USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 20
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FINCH, Rev. Wallace H., D. D., Clergyman, Author, Lecturer.
Finch is an old New England family and figures quite prominently in the early annals of Connecticut and New York State. Finchville, in Orange county, is named in honor of John Finch, the first immigrant in that section, who came from Horse Neck, Connecticut, and settled in Goshen, New York, the tradition being that he was the first adult buried in the graveyard of Goshen Church. His son, James Finch, settled in town of Wall- kill, his farm now being the site of the village of Middletown. When marching to the ill-fated field of Minisink during the Revolution, Colonels Phillips and Wisner
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with their troops were entertained at his house, and arrangements made for him to feed the soldiers on their return next day. But there were few of his friends and neighbors who returned. He also served in the army. A branch of the fam- ily headed by Ebenezer Finch, born in Stamford, Connecticut, settled in Greene county, New York, in the town of Green- ville. .
The first of the name in America was Daniel Finch, who came in Governor Winthrop's fleet and settled in Water- town, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman, May 18, 1631. He removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he was constable in 1636; removed to Stamford, Connecticut, where he was one of the original proprietors; and in 1653 to Fair- field, Connecticut, where he made a con- tract marriage, December 25, 1657, with Elizabeth Thompson, widow of John Thompson, and died in March, 1667. His will names a son Nathaniel. Daniel Finch had a brother, Abraham, who was killed in open Indian warfare.
(I) The earliest records of this line that have so far come to light are of Solo- mon Finch, who passed nearly all of his life in Ramapo, New York. On Novem- ber 26, 1782, he purchased land that is. now a part of Tuxedo Park, and the orig- inal deed, now in Dr. Finch's possession, is one of those rare documents sealed with a drop of the grantor's blood. Solomon Finch enlisted for military service in the Revolutionary War, but it was held that his value to the colonies was greater as an iron worker than as a soldier in the field, and he was discharged, returning to his forge. He was a Presbyterian in re- ligious faith.
(II) Thomas Finch, son of Solomon Finch, was born in what was then Ra- mapo, New York. Like his father, he was an iron worker and resided all his life
within a radius of a few miles from the iron works. He served in the War of 1812, and his widow drew a pension based upon this service. He and his wife, Abi- gail, were members of the Presbyterian church.
(III) John H. Finch, son of Thomas and Abigail Finch, was born in 1832. He learned the trade of iron worker and fol- lowed that calling throughout his life. He served in the Union army in the Civil War, enlisting in Company C, 124th Reg- iment, New York Volunteer Infantry, and saw two years, nine months, and twenty- six days of active service, being wounded in the battle of Antietam. He was a member of Suffern (New York) Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. The family were Presbyterians in religious faith, but attended the Methodist Episco- pal church for convenience. John H. Finch married Mrs. Catherine Bowen, daughter of Jacob Wood, of Haverstraw, New York, and widow of Hiram Bowen, who was killed in the first attack on Petersburg. There were two children of her first marriage: Minnie, who married William B. Miller, of Toledo, Ohio; and Georgia, who married Charles Gregory, of Center Valley, New York. Children of John H. and Catherine (Wood-Bowen) Finch: Wallace H., of whom further; Fannie B., married Alfred J. Lawler, of Yonkers, New York; and Cora, who mar- ried Raymond B. Johnson, of Springfield, Massachusetts.
(IV) Wallace H. Finch, son of John H. and Catherine (Wood-Bowen) Finch, was born June 12, 1874, and when twelve years of age became employed in the Ramapo Iron Works, where he remained until he was nineteen years of age. In this none too easy school he gained a knowledge of men and motives of human nature, that subsequent courses in psy- chology could scarcely improve upon, an
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experience that has proved of inestimable value in ministerial work. Always an omnivorous reader, during his years in the mill he supplemented his scanty educa- tion with reading which, while varied in character, was always of the most sub- stantial nature. At the age of nineteen years he entered Claverack Preparatory School in Columbia, New York, and from there went to Moody's School in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts. Three years in New York University followed, and dur- ing the last year of this time he also car- ried his first year's work in Drew Theo- logical Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, whence he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1904.
In this same year he was ordained in New York City into the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and was as- signed to his first pastorate in Pine Bush, New Jersey, where he remained for but a short time. When Dr. William F. An- derson, the present Bishop, was elected secretary of the Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal church in May, 1904, Rev. Finch was invited to the pulpit of his church in Ossining, New York, a charge he held until 1911. His pastorate here was most successful and resulted in substantial church growth along all lines. At this time Bishop Smith appointed Mr. Finch district superintendent of the New- burgh district of the Methodist Episcopal church, and at the time of his appoint- ment he was the youngest man appointed to that important office in the history of the Conference. Complimentary as the honor was, the purely administrative character of the work was not to Dr. Finch's liking, for his heart is in pastoral work, so in September, 1912, he was re- leased at his own urgent request. He accepted a call to St. Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church, New York City, and
in the following year, when that church was moved in the general forward move- ment of the denomination in New York, Dr. Finch came to Stamford, Connecticut, as pastor of the First Methodist Episco- pal Church. The church property was much run down when he came to the parish, and Dr. Finch made his first ma- terial work its renovation, which was ac- complished at an expenditure of $36,000.
The decade of his ministry has been a most happy and fruitful term of service, rendered so by the spirit of zealous de- votion he has brought to his work. Dr. Finch believes that men should not choose the ministry in the manner that other professions are chosen, but rather, that the minister is chosen by God, that therefore he has a divine mission in the world and a commensurate responsibility that permits of no perfunctory, routine service. He places Christianity high above codes of ethics or morals, and a practical idealism guides him in all his work. To his pastoral duties he brings an indefatigable industry and a kindly sym- pathy that enable him to accomplish a vast amount of work and to mingle in mutual benefit with his people. This communion is enlivened by Dr. Finch's almost irrepressible sense of humor which, often finding unconscious expres- sion, not only lends enjoyment to social intercourse but is a delightful attribute to his public speaking.
His gift of oratory is natural, and this, with his wide reading, has given him emi- nent qualifications for the lecture plat- form. Dr. Finch has filled engagements in many places in Connecticut, Massa- chusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, and among his best known lectures are those entitled : "Burns, Scot- land's Chiefest Ornament of Song," "Bed- ford's Immortal Brazier," "The Magic
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Maker," and "Mothers of Men." The first named seems to have wakened the hearti- est response from his audiences, although Dr. Finch does not rate it so highly as some of his other lectures. In 1904 he toured the Burns country and added to his intimate knowledge of the poet's work all the feeling that can only come from the local color and atmosphere of the scenes among which Burns lived and wrote. In the past, Dr. Finch has done a great deal of after-dinner speaking, for which he has been in great demand. Dr. Finch is the author of "The Plumb Line," and "Help- ers of Your Joy," published by Eaton & Main in 1911-12. Dr. Finch has con- tributed extensively to the religious press, "The Christian Advocate," of New York ; "Zions Herald," of Boston ; and the "Methodist Review," of New York, which is the oldest review published in the country.
In 1912 Syracuse University conferred upon Rev. Finch the degree of Doctor of Divinity, a distinction unexpected and un- sought. Dr. Finch is an interested par- ticipant in public affairs, and has always borne a full share of the civic burden. He fraternizes with Radium Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Ossining, and New- burgh Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of the Masonic and Clergy clubs, of New York City. Dr. Finch finds his chief recrea- tion in hunting and fishing, and the sev- eral open seasons have generally found him in the field with rod of gun.
Rev. Dr. Finch married Phebe Secor, daughter of James and Loretta (Hill) Secor, of Cornwall, New York. James Secor was a soldier in the Union army, enlisting from Haverstraw, New York, whence he moved to Cornwall. Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Finch are the parents of Ade- laide Catherine, born in 1906, and John Wallace, born in 1911.
WILLIAMS, Edward Drake,
Manufacturing Chemist.
The name of Williams is of Welsh de- rivation; it is derived from the verb, "gwylio," meaning to watch. The noun of this verb is "gwylyn," and means a watcher, a sentinel, and thus it is plainly seen that the name is derived from a military occupation. The Williams fam- ily, of which Edward Drake Williams is a scion, was early settled in Pomfret, Connecticut. The great-great-grandfa- ther of Mr. Williams was John Williams, of Pomfret. He was the father of David Williams, whose son, Silas Williams, was born in Pomfret, February 4, 1750, and died at Royalton, Vermont, October 20, 1843. He came to Royalton in 1780, and located a plot of land, where he built a log house. The following year he re- moved from Pomfret with his wife and two children, and became one of the lead- ing men of Royalton. He was a surveyor, lister, moderator, and in 1784 was rep- resentative to the Legislature. Silas Williams married Mary Flynn, daughter of Richard Flynn. She was born January 29, 1749, in Pomfret, and died March 13, 1835.
David Williams, son of Silas and Mary (Flynn) Williams, was born February 3, 1788, and died May 9, 1864, in Royalton. He was a farmer and a useful citizen of his community. He married, December 3, 1812, Eunice Crandall, daughter of Gideon and Esther (Rix) Crandall, born October 6, 1788, in Royalton, and died there, March 2, 1871.
Silas R. Williams, son of David and Eunice (Crandall) Williams, was born in Royalton, April 14, 1823, and died at Essex Junction, Vermont, August 24, 1890. He was educated in the district schools and the Royalton Academy. It was his ambition to go to college, but
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being the youngest son and the only one remaining at home, it became necessary for him to assume the responsibilities of the home farm. He continued to culti- vate it until 1872, in which year he re- moved to Essex Junction and purchased the restaurant in the station of the Cen- tral Vermont railroad. It was while Mr. Williams was in this business that Ed- ward Phelps missed his train and wrote the famous poem about Essex Junction. Subsequently Mr. Williams was ap- pointed agent at Royalton and went there to assume the duties of the position, but died shortly afterwards. During the Civil War Mr. Williams volunteered his services, and was appointed sergeant by Governor Smith. The men on the regis- tration knew, however, that he was needed at home and they took advantage of the excuse that was often used by the less patriotic, and Mr. Williams' enlist- ment was refused on the ground that his teeth were too poor to bite the cartridges.
Mr. Williams married, September 12, 1853, Julia Ann Smith, daughter of Wil- liam and Sarah (Parkhurst) Smith; she was a native of Randolph, Vermont. They were the parents of five children, four of them growing to maturity: Robert S., now a resident of Monte Vista, Colorado; Lottie E., deceased, married Frank E. Bowman, of Winthrop, Massachusetts; Clara E., married Homer S. Drury, of Essex Junction, and is the mother of five sons; Edward Drake, of further men- tion. The Williams family attended the Congregational church of Essex Junction for many years, and Mr. Williams served as deacon and was otherwise active in church work.
Edward Drake Williams, son of Silas R. and Julia Ann (Smith) Williams, was born in Royalton, Vermont, November 13, 1866, and attended the public schools of Essex Junction, and then was a student
at the Burlington High School. He en- tered the University of Vermont, and specialized in the study of chemistry, graduating in 1888 with the degree of Ph. B. The year following his graduation Mr. Williams taught chemistry at his alma mater, resigning to enter the employ of the Frederick Crane Chemical Com- pany, at Short Hills, New Jersey. For thirty-one years Mr. Williams was con- tinuously identified with this business, though the name of the concern was changed several times, and is now known as the Celluloid Zapon Company. He went to work there as a chemist and after a year was made superintendent, a posi- tion he has held since that time. Mr. Williams has seen the industry rise from comparatively small size until he now has about eight hundred men under his direc- tion. He was a director of the company until the Atlas Powder Company took over the business.
Fraternally, Mr. Williams is a member of Union Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons, of Stamford ; Rittenhouse Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; Washington Council, Royal and Select Masters ; Clin- ton Commandery, Knights Templar, of Norwalk; Lafayette Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret ; and Pyramid Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Bridgeport.
In politics Mr. Williams is a Repub- lican, and has been an active worker since coming to Stamford. While a resident of Short Hills he served as a member of the Town Council and as town treasurer.
Mr. Williams and his family are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church, and he is an elder of the church and superinten- dent of the Sunday school. Mrs. Wil- liams is secretary of the Women's Mis- sionary Society.
Mr. Williams married Lena E. Ferrin, daughter of Dr. C. M. and Marion E.
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(Benedict) Ferrin, of Essex Junction. Their children are: I. Marion J., a grad- uate of the Connecticut Woman's College at New London ; she is now instructor in dietetics in the Kansas State College. 2. Gertrude F.
PALMER, Frank Wyllis, Enterprising Citizen.
Men of action are the men who make history. In all ages the world has watched the man of action, taken notes of his achievements, and handed them down from generation to generation in more or less permanent form. So it is eminently fitting that these pages should be covered with records of the achieve- ments of men of the present day. It is not only the spectacular that holds mean- ing for the student of history. The con- stant, daily upward trend of civic life and public ethics, and the steady march of progress, are borne onward and for- ward by the men who cease not the wholesome, constructive activities that build up and sustain the integrity of the community. Such a man is Frank Wyllis Palmer, of the Lockwood & Palmer Com- pany, hardware merchants of Stamford, Connecticut.
The origin of the name of Palmer is connected with one of the most interest- ing epochs in history. Previous to the eleventh century surnames were not com- mon, but after the Crusades they began to be considered of importance, as at the present time. The name of Palmer is one of the most ancient of surnames. It was first a title given to those pilgrims of the Crusade who returned from the Holy Land, bearing palm branches in their hands, and from that custom it followed that the name was used as a surname.
(I) Henry Palmer, the progenitor of this family in America, was born, it is
believed, in County Somerset, England, about 1600. He settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, before 1636. He removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut, about 1637, and the records show that he had a home- stead there in 1645, then later, about 1650, he lived in Greenwich. He died about 1660, mourned by all the little pioneer community he had helped to found. He married twice, the name of his first wife being Katharine, and the second, Judith, Children: Deborah, born February 5, 1643 ; Hannah, born August 14, 1645, mar- ried Isaac Stiles ; and Ephriam, of whom further.
(II) Ephriam Palmer, son of Henry and Katharine Palmer, was born April 5, 1648, died August 19, 1684. He was granted, May 23, 1673, ten acres of land in Greenwich. The same year he was granted interest in outlands lying between Mianus and Byram rivers. He married, in 1668, Sarah - - -, who survived him and afterwards married Gregory. Children of Ephriam and Sarah Palmer : Joanna, born 1669; Sarah, born in 1671; Judith, born in 1673, married Samuel Ray- mond ; Susannah, born in 1675; Ephriam, born October 24, 1677; Mary, born in 1679; John, of whom further.
(III) John Palmer, son of Ephraim and Sarah Palmer, was born in 1681. He married (first) Sarah Close, who died September 1, 1748, aged seventy-four ; he married (second) Mary -
(IV) Messenger Palmer, son of John and Sarah (Close) Palmer, was born in 1718, and died January 28, 1792. In the May session of the General Court, in 1762, he was commissioned lieutenant of the Train Band in Greenwich, and was commissioned captain in 1764. These commissions would indicate that he was a man of great importance in the com- munity. He became possessed of large land holdings on the Mianus river, on
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what is now known as Palmer's Hill. He married (first) Hannah Ferris, daughter of Joseph Ferris, who died on February 18, 1746. He married (second) Sybil Wood, daughter of John Wood, of Brook- haven, Long Island, and she died April 13, 1754. He married (third) in 1755, Mrs. Esther Palmer.
(V) Jeremiah Palmer, son of Messen- ger and Sybil (Wood) Palmer, was born October 17, 1751, and died September 25, 1825. He was a farmer and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. In 1779 he married Mary Ferris, daughter of James Ferris. She was born on February 27, 1757, and died June 3, 1832.
(VI) James Ferris Palmer, son of Jere- miah and Mary (Ferris) Palmer, was born March 3, 1780, and died April 14, 1842. He worked as clerk in a store in Stamford, and became the proprietor be- fore his marriage. He carried it on as a general store, and the post-office was lo- cated there. After a few years, failing health compelled him to give up business life, and he took charge of the farm on which he had formerly lived. He married (second) February 15, 1822, Sally B. Scofield, daughter of Gershom and Lydia (Bell) Scofield, of Darien. She was born October 28, 1786, and died on April 3, 1863. Gershom Scofield was a lieutenant in the Revolution; he died in 1824, aged seventy-five years. He always preserved his powder horn, on which he had carved while in the service, "Liberty, Property, and no Tax in America."
(VII) Charles Scofield Palmer, son of James Ferris and Sally B. (Scofield) Pal- mer, was born July 30, 1827, and died March 13, 1904. He received his educa- tion in the public schools, growing up among the wholesome and interesting activities of the farm. He learned the carpenter's trade, but spent more time on the farm than in following his trade. He
was very successful in his chosen line of work, and his place became one of the most prosperous and well-kept in the neighborhood. For about thirty years it was called Westover Farm, and this name was gradually applied to the whole local- ity. The house was built by Jeremiah Palmer when he was married, and is still in the family, being now carried on as a dairy farm by Herbert M. and Harry L. Palmer. They keep about ten cows, and with the milk they buy throughout the neighborhood, handle about one thousand quarts a day, selling direct to the con- sumer in Stamford. Charles Scofield Palmer lived to see his sons take up the work in which he had felt such pride and interest, and to see them established in the confidence and esteem of his lifelong neighbors. Mr. Palmer married, July 17, 1858, Mary E. Ferris, daughter of Na- thaniel Ferris, of Stamford. She was born November 19, 1836, and died June 20, 1909. Of their seven children, six grew to maturity : Frank W., of further mention ; Carrie May, born December 16, 1861; Wilbor Ray, born December 10, 1863, who died May II, 1910; Herbert M., born December 16, 1865, on the old homestead; Harry L., born June 8, 1868, who married Caroline E. Fenwick, Octo- ber 3, 1894; Helen W., born October 22, 1870, who married Robert T. Woodbury, of Springdale, Connecticut, May 8, 1898; and Ellis F., of Stamford, born September 2, 1875.
(VIII) Frank Wyllis Palmer, vice-pres- ident and treasurer of the Lockwood & Palmer Company, of Stamford, was born in that city, September 16, 1859, and is the eldest son of Charles Scofield and. Mary E. (Ferris) Palmer. He was well grounded in the fundamentals of a practical educa- tion in the public schools of Stamford, then went to work in the woolen mills at Roxbury. He remained there about four
Conn-8-10
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years, when he returned to Stamford and entered the employ of the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company. With charac- teristic energy he took up their work, re- maining with them for about five years, and then entered the employ of Henry Lockwood. This was an entirely different line of work, but so well did he apply himself to the mastery of the business and to the interests of his employer that after a time he was invited to become a partner in the business. The partnership was formed in July, 1897, when Mr. Palmer had been with Mr. Lockwood for thirteen years. At that time the firm name be- came Lockwood & Palmer, but in 1914 the business was incorporated under the name of the Lockwood & Palmer Com- pany, with Mr. Lockwood as president. Always an aggressive and up-to-the-min- ute business man, gifted with an unusu- ally broad mental grasp, he put new life into the business, and the company has gone forward to splendid success. The present building covers a floor space of sixty-six by eighty-five feet. In 1902 three stories were built to give adequate space for all future development. But men of this stamp, business houses of this caliber, are the forces that have made Stamford one of the banner cities of the East in growth and development, and with the growth of the city the business of the Lockwood & Palmer Company has grown beyond even the bounds set for it by the expectations of the members of the firm themselves. It was necessary to add two stories more only a few years later, and the imposing home of the busi- ness still inadequately suggests the im- portance of the mercantile interests housed therein. Finely equipped, the line carried consists of hardware, house-fur- nishing goods and agricultural imple- ments. The increased use of automobiles and their accessories led the company to
discontinue some time ago the complete line of carriages, harnesses, etc., which comprised an important part of their business formerly. Mr. Palmer has made for himself a place of dignity and im- portance in the business life of Stamford. Personally he is an active, energetic man, keenly alive to all the interests of the day, whether or not they bear directly upon the business in which he is engaged. He is a man whom it is the pride of Amer- ican men to call a representative citizen.
The family are members of the Congre- gational church, of which Mr. Palmer has served as deacon. For some years he has been an influential member of the business committee, where his experience and natural ability are of inestimable value to the church organization.
Mr. Palmer married Cordelia M. White- head, daughter of Martin Whitehead, of Durham, New York, and they are the parents of one son, Clarence Wyllis, who was born March 3, 1896. He was gradu- ated from King's School, of Stamford, and was a student at the New York University when he left to enter the Red Cross Am- bulance Corps and went to France. He made a splendid record of devotion to duty at the front, and attained the rank of sergeant-major. Since his return home he has been in the employ of the Lock- wood & Palmer Company.
KEOGH, John,
Lawyer, Served in World War.
The surname of Keogh in Gaelic is Eochaidh and means a horseman. It is of the class of names derived from an occu- pation, and is among the names found in Ireland at the close of the sixteenth cen- tury. The Keogh family, of which John Keogh, attorney and referee in bankruptcy of South Norwalk, is a member, was early settled in the vicinity of Dublin, Ireland.
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