USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 15
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Beccles, County Suffolk, and were the ancestors of one branch of the American family of the name.
Arms : Or on a chevron engrailed, gules, three crosses formee of the field. Motto: Cru.r Christi salus mea.
This family presents a long line of honorable and capable forbears, who, in their several periods, were prominently identified with the affairs of the commu- nities in which they lived. Deacon Paul Peck, immigrant ancestor of the family, was born in County Essex, England, in the year 1608, and was one of that sturdy band of men who braved the hardships of the New World, in preference to suf- fering curtailment of their religious lib- erty. He came to Boston in 1635 on the ship "Defense," and remained in Boston and the vicinity until 1636, when he went with Rev. Thomas Hooker and his party to Hartford, and became one of the founders of that city and the State of Connecticut. He was a proprietor of Hartford in 1639, and became a leading citizen. His home was on what is now Washington street not far from the State Capitol. He was a deacon of the church from 16SI until his death, December 23. 1695. His will, dated June 25, 1695, was proved January 15, 1695-96. His inven- tory amounted to £536 5s. He bequeathed to his wife Martha; children, Paul, Jo- seph, Martha Cornwall, Mary Andrew, Sarah Clark, Elizabeth How ; grandsons, Paul and Henry Peck; son-in-law, John Shepherd ; granddaughter, Ruth Beach ; son-in-law, John Bouton. Children : I. Paul, born 1639. 2. Martha, born 1641 ; married, June 8, 1665, John Cornwall. 3. Elizabeth, born 1643; married How, of Wallingford. 4. Samuel, men- tioned below. 5. John, baptized Decem- ber 22, 1650. 6. Joseph, born 1650, bap- tized December 22, 1650. 7. Sarah, born 1653; married Thomas Clark, of Hart-
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ford. 8. Hannah, born 1656; married, May 12, 1680, John Shepherd. 9. Mary, born 1662; married John Andrew, of Hartford ; died in 1752.
(II) Samuel Peck, son of Deacon Paul Peck, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1647. He settled in West Hartford, and lived there until his death, January 10, 1696. He married Elizabeth Child: Samuel, mentioned below.
(III) Samuel (2) Peck, son of Samuel (1) Peck, was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, in 1672, and died December 9, 1765. He settled in Middletown, now the town of Berlin, Connecticut. He mar- ried Abigail, daughter of Joseph Collier ; she died October 28, 1742. Children, born at Kensington : I. Samuel, January 6, 1701. 2. Moses, April, 1703. 3. Isaac, born at Scarborough, November 2, 1706. 4. Abijah, December 28, 1707. 5. Zebu- lon. September 1, 1713. 6. Amos, men- tioned below. 7. Abel, born at Kensing- ton, December 28, 1717, died September 19, 1742. 8. Elisha, born at Lynn, July 23, 1723; married Mary, daughter of Hewett Strong.
(IV) Amos Peck, son of Samuel (2) Peck, was born at Kensington, March 5, 1715, died in Middletown, April 6, 1802. He married, July 26, 1750, Mary Hart, who died June 22, 1771. Children: I. Matthew, born July 16. 1751. 2. Amos, January 25, 1754. 3. Ruth, November 28, 1756. 4. Mary, March 9, 1760. 5. Hul- dah, September 13, 1762. 6. Lemuel, mentioned below. 7. Lucy, December 2, 1767.
(V) Lemuel Peck, son of Amos Peck, was born March 28, 1765, died in Berlin, Connecticut, February 22, 1821. He mar- ried Lydia Dickinson, who died April 15, 1826. Children : 1. Selden, mentioned be- low. 2. Harriet, born February 14, 1796, died November 11, 1828. 3. Sherman, De- cember 28, 1800.
(VI) Selden Peck, son of Lemuel Peck, was born January 25, 1794, died in Meri- den, Connecticut. He was a farmer in Berlin, Connecticut. He married, No- vember 1, 1826, Lucy H. Hart. Children : I. Sherman H., born March 17, 1829. 2. Harriet E., April 16, 1835. 3. Henry H., mentioned below. 4. George S., May 9, 1840, died 1865. 5. Lucy Anna, October 17, 1844.
(VII) Henry Hart Peck, son of Selden Peck, was born in Berlin, December 25, 1838.
Beyond doubt there is a lesson well worth learning to be found in the records of men, whose achievements have been great even when these have been wrought purely in their own interests; and if this be so, how much greater and more worth while is the lesson contained in the careers of those who have at least equally concerned themselves with the good of others, whose efforts have been directed towards the fulfillment of large and altru- istic purposes, whose labors have com- passed the welfare of the communities whereof they have been members, quite as much as they have their own personal ends. The name of Peck has for many generations been associated with men of this type throughout Connecticut, who have not allowed even their own ambi- tions or the hopes most dear to their hearts to interfere with their disinterested and faithful service to their fellows. In- deed, of all the distinguished families of the State there are few that can rival this one in the high regard in which it is held by the community generally. The name is a very ancient one, and was known in England many years before the settle- ment of the North American colonies, where it appears in several counties al- though its origin seems to have been in Yorkshire. It was from Essex, however, that the immediate ancestors of this
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branch of the Peck family herein treated, seemed for advancement, for he possessed came, Deacon Paul Peck, the immigrant ancestor, being recorded as born in that county in 1608. In the region of Hart- ford and Berlin, Connecticut, the family has continued to make its home down to the present time, and is now represented in Waterbury by Henry Hart Peck, a descendant in the seventh generation of Deacon Paul Peck.
Henry H. Peck is the son of Selden Peck, who throughout his life farmed ex- tensively in the town of Berlin, Connecti- cut, where his son was born and reared to manhood. Selden Peck, in November, 1826, was married to Lucy H. Hart, of Berlin, Connecticut, and Henry H. Peck was the third in point of age of their five children. Mr. Peck was born on Christ- mas Day, 1838, on his father's farm, and passed the years of his childhood there. He attended the local public schools and in his spare time assisted his father in the farm work. It was doubtless in this healthful rural life that Mr. Peck laid the foundation of that splendid physical health and vigor that has stood him in good stead during his long and arduous business career. This continued until he reached the age of seventeen years, when he went to Meriden and entered the high school there. After attending this school for a number of years he entered the Kel- log Institute in Meriden and there com- pleted his studies. In the year 1857 he secured a position in the firm of D. & N. G. Miller, of New Britain, and began work in their dry goods establishment. His mind, which was naturally alert and quick to pick up all kinds of knowledge, very soon mastered the details of the dry goods business and he became one of the most valuable members of the firm's staff. It was not his intention, however, to remain in this employ, nor in any em- ploy, no matter how bright the prospects
as a youth the same characteristic of sturdy independence which throughout his life has characterized him, and it was his ambition to embark upon an enter- prise of his own. Accordingly, in 1860, when he had been employed about three years in New Britain, he went to Water- bury, Connecticut, and formed a partner- ship with Charles Miller in establishing the dry goods house of Miller & Peck. The first store of the firm was situated in what is known as the Baldwin Block, but in only about a year, finding these quar- ters too small for them, they removed to the Hotchkiss Block, continuing there for a number of years. The affairs of the firm prospered greatly from the very outset and the partners rapidly became known as influential figures in the com- mercial and mercantile world of the city. As they grew older, the business grew more and more, and it was their keen business judgment and foresight that was responsible for the place now occupied by the concern in the city. Mr. Peck's inter- ests enlarged greatly as time went on and spread beyond the limits of the firm, his ability and conservatism being so well known that other concerns sought to avail themselves of them. He was chosen to the board of trustees of the Dime Savings Bank of Waterbury, and in 1886 became that institution's president, an office that he holds to this day. In 1866 the great dry goods business was removed to still larger and more central quarters on South Main street, where it remains to-day. In 1887 Mr. Peck withdrew from active par- ticipation in the business, but his name still remains associated with it. Mr. Peck is also a director of the Beacon Falls Rub- ber Company.
But it is not merely in the realm of business that Mr. Peck plays a prominent part in the life of the city of Waterbury.
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Since coming to it in 1860 he has con- stantly made his home there and identi- fied himself most closely with the general life of the place. In 1886, the year in which he was chosen president of the Dime Savings Bank, he was elected to represent Waterbury in the Connecticut State Legislature, and in the years 1905 and 1906 he was a member of the State Senate, having been elected to the office on the Republican ticket from the Fif- teenth District. During his term of serv- ice in that body he was a member of a number of important legislative commit- tees. He has always been interested in the business development of Waterbury, and has always been active in any efforts for civic betterment. In a quiet and un- ostentatious way, which admits of no publicity, Mr. Peck has during the past few decades given money equal in amount to a small fortune to the charitable and philanthropic institutions of Waterbury. Besides extremely liberal donations to the Waterbury Hospital, he gave material aid in his services on the executive board of that organization in 1895.
For many years Mr. Peck's chief recre- ation has been travel, and he has visited nearly every quarter of the globe. A keen observer of men and conditions, he can talk most entertainingly of his many ex- periences during these trips. This ability and a magnetic personality have gained for him a large circle of friends. Mr. Peck is unmarried. He attends the Prot- estant Episcopal church, and is an active supporter of its various activities. He is a prominent figure in Masonic circles, and is a member of the Continental Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Clark Commandery, Knights Templar, both of Waterbury. He is a thirty-second degree Mason. Mr. Peck is a member of the Waterbury Club and of the Home Club of Meriden.
(The Hart Line).
The surname Hart is common in Eng- land, Ireland and Scotland. It is spelled in various ways, Hart, Hartt, Heart, Harte and Hearte. Colonial records attest the fact that there were at least six immi- grants of the name in New England be- fore 1650. The arms of the family go back into the Middle Ages, as far as the year 1572. Arms: Gules a fesse between three fleurs-de-lis argent.
Mr. Peck is a descendant on the ma- ternal side of his house from Deacon Stephen Hart, a prominent member of Rev. Thomas Hooker's party, and one of the original founders and proprietors of the present city of Hartford, Connecticut. The genealogy of the branch of the Hart family of which his mother is a member is given herewith.
(I) Deacon Stephen Hart, the immi- grant ancestor of this branch of the fam- ily, was born about 1605, at Braintree, England. He left England for America in the year 1632, and is recorded a pro- prietor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1633. He was admitted a freeman, May 14, 1634. In 1635 he sold his Cambridge property and removed to Hartford with Rev. Thomas Hooker's company and be- came one of the proprietors of that settle- ment. His house was located on the west side of what is now Front street, near Morgan street. It is said that he and others were on a hunting expedition on Talcott mountain and discovered the Farmington river valley, then inhabited by the Tunxis, a powerful tribe of In- dians. The settlers made a bargain with the Indians and some of them settled there. Stephen Hart became one of the original proprietors of Tunxis, later Farm- ington, in 1672. He was deputy to the General Court in 1647 and for fifteen ses- sions, with one exception, and in 1653 was commissioned for the town of Farming-
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ton to aid in impressing men for the army. He was chosen the first deacon of the church there, and was one of the seven pillars of the church. His house lot was the largest in Farmington, situated on the west side of Main street, opposite the meeting house, and contained fifteen acres. This large lot was given him as an inducement to erect a mill, to be perpetuated and kept running. His will was dated March 16, 1682-83. He died in March, 1682-83. He married (first) -; (second) Margaret, widow of Arthur Smith; she survived him and died in 1693. Children, all by his first wife : Sarah, married, November 20, 1644, Thomas Porter; Mary, married (first) John Lee and (second) Jedediah Strong ; John, mentioned below ; Stephen ; Mehita- ble, who married John Cole; Thomas.
(II) John, of Farmington, first son of Deacon Stephen Hart, was born in Eng- land. He was made a freeman by the General Court in May. 1654. He was one of the first settlers of Tunxis. His death was caused by a fire in his home, in the year 1666.
(III) Captain John (2) Hart, son of John (1) and Sarah Hart, was born in Farmington about 1655. He married Mary, daughter of Dr. Isaac Moore, of Farmington. He was ensign of the Farm- ington trainband, and in 1703 was com- missioned lieutenant. He was four times deputy from Farmington to the General Court, and was one of the auditors of the colony, being appointed May, 1705. He died November 11, 1714, aged sixty years, and his wife died September 19, 1738, at the age of seventy-four.
(IV) Nathaniel Hart, son of Captain John (2) and Mary (Moore) Hart, was born in Farmington in 1695. He married, December 3, 1719. Abigail, daughter of John Hooker, Esquire. He died October
24, 1758, at the age of sixty-four. His widow died in 1761, aged sixty-three.
(V) Nathaniel (2) Hart, son of Na- thaniel (1) and Abigail (Hooker) Hart, was born March 17, 1735, at Kensington, Connecticut, of which place he remained a resident until his death. He was mar- ried on November 23, 1758, to Martha Norton, daughter of Thomas Norton, of Kensington, parish of Berlin, Connecti- cut. He died October 13, 1773, at the age of forty years. His widow moved to Hartford after his death.
(VI) Cyprian Hart, son of Nathaniel (2) and Martha (Norton) Hart, was born at Kensington and baptized there on Feb- ruary 5, 1769. He was adopted by his uncle, the famous General Selah Hart, whose estate he inherited. He married, December 24, 1795, Lucy, daughter of Elijah Hooker, of Kensington, Connecti- cut. He died at his uncle's homestead, at the age of thirty-seven years, March I, 1806. His widow died July 8. 1851, at the age of eighty years.
(VII) Lucy Hooker Hart, third daugh- ter of Cyprian and Lucy (Hooker) Hart, of Kensington, parish of Berlin, Connec- ticut, was born there on November 14, 1803. On November 1, 1826, she married Selden Peck, of "Blue Hills." She died in Meriden, where they resided, on No- vember 12, 1872, aged sixty-nine years. Her children were: Sherman H., Harriet E., Henry Hart, George Selden, Lucy Ann. Her son. Henry Hart Peck, is the living representative in the seventh gen- eration of Deacon Paul Peck, and in the eighth generation of Deacon Stephen Hart, both founders and proprietors of the present city of Hartford, and men whose posterity have been prominent in every field of endeavor which has played an important part in the history of Con- necticut from its very founding.
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CHENEY, Louis Richmond,
Manufacturer, Public Official, Financier.
From the time he began silk manufac- turing in 1879 until the present Louis Richmond Cheney has been a prominent figure in the business and public life of Hartford, chief executive of the city for two years, 1912-1914, following service as councilman and alderman, he gave to civic problems and to the public service the ability of a successful business man, and left an example of devotion to the best interests of all the people worthy of emulation by men in every public posi- tion. As assistant quartermaster-general of the State, and as commanding officer of the Governor's Foot Guard, he dis- played a deep interest in the State mili- tary forces, and by virtue of his positions bears his military titles "Major" and "Colonel." In every position in life in which his character, ability and manhood have been tested he has proven that he possesses the qualities of that king of trees, suggested by the name he bears- Cheney-derived from the French word "Chene," meaning oak.
Colonel Cheney descends from John Cheney, of whom John Eliot, the Apostle of the Indians, wrote: "John Cheney came into the land in the year 1636. He brought four children, Mary, Martha, John, Dan- iel. Sarah, his fifth child, was born in the last month of the same year, called February. He removed from our church at Brookfield to Newbury."
The line of descent from John and Mar- tha Cheney is through Peter and Hannah (Noyes) Cheney ; Benjamin and Eliza- beth (Long) Cheney ; Timothy and Mary (Olcott) Cheney ; George and Electa (Woodbridge) Cheney; George Wells and Mary (Cheney) Cheney; George Wells (2) and Harriet Kingsbury (Rich- mond) Chency ; Louis Richmond, of the ninth American generation.
George Wells (2) Cheney was born in Manchester, Connecticut, August 18, 1825, died December 29, 1893. Up to within fifteen years of his death he was con- nected with the silk business established in 1836 by his father, George Wells, his uncles, Ward, Charles, Rush and Frank Cheney, which as the Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Company became the largest company of its kind in the coun- try. His wife, Harriet Kingsbury (Rich- mond) Cheney, to whom he was married October 1, 1850, and who died September 10, 1900, was a daughter of William Wadsworth Richmond, and a descendant of Elder William Brewster, "The Pil- grim." The three sons of George Wells (2) Cheney: Wells Wadsworth, Louis Richmond and George Herbert, all were connected with the Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Company.
Louis Richmond Cheney, second son of George Wells (2) and Harriet Kingsbury (Richmond) Cheney, was born in South Manchester, Connecticut, April 27, 1859. After completing his studies at Hartford High School he entered the Cheney Silk Mill in Manchester in 1879, later was connected with the Cheney Silk Mills in Hartford, spent four years in the sales de- partment in New York City, then re- turned to Hartford, retiring from the silk business in 1893. He was engaged in the general business activities of the city ; has administered and acted as trustee for sev- eral large estates, and has official connec- tion with important corporations. He is a director of the Hartford Electric Light Company, Automatic Refrigerating Com- pany, Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company, Connecticut River Banking Company, Hartford Trust Company, Standard Fire Insurance Company and Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company ; president of the Hartford Mor- ris Plan Company, commissioner of the
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Connecticut River Bridge and Highway District, and October 8, 1915, was elected president of the Chamber of Commerce ; in all an interested and efficient official.
His interest in the unfortunate is deep and abiding, institutions erected and maintained for their benefit and relief profiting through his personal service. He is vice-president of the Hartford Hospi- tal, and trustee of the Loomis Institute, the American School for the Deaf, the Hartford Retreat, and the Institute for the Blind. His clubs are the Hartford, City, Hartford Golf, Republican, Coun- try, Twentieth Century and the Union League of New York, also several sport- ing clubs. He was assistant quarter- master-general 1895-1897, with the rank of colonel, and commander of the First Company Governor's Foot Guard, Hart- ford, 1898-1903, and 1907-1908 with the rank of major.
The public political service Colonel Cheney began was the outgrowth of the deep interest he has ever displayed in civic affairs, and in the welfare of the Re- publican party. He was elected council- man in 1896, serving in that office and as alderman until 1902. In 1912 he was elected mayor of Hartford, serving from April 3, of that year until April 10, 1914, his administration being marked by effi- ciency and careful business-like methods in all departments under his control. It was during his administration that the long contemplated Municipal Building was begun, Mayor Cheney laying the cornerstone with appropriate ceremonies, July 9, 1912. In 1914 he was elected State Senator from Hartford, an office he most worthily filled, serving as chairman of the committee on insurance. His interest is not bounded by business or politics as noted, but is widespread. He is a direc- tor of the Connecticut Fair Association.
The deeds of his patriotic ancestors
open wide to him the doors of many soci- eties of national importance. He is a member of the Society of the Cincinnati; the Sons of the American Revolution ; the Society of Colonial Wars, of which he is an ex-governor ; the Military Order of Foreign Wars, of which he is a past com- mander, and the Connecticut Society of Mayflower Descendants.
Mr. Cheney married, April 16, 1890, Mary Alice, daughter of Lucius Franklin and Eliza (Trumbull) Robinson. They have one daughter. Eliza Trumbull, wife of John Taylor Roberts.
PARROTT, Henry R.,
Manufacturer.
When Frederick Wells Parrott began the manufacture of varnish to meet the demands of his furniture manufacturing business, he laid the foundations of one of the most important business industries of Bridgeport. He continued the capable head of the business, which was incorpo- rated as the Parrott Varnish Company in 1869, until his death in 1891, then was suc- ceeded by his son, Henry R. Parrott, who continues the honored head of the com- pany, although nearing the age which shall mark him a nonogenarian. Nearly half a century of his life has been given to the service of the company, his connec- tion dating from its incorporation in 1869, the years 1869-91 having been spent in as- sociation with his father, the son as sec- retary-treasurer and general manager, seconding the work of the father as chief executive, and then ably succeeding him in title as he had years before succeeded him in fact. Frederick Wells Parrott lived to the age of eighty-six before sur- rendering to the inexorable hand of time, but his wife, Lucelia Ann (Remer) Par- rott, lived to the age of ninety, retaining all her faculties to the last. They cele-
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brated the golden anniversary of their wedding day, May 17, 1877, and each suc- ceeding anniversary until death dissolved the bond. For sixty years she was a member of the Ladies' Charitable Society of Bridgeport. One of her golden wedding day presents was a vase from the society of which she had then been a member for forty-nine years. Both were members of the North Congregational Church, and dur- ing the war times, 1861-65, they were ac- tive in aiding the cause, he in recruiting, she in the Soldiers' Aid Society, preparing medical and hospital supplies. When in after years a soldiers' monument was pro- jected, he was active in raising the re- quired funds, and when the cornerstone was laid, Frederick Wells Parrott was grand marshal of the parade, his son, Henry R. Parrott, his chief aide. So to his civic pride and public spirit the monu- ment stands as the important Parrott Varnish Company does to his business enterprise and ability.
Henry R. Parrott is of the seventh Amer- ican generation of the family founded in Stratford, Connecticut, by John Parrott, who was born in England about 1675, and settled at Stratford, where he and his wife, Hannah (Beardsley) Parrott, "owned the Covenant," December 8, 1706. The line of descent is through their son, John (2) Parrott ; his son, Abraham Par- rott : his son, Abraham (2) Parrott; his son. Abraham (3) Parrott ; his son, Fred- erick Wells Parrott, born in Bridgeport, July 25, 1805, died in Bridgeport. April 11, 1891; his son, Henry R. Parrott, to whom this review is inscribed. Frederick Wells Parrott, a cabinet maker by trade, began the manufacture of fine furniture in 1827, and built the first mahogany fur- niture seen in his section. His furniture business demanded a fine varnish, and in time he manufactured the large quantity required in his furniture factory, and in
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