USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 16
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(VIII) Revilo Clark Markham, eldest son of Oliver and Sarah Ann (Clark) Markham, was born August 3, 1849, at
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Windsor, Vermont, where his parents were then residing, and was four years of age when the family removed to Middle- town, and soon after to Hartford. There their son received his education and was a student at the high school when, at the age of seventeen years, he forsook study to take up a business career. For some time he was clerk in the bookstore of Wil- liam J. Hammersley, of Hartford, and in January, 1870, he removed to Middletown to take a position in the Central National Bank of that city, of which George W. Harris was then cashier. Most of the business was transacted by Harris and Markham. The latter was thus trained in all the various branches of the banking business. In 1879 he was rated as a clerk. In 1890 he became assistant cashier, in 1894 cashier, and in 1898 was made presi- dent of the institution. During these years the business of the Central National Bank has been very greatly increased, and it now occupies a very handsome banking building recently completed on Main street, Middletown. At this writing, Mr. Markham has very nearly completed a half century of association with the bank, of which he has been the major part of that time a director. He has also been associated with other interests of the city, and since 1903 has been treasurer of the Middletown City School District. In 1887 he was appointed to succeed George W. Harris as treasurer of Middlesex county, and still fills that responsible position. Since 1916 he has been chair- man of the Water Board Sinking Fund Commission of the city of Middletown. He is a director of the Springfield Web- bing Company, of Springfield, Massachu- setts, and a director and vice-president of the Middletown Gas Light Company. Of liberal and progressive mind, Mr. Mark- ham has not attached himself to any re- ligious organization, and is independent
of party lines in political connection. While he has often been invited to be- come a candidate for official station, he has invariably declined because of his in- dependent position. He has been a mem- ber of St. John's Lodge, No. 2, Free and Accepted Masons, of Middletown, since 1874; is a member of Washington Chap- ter, No. 6, Royal Arch Masons ; of Colum- bia Council, No. 9, Royal and Select Mas- ters ; Cyrene Commandery, No. 8, Knights Templar; and Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He has attained to the thirty- second degree of Free Masonry, and in 1894-95 was eminent commander of Cyrene Commandery, of which he was the leader at the Triennial Conclave at Boston in October, 1895. For some time he was a member of the Hartford Yacht Club, was one of the original members of the Middletown Yacht Club and its com- modore in 1901.
Mr. Markham married, December 27, 1875, Marion Eliza Palmer, born Decem- ber 6, 1849, in Waterford, Connecticut, second daughter of William Henry and Clarissa A. (Stanton) Palmer, of that town. She is a descendant of Walter Pal- mer, an early resident of Stonington, Con- necticut. Deacon Gershom Palmer, youngest son of Walter and Rebecca (Short) Palmer, born in Rehoboth, settled with his father in Stonington, and died there in 1719. He married Ann Denison, born May 20, 1649, died 1694, daughter of George and Ann (Borodel) Denison, granddaughter of William and Margaret (Chandler) Denison, and great-grand- daughter of John and Agnes Denyson, of Stortford, England. Her father was the distinguished soldier and citizen of the Connecticut Colony, elsewhere mentioned in this work. George Palmer, fourth son of Deacon Gershom and Ann (Denison) Palmer, born May 29, 1681, married,
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March 24, 1711, Hannah Palmer, who was born May 13, 1695, daughter of James and Frances (Prentice) Palmer, granddaughter of Nehemiah and Hannah (Lord) Palmer, and great-granddaughter of Walter Palmer, the pioneer. Gershom Palmer, youngest child of George and Hannah (Palmer) Palmer, born October 23, 1723, lived in Stonington. He mar- ried, November 5, 1747, Dorothy Brown, of Preston, born February 20, 1724, daugh- ter of Thomas and Deborah (Holdredge) Brown, of Stonington, granddaughter of Thomas and Hannah (Collins) Brown, great-granddaughter of Thomas and Mary (Newhall) Brown, of Lyme, Con- necticut. Their only son, Reuben Pal- mer, was born June 12, 1759, and was ordained elder of the Baptist church at North Stonington, and pastor of the Montville Church of that sect, May 3, 1788, continuing in that relation until April 22, 1822. He married, November 16, 1780, Lucretia Tyler, daughter of Caleb and Hannah (Barnes) Tyler, of Preston, Connecticut. She died August 15, 1855. Their fourth son, Gideon Pal- mer, born October 23, 1793, lived in Mont- ville, where he died July 12, 1854. He was one of the most public-spirited citi- zens of the town, a strong supporter of temperance and the abolition of slavery. He married, July 11, 1813, Mercy Maria Turner, born January 29, 1795, died Sep- tember 17, 1870, youngest child of Isaac and Anna (Comstock) Turner. Their third son, William Henry Palmer, born October 14, 1821, lived in Montville, where he was engaged in the cotton busi- ness in association with his brother, Elisha. He was living in Middletown in 1896. He married, December 25, 1842, Clarissa Alvira Stanton, born April 13, 1820, in Belchertown, Massachusetts, died April 17, 1880, in Montville, daughter of Randall and Clarissa (Spicer) Stanton, a descendant of an old Connecticut family,
founded by Thomas Stanton, who left London, England, January 2, 1635, on the ship "Bonaventure," and was a resident of Hartford in 1637. He married Ann Lord, daughter of Thomas Lord, of Hart- ford, lived at Southington, and died De- cember 2, 1676. His eldest child, Thomas Stanton, born in 1638, in Hartford, died April 11, 1718, in Southington. He was an extensive owner of land in Preston, much of which was inherited from his father, which had been purchased from the Indians. He married Sarah Denison, born March 20, 1641, daughter of Captain George Denison and his first wife, Bridget (Thompson) Denison, died December 19, 1701. Their second son, William Stan- ton, baptized May 6, 1677, at Stonington, married, May 7, 1701, Anna Stanton, born October 26, 1684, daughter of Robert and Joanna (Gardner) Stanton, granddaugh- ter of Thomas Stanton, before mentioned. Joshua Stanton, youngest son of William and Anna (Stanton) Stanton, born June 26, 1721, lived in Stonington, where he died October 25, 1819. He married, in 1746, Hannah Randall, born January 13, 1728, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Cottrell) Randall. Their third son, Rob- ert Stanton, born in 1751, died May I, 1811. He married, April 10, 1775, Eliza- beth Palmer, of Stonington, who died Au- gust 19, 1821. Their third son, Randall Stanton, born May 29, 1785, died Novem- ber 15, 1822, at Belchertown. He was a bookkeeper, teacher and farmer, married, in Groton, Connecticut, November 15, 1807, Clarissa Spicer, who was born De- cember 30, 1785, died December 10, 1822, in Belchertown, youngest child of John and Mary (Park) Spicer. Their second daughter, Clarissa Alvira, became the wife of William Henry Palmer, as previ- ously noted, and the mother of Marion Eliza Palmer, wife of Revilo Clark Mark- ham.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
MARKHAM, Ernest Arthur, Physician, Legislator.
Ernest Arthur Markham, junior son of Oliver and Sarah Ann (Clark) Markham (q. v.), was born October 16, 1853, in Windsor, Vermont, where his father was engaged for a time in the manufacture of firearms. When a small boy, his parents removed to Hartford, Connecticut, and there as a boy he attended the South School on Wadsworth street and the high school. Before he had completed the course in the latter, the family removed to Middletown, Connecticut, and in 1871 he graduated from the high school in that city. An earnest student, a seeker after knowledge, he pursued special courses in physiological and agricultural chemistry, and the experiments of his class led to the establishment of the First State Agricultural Station. In 1875 he was graduated from Wesleyan Univer- sity, A. B., and subsequently attended the New York Eclectic Medical School, from which he was graduated two years later. In the following year he pursued a post- graduate course, and subsequently en- gaged in practice for a short time at Glas- tonbury, Connecticut. Before the close of the year 1878 he settled in Durham, where he has since engaged continuously in professional labors, and has endeared himself to many people by his unselfish interest in his profession, his kindness of heart, and his rare skill in the healing art. During the winter of 1885-86 he con- ducted a class in chemistry at the Eclectic Medical College in New York, returning to Durham in the spring of the latter year. Dr. Markham has established a reputation among physicians and scien- tific men, and has been identified with many associations of a medical character.
Dr. Markham is a member of the New York City Eclectic Medical Society, of
the National Eclectic Medical Society, is post surgeon of the Connecticut State Guard, holds the position of first lieuten- ant in the Medical Reserve Corps, is a member of the United States Medical Re- serve, and has long been an active mem- ber of the Red Cross Society. During the existence of Middlesex Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of Middlefield, he was a mem- ber of that body. He is a member of the Connecticut Historical Society, the Mid- dlesex County Historical Society, of the Sons of the American Revolution, and a charter member of Coginchaug Council, No. 62, Order of United American Men. For many years Dr. Markham has been health official and medical examiner to Durham, is president of the Aqueduct Company, and a director of the Middle- town Trust Company. He aided ma- terially in compiling the recent history of the town of Durham, and has devoted much time to the preparation of a gene- alogy of the American family of Mark- ham, whose publication is contemplated at an early date, and is credited with most of the information herein given. In 1895 he represented Durham in the State Leg- islature and was a member of the labor committee of that body. He has served as auditor and justice of the peace and in various local official stations, having been long a notary public. Dr. Markham and his wife are members of the Episcopal church, in which he is a warden. Dr. Markham is gifted by nature with those qualities which make the successful phy- sician, and his time is very fully occupied in the care of patients in his section of the State.
Dr. Markham married, April 21, 1876, Anna Derring (Brown) Martin, a native of Sag Harbor, Long Island, daughter of Addison and Mary A. (Wilcox) Brown. Four children complete the family, namely: Oliver Irving, born February
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istori
W. O. Bem
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
3, 1877, graduated from Yale Business College when twenty years of age, and is now conducting a jewelry business at Deep River, Connecticut ; Leonard Bailey, born September 1, 1878, graduated from Yale Business College in the same year with his brother, and is now connected with the Middletown National Bank ; Maud Minerva, born December 15, 1879, is a graduate of Coginchaug High School, of Durham, and is now the wife of Lester Edwin Markham, a teacher in the Boston Mechanic Arts High School of Boston, residing in Watertown, Massachusetts ; Ernest Arthur, Jr., died at the age of three years.
BURR, Willie Olcott,
Journalist, Enterprising Citizen,
Burr (Burre) Arms-Ermine, on a chief in- dented sable, two lions rampant, or.
Motto-Virtus honoris janua.
A vital personal force in the community in which he lived, Willie Olcott Burr, the dean of newspaper workers in Connecti- cut, and possibly of New England, de- veloped with noteworthy success the work started by his father, Alfred Edmund Burr. Mr. Burr was born in Hartford, September 27, 1843, and died there at the age of seventy-eight years, November 27, 1921. At his death the city of Hartford lost one of its most useful citizens, and his associates of the Hartford "Times" ex- perienced the loss of "an esteemed asso- ciate, a wise counselor and a generous friend."
(I) The Burr family was established in Hartford, Connecticut, by Benjamin Burr, who was one of the first settlers there. He was undoubtedly in Massachusetts previ- ously and while it is not definitely known where he came from, it is believed that he was one of those who came in Winthrop's fleet. In 1635 he was settled in Hartford,
and was the first of his name in Connec- ticut ; he was admitted a freeman in 1658, and in the original allotment of land re- ceived six acres. Later he acquired con- siderable property, and a street in Hart- ford to-day bears his name. Benjamin Burr served in the Pequot War, and his name appears among the founders of Hartford on the monument erected to the memory of these worthy men in the Cen- ter Church Burying Ground. He died at Hartford, March 31, 1681.
(II) Thomas Burr, son of Benjamin Burr, was born January 26, 1645, and died in 1733. He owned the covenant at the First Church in Hartford, March 15, 1695-96, and his wife on April 16, 1693. Thomas Burr married Sarah Speck, daughter of Gerard Speck.
(III) Thomas (2) Burr, son of Thomas (1) and Sarah (Speck) Burr, was a re- spected citizen of Hartford, where he died November 7, 1761. He married Sarah Wadsworth, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Wadsworth. She died Septem- ber 5, 1750.
(IV) Thomas (3) Burr, son of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Wadsworth) Burr, was born October 4, 1719, and died October 27. 1777. He owned the covenant at the First Church, January 20, 1744. His wife, who was Sarah (King) Burr, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Barnard) King, was baptized January 9, 1725; her death occurred in 1799.
(V) James Burr, son of Thomas (3) and Sarah (King) Burr, was born Febru- ary 18, 1766, and died March 16, 1848. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits, and was also the owner of several ships. Dur- ing his business career he amassed a con- siderable fortune for that period, but through some unfortunate East India in- vestments lost the major portion of his money. He married Lucretia Olcott, born at Hartford, January 29, 1784, died March
Conn-10-8
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8, 1833, and they were the parents of Al- fred Edmund, mentioned below.
The Olcott arms are as follows :
Arms-Per saltire gules and azure, a lion's head erased to the sinister argent; on a chief of the third three fleurs-de-lis between eight mullets of six points each sable.
Crest-A cock to the sinister proper.
(VI) Alfred Edmund Burr, son of James and Lucretia (Olcott) Burr, was born in Hartford, March 27, 1815, where he died January 8, 1900. At the age of twelve years, he began work in the office of the Connecticut "Courant" as appren- tice. Eight years later he was appointed foreman of the composing room, and a short time later was offered a partnership in the business on condition that he would become a Congregationalist and join the Whig party. These conditions were con- trary to the beliefs of Mr. Burr, and his strength of character was evidenced by his refusal and the manner in which he thus stood by his convictions.
It became apparent soon after Mr. Burr entered the office of the "Courant" that he was naturally adapted to newspaper work, and in 1839 he secured a half owner- ship in the Hartford "Weekly Times," a paper established on January 1, 1817. Mr. Burr's share of the work was the super- intending of the mechanical and business departments, and he bent his entire ener- gies to attaining success. At that time the plant was located at the corner of Main street and Central row, where it remained until 1854. Two years after be- coming a partner, Mr. Burr purchased the entire business and became sole owner of the paper, and on March 2, 1841, he began the publication of a daily morning paper, which continued for two months, and then changed to an afternoon daily, which arrangement continues to the present day. Under the capable management of the elder Burr the paper became a "mirror of
public opinion," and he enjoyed the inti- mate acquaintance of leading men of the city and State. It was the custom of many of these men to come into the office in the afternoon and discuss the impor- tant questions of the day with Mr. Burr. With the passing years his failing health necessitated the passing of much of the responsibility of the business to his son, and in 1890 he deeded the entire property to Willie O. Burr, and the business was carried on under his sole ownership until 1909, when the Burr Printing Company was incorporated.
Franklin L. Burr, brother of Alfred E. Burr, was associated with him for many years as partner. In 1854 the second re- moval of the "Times" was made to the corner of Main and Grove streets, and the business was located there for sixty-six years.
Alfred E. Burr was keenly interested in the furthering of welfare movements and his charitable deeds were many. Dur- ing the Civil War he aided the famili, s of soldiers; he was one of the founders of the Good Will Club, a boys' organiza- tion, and was an active worker in its inter- ests throughout his life. The work and achievements of Alfred E. Burr were ad- mirably eulogized by his son in his remi- niscences at the opening of the new Times building in 1920, an account of which fol- lows :
The Hartford Times, I feel, is a monument to my father, and so in a sense will be the new home of the "Times." I myself have played a very humble part in the paper's development. Given to me by my father thirty years ago, I have tried to preserve the character of the paper as an expo- nent of toleration, which was the keynote of my father's life. He devoted his life to the paper for sixty-one years; I have now been connected with the paper for fifty-nine years, and I imagine it is a unique record where father and son together have been connected with one business enterprise for eighty-two years.
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VIRTUS
JANUA .
. HON RIS
sBurr C [ Burre)
JOSIAH
OLCOTT
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Alfred E. Burr married, April 18, 1841, Sarah A. Booth, daughter of Abner Booth, of Meriden. Mrs. Burr's death occurred in 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Burr were the parents of three children: 1. Edmund L., died at the age of three years. 2. Willie Olcott, mentioned below. 3. Sarah Ella, became the wife of the late Dr. James McManus, and her death occurred in 1906.
(VII) Willie Olcott Burr, son of Alfred E. and Sarah A. (Booth) Burr, obtained his education in the best schools the city afforded at that time, and he was prepar- ing for college at a private school con- ducted by Nicholas Harris, where the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance build- ing is now located, when the outbreak of the Civil War and the subsequent loss of men in the business sections of the city necessitated the removal of Mr. Burr from school to the newspaper office of his father. There his assistance was needed, and at the time of entering this office he was just eighteen years of age. It had been previously planned that he would go abroad when he had finished college and there complete his education, but just as our more recent World War inter- rupted the plans of many of the young men of this day, so that conflict of over half a century ago changed the plans of Mr. Burr.
From the beginning Mr. Burr was brought in contact with men of mark and learning, men of affairs in the State and city, of strong intellect, and in this school his career in journalism, which attained such a high degree of success, began. His duties were many and varied. He set type, gathered news notes and performed any other duty or task necessary. As time went on other and more important work was assigned to Mr. Burr, and gradually the editorial room claimed the greater part of his attention. However,
he never lost his interest in the work of the composing room, and during his entire service with the paper until within a few years before his death, he was accustomed to spend a part of each afternoon in aiding in the work of making up the paper. As a reporter, Mr. Burr also had his experi- ences, and for a time he reported the news of the Legislature. As the years went on he did not write as much for his paper as formerly, but often dictated both news and editorials.
The growth and development of the paper made it necessary to secure larger quarters, and a site was purchased and plans made for the erection of the hand- some building now numbered among the edifices which beautify the city of Hart- ford. The new building was opened to the public, December 4, 1920, and in his office, surrounded by floral expressions of the good wishes of his many friends, Mr. Burr greeted those who passed through on their tour of inspection. From this date until his last illness, Mr. Burr was to be found at his desk.
In his political views, Mr. Burr was a staunch believer in Democratic principles, as was his father, and the "Times" re- flected these views. At the same time the paper repudiated the Free Silver heresy and always opposed William J. Bryan in his candidacy for President. Principles, not men, was the watchword of both father and son. One of the earnest sup- porters of Woodrow Wilson, Mr. Burr upheld his principles and always believed that Mr. Wilson was actuated by the highest motives of patriotism. While one of the most public-spirited citizens, Mr. Burr was not a seeker for public office. He was urged to accept the nomination for mayor of the city, but refused, and while it was generally understood that he could have had almost any office in the State, he would not consent to accept.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
He believed that he could be of more assistance and perform more public serv- ice through the columns of his paper than in any other way. He served as a dele- gate to several conventions, and was named as delegate-at-large to the national convention in 1912, but through pressure of business was unable to attend.
His business connections with several of the financial and industrial institutions of Hartford made heavy demands upon his time. He was a director of the State prison board for twenty-four years, and park commissioner from 1900 to 1902. He was president of the Burr Printing Com- pany ; a director of the Travelers' Insur- ance Company ; director of the Hartford Electric Light Company ; director of the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company ; director of the Riverside Trust Company ; director of the Connecticut Fair Associa- tion ; director of the Spring Grove Ceme- tery Association ; a trustee of the Hart- ford-Connecticut Trust Company ; trus- tee of the Good Will Club; trustee of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Burr was also a member of the commis- sion in charge of erecting the State Library and the Supreme Court building, and he took much pride and pleasure in his work on this committee. He was a member of the Hartford Club and the White Hollow Fish and Game Club of Litchfield county, and as associate mem- ber of the Putnam Phalanx. His chief recreation was fishing. Although modest by nature and averse to personal mention, his many philanthropic deeds sometimes became known; like his father, he was willing to aid those in need and many Hartford people could testify to the good- ness of his heart and his assistance.
Mr. Burr married, May 21, 1874, Angie S. Lincoln, of Upton, Massachusetts, daughter of Gilbert Lincoln. Their only child, Florence Lincoln, was born April 29, 1875, and died April 10, 1912.
Mr. Burr served his business and the interests of his city, State and country long and well. He was a man who loved his work, and discussion of public ques- tions through the medium of his paper, and he had the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens and business associates.
(The Lincoln Line).
Arms-Argent, on a cross vert an estoile pierced ог.
The ancient Britons founded a city on the summit of a hill, near the river Lindis, England, from which the surname Lin- coln was derived. Then came the Roman conquest, and the name was changed to Lindum Colonia. Subsequent races cor- rupted the name into Lindocolina, as used by Beda, the most venerable scholar of the seventh century, and into Lindkylne and Lincolle, as found in the Saxon chronicles of the twelfth century. Alured, the ancestor from whom the surname Lin- coln has been inherited, went from Nor- mandy to England with William the Con- queror in 1066. He established himself in the settlement by the river Lindis, be- came identified with the place, and be- came known as Alured de Lincoln. The name has since then become more com- mon in America than in England. Sixty years ago Guppy found only nine to every ten thousand persons in County Essex, and only ten in the County of Norfolk, England. Alured de Lincoln held a great barony in Lincoln and Bedford in 1086. Nicol is the Norman equivalent for Lin- coln, and Alured de Lincoln had his lands and titles preserved to him by having married a Norman woman.
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