USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 2
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He was an author of ability and learning on historical and archæological subjects and the study of these in connection with his home State was a favorite recreation. Of a deeply religious nature, the influ- ence that he exercised in the community worked for good and he will long remain in the memory of his fellow citizens as a model of good citizenship and sterling manhood.
PALMER, Nathaniel B.,
Explorer, Designer of Famous Ships.
Nathaniel Brown Palmer was born in Stonington, Connecticut, August 8. 1799. son of Nathaniel (1768-1812) and Mercy (Brown) Palmer, grandson of Nathaniel (1740-1818) and Grace (Noyes) Palmer. and of Peleg and Mercy (Denison) Brown, and a descendant in the seventh genera- tion from Walter and Rebecca (Short) Palmer, who came from England to Stonington, Connecticut, in 1653; he was of the sixth generation from the Rev. Chad Brown. He was also a direct de- scendant through Mercy Denison, of John Howland of the "Mayflower." and through Dorothy Noyes, of Governor Peleg Sanford. His father was a lawyer and afterward a shipbuilder.
Nathaniel B. Palmer went to sea in 1813, a youth of fourteen. At the age of nineteen he was second mate of the brig "Herselia," Captain J. P. Sheffield, which returned from the South Seas to Stoning- ton with ten thousand seal skins. He was made captain of the sloop "Hero" in 1819, and in company with the "Herselia" made a second voyage to the South Seas where he discovered "Palmer's Land" in lati- tude 67º longitude 70°, and which was named for him. He next commanded the "James Monroe" in an expedition under Captain W. A. Fanning to the South Shetland Islands, and the "Cadet"
in several voyages to Cartagena on the Spanish Main, where he was employed by the Colombian government in trans- porting a portion of General Bolivar's army from Cartagena to the river Chagres, and prisoners to Santiago de Cuba. In 1826 he took the brig "Tam- pico" to Cartagena. He took the brig "Francis" to the South Seas in 1827, and the "Anawan" on a voyage of discovery in 1829. east of Cape Horn. On his next voyage he touched at Juan Fernandes Island for water, and was captured by Chilian convicts. His identity as a Ma- son saved his life, but the convicts forced him to carry them out of captivity. In December. 1833. he assumed command of the packet ship "Huntsville" between New York and New Orleans: in 1835 of the "Hibernia" to Rio Janeiro; in 1837 of the ship "Garrick." of the Collins line, to Liverpool : in 1838 of the "Siddons," to the same port; and in 1841 the "Paul Jones" to China. He modeled the clipper ship "Hoqua" for Brown & Bell, of New York, and made a voyage in her to Can- ton. He next modeled the "Sam Russell," "Oriental," "David Brown" and "N. B. Palmer" for A. A. Low, and commanded the "Oriental" and "Sam Russell" in the China tea trade, making the celebrated passage from Hong Kong to London in ninety-seven days. In 1848 he took the steamer "United States" to Germany, and in 1849 retired from sea service. He was the seventh charter member of the New York Yacht Club, held his membership over thirty years, and modeled and owned seventeen yachts. He was a member of the Currituck Gun Club : a director of the Fall River line of steamers. and was in- strumental in building the "Bristol" and the "Providence." He bought the "Great Republic" for Low Brothers, and was in charge of that vessel for three years in London until she was chartered by the
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French government. He corrected the United States Coast Survey of Stoning- ton harbor.
His brother, Alexander Smith Palmer, a famous sailor and commander and sev- eral years his junior, was presented a silver cup for saving the passengers and crew of the English ship "Dorothy," July 4, 1833, and a gold medal from Queen Victoria for rescuing the survivors of the "Eugenia" in 1840. Captain Alexander's son, Nathaniel Brown Palmer (2d), left San Francisco, California, for China on a sailing vessel, with his uncle, Captain Nathaniel, in 1876, for the benefit of the health of the younger man. They left Hong Kong on the return voyage on board the "City of Peking," May 15, 1877, and the nephew died when one day out, and Captain Nathaniel Brown Palmer died in San Francisco, California, June 21, following. Both were buried in Ston- ington, Connecticut.
JEWELL, Marshall,
Diplomatist, Cabinet Official, Governor.
Marshall Jewell, a strong figure for a quarter of a century after the close of the Civil War, was born at Winchester, New Hampshire, October 20, 1825. His Amer- ican ancestry begins with Thomas Jewell, who was granted land at Wollaston, Mas- sachusetts. only a few years after the Massachusetts settlement. His later an- cestors were tanners in New Hampshire. His father, Pliny Jewell, expanded the hereditary family vocation, and in 1845 established a belting factory at Hartford, Connecticut.
Marshall Jewell received only a com- mon school training. He learned tanning under his father, but, having taught him- self telegraphy in the infancy of that science, practiced it for three years in the south and west. In 1850 he returned to Hartford to enter his father's manu-
factory as a member of the firm of P. Jewell & Sons. He quickly became the controlling spirit in the business, and greatly increased its fortunes by timely purchases of leather just before the Civil War, and holding it for war prices. Mr. Jewell first entered upon a political career as a candidate for the State Senate, in which he was unsuccessful. For four years in succession, beginning with 1868, he was the Republican candidate for Gov- ernor against James E. English, but won out in 1869. and also, by an exceedingly narrow margin, in 1871, when the open- ing of the ballot boxes by a Republican Legislature formed a precedent exten- sively cited in the "deadlock" of 1891. During his gubernatorial administration the present militia system was adopted : the charter of Yale College was amended so as to allow graduates to vote for mem- bers of the University Corporation; and the erection of the new State House was begun. With the year 1873 Mr. Jewell began a prominent career in the service of the nation as Minister to Russia, and incidentally, it is said. he discovered the secret of Russian tanning, which process he introduced into this country ; the clue to his discovery was obtained by his keen tanner's sense of smell. In August, 1874. he was called home, having been ap- pointed Postmaster-General by President Grant. It was a period of many unsavory disclosures at the federal capital, includ- ing the whisky ring scandals, in which Mr. Jewell sided actively with Secretary Bristow, and resigned in consequence of a disagreement with the President as to the prosecution of the wrongdoers. The exact form of that disagreement has never been fathomed, though Mr. Jewell was reported as saying that he went into a room for a talk with the President, not dreaming of resigning, and when he came out he had resigned. As Postmaster- General Mr. Jewell's administration was
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eminently businesslike and purifying ; one feature of his administration was his de- termined war upon the "Star Route" swindles, which he brought to light and overthrew. He opposed President Grant's renomination for a third term in 18So, but, having been a member of that distin- guished man's cabinet, declined to attend the Republican National Convention, but became chairman of the Republican Na- tional Committee, and conducted to a successful close the campaign resulting in the election of James A. Garfield. To impairment of constitution caused by the intense labors and anxieties of that can- vass, his death. thirteen months later, is partly ascribed. Though without a liberal education, Mr. Jewell was a ready and eloquent speaker, and with a natal gift for humor and quick epigram-the phrase "too unanimous," as applied to an effusive person, which went the rounds for some years, was attributed originally to him. His fine physique and fresh, boyish face, crowned by thick, snow-white hair, made him in later life a marked figure wherever he moved. He died at Hartford, Connec- ticut. February 10, 1883.
HUBBARD, Richard D.,
Lawyer, Legislator, Governor.
Richard Dudley Hubbard, thirtieth Governor of Connecticut. was born in Berlin, Hartford county. Connecticut, September 7. 1818, and died in Hartford, Connecticut, February 28. 1884. He was a son of Lemuel and Elizabeth (Dudley) Hubbard, and a descendant of George Hubbard, who, after living in Milford and Guilford, removed to Hartford about 1639, and later to Middletown.
Richard D. Hubbard was reared on a farm, received his preparatory education in the common schools of the neighbor- hood, and then entered Yale College, from
which institution he was graduated in 1839. He then entered the law office of Hungerford & Cone, at Hartford, where he qualified himself as a lawyer, was ad- mitted to the bar in 1842, and settled in practice in East Hartford. He was emi- nently successful, was called the first lawyer in Connecticut, and was undoubt- edly the greatest orator of his day in the Commonwealth. His success was at- tributed largely to great natural powers, added to which was scholarly culture and the utmost familiarity with the ancient and modern classics. He was a represen- tative in the General Assembly in 1842 ; was State's Attorney for Hartford coun- ty. 1846-68; and represented Hartford in the General Assembly, 1855-58. He was elected a representative in the Fortieth Congress. 1867-69. and declined a re- election. He was the unsuccessful Demo- cratic candidate for Governor of the State in 1872, but was elected in 1876, and again defeated in 1878.
He was a striking example of the self- made man, forcing himself to the top by means of studious application to books. and compelling the admiration of the people of his State generally, including his political foes. He received the honor- ary degree of A. M. from Trinity Col- lege in IS51, and that of LL. D. from Yale College in 1877. He was a trustee of Trinity College, 1856-58.
Governor Hubbard married. December 2. 1845. Mary Juliana, daughter of Dr. William H. and Margaret F. (Chenevard) Morgan, who bore him three sons and three daughters. On June 9, 1890, six years after his death, a statue of Govern- or Hubbard. of heroic size, by Karl Ger- hardt, was unveiled in the presence of the highest officials of the State and bar; it stands in a conspicuous place near the capitol.
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HOLLEY, Alexander H.,
Manufacturer, Governor.
Alexander Hamilton Holley, manufac- turer and twenty-second Governor of Connecticut, was born at Lakeville (Sal- isbury), Litchfield county, Connecticut, August 12, 1804, second son of John Mil- ton and Sally (Porter) Holley, grandson of Luther and Sarah (Dakin) Holley, and of Colonel Joshua and Abigail (Buell) Porter, and a descendant in the seventh generation of John Holly, a pioneer set- tler of Stamford, Connecticut, about 1644. Luther Holley engaged in merchandizing and iron making, and was succeeded in these occupations by his eldest son, John Milton Holley (father of Alexander H. Holley). associated with John C. Coffing. Among the products of this enterprising firm were United States Armory supplies. and anchors for the fleet which was used by the Greeks in their war with Turkey. Colonel Joshua Porter practiced medicine for forty years in Salisbury, served the town as representative in the Assembly for forty sessions and as judge of probate for thirty-seven years, and saw active service as a militia colonel during the Revolutionary War.
Alexander Hamilton Holley obtained his preparatory education at the Rev. O1 ville Dewey's school at Sheffield, Massa- chusetts; at the Rev. Mr. Parker's school at Ellsworth, Connecticut ; at the Hudson (New York) Academy, and intended to enter Yale College, but was prevented by ill health. In 1819 he engaged with his father, senior member of the firm of Hol- ley & Coffing, engaged in the mercantile and iron manufacturing business, and continued with that firm and other com- binations of it until his father's death in 1836. He thereafter continued in local trade, to which he added in 1844 the manufacture of pocket cutlery, transfer- ring to Lakeville a small plant which had
been established elsewhere by workmen from Sheffield, England, and continued it with Nathan W. Merwin as partner, until 1854, when a joint stock company was organized under the name of the Holley Manufacturing Company, with Mr. Hol- ley as president. In 1900 this was the oldest continuously operated concern of its kind in the United States. Mr. Holley held the office of president until his death, and. largely through his enterprise, his practice of producing the best wares pos- sible, and his influence with other manu- facturers, American cutlery came to gain its present unrivaled reputation. He was prominent also in organizing and direct- ing banks, and served as president of the Iron Bank at Salisbury, the National Iron Bank of Falls Village, and of the Salis- bury Savings Society. He was greatly interested in railroads, and was instru- mental in procuring the funds for build- ing the Housatonic railroad; assisted in the extension of the Harlem railroad from Dover to Chatham, New York; and in 1869-71 took an active part in the organ- ization and management of the Connec- ticut Western railroad. He gave much thought and care to the School for Im- beciles, privately established at Lake- ville in 1858, and his last public address, delivered a few months before his death, was made at the dedication of a new building, and his last appearance on a public occasion was at the dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at New Haven, Connecticut. He was liberal in his gifts to the Congregational church he attended, and to religious and benevo- lent societies of many names.
From the time he cast his first vote until the Republican party was formed, he was connected with the Whig party, and was a delegate to the convention that nominated Henry Clay for President in 1844. He was a delegate-at-large to the convention that nominated Abraham Lin-
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coln in 1860. In May, 1854, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut, and in 1857 was elected Governor, serving during that year and the following. In February, 1858, as the State's representa- tive, he attended the unveiling of Craw- ford's statue of Washington, at Rich- mond, Virginia, and at a public banquet given on that occasion made an eloquent speech in which he deprecated any at- tempt to break the Union of the States. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the State militia. He was the author of numerous addresses and contributions to newspapers. He was elected a life member of the New England Historic- Genealogical Society in 1869.
Governor Holley married (first) at Goshen, Connecticut, October 4, 1831, Jane M., daughter of Hon. Erastus and Abigail (Starr) Lyman; who bore him a son, Alexander Lyman Holley. She died in 1832, and he married (second) at Lake- ville, September 10, 1835, Marcia, daugh- ter of Hon. John C. and Maria (Birch) Coffing, who bore him five sons and a daughter. She died in 1854, and he mar- ried (third) at Hartford, November II, 1856, Sarah Coit, daughter of Hon. Thom- as Day, who survived him twelve years. Governor Holley died at Lakeville, Con- necticut, October 2, 1887.
MINOR, William T.,
Lawyer, Jurist, Governor.
William Thomas Minor was born at Stamford, Connecticut, October 3, 1815, son of Simeon Hinman and Catharine (Lockwood) Minor, the latter a native of Greenwich, Connecticut. His first Ameri- can ancestor was Thomas Minor, who left England in 1646, settling with his fellow colonists at Pequot, near Stonington, Connecticut. Governor Minor's father was one of the principal legal practi- tioners of Fairfield county, and when the
village of Stamford obtained its charter (1830) was elected its first warden.
William T. Minor spent his early years in his native village, and was graduated from Yale College in 1834. For a time he was a school teacher. He studied law. was admitted to the bar of Fairfield coun- ty in 1841 and soon gained recognition as an able and conscientious lawyer and a popular debater and orator. His stand- ing with his fellow citizens of Stamford is indicated by his election and reëlec- tions (seven in all) to the Connecticut Legislature. In 1853 and 1854 he was State Senator and in 1855 was nominated for Governor on the American or Know- nothing ticket. There being no election by the people, he was chosen Governor by the Legislature, and at the ensuing gubernatorial election a similar condition was followed by a similar result. When the Civil War broke out, ex-Governor Minor was especially distinguished for his zeal in support of the government and for his kindness to Federal soldiers. In 1864 he became United States Consul- General at Havana, Cuba, by appoint- ment of President Lincoln; but resigned his work at the end of three years. It was his prompt intervention with the Spanish captain-general which secured the detention of the Confederate ram, "Stonewall Jackson," until he could com- inunicate with the nearest United States naval commander. By his further repre- sentations and efforts, however, the vessel was finally surrendered to the Spanish officials before the arrival of the United States naval force. In 1854 he received his first judicial appointment in his elec- tion by the State House of Representa- tives to the judgeship of the Fairfield county court. In 1868 he was appointed a judge of the Connecticut Superior Court, and served as such until 1873 with marked ability. He was then nominated for United States Senator on the Repub-
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lican ticket, and Stamford gave him the largest majority she had ever given any candidate ; but he was less fortunate else- where, and was defeated by William H. Barnum. In 1874 he was nominated to the State Senate from the Twelfth Dis- trict, but was defeated by a fellow citizen, Galen A. Carter. Governor Minor was one of three commissioners appointed by the Legislature in 1879 to meet a similar number from New York, to agree and de- cide upon the boundary line between the two States. Their report was duly ac- cepted by both States.
He was married, at Stamford, in 1849, to Mary C. Leeds, daughter of John W. Leeds; she bore him five children. Judge Minor died at Stamford, Connecticut, October 13, 1889.
LOOMIS, Elias,
Scientist, Author.
Elias Loomis was born in Wilmington, Connecticut, August 7, 1811. His early educational training was by his father, who was an eminent physician. He re- ceived his diploma from Yale College in 1830, and three years later became a tutor in the college. He became greatly inter- ested in astronomical studies, and during this period, in association with Professor Alexander C. Twining, he began the first observations in this country to determine the altitude of shooting stars; and he was untiring in his observations upon the magnetic needle, devoting fourteen months to his investigations.
His first distinction in the field of sci- ence was made in 1835, while still a tutor at Yale. When computing the elements of its orbit from his own observations, he was the first to discover Halley's comet on its return to perihelion in 1838, and from his own data determined its orbit afresh. A year later he studied at Paris under Arago, Biot, Pouillet, and other
distinguished scientists. Until 1844 he was Professor of Mathematics and Na- tural Philosophy in the Ohio Western Reserve College, devoting every spare moment to the study of his favorite pur- suit, and during these years made two hundred and sixty observations of the moon, of the determination of longitude, besides other observations upon partic- ular stars for latitude, and made suf- ficiently extended observations upon five comets to determine their orbits. He also traveled extensively, making obser- vations to determine the dip of the mag- netic needle. From 1844 until 1860 he occupied the chair of natural philosophy in the University of the City of New York, which gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1854, when he was but forty-three years old. He accepted the chair of na- tural philosophy and astronomy at Yale, and devoted his time to original re- searches, which were published in the "American Journal of Science," under the title "Contributions to Meteorology." In 1873 he was made a member of the Na- tional Academy of Sciences. His name was also a distinguished one on the rolls of the different scientific societies of America and Europe. He is widely known by his series of textbooks, embracing the entire scope of scientific subjects, and which became class books in high schools and colleges all over the land. He was also the author of various popular trea- tises on natural philosophy, astronomy and meteorology. Many of his treatises took the form of contributions to the dif- ferent scientific publications of Europe as well as of the United States. Not the least work performed by him was his comparison from 1846 to 1850 of different longitudes by means of the telegraph, also his successful observations determining the velocity of the electric fluid on tele- graph wires.
His works include: "Elements of Al-
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gebra, Designed for Beginners" (1851); "Treatise on Algebra" (1857) ; "Geome- try and Conic Sections" (1857) ; "Trig- onometry and Tables" (1856) ; "Analyti- cal Geometry and the Calculus" (1856) ; "Introduction to Practical Astronomy" (1855), which was recommended by j. H. Nichol as the best work of the kind in the English language; "Recent Prog- ress in Astronomy" (1850), which the "Westminster Review" highly recom- mended; "A Treatise on Arithmetic, Practical and Theoretical" (1857) ; "Trea- tise on Meteorology" (1868) ; and "Ele- ments of Astronomy" (1869). The Rev. J. McClintock commended his text book on mathematics as a model of neatness, precision and practical adaptation to the wants of the student. He contributed many papers to the transactions of the American Philosophical Society, besides occasional articles to the scientific jour- nals of the day. Apart from the qualities to be naturally looked for in one of his high scientific attainments, Professor Loomis possessed such kindly traits of character as to greatly endear him to the students who had the good fortune to come under his instruction. He died in New Haven, Connecticut, August 15, 1889.
ENGLISH, James E., Governor, Senator, Philanthropist.
James Edward English was born in New Haven, Connecticut, March 13, 1812, son of James and Nancy (Griswold) Eng- lish. He was descended from Clement English, who became a resident of Salem, Massachusetts, was married to Mary Waters, of Salem, August 27, 1667, and had a son, Benjamin English, who, in 1700, settled in New Haven, thus found- ing the Connecticut branch of the family. The grandfather of Governor English. Captain Benjamin English, was the owner
of vessels engaged in the West India trade, and during the administration of Thomas Jefferson held a position in the custom house.
Although the son of well-to-do parents, Governor English began at the age of eleven to be self-supporting, and, win- ning his father's reluctant consent, spent two years working on a farm distant about thirty miles from his home. He then returned to his parents and attended school for two years, devoting himself especially to the study of architectural drawing, in which he became singularly proficient. He was then apprenticed to a master carpenter, and during his term of service made plans for several con- spicuous edifices in New Haven. On at- taining his majority in 1833, he engaged in business as a master builder, and was so successful in carrying out contracts for houses on a much more elaborate scale than had hitherto been erected in New Haven, that at the end of two years he had accumulated a fair working capi- tal. With this capital he retired from his trade, and engaged as a lumber dealer. This business he pursued, with frequent losses, throughout the financial depres sion of 1837 and the succeeding years, and augmented his resources by buying and building vessels, shipping clocks to Philadelphia, and engaging in other com- mercial enterprises. These, with his lum- ber business, engaged his attention for over twenty years after which he became interested in the manufacture of clocks. In this he met with such success that the New Haven Clock Company became the largest clock manufactory in the world. In the interests of this business he made several visits to England. He also be- came interested in other manufactures in various States, among them the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company, of which he was president. By these industries he acquired a large fortune, none of which
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was due to speculations, for to these he was always averse.
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