USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 44
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scendant of one of the oldest Connecticut families. Mr. and Mrs. Goff are the par- ents of four sons and two daughters: Cornelia E., born in 1867, is the wife of Harry W. Strong, and has two daughters, Marion and Ruth; Eugene B., born 1869, married Ruth Gates, and has a son, Roger; Otis H. and Ola Maria, twins, born in 1875; the former married Eva Hale and has children, Clarence, Ernest and Olive; Ola Maria married Albert J. West; Lucius C., born in 1878; married Lulu Wolfe and has sons, Robert and Oliver; Royal, born in 1880, has no chil- dren.
BACON, Clarence Everett, Attorney.
A gifted and worthy representative of the ancient family of Bacon, the subject of this memoir, was esteemed and highly regarded by the citizens of Middletown, and his early death was widely and deeply regretted. The early generations of this family are described at considerable length elsewhere (see Bacon, John P.). Captain John Bacon, of the sixth genera- tion, born in 1776, in Middletown, son of Joseph Bacon, married (first), June 16, 1794, in Middletown, Olive Ward, who was born in 1772, baptized September 23, 1792, at the age of twenty years, at the First Church of Middletown, daughter of William and Mary (Miller) Ward. Their eldest child, Captain Horace Bacon, born about 1795, at the old family home on North Main street, established his home on Cherry street in that city, between Ferry and Washington streets. For many years he followed the sea, became an expert navigator and for several years commanded a coasting vessel. He died November 10, 1840, and his body was laid to rest in Indian Hill Cemetery. He was a man of ability and unswerving integ-
rity, an earnest supporter of the Demo- cratic party in politics, and was widely known and respected. He married about 1815, Delia Johnson, born 1791-2, died February 29, 1880.
Their eldest child, Henry Carrington Bacon, was born August 1, 1816, in Mid- dletown, where he made his home, and died March 9, 1861. Gifted with keen perception and an active mind, he made rapid progress in his studies as a boy in the public schools of the town. He was much interested in mathematics, and pur- sued independently the study of trigonom- etry and navigation, of which he made application in pursuing the calling of his father. For many years he commanded a vessel plying between Middletown and New York City, which held for a long time the record for rapid voyages. Much of the freight destined to Connecticut points from New York, was carried upon his vessel, and his reputation as a com- petent and skillful navigator was among the highest. Though a strict disciplinar- ian, his sterling qualities gained for him the good will and regard of his subordin- ates and the confidence of the commercial world. In time he left the sea and be- came a merchant in Middletown, dealing in coal and ship chandlery. His self- reliance and determination was evidenced by the fact that he purchased his time from his father some years before attain- ing his majority, and was master of a vessel before he was twenty years of age. He was a most public-spirited citizen, and of considerable service to his native town, being ever ready to promote its interests. He purchased the ruins of a building known as the "Power Building" on the northwest corner of Church and Hamlin streets, and offered inducements for manufacturers to make use of the struc- ture, after he had reconstructed it. He was one of the founders of the Ketcham
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Mowing Machine Company, and erected the greater portion of the building now occupied by the Goodyear Rubber Com- pany. In the midst of his most active and useful career his death occurred, caused by falling down a hatchway. He passed away March 9, 1861, less than forty-five years of age. Of undoubted integrity he never made compromises with his con- science, and always fulfilled every en- gagement or duty. Tolerant in judgment, he performed many kindly acts and made himself dear to multitudes of people. In his short span of years he accumulated a competency and left his family well pro- vided for. Unlike most members of the Bacon family, he espoused the principles of the Republican party, with which he affiliated from its organization, and iden- tified himself in youth with the Baptist church, to whose activities he was a lib- eral contributor. Not an aspirant for political preferment, he served his town as first selectman as a matter of good citizenship.
Mr. Bacon married, January 2, 1839, Emily Bishop Galpin, born January 7, 1819, in Berlin, Connecticut, daughter of Captain Joseph and Cecilia (Bishop) Galpin, granddaughter of Joseph Galpin. Captain Joseph Galpin received his title from his position in the State militia, and served on active duty at New London during the War of 1812. He died Decem- ber 2, 1820, at the age of forty-five years and was survived more than forty-five years by his wife, who died December 23, 1865, at the age of seventy-three. Both were laid to rest in Indian Hill Cemetery. Captain Galpin's father, Colonel Joseph Galpin, served under Washington in the Revolution, and was distinguished in civil life in Berlin. The only child of Henry C. Bacon and wife to reach maturity was the subject of this biography. In a re- cent memorial work devoted to deceased
citizens of Connecticut, appeared the fol- lowing :
Clarence Everett Bacon was born in the home of his father, November 11, 1856. He seemed to realize instinctively the truth, so painfully gained by Wilhelm Meister, that opportunity and success de- pend not upon time and place, but upon ourselves, and that the one may be found and the other won quite as well in the home parish as in some distant Golconda. He realized this and put his knowledge to a successful test by remaining in his na- tive city all his life, with the exception, of course, of temporary absences. He ob- tained the elementary portion of his edu- cation at the local public schools and pre- pared himself for a college course at the excellent Middletown High School, from which he graduated in the year 1873. The year following he matriculated at Wes- leyan University, where he continued his successful career in his studies, and graduated with the class of 1878. Mr. Bacon's life in college shows admirably the rounded character possessed by him, and it is difficult to say where he enjoyed the greater popularity, with his profes- sors and instructors, whose regard had been won by his ready and intelligent in- dustry, or with the student body in which he was at once the easiest of comrades and a popular leader. From an early age he displayed marked oratorical powers, and while in the university won two prizes in elocution, and was chosen one of the commencement orators at the time of graduation. He took a most active part in the undergraduate life, sang bass on the college quartette, and was a member of Xi Chapter of the Psi Upsilon frater- nity, and of the C and C, and the Skull and Serpent, junior and senior class societies, respectively. He was also con- spicuous in athletics, especially baseball, and was pitcher on both the class and
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varsity teams during the whole college course of four years.
After completing his course at the uni- versity, he began to prepare himself for the profession of law, upon which he had decided as his career. This he began by reading in the office of Judge Silas A. Robinson, of Middletown, an eminent member of the local bar, and there he con- tinued until 1882, when he was admitted to the bar. From 1881 he held the office of clerk in the Probate Court in his home district, where he gained much practical knowledge of procedure, which was of value to him in later years. Mr. Bacon had shown his wisdom in the choice of a career, his mental fitness for that profes- sion being apparent from the start. His great capacity quickly attracted the fav- orable regard of the community and the bar, and in 1884 he was given the respon- sible position of corporation counsel of the city of Middletown, and held it for a period of twelve years, or until 1896, filling it to the great satisfaction of the whole community, and carrying out its difficult duties in a most able manner. During these twelve years Mr. Bacon be- came more and more a conspicuous figure in the legal world, and made for himself a reputation as one of the most capable and learned attorneys in the region. After quitting the office of corporation counsel, Mr. Bacon devoted himself to private practice and the legal duties in- volved in his connection with many organ- izations and institutions. Among the more important offices of this sort filled by him was that of attorney for the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, which great system he served long and faithfully. The forensic power which had begun to show itself in his student days developed in a high degree, and made him a most effective trial lawyer, added as it was to the clear and logical brain which
could pierce trenchantly to the root of a matter, and detect rapidly and with pre- cision every flaw in an argument. But it was not alone on such gifts that the great regard in which he was held by his fel- low members of the bar was based. It was, perhaps, even more than this; his sense of true justice and even generosity, in all his professional dealings, alike with client and fellow-practitioner, that gave him fame. Never rancorous in his op- position, however ardently he might push home his point, never exceeding the bounds of courtesy, whatever the provo- cation, granting all that he could to an opponent without sacrificing the interests of his client, he won not only the admir- ation, but the genuine affection of his pro- fessional associates, in spite of the com- petition which is more concrete and direct among lawyers than among any other class of professional men.
It was not only at the bar that he was admired and beloved, however. The whole community followed suit in these feelings, for Mr. Bacon was a man of too broad sympathies to confine his activities within the limits of his profession, even though it be so large a one as that of the law. On the contrary, there were but few departments of the community's life that he was not a participant in, and no move- ment for the advancement of the general welfare which he was not ready to aid by every means in his power and the expen- diture of time, money and energy. As early as the year 1890, Mr. Bacon was ap- pointed a member of the State Examining Committee for admission to the bar, and in this position did some of his most valu- able work, and gained friends among the young aspirants whom he aided to the fruition of their ambition with his fath- erly advice and counsel. He was especi- ally interested in this work, and devoted a great deal of time to it, his large charity
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and human interest in the worthy ambi- tions of young people furnishing the main- spring to his labors. It was this same desire to aid all those who were in need of it, and especially young people, that brought about his long association with the Connecticut Industrial School for Girls. He was a director of this institu- tion for nearly twenty-six years, and sec- retary of the board for a long period. Upon the death of Charles F. Browning, treasurer of the school in 1894, Mr. Bacon succeeded him in this capacity also, hold- ing both offices until his death. He also acted as attorney for the school, filling his various offices with a zeal and devo- tion which only the highest and most al- truistic motive of what he believed to be a great cause could have supplied.
The above, accounts for the more serious portion of Mr. Bacon's activities, but in addition to this he was engaged in many others. It will be recalled that dur- ing his college days he had sung bass in the quartette. After leaving the univer- sity, he took a course in vocal study in Boston, and brought to a high state of cultivation, a voice which was by nature very fine. He earned a great local fame as one of the finest bassos in the commun- ity, and was heard in many local concerts as well as holding the position of solo basso in the choir of the Holy Trinity Church for twelve years. He was a member of this church, and held the office of vestryman for a number of years, being a strong Episcopalian in his belief. Mr. Bacon was a member of the Republican party, and a keen observer of and a pro- found thinker on political issues. Not- withstanding this fact and his prominence in the community, he never really en- tered politics and did not seek political office, but rather avoided it than other- wise. His great ability in whatever di- rection he tried his hand made him a
desirable adviser and director for such business concerns as could secure his ser- vices, and among other positions of trust, we find him a director of the Central Na- tional Bank, trustee and director of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Savings Bank, and director of the Middlesex Mutual As- surance Company. He was a loyal and devoted son of his alma mater, and to the end of his days took considerable part in alumni activities. He continued also his work in the interests of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He was a Phi Beta Kappa man, and acted as treasurer of the Gamma Chapter of that society for a number of years. Mr. Bacon was too busy a man to do a great deal of traveling, but in 1895, he took a European trip, visiting the Brit- ish Isles and Germany for a summer.
Mr. Bacon was married March 28, 1883, to
Katharine Sedgwick Whiting, a daughter of the late Gurdon Saltonstall Whiting of Hartford, and with their three children, Mrs. Bacon survives her hus- band. The children are: Katharine Whiting, Roger Whiting, and Clarence Everett, Jr. The daughter resides with her mother in Middletown. The elder son is married and resides in New York City, where he is engaged in business. The younger son served fifteen months in the United States army, entering the in- fantry, with which he was stationed for a time at Camp Dix. Later, was trans- ferred to the artillery, went through the school of instruction at Fort Sill, and was finally discharged at Camp Kearney, San Diego, California, because of the close of hostilities, with the rank of second lieu- tenant. He is married, is in business in New York, and lives in Montclair, New Jersey.
Mr. Bacon's death happening when it did in his fifty-third year, in the height of his activity and the prime of his powers, and when everything seemed to point to
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still more brilliant and useful achievement in the future, was a great blow, not only to his immediate family and his large cir- cle of friends, but to the community at large, no member of which had not bene- fited at least indirectly, as a result of his earnest efforts and active life. A re- markable series of tributes were spoken and printed at his death, which bore elo- quent tribute to the honor and love in which all classes of the community held him. There could scarcely be a more fitting close to this sketch than to notice and quote from some of these.
The State Bar Examining Committee of which he had so long been a devoted member, passed resolutions upon the sad event in which were included the follow- ing words:
Fidelity to purpose and sincerity in his life work were apparent in everything which he did, and the cheerful zest with which he engaged in work made him a delightful associate in all undertakings.
At the opening of the Superior Court, after Mr. Bacon's death, the members of the Middlesex county bar being present in large numbers, a memorial service, fol- lowed by speeches from the most promi- nent members, was held in his honor and the County Bar Association adopted these resolutions :
Whereas, Our brother, Clarence E. Bacon, has been removed in the maturity of his manhood from our midst by the inscrutable act of divine providence,
Resolved, That we, the members of the Middle- sex county bar, mourn his loss and sincerely re- gret that in the very prime of his life he should have been stricken down with fatal disease.
Resolved, That by reason of his death the bar has lost an able advocate, a man of preëminent purity of life, and a lawyer of painstaking care- fulness, and indefatigable industry; the commu- nity has lost a valuable citizen and a man of sterling integrity and character.
Resolved, That his mother has lost a faithful son, and his family a devoted husband and a lov-
ing father, and we extend to them our heartfelt sympathy in their great affliction, and hereby re- quest this court to order these resolutions inscribed on the records, and a copy sent to the family of our departed brother.
Holy Trinity parish, and the directors of the Central National Bank of Middle- town, also passed splendid resolutions, and in memory of him, and the directors of the Connecticut Industrial School for Girls, passed the following :
Since the last meeting of the board, the school has sustained a great loss in the death of Clar- ence Everett Bacon, on the 27th of March last. He had been a director in the school for twenty- six years, during which time he acted as its attor- ney, and as such, we found him a wise and effi- cient adviser. He was secretary of the board for the past nineteen years, and for the past fifteen years he has acted as secretary and treasurer of the same. As the years went by his solicitude for the good of the school increased. Its every inter- est was dear to his heart. He was ever zealous of its good name, and every advancement made in its methods, management or equipment for the achievement of the greatest good, was an occasion for much satisfaction and joy for him and his work with the school.
We thank God for his life with us.
The newspapers were not less unani- mous than these institutions in their chorus of praise, nor was this confined to the Middletown organs. In an obituary notice the Waterbury "American" said among other things:
The word Trust is the word that even cas- ual acquaintance would suggest as most applicable to Mr. Bacon. Kind, considerate, charming in manner, open honesty was written in his face, and a certain forcefulness impressed. Never seeking public office, never seeking any place that was not accorded to him because he was the fittest man for it, he gradually came to the position he filled by popular recognition of his worth and ability.
The Middletown "Sun" in its notice ex- pressed itself as follows :
Men have risen higher than Clarence E. Bacon. Men no older than he have become rulers, great warriors, statesmen of international repute, writ-
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ers who brought the world to their feet, but among them all we find no man whose life is cleaner, and worthier of emulation than this man whose field of labor was Middletown, and who never sought to rise, except when his rise was without loss of principle. It is well to hear occasionally (for we only hear occasionally) of men like Mr. Bacon. They are the men who do more to up- hold the State and Nation than the greatest ruler, statesman, or warrior that ever lived.
Katharine S. (Whiting) Bacon, widow of Clarence E. Bacon, is descended from one of the oldest Connecticut families.
(The Whiting and Allied Lines).
The surname, Whiting, is derived from a place name, and has been in use in Eng- land since the earliest adoption of sur- names there. Roger Witen is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1085). Alan de Witting is mentioned on the rolls of Yorkshire in 1119 and 1150; Hugo Wite- ing was of Dorsetshire in 1202; Everard de Witting of Yorkshire in 1195; Giffard Witeng of Somersetshire in 1214; Willus de Witon of Yorkshire, 1216; Thomas de Whitene, of Nottinghamshire in 1276; Wills Whitingh of Oxfordshire, in 1300. The Whitings have several coats-of-arms, but that in use by the family of this sketch at the time of the emigration and afterward is described :
Arms-Azure, a leopard's face or, between two flaunches ermine in chief three plates of the last. Crest-A demi-eagle with two heads displayed proper.
Major William Whiting held an envia- ble position among the early settlers of Hartford, Connecticut. At some time be- tween 1631 and 1633, he became one of the purchasers of the Piscataqua grants of the Bristol men. He was associated with Lords Say and Brooke, and George Wylls, and retained his interest in Maine until his death. He was "one of the most respectable of the settlers in 1636, one of the vigil and religious fathers of Connec-
ticut, a man of wealth and education, styled in the records William Whiting, gentleman." In 1642 he was chosen one of the magistrates; in 1641, treasurer of the colony of Connecticut, an office he held the rest of his life. "In 1646 a plot was laid by Sequasson, Sachem of the Naticks, to kill Governor Haynes, Edward Hopkins, and Mr. Whiting, but on ac- count of the just and faithful protection which these gentlemen had afforded to Uncas, the plot was disclosed by a friendly Indian and the danger averted." He bore the title of major as early as 1647, and sat with the court of magis- trates in 1637; was admitted freeman in February, 1640; was magistrate from 1642 to 1647; and treasurer, 1641 to 1647.
In 1638, he was allowed to trade with the Indians and was appointed with Major Mason and others to erect fortifications in 1642, and in the same year was ap- pointed with Mason to collect tribute of the Indians on Long Island and on the Main. He was a merchant of wealth and had dealings with Virginia and Piscat- aqua. He had a trading house on the Delaware river and another at Westfield, Massachusetts. His will dated March 30, 1643, states that he was about to make a voyage at sea. It bears a codicil dated July 24, 1647. Whiting was powerful and useful in the colony on account of his broad views and wealth, which enabled him to carry out for the benefit of the community his large and various plans. He was always an efficient promoter of the trade and commerce of Hartford ; had trading houses in various parts of the country, and owned many large land pat- ents. Governor Edward Hopkins and he were two leading merchants of the colony of which Hartford was the center. After the Pequot War was over they began to export corn beyond the seas. His widow, Susanna, married, in 1650, Samuel Fitch
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of Hartford, and (third) Alexander Bryan of Milford, Connecticut. She died July 8, 1673, at Middletown. His inven- tory showed an estate of £2854.
His second son, John Whiting, was born in 1635, graduated at the age of eighteen years from Harvard College, and located in Hartford in 1660. There he was a colleague of the Rev. Samuel Stone, pastor of the First Church. He was among those who withdrew from this church February 12, 1672, and formed the Second Church of Hartford, of which he was the pastor until his death, September 8, 1679. He married in 1654, Sybil Col- lins, born about 1637, in England, daugh- ter of Deacon Edward and Martha Col- lins, prominent in the early history of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Samuel Whiting, third son, was born April 22, 1670, and received much of his education under his father's instructions. He studied theology with Rev. James Fitch, of Norwich, and was first minister at Windham, Connecticut, before the town was organized. His first sermon was delivered there January 1, 1693, and he was ordained December 4, 1700. While on a visit to his cousin, Rev. Nathaniel Collins, in Enfield, he died September 27, 1725. He married, in Norwich, Septem- ber 14, 1696, Elizabeth Adams, born Feb- ruary 21, 1681, in Dedham, Massachu- setts, died December 4, 1766, in New Haven, Connecticut, daughter of Rev. William and Alice (Bradford) Adams, granddaughter of Deputy Governor Wil- liam Bradford, great-granddaughter of Governor William Bradford of the May- flower Colony.
The Bradford family is descended from William Bradford, who lived in Auster- field, Nottinghamshire, England, where he was taxed in 1575, and was buried January 10, 1596. His eldest son, Wil- liam Bradford, born about 1560, at Aus-
terfield, died July 15, 1591. His wife was Alice Hanson, and they were the parents of Governor William Bradford, baptized March 19, 1590, in Austerfield. After his father's death, he lived with his grand- father, and after the death of the latter in 1596, with his uncle, Robert Bradford, in Scrooby, near the estate of the Brew- sters in County Nottingham. He was a member of the church where Rev. John Robertson preached, and thus was led to come to America with the Pilgrims. He married, in Amsterdam, Holland, Decem- ber 9, 1613, Dorothea May, from Wis- beach, England, then sixteen years of age. They arrived in Plymouth on the "May- flower," and Dorothea was drowned by falling overboard December 9, 1620. Soon afterward, Governor Bradford sent for an old sweetheart, Alice, widow of Edward Southworth, and daughter of Aleander Carpenter of Wentham, Eng- land. They were married in Plymouth, where he died May 9, 1657, and she sur- vived him nearly thirteen years, dying March 26, 1670. Her eldest child Major William Bradford, born June 16, 1624, in Plymouth, died in Kingston, Massachu- setts, February 20, 1703. He was the chief military officer in Plymouth Colony, was assistant, deputy governor, and a member of Governor Andros' colony in 1687. His first wife, Alice, daughter of Thomas and Wealthyan Richards, of Weymouth, died December 12, 1671. His eldest daughter, Alice, married (first) Major James Fitch, and subsequently, William Adams, of Dedham, and they were the parents of Elizabeth Adams, wife of Samuel Whiting.
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