USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 45
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Colonel Nathan Whiting, their son, was born May 4, 1724, and died April 9, 1771, at New Haven. He graduated from Yale College in 1743, and was a colonel in the French and Indian wars. He married
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Mary Saltonstall, daughter of Rosewell Saltonstall.
Gurdon Saltonstall, born March 27, 1666, graduated from Harvard in 1684, and died September 20, 1724. He was a minister who settled at New London, November 19, 1691, and from 1708 until his death, was governor of Connecticut. He is the founder of the Connecticut branch of the family. He married (sec- ond) Elizabeth Rosewell, daughter of William and Catharine (Russell) Rose- well, of Branford, who died September 10, 1710, in New London.
Rosewell Saltonstall, their son, was graduated from Harvard in 1720, and lived at Branford, on the Rosewell estate. He died at New London, October 1, 1738. He married Mrs. Mary Lord, daughter of Hon. John Haynes, granddaughter of Governor John Haynes, and widow of Elisha Lord. They were the parents of Mary Saltonstall, who became the wife of Colonel Nathan Whiting.
Gurdon Saltonstall Whiting, son of Colonel Nathan and Mary (Saltonstall) Whiting, was born September 10, 1766, and died July 9, 1804. He married Eliza- beth Wells, of West Hartford, and she died March 17, 1802.
They were the parents of Samuel Whit- ing, who was born September 25, 1794. He married Sophia Kilbourn, November 6, 1816.
Sophia Kilbourn was a descendant of John Kilbourn who was born in Wethers- field, Connecticut, February 15, 1651. son of John and Naomi Kilbourn, and who was the ancestor of all the members of this family in Glastonbury, grand- daughter of Thomas and Frances Kil- bourn, of Wood Ditton, Cambridge, England, and Wethersfield, Connecti- cut. John Kilbourn settled in Glas- tonbury, and was admitted a freeman there October 14, 1681. He held many town offices and died November 25, 1711.
He married (first) Susannah Hills, daughter of William Hills, March 4, 1673, and she died in October, 1701. Their son, Abraham Kilbourn, was born August 25, 1691. He was constable for seven years in Glastonbury, a lister the same length of time, town clerk three years, selectman eighteen years, and in addition, served as surveyor, collector and moderator. He was a representative to the General Court in 1721, 1730, 1756, and his death occurred in 1770. He married (second) Mary Tudor, daughter of Sam- uel and Abigail (Filley) Tudor, of Wind- sor, born August 31, 1690, died August 5, 1751. Joseph Kilbourn, their son, was born January 14, 1723, and died January II, 1790. He married Mary Hollister, daughter of Joseph and Mary (White) Hollister, March 1, 1744. She was born September 23, 1722, in Glastonbury. He was a lister in 1748 and again in 1759; was surveyor in 1752-62, and in 1770, and died June 11, 1790. His son, Joseph, was born April 4, 1756, and died May 14, 1851 ; he married, April 4, 1793, Hannah Sellew, daughter of Philip Sellew; she died January 23, 1826. They were the parents of Sophia Kilbourn, who became the wife of Samuel Whiting, as previ- ously noted, and mother of Gurdon Sal- tonstall Whiting of Hartford.
Gurdon Saltonstall Whiting, son of Samuel and Sophia (Kilbourn) Whiting, was born November 25, 1818, at West Hartford, and settled in Hartford, where for many years he conducted a hardware store, achieving considerable financial success, and died January 1, 1893. He was a member of the Center Church of Hartford about half a century, and from the organization of the Republican party was among its warmest supporters.
He married, in 1858, Catherine Sedg- wick, born December 20, 1826, in Corn- wall, Connecticut, daughter of Albert
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and Mary (Hunt) Sedgwick, died March 13, 1917, in Middletown. Their daughter, Katharine Sedgwick Whiting, married Clarence E. Bacon, as previously stated.
Catherine Sedgwick was a descendant of General Robert Sedgwick, a native of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, bap- tized May 6, 1613. He was a member of the London Artillery Company, and thoroughly schooled in the arts of war. When about twenty-three years old, he migrated to Massachusetts, with his wife, Joanna, and was admitted as an inhabi- tant of Charlestown, June 3, 1636. He was admitted to the First Church of that town, February 27, 1637, and on the ninth of March, following, was admitted a freeman. He represented the town in the General Court; was a wealthy man for his time and prominent in affairs. He commanded Cromwell's troops at Jama- ica, West Indies, where he died May 24, 1656. His widow married Rev. Thomas Allyn, and removed to Norwich, Connec- ticut. William Sedgwick, second son of Robert and Joanna Sedgwick, born in 1643, was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, of Bos- ton, in 1666. Soon after this, he removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where he mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Samuel Stone, the second minister at Hartford. He died about 1674. His son, Captain Samuel Sedgwick, born 1667, purchased a farm in West Hartford, where he died March 24, 1735. He was a captain of the militia. He married in 1689, Mary Hop- kins, daughter of Steven and Dorcas (Bronson) Hopkins of Hartford, grand- daughter of John Hopkins, who was one of the original proprietors of Hartford in 1636. He is believed to have been a relative of Steven Hopkins of the "May- flower." John Hopkins was a proprietor of Cambridge, in 1634, admitted freeman there the following year, came to Hart-
ford in 1636, and died in 1654. His son, Steven Hopkins, born in 1634, in Cam- bridge, lived in Hartford from the age of two years until his death in October, 1689. He married Dorcas Bronson, of Farmington. Mary Hopkins Sedgwick died September 4, 1743. Her youngest son, Deacon Benjamin Sedgwick, was born November 7, 1716, in West Hart- ford, baptized there five days later and settled in Cornwall Hollow, town of Corn- wall, Connecticut. He married Anna Thompson, born January 28, 1719, in Wallingford, daughter of John and Sarah (Culver) Thompson, of that town, grand- daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Thomp- son, among the first settlers of the town, great-granddaughter of John Thompson, an early resident of New Haven.
General John Sedgwick, eldest son of Deacon Benjamin Sedgwick, was baptized March 7, 1742, in West Hartford, was reared in Cornwall, and was a major of militia. During the Revolutionary War he raised a company of men to reinforce the Continental army, and on the night following his departure with his troops, his house was burned, supposedly set on fire by a Tory. He was overtaken by a messenger and returned when his friends in the community gathered, cut the tim- ber and built him a new house in three days. Each one brought some piece of household furniture or utensil necessary to housekeeping, and he was able to leave his family in comfortable condition when he returned to his troops. He served with credit and rose to the rank of gen- eral. For many years he represented the town in the Legislature after the Revo- lution. He married about 1763, Abigail, daughter of Captain Steven Andrews, of Wallingford. John Andrews Sedgwick, eldest son of John and Abigail Sedgwick, born March 8, 1764, in Cornwall, was the father of Albert Sedgwick. The latter
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was an influential citizen; obtained the establishment of a postoffice at Cornwall Hollow in 1824, and was commissioned postmaster. For seventeen years he was high sheriff of Litchfield county, and re- signed in 1854 to become school fund commissioner, which position he occupied twelve years. He married, in October, 1822, Mary Hunt, of Canaan, and they were the parents of Catherine Sedgwick, who became the wife of Gurdon Salton- stall Whiting, as previously related.
AVERY, Samuel Putnam, Art Connoisseur.
In the death of Samuel Putnam Avery, September 25, 1920, the city of Hartford, Connecticut, lost one of its foremost citi- zens, and a man whose virtues would have brought credit to any place. He was a member of the old and eminent Avery family, which has been so closely iden- tified with the life and activities of New England from the earliest Colonial times, and which has contributed so many worthy sons.
The American ancestor of the family was William Avery, who came from Berk- shire, England, in 1650, and settled in Dedham, Massachusetts. He was made a freeman there in 1677, and was a lieu- tenant in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He was also de- scended directly from Richard Warren, "Mayflower" passenger, and eleventh signer of the "Compact."
Samuel Putnam Avery, direct descend- ant of this immigrant, was born in Brook- lyn, New York, October 7, 1847, son of Samuel Putnam and Mary (Ogden) Avery. His father, who bore the same name, was a widely known art critic, and established the business later succeeded to by his son. An uncle of Samuel P. Avery, Benjamin Parke Avery, was the
United States Minister to China, and his death in 1875, occurred in that country, where he was accorded full military honors by the Empress of China and the Chinese Government.
The education of Mr. Avery was ob- tained in New York City, and in 1886 he succeeded his father as the head of what was undoubtedly the largest art business in the country at that time. When he established his art-gallery at Fifth avenue and Thirty-fifth street, he was one of the pioneers to locate their place of business in the "up-town" district of New York. Each year he went abroad, and attained great success in introducing paintings by Barbizon and other European and Ameri- can artists. In 1902 he retired from active business, and seven years later re- moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he made his home until his death.
The interests of Mr. Avery were varied, and his membership in various associa- tions pertaining to art and historical mat- ters numbered over one hundred. He was vice-president of the Wadsworth Atheneum, and Morgan Memorial Mus- eum of Hartford, and frequently made be- quests to this institution. He was a founder of the New York Zoological Society, which was without endowment until Mr. Avery became active in its in- terest. He was a most generous contribu- tor to the welfare of the Young Women's Christian Association, of Hartford, and through his aid the Vacation Home of this institution came into existence. He pur- chased the land, sixteen acres in all, and paid the entire expense of building and equipment, and further endowed the home with $25,000. Situated about ten miles from the city of Hartford, commanding a sweeping view, it brings happiness and rest to many.
Other memberships and offices held by Mr. Avery include : Member of the His-
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torical Preservation Society ; member and trustee of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences ; member and trustee of the financial committee of Lincoln Memorial University ; trustee of the Hartford Theo- logical Seminary; vice-president of the Society for Preservation of New Eng- land Antiquities ; member of the Ameri- can Academy of Science of Philadelphia ; member of the Connecticut Historical Society and of the Dedham (Massachu- setts) Society; member of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; honorary vice- president of the National Arts Club of New York; fellow in Perpetuity of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and life member of the American Museum of Natural History.
By virtue of his ancestry, Mr. Avery was a member of the New York Society, Sons of the Revolution; the New York Society, Colonial Wars; member of the board of assistants of the Connecticut Society of Mayflower Descendants. He was also a member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and founder of the Samuel Putnam Avery Art Fund of that society. He was the author of a genealogy, "Avery, Fairchild & Park Families," and was at work on a second volume of this work when he died.
As an authority on art matters, Mr. Avery's prominence was national, and his donations to museums throughout the country were noted. The largest joint collection of Chinese Cloisonne and B. C. Chinese bronze in the country was made by Mr. Avery to the Brooklyn Institute Museum. While the majority of his gifts and donations were in the promotion of education and the arts, he was also a generous contributor to philanthropic and charitable organizations, and, preferring to aid these causes directly, he gave away a very large proportion of what he had during his lifetime. Mr. Avery was ex-
tremely modest, and declined many honors on the plea that he had done noth- ing to deserve them.
The name of Avery and the history of art are closely interwoven in this country. The father of Mr. Avery began business as a wood-engraver, and after his visit to the Paris Exposition in 1867, to which he was appointed commissioner in charge of the American Art Department, devel- oped into an art expert. He influenced the artistic tendencies of the entire coun- try, and his son inherited to a marked degree an enthusiasm for, and devotion to, the higher culture. Altogether, he was a personality calculated to influence powerfully the circles in which he moved, and the emotions of sincere affection and regret awakened by his death prove well enough how beneficent was that influence.
FOX, Peter William,
Physician.
In days when nearly everybody was illiterate, places of business were desig- nated by various carved, sculptured, or painted images of things, animate, and inanimate, such as birds, animals, a key, an anchor, a star, and so forth. The pes- tle and mortar still in use by druggists as a sign, harks back to this custom. The name "Fox," was taken by or given to an individual who used such a sign to dif- ferentiate his business from others in the same line, or was given to him when, in 1536, under an edict of Henry VIII, the registrar of every parish was required to see that every person was registered under a surname.
Dr. Fox was born in the city of New Britain, Connecticut, February 11, 1886, a son of Peter and Mary Ellen (Callahan) Fox. He is a descendant of that grand contribution of citizenship, made by the Irish nation to this country. Starting out
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C. a. Yox T.N. δΈ€
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in life dependent on his own achieve- ments, he has proved himself a worthy son of a race of worthy men. His father, Peter Fox, was born in the parish of Bal- linamore, county Leitrim, Ireland, where he grew to manhood. As a young man, he came to America, settling first in Southington, Connecticut, where he worked on a farm for a short time. Then he removed to the neighboring town of New Britain, and learned the trade of moulder, and this occupation he followed for various New Britain concerns during the remainder of his active life. Mr. Fox was a member of the old New Britain Volunteer Fire Department and for a number of years was foreman of No. 4 Engine Company. He married Mary Ellen Callahan, daughter of Thomas Cal- lahan. She was born in Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts, and her father was a native of county Galway. The children of this marriage were: James E., foreman of the New Britain Gas Works; Agnes May, a graduate of the New Britain High School and the normal school, and now a teacher in the public schools of that city; Peter F., of further mention. The Fox family have always been members of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, of New Britain, and aid in its support and in the support of its charities.
Dr. Fox was educated in the public schools of New Britain, and in 1904 grad- uated from the high school. His educa- tion was broken up at this time by three years spent in the office of the P. & F. Corbin Company. He then entered the medical department of the University of Vermont, receiving his degree of Medical Doctor in 1911. His interneship was spent at the Fanny Allen Hospital, in Burlington, Vermont, where he remained for the period of one and one half years. At the end of this time Dr. Fox returned to New Britain, and engaged in general
practice. He has met with success, and still young in years, has a useful career to look forward to. He is a member of the staff of the New Britain General Hospi- tal, and is a member of the city, county, and State Medical societies. While a student, Dr. Fox became a member of the Delta Mu medical fraternity, and is a member of Daly Council, Knights of Columbus.
HALE, Charles Irving,
Builder, Farmer.
Among the oldest families of Connecti- cut is that of Hale, which was very early established in Glastonbury. The early generations are described at considerable length on other pages (see Hale, C. K.).
The eldest son of the late Titus Hale was Asaph Henry Hale, one of the ef- ficient and prominent citizens of Port- land for many years, who died December 4, 1912. He was born December 28, 1847, and in boyhood attended a district school at Gildersleeve, and was later a student in Daniel H. Chase's school at Middle- town. As a youth he taught school in the towns of Middletown and Portland, and early turned his attention to business en- terprises. In 1867, in his twentieth year, he went to California, going by the steamer "New York" to the Isthmus and thence by steamer "Constitution" to San Francisco. There he was employed for two years by the firm of Dewey & Com- pany, and was its representative at the San Francisco Mechanics' Institute Fair. One of the party who accompanied him (Frank Clark) fell a victim to the epi- demic of small-pox, that carried away many in California, in 1868. During his illness, Mr. Hale cared for him at the pest house, and through the daily papers ex- posed the brutal and miserable conduct of that institution. In 1869 he returned to
Conn-10-21
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Connecticut, again by the Isthmus route, sailing on the same steamer from the Isthmus to New York. His return was largely brought about by the inroads upon his health made by the climate, and his experiences in California. Immediately after his return he established a lumber yard in association with the late E. B. Taylor. Soon after, Mr. Hale sold out to Evelyn B. Strong and the firm became Taylor & Strong. Within a short time Mr. Hale purchased the interest of Mr. Taylor and the firm became Strong & Hale. This was very quickly placed on a successful basis and has been continued to the present time, being now incorpo- rated and having passed from the hands of the original owners. For many years the firm continued in business at the yard at the foot of Main Street, Portland, and was not disposed of until after Mr. Hale's death.
Mr. Hale was one of the original mem- bers of the Portland Fire Company, was for years its assistant foreman, and was also a member of the Village Improve- ment Society. He gave much time and effort to fostering these organizations and every influence tending to promote the progress and welfare of his native town. He was a charter member of Portland Lodge, No. 35, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Middlesex Lodge No. 33, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and filled the principal chairs in both organ- izations, being a member of the State Grand Lodge of the latter order. Taking an active part in politics as a Democrat, he was elected to represent the town in the State Legislature in 1894, receiving a large majority, although Portland was at that time a Republican town. He served as clerk of the committee on manufac- tures, and his sound business methods were recognized by his associates. From the beginning of the office of town auditor
until 1900, Mr. Hale filled that position, for twenty years was assessor, and for twenty years acting school visitor. He was county auditor from 1895 to 1897, and was several years commissioner of jurors. His knowledge of property values made him efficient as assessor, and his satis- factory service is indicated by his repeated elections to that office. In 1912 he was a delegate to the State Constitutional Con- vention. He was president of the Port- land Homestead Associated, a stock- holder in both the quarry companies. As a reader, fond of good literature and es- pecially of poetry, Mr. Hale became well informed. By self study he gained a con- siderable knowledge of languages and classics. A very fine mathematician, he possessed much natural skill as a draughtsman. At one time he was known as an expert whist player.
Mr. Hale married, in 1870, Mary J. Rathbun, who died October, 1904, daugh- ter of Charles O. and Angeline (Wells) Rathbun, of Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Hale were the parents of a daughter and three sons: I. Jennie L., a graduate of the Portland High School; is the wife of Herbert H. Hall, residing in Portchester. 2. Charles I., of further mention. 3. Kel- logg S., resides in Portland. 4. Perry Titus Wells, a graduate of Yale Scientific School in 1889, pursued a post-graduate course in civil engineering, and now re- sides in Portland.
Charles Irving Hale was born July 15, 1873, in Portland, where he attended school until sixteen years of age, when he began an apprenticeship as carpenter. He was engaged in building, and em- ployed some twenty men until 1903, when he removed to Portchester, New York. There he was connected with a gas ren- ovating plant and was engaged in the business of making duplicate antiques and putting interior finishing in the homes
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of wealthy New Yorkers. Among his patrons were John D. Rockefeller and Richard Croker. About 1913 he returned to Portland, where he has been engaged in farming and building to the present time. He owns about two hundred acres of land, of which fifty acres are cultivated, and gives considerable attention to tobacco growing, besides dairying. Mr. Hale has remodeled and built a multitude of houses in Portland, and has done more than any other individual to satisfy the great demand for housing in the town. He calls farming his fad and maintains a herd of Guernsey cows.
For three years Mr. Hale served as as- sessor, was six years a member of the Board of Relief, is vice-president of the Portland Homestead Company, a director of the Hemlock Grange Fair Association and of the Portland Board of Trade. He is at present one of the county auditors, and is a member of the real estate firm of Hale & Barry. Mr. Hale is a member of Warren Lodge, No. 51, of the Masonic fraternity of Portland. In 1920 he was elected representative of the town in the State Legislature, being one of the thir- teen Democrats elected to that office in the State, and one of the two in Middle- sex county.
Mr. Hale married, August 20, 1894, Emily Jones, born December II, 1872, in Haddam, Connecticut, daughter of Reu- ben Cole and Lucy Ann (Reeves) Jones. Reuben Cole Jones, born August 20, 1839, died in 1902. His widow, born May 23, 1840, now resides with Mr. Hale.
FRISSELL, Frank Hezekiah, Manufacturer.
One of the efficient and enterprising men of Middletown, Connecticut, is Frank Hezekiah Frissell, who is descended from one of the oldest families of New Eng-
land, and apparently one of the most modest, for the records contain very little mention of some generations. The name seems to be of Scotch origin. Sev- etal immigrants bearing this name were among the early residents of New Eng- land, found in Concord, Roxbury, and other border towns of Massachusetts.
James Frissell, of Roxbury, born in 1627, died there February 6, 1717, aged ninety years. The baptismal name of his wife was Sarah, and their third son, Jo- seph, born between 1652 and 1665, was among the original grantees of Wood- stock, Connecticut, then supposed to be in Massachusetts. He married in that town, January 1I, 1692, Abigail Barthol- omew, daughter of Henry Bartholomew, who was in Salem in 1635. John Frissell, eldest son of Joseph, was born September 2, 1693, in Woodstock, where he made his home, and married, November 10, 1726, Abigail Morris, who was born October 25, 1694, daughter of Edward and Eliza- beth (Brown) Morris, granddaughter of Edward Morris, of Roxbury and Wood- stock. Edward Morris was one of the thirty-five original grantees of Wood- stock. The Probate records of Wood- stock show that Sarah and Hezekiah Fris- sell were administrators of the estate of John Frissell, for which they gave bond April 9, 1777. The estate was valued at four-hundred ninety-nine pounds and five shillings. Hezekiah Frissell, undoubt- edly a son of John, was presumably the father of Hezekiah Frissell, born about 1780, who was a farmer, residing in Thompson. Family tradition shows that his wife was a Chandler of the noted Chandler family, which aided in settling Woodstock. He was the father of Albert Frissell, who was born in 1824 and lived in Thompson, Connecticut, where he died about 1909, at the age of eighty-five years. His home was always within three miles
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of the place of his birth. He was a farmer, a Republican in politics and at- tended the Baptist church, in which his wife, Mary Bennett, was baptized. Of their eight children, three sons and a daughter are now living.
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