USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 53
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(II) John Shipman, son of Edward and his second wife, Mary (Andrews) Ship- man, was born in Saybrook, April 5, 1664; married, May 5, 1686, Martha Humphries.
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(III) John (2) Shipman, son of John (1) and Martha (Humphries) Shipman, was born at Saybrook, January 6, 1687, and died there, July 7, 1742. He married, January 11, 1715, Elizabeth Kirtland.
(IV) Nathaniel Shipman, third son of John (2) and Elizabeth (Kirtland) Ship- man, was born between 1720 and 1725 in Saybrook. About 1750, he removed to Norwich, Connecticut, where he was chosen elder of the Sixth or Chelsea (now the Second) Congregational Church at Norwich, December 30, 1763. He was a founder of this church, and a leading citi- zen of Norwich. He was married twice; first to Ruth Reynolds, in 1747, and sec- ond, July 18, 1756, to Elizabeth Leffing- well, who was born at Norwich, January 4, 1729, and died there June 8, 1801, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Lord) Leffingwell.
(V) Nathaniel (2) Shipman, fourth son of Nathaniel (1) and Elizabeth (Lef- fingwell) Shipman, was born in Norwich, May 17, 1764, and died there, July 14, 1853. In his youth he learned the trade of goldsmith, and became a man of great in- fluence and importance in the community. His natural ability to lead men placed him very often at the head of important meet- ings of the town and public gatherings. For many years he was the representative of Norwich in the General Assembly ; was judge of probate and also county judge. Miss F. M. Caulkins, historian of Nor- wich, has very aptly portrayed Judge Shipman in the following extract from her "History of Norwich :"
Judge Shipman was a man of great simplicity of habits, of vigorous common sense, upright, honorable and independent, both in his inward promptings and in his whole course of action. He was almost always in office, serving the town and the State in a variety of ways-municipal, legislative and judicial-displaying more than common ability, and giving general satisfaction in all three departments. Affability and a taste
for social enjoyment made him a delightful com- panion. His readiness to appreciate, his richly stored memory, and his abundant flow of tradi- tionary and historic anecdote, held the listening car bound to his voice as by an invisible charni. A sentiment of gratitude leads me to speak of another trait-his kind and winning attentions to the young. He was indulgent of their presence, of their vivacity and their sports; was ready to gratify them with some tale of the olden time; to make them happy with some little gift of flowers or fruit; to compliment their self-respect by asking them to read to him or leading them to converse on subjects rather above than below their standing. This is a rare characteristic in this hurrying, impetuous age. Pleasant are all the memories connected with this honored and exemplary son of Norwich.
Judge Shipman married Abigail Coit, daughter of Judge Benjamin and Mary (Boardman) Coit, October 11, 1794; she died July 31, 1800.
(VI) Rev. Thomas Leffingwell Ship- man, only son and youngest child of Judge Nathaniel (2) and Abigail (Coit) Ship- man, was born in Norwich, August 28, 1798. He received his education in the public schools of Norwich and entered Yale University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1818. Three years later he was graduated from the Andover Theological Seminary, after which he began his duties as a minister in missionary work in Charleston, South Carolina. After some months, Mr. Ship- man returned to college at Andover to continue his studies. He was appointed to the pulpit of the Congregational So- ciety at Lebanon, Connecticut, where through his zeal and enthusiasm he se- cured thirty-five new members. His next call was to Brooklyn, New York, and then to Brooklyn, Connecticut, Vernon, Connecticut, and Hartford. In 1824 he spent considerable time in Huron, Ohio, a pioneer missionary sowing seed in new ground. The following year he spent in his native town, and was later ordained
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and installed as pastor of the First Church in Southbury, Connecticut. His final call was to Jewett City, where he served eleven years, at which time he re- tired, owing to a shattered nervous sys- tem. As a pastor, he was earnest and industrious, and especially successful in his social relations with his parishioners, and as a preacher he was logical and con- vincing, adorning his sermons with cheer- fulness and a touch of humor which served to hold the interest of his congre- gation despite the seriousness of his theme. Even at the age of ninety years he preached effectively, and was hale and hearty until his death, August 29, 1886, in Jewett City, Connecticut. He married (first) in Colchester, Connecticut, May 3, 1827, Mary Thompson Deming, born Oc- tober 9, 1803, died October 14, 1841, at Norwich, daughter of General David and Abigail (Champion) Deming.
(VII) Hon. Nathaniel (3) Shipman, only child of Rev. Thomas L. and his first wife, Mary Thompson (Deming) Shipman, was born August 22, 1828, at Southbury, Connecticut, where he at- tended the public schools and prepared for the Plainfield Academy at Plainfield, Connecticut. He was graduated from Yale College in the class of 1848, and began the study of law with Judge Thomas B. Osborne, at Fairfield, Connec- ticut. In October, 1849, he entered Yale Law School, although he did not com- plete his course there. He removed to Hartford, where he was admitted to the bar and for many years was one of the most prominent lawyers. He was a mem- ber of the Connecticut Legislature of 1857, and was executive secretary of Gov- ernor Buckingham from 1858 to 1862, dur- ing one of the most critical and important periods of the State government. In 1875 he was appointed judge of the United States District Court, an office that he
filled with conspicuous ability. In 1884 he received the honorary degree of LL. D. from Yale College. Judge Shipman mar- ried, in Hartford, May 25, 1859, Mary Caroline Robinson, daughter of David Franklin and Anne (Seymour) Robin- son. David F. Robinson was a for- mer president of the Hartford National Bank, now the Hartford-Aetna National Bank.
(VIII) Arthur Leffingwell Shipman, son of Hon. Nathaniel (3) and Mary Car- oline (Robinson ) Shipman, was educated in the public schools of his native town and graduated from the Hartford Public High School in 1882, and four years later from Yale University with a degree of A. B. Mr. Shipman then followed a course at the Yale Law School, receiving the de- gree of LL. B. in 1888. The following year he began his practice of law in New York City as a clerk in the office of Seward, DaCosta & Guthrie, attorneys of that city. He removed to Hartford in 1890, and en- tered into partnership with Hon. W. F. Henney. This partnership continued for four years, at which time Mr. Shipman became a member of the law firm of Hyde, Gross & Hyde, the name being changed to Gross, Hyde & Shipman, which it was in 1918. In politics, Mr. Shipman is a Republican and served as a member of the Common Council of the old Fourth Ward in 1892; on the High School Com- mittee in 1895; in 1904 he was appointed corporation counsel of the city by Mayor Henney, and reappointed in 1910 by Mayor Cheney.
Mr. Shipman is a director of the Aetna Insurance Company, Travelers' Insur- ance and Travelers' Indemnity compan- ies, Union Trust, Connecticut River Banking Company, Travelers' Bank and Trust Company, Collins Company, Cape- well Horsenail Company, Sanborn Map Company, and the Franklin Electric Man-
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ufacturing Company. His clubs are : the Hartford, Hartford Golf, Graduates' Club of New Haven, University Club of New York, and the University Club of Hart- ford. Mr. Shipman derives much pleas- ure in hunting and fishing and each sea- son relaxes from his arduous legal duties to enjoy a brief resting spell, indulging in these sports.
Mr. Shipman married, June 27, 1901, in Poughkeepsie, New York, Melvina Van Kleeck, and they are the parents of four children : I. Nathalie, born December 17, 1902. 2. Anne Van Kleeck, born May 21, 1904. 3. Arthur Leffingwell, Jr., born July 4, 1906. 4. Mary Caroline, born De- cember 23, 1910.
Mr. Shipman has upheld to a high de- gree the record established by the Ship- man family in law practice in this city, State and nation, and before many years is destined to go still farther. He is a widely known and respected citizen of Hartford. Through his own personality he has made many true and lasting friends. His far- sightedness and conservative methods have made him invaluable as a public official.
ERVING, Rollin King,
Business Man.
Following Mr. Erving's ancestry back for several generations through the pater- nal line, then through the maternal from that point, we find him descended from some of the oldest settlers of New Eng- land. Tom Gardner was born about 1592, and came to America in 1624, sailing from Weymouth, England. He settled on Cape Ann, and became a freeman of the Massa- chusetts Bay Colony, May 17, 1637. He became a large landowner and a promi- nent citizen, and died in 1677. His wife's name was Margaret. Samuel Gardner, his fifth son, was born in 1627, resided in
Salem, and was often in the public service, for years selectman, and deputy in 1681. Hle was a member of the church, and owned much land. Hle married Mary White, who died September 12, 1675. Of their children, Lieutenant Abel Gardner, was a tanner of fur. He was born Sep- tember 1, 1673, and died November 10, 1739. Hle resided in the old homestead, in the middle precinct of Salem, now Pea- body, Massachusetts. He was a promi- nent man in the community, serving often in public office. He married Sarah Por- ter, daughter of Israel and Elizabeth (Hawthorne) Porter, born August 24, 1675 and died September 24, 1728. Their youngest child, Joseph Gardner, was a goldsmith. He inherited the home- stead on what is now Central street, Peabody, and also other land. In 1747 he bought a house on Cambridge street, Salem, which he sold in 1758, and bought again on what is now High street, near Mill street, where he resided until he died, about 1779. He inherited, March 13, 1779, €586. He married, September 29, 1741. Mehetible Pope, baptized May 13. 1719. daughter of Joseph and Mehetible (Put- nam) Pope. Joseph Pope was a cousin of Benjamin Franklin, and a younger daughter, Hannah, married Israel Put- nam. The eldest daughter of Joseph and Mehetible (Pope) Gardner was baptized Mehetible, January 13, 1748, and was mar- ried, October 12. 1773, to George Erving.
George Erving was born about 1745 or 1750, of Scotch ancestry. He and his wife resided in Salem in the homestead of her father. They sold a store in 1812. The inventory of his estate, dated October 2, 1817, included two houses and a wharf valued at $1,250. His son, Joseph Erving, was born December 8, 1780, in Salem, Massachusetts, and came and settled in West Hartford, Connecticut. The deaths of several of his children are recorded in
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the church. His son, John Joseph Erving, was born in West Hartford, in July, 1832, and died in East Hartford in October, 1889 .. In early life he learned the trade of bootmaker. That was before the days of shoe factories, and men learned every detail of the trade as practiced by the best custom shoemakers now. Mr. Erving fol- lowed the trade for some years on his own account, and later entered the States Prison at Wethersfield as an instructor and held that position until a few years before his death. He was a loyal mem- ber of the Democratic party, but by no means a politician. In 1857 he married Sarah A. Brewer, born December 25, 1833, of Hockanum, daughter of George and Fannie Brewer, a resident of the Willow Brook district of East Hartford.
The Brewer family was one number- ing many notables in England, and the name of the French branch of the family was de la Bruyere. There were English- men named Brewer among the passengers of the "Mayflower," and if this line does not lead back to them (as is entirely possi- ble), its origin in America is nearly con- temporary. The earliest record of the name is in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The earliest Connecticut Brewer came from Lynn, Massachusetts, and was born about 1658. This was Thomas Brewer, and he settled in Glastonbury, and married Sarah (no record of surname) July 13, 1682. His son, Daniel Brewer, was born March 25, 1699, and lived in the neighborhood of Middletown. His will was probated January 19. 1749, and an old record states that he "purchased one acre of land near the plains and adjoining river at Church- ell's Landing, now Goodspeed's, Portland, Connecticut, of Joanna Wilcox, 1727, and paid £ To." He married Eleanor Goodale. Their fifth child, Daniel Brewer, born May 3, 1731, married (first) Anna Van Sant, and from that union was born one
child, Daniel Brewer, May 14, 1751. He settled in East Hartford and became a prominent man in the community. His youngest child, George Brewer, was born July 6, 1800. He was educated in the common schools, and worked long hours on the homestead farm until his first mar- riage, September 12, 1820, to Sarah Treat, born September 7, 1794. She died in 1828, and Mr. Brewer married (second) Fannie, widow of Jason Stevens, of Glastonbury. Their third child, Sarah A. Brewer, mar- ried John Joseph Erving. They had three children: Dora L., who married Charles B. Case, of West Granby ; Rollin King, of whom further ; and Fannie J., who mar- ried John Geiselman, of East Hartford. The parents were members of the Con- gregational church.
Rollin King Erving was born January 29, 1861, in East Hartford. He was edu- cated in the public schools, and then en- gaged in farming on the home place, growing tobacco for three years. He then came to Hartford and entered the employ of James G. Betts, book publisher. He remained there two years, but desiring wider experience, left them in 1880, going to J. B. Burr & Company. Three years later the Burr Index Company was organ- ized, and Mr. Erving has been connected with it since that time as secretary and treasurer. The business has grown from very small beginnings, as the years have passed, until it is now a concern of more than local importance. Responsibilities have increased in proportion, but Mr. Erving has met them in a clear-headed way that has made his associates glad to depend upon him. The company special- izes on books for county records, and the product is handled largely through job- bers. Mr. Erving is also a director of the company. Mr. Erving is a public-spirited man. He has served for sixteen years as secretary of the Hartford Republican
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Club, and has always been an active worker for the good of the party, al- though never desiring political prefer- ment for himself.
Mr. Erving married (first) Jennie, daughter of Joseph Merriman. She lived only a few years, and left no children. Mr. Erving married (second) Clara Loveland, daughter of George W. Tullar, a former clothing merchant of Hartford They have had three children: Harold T .. who died at the age of about ten years ; Doro- thy; and William James, who married Agnes Sherrard, and has two children : Edith Mary and Kenneth MacDonald.
BEACH, Charles Mason,
Man of Large Affairs.
One of the oldest of the Connecticut Colonial families, the Beach family, has been prominent in the annals of that State for many generations and has contributed many noted descendants of the name. Its members have been leaders in business, banking, manufacturing and the profes- sions. In 1639 there were three brothers of the name settled in the New Haven Colony, and the ancestry of the family has also been traced to John Harriman, Rich- ard Miles, John Steele, Captain Stephen Bradley, and William Chittenden, all of whom were prominent among the Con- necticut colonists, and included also are John Hopkins, of Cambridge, Massachu- setts, and Governor Bradford.
(I) The three brothers, Richard, John and Thomas Beach, are recorded among the settlers of the New Haven Colony, and the latter named Thomas Beach was the ancestor of the Hartford family. He took the oath of fidelity on March 7, 1647, in New Haven. From there he removed to Milford, where he died in 1662. On March 1, 1654, he married Sarah, daugh-
ter of Richard and Mary Platt, who died in 1608.
(11) John Beach, son of Thomas and Sarah (Platt) Beach, was born in Milford, Connecticut, October 19, 1655, and died in 1709. He married, in Wallingford, in December, 1678, Mary, surname of his wife being unknown.
(III) John (2) Beach, son of John (1) and Mary Beach, was born in Walling- ford, Connecticut, October 15, 1690, and died May 9, 1775. He left Wallingford in 1728-29, and became one of the founders of the town of Goshen, Connecticut. In 1739 he built a house in what is now East Goshen, one of the largest houses in the town, and there in November, 1740, Rev. Mr. Heaton, one of the first ministers of Goshen, was ordained. John Beach mar- ried (second) Mary, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Baldwin) Royce, born in 1695, and died October 27, 1767.
(IV) Adnah Beach, son of John (2) Beach, was born January II, 1718, and died March 10, 1783. He is buried in East Goshen, where his parents were also buried. He was a tanner by trade, and represented his town in the General As- sembly. On June 9, 1741, he married Han- nah Miles, who died December 6, 1755, at the age of fifty-five years. She was the daughter of John and Sarah (Ball) Miles, and granddaughter of John and Elizabeth (Harriman) Miles, and great-granddaugh- ter of Richard Miles, who took the oath of fidelity in New Haven in 1657.
(V) Ebenezer Beach, son of Adnah and Hannah (Miles) Beach, was born May 30, 1766, and died May 3, 1793. He was buried in Sheffield, Massachusetts. It ap- pears that he was in business with his brother. Miles Beach, in Hartford, at the time of his marriage, as a goldsmith and clockmaker. Later he removed to Litch- field, where he engaged in the same busi- ness by himself. He married, at Hart-
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ford, Lucy, daughter of Timothy and Sarah (Seymour) Steele, and grand- daughter of Daniel and Mary (Hopkins) Steele, the latter born January 30, 1705. Mrs. Beach died April 7, 1801.
(VI) George Beach, son of Ebenezer and Lucy (Steele) Beach, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, November 20, 1788, and died at his home in Farmington avenue, Hartford, May 3, 1860. Upon the death of his mother, he went to live with his grandfather, Timothy Steele, remain- ing until 1806. He began his business life as a clerk for John Pierce, a West India merchant, of Hartford, and lived for a time, as was frequently the custom in those days, in the family of his employer. A few years later Mr. Beach became a partner in the business under the firm name of Pierce & Beach. The trade of the firm was ruined by the War of 1812. Mr. Pierce left the city and Mr. Beach closed up the West India business. Upon the organization of the Phoenix Bank of Hartford, in 1814, Mr. Beach was elected cashier and continued in that position until September 6, 1837, when he was elected president, and continued at the head of this institution until his last ill- ness, resigning April 5, 1860. In 1836, Mr. Beach became a partner in the firm of Phelps, Beach & Company, formerly Hungerford, Phelps & Beach. When Mr. Phelps retired in 1839, the firm became Beach & Company. George Beach be- came head of the firm. When General Lafayette visited Hartford, about 1825, it was Mr. Beach's duty, as captain of the Governor's Foot Guard, to meet the general and with his company escort him to a raised platform in front of the Phoenix Bank where the reception was held. He was generous with his wealth, and always favored young men just start- ing in business. He contributed largely to charity, but without ostentation. He
donated the land for St. Paul's Church, and built and maintained the Widows' Home, consisting of a number of small apartments let gratuitously to deserving widows, who had no home. From early life he was an active and faithful member of Christ Church. He married (first) April 15, 1808, Harriet Bradley, daughter of Aaron Bradley, born June 27, 1792, and died July 16, 1826. Aaron Bradley was one of the eight men who organized Christ Church of Hartford. His ancestry has been traced to Stephen Bradley, one of the early settlers of Guilford Planta- tion. His wife was Sarah (Chittenden) Bradley, who was a direct descendant of Lieutenant William Chittenden, who set- tled in the Guilford Colony in 1639, and who was also a magistrate, and member of the General Assembly for twenty-seven sessions, 1641 to 1661.
(VII) Charles Mason Beach, tenth child of George and Harriet (Bradley) Beach, was born February 18, 1826, in the old house on Church street, Hartford, Connecticut, now in the rear of the Young Women's Christian Association. When he was three years of age, he at- tended Miss Canfield's private school, which would now be classed as a kinder- garten. Later he attended the private school of Miss Emmons (afterwards Mrs. Henry A. Perkins, of Hartford), going from there to the Hartford Grammar School of which Mr. Wright was princi- pal. In`1836, he entered the school of Dr. Epaphroditus Hudson, at Torrington, and was sent at the age of twelve to the boarding school conducted by Dr. Stephen Reed at Richmond. At the age of four- teen he entered the employ of Howe, Mather & Company, afterward Mather, Morgan & Company, and continued there until 1848, when he became a partner of his elder brothers, George and J. Watson Beach, in the firm of Beach & Company,
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dry salters and commission merchants, now importers and dealers in aniline dyes and other chemicals, being one of the oldest firms in this line in New Eng- land. Mr. Beach continued actively en- gaged in this business until a short time before his death, which occurred June 17. 1910. Ile was a man of large business capacity, and early won recognition as one of the leading business men of HIart- ford. For more than fifty years he was a director of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, and served for many years as a director of the Phoenix National Bank, the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Hartford Carpet Company, the Ilartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Company, of which he was one of the founders, Holyoke Power Com- pany, Hartford Machine Screw Company, Illinois Central Railroad, the Watkinson Farm School, St. Margaret's Diocesan School for Girls, the Society of Donations and Bequests, and he was the first treas- urer for the Society for the Increase of the Ministry. He was a member of the London Society of Arts, was one of the founders of the American Jersey Cattle Club, and a member of the Hartford Club and the Hartford Golf Club.
One of the principal hobbies of Mr. Beach was the breeding of registered stock. His stock farm in West Hartford was widely known as a model of its kind. He imported Welsh sheep and bred Jer- sey cattle. His dairy was a model in its day, equipped with the most modern de- vices, and with every possible measure taken to insure the most hygenic condi- tions. It is hardly necessary to say that a man of such mentality, high character and varied interests took an active inter- est in public affairs, though the lure of public office held no attraction for him. He wrote many articles for the news- papers covering a wide range of subjects,
such as the tariff and other manufactur- ing problems, dairying, stock raising, and other kindred subjects.
Mr. Beach married, October 8, 1849, Frances Lyman, daughter of Thomas and Frances Lyman ( Waterhouse ) Belknap, who was born March 21, 1830, and died December 20, 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Beach were the parents of the following chil- dren: 1. Harriet Bradley, became the wife of William W. Huntington. 2. Fran- ces Antoinette. 3. Thomas Belknap. 4 Edith. 5. Mary Elizabeth. 6. Charles Edward, married Catherine Harriet Coff- ing, daughter of Frederic Charles and Julia (Perkins) Coffing.
WHIPPLE, Benedict N.,
Physician, Surgeon, C. N. G.
Dr. Whipple, after completing medical college study and two years of later hos- pital work, chose his native Bristol as a location, and since December, 1908, his professional skill has been at the service of his friends and acquaintances of a life. His success as a medical practitioner has been most satisfactory to him and to his friends, his clientele being numerous and influential.
(I) Dr. Whipple is a grandson of Dan- iel Whipple, who came from County Longford, an inland county of Ireland in Leinster, settling in Providence, Rhode Island. He enlisted in the Union army from Rhode Island, and in one of the bat- tles of the Civil War gave his life for his adopted country.
(II) James D. Whipple, son of Daniel Whipple, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and in 1870 came to Bristol, Con- necticut, where he died in 1914. He was for many years caretaker of the city hall, and a man highly esteemed. He married Elizabeth Crowley, of New York City.
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