USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 48
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Eli Plumb Burton ; Rollin Stiles Burton, died June 30, 1863; Jerome M. Esney ; died September 12, 1862, in the Confed- erate army ; Third Regiment North Caro- lina, Colonel Peter Mallett, A. Fridge Mallett : Forty-first Regiment, North Carolina, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Mal- lett, Adjutant Richardson Mallett ; First Regiment, North Carolina, Cecil Mallett, John W. Mallett ; Third Regiment, Lieu- tenant C. P. Mallett ; Surgeon Du Pon- ceau Jones, died : Edward Jones, Edward Jones Eccles, George D. Hooper, Charles M. Hooper.
A journal of about one hundred and eighty pages, written by David Mallett, the founder of the family, and John Mal- lett, his son, and the immigrant ancestor, was destroyed during the Revolution, but was reproduced in some measure from memory by a descendant, General Peter Mallett, who was familiar with its pages. The following excerpts which have bear- ing on the above-mentioned journal and the early history of the family have been taken from a letter of General Peter Mal- lett, which explains the loss of the journal, and reconstructs the family history :
In 1760-70, an Irish gentleman, Mr. Bennis, stayed with me, who read the French language better than English, as he received his educa- tion in that country. It so happened that he got a sight of the French books given me by my grandmother, among them a great deal of the laws, trials, disputes, ete., and often the name of my grandfather mentioned. Mr. Bennis enquired of me if I knew the history of my forefathers. I told him not, but my grandmother had given me what she called a journal, written by my great- grandfather. I told Bennis of what my good grand- mother had given me, but I was never taught to write or read French, although I could speak no cther language, but had now almost forgot to speak it; upon which Bennis undertook to trans- late it into English. If I recollect right, there were 180 pages or more, written in a large book, and neatly in the style, and often the custom with the General and Field officers in the army. This
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book and the English of it, I had laid up carefully at Cross Creek, now Fayetteville, until 1781, when a Colonel Fannen and his troop of horse came there and took the town, broke open the trunks and this, with other books and papers, was de- stroyed, which, of course, deprives me of giving you a full account; but as I went over the trans- lation of Bennis frequently, and have still in re- membrance the substance of what related to my two grandfathers, the first part of which was written by the hand of the elder (whose name was David), the latter part by his son John, my grandfather.
My great-grandfather, and his family, lived in Rochelle, France. He had considerable command there, either in the army, or civil department, in Louis the 14th time. This is clear-because in his book were copies of several letters from Le Tel- lier, who was, it seems, a judge appointed by the King, probably for the purpose only to try the Calvinists. Bennis read me of a proclamation, directed to David Mallett, Commissary of the 4th Division. Le Tellier writes at the bottom of this proclamation a note in very respectful terms, in- viting my great-grandfather to recant, and draw his followers over; advises by no means to suffer his family, or those who relied on him, to go near those Preachers, then about, not to depend too much on a Mr. Colbrit, tells him his son, the Marquis of Louvois, shall meet him at somne pri- vate place, &c. However, it seems that my great- grandfather would not listen to him; that he and his five sons led many thousands.
At last the King's troops turned out, took Rochelle, put to death all before them-indeed the cruelties committed among women and chil- dren, by the soldiers, is beyond expression. My great-grandfather, with his sons, and such of the family as were spared, made a good retreat into the country, where they made a stand for some time.
In 1686 there were four hundred officers broken on the wheel, among them my grandfather's brother, brother-in-law, and their wives and chil- dren, either burned, or put to death other ways, for signing some text to a Rev'd - - Protestant. My great-grandfather and grandfather, with many thousands, forced their way to some shipping, and landed in England in 1687. From every appear- ance they brought with them a great deal of money and many servants. In 1691 my great- grandfather died; his age I do not recollect. My grandfather returned to France privately, got away his wife, two children and some money, and two ships, which had either been concealed for him or given in payment for some property. These
ships came to England. There my grandfather takes in a number of passengers of his own coun- try, and with three other ships sailed for S. Caro- lina. Three of the ships arrived off Santee, two to the south.
COUCH, Elbert Leroy,
Inventor, Manufacturer.
Elbert Leroy Couch, musician, me- chanic, inventor, president of Couch-Dean Corporation of Hartford, is a representa- tive of an old New England family, and by his own achievements maintains the reputation of the family in the realm of music and as a skilled mechanic and re- sourceful inventor. He was born May 29, 1870, in Northampton, Massachusetts, son of Elbert Milton and Clara Adele (Wil- son) Couch.
"One of the most fertile roots of nomen- clature was the simple road-side cross," says "Bardsley's English Surnames." The name is still found lingering in our crutched or crouched Friars. Langland describes a pilgrim as having many a crouche on his cloake: i. e., many a mark of the cross embroidered thereon. A dweller by these wayside crucifixes would easily get the sobriquet therefrom, and thus we find atte Crouch to be of early occurrence. It was from living near one of these road-side crosses that the Crouch, or Couch, family derived their names.
Samuel Couch, probably nearly con- nected with Thomas and Simon Couch, of Wethersfield and Fairfield, settled at Mil- ford and married an Indian woman named Pity (widow of Charles Deal), who, hav- ing no relations, bequeathed him by will a house in Milford and one and one-half acres on Milford or Charles' Island. He appears to have married again, as his widow Mary offered his will in June, 1693, for probate in New Haven. In this will he gave his estate to his wife Mary, and his daughter, Elizabeth Couch, of St.
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Mary Ottary, in Devonshire, England. This will shows the seat of the family in England. As the Couch family, of which Elbert L. Couch is a member, has been identified with Milford for many genera- tions, it is practically certain that he is a direct descendant of the Samuel Couch mentioned above.
(11) Stephen Couch, son of John Couch, was born in Milford, and baptized Janu- ary 21, 1753. On December 16, 1781, he was married by Rev. Nathaniel Taylor to Pollipheme Carington (as the church rec- ord spells her name, but the family Bible in Mr. Couch's possession spells it Polly- phaenie Carrington). They were married and lived at New Milford, where their three children were born: Daniel, men- tioned below: Sally, born January 21, 1785: Tryphena, July 11, 1787.
(III) Daniel Couch, born September 5. 1782, married, January 7, 1805, Mary Chadwick, who was born July 21, 1784, in Lee, Massachusetts. They had the fol- lowing children: Nancy Emeline, born April 27, 1806; Frederick Manly, May 17, 1807; Sarah Whiton, October 17, 1814; Charles Morton, February 17, 1817 : Brad- ford Milton, mentioned below ; Philander Marcus, April 2, 1822; Henry Marshall, November 5. 1826.
(IV) Bradford Milton Couch, born June 1, 1819, received such education as the schools of his native town, Lee, Massa- chusetts, afforded, and then learned the trade of millwright. He became an ex- pert mechanic. In 1850 he built in Antrim, New York, an overshot waterwheel, which was forty feet in diameter, with buckets measuring forty feet. This was said to be the largest overshot waterwheel ever con- structed. He also erected many paper mills and constructed the machinery with which they were equipped. He did a very large business for his time, and while a resident of East Lee, Massachusetts, his
force of mechanics numbered one hun- dred and fifty men most of the time. In 1859 he removed to Northampton, Massa- chusetts, and there built a paper mill for William Clarke & Son. After completing that contract he became superintendent of the machine shop of William R. Clapp. He remained in that position about five years, and then took a contract to rebuild a basket factory that had been destroyed by fire. In connection with equipping this factory he invented much machinery of a new type for building baskets. His ma- chinery not only saved much labor, but increased the output. Probably no other man of his time invented so many im- provements in basket machinery and methods of production as he. He died in Northampton at the age of seventy-six. He was a member of the Masonic lodge there, and was also a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Lucy Lucina, daughter of Austin and Letitia L. (Snow) Davis. She was born June 9, 1821, in Becket, Massachu- setts. Letitia L. Snow's father, Lieuten- ant Nathan (?) Snow, fought under Gen- eral Greene in the Revolution, and Mr. Couch has his discharge signed by George Washington. Austin Davis was born June 5, 1791, in Lee, Massachusetts. Le- titia L. Snow was born February 18, 1800, in Becket, same State. Bradford M. and Lucy L. (Davis) Couch had two children : Helen Esther, married (first) James T. Ripley, of Springfield, and (second) Thomas E. Havemeyer, of the family of sugar refiners of New York, and Elbert Milton, mentioned below. In Northamp- ton Mr. Couch was a member of the Ma- sonic and Odd Fellows fraternities. He was a public-spirited man, active in poli- tics, and interested in everything for the good of the community.
(V) Elbert Milton Couch was born March 7, 1848, in East Lee, Massachu-
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setts. He seems to have inherited from his father a strong bent toward things me- chanical. After completing the courses in the public schools of East Lee and North- ampton, he learned the trade of machin- ist and tool maker in the shop of Webster Herrick, in the latter town. On the com- pletion of his apprenticeship, Mr. Couch found employment as toll and gauge maker in the sewing machine shop at Flor- ence, Massachusetts. He was there about two years, leaving to become superin- tendent of his father's machine shop, and continued with him for twenty-three and one-half years. The business continued to grow, and by 1880 had assumed such pro- portions that it had to be removed to Florence, Massachusetts, to secure larger quarters. In addition to a large machine shop they also carried on a large foundry and pattern shop. In 1889 the business was sold and Mr. Couch remained with the new owner for about one and one-half years. He then went to Atlanta, Georgia, as superintendent of the Atlanta Machine Works. Mr. Couch was there only three months and then returned to Florence, where he had accepted a position as de- signer of tools for the Whitney Fire Arms Company. When he had been there about a year the company went out of business, and Mr. Couch entered the employ of the Ames Sword Company, of Chicopee, where he was placed in charge of a con- tract for building fifty thousand revolv- ers. This undertaking involved the de- signing of special tools and the erection of a factory, all of which was done under Mr. Couch's supervision. After three years Mr. Couch made another change, becoming superintendent for the company engaged in building the "Northampton" bicycle. After two years he came to Hartford as a designer of automatic ma- chinery for the Pratt & Whitney Com- pany. A year and a half later he entered
the employ of the Whitney Manufactur- ing Company, in which Mr. Amos Whit- ney, of the Pratt & Whitney Company, was interested. Mr. Couch remained with this company twelve years as mechanical engineer. Since that time he has lived practically retired. While with the Pratt & Whitney Company Mr. Couch designed the only strictly automatic machine shown at the Paris Exposition, according to a statement of the "Scientific Ameri- can." This machine received the rough castings of sewing-machine wheels in a magazine, and from there the wheels were placed automatically in position on a lathe, where they were trued up, drilled and finished without being touched by hand.
For many years Mr. Couch was cor- netist and alto soloist in the Florence Brass Band, under R. W. Irwin, now judge of the Superior Court of Massachu- setts. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is also a member and past grand of Nonoluth Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Northampton, and is a member of the Grand Lodge of the State of Massachusetts. He was the first chief patriarch of G. Fred Barnes En- campment, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Hartford, and is a member of the Grand Encampment of Connecticut ; member of Meadow City Canton, Patri- archs Militant, in which he holds a ma- jor's commission. While a resident of Northampton, Mr. Couch served as chair- man of the Democratic City Committee, but since coming to Hartford has not been an active political worker. In recent years he has been identified with the Republican party.
Mr. Couch married, June 15, 1869, Clara Adele, born June 15, 1847, in East Lee, Massachusetts, daughter of Rockwell Denison Wilson, who was born in Stock-
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bridge, Massachusetts. He married Me- lissa, daughter of - Gifford. Elbert M. and Clara A. (Wilson) Couch have had five children, of whom four grew to maturity: Elbert L., mentioned below ; Thomas Edward, married Augusta, daugh- ter of Judge Webster Burbank, of Suffield ; Arthur Rockwell, married Hazel Carpen- ter, of Glastonbury ; Helen Lucy, mar- ried George Clarence Wooley, of Hart- ford, and have two children, Bradford F. and Adele.
(V1) Elbert Leroy Couch, born May 29, IS70, was educated in the public schools of Northampton, after which he com- pleted his apprenticeship at the machin- ist's trade, under the direction of his father. He inherited both mechanical genius and musical talent, and it is hard to tell in which of these widely separate fields of endeavor he will utimately be best known. Possessing a rich bass voice, he began to sing at an early age. He came to Hartford in April, 1889, as a bass singer in the Harmonic Quartet, which furnished the music of the Park Congre- gational Church, under the direction of John S. Camp. This quartet has sung all over New England, and has won an en- viable reputation. Mr. Couch studied music with George M. Greene, of New York City, who is now head instructor in the vocal department of Smith College, and finished his formal studies with Alvin Reed, of Boston. Since 1889, he has been a member of the Tempo Male Quartet, a musical organization with a wide and en- viable reputation. In 1905, he became superintendent of the Austin Organ Com- pany, being employed as a mechanical ex- pert to standardize the shop practice in the factory and to design special machin- ery. In 1913, Mr. Couch invented a ma- chine for washing dishes and silverware, which immediately took its place as the leading device of the kind. Two men with
this machine, which is called the "Autosan Dish and Silver Cleaning Machine," can wash, sterilize, rinse and steamdry ten thousand dishes an hour. The machine has already been installed by some of the largest hotels in the country, and it has been impossible to manufacture them as fast as they are called for. On December 1, 1913, Mr. Couch, together with his brother-in-law, George Howard Dean, or- ganized the Couch & Dean Corporation, which was organized expressly to manu- facture this machine. The company has offices in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago, besides the home office in Hartford. Mr. Couch is also a director of the Silver Ease Company, which manufac- tures a silver cleaning compound. Like his father, Mr. Couch is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Hartford, and Nono- luth Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellow, of Northampton; also a member of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar; and Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Hartford. He is a member of Center Congregational Church, of Hart- ford, and sings in the choir.
Mr. Couch married Julia Lena, daugh- ter of W. T. Dean, of Holyoke. They have four children : Elbert Dean, Mark, Cyrrel, Helene.
Mr. Couch's reputation as a musician is so wide-spread as to make further com- ment superfluous. He is recognized as one of Hartford's aggressive and progres- sive business men, possessing splendid executive ability, courteous in his deal- ings, and straightforward in all his methods.
WENTWORTH, Daniel F.,
Artist, Musician.
There can be do denying the truth of the universal belief that the artistic sense
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is a gift which either a man possesses at birth or must continue to lack all his life. The career of Daniel F. Wentworth, the eminent artist, of Hartford, Connecticut, who is so well known as a painter of land- scape and cattle scenes, goes far to prove this. He manifested his taste for drawing at an early age, and before he could read, he began drawing little pictures, a talent which he possessed in common with his two brothers. Indeed, he cannot remem- ber when he was not able to draw.
Mr. Wentworth is a member of an old New England family, a direct descendant of Elder William W., who came from Eng- land about 1620 and settled in Maine, and a son of George B. and Comfort Whitney (Fisher) Wentworth. His father was a native of Greenwood, Maine, where he was born, in 1820. He was the son of a farmer, but farm life became irksome to him and he went to sea, making several voyages in coasting vessels, and after- wards learned the trade of cabinet mak- ing, at which he became an expert. He possessed in a marked degree the talents which his sons inherited, and often made his own designs for his work. About the time of his marriage he removed to Nor- way, Maine, and engaged in the furniture business for a few years. He then made his home for about one year at Westfield, Massachusetts, after the expiration of which he came to Hartford, Connecticut, where he spent the remainder of his life, and eventually died, in 1903, at the age of eighty-three. In Hartford he became in- terested in antique furniture and was con- sidered expert authority along that line. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, of the Twenty-second Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and served with that body through the term of his enlistment, and was honorably discharged with a non- commissioned rank. He was a member of Robert Tyler Post, Grand Army of the
Republic. His wife, who was Comfort Whitney Fisher before her marriage, was a daughter of John and Lucy Fisher, of Bath, Maine. George B. and Comfort W. (Fisher) Wentworth, were the parents of five children, one of whom died in infancy, and another in his sixteenth year. Those who grew to maturity were as follows: George William, now deceased; Daniel F., the subject of this sketch; Adaline, who became the wife of Linwood Morgan, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and is now deceased.
Born November 1, 1849, at Norway, Maine, Daniel F. Wentworth, son of George B. and Comfort Whitney (Fisher) Wentworth, went with his parents while still an infant to Westfield, Massachu- setts, and thence to Hartford, Connecti- cut, which has continued to be his home through the most of his life. It was at Hartford that he received his education,
attending the local public schools for this purpose, and then upon completing his studies, secured a position with Isaac Glazier, at that time a prominent picture dealer in Hartford. Mr. Glazier indeed was the first one who sold paintings in that city. He was a man of much artistic taste, and maintained quite a large gallery, so that young Wentworth came in con- tact with a distinctly artistic atmosphere and was privileged to see and criticize under the guidance of his employer many excellent works of art. The natural talent already displayed by him was stimulated and formed by this training and he grew to have a passionate fondness for the art which he was destined to make his career in life. At first he received very little formal instruction and developed his tal- ent principally in his spare moments, but with the true artist's perseverance, he made use of every means of instruction and help that came within his reach and had that keenest of pleasures which is to
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be found in observing one's own progress in skill and comprehension. Later he was able to travel abroad and pursue his stud- ies in Europe. But although Mr. Went- worth undoubtedly gained much valuable technical experience from these studies, he has always derived more benefit from his own direct study of nature, which he has pursued with an indefatigable pati- ence and industry possible only to the lover of art. He has painted in all parts of New England and the Adirondack Mountains and many notable canvases have come from his brush to perpetuate the natural beauties of these regions. His work clearly reflects his intimate knowl- edge and love of his great subject, nature, whose various and opposed moods he por- trays with peculiar delicacy and the touch of true understanding. His pictures are full of that elusive element known as at- mosphere, which is nowhere more admir- ably shown than in the soft mellow tones of his charming sunsets. He has for many years been prominently associated with the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, and held the position of secretary therein until the death of the late Charles Noel Flagg, when he was elected to succeed him iu the presidency. Mr. Wentworth has been so absorbed in his work that he has found but little time for any of the social activities indulged in by ordinary men. He belongs to no fraternal orders, but is devoted to his art and his home.
Another remarkable talent of Mr. Went- worth's is that of music, in which he has displayed almost as notable qualities as in that of the rival art. While in Europe he also studied music and upon his return to Hartford in 1885, he became organist of the South Baptist Church there. He had indeed already been organist at the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Meriden for nearly five years, but he returned a master of his instrument and capable of
holding similar positions in the largest and most important churches of the com- munity. He remained at the South Bap- tist Church for a period of eight years and then became organist of Unity Church for twelve years. His next position of the kind was with the Park Congregational Church, where he remained for another eight years, after which he gave up this work for a short period. He began it again the following year, however, taking the position of organist with the First Presby- terian Church, but not long after, once more retired.
Mr. Wentworth is the author of many charming sketches and finished can- vases, the subjects of which have been gleaned from all parts of New England and the Adirondacks. He is a distin- guished figure in the world of art to-day and the work which he has done will long remain as a typical expression of the American school of this period.
Mr. Wentworth was united in marriage, January 1, 1874, with Sara O. Cooley, a daughter of Chester and Lura A. Cooley, of Hartford. Mrs. Cooley died in Meri- den, Connecticut, in 1894, and Chester Cooley died in 1899, at the venerable age of eighty-seven. To Mr. and Mrs. Went- worth one son was born, Gilbert Rogers Wentworth, now of Syracuse, New York, where he is inanager for New York State of the Arrow Electric Company, of Hart- ford. He was born in Munich, Germany, in 1885, while his parents were residing there, but returned with them to this country. He married Clara Eloise Hoyt, of Syracuse, New York, June 26, 1916.
HEDSTROM, Carl Oscar,
Inventor, Motorcycle Genius.
Conspicuous among the men who to- day march in the vanguard of progress is Carl Oscar Hedstrom, inventor and gaso-
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line engine expert. Tangible evidence of his mechanical ability is found in the "In- dian" Motorcycle, which is a product of his inventive mind and is the source through which he has gained an interna- tional reputation. In 1901 he became identified with the Hendee Manufactur- ing Company, makers of bicycles at Springfield, Massachusetts, since which time he has devoted himself to the me- chanical department of this concern.
Carl Oscar Hedstrom was born in Smo- land, Sweden, March 12, 1871, a son of Andrew and Caroline Hedstrom. He came to this country with his parents in 1880, settling in Brooklyn, New York, where he received his education in the public schools. Having exhibited an ex- ceptional talent for mechanics, upon leav- ing school he entered a watch factory where he became an expert tool maker. When but twenty-four years of age he was well on the road to fame and for- tune. A devotee to bicycle racing, which was at that time very popular, he became one of the best riders of the day, at first racing only when it did not interfere with his trade. With his wonderful mechanical genius it was only natural that he should enter upon the design and construction of racing wheels, and his creations were so advanced in styles and so complete that he was commissioned by leading manufac- turers to build racing machines for them, which he did. Many of the mounts which the champion riders used in those days were the handiwork of Mr. Hedstrom, but bore the name plates of the leading manu- facturers. When in the latter part of the nineties the first motor-paced tandems were brought to this country from France, Carl Oscar Hedstrom undertook to make a tandem after his own ideas, with the re- sult that he produced the most reliable tandem in this country, which rapidly en- hanced the name and fame of the builder.
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