USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 49
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He married (first), January 27, 1878, Sarah M. Chamberlain, a native of Mid- dletown, born January 24, 1854, daughter of Elijah and Mary (Spencer) Chamber- lain. She died April 27, 1885, at the age of thirty-one years, leaving one child, Earl Chamberlain Roberts, of whom further. Mr. Roberts married (second) Martha Starr, born in Middletown, daughter of William J. and Ellen (Stillman) Starr.
(VII) Earl Chamberlain Roberts, who
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was born September 22, 1880, lives on the paternal farm, which he cultivates. He married Caroline Kelsey, of West Haven, and they are the parents of five children : Ella Mertie, Almena Carrie, Chauncey Warren, Hazel Edna, and Earl Kelsey.
NEFF, Billings,
Quarryman, Agriculturist.
The late Billings Neff was reckoned among the most active, substantial and upright citizens of the town of Portland, where he made his home for many years, and died February 2, 1900. He was born October 5, 1816, in that part of ancient Windham which is now the town of Chaplin, Windham county, Connecticut.
(I) William Neff, from whom Billings Neff is descended, was born in 1641-42, and was early in Newbury, Massachu- setts, whence he removed to Haverhill, the same colony. A soldier in the serv- ice of the Colony, he died at Pemaquid, February, 1689. The name is perhaps not of English origin, but it is impossi- ble to determine whence William Neff came. He married, at Haverhill, Janu- ary 23, 1665, Mary Corlis, born Sep- tember 8, 1646, in that town, daughter of George and Joanna (Davis) Corlis. She was among those captured by the Indians in the raid on Haverhill, March 15, 1697, and was being taken to Canada with Han- nah Dustin, whose heroic feat of the de- struction of her captors and her escape is a well known historical incident. Mrs. Neff participated in this adventure and returned with Mrs. Dustin to Haverhill, where she died October 22, 1792.
(II) Clement Neff, fourth son of Wil- liam and Mary (Corlis) Neff, born May 29, 1674, in Haverhill, resided for a time at Westerly, Rhode Island, whence he removed to Windham, Connecticut. He purchased 100 acres in the northeastern
part of that town from Daniel Edwards, May 8, 1716, and June 28th following, pur- chased an additional 100 acres for which he paid forty-two pounds. He probably died about 1750. His widow, Mary Neff, made a will April 13, 1752, in which she mentioned her only surviving son, Clem- ent (2); and the heirs of her sons, Wil- liam and Thomas.
(III) Clement (2) Neff, second son of Clement (1) and Mary Neff, was born May 17, 17II, and lived in what is now Chaplin. He married, December 12, 1735, Patience Brown, daughter of Eleazer and Ann (Pendleton) Brown, the latter a daughter of Captain Joseph Pendleton and granddaughter of Major Brian Pen- dleton, a noted historical character.
(IV) John Neff, second son of Clement (2) and Patience (Brown) Neff, was born May 6, 1746, in what is now Chaplin, where he was a farmer. He married Sarah Jennings, and they were the parents of Elkanah Neff.
(V) Elkanah Neff, son of John and Sarah (Jennings) Neff, was a farmer all his life, residing in Chaplin. He married Sophia Fisk. They were the parents of five children. Elkanah Neff was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died at the age of fifty-eight years. His widow reached the age of eight-three years. Both were buried in the cemetery at Chaplin.
(VI) Billings Neff, second son of Elkanah and Sophia (Fisk) Neff, grew up in his native town, attending the crude schools of his time and locality. His par- ents were not wealthy and he was early accustomed to effort in self-support. He first worked as a farm hand, and at the age of seventeen received the current wages of the time, fifty dollars a year. In 1835 he removed to Portland, and here re- ceived what might seem a liberal wage compared with his previous earnings. With a salary of twelve dollars per month,
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Billings Neff
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he received his board, and worked from daylight to dark. Pay days were not fre- quent. During his first year of employ- ment, he drew only ten dollars of his earn- ings, and when he returned to the pa- rental home in the autumn he was able to purchase a yoke of oxen for his father. For two seasons he continued to work in the Portland quarry, spending his winters at home. In the spring of 1837 he began work on the farm of Experi- ence Storrs, in Mansfield, Connecticut, but the next year returned to the Portland quarry, where he received a salary of seventeen dollars per month. For thirty years he continued in this line of occupation, rising from the lowest posi- tion to that of overseer. In 1850 he was employed in the shipyard at Gildersleeve, after which he returned to the Middlesex quarry and for twenty-two years had charge of a gang of men there. His fidel- ity, industry and straightforward conduct attracted the attention of other em- ployers, and he was frequently offered a position in other quarries, but he was steadfast and continued with the em- ployers who had treated him well. In 1872 he engaged in farming, giving especial attention to the production of tobacco, and built a residence near the Methodist church. Nine years later he erected a handsome house on Main street near Strong avenue, which he occupied at the time of his death. Mr. Neff's first presidential vote was cast for William Henry Harrison in 1840, and thereafter he continued to support the Whig party and its successor, the Republican party. As in every other service, he sought to dis- charge his duty as a citizen, and voted at every town election but one. In 1855 he was elected tax collector of Portland. and from 1866 to 1888 served continuously in that position, making altogether twenty- eight terms. His first collections were
less than $7,000 and his last over $50,000. His remarkable business capacity was il- lustrated in his conduct of this office. He also served the town as constable. In the First Congregational Church, of which he was a faithful member, he filled several offices. For three years previous to the disbanding of the old town militia he served as lieutenant, and up to the time of his death he was active and vig- orous. On the organization of Freestone Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, he was one of the members.
Mr. Neff married (first), in Portland, a daughter of Samuel Bartlett. She died in 1869, leaving a son, Charles Henry, who is now deceased. Their wedding was the first celebrated in the town of Portland after its erection as an independent town. Mr. Neff married (second), January 26, 1870, Maria J. Hopkins, who was born January 20, 1841, in Middletown, daugh- ter of Russell Hopkins, a soldier of the War of 1812. Russell Hopkins, son of Godfrey and Paulina (Freeman) Hop- kins, was born May II, 1797, in Chatham, and when a young man removed to Herki- mer county, New York. He subsequently lived in Genesee county, and before 1837 returned to Middletown, whence he later removed to Portland, and there died Feb- ruary 23, 1878. He was a basket maker. While living in Litchfield, Herkimer county, New York, in 1830, he represented his district in the State Assembly and was a member of the committee on en- grossed bills. Politically, a Democrat and religiously, an Episcopalian, Mr. Hopkins was a reader, gifted with intel- ligence, and a useful and respected citi- zen. He married, February 9, 1819, Han- nah Paddock, who was born May 1, 1799, in Litchfield, New York, and died April 29, 1841, in Middletown, a descendant of an early New England family, further mentioned below. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins
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were the parents of the following chil- dren: Mary Laurinda, married Watson Munn; Hannah Eliza, married William Pelton; Helen Minerva, married George W. Bell; Russell Leander, a "forty- niner," died in 1850, in Sacramento, Cal- ifornia ; Jane Ann, married Samuel Hurl- burt; Sallie Brainard, died unmarried ; Maria Josephine, now the widow of Bil- lings Neff.
The Paddock family is descended from Robert Paddock, who was in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as early as 1643, and prob- ably earlier, and died July 25, 1650, in Duxbury. His second son, Zechariah Paddock, born March 20, 1636, lived in that part of Barnstable, now Yarmouth, Massachusetts, where he died May I, 1727, in his eighty-eighth year. He mar- ried Deborah Sears, daughter of Richard Sears, who had a wife, Dorothy, and lived early in Dartmouth. Deborah Sears was born there in September, 1639, and died August 17, 1732, "lacking about a month of being ninety-three years old." She was admitted to the Second Church of Yarmouth by letter from the First Church, August 6, 1727. They left forty- eight grandchildren and thirty-eight great-grandchildren, thirty of the latter, descendants of their second son, Zecha- riah. Their fourth son, Robert Paddock, was born January 17, 1670, and lived in Yarmouth. There he married, March 6, 1702, Martha Hall, born May 24, 1676, daughter of John and Priscilla (Pearce) Hall. Their second son, Seth Paddock, was born March 13, 1705, in Yarmouth, and married there, April 13, 1727, Mercy Nickerson, who was born November 22, 1706, daughter of John and Elizabeth Nickerson, of that town.
Zachariah Paddock, son of Seth and Mercy (Nickerson) Paddock, born 1728, was the first of the family in Middletown, where he settled as early as 1751. His
first land was purchased from Samuel Warner, Sr., the deed dated July 24, 1751, the amount one-fourth acre, price three hundred pounds. He subsequently pur- chased two other parcels of Andrew Bacon, amounting to nearly forty-seven square rods. He died in Middletown, May 13, 1800, in his seventy-second year. He married Hannah Smith, step-daughter of John Birdsey, of (now) Middlefield, whose wife was a Widow Smith from Long Island. They had seven sons and one daughter, the latter being the young- est.
George Paddock, the sixth son, was born in Middletown, and was one of the founders of South Church. The town records show numerous purchases of land by him, all city lots evidently. His first sale was made in 1797, when he was still living in Middletown. At the time of the second sale, in 1799, he was living in Litchfield, Herkimer county, New York. There was born his daughter, Hannah, who became the wife of Russell Hopkins, as previously related. His wife, Mary (Wetmore) Paddock, was a daughter of Captain John Wetmore (see forward), and they were the parents of fourteen chil- dren, namely: Mary, born 1788, died 1805; Thomas, George, Eliza, Zachariah, Hannah, Aurilla, Robert, Alfred, John Wetmore, Mary, Charles Henry, Seth and Hiram Jerome.
Mrs. Neff, previously mentioned, is still in hale and active life, occupying the Neff homestead in Portland. Through her descent from Elder William Brewster, she is a member of the Society of Mayflower descendants; a descendant of Sylvanus Freeman, father of Mrs. Godfrey Hop- kins, and also by descent from Captain John Wetmore, she is identified with the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a real daughter of the Society of the Daughters of 1812, through the ser-
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vice of her father in the last struggle with England. She has traveled quite exten- sively, having crossed the continent four times, visited Canada and Alaska, and in 1913 made a tour through Europe, Asia and Africa, going up the Nile as far as Thebes and Luxor. She is among the most steadfast supporters and regular at- tendants of the First Congregational Church. Mrs. Neff is a descendant of the Wetmore family, one of the earliest in Middletown, descended from Thomas Wetmore, who was born in 1615 in the western part of England. According to tradition, he sailed from Bristol, England, in 1635, and is found in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1639-40, when he was an owner of lands there. The name was originally "Whitmore" or "Whittemore," and some descendants now use the form "Whitmore," but the early records in Middletown usually spell it "Wetmore" and so most of the descendants of Thomas Wetmore use that form. He removed to Hartford in 1641, and was one of the first settlers at Middletown, where he was re- corded as a freeman, May 20, 1652. His residence was on the east side of Main street, north of Ferry street, one of the most desirable locations in the town. He represented the town in the Legislature in 1654-55. He died December 11, 1681. He married, December 11, 1645, Sarah Hall, daughter of John and Anne (Wil- licke) Hall, of Middletown. She died De- cember 7, 1665.
John Wetmore, son of Thomas Wet- more, was baptized September 6, 1646, in Hartford, had land in Middletown in 1668, was a freeman there October 1, 1685, and died August 31, 1696. He married (sec- ond), April 1, 1686, Mary Savage, born June 25, 1663, in Middletown, died Octo- ber 20, 1723, daughter of John and Eliza- beth (Dubbin) Savage. John Savage was among the earliest residents of Middle-
town, where he was recorded a freeman in 1654. Mary, widow of John Wetmore, married (second) Obadiah Allen.
Ebenezer Wetmore, third son and youngest child of John and Mary (Sav- age) Wetmore, was born September 17, 1696, in Middletown, and died there Jan- uary II, 1743. He married, March 26, 1724, Elizabeth Cornwall, born July 21, 1697, in Middletown, youngest daughter of Jacob and Mary (White) Cornwall, granddaughter of William and Mary Cornwall, pioneer residents of Middle- town.
Captain John Wetmore, second son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Cornwall) Wet- more, born March 27, 1734, in Middle- town, held the commission of ensign under the crown at the outbreak of the Revolution. He resigned this and joined the volunteers collected by Colonel Eben- ezer Sage, of Middletown, and served throughout the war as captain of a com- pany. He was one of the eighty founders of the South Congregational Church. He married, in Middletown, May 4, 1757, Mercy Bacon, born October 9, 1737, sec- ond daughter of Benjamin and Rhoda (Miller) Bacon, granddaughter of Na- thaniel and Hannah (Wetmore) Bacon (see Bacon, Charles E.). They lived in the south part of the town of Middle- town.
Mary Wetmore, second daughter of Captain John and Mercy (Bacon) Wet- more, born May 12, 1771, in Middletown, became the wife of George Paddock, of that town, and removed to Herkimer county, New York, in 1798. Later they went to Wyoming county, same State.
Hannah Paddock, daughter of George and Mary (Wetmore) Paddock, born May 1, 1799, in New York, became the wife of Russell Hopkins, of Middletown, as above related.
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ADDIS, Robert Fessendon, Farmer.
A native of Middlesex county, Mr. Addis is descended from Elijah Addis, who appears in Middletown as early as 1801, in which year, on April 28, he mar- ried Sarah Graves, who was born Decem- ber 12, 1773, third daughter of Joseph and Lois (Higbie) Graves. On September 30, 1807, he received from Jesse Church- hill, a deed transferring one acre, three roods and twenty-four rods, including house and barn, in the Westfield district of Middletown, bounded east by the high- way, south by Joel Bacon, west by Seth and Sylvester Wilcox, and north by Simeon Wilcox. The same deed con- veyed also four acres and sixteen rods bounded west and north by highway, east by Giles Wilcox, and south by Seth Wil- cox. He died January 18, 1855, at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife, Sarah Addis, born 1773, 1774, died March 29, 1850, at the age of seventy-six years. These deaths. are recorded in Cromwell Church records. Benjamin N. Addis, son of Elijah and Sarah Addis, born August 18, 1805, in Middletown, was a farmer and shoemaker and brick manufacturer. He married, April 29, 1827, Emily T. Stevens, born April 6, 1810, in Haddam, died July I, 1902, daughter of Appleton Stevens, and descended from John Stevens, who was a freeman in Guilford, Connecticut, in 1657, and died in September, 1670.
James Stevens, son of John Stevens, was born about 1650, lived in Killing- worth, where his son, James Stevens, was born October II, 1676. His wife's bap- tismal name was Hannah, and their fourth son, Nehemiah Stevens, was born June 26, 1713, in Killingworth, where he re- sided. He married there November 25, 1736, Jane Bennett. Their eldest son, Elijah Stevens, born October 15, 1740, in
Guilford, was a soldier of the Revolution, enlisting July 8, 1775, in the 6th Company of the 7th Regiment under Captain Ed- ward Shipman. He gained the rank of corporal and was discharged May 20, 1780. Appleton Stevens, fourth son of Elijah Stevens, was born June 16, 1780, in Guilford, was a farmer by occupation, re- siding in Haddam, where he died August 30, 1865. In 1803, he married Harriet Thompson, born June 13, 1787, died Au- gust 30, 1865. Their daughter, Emily Thompson Stevens, became the wife of Benjamin N. Addis, as above noted.
Their son, Charles H. Addis, was born March 4, 1842, died January 20, 1915. He was a maker of silver hollow ware and continued as a shop worker for some thirty years, later locating on a farm in Cromwell, where he died at the age of seventy-two years. He served three years as a soldier of the Civil War, being a member of the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery. He married Emma A. Fessen- don, a native of Portland, who survived him but a few months, dying August 3, 1915, at the age of seventy-three years. She was a member of the Westfield Con- gregational Church, where her husband also attended worship. He was a member of the Westfield Grange, in which his wife was lecturer. Politically, a Demo- crat, he served many years as selectman of the town of Cromwell. He had two sons, one of whom died in childhood.
Robert Fessendon Addis, only surviv- ing son of Charles H. and Emma A. (Fes- sendon) Addis, was born June 30, 1869, in Cromwell, where he attended school in early boyhood, and was later a student at the Middletown city schools. After the age of sixteen, the care of the paternal farm rested on him while his father con- tinued to work in the shop. In 1900 he purchased a farm of something over eighty acres in Westfield, on which he
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A. M. Carlson
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now resides, and has engaged successfully in tobacco culture and general farming. He is a member of Westfield Church and of Westfield Grange, in which he has acted as assistant steward and steward. He is also a member of Apollo Lodge. No. 33, Knight of Pythias of Middletown He is a Democrat in politics, but has never sought any public office. An intelligent and progressive man, Mr. Addis attempts to keep abreast of the times in which he lives, and enjoys the respect and esteem of his contemporaries.
He married, November 9, 1891, Mary Jane Roberts, born December 25, 1867, in Westfield, daughter of Ichabod and Jane (Atkins) Roberts. Mr. and Mrs. Addis are the parents of the following children : Helen, married (first) Benjamin Condon, (second) Harry Fitzgerald, of Middle- town; Marion and Gertrude reside at home. Robert Benjamin Albert Condon, son of Benjamin and Helen (Addis) Con- don, born ten days before the death of his father, is now the especial care of his grandfather, Robert Fessendon Addis.
Jane Atkins, mother of Mrs. Addis, is a descendant of Luke Atkins through his son, Josiah Atkins, one of the first settlers of Middletown, elsewhere mentioned (see Bacon, Charles E.).
Benjamin Atkins, third son of Josiah Atkins, above mentioned, was born No- vember 19, 1682, in Middletown, and mar- ried there, May 9, 1716, Elizabeth Barnes, born April 16, 1693, died May 20, 1752, eldest daughter of Maybe and Elizabeth (Stowe) Barnes. Their eldest son, Ben- jamin Atkins, born November 2, 1718, married January 2, 1746, Hannah Watts, born about 1722, daughter of William and Ann (Sage) Watts, who were married January 6, 1715. Their second son, Ben- jamin Atkins, born April 3, 1756, twin of Rachel, settled late in life on West street, in Westfield, about a mile north of the
present site of the Highland Club House. He married, December 8, 1776, Sarah Ward, born October 7, 1755, daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Cornwall) Ward. Oliver Atkins, eldest child of Benjamin and Sarah (Ward) Atkins, was born De- cember 15, 1777, married Anna -. Linus W. Atkins, son of Oliver and Anna Atkins, was born July 8, 1817, on the homestead of his grandfather on West street, where he continued to reside until his death, August 23, 1900. He was a general farmer, industrious and success- ful, a member of the Westfield church. When twenty years of age he bought the remainder of his minority from his father for forty dollars, and went to Flint, Mich- igan, where he remained some time and then returned to Connecticut, where he inherited the homestead. He married, in Flint, Mary Maryntha Cone, who was a teacher of Flint, and they were the par- ents of Jane Atkins, who married Ichabod Roberts, and lived not far from the pa- ternal homestead. Their daughter, Mary Jane Roberts, became the wife of Robert Fessendon Addis, as previously stated.
CARLSON, J. August,
Contractor and Builder.
J. August Carlson, a prominent con- tractor and builder of New Britain, Con- necticut, was born in Stora Shadve, Falund, Sweden, December 27, 1867, son of Carl Gustafson and Johanna (Ander- son) Gustafson. In taking "Carlson" as his surname, Mr. Carlson followed the ancient custom, once common in nearly all countries and which is still practiced to some extent in Scandinavian countries, of children adding "son" to their father's Christian name, to form their own sur- names.
The town of Stora Shadve has been the seat of Mr. Carlson's family for gen-
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erations. There his father was born in 1843. He married Johanna Anderson, and they were the parents of nine chil- dren, all of whom grew up and six came to America. The names of these latter are: J. August, of further mention ; Eric U., of New Britain, who died May 6, 1921 ; Annie, wife of Frank Ryberg, of Port- land, Oregon; Maria, wife of Gustaf Isaacson, of Chicago; Karoline, wife of Gustaf Ogren, of New Britain ; and Ivar, of New Britain.
J. August Carlson attended the public schools of his native town, and learned the trade of carpenter. In 1892, he came to America and after a few months in South Manchester, located in New Britain where he followed his trade as a journeyman for four years. Then he started in business on his own account, as a contractor and builder. His beginning was a modest one, but as his reputation for reliability in his dealings and in the quality of his work grew, more work, and of increased importance came to him. In recent years he has built a great many school houses, among them may be men- tioned : the Vocational High School; the Burritt School; Pro-Vocational Grammar School; and a school in Kensington, Con- necticut.
Mr. Carlson built the block owned by Mr. T. W. Crowe, and Lithuanian Hall in New Britain. His contracts require the employment of about fifteen men on an average, and in order to hold his organization together during the time when building operations are not normal, Mr. Carlson purchased thirty-five lots on East street, where from time to time, he has built and sold houses totalling twenty- five. He also, in 1920-21-22, built the fine Children's Home in New Britain, which has a 267 foot frontage, Rackliffe Heights section of the city, with wings extending back at both ends and also in
the center, and when complete will have three stories and basement.
He married Zelma Holmen, a native of Westeros, Sweden, and their children are: 1. Joseph, who married Ellen Lud- wicson; Dorothy is their only child. 2. Vasti, will marry Paul Tohren. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson attend the Swedish Baptist church, of New Britain, of which he is treasurer.
Mr. Carlson is one of the dependable citizens of New Britain, interested in all public affairs, and ever ready to do his share in furthering movements for the public welfare. He is a member of the Citizens' Board of the city. He is a man much interested in temperance, and is a prohibitionist with Republican sentiment. He was interested in the building of T. A. B. Catholic order building at South- ington, and the carpentry work at St. Mary's convent.
HURD, Albert Arthur, Public Official.
A native of New Hampshire, Mr. Hurd is descended from John Heard, of Devon- shire, England, who was among the immi- grants who arrived at Plymouth, Massa- chusetts, on the ship "Anne," in August, 1623, and next year received an acre of land in the northern part of Plymouth. His grandfather, Thomas Heard, was a resident of Berwick and North Berwick, Maine, a farmer and deacon of the church. He married, Mary Nason, and they were the parents of Nathaniel Nason Hurd (as he spelled the name), father of Albert A. Hurd, born June 17, 1838, in North Ber- wick, was a farmer and butcher in Ber- wick, where he died, December 14, 1914. He was a member of the Free Will Bap- tist Church in Somersworth, New Hamp- shire, adjoining Berwick, was a Republi- can in political principle, served as sheriff
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William & Should
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