USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 55
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Geol Rogers. T
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and billiards, containing twenty-one tables, and is the largest combination bowling alley and billiard room in New England. Mr. Rogers had in the mean- time opened places in Waterbury, Nor- wich and Hartford, and the latter two he still controls, in all of which the same high standard is maintained. He was the or- ganizer and first president of the Connec- ticut Bowling and Billiard Association. Fraternally Mr. Rogers is a member of the Rotary Club of New Britain ; member of Harmony Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of that city; Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Woonsocket Com- mandery, Knights Templars, of Woon- socket; Palestine Shrine of Providence, Rhode Island; City Club of Hartford, and the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Rogers married, in 1911, Kathryn, daughter of George Graulich, of Woon- socket, and they are the parents of two sons: Howland Packard, and Derrol Wil- son Rogers.
ROBINSON, Silas Arnold, Lawyer, Jurist.
Rev. Daniel Robinson was born in Nor- way, New York, 1806, son of Hiram and Anna (Foster) Robinson. He was a clergyman of the Baptist denomination. His first pastorate was at Springfield, New York, and later he held pastorates in Kingston, Clacerack and Hillsdale, New York, and in Connecticut and Massachu- setts, in which latter State he died in 1863. He married Ursula Matilda Arnold, born August, 1808, at Fairfield, Herkimer county, New York, daughter of John B. Arnold, of Providence, Rhode Island. The Arnolds are among the most distin- guished families of Rhode Island, dating from early Colonial days. John B. Arn- old settled on a farm in Herkimer county, New York, about the close of the Revolu-
tionary War. Children of Rev. Daniel and Ursula Matilda (Arnold) Robinson : I. Dr. Samuel H., born in 1835, at Spring- field, Otsego county, New York. 2. James, born 1838, died in infancy. 3. Silas Arnold, mentioned below. 4. Daniel, born January 20, 1843; enlisted in the Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery, serving as a musician throughout the Civil War. 5. Dr. George B., born Sep- tember 1, 1845 ; married Mary E. Parsons ; child, Flora M., married Daly, of New Haven, Connecticut. 6. Judson J., born November 9, 1850, at Southington, Connecticut ; unmarried.
Silas Arnold Robinson, son of Rev. Daniel Robinson, was born September 7, 1840, in Pleasant Valley, Fulton county, New York. He spent his first school days at the Lewis Academy in Southington, and afterwards attended the Bacon Academy in Colchester and the Brookside Institute in Sand Lake, New York. He was always deeply interested in books, and under the strong intellectual influence of his par- ents, his mind developed rapidly. As soon as he completed his schooling, he entered the law office of Gale & Alden in Troy, New York. In December, 1863, he was admitted to the bar at Albany, New York, and the following year went to Middletown, Connecticut, which has since been his home and the center of his pro- fessional activities. In 1878 he was elected judge of probate for the district of Middletown and served for two years in that office. In 1880-81 he was mayor of Middletown, and for many years served with great efficiency and faithfulness on the School Board of the city and town of Middletown. On February 11, 1890, he became judge of the Superior Court. and later was elevated to the bench of the Supreme Court, from which, September 7, 1910, he retired by reason of the age limit under the constitution, he having
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reached the age of seventy years. He is a member of the State Bar Association, and is a Republican in politics. He is an enthusiastic devotee of out-of-door life, his favorite amusements being walking, bicycling and trout fishing. He is a man of keen sagacity and broad capability in his profession. In personal habit and manner he is direct, modest and of simple tastes.
He married, June 13, 1866, Fanny E. Norton, born April 10, 1843, daughter of Isaac Ives Norton, of Otis, Berkshire county, Massachusetts (see Norton TII). Children: I. Charles Marcy, born May 25, 1868; was in the class of 1891, Shef- field Scientific School, and after complet- ing his studies at Yale he entered his father's office and took up the study of law; admitted to the bar in 1898; now in general practice in New Haven ; he was judge of probate for Middletown district for two years ; he married Edith A. Dole, of New Haven ; children: Rebecca, died in infancy; Edith Ann, born October I, 1907. 2. Lucy Norton, born December 5, 1869; unmarried. 3. Fannie Imogene, died in infancy. 4. Winnifred Harriet, born April 8, 1880; married Ralph Walter Rymer, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, attor- ney-at-law ; child, Dana Robinson Rymer, born March 5, 1905.
(The Norton Line).
George (1) Norton, immigrant ancestor, was born in England, and came to this country with Higginson in 1629. He set- tled in Salem, Massachusetts, and took the freeman's oath, May 14, 1634. There is evidence that he was a carpenter by trade. He was connected with a com- pany who obtained leave from the General Court in 1640 to settle Jeffrey's Creek, afterwards called Manchester. He re- moved to Gloucester about 1641, and was representative of that town, 1642-43-44.
He moved back to Salem in 1644, and was dismissed from the church at Gloucester to the church at Wenham, September 21, 1645. He married Mary - . He died in 1659. Children : Freegrace, born 1635; John, born October, 1637; Nathan- iel, born May, 1639; George (2), of whom further ; Henry, born February 28, 1643; Mehitable, born 1645; Sarah, born Sep- tember 14, 1647; Hannah, born 1649; Abi- gail, born 1651; Elizabeth, born August 7, 1653.
George (2) Norton, son of George (1) Norton, was born March 28, 1641. He lived in Salem, Ipswich and Suffield, Con- necticut. He married (first), October 7, 1669, Sarah Hart, who died June 23, 1682, at Suffield. He married (second) Mercy Gillet, widow, of Windsor. In 1695 the town of Suffield agreed with him and Richard Austin to make all the windows for the minister's house at eighteen pence per light and to pay for the same in pro- vision and flax. He afterwards became a settler at Suffield, where a grant of land of sixty acres was made to him, Septem- ber 14, 1674. The settlement was broken up in 1675 on account of the war with the Indians, but was commenced again at its close. The name of George Norton ap- pears as an inhabitant there as early as September 25, 1677. He is called Ensign Norton in the list of voters, March 9, 1682. In 1693 he was chosen one of the selectmen, and was sent as a representa- tive to the General Court in Boston the same year, at which time he is called Cap- tain Norton. In the probate records of Hampshire is found the settlement of his estate, dated March 31, 1698. He died November 15, 1696. Children of first wife: George, born November 10, 1671; Thomas, born November, 1674; Nathan- iel, born June 30, 1676; Sarah, born July 12, 1677; Alice, married Robert Kimbal ; Samuel, born April 9, 1681, died April 27,
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Patrick M & Machen
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1681. Children of second wife: John, born June 12, 1683, died June 16, 1683; Mary Jane, born June 18, 1685; Abigail, born January 14, 1687; Freegrace, born January 1, 1689; Joanna, born March 17, 1693; Elizabeth, born August 31, 1695, died August 1, 1697; Elizabeth, born March 19, 1697.
(I) Lieutenant Jonathan Norton. de- scendant of George (2) Norton, was born about 1730. He settled at Loudon, now Otis, Massachusetts. In 1790, according to the first federal census, he had two males over sixteen and three females in his family. He came thither from Suf- field about 1751. His son, Jonathan, Jr., had two sons under sixteen and two fe- males in his family in 1790. Jonathan was first lieutenant in Captain Jacob Cook's company (15th or 17th) (Loudon com- pany), First Berkshire Regiment, and was reported commissioned May 6, 1776; also lieutenant of the same company, under Colonel John Ashley at the battle of Saratoga, in 1777; also lieutenant in Captain Samuel Warner's company, Colonel John Brown's regiment, in 1780. His son Roderick is mentioned below.
(II) Roderick Norton, son of Lieuten- ant Jonathan Norton, was born at Lou- don, Massachusetts, June 18, 1774. He married Rhoda Johnson, daughter of Dr. Asa Johnson. Children: Bethuel, born January 20, 1798, died in infancy ; Isaac Ives, of whom further; Elam Potter, born June 16, 1800; Harriet Johnson, born October 29, 1802; Sedgwick Lark- com, born August 28, 1804; Roderick Hyde, born March 1, 1810; George John- son, born June 2, 1817.
(III) Isaac Ives Norton, son of Roder- ick Norton, was born at Otis, Massachu- setts, January 14, 1799. He married Nancy Elmina Marcy, daughter of Thomas Marcy. Children: I. Harriet P., born March 21, 1830; married (first) Albert Norton, her distant cousin, a native
of Blandford, Massachusetts, by whom she had three children, all of whom died young ; married (second) Judge Seagrave Smith, judge of the District Court of Minnesota, and a native of Colchester, Connecticut. 2. Henry L., born 1832. 3. Fanny E., born April 10, 1843; married Silas Arnold Robinson (see Robinson).
McMAHON, Patrick S., Hotel Proprietor.
One of the most prominent citizens of New Britain, Connecticut, Patrick S. Mc- Mahon was born there, March 10, 1868, son of Patrick and Margaret (Garvey) McMahon.
Patrick McMahon, father of Patrick S., was a native of County Clare, Ireland, and died February 1I, 1900, aged fifty-six years. He came to America with his widowed mother when he was ten years old. They located in New Britain, and when the Civil War broke out, Mr. Mc- Mahon responded to the need of his adopted country and enlisted in the Sixth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. He served four years, having reënlisted when his first enlistment expired. He was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, and after the war drew a pension. Subse- quently, he entered the employ of the Stanley Rule and Level Works and later left to enter the employ of the Stanley Works. During the latter part of the war he contracted ague and fever and never fully recovered; he spent a few years at farming. Mr. McMahon was a member of Stanley Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He married Margaret Garvey, daughter of Patrick Garvey, who brought his family from County Clare, Ireland, to Bristol, Connecticut, and later to New Britain. Mr. and Mrs. McMahon were the parents of the following chil- dren : Patrick S., of further mention ; and William Emmett. The latter was a ser-
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geant in the United States army for many years, and died in 1913, unmarried.
Patrick S. McMahon, only surviving child of Patrick and Margaret (Garvey) McMahon, was educated in the public schools of New Britain, Connecticut, and at an age when most boys are thinking of play, went to work in the Russell & Erwin lock shop for forty cents a day. From there he went to the Stanley Works at an increase of ten cents a day. At the end of three years there he was making one dollar and twenty cents a day. He went back to Russel & Erwin's and re- ceived one dollar and sixty cents a day. This was considered good pay for a boy at that time and shows considerable con- trast then and now. Mr. McMahon's next venture was as the driver of a grocery wagon and for these services he received nine dollars a week. He con- tinued similarly employed until he was twenty-one years old, when he entered business for himself, with a cash capital of one hundred and thirty-five dollars. However, he possessed another capital, quite as necessary, that of brains, ambi- tion, integrity and thrift. Mr. McMahon opened a grocery store with a liquor busi- ness in connection with it, a type of store quite common at that time. The first year his profit was eight thousand dollars and his prosperity dated from that time. For ten years he continued in this busi- ness, gradually working into the whole- sale grocery and liquor business, which he finally sold to Minor, Reed & Garrett, and invested the proceeds in New Britain real estate. On January 1, 1900, he bought the Strickland House, which was one of the oldest hotels in Connecticut. Mr. McMahon changed the name to the Hotel Bronson and he still conducts this establishment. About sixteen years ago he entered the moving picture business. That was in the early days of moving pic- ture theaters, and his first theater was in
New Britain, at what is now known as the Palace Theater. He formed a partner- ship with Frank A. Keeney, of Brooklyn, New York, and did business under the name of Keeney & McMahon. The firm operated theaters in New York City, and Brooklyn ; Bridgeport and Hartford, Con- necticut; Schenectady, Watertown and Troy, New York; and Scranton, Pennsyl- vania. After some years he sold his in- terests to his partner and retained the Hartford and New Britain houses. Two years ago Mr. McMahon sold the New Britain house and this year (1921) sold the Hartford playhouse.
Mr. McMahon has been among the foremost citizens of New Britain in public matters, although never an office holder. He can always be depended upon to give his aid to any movement which has the general welfare of New Britain at heart. He is a Democrat and is active in the in- terests of that party.
Mr. McMahon married Margaret Bro- phy, daughter of John Brophy, of New Britain, and their children are: John P., who is associated with his father in the hotel business; William P., a student at St. Bernard's Seminary ; Norene, a mem- ber of the class of 1921 at Columbia Uni- versity ; Margaret, a student at Notre Dame Academy ; Mary, also a student at the above-named school; George, a stu- dent at Babson's School at Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, as is his brother, Patrick, the youngest of the seven chil- dren. With his family Mr. McMahon is a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church of New Britain and aids in the support of its good works.
JARVIS, Charles Lavellette,
Retired Manufacturer.
During most of his active life Mr. Jar vis has been identified with the town of Portland, and has developed an invention
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Rohan 2 Jan ٢ avvie
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which is of great value to manufacturers of taps and dies. The name Jarvis is of French origin, and at the time of its re- moval to England was spelled Gervais. In England it assumed various forms, such as Jervis and Jarvie, and is derived from Gervasius, the original French. There is a record of Richard Gervais, of Normandy, in 1180, and of Jean Gervais, about 1450. The family undoubtedly re- moved to England to escape persecutions in the seventeenth century, and among the most noted representatives in that country was Sir John Jervis, Earle of St. Vin- cent, who was a rear admiral in the Brit- ish navy, and obtained sufficient distinc- tion to be buried in Westminster Abbey. William Jarvis came from England and was probably first at Norwalk, Connec- ticut. He was one of the eleven original heads of families at Huntington, Long Is- land, where he received several grants of land, engaged in agriculture, and died about 1740. His will, executed Novem- ber 12, 1737, names wife Ester (to whom he left his negro girl, Jennie), and several sons. The second son, Samuel Jarvis, born October 5, 1698, settled at Norwalk, Connecticut, where he died September 27, 1779. He purchased a homestead at Nor- walk, January 1I, 1745. With his three sons, he was loyal to the English Govern- ment, and during the Revolutionary War lived on Long Island, under British pro- tection. He married Naomi Brush, of Cold Spring, Long Island, born March 19, 1701, died May 3, 1756. Their second son, John Jarvis, born January 23, 1725, died August 7, 1778, in Norwalk. He married, October 16, 1751, Catherine Ray- mond, who was born April 13, 1727, and died January 3, 1811, in Poundridge, Westchester county, New York. Their eldest child, John Jarvis, born July 18, 1753, died July 24, 1824. A Loyalist, he served as a commissary general in the
British army during the Revolution, fol- lowing which he resided three years in Nova Scotia, returning thereafter to Nor- walk. He was a scholar and very fine penman. He married (second), August 23, 1779, Elizabeth Boulte, born May 5, 1753, died April 7, 1799.
Dr. George Ogilby Jarvis, third son of John and Elizabeth Jarvis, was born July 14, 1795, in New Canaan, Connecticut, and in early life was a teacher. He studied medicine with Dr. Truman S. Wetmore, of Winchester, Connecticut, was licensed to practice in 1817, and located first at Torrington, Connecticut, where he re- mained two years, removed thence to Colebrook, same State. In 1840 he settled in Portland, Connecticut, and developed a large medical practice. In 1846, Yale Col- lege gave him the degree of Medicine Doctor. He was a man of original thought and research and contributed much to medical annals. He visited Eu- rope, where his ability was quickly recog- nized by the medical profession, and he delivered in London, a series of lectures on fractures and dislocations, which were published in the "Lancet," the leading London medical journal. He received a large and handsome gold medal from the Society for the Promotion of Arts and Commerce in England. That he was ahead of his time in research and discovery is shown by the manuscript of a work on electricity and ozone, compiled during his last years. He was widely known in Con necticut and highly esteemed as a man and physician. He died February 3, 1875. Dr. Jarvis married, November 19, 1819, Philomela Marshall, born April 18, 1798, died May 12, 1875, fourth daughter of Raphael and Philomela (Grant) Marshall, descendant of Captain Samuel Marshall, who was in Windsor, Connecticut, as early as 1637. In that year he served as deputy to the General Court, and next
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year was a magistrate. He married. May I, 1652, Mary, daughter of Lieutenant David Wilton, of Windsor. Their fourth son, Deacon Thomas Marshall, born Feb- ruary 23, 1663, was one of the original proprietors of Torrington, but did not set- tle there, and died in Windsor, November 8, 1735. He married, March 3, 1686, in Windsor, Mary Drake, born January 29, 1666, fifth daughter of John and Hannah (Moore) Drake, of Windsor, grand- daughter of John and Elizabeth (Rogers) Drake, pioneers of Windsor; she was a descendant in the eleventh generation of John Drake, who was living at Exmouth, England, in 1360, through John, John, John, John, John, Robert and William Drake. The last named lived in Wis- comb, County Devon, England, and was father of the immigrant, John, of Wind- sor, who died there August 18, 1659, as the result of being run over by a loaded cart. He was born about 1600, at Wis- comb, and came to Boston in 1630. Thomas Marshall, third son of Deacon Thomas Marshall was born February 6, 1693, in Windsor, settled on a farm in the northwestern part of Torrington before 1755, and died there February 4, 1772. He married, October 9, 1725, Elizabeth Tudor, born 1700, of French descent, pos- sessed of some property and a high strung disposition. She died February 8, 1790, aged ninety years. Thomas Marshall, youngest child of Thomas and Elizabeth Marshall, born August 24, 1738, inherited from his father a farm in the Newfield section of Torrington, adjoining the town of Winchester, on which he established a large dairy. An enterprising and influ- ential citizen, he died May 5, 1810. He married, January 30, 1764, Desire Tuttle, born May 16, 1743, daughter of Eliphalet and Desire (Bradley) Tuttle, of New Haven, descended from William and Elizabeth Tuttle, of Boston and New
Haven. Thomas Tuttle, son of William and Elizabeth Tuttle, married Hannah Powell, and had a son Caleb, who mar- ried Mary Hotchkiss; they were the par- ents of Eliphalet Tuttle, father of Mrs. Thomas Marshall. Raphael Marshall was the eldest child of Thomas and Desire Marshall, born May 11, 1765, in Torring- ton, where he was an energetic, useful and respected citizen. He married Philomela Grant, born April 17, 1769, daughter of Ensign Daniel Grant, granddaughter of Daniel and Sarah (Burt) Grant, great- granddaughter of Matthew and Hannah (Chapman) Grant; Matthew Grant was a son of Samuel and Mary (Porter) Grant, grandson of Matthew and Priscilla Grant, pioneers of Windsor. Philomela Mar- shall, fourth daughter of Raphael and Philomela Marshall, born 1798, became the wife of Dr. George O. Jarvis, as pre- viously related.
Charles Alpheus Jarvis, eldest son of Dr. George O. Jarvis, was born February 2, 1828, in Colebrook, Connecticut, and was twelve years of age when his father settled in Portland. He was educated in that town and at Cheshire Academy. For some years he engaged in farming in the Westfield district of Middletown, and re- turned to Portland, where he was long associated with the Middlesex Quarry Company. He began his service with that institution as a teamster, but very soon procured advancement by his ability and faithfulness, and for many years was sec- retary and treasurer of the company. He retired about five years before his death, which occurred in 1900. He was a friend of the public school system, was many years clerk of Trinity Protestant Episco- pal parish, of Portland, and was a mem- ber of Warren Lodge, No. 51, Free and Accepted Masons, of that town, in which he filled all the principal offices. An ardent Republican in political principle,
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he refused to be a candidate for any office. Mr. Jarvis married (first), January 17, 1854, Statira Gildersleeve, born September I, 1829, in Portland, died November 7, 1864, in that town, daughter of Sylvanus Gildersleeve, and his second wife, Emily (Shepard) Gildersleeve, the latter a daughter of Andrew and Deliverance (Le- land) Shepard, of Middletown. Mr. Jarvis married (second) Ellen Smith of Middle- town, and they were the parents of two sons, Dr. George Ogilby, now of Ashland, Oregon, and Edward W., a dentist of Hartford.
Charles Lavelette Jarvis, only son of Charles A. and Statira (Gildersleeve) Jarvis, was born May 17, 1857, on a farm in Westfield, and was a child when his parents settled in Portland, where he at- tended the public schools. After a course in a business college at New Haven, he entered the service of the Middlesex Quarry Company, with whom he con- tinued a score of years. In 1903 he pur- chased the plant of the Ideal Machinery Company of Hartford, which he removed to Portland, and this has since been oper- ated under the name of the Charles L. Jarvis Company in the production of hard- ware specialties and tools, and a tapping device, the invention of Marshall N. Jar- vis, known as the Jarvis Tapping Device. This has been much improved and meets a wide usage throughout the world. For several years, Charles L. Jarvis traveled extensively through the western states, introducing his wares and building up a business, which he turned over to his son on the first of January, 1919, and retired from most of his business activities. He is a member of Trinity Church of Port- land, and was long treasurer of Portland Lodge, No. 35, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of Warren Lodge, No. 51, Free and Accepted Masons, of Portland; of Washington
Chapter, No. 6, Royal Arch Masons; and Cyrene Commandery, No. 8, Knights Templar, of Middletown. Mr. Jarvis is a man of modest character, but is appreci- ated as a good citizen by his contem- poraries.
He married, September 13, 1882, Louise Rebecca Gildersleeve, born May 9, 1857, in Portland, daughter of Henry Gilder- sleeve and his second wife, Emily (Fin- ette) Northam, of Marlborough, Connec- ticut, granddaughter of Sylvester Gilder- sleeve. Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis are the par- ents of two sons and a daughter, namely :
I. Dr. Henry Gildersleeve Jarvis, a suc- cessful physician, residing in Hartford, who went abroad in the United States service during the World War. He was born March 5, 1885, in Portland, where he received his primary education. In 1902 he graduated from Middletown High School, and in the autumn of the same year entered Yale University, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1906. Four years later he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore. For three years he pursued hospital work in New York, Baltimore and Hartford, before beginning private practice. His first location was on High street, Hart- ford, succeeding his uncle in practice in the same house. Since 1920 he has been located in the handsomely appointed Pro- fessional building, on Allyn street In the last-named year he completed the erec- tion of his elegant home on Ledyard road, West Hartford. In 1918 he entered the Medical Corps and spent one year abroad in the United States service in the World War. Dr. Jarvis is affiliated with St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church of Hartford, and with Warren Lodge, No. 51, Free and Accepted Masons, of Port- land. He is a member of the National Medical Association, and the State,
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