USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 48
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MARSH, George Lewis,
Business Man.
The untimely death on November 5, 1921, of George Lewis Marsh, vice-presi- dent and general manager of the Fuller Brush Company, of Hartford, Connecti- cut, cut short a life of brilliant promise, and robbed the city of Hartford of one of its respected citizens and leading business men. Mr. Marsh was a member of an old and honorable Connecticut family of that name. Ever since the use of surnames, Marsh has been common in England, and belongs to the classification known as "place names."
The immigrant ancestor of this branch of the family was John Marsh, born in England in 1618, and is said to have come to New England in 1635, first locating in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is be- lieved to have been a member of Thomas Hooker's party the next year to Hartford, and became one of the first settlers there. He held many important offices in the Colony, and in 1659 was among those who
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Strange L. March
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
removed to Hadley, Massachusetts. His first wife was Anne (Webster) Marsh, daughter of Governor John Webster. His death occurred June 9, 1662. The section adjoining Hadley was later set off as Litchfield, Connecticut, and this section has long been the home of the descendants of this early immigrant.
William Marsh, father of George Lewis Marsh, was one of the leading citizens of Litchfield in his day, where he was en- gaged in farming on an expensive scale. He married Martha Irene Dains, and their son, George L., is of further mention.
George L. Marsh was born August 15, 1881, at Coventry, Connecticut, where his parents were residing at that time. He attended the grammar schools of Rock- ville, and the Morse Business College, and later was an instructor at this school. He resigned his connection with the school to accept a position with the Whitney Manufacturing Company as assistant cashier. His mind was an unusually alert and ready one, and he possessed the perseverance in industry which spells success. The next position held by Mr. Marsh was as a bookkeeper with the Ful- ler Brush Company, then a small venture, and to-day one of the largest and most progressive industries of the country. Two years later the growth of the busi- ness was so great that it became necessary to appoint an able executive in charge of the office end of the business, and Mr. Marsh was chosen to fill this position. His working capacity, combined with a natural ability of organization, enabled him to keep the detail of the business available to the heads of the company at all times. In all, Mr. Marsh was asso- ciated with the company for ten years, and the foundation which he laid during that time will take care of the growth of the business for many years to come.
By nature a man of domestic tastes, Mr.
Marsh did not ally himself with any political organization, but he was keenly interested in all matters of a public nature, and could always be counted upon to lend his support to any welfare move- ment. He was a member of Lafayette Lodge, No. 100, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons ; Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, Royal Arch Masons; Wolcott Coun- cil, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters ; Washington Commandery, Knights Tem- pler, and had attained the thirty-second degree. His clubs were: Hartford and Sequin Golf.
Mr. Marsh married, at Rockville, Con- necticut, March 18, 1902, Helen Bertha Goehring, daughter of Herman F. and Bertha A. (Hertch) Goehring, and they were the parents of a daughter, Shirley Georgette, born October 17, 1917. The family attended Pilgrim Congregational Church. The early death of Mr. Marsh possessed that tragic feature that always attaches to the cutting off in its prime a life with hopes only half realized. He was a devoted husband and father, and a friend whose faithfulness had more than once been tried and never found wanting.
RUSSELL, Samuel, Jr.,
Agriculturist.
Probably no man in Middlesex county has done more to elevate the occupation of farming, and to aid others in develop- ing and making the most of the industry, than Samuel Russell, Jr. He was born January 14, 1873, in Middletown, son of Samuel Russell, Sr., and as a boy attended the local schools. He was subsequently a student at St. Mark's School in Southbor- ough, Massachusetts, and spent one year at Harvard University, leaving school at the age of nineteen years. He has been more or less occupied about the Russell Manufacturing Company in Middletown,
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but since 1898 has given most of his time to agriculture. In that year he settled on a farm known as one of the Alsop farms, embracing four hundred acres in the Westfield section of the town of Middle- town. His attention has been largely de- voted to the breeding of first-class stock, and his farm is noted as the home of one of the principal herds of Hereford cattle in the East. He also gives considerable at- tention to the breeding of Shropshire sheep. He believes, and has demonstrated, that the hills of Connecticut can success- fully rear beef cattle, and has also de- veloped a profitable industry in sheep breeding.
He is identified with various societies organized for the encouragement of stock growing, and is chairman of the live stock committee of the Eastern States League. He was the first president of the Middle- sex County Poultry Association, and has been for years vice-president of the Con- necticut Swine Growers' Association. He is a member of the Westfield Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and president of the Middletown County Farm Bureau, a director of the Middletown National Bank, and a vice-president of the Russell Manufacturing Company, the largest em- ployer in Middletown. A Republican in political principle, he has never desired any public station. A member of the Church of the Holy Trinity (Episcopal) of Middletown, he entertains very liberal views in religious matters. For many years Mr. Russell has been a member of the town school board and has long been active in fostering the Russell Library, one of the greatest educational influences in the city, and is now president of the board of trustees of that institution. He is a member of the governor's staff of Connecticut, at the present time.
Mr. Russell married, in 1898, Julia Palmer Webster, born at Oyster Bay,
Long Island, daughter of William R. and Helen C. Webster, formerly of Litch- field, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Russell contributed the major part of the cost of the handsome schoolhouse in the West- field district, one of the ornaments of the town.
The Webster family, one of the most noted and prolific of Connecticut, was founded in this country by John Webster, one of the original settlers of Hartford. From 1631 to 1659, he was magistrate of the colony, was deputy governor in 1665, and governor in 1666. During the next three years he was first magistrate to the col- ony, or republic, as his descendent, Noah Webster, called it. He headed the list of fifty-nine signers who agreed to settle at Hadley, Massachusetts, because of dif- ferences with the minister at Hadley, Hartford. He lodged at Northampton, Massachusetts, and became one of the judges with John Pynchon and Samuel Chapin. His home in Hartford was on the east side of the highway. He died April 5, 1685, and was buried at Hadley. His will gave to his wife, Agnes, the use of his estate in Hartford during her life. Their eldest son, Robert Webster, was born probably between 1630 and 1640, and died in 1676. He was representative to the General Court at Hartford, in 1658 and 1659; was one of the signers who agreed to settle in Hadley, but for some reason remained in Hartford, or soon returned there. He was executor of his father's will. His will was dated May 20, 1676, and that of his wife, Susanna, January 23, 1698. The inventory of her estate was made, November 17, 1705, indicating that she died in that year. The second son, Deacon Jonathan Webster, born January 9, 1657, was a merchant at Hartford, where he resided, and died 1735. He married, May 11, 1681, Dorcas Hopkins, daughter of Stephen and Dorcas (Bronson) Hopkins,
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George E. Caintor
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
granddaughter of John and Jane Hopkins, of Hartford, and of John Bronson, of Farmington. Deacon Jonathan Webster and his wife were received in the second church of Hartford, March 17, 1695. Cap- tain Stephen Webster, third son of Dea- con Jonathan Webster, born January I, 1693, lived in Hartford, and died in 1724. He married, June 6, 1717, Mary Burn- ham, baptized December 19, 1690, daugh- ter of John and Mary (Olcott) Burnham. Following his death, she married (second) Ebenezer Merrill. Timothy Webster, third son of Stephen and Mary (Burnham) Webster, was born October 27, 1723, was a resident of West Hartford in 1741, where he was received in the church with his wife. In 1766, he was assessor at Litch- field, and continued to reside there until his death April 30, 1803. In 1775 he sold land in Hartford, then residing in Litch- field. He married, August 15, 1745, Sarah White, who died October 7, 1814. Their fourth son, Reuben Webster, born May 12, 1757, in Litchfield, was a farmer, and a soldier of the Revolution, selectman in 1822, representative in 1826, and died Au- gust 2, 1833. He married, June 2, 1781, Anne Buell, born November 3, 1763, daughter of Salmon and Margaret (Cat- lin) Buell. Hosea Webster, eldest son of Reuben and Anne (Buell) Webster, born December 13, 1789, in Litchfield, engaged in business in Augusta, Georgia, removing in 1830, to Brooklyn, New York. While in Georgia, he served in the troops raised there for the War of 1812. For more than forty years, he was president of the Brook- lyn Savings Bank, and was warden and vestryman in the Episcopal church. He married, September 18, 1824, Marie Buell, born January 2, 1796, daughter of Doctor William and Abigail (Bacon) Buell, died August 24, 1852. He died June 1, 1883. Their only son, William Reuben Webster, was born October 20, 1830. He worked on
the old Webster farm in Litchfield, Con- necticut, and later, removed to Oyster Bay, New York, where he continued the same occupation. He married, in Buffalo, December 15, 1857, Helen Stephenson, daughter of Timothy and Sinai (Matte- son) Stephenson. She survives him, and now resides in Westfield with her daugh- ter. Their daughter, Julia P. Webster, is the wife of Samuel Russell, Jr., as above stated.
TAINTOR, George Edwin, Business Man.
The name of Taintor is an old and hon- ored one in the annals of Connecticut, and representatives of it have ever been prom- inent and leading citizens of their com- munities. From such ancestry was George Edwin Taintor descended, and he nobly performed his share in upholding the high standard of the name.
The ancestor of the family in America, Charles Taintor, was in Wethersfield, Connecticut, as early as 1643, and owned land there. He has the prefix "Mr." in the records, denoting his high standing socially, as ordinarily only ministers re- ceived that distinction. He removed to Fairfield, Connecticut, and was a deputy from that town to the General Assembly in 1647-48. Charles Taintor was a mer- chant and made voyages to the West Indies, and it was while on one of these trips that he was lost at sea, October 16, 1654. His son, Michael Taintor, born about 1625, was also a sea-faring man. Before 1650 he was settled in Branford, Connecticut, and held many town offices there. He was recorder in 1667, deputy to the General Assembly and judge of the local court. In 1669 he served on a com- mittee to settle the bounds between Bran- ford and New Haven, and in 1670 served on a similar committee to settle the
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
bounds between Branford and Guilford. The "New Plantation and Church Cov- enant" which was drawn up by Michael Taintor is still preserved in his own hand- writing. He married Elizabeth Rose, a daughter of Robert Rose, and she died in July, 1659. His will, dated December 22, 1672, was proved March 20, 1673. His second son, Michael (2) Taintor, was born October 12, 1652, died February 19, 1731. He was a first settler of Colchester, Con- necticut, and, like his forefathers, held a place of note in the community. He held many town offices and among them were selectman, town clerk, and deputy to the General Assembly, serving in the latter capacity for twenty-six sessions. In 1679, he is recorded as "of Windsor." He mar- ried April 3, 1679, Mary, daughter of Thomas and Hannah Loomis; she died May II, 1695. They were the parents of Michael (3) Taintor, born in Windsor, December 17, 1680, died in Colchester, March 16, 1771. He had settled in the latter place and married, in December, 1712, Eunice Foote. His son, John Tain- tor, born in Colchester, July 23, 1725, was a man of considerable wealth and much influence previous to and after the Revolutionary War. He married (sec- ond) Sarah Bulkeley, daughter of Cap- tain Gershom Bulkeley. Their seventh child, Solomon Taintor, was born at Col- chester, in October, 1769, and died at Hampton, Connecticut, in 1827. He mar- ried, in December, 1797, Judith Bulkeley, and their third child and only son, Henry G. Taintor, was born in Hampton, Feb- ruary 17, 1813, and died in Hartford, in March, 1889. He was an eminently pub- lic-spirited citizen, interested in all that pertained to the welfare of his country and State. He held the office of state treasurer in 1866. He married, Septem- ber 25, 1839, Delia W. Ellsworth, born in June, 1818, died in January, 1889, daugh-
ter of Martin and Sophia (Wolcott) Ellsworth, descendants of Josias Ells- worth.
George Edwin Taintor, second son of Henry G. and Delia W. (Ellsworth) Tain- tor, was born in Hampton, December 20, 1846, and died in Hartford, April 17, 1909. He received an unusually good education and soon after completing his schooling became connected with the banking firm of George P. Bissell & Company, of Hart- ford, later entering the real estate busi- ness. He achieved remarkable success in his business and had charge of some of the largest estates in the city; he also served as trustee of many large estates, among them being the Keney, and Keney Park estates. As natural for one so ac- tively identified with the business inter- ests of the city, Mr. Taintor held a place on the directorate of several large finan- cial corporations.
He married, October 25, 1870, Emily S., daughter of Hon. Gustavus Fellowes Davis, and they were the parents of a daughter, Lucy Strong Taintor, born October 15, 1871, who resides at home.
The Davis family, of which Mrs. Taintor is a descendant, was founded by Robert Davis, an early settler of Barn- stable, Massachusetts. He appears on the list of those able to bear arms in Yar- mouth in 1643, and two years later was a proprietor of Barnstable, where he was admitted a freeman in 1659, and received a grant of land in May, 1657. His house was located in 1686, "on the high ground north of the dead swamp where the first road was passed." He died in 1693, and his widow, Ann, in 1701. Their son, Josiah Davis, was born in September, 1656, and was a soldier in Captain John Gorham's Company in King Philip's war in 1675, and was one of the proprietors of Gorhamtown. He married, June 25, 1679, Ann, daughter of Richard Taylor,
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
a tailor, of Yarmouth. Their son, John Davis, was born September 2, 1681, and died in 1736, his home still standing at a very recent date. He was a prominent man in his day, served as justice of the peace, and was a captain. He married, August 13, 1705, Mehitable Dimmock, daughter of Shubael Dimmock, of Yar- mouth. She died in May, 1775. Their son, Solomon Davis, was born June 24, 1715, and died June 6, 1791. He was en- gaged in the mercantile business and re- sided in Boston, but during the siege there removed his family to Barnstable. He was an intimate friend of Governor Hancock. The "History of Barnstable" says :
In 1791, he was dining with his Excellency in company with some of the rare wits of the day, John Rowe, Joseph Balch and others. Mr. Davis made some witty remark which induced Mr. Balch to say to him, "Well, Davis, you had better go home now and die, for you will never say as good a thing as that again." It so happened that on his way home he was taken ill, and removed to his house where he shortly afterward died.
He married (first), January 29, 1750, Elizabeth Wendell, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, born October 16, 1729, died at Plymouth, February 20, 1777. Their son, Isaac Davis, born in Gloucester, May I, 1768, married Elizabeth Fellowes, who was baptized May 17, 1768 in the third parish church (in Annisquam) of Glou- cester, daughter of Cornelius and Sarah Fellowes. They lived for a time in Bos- ton, where their son, Rev. Gustavus Fel- lowes Davis, was born March 17, 1797, and died September 11, 1836. He began to preach when only seventeen years of age at Hampton, Connecticut, and was ordained pastor in Preston, in June, 1816. Subsequently he was pastor of a church at South Reading, and in 1829 came to Hartford as assistant to Rev. William Bentley. Rev. Mr. Davis was a diligent scholar and possessed a knowledge of the
Bible that was second to none. Through his untiring efforts an academy was estab- lished at South Reading, and he served as trustee and examiner of several col- leges. He received the degree of M. A., from what is now Colby College, in Maine, and D. D. from Wesleyan Univer- sity of Middletown. He married, January 5, 1817, Abigail Leonard, and was the father of Hon. Gustavus Fellowes Davis, born in North Stonington, Connecticut, January 4, 1818. He was educated in the schools of Hartford and when fifteen years of age went to work in the Hart- ford Bank, later having charge of their institution at Litchfield, Connecticut. In 1851 he became cashier of the City Bank of Hartford, and later was elected presi- dent, which office he held until his death, April 28, 1896. He was one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Hart- ford, being actively identified with many of the large financial and business cor- porations of that city. He married, May 14, 1839, Lucy Terry Strong, born Au- gust 24, 1817, daughter of William Strong, of Hartford. Their second daughter, Emily Strong Davis, born June 22, 1847, became the wife of George E. Taintor, as previously noted.
ROBERTS, Chauncey William,
Farmer.
Chauncey William Roberts is among the intelligent and progressive agricul- turists of the town of Middletown, Con- necticut, living on the east road of the Johnson Lane district. He is a descend- ant of William Roberts.
(I) William (1) Roberts was at Charles- town, Massachusetts, in 1648, and re- moved to New Haven, where he owned property in 1685. His wife's name was Joanna ; he was early in Middletown.
(II) William (2) Roberts, son of Wil-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
liam (1) Roberts, was baptized Decem- ber 10, 1681, in the first church of Middle- town, and died May 6, 1767. He married, December 6, 1714, Susannah Collins, who was born November 26, 1669, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel and Mary (White) Collins.
(III) Hinchman Roberts, youngest son of William (2) and Susannah (Collins) Roberts, was baptized May 14, 1738, in the first church of Middletown, and was married, June 12, 1756, to Anna Wick- ham, of Southhold, Long Island, probably a daughter of Thomas Wickham. She named her third son Thomas Wickham Roberts.
(IV) Thomas Wickham Roberts, son of Hinchman and Anna (Wickham) Rob- erts, was baptized July 24, 1768, at the first church ; he was a resident of Middle- town. He married Sarah Johnson, and they lived in the Hubbard district of Middletown, where Mr. Roberts was a farmer, and a member of the First Church; he died in 1850.
(V) Joseph Roberts, son of Thomas Wickham and Sarah (Johnson) Roberts, was born March 22, 1804, near the present site of the Connecticut State Hospital. In 1844 he purchased the farm of Eben- ezer Prout, in the Johnson Lane district, and resided thereon, engaged in its culti- vation until his death, December 27, 1894. He was affiliated with no church organ- ization, but attended the South Congre- gational Church of Middletown, of which his wife was a member. Politically, a Democrat, he gave little attention to pub- lic affairs outside of the natural interest pertaining to any intelligent citizen. He married, September 5, 1830, Clarissa Prout, who was born in Middletown, daughter of Ebenezer and Thankful (Prior) Prout, of that town, born August 20, 1803, died March 18, 1863, as men- tioned below.
The Prout family is one of the oldest in America and has been traced for some generations in England prior to its arrival here. People of the name were long in Gloucester and Cornwall, England. Thomas Prout, of Bideford, Devonshire, England, was the first of the name found in that locality. He is supposed to be the father of Hugh Prout, who was buried June 10, 1619, at Bideford. William Prout, son of Hugh Prout, was baptized there July 10, 1580, and was buried Feb- ruary 13, 1654. He married, December 30, 1616, Susan Lambert. Timothy Prout, son of William and Susan (Lam- bert) Prout, was born March 18, 1620, in Bideford, and was a resident of Boston, Massachusetts, where he was admitted to the church April 20, 1644. He was a shipwright ; was made freeman March 29, 1644; was representative in 1685-89-92, and died January 19, 1694. Dr. Ebenezer Prout, son of Timothy Prout, was born March 14, 1656, in Boston, and was clerk of the Massachusetts House of Repre- sentatives in 1689. He represented Watertown in 1693, and was town clerk and selectman in 1694. In 1711 he was licensed to practice medicine, and located at Middletown, where he died April 27, 1735. His first wife, Eunice, died February 14, 1757. William Prout, son of Dr. Eben- ezer Prout, and his second wife, Grace, was born October 29, 1698; he lived in Middletown, where he died, December 29, 1789. He married, April 2, 1729, Rachel Harris, who was born June 22, 1707, in that town, daughter of John and Susan (Collins) Harris, and granddaughter of Thomas Harris, early in Middletown. Harris Prout, eldest son of William and Rachael (Harris) Prout, born April 23, 1732, in Middletown, was baptized the same day, and continued to live in Middle- town. He married, November 13, 1753, Priscilla "Robbards," born September I,
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1736, second daughter of Jonathan and Margaret (Gilbert) Roberts, and grand- daughter of John and Sarah (Blake) Rob- erts. They were the parents of Ebenezer Prout, born October 26, 1761, and bap- tized on the twenty-second of the follow- ing month. He lived in the Johnson Lane district, upon the farm now occupied by Chauncey William Roberts, and mar- ried, August 4, 1790, Thankful Prior, who was born March 25, 1771, daughter of Josiah and Lucia (Tryon) Prior, a de- scendant of one of the early Connecticut families (see below).
Humphrey Prior, one of the early set- tlers of Windsor, died there in 1682. (For complete account see Davis, Louis E.). Daniel Prior, son of Humphrey Prior, settled in Middletown, and mar- ried, in 1683, Sarah Eggleston, the daugh- ter of Samuel Eggleston, of Windsor. Their third son, Daniel Prior, married Sarah Gilbert, daughter of Jonathan Gil- bert (see Gilbert, Thomas). Their third son, Josiah Prior, baptized June 18, 1735, at the First Church in Middletown, was married, November 1, 1759, to Lucia Tryon. They were the parents of Thank- ful Prior, who became the wife of Eben- ezer Prout (mentioned above), and mother of Clarissa Prout, wife of Joseph Roberts (see Roberts V): Josiah and Lucia (Tryon) Prior were the parents of several children : The eldest child, Elijah Prior, died in Middletown; their second child, Sarah, married Henry Brock, and died on Farm Hill; Nancy, became the wife of Sabin Loveland, of Glastonbury, and died in Durham; Ebenezer, married Elizabeth Prior, and lived in the Hubbard district; Daniel, married Laura Maloney, and was a farmer in the Johnson Lane district; Lucia, died at the age of seven- teen years.
(VI) Chauncey William Roberts, young- est child of Joseph and Clarissa (Prout)
Roberts, was born September 27, 1850, in the house in which he now resides. He attended school in the Johnson Lane district, also the public school of Farm Hill. At the age of seventeen he laid aside his books to engage in the practical affairs of life, but he did not cease to be a student at that time. He has always been a reader, and is well informed on current events. His earliest independent action was in working for neighboring farmers, being for some time employed by John Ward, who lived in the Hubbard district. He also assisted his father, and has continued to reside at the paternal homestead, which he inherited at the death of his father. In 1882 he built a new house north of the original homestead, but when his family became reduced, he returned to his birthplace and the new house is now occupied by his son, who manages the farm.
Mr. Roberts gives considerable atten- tion to fruit growing and market garden- ing, and has made decided improvements upon the homestead, including two and a half miles of drain tile. A tractor is oper- ated in handling most of the heavy ma- chinery employed on the farm. Mr. Rob- erts is a Methodist in religious faith, a Democrat in politics, but has never de- sired any political preferment. Caring industriously for the home acres, he has made them productive, and ranks among the successful farmers of the State.
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