USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 6
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The coat-of-arms of the family is as fol- lows :
Arms-Gules, a fesse between three cock's heads erased argent beaked or.
Crest-A cock ermine barbed, membered, crested and wattled or.
Motto-Vigilate.
This coat-of-arms was granted June 8, 1616, by order of the King, to Thomas
Alcock, of Sibertof, Leicestershire. The device is emblematic of watchfulness.
(I) Thomas Alcock came from Eng- land with John Winthrop, in 1630, and settled in Boston. He is the forty-sixth on the list of original members of Boston Church in 1639. He removed to Dedham, and later returned to Boston, where he died September 14, 1657. His widow, Margery, married (second) John Burn- ham, and went to New Haven in 1660.
(II) Philip Alcock, son of Thomas Al- cock, was born in 1647-48, in Dedham, and died in 1716. He married, December 5, 1672, Elizabeth, born February 6, 1651, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Mitchell. He removed with his mother to New Haven, and resided near what is now George street. He was a large land- holder.
(III) John Alcott, son of Philip Al- cock, was born July 14, 1675, in New Haven. He resided there on the paternal estate, using the new form of the name. He also owned land in East Haven and Wallingford. He died in March, 1722, and his wife Susannah, died in 1737.
(IV) John (2) Alcott, son of John (1) Alcott, was born January 14, 1705, in New Haven, and settled in Waterbury in 1731, on Spindle Hill, now Wolcott. He died January 6, 1777. He married, January 14, 1730, Deborah Blakeslee, born March 15, 1713, in New Haven, died January 7, 1789, daughter of John and Lydia Blakeslee, granddaughter of John and Grace (Ven- tries) Blakeslee, great-granddaughter of Samuel and Hannah (Potter) Blakeslee, of Guilford, Connecticut.
(V) Captain John (3) Alcott, son of John (2) Alcott, was born December 28, 1731, in Waterbury, that part which is now Wolcott. He built a home near that of his father, and died September 27, 1808. He married, August 28, 1755, Mary Chat- field, born October II, 1736, in Derby,
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dlied February 28, 1807, daughter of Solo- to realize his loss, he settled down in carn- mon and Hannah (Pierson ) Chatfield, and descendant of George and Sarah (Bishop) Chatfield, of Guilford.
(VI) John Chatfield Alcott, son of Captain John (3) Alcott, was born May 7, 1771, in Wolcott, and resided near "Po- lucca's Ring" until 1805, when he settled on Clinton Hill, the highest land in Spin- dle Hill district. He married, October 13, 1796, Anna Bronson, of Plymouth. One of their sons was Amos Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa M. Alcott. the noted author of many books for young girls and boys, including "Little Women" and "Little Men.'
(VII) Junius S. Alcott, son of John Chatfield Alcott, was born in Wolcott, Connecticut, July 6, 1818. When a young man he removed to Oriskany Falls, New York, and soon established himself in business as a machinist, under the firm name of Couch & Alcott. This was at a time when the present widespread use of machinery was something undreamed of. The industry was still in its infancy, and it is probable that the early death of Junius S. Alcott was a loss to the world. He died at Oriskany Falls, New York, April 16, 1852, before he reached the age of thirty-four. He married Nancy J. Pritchard, of Litchfield, Connecticut, who was born February 5, 1821, and died Au- gust 19. 1880. They had five children, three of whom grew to maturity : Lillian May, born May 19, 1845, died February 25, 1907, was the wife of John H. Perry, of Hartford : Jane Ann, born May 31, 1848, the wife of William Ayer, of Fowler, Michigan ; and Ralph W. E., of whom fur- ther.
(VIII) Dr. Ralph Waldo Emerson Al- cott, son of Junius S. Alcott, was only two years of age when his father died. He was a quiet lad, fond of reading and study. As he grew to young manhood and began
est to pursue some line of study which would give him a place in the world worthy the traditions of his family. He chose medicine, and studied under the tutorship of Dr. C. S. Cutler, of Granby, and later, with Dr. H. B. Steel, of Winsted, Connecticut. He continued his education at the University of Pennsyl- vania, and finally was graduated from the United States Medical College, of New York, with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. He began practice in Granby, then practiced in Avon, where he remained until 1896, when he located permanently in West Hartford. There he is very highly esteemed as a physician, and has built up a large practice, in which he is deservedly popular and prosperous. He keeps well abreast of the times, constantly watching the new discoveries in medical science, and applying them to his own practice with discriminating judgment and commendable success. He is devoted to his work, and his ability is gaining wide recognition. Dr. Alcott was made a Mason in Village Lodge, No. 29, Free and Accepted Masons, in Collinsville, in 1880, and at present holds membership in Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, Free and Accepted Masons, of West Hartford. He is also a member of Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, Royal Arch Masons; and Wolcott Coun- cil, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, of Hartford.
Dr. Alcott married, July 11, 1871, Ida H. Miller, daughter of Myron and Lura (Gates) Miller, of Hartland, Connecticut. They are the parents of two children : I. Herbert Bronson, who is now engaged in business in Avon, Connecticut ; married Clara, daughter of George Wheeler, of Avon, Connecticut, and now has one son, George. 2. Ila Louise, who married Clin- ton Thomas King, of Windsor. Mrs. Al- cott died July 1, 1884.
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CURTISS, Charles Edson,
Manufacturer, Legislator.
For the past forty years Mr. Curtiss has been connected with the Ensign-Bickford Company of Simsbury, Connecticut, and has gained the esteem and respect of his fellow-citizens, having been active in pro- moting the prosperity of the town physi- cally and morally.
(I) He is a descendant of one of the oldest Connecticut families, founded by Thomas Curtiss, who was born in Eng- land in 1598, and settled at Wethersfield, Connecticut, with his wife Elizabeth in 1639. There he died November 13, 1681.
(II) Joseph Curtiss, third son of Thomas Curtiss, was born March 31, 1644, in Wethersfield, died there, December 31, 1683, leaving an estate of £717 13s. Iod. He married, February 8, 1674, Mary Dem- ing, who was probably a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Scheafe) Deming, the latter a daughter of John Scheafe, an early resident of Connecticut.
(III) Joseph (2) Curtiss, eldest son of Joseph (1) Curtiss, was born January 10, 1675, in Wethersfield, made his home in that town, and died December 31, 1765, lacking ten days of being ninety-one years of age. He married, December 7, 1708, Dorothy Edwards, born in September, 1681, in Wethersfield, that part now Rocky Hill, died April 18, 1760, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Edwards, of that sec- tion.
(IV) Josiah Curtiss, youngest child of Joseph (2) Curtiss, was born September 12, 1721, in Stepney Parish, now Rocky Hill, and was buried October 4, 1800. In 1777 he was a member of Captain Henry Champion's company, of Colchester, which served in the Revolutionary army. He married, December 3, 1747, Mary Hilborn, born March 4, 1725, in Newington, died October 7, 1799, third daughter of Lieu-
tenant Ebenezer and Eunice (Hale) Hil- born, of that town.
(V) Ebenezer Curtiss, third son of Josiah Curtiss, was born January 31, 1760, in Stepney, went in old age to Simsbury, probably with his son, and died there March 21, 1819. He married, April I, 1781, Rebecca Latimer, born December 12, 1754, in Wethersfield, daughter of John and Anna (Grimes) Latimer.
(VI) Timothy Hale Curtiss, third son of Ebenezer Curtiss, was baptized March 9, 1783, settled in Simsbury, Connecticut, where he died March 19, 1864. He was married in Simsbury, by Benjamin Ely, justice of the peace, April 5, 1814, to Sarah McCombs, a descendant of an old family of that section. Her birth is not recorded in Windsor or Simsbury.
(VII) Ebenezer G. Curtiss, son of Tim- othy Hale and Sarah (McCombs) Curtiss, was born November 15, 1822, in the sec- tion of Simsbury near the Canton line, known as the "Bushy Hill" District. He spent his boyhood in Southwick, Massa- chusetts, where his parents were living for some time ; in early manhood engaged in farming and later became interested in the cattle business, residing in that part of Simsbury known as Weatogue. He was accustomed to purchase stock in the West, which he drove to Connecticut and there disposed of to advantage. He was a prominent citizen of the town, which he represented at one time in the State Leg- islature, and was active in the Masonic fraternity, affiliated with St. Mark's Lodge, No. 36, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, of Simsbury, with which his son is now identified. He died September 16, 1890, and his body was laid to rest in Simsbury. He married, October 11, 1846, Mary Amne Norton, who was born Octo- ber 29, 1827, in Avon, Connecticut, a de- scendant of a very old Connecticut fam- ily, founded by John Norton, who appears
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on the first page of the Branford records. He is supposed to have been a son of Richard and Ella (Rowley) Norton, of London. About 1659 he removed from Branford to Farmington, Connecticut, where he was one of the eighty-four pro- prietors, and died November 5, 1709. His second wife, Elizabeth, died at Branford, November 6, 1657. Her son, John Nor- ton, born October 14, 1657, in Branford, lived in Farmington, which he represent- ed in the General Court in 1680, ICS1 and 1682, and there died April 25. 1725. He married Ruth Moore, born January 5, 1667, in Norwalk, Connecticut, daughter of Isaac and Ruth (Stanley ) Moore. Their son, Thomas Norton, baptized July II, 1697, in Farmington, resided there, and died May 2, 1760. He married, January 17, 1724, Elizabeth McEwan, born No- vember 7. 1699, in Stratford, died after 1760, daughter of Robert and Sarah (Wil- coxson) McEwan. Her third son, Icha- bod Norton, born September 17, 1736, lived in Granby, Connecticut, and died there, October 1, 1825. He married, Feb- ruary 21, 1760, Ruth Strong, born Sep- tember 3. 1739, died July 16, 1823, in West Hartford, daughter of Asahel and Ruth (Hooker) Strong. Their youngest child, George Norton, born November 15, 1782, in Farmington, settled in Avon, Connec- ticut, where he died May 11, 1833. He married, December 20, 1820, Elizabeth Frisbie, and they were the parents of Mary Amne Norton, who became the wife of Ebenezer G. Curtiss, as previously stated. They were the parents of three sons.
(VIII) Charles E. Curtiss, second son of Ebenezer G. and Mary Amne (Norton) Curtiss, was born March 18, 1850, in the Bushy Hill District of Simsbury, and be- gan his studies in the district schools of Weatogue. In 1859 his parents moved to the Meadow Plain District and there he
was under the instruction of several able teachers, and later spent a winter at Guil- ford Institute. After leaving school in 1866, he spent a year on the paternal farm. In 1867 he began his business career as clerk in the general store of Judson Wil- cox at Simsbury, and two years later be- came travelling salesman for Ilumason & Beckley, hardware dealers of New Britain. For some time he traveled over New York State, and subsequently covered the same territory in the interest of a cigar manu- facturer of New York City. In 1872 he went to Oneonta, New York, where he engaged in the livery business, and sub- sequently removed to Westfield, Massa- chusetts, and was bookkeeper and sales- man in a grocery establishment. Since December 1, 1879, he has resided in Sims- bury, and for many years has been asso- ciated with the Ensign-Bickford Manu- facturing Company. Since April 10, 1889, he has occupied the elegant home in Sims- bury, formerly the Averett Wilcox Home- stead, known as "The Seven Elms," from the seven large elm trees in front of the mansion. In political affairs he has al- ways been identified with the Democratic party, which he supports in general elec- tions, but ignores partisan politics in local matters. While he has never shirked his duty to his party and to the community, he has steadfastly declined to be a candi- date for office, but in 1909 and 1910 he yielded to the urgency of his fellow-citi- zens and as a matter of public duty repre- sented the town in the State Legislature, where he served on the committees on roads, rivers and bridges and public utili- ties. As before stated, he is a member of St. Mark's Masonic Lodge, of Simsbury, of which he has been treasurer for nearly twenty years. Mr. Curtiss is an enthusi- astic horseman, is regarded as one of the best judges of horse flesh, and has owned and driven many of the finest horses in
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the State. He is esteemed as a liberal and progressive citizen, always actively strengthening public improvements and endeavoring to make life in this world enjoyable to all who surround him.
Mr. Curtiss married (first) April 19, 1876, Sarah J. Toy, who bore him two children: I. Joseph T., born December 16, 1878; was educated at Dobbs Ferry and Andover, Massachusetts, and spent a year in study and travel in Europe ; he married, December 19. 1899. Abigail G. Eno, daughter of Chauncey H. Eno, of Simsbury ; their home was in Tariffville, where Mr. Curtiss was engaged in a mer- cantile business ; he died March 19, 1912. 2. Grace G., born September 26, 1883 ; was graduated from St. Margaret's School in Waterbury, in 1901. Mr. Curtiss married (second) June 24, 1891, Anna Isabel Ham- ilton.
SMITH, Waldo C., Public Official.
The line of ancestry of Waldo C. Smith is one of the most ancient and honorable in New England. Cushing in the New England Genealogical Register, vol. 26, p. 190, says : "The early settlers of Hing- ham, Massachusetts, were mostly from Hingham, Norfolk county, England," and he mentions Ralph Smyth as coming to that place in 1633, and infers from the numeral "I" following his name that he came alone. His name appears first in the Hingham, Massachusetts, Registry in 1637, when he drew a "house lot" on Bachelor street, now Maine street. In 1637 he took the oath of allegiance. His name here and always was spelled "Smyth," though we find the more com- mon spelling used by his son and all his descendants. Ralph Smyth was consta- ble of Eastham, Massachusetts, from 1660 to 1664. He was engaged in trading
with Jesse Hobart, of Hingham, Massa- chusetts, and himself became an extensive landowner in Eastham. He appears to have been married more than once, and one of his wives was named Grace, but there are reasons for believing that she was not the mother of his son Daniel.
(II) Daniel Smith, son of Ralph Smyth, was baptized at Hingham, March 2, 1647, and died at Eastham, Massachusetts, March, 1720. He married, March 3, 1676, Mary Young, of Eastham, who was born April 28, 1658, at Eastham, and was the daughter of John Young and his wife Abigail. Daniel and Mary (Young) Smith had six children : Daniel, Comfort, Abigail, James, of whom further; Na- thaniel and Mary.
(III) James Smith, son of Daniel and Mary (Young) Smith, was born at East- ham, the last week of April, 1685. He married Hannah Rogers, of Eastham, February 19, 1712-13. She was born Au- gust 5. 1689, and they had six sons and one daughter: Levi, Solomon, of whom further ; James, Joshua, Grace, Benjamin, Phineas. These children were all born at Eastham.
(IV) Solomon Smith, son of James and Hannah (Rogers) Smith, was born March 8. 1715-16. He married Susanna, daughter of Benjamin and Thankful (Bawerman) Snow, of Eastham. He died at Sandisfield, Massachusetts, May 13, 1790, aged seventy-five years. His marriage took place February 21, 1739- 40, at Eastham, Massachusetts. Susanna (Snow) Smith was of the fifth generation from Stephen Hopkins, of the "May- flower" (Susanna Snow (5), Benjamin Snow (4), Joseph Snow (3), Constance, or Constanta Snow (2), wife of Hon. Nicholas Snow, daughter of Stephen (1) Hopkins). Their children were: Solo- mon, Jr., Uriel, Ezekiel, Susanna, Amos, of whom further.
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Records show that the brothers, Solo- mon and Benjamin Smith, purchased land in what was later called Sandisfield, Int 1751, and that they had previously ac- quired a residence in Hebron, Connecti- cut, though how long they had lived there is not known, Solomon Smith built the fifth house in Sandisfield, which was doubtless of logs, as were all the houses built at that time, but it was replaced by a frame house in 1772. Most of Berk- shire was an unbroken wilderness at this time and covered with a dense growth of hardwood. There were no roads or bridges and there had been little survey- ing done. But this was a fertile region and it attracted a fine class of settlers. In a few years a large population came in and took up land, most of them coming either directly or indirectly from East- ham, Massachusetts. Soon it was one of the most thickly settled regions of West- ern Massachusetts, and was peopled by a very superior class of men and women. The first settler of the town was Thomas Brown, of Enfield, Connecticut, who came in 1750. So fast did the population in- crease that at the commencement of the Revolutionary War, in 1775, there were one hundred and thirty-five men capable of bearing arms. The records show that fifteen Smiths did military duty; some doing service as "Minute Men," who were frequently called out for longer or shorter periods, and others enlisted for the dura- tion of the war, some as privates and later winning their commissions and others entering the service as officers.
On February 24. 1756, the Sandisfield church was organized, Benjamin Smith being one of a committee of fourteen to form the incorporation. The committee united by letter to communion with the church, Ruth, the wife of Benjamin Smith, and Susanna, wife of Solomon Smith. Many others from Eastham united with
the church at the same time. The town of Sandisfield was incorporated, March 6, 1762. The first town meeting was called April 19, 1762. Solomon Smith was ap- pointed constable, and Benjamin Smith and William Underwood, tithingmen.
(V) Dr. Amos Smith, the youngest child of Solomon and Susanna (Snow) Smith, was born October 23, 1747, at Sandisfield. At the age of twenty-five he married his first wife and by her he had four children : Tryphenia, Amos, Jr., Han- nah, and Amariah. He was a man of great ability and found time not only to operate his large farm but to study med- icine as well and gained a reputation as a practitioner, which was more than local. He was an ardent patriot and served much time in the army during the Revo- lution. He was a private in Captain Jacob Brown's company, Colonel John Fuller's regiment, which came out in response to the "first alarm" of April 19. 1775. His name frequently appears on the register of the soldiers and sailors of Massachu- setts in the Revolution. As a physician he was frequently called in for consulta- tion and to perform delicate surgical op- erations. There is a story of his courage and determination in the account of a single handed combat he had with a wolf in which, unarmed, he came off the victor. Even more courage was shown by him in a day when the clergymen were looked upon with almost superstitious awe, when in full town meeting he called upon the pious minister to give his free- dom to his negro slave, Toney. This re- quest, the record says, was refused by the owner. He lived in what was then known as South 1100 Acres in South Sandisfield, and there he died October 6, 1807, and his gravestone is still to be seen in the cem- etery near his old home.
Dr. Amos Smith married (second)
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Christiana Phelps, July 29, 1783, and they had ten children: Christiana, Amariah, Sylvester, of whom further ; Erastus, Cyn- thia, Harvey, Clarissa, Sally, Ira, and Daniel Phelps.
(VI) Sylvester Smith, son of Dr. Amos and Christiana (Phelps) Smith, was born at Sandisfield, January 24, 1788, and died at North Colebrook, Connecticut, July 17, 1865, aged seventy-seven years. He mar- ried, at Sandisfield, January 1I, 1813, Laura A. Cowles, who was born in 1791, and died June 10, 1870, at North Cole- brook. It was said of him and his wife that "two more estimable persons were never united in the bonds of matrimony." His sterling qualities of character and his mental gifts seem to have been trans- mitted to his posterity. He was remark- able in a practical age for his love of lit- erature. It is said that he was a man of great height and muscular build, standing six feet six inches in his stockings. The children of Sylvester and Laura A. (Cowles) Smith were: Cynthia, Milton, of whom further ; Emily, Aurelia, William Amos, and Laura Christiana.
(VII) Milton Smith, son of Sylvester and Laura A. (Cowles) Smith, was born March 16, 1818, at North Colebrook, Con- necticut. He was a man of a very high order of mental ability, although he had no advantages beyond those afforded by the schools of North Colebrook. He would have been with a liberal education a man of distinction in his State. He be- gan at the age of eighteen to teach in various places in the region of his birth, one of those being West Nassau, New York. He then settled on a farm in North Colebrook, marrying about the same time. Here in North Colebrook he lived the remainder of his nineteen years of life. He became a man of prominence in the community, and was three times
elected a member of the House of Repre- sentatives of Connecticut, and served at one time as selectman of the town of North Colebroook, and was once first selectman. He also served one term as one of the county commissioners of Litch- field county, Connecticut. He was also at one time a lieutenant in the Connect- icut State Militia, and was for several years postmaster of North Colebrook. During all these years of a busy life he continued to be a student and reader, his mental horizon continually expanding as long as he lived, and his scholarly tastes and broad views making up to him in part for the lack of early advantages. He was a man in advance of his age and did much of his own thinking, arriving at opinions which were a generation or two ahead of his own time. A continual preoccupation with him was the relation of the individ- ual to the service of the State in a democ- racy, and by his daily walk and example showed that he believed in not only the privileges of liberty but in its obligations to service. He died in the prime of life at a time when he had just begun to be recognized outside of his community as a man fitted to play a leading part in the State. His death was a loss not only to his immediate circle but to the larger body of society which had only recently begun to realize his ability, character and principle.
Milton Smith married (first) March 18, 1844, at North Colebrook, Connecticut, Mary Swift: she died February 3, 1850, at the age of thirty-three. They had three children : A son and a daughter who died young, and Rufus Babcock. Milton Smith married (second) Martha (Hall) Smith, widow of Corrin Smith, son of Uriel and Sophronia (Church) Smith, of Sandisfield. She died March 26, 1859, at the age of forty, and he died March 16,
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1863, at the age of forty-three, at North Colebrook. Their children were: Syl- vester, of whom further; Mary and Martha.
(V11I) Sylvester Smith, son of Milton and Martha (Hall-Smith) Smith, was born March 6, 1852, at North Colebrook, Connecticut, and died May 11, 1882, of typhoid pneumonia, at East Granby, Con- necticut. He married, at East Granby, March 6, 1872, Lois Nutley Work, and she died April 8, 1905. Their children were: 1. Grace M., born February 1, 1873, married Walter Oatley, and has two daughters, Josephine and Gynevere. 2. Milton, born in December, 1874, married Mattie Griswold, and has one daughter, Mildred. 3. Waldo C., of the present bio- graphical notice. 4. Celia, born July 23, 1885. married Louis J. Piney, and has two sons, Lester and Waldo.
(IX) Waldo C. Smith, son of Sylvester and Lois Nutley (Work) Smith, was born April 11, 1882, at East Granby, Connect- icut. His mother, Lois Nutley (Work) Smith, was the daughter of Hasting Work. a native of Wilbraham, Massachu- setts, where he was a farmer all his life. Waldo C. Smith was educated at the pub- lic schools of his native region, and con- tinued on the home farm after his father's death. He is considered one of the im- portant and substantial farmers of that section, making a specialty of his tobacco and his dairy. He has about twelve acres in tobacco, a large amount of land for such an intensive crop. He keeps fifty head of cattle and also raises potatoes and corn. Mr. Smith has always followed the tradition of his fathers in being an active participant in political matters, feeling it to be the duty of a citizen of a republic to bear his share of the duties and service of the common weal. He has represented
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