Finance and Taxation for nine years. In 1909 he was elected State Senator for the Sixth District, and served in that year and in 1910. He is a director of the Burritt Savings Bank, and was a director of the P. & F. Corbin Company up to the time when it was absorbed by the Amer- ican Hardware Company.
Mr. Abbe married, in 1885, Mattie L. Booth, daughter of the late Horace Booth, of New Britain, Connecticut.
GODARD, George Seymour, State Librarian.
Librarian of the Connecticut State Li- brary since 1900, and editor of the Con- necticut State Records, he was born in Granby, Hartford county, 'Connecticut, June 17, 1865. He is connected with some of the oldest families in Connecticut. He is in direct lineal descent from Daniel Gozzard (or Godard) who came from England to Hartford previous to 1646, and from Moses Godard, who served in the Revolution. On his maternal side he is descended from John Case, who was probably the immigrant of that name, who came on the ship "Dorset," from Gravesend, England, September 3, 1635, settled in Hartford, subsequently going
for a time to New York State, but even- tually returning to Connecticut and tak- ing residence in Windsor, in 1656, and in Simsbury about 1669, his name appearing among those to whom land was granted, in the first division of public lands, at Simsbury, in 1667.
George Seymour Godard is the third in a family of five sons and a daughter born to Harvey and Sabra Lavine (Beach) Godard. His father was probably the largest owner of farms and woodland in his section. Occupying the Godard home- stead, he raised the usual crops of his locality, and continued to run the saw- mill, grist mill and cider mill known as the "Craig Mills." He was a man of strict integrity, of generous and social nature, and temperate to the last degree. His large farm house became quarters for his numerous friends who came to hunt and fish on the large tracts of land which he owned. While always a busy man, he was never too busy to welcome an ac- quaintance in health, to visit him in time of sickness, or to assist in laying him to rest. As a member of the General Assem- bly, and the first master of the Connec- ticut State Grange, he had a large circle of acquaintances.
As a boy, George S. Godard attended the district school in his native town, and assisted his father in the many occupa- tions upon his extensive farms and in the grist and sawmills on the homestead in Granby. He prepared for college at Wes- leyan Academy, at Wilbraham, Massa- chusetts, where he graduated in 1886. Mr. Godard continued his studies at Wes- leyan University, Middletown, Connec- ticut, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1892; Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; and Yale University, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1895. In 1916
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Geos Godard.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
his alma mater conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. In college he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Beginning by collecting and arranging his early school books and the books in his own home, he continued library work as librarian of Philo Society at Wilbra- ham, then librarian of his local Sunday School Library, and in 1890 the first librarian of the Frederick H. Cossitt Li- brary near his home at North Granby, where a building was planned, erected and equipped. Mr. Godard still retains an active interest in this, his first public li- brary. In 1898 he was selected by State Librarian Dr. Charles J. Hoadly to assist him in the State Library, then located in the State Capitol. Two years later, after a continuous service of forty-five years as State Librarian, Dr. Hoadly died, and Mr. Godard was selected to succeed him in that important position. Under his direction the Connecticut State Li- brary has been reorganized and its activ- ities extended. It is now adequately housed in a new building, substantially built, beautiful in its architecture, con- venient in its arrangement, harmonious in its decoration, and homelike. The State Library and Supreme Court building, which is built of granite, and is one of a group of State buildings of which the capitol is the center, is considered a model for its purpose. In it are embodied the hopes, plans, efforts and ambitions of the best years of Mr. Godard's life. It is a library by the people, of the people, and for the people. The Connecticut State Library includes :
Supreme Court Law Library ; Legislative Reference Department ;
Department of Local History and Gen- 1. Daniel N. Morgan Historical Collection ealogy ;
Archives Department ;
Depository of Public Records ;
Examiner of Public Records ;
Depository of Connecticut State, Town, Municipal and Society Official Publica- tions ;
Depository for the Official Publications of the United States, the several States of the Union, the Canadian Govern- ment and Provinces, and of the Austral- ian Colonies ;
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