USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50
From the time of William the Con- queror the family has borne arms, and during the succeeding centuries the arms were varied to some extent by different branches of the family. That borne by the Newboroughs, of Othe Francis, in Netherbury, County Dorset, from whom was descended Thomas Newberry, the immigrant ancestor of the American fam- ily, was: Or, three bends azure, within a bordure engrailed gules.
The Newberry genealogy has been traced directly to Torf, Seigneur de Tor- ville, a great Norman feudal baron, who was born A. D. 920. He is supposed to be the grandson of one of the viking chiefs who invaded northern France about 900 and gave the name of Normandy to the country. About 950 he married Er- temberge de Briquebec. He possessed a number of lordships in Normandy. Their son,
(II) Touronde, Sir du Ponteaudemer, was born about 950. He inherited his father's estates and titles. About 980 he married Wevia de Crepon, a younger sister of the Duchess Gunnoree, wife of Richard I., Duke of Normandy. By this marriage Touronde placed himself in a high posi- tion among the nobility, and he was a prominent figure during the reigns of Dukes Richard II., Richard III., and Robert "The Devil" (996-1035). Their son,
(III) Humphrey de Veulles, Sir du Pon- teaudemer, was born about 980, succeeded to his father's titles and estates, and be- came possessed of numerous others. His name appears on many monastic charters. About 1050 he founded and endowed the Abbey Preaux in Ponteaudemer, where he was buried. His son,
(IV) Roger de Beaumont, Sir du Pon- teaudemer, was born about 1010, and suc- ceeded to the family estates and titles in Normandy, his elder brother having died. About 1040 he married Adeline de Meul-
156
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
lant, daughter and sole heiress of Wale- ran, Comte de Meullant, a great feudal nobleman of France. She died in 1081. This marriage greatly increased the wealth and position of Roger de Beau- mont, who became one of the most power- ful feudal noblemen of his age. He fur- nished sixty armed vessels for the fleet of William the Conqueror, and, when the latter left to invade England, Roger de Beaumont was left in charge of the gov- ernment of Normandy. He munificently endowed the Abbey of Preaux, of which later in life he became a monk, and was buried there in 1094. His second son,
(V) Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick, was born about 1045, in the Castle of Newbourg, in Normandy (whence the derivation of his name), and succeeded to his father's estates. From William the Conqueror he received great estates in Warwickshire, England, where he built the famous Warwick Castle. In 1078 the Conqueror appointed him con- stable of Warwickshire; in 1080 he was appointed Baron of the Exchequer of Normandy; about 1090 he was created Earl of Warwick by King William II. About 1090 he married Margaret de Perche, daughter of Geoffrey II. Comte de Perche by Beatrice, his wife, daughter of Hilduin IV. Comte de Montdidier et Roucy. She was living in 1156. Henry de Newburgh died June 20, 1123, and was buried beside his father in the Abbey of Preaux. He and his descendants perma- nently adopted Newburgh as a family name. Their son,
(VI) Robert de Newburgh was born about 1100. He succeeded to his father's estates in Normandy, where he resided. He served as seneschal (an officer of princes and dignitaries who had the superintendence of feasts and domestic ceremonies, and sometimes judicial and military powers) of the Dukedom of
Ponteauxdemer, and received from Henry 1. of England the grant of the manor of Winfreth, in Dorsetshire. He was a benefactor of the Abbey of Bec, in Nor- mandy, where late in life he became a monk. He died August 30, 1159, and was buried in that monastery. His son, (VII) Roger de Newburgh was born about 1135 ; settled in Dorsetshire, England ; inherited his father's estates there. In 1772 he and his wife founded and en- dowed the Cistercian Abbey of Bindon in Dorsetshire, and here they and ten gener- ations of their descendants were buried. He died about 1192. He married, about 1170, Matilda de Glastonia, daughter of Robert and Azilia de Glastonia. Their son,
(VIII) Robert de Newburgh was born about 1175. He inherited his father's estates in Dorsetshire, and also inherited lands from his mother. His son,
(IX) Robert de Newburgh was born about 1200. He inherited the Manor of Winfreth. In 1223 he married Lucy who was living as late as 1270. Their son,
(X) Henry de Newburgh, born about 1223, succeeded to the family estates. In 1276 he was summoned by King Edward I. to serve in the war against Llewellyn, Prince of North Wales. About 1250 he married Matilda - Their son,
(XI) Jonathan de Newburgh was born about 1250. He inherited the ancestral estates. In 1306 he was collector in Dor- setshire of a subsidy for King Edward I. Hle married, about 1280, Margery He died about 1309, and was buried in Bindon Abbey. Their son,
(XII) Sir Robert de Newburgh, Knight, was born about 1280, and succeeded to the family estates. He was one of the Knights taken prisoner in 1322 at the battle of Boroughbridge in a rebellion under the Earl of Lancaster against King
I57
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Edward II. On account of this his estates were forfeited to the crown, but he se- cured a pardon and restoration of his lands upon payment of a fine of £100 (equivalent to $10,000 to-day) taking an oath of allegiance to the King, and bind- ing himself to serve in the King's wars. In 1325 he served in an expedition into Gascony. He married, about 1315, Mar- garet - He died in 1338. Their son,
(XIII) Sir Thomas Newburgh, Knight, was born about 1315. In this generation the "de" finally disappeared in records of the family name. He possessed the fam- ily estates. He married, about 1337, Ha- wisa - -, who died in November, 1381. He died about 1365. Their son,
(XIV) John Newburgh, Esq., born about 1340, inherited his father's estates. He married, about 1370, Margaret, daugh- ter and co-heiress of Sir Nicholas Payntz, Knight, and his wife, Aleanore, daughter of Sir Jonathan Exleigh, Knight. This marriage greatly enlarged the estates of the Newburgh family. John Newburgh died June 4, 1381, and was buried at Bin- don Abbey. Their son,
(XV) Jonathan Newburgh, Esq., was born about 1370. In 1420 he was sheriff of Dorsetshire. On February 24, 1438-39, he was appointed a commissioners for an inquisition in Dorsetshire; this is the latest date recorded in connection with him. Prior to 1400 he married Joane, daughter of Sir John Delamere, Knight. Their son,
(XVI) John Newburgh, Esq., was born about 1400. On July 26, 1444, he was appointed a justice for Dorset, and held that office for forty years, until his death. During the "Wars of the Roses" he was an adherent of the House of Lancaster, and after their final overthrow at the battle of Tewkesbury, May 4, 1471, politi- cal pardons being issued to the Lancas-
trians on September 1, 1471, a general pardon was granted to John Newburgh, the elder, of East Lullworth, County Dor- set, Esq., for all offenses committed be- fore August 5, 1471. He married, about 1435, for his second wife, Mrs. Alice (Carent) Westbury, daughter of William Carent, of Toomer county, Somerset. She brought to her husband the Manor of Berkley, etc., County Somerset. John Newburgh died April 1, 1484. Their youngest son,
(XVII) Thomas Newborough or New- burgh, Esq., was born about 1445. In 1484 he was an overseer of the will of his father. He inherited from his mother the Manor of Berkley, and he also held the Manor of Warmwell and other estates in County Dorset. He married, about 1584, Alice -, who married (second) Thomas Kynton, and died in 1525. Thom- as Newborough died March 15, 1512-13. Their second son,
(XVIII) Walter Newborough or New- burgh, Gent., was born about 1487. By deeds of gift from his father, his elder brother Jonathan, and his cousin, Sir Roger Newborough, he became the owner of more than seven hundred acres of land in Dorsetshire, and founded a new minor branch of the family seated at the manor house of Othe Francis, or Worth Francis, in the parish of Netherbury, which con- tinued there about two centuries. He married, about 1512, Elizabeth Birport. Their son,
(XIX) Richard Newberowe or New- burgh, Gent., the only heir of his father, was born in 1517. He married, about 1552, Elizabeth, daughter of William Horsey, Gent., of Binghams, a manor in the Parish of Netherbury. Their son,
(XX) Richard Newberge, Newberowe or Newburgh, Gent., was born about 1557. He was a legatee and infant executor of the will of his father, dated December 3,
158
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1568. Being a younger son he inherited 10 lands, nor did he secure much estate by his marriage to a distant kinswoman who was heiress to a small landed estate in Yarcombe. County Devon, about twelve miles west of Netherbury. There he resided during the remainder of his life. He married, January 15, 1580-81, Grace, daughter of Jonathan Matthew and granddaughter of Stephen and Isabel (Newburgh) Matthew. She was baptized at Yarcombe, November 21, 1558, and was buried there, December 18, 1632. Their fourth son,
(XXI) Thomas Newberry, Gent., was baptized November 10, 1594, and was the immigrant ancestor of the American fam- ily. He engaged in legal study during several terms of the Court of Chancery. He occupied an estate called "Coweleyes," in Marshwood, County Dorset, the lease of which for ninety-nine years from 1625 was held by his father-in-law, Christopher Dabinatt. In early manhood he espoused the Puritan faith. He was one of the "Dorchester Adventurers" who sailed from Plymouth, England, in March, 1630, in the ship "Mary and John," and founded Dorchester, Massachusetts. The first record of Thomas Newberry in Massa- chusetts is as a grantee of lands in Dor- chester, September 1, 1634. He pur- chased for a dwelling a house built by William Pyncheon. He also acquired a farm of about four hundred acres south of the Neponset river, in what is now Atlantic. He was admitted a freeman, September 3, 1634, and was therefore a member of the church at that time. He immediately became prominent in public affairs, being chosen first selectman, Oc- tober 28, 1634; on March 4, 1634-35, he was deputy to the General Court; on May 6, 16-, he was "chosen overseer of the worke att Castle Ileland." This work doubtless concerned fortifications
there. He was one of the active leaders in the project of settling Windsor, Con- necticut, but died suddenly, probably in December, 1635, before he had completed arrangements to remove thither. He was one of that limited number invariably termed "Mr.," bespeaking superior edu- cation, wealth and social position. The inventory of his estate would indicate that he had intended to engage in busi- ness as a merchant as well as in farming. The estate was appraised at more than £7,500. He married (first) Joane Dabinatt, born about 1600, died in England, about 1629. leaving three sons and two daugh- ters. He married (second) about 1630 Jane -, by whom he had three daughters. Shortly after his death she removed with the children to Windsor, Connecticut, where she married, in 1637, the Rev. Jonathan Warham. She died at Norwalk, April 23, 1655. According to Stiles, she died April 23, 1645.
(XXII) Major Benjamin Newberry, son of Thomas Newberry and his first wife, Joane (Dabinatt) Newberry, was born in England, about 1624. On Octo- ber 10, 1640, he received a grant of a home lot of thirteen acres and other lands from the Plantation of Windsor. Later by other grants, purchases and in- heritance, he became a large landowner. He was very prominent in town affairs, serving as townsman from 1656 to 1661, inclusive, and again in 1671-72. He was a lister in 1663 and 1687; from May, 1656, to October, 1684, inclusive, was deputy to the General Court. In May, 1685, he was elected an assistant of the colony, continuing in that office (except during the Andros usurpation of October, 1687, to May, 1689,) until his death, Sep- tember 11. 1689. From May, 1669, to May, 1684, he was annually appointed a commissioner for Windsor, and during his long career served on many important
159
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
committees. He was equally active in military affairs, serving as ensign in 1655, lieutenant in 1658; was commissioned captain of the Windsor military company, June 7, 1660, and continued until Septem- ber 3, 1689, when he was promoted to be major of the Hartford county regiment of militia. In 1666, 1672 and 1673 he served on a council of war appointed by the General Court to have charge of mili- tary matters in the Connecticut Colony, and he served on this body until the spring of 1677. During King Philip's War he performed active service, being appointed on May 20, 1676, commander of a force of eighty men raised in Hart- ford and vicinity, and which marched to Northampton, Massachusetts. He died at Windsor, September 11, 1689, and his estate was inventoried at £563 18s. He married, June 11, 1646, Mary, daughter of Hon. Matthew and Margaret Wyatt, of Braunton, County Devon, England, and later of Windsor, Connecticut. She was born about 1628, and died December 14, 1703. Her father was a prominent and wealthy planter, and for ten years was a deputy to the General Court of Connec- ticut. He was a magistrate or assistant of the colony for ten years, and from 1660 to 1664 a commissioner of the rented colo- nies of New England. Mrs. Newberry joined the church at Windsor on April I, 1655, and her husband joined April II, 1658. Their son,
(XXIII) Thomas Newberry was born in Windsor, Connecticut, September I, 1657. He engaged in farming until his death, April 30, 1688. He was chosen fence viewer, February 4. 1684-85, and was a member of a committee in Janu- ary, 1685-86, to determine the boundary line between Hartford and Windsor. On March 12, 1676-77, he married Anna Ford, and after his death she married Joseph Leonard, and died at Springfield, Massa- chusetts, January 6, 1690-91. Their son,
(XXIV) Sergeant Joseph Newberry was born at what is now South Windsor, October 24, 1684. He was left an orphan at the age of seven. He received the homestead by inheritance from his father and his brother Benjamin. He was ad- mitted a freeman, April 30, 1717; was chosen fence viewer in 1718; was sur- veyor of highways in 1731-32; in No- vember, 1735, was appointed one of the four sergeants of the South Company of Windsor, on the east side of the Con- necticut river. He married, March 2, 1708-09, Sarah, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Graves) Loomis. She was born September 13, 1689, and was buried at Windsor, July 31, 1771. Jonathan Loomis was born at Windsor, Connecticut, March 30, 1664, married, December 27, 1688, Sarah Graves, who died July 17, 1699, daughter of Marshall George Graves and his wife Elizabeth, who was probably a Mitchell. He resided in Hartford, 1685- 94, and died October 23, 1707, at Wind- sor. He was a son of Nathaniel Loomis, born about 1626, aforementioned. Ser- geant Newberry died August 30, 1751. Their son,
(XXV) Joseph Newberry was born in what is now South Windsor, January II, 1709-10. He was a farmer, and succeeded to half of his father's real estate in Wind- sor, Barkhamsted and Torrington. He was a member of Captain Ebenezer Grant's company which was sent on a scouting expedition on the frontiers, De- cember 19, 1745. He was fence viewer, 1740-43; surveyor of highways, 1744: tithingman, 1745 and 1765; lister, 1746- 47, and brander of animals, 1748-73. He died January 28, 1797. He married, July 6, 1749, Sybil Stoughton, born June 9, 1730, died May 5, 1794, daughter of Ser- geant William and Elizabeth (Strick- land) Stoughton. Sergeant William Stoughton was born March 10, 1685-86, and died May 18, 1750. He married, July
160
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
6, 1710, for his first wife, Elizabeth Strick- land. His father, John Stoughton, was born June 20, 1657. He settled on the quarry in what is now East Windsor. He was a leading man there. He served as selectman, and it is to his family papers that we owe much of the information con- cerning the earliest days at East Wind- sor. He married, August 24, 1682, Eliza- beth, daughter of Thomas and Abigail (Moore) Bissell. She died July 17, 1688. His estate inventoried and distributed May 4, 1713, amounted to £271 25 9d. His father, (Ancient, or Ensign) Thomas Stoughton, was born in England, came to Dorchester, 1630-33, and to Windsor in 1640 with his father. He was a man of property and social distinction. He built the "Old Stoughton House" at "Stone Fort." He married, November 30, 1665, Mary, daughter of William Wadsworth. His father, Thomas Stoughton, Sr., came from England to Dorchester in 1630-33, and thence to Windsor about 1640, where he received a grant of land which he deeded to his son Thomas, July 17, 1645. He married for his first wife a Miss Moul- peson, who died in England. The Stough- ton family is an ancient one in England, the name dating back to 1135. Their son,
(XXVI) John Newberry was born in what is now South Windsor, Connec- ticut, August 6, 1756. He inherited part of the homestead. During the Revolu- tionary War he served in the regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Can- field, which was stationed at West Point, New York, in September, 1781. He had previously served in the garrison at New London Tower, his service extending from September 14 to October 24, 1778. He was a farmer. He married, February 5. 1784, Elizabeth Ellsworth, born Janu- ary 16, 1765, daughter of Solomon and Mary (Moseley) Ellsworth. He died on
the homestead, April 23, 1825, and his wife died March 13, 1816, "a very valu- able and useful woman," according to her pastor, Rev. Dr. Thomas Robbins. Solo- mon Ellsworth was born in Windsor, Connecticut, April 30, 1737. He married, December 27, 1758, Mary, daughter of Abner Moseley, of Glastonbury. She was born December 8, 1737 (another record, perhaps of baptism, says January II, 1738), and died February 16, 1823. He died October 19, 1822. His father, Cap- tain John Ellsworth, was born November 7, 1697. He married, May (November) 8, 1734, Ann Edwards, born April 28, 1699, died April II, 1790, daughter of the Rev. Timothy Edwards, of East Windsor. Tradition says that he served in the In- dian wars. He died January 4, 1784. She was a sister of the Rev. Jonathan Ed- wards. The Rev. Timothy Edwards was born May 14, 1669, was graduated from Yale, ordained as first pastor of the Sec- ond Church of Windsor in 1699, married, November 6, 1694, Esther, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Stoddard, of Northamp- ton, Massachusetts, by his first wife, Hester (or Esther), daughter of the Rev. Jonathan Warham, the first minister at Windsor. He married for his second wife Jane, widow of Thomas Newberry, who died at Norwalk, Connecticut, April 23, 1645, as already noted in this sketch. Rev. John Warham died April 1, 1670, having been forty years a minister in New Eng- land, six at Dorchester and thirty-four at Windsor. Cotton Mather wrote: "The whole colony of Connecticut considered him as a principal pillar and father of the colony." During the early years of the colony his name appears in connection with many real estate transactions, and he died possessed of a large estate. Rich- ard Edwards, father of the Rev. Timothy Edwards, was born in May, 1647, mar- ried, in 1667, for his first wife, Elizabeth,
Conn-2-11
I61
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
daughter of William Tuthill, of New Haven. His father, William Edwards, was a resident of Hartford about 1645. He married Agnes, widow of William Spencer, about 1646. He died before 1672. Lieutenant John Ellsworth, father of Captain Jonathan Ellsworth, was born October 7, 1671. He was the first settler in Ellington, Connecticut, settled on the west side of Town street, nearly opposite the old Ellsworth place. He was killed by the fall of a tree, October 26, 1720. He married, December 9, 1696, Esther, daughter of Daniel White, of Hartford. She was born in 1671, and died Septem- ber 7, 1766. His father, Sergeant Josias Ellsworth, was born in 1629. Hininan says he was in Connecticut in 1646, but his name first appears on record in con- nection with his marriage, November 16, 1654, to Elizabeth Holcomb. He was made a freeman, May 21, 1657 ; was juror in 1664. In 1676 he contributed three shillings to the "Connecticut Relief Fund for the Poor of Other Colonies." He died August 20, 1689. His estate was valued at £655. His widow died September IS, 1712. The name Ellsworth is derived from that of a small village a few miles from Cambridge, England. This village is situated on a rivulet, once remarkable for eels. Hence, as the Saxon word "worth" signified place, the village was originally called Eelsworth, but after- wards Ellsworth, and as the custom for- merly was for the first settler in a new place to take the name of the settlement, we have, in that circumstance, the origin of the family name.
(XXVII) Joseph Moseley Newberry, son of John and Elizabeth (Ellsworth) Newberry, was born in what is now South Windsor, December 12, 1804, in the old family homestead which he in- herited. This house, built about 1785, is still in the possession of the family and
is in a good state of preservation. He was a man of good abilities, a substantial and successful farmer. He held numer- ous town offices. In 1856 and 1866 he represented South Windsor in the State Legislature. He died March 8, 1870. He married, November 26, 1826, Jane Eliza- beth Mills. born in what is now South Windsor, October 15, 1805, died May 10, 1886. daughter of Augustus and Anna (Barber) Mills. Augustus Mills was bap- tized February 20, 1763, died June II, 1850. He married Anna, daughter of Moses Barber, of Windsor, October 15, 1783: she died December 15, 1815. His father, Captain Roswell Mills, of East Windsor, married Elizabeth ("Porter Genealogy" gives her name as Eleanor) Mills, born 1739, daughter of Nathaniel and Eleanor (Dodd) Porter. Nathaniel Porter was born January 14, 1709; mar- ried, August 3, 1738, Eleanor (Elizabeth) Dodd, born December 1, 1712. His father, Joseph Porter, was born Febru- ary 7, 1675. He lived and died in Hart- ford. He married, December 5, 1699, Hannah Buell, born May 4, 1674, died 1761. His father, John Porter, born in England, in 1620, died in Windsor, Con- necticut, August 2, 1688. He married, in 1650, Mary Stanley, born in England, died September 13, 1688, daughter of Thomas Stanley, who came from England in the ship "Planter" in 1635; removed to Hart- ford with the Rev. Thomas Hooker's company in 1636; removed later to Had- ley, Massachusetts. His father, Jonathan Porter, according to the records in Eng- land, was in the sixteenth generation from William de la Grande, a Norman knight who participated in the Conquest in 1066, and who acquired lands in War- wickshire. His son, Ralph (or Roger) became "Grand Porteur" to Henry I., from which the patronymic "Porter" was derived. Jonathan Porter's name first
162
THE
PU
/
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
appears on the Windsor records in 1639. He was a man of considerable substance for that period. His wife Rose died in July, 1647. He died April 22, 1648.
Mary Ann Newberry, daughter of Jo- seph M. Newberry, married Elisha Wil- liams (see Williams VII).
CLARK, William Braddock,
President of Aetna Fire Insurance Com- pany.
Ira Remsen in his life of a noted physi- cist says, "some men are interesting be- cause of their ancestors, while some an- cestors are interesting because of their descendants " This in Mr. Clark's in- stance would seem to work both ways, for while he comes of an old and dis- tinguished family, each succeeding gener- ation has added fresh lustre to the name, ancestors and descendants being in their achievement interesting and honorable. The career of William B. Clark, of Hart- ford, chief executive of the leading fire insurance company in America, is one of exceeding interest and in tracing his rise from office clerk to president the lesson is borne home most forcibly that hard work, with natural aptitude and ability to faith- fully apply energy to the task in hand, will win to high position. He entered the office of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Com- pany in 1857, and it would be interesting to know how many other boys entered that company's employ in that year who are now unheard of. He had no influ- ential friends to push him forward, but so faithfully did he apply himself to the task in hand and so thoroughly did he go out after and master the details of the business, that in six years he had so im- pressed his value upon his superiors in rank that he was elected secretary of the company being then but twenty-two years of age.
Biographies of successful men are valu- able for the lessons they teach to the young, and the lesson the life of Mr Clark teaches is the value of being in earnest, of putting the whole heart into the task in hand, and filling each position, no matter how humble, so efficiently that the call to "come up higher" cannot be long delayed. From the pinnacle of busi- ness success his example gives this word to American youth, be in earnest and bend every energy to the accomplishment of a purpose.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.