USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 29
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It is supposed that he came from Hemel- Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, with Rev. Richard Denton's company to Wa- tertown, Massachusetts, whence he re- moved to Wethersfield. His wife, Dor- cas, born in 1601, was living in 1698. Their eldest child, Richard Gildersleeve, born in 1637, was town clerk at Hemp- stead many years, served as constable, town drummer and lieutenant of foot in the militia. His wife's baptismal name was Experience, and they were the par- ents of Richard Gildersleeve, born in Hempstead, in 1659. He removed to Huntington, Suffolk county, New York, where he purchased land in 1687, and re- ceived a grant of twenty-two acres from the town in the following year. Later he made other purchases and disposed of his land in Huntington, in 1699, and of his proprietor's rights of that town, in 1704. His son, Thomas Gildersleeve, born about 1690, was a trustee of the town of Hun- tington, and a soldier in the town militia. His son, Obediah Gildersleeve, born in Huntington, in 1728, was baptized there May 26, of that year, and spent some time employed in the shipbuilding industry at Sag Harbor. In 1776 he removed to Chatham, Connecticut, where he estab- lished a shipyard in the near vicinity of the one now occupied by his descendants at Gildersleeve. He married, February 14, 1750, Mary, daughter of Richard and Rachel (Arthur) Dinge. She died in 1798, and he soon after removed to South Glastonbury, where he died January 5, 1816, in his eighty-eighth year. His body now rests in Center Cemetery at Portland. His eldest son, Philip Gildersleeve, was born in Huntington, July 2, 1757, and succeeded to his father's business at Gil- dersleeve. In 1800 he was master car- penter of the United States ship "Connec- ticut," built in his yards. He was also a fuller and clothier, and died October 26,
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1822, at the age of sixty-five years. He married, May 4, 1780, Temperance Gibbs, born April 9, 1756, died September 22, 1831, daughter of James and Temperance (Tryon) Gibbs, of East Windsor, Con- necticut. Their eldest child, Jeremiah Gildersleeve, married Lucy Ann Cone, of East Haddam, Connecticut. They were the parents of Lucy Ann Gildersleeve, who was married, August 20, 1833, to William Goodrich, of Portland, and was the grandmother of John Quincy Good- rich. Sylvester Gildersleeve, fourth son of Philip and Temperance (Gibbs) Gil- dersleeve, was born at Gildersleeve, Feb- ruary 25, 1795, where he was reared and attended the local school. In 1814 he went to Sackett's Harbor, New York, to aid in the construction of a one hundred gun ship for the government. The war with Great Britain was brought to a close in that year and the vessel was never fin- ished. In his yards at Gildersleeve was constructed the ship "S. Gildersleeve," which was destroyed by the privateer "Alabama" in the Civil War. Mr. Gilder- sleeve was the first president of the First National Bank of Portland on its organ- ization in 1865, and of the Freestone Sav- ings Bank of that town until 1879; was a director of the Middletown National Bank and the Middlesex Mutual Assur- ance Company, also the Middlesex Quarry Company. In 1836, in association with others, he constructed the schooner, "\Vil- liam Bryan," and started the first regu- lar packet line between New York and Texas, in which several other vessels were subsequently employed. In 1861 the firm of S. Gildersleeve & Sons built the United States government gunboat, "Cay- uga," which led the fleet up the river in the capture of New Orleans in the Civil War. Mr. Gildersleeve's benefactions were many and he otherwise served the public, acting from 1861 to 1864 as clerk
of the town of Portland. He died March 15, 1886, at the age of ninety-one years. He married (second), November 17, 1828, Emily, widow of George Cornwall, born July 21, 1804, daughter of Andrew and Deliverance (Leland) Shepard, of Port- land, died July 14, 1877. Helen Augusta, youngest child of Sylvester Gildersleeve, was born July 21, 1845, became the wife of William W. Coe, and died June 18, 1887.
Mrs. Charles H. Coles is a lineal de- scendant from an ancient English family whose coat-of-arms is described :
Arms-Argent, three piles wavy, gules between twelve martlets sable.
The first known in direct line was John Coe, of Gestingthorpe, County Essex, probably born about 1340, in that town, in the reign of Edward III. In 1412, when about seventy years old, he settled his affairs, dying in the following year. He was the father of John Coo, as the name was then spelled, born about 1375, died in 1425. His wife's baptismal name was Eleanor, and they were the parents of John Coo, born about 1400, lived at Gestingthorpe, and died after 1448. His son, Thomas, born about 1430, died in 1507, and was the father of John Coe, born about 1460, will proved in 1520, at Gestingthorpe. He married Joane, daugh- ter of Thomas Golding, and was the father of John Coe, born about 1495, died in 1533, at Gestingthorpe. His wife, Margaret, was the mother of John Coe, born in 1523, lived in Maplestead and Wiston, married Dorothy, and their youngest son, Henry Coe, born in 1565, lived at Thorpe-Morieux, died in 1631. His wife, Mary, died the same year. They were the parents of Robert Coe, the American immigrant, born at Thorpe- Morieux, County Suffolk, baptized Octo- ber 26, 1596. Elsewhere in this work he is described at length, as are his lineal
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descendants : Robert, baptized September 19, 1626; Captain John, born in Stratford, May 10, 1658; and Ensign Robert, born in Stratford, September 21, 1684, married Deborah Parmalee.
His sixth son, Jedediah Coe, was born in Middletown, August 4, 1725, where his descendants are still living. He settled in that part of East Guilford, now Madison, Connecticut, where he was a farmer, and died December 1, 1803. He married, Jan- uary 15, 1753, Elizabeth Wilcox, born September 17, 1728, died February 5, 1777, daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Goodale) Wilcox. Their eldest son, Thomas Coe, born in East Guilford, Feb- ruary 7, 1759, lived on the farm there, and died July 7, 1827. He was a soldier of the Revolution, serving in Captain Daniel Hand's company, Colonel Talcott's regi- ment, and from October 6 to December 6, 1777, at Peekskill, as a member of Cap- tain Bezaleel Bristol's company, Colonel Newbury's regiment. He was granted a pension, May 20, 1780. He married, January 1, 1783, Submit Griswold, born May 9, 1762, died February 2, 1831, daugh- ter of Jedediah and Patience (Bates) Griswold. Their eldest son, Heman Coe, born in East Guilford, June 24, 1785, was a farmer there until his death, April 21, 1869. He was a soldier in the War of 1812 in Captain Medad Hotchkiss's com- pany, from September 13 to November 17, 1813, and in Captain Abraham Rogers' company from September 13 to October 20, 1814. He married, October 16, 1806, Polly Dowd, born about 1787, died Sep- tember 24, 1859, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Blatchley) Dowd. Their second son, Wellington Sebastian Coe, born in Madison, July 14, 1817, was many years a sea captain, and on his retirement settled in Portland, Connecticut, where he was a coal dealer, his death occurring May 5, 1888. He married, December 1, 1840,
Elizabeth O. Wilcox, born October 19, 1817, died November 2, 1885, in Portland, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Glea- son) Wilcox. Their eldest child, William Wellington Coe, born March 6, 1842, lived in Portland, where he was president of the bank, and died April 26, 1885. He married, May 16, 1867, Helen A. Gilder- sleeve, daughter of Sylvester and Emily (Shepard) Gildersleeve, prominent citi- zens of Portland, elsewhere mentioned. Their eldest child, Helen Elizabeth Coe, born November 10, 1869, was married June 27, 1889, to Charles H. Coles, of Middletown, as above noted.
MURPHY, James,
Physician, Hospital Official.
The success of a man in any vocation depends upon character as well as upon knowledge, and in the career of Dr. James Murphy, of Middletown, we find the proof of this assertion.
Dr. Murphy was born August 13, 1873, in Middletown, Connecticut, son of James and Mary (Higgins) Murphy. His father, James Murphy, was a native of County Cork, Ireland, where he was born in 1826; he died in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1894. When a young man he came to America and settled in Quebec, Canada, where he lived for a few years. An elder brother had previously settled in Port- land, and this undoubtedly influenced him to choose that town as his new residence. In his native land he had learned the trade of tailor, and this occupation he continued to follow on his arrival in the new coun- try. James Murphy married Mary Hig- gins, a daughter of Edmond and Mary (McDonald) Higgins. Edmond Higgins and his wife were of Irish ancestry. The former first lived in Portland, removing thence to New London, Connecticut, where he assisted in the building of Fort
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Trumbull. After the completion of this work, he returned to Portland, and there lived until his death, which occurred in 1879.
Dr. Murphy attended the public schools of Middletown and the Middletown High School. He very early evinced a desire to study medicine, and during his junior and senior years in high school spent his spare hours in the office of Dr. A. J. Campbell, reading medicine. Immedi- ately on graduating, he entered the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, where he studied three years, graduating in 1895. He has had extensive experience in hospital work, in Brooklyn, New York, although never regularly attached. In 1895, he began the practice of his profes- sion in Portland, where he continued for eight years, removing in 1903 to Middle- town. He has built up a large clientele and is well and favorably known in the medical fraternity of Middlesex county. Throughout his professional career, Dr. Murphy has ever been alert to new ideas, and has taken up post-graduate work, specializing in X-ray work at the New York Polyclinic Institute. Dr. Murphy now specializes in X-ray cases and con- ducts a general practice. In addition to his private work, he serves as assistant röentgenologist on the staff of the Middle- sex Hospital, and is secretary of the Med- ical Board of that institution. He is an instructor of the Middlesex Hospital Training School for Nurses. During the World War, Dr. Murphy served as a member of the Advisory Board on draft regulations, was a member of the War Bureau, and a member of the "four-min- ute" speakers. Dr. Murphy is a member of the Central Medical Association of Middletown; ex-president of the Middle- sex County Medical Society ; member of the Connecticut State Medical Society ; fellow of the American Medical Associa-
tion; ex-president of the Middlesex County Anti-Tuberculosis Society. Fra- ternally, Dr. Murphy affiliates with the Knights of Columbus, and is ex-president of the Alumni Association of the high school.
He married, in 1904, Anna E. McKev- itte, daughter of William and Sarah (Bohle) McKevitte, and they are the par- ents of four children: Anna Gertrude, Mary Elizabeth, James Gardner, and Wil- liam M. Murphy. With his family, Dr. Murphy attends St. John's Roman Cath- olic Church, of Middletown.
LOWRY, William Augustus,
Enterprising Citizen.
One of the influential citizens of the town of East Hartford, Connecticut, who gave freely of his time and finances in furthering the upbuilding of that flourish- ing community, was William Augustus Lowry.
Mr. Lowry was born July 28, 1864, at Manchester, England, and died at East Hartford, Connecticut, June 30, 1915. His parents also were natives of Manchester, England, where they were married, later removing to Connecticut and settling in Hartford. There the father of Mr. Lowry, Patrick Lowry, died, and his mother, Ann Lowry, died in Brooklyn, New York. The former was a noted artist of his day.
The grammar schools of New York City afforded Mr. Lowry his early educa- tion, and soon after this time Mr. Lowry came to Hartford, Connecticut, where he found employment in the drug store owned by L. H. Goodwin. With the ag- gressiveness natural to him Mr. Lowry applied himself to the mastering of the drug business, and so well did he suc- ceed that in due course of time he engaged in this line of business on his own account in the town of East Hartford. Starting
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in a modest way, he gradually enlarged his business, adding to the lines of goods carried until his drug store was the lead- ing pharmacy in the town. For a period of thirty-five years, he successfully con- tinued there.
A staunch Democrat, he was very active in the work of that party, and was ap- pointed by President Cleveland postmas- ter of the town of East Hartford, which office he filled in a most commendable manner for several years. He was also chairman of the Democratic Town Com- mittee, and previous to the time the pres- ent fire system was installed, he was in charge of all important fire matters. There was no citizen of East Hartford more active in the work of establishing the first trust company there than Mr. Lowry, and a large amount of credit is due to him and to his efforts in this direc- tion. When the trust company was opened he was offered the office of presi- dent, but owing to ill health was obliged to refuse. Until the time of his death he took the keenest interests in the welfare of this institution, and served as a mem- ber of its directorate.
Mr. Lowry was a great lover of horses ; was very fond of racing, and also of driv- ing, and at one time was president of the Gentleman's Driving Club. In his later life the automobile succeeded the horse- drawn carriage for pleasure use, and he became an enthusiastic owner of the more modern invention.
Mr. Lowry's fraternal affiliations were with the Woodmen of the World; the Order of United Workmen, and the Royal Arcanum. He was a regular attendant of the Catholic Church (St. Mary's) of East Hartford, and was prominent in the soci- ety work of this church, being at all times willing to aid in any of the charitable works sponsored by the church, and no worthy appeal was turned away.
Mr. Lowry married, at New York City, December 22, 1903, Florence Louise White, born at Niagara Falls, New York, daughter of Mark C. White, and grand- daughter of Berry Hill White. The for- mer was engaged in the real estate busi- ness with his father, and at one time this family owned practically all of Niagara Falls. Mark C. White served in the Civil War; he married Mary Curtis, and they were the parents of Florence L. White, who became the wife of William A. Lowry, as previously mentioned.
JONES, Griffith Lloyd,
Manufacturer.
Griffith Lloyd Jones was born June 5, 1887, at West Pawlet, Vermont, son of Morris J. and Mary (Jones) Jones. The father is a native of Wales and now re- sides in Utica, New York. The mother, now deceased, was a native of Pawlet. When two years old, the son went with his parents to Utica, New York, and there grew up, receiving excellent instructions in the public schools of that city. Sub- sequently, he entered Wesleyan Univer- sity at Middletown, from which he grad- uated, A. B., in 1912. After leaving col- lege he entered the employ of the Omo Manufacturing Company of Middletown, as chemist, where he continued four years, at the end of which time he was elected vice-president of the company. He has charge of the sales and advertising, which, naturally, keeps him busily engaged. Like most of the active citizens of Mid- dletown, Mr. Jones is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 2, Free and Accepted Ma- sons; Washington Chapter, No. 6, Royal Arch Masons; of Cyrene Commandery, No. 8, Knights Templar, of Middletown ; and Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Or- der Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Hart-
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ford. Mr. Jones and his family are con- nected with the North Congregational Church of Middletown.
He married, February 22, 1914, Mar- jorie L. Fisher, daughter of William C. Fisher, general manager of the Russell Manufacturing Company, of Middletown. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of the following children: Leeman Fisher, born November 27, 1914 ; Marjorie Fisher, born July 17, 1916; Lloyd Alan, born Septem- ber 2, 1917; and Robert Fisher, born Au- gust 3, 1919.
HEWES, Thomas, Lawyer, In World War Service.
One of the foremost lawyers of the Hartford county bar, Thomas Hewes, of Hartford and Farmington, Connecticut, is also a public-spirited citizen, keenly in- terested in all that pertains to the welfare of his city and State. Mr. Hewes de- scends from a family of great antiquity in Wales and England, the ancestry of which is traced to Gwaithwoyde, Lord of Powis, who was son of Gwyde, Prince of Cardi- gan. The family coat-of-arms is: Azure, a lion rampant or. The crest: A lion couchant or.
The first American ancestor of the family, William Hewes, was born in Som- ersetshire, England, in 1600, and emi- grated to London about 1649, owing to the disturbances under Cromwell. He had a son, William Hewes, who came in one of the first four ships with William Penn to America, in 1684, being a sub- scriber to the Delaware lands. He mar- ried Sarah Berger and their son,
Joseph Hewes, born in 1709, married Annie, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Giles) Worth, of Herefordshire, Eng- land. Aaron, brother of Joseph, was the father of Joseph Hewes, signer of the Declaration of Independence, from North
Carolina, and member of the Continental Congress.
Edward Hewes, son of Joseph and An- nie (Worth) Hewes, was born in 1741, and died in 1826. He married Mary Stubbs, born in 1751, died in 1830.
John Hewes, son of Edward and Mary (Stubbs) Hewes, was born in Wilming- ton, Delaware, in 1781. About 1801-02, he went to Baltimore, where he settled, and was at first connected with what was at that time the "Federal Gazette," in connection with which a printing busi- ness was also carried on. This paper was the forerunner of the present "Baltimore American." In 1825 Mr. Hewes founded the Firemen's Insurance Company of Bal- timore, and was its first president, hold- ing this office until his death. He mar- ried Rachel Thomas Ellicott, daughter of Elias Ellicott, of the well-known Ellicott family of Maryland.
James Elliott Hewes, son of John and Rachel Thomas (Ellicott) Hewes, was in his younger days employed in various of the Ellicott enterprises. Quite early in life he established himself in general merchandise business in Baltimore and later as a wholesale dealer in butter and cheese. The breaking out of the Civil War crippled him financially, and the fa- mous "Black Friday" hit the business such a severe blow that it did not long survive. Mr. Hewes was then too far ad- vanced in years to attempt to establish a new business, and the remainder of his active business life was spent in business activities of minor importance. He mar- ried Gulielma Krebs Warner, daughter of Michael Warner. They were the par- ents of
Meyer Lewin Hewes, born in Balti- more, June 14, 1861, whose education was received through public and private schools. His father's business adversi- ties cut short his college course and in
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1877, at the age of sixteen, he found em- ployment in the fire insurance office of Proud & Campbell in Baltimore. Later, in 1882, he was with R. Emory Warfield, who was then district agent of the Con- tinental Fire Insurance Company in Bal- timore, and later manager of the Royal Insurance Company in Baltimore. Sub- sequently Mr. Hewes was special agent of the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Com- pany of England, with headquarters in his native town, and later became secre- tary of the Howard Fire Insurance Com- pany of Baltimore, which, upon consoli- dation with the National Fire Insurance Company of that city, was known as the United Fire Insurance Company, Mr. Hewes continuing as secretary until 1901, when it was liquidated. The same year he removed to Hartford, Connecticut, as agency superintendent of the Scottish Union & National Insurance Company in which position he remained for almost ten years. In the winter of 1909, Mr. Hewes organized and founded the Standard Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, and be- came its first president, which office he continues to fill. Through his long ex- perience in his chosen field, Mr. Hewes is well fitted for the position he occupies, and the business of the Standard Fire In- surance Company has been carefully de- veloped under his supervision. His clubs are: The Hartford Club; the Hartford Golf Club ; the Farmington Country Club. He married, November 14, 1883, Virginia Sumter Smith, daughter of John D. and Mattie (Blas) Smith, and they are the parents of three sons: James Ellicott, Thomas, and Philip.
Thomas Hewes was born in Baltimore, May 27, 1888, and attended the grammar school there. He attended the Hartford public high school, graduating in 1906, and four years later received his degree of B. A. from Yale University, in 1912 Civil Service Commission from 1917 until
that of LL. B. from Yale Law School. In the latter year he was admitted to the bar and became associated with the law firm of Robinson, Robinson & Cole, until 1917. In May, 1917, he was appointed secretary of the Connecticut State Council of De- fense, which position he resigned to en- list as a volunteer in the regular army on October 30, 1917. He was assigned to the 301st Artillery at Camp Devens, a draft regiment, in which he became a cor- poral, being later transferred to the Ord- nance Department, for the purpose of as- sisting in organizing the civilian person- nel of that department. About that time it was endeavoring to secure as officers all persons in the county with knowledge of civil service procedure. In pursuance of this purpose, being commissioned a second lieutenant, he was appointed to the head of the civilian personnel section of the Bridgeport district of the ordnance department, with entire charge of this task upon its completion ; in September, 1918, he was commissioned second lieu- tenant in the Field Artillery, ranking from January of that year, and received his discharge at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, De- cember 14th following. Upon his return to Hartford he formed his present part- nership with Richard Phillips, under the firm name of Hewes & Phillips. The firm was subsequently enlarged and is now Hewes, Phillips & Lindsey. It special- izes in corporation and patent law and the law relating to labor disputes.
In politics Mr. Hewes is a staunch Democrat and has been active in the work of that party, being a delegate to the Na- tional Convention in 1916. He was elected a member of the Legislature in 1915, and served on the Committee on Corporations. He was a member of the Democratic State Central Committee for two years and was a member of the Connecticut
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its abolishment in 1921. In 1915 he was appointed by the Legislature as a judge of the Borough Court of Farmington, and in 1917 was re-appointed to this office. This position was resigned by Mr. Hewes when he enlisted in the army.
Mr. Hewes is a director of the Hart- ford Morris Plan Bank; vice-president and director of the Fenn Manufacturing Company ; vice-president and director of the Children's Aid Society ; a director of the Travelers' Aid Society, the George Junior Republic, and the Charity Organiza- tion Society, and a governor of the Yale Publishing Association. His clubs are: The Hartford Club, Farmington Country Club, Hartford Golf Club, University Club of Hartford, and Yale Club of New York. He is a member of the Scroll and Key Society at Yale, Psi Upsilon, and is also a member of the American Legion.
Mr. Hewes married Genevieve, daugh- ter of Charles E. Chase, of Hartford, and they are the parents of three children : Thomas Chase; Helen ; Charles Ellicott. Mrs. Hewes attends the Congregational Church, and Mr. Hewes is a member of St. James' Parish Episcopal Church.
TURBERT, Edward J., Physician, Hospital Official.
Edward J. Turbert, a physician of Hartford, Connecticut, was born in Southington, same State, March 16, 1881, son of Edward J. and Maria (Bowen) Turbert. He attended the public schools of his native town, and the Lewis High School, of Southington, graduating in 1898. Two years later he entered Balti- more Medical College, graduating in 1904 with the degree of M. D. Subsequent to this time Dr. Turbert served as interne at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, and then engaged in the private practice of his profession, in which he has met with well
deserved success and has built up a large clientele. In addition to his regular work, Dr. Turbert has charge of many indus- trial surgical cases.
Dr. Turbert is a member of the staff of St. Francis Hospital; is consultant to the city Contagious Hospital, and holds a similar office with the Manchester Hospi- tal. He is a member of the Hartford Medical Society ; the Hartford County Medical Society ; the Connecticut Medical Society; the Hartford Surgical Society, and the American Medical Association. For three years he was a member of the Board of Education, and fraternally is a member of the Knights of Columbus. For recreation from his medical duties, Dr. Turbert indulges in golfing. He is also a collector of antiques and in his home has many pieces of rare, old furniture.
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