USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 46
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the Board of Assessors in 1648, and also served as tax collector and as constable. He was made freeman, May 23, 1666. He died June 30, 1667, aged sixty-three years. His estate was inventoried at £886 1Is 6d. showing him to be unusually well off for his time, a man of industry, thrifty and prudent. His widow Margaret married, for her second husband. a Mr. Burge, and she was buried in Roxbury, July 3, 1686. (11) Benjamin Hastings, the fifth son of Deacon Thomas and Margaret ( Cheney ) Hastings, was born August 9, 1659, and died December 18, 1711. He resided in Hatfield, Northampton and Deerfield. He married ( second) about 1697. Mary Clark, widow of Jonathan Parsons, of North- ampton.
(III) Rev. Joseph Hastings, seventh child of Benjamin and Mary Clark ( Par- sons) Hastings, was born December 27, 1703. He was the founder of the family in Suffield, and was an elder or exhorter in the "Separate" or "New Light" move- ment in 1750. He was the organizer of the First Baptist Church of Suffield, in 1769, and was ordained its first pastor, April 18, 1750. He died there, November 4. 1785. He married for his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Experi- ence (Gibbs) Huxley.
(IV) Rev. John Hastings, sixth child of Rev. Joseph Hastings, was born Octo- ber 16, 1742. He was ordained in 1775. and succeeded his father as pastor of the Baptist church. He was remarkably suc- cessful as a preacher of the Gospel, and it is said baptized eleven hundred persons during his ministry. Trumbull says: "He was one of the most eminent ministers of the Baptist faith. Few men have lived whose influence has been more potent in shaping the religious, social and political character of the town. Nine churches were formed by colonies from this." He died March 17, 1811. He married, February
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27, 1764, Rachel, born December 8, 1742, died November 3, 1827, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Winchell) Remington. Sarah Winchell was born December 1, 1701 ; married, January 7, 1730, Daniel Reming- ton. Her father, Joseph Winchell, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, September 13, 1670; married, January 2, 1700, Sarah Taylor, of Suffield. He died there, March II, 1743. Joseph Winchell succeeded his father as land measurer and served as pro- prietor's (or town) clerk for thirty-two years. His father, David Winchell, was baptized at Windsor, Connecticut, Octo- ber 22, 1643; married (first) November 17, 1669, Elizabeth, born March 4, 1650, daughter of William Tilley. David Win- chell removed to Suffield after King Philip's War and became a prominent citi- zen, serving as selectman and surveyor for twenty-five years. He surveyed and laid out about nine thousand acres, includ- ing the Second Division. His father, Robert Winchell, founder of the family in America, was born in South of England, probably of Anglo-Saxon descent. He was a resident of Dorchester, Massachu- setts, as early as 1634, and removed to Windsor, Connecticut, about 1635. He died January 21, 1669. His wife died July IO, 1655. On January 4, 1635, he was al- lotted sixteen acres of land between Rox- bury and Dorchester, Massachusetts, and was made freeman, May 6, 1635. In De- cember, 1640, he received a grant of land in Windsor, Connecticut.
(V) Samuel Hastings, third child of Rev. John and Rachel (Remington) Hast- ings, was born August 10, 1770, and died June I, 1825. He married, April 4, 1792. Lois Burt, born in Granville, in 1771, died April 6, 1855, daughter of Asa Burt. The latter was born in Granville, June 3, 1737, was killed January 28, 1774, by the falling of a tree. He married Ruth Hubbard. His father, James Burt, was born October
7, 1703, married (first) Mercy Sexton (in- tentions published November 6, 1725). She died June 22, 1746. He removed to Granville or Sandisfield, Massachusetts. In 1748 his name appears in the muster roll of a company as from Ashuelot, New Hampshire, serving against the Indians. His father, Deacon Henry Burt, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, December II, 1663, died December II, 1748; mar- ried, January 16, 1688, Elizabeth Warri- ner, born August 1, 1670, and died No- vember 19, 1711, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Baldwin) Warriner. In 1698. Henry Burt served against the Indians. He was deacon of the church for many years. His father, Deacon Jonathan Burt, was probably born in England. He died in Springfield, Massachusetts, October 19, 1715; married, October 20, 1651, Eliza- beth Lobdel, of Boston, who died Novem- ber II, 1684. He was deacon of the church in Springfield ; was town clerk for twenty- five years or more. His record of the de- struction of Springfield by the Indians in 1675 is the only one in existence. He was chosen selectman, November 3, 1657, and also served the following year. He was a prominent man in the community. His father, Henry Burt, the founder of the family in America, was born in England. There he married Ulalia -. His name first appears in this country in No- vember, 1639, when the General Court granted the town of Roxbury £8 to cover the loss of his house by fire. About 1638 he removed to Springfield, Massachusetts. There he served as clerk of the band and clerk of the writs; also as selectman and surveyor. He was one of the lay ex- horters who conducted meetings when the Springfield church was without a min- ister. He died April 30, 1662. His widow died August 19, 1690.
(VI) James Hastings, second child of Samuel and Lois (Burt) Hastings, was
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born June 2, 1796, and died October 23, 1825. He married, March 19, 1818, Ursula Austin, born March 12, 1796, in Goshen, Connecticut, died February 1, 1868, daugh- ter of Joseph and Sarah (Goodwin) Aus- tin. Joseph Austin was born November 3, 1753, son of James and Abigail (Allen) Austin. He was a farmer in his native town of Suffield, Connecticut, where he died May 23, 1823. He married Sarah Goodwin, who died May 30, 1825. She was a direct descendant of Ozias Good- win, as follows: Ozias Goodwin, the emi- grant ancestor of the family, details con- cerning whom will be found elsewhere in this work, was born in 1596; married, in England, Mary Woodward; was one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut, and died in 1683. His son, William Good- win, born about 1629, died October 15, 1689. His son, Nathaniel Goodwin, mar- ried Mehetable Porter. She died Febru- ary 6, 1726. He died in November, 1747. His son, Stephen Goodwin, was baptized August 24, 1701, died December 5, 1785 ; married, June 27, 1727, Sarah, daughter of Joseph Gillet. She died October 24. 1792, aged eighty-eight. His son, Stephen Goodwin, was born in Simsbury, Connec- ticut, September 16, 1734, died in Bloom- field, July 30, 1788; married, April 16, 1752, Abigail Gillet, who married (sec- ond) John Ensign, and died in October, 1797. They were the parents of Sarah Goodwin, who married Joseph Austin. Stephen Goodwin was a farmer and also kept a tavern for several years. He repre- sented Goshen in the General Assembly in October, 1771, and in May, 1773. He was captain of a company under Colonel Fisher Gay, raised in June, 1776. to rein- force General Washington at New York. Served in the battle of Long Island, Au- gust 27, in the retreat to New York City, August 29 and 30, and in the retreat to Harlem, September 15, his term of serv- ice expiring December 25, 1776.
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(VII) James Goodwin Hastings, the third child of James and Ursula (Austin) Hastings, was born December 16, 1822. He was a farmer and carpenter. He tried to enlist in the Civil War but was barred on account of stiff fingers. He was deacon in the church (Baptist) for many years, was also leader of the choir. He married, March 6, 1850, Mary Ann, born December 9. 1828, daughter of Charles Wesley and Lucy (Coats) Carter. He and his wife were the parents of six children : Louise, married James Rising, of Suffield; Ste- phen Goodwin, of National City, Califor- nia : James Eugene, mentioned further ; Jessie, married Ralph Granger, of San Diego, California : Elbridge Gary, of Suf- field ; Medora.
(VIII) James Eugene Hastings, presi- dent of the Suffield-Berlin Trap Rock Company, was born in Suffield, Connec- ticut, March 19, 1854, son of James Good- win and Mary Ann (Carter) Hastings. Mr. Hastings numbers among his ances- tors many pioneers whose names hold a prominent place in Colonial history. among which may be mentioned, besides the founder of the Hastings family, Wil- liam Cheney, Robert Winchell, Henry Burt. Ozias Goodwin, and others, such as Hubbard, Remington, Baldwin, Warri- ner, Coats and Carter. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and has always lived on the family home- stead which has been in the possession of the family since Stephen G. Austin took it up. Mr. Hastings carries on tobacco raising on a large scale, in the culture of which he is very much interested. In 1913 the present company, the Suffield- Berlin Trap Rock Company. was incorpo- rated. with Mr. Hastings as vice-presi- dent. In 1915 he was elected to the office of president, which position he has ably filled ever since. This concern is one of the most extensive operators in trap rock in the country, their product being sold
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largely in Southern New England and Eastern New York State. They employ about seventy-five people and carry on a very successful business. Mr. Hastings is a Republican in political affiliations. In 1904 he was elected to the State Legisla- ture, where he served on the committee on rules, his term giving eminent satisfac- tion to his constituents. He served his fellow townsmen in the office of selectman for ten years, his term expiring in 1914. He is a member of the Farmers' Club of Suffield, of which he has been treasurer. He is a member of the Baptist church.
Mr. Hastings married Martha A., daugh- ter of David Rising, of Suffield, and they are the parents of three children: Mabel, born November 8, 1880; Howard E., born August 21, 1883 ; David Rising, born April 2, 1893.
The Coats family, of which Mr. Hast- ings' mother was a member, is one of longstanding and prominence in this country ; the original ancestor of the name of Coates was an admiral in the English navy. On coming to this coun- try he received a grant of land which in- cluded a tract along the Kennebec river taking in Kennebec Falls. This deed, which bore the endorsement of King George III. of England was afterward lost. Mr. Hastings, by reason of his his- toric lineage, is entitled to membership in all the patriotic Colonial and Revolution- ary societies, in which membership is based on military records or colonial resi- dence. His forebears have distinguished themselves as founders of towns, and vali- ant fighters on the field of battle; also serving in times of peace as worthy pub- lic officials. They have won distinction in the ministry, and have been successful and upright as enterprising business men, always contributing their share in the ma- terial upbuilding of the communities wherein they have resided.
Mr. Hastings' personal record has been one well in keeping with the honorable family of which he is a present day repre- sentative, and yet in the prime of life there is still promise of greater fulfillment in the future.
CURTIN, Jeremiah J.,
Clergyman.
It is the peculiar privilege of the Catho- lic church to speak most nearly to those great masses of people that we roughly class as "the poor," and its strength that it speaks to them in a language they understand and love. It does not lack authority for stating as one of the proofs of the truth of its mission that "the poor have the gospel preached to them." This alliance, the strongest of earthly unions, because it bears in it something of the divine, the alliance between the church and the democracy, is further manifested in the fact that, not alone are its congre- gations made up so largely of the poor, but that its priests and ministers are also drawn in such proportions from the hum- ble and simple classes of society, and especially from the simple rural class. There is no country which contributes more largely to this high ministry and from this class in its population than Ire- land, whose people generally have been foremost in their faithfulness and loyalty to the religion of their fathers.
An excellent example of the self-sacri- ficing devotion exhibited by those who have entered the priesthood from this source is to be found in the career of the Rev. Father Jeremiah J. Curtin, pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Waterbury, Connecticut. Father Curtin, although born in the United States, is of Irish descent on both sides of the house, his father having been the immigrant on the paternal side and his grandfather on
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J.D. Curtin.
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the maternal. His paternal grandfather, who likewise bore the name of Jeremiah Curtin, was a farmer in Limerick county, Ireland, during the first part of the nine- teenth century, where he was highly re- spected for his good character and charit- ableness. Born in 1801, he only lived fifty-six years, but was a hard worker all his life and reared a family of fine chil- dren. Six of them were born to him and his wife, who was before her marriage Mary Maloney, of the same county, three sons and three daughters, as follows : Dennis, Jeremiah, John, Mary, Johanna and Bridget. These children were all of an enterprising nature and all left their home and came to the United States and settled in New Britain, Connecticut, where they all lived and died. The youngest son, John, was the father of Father Cur- tin, and like the other members of the family was born in County Limerick, whence he came to this country on July 4, 1849. He made this journey in com- pany with his brother Jeremiah, and to- gether the two young men went to New Britain and settled there. With the ex- ception of Father Curtin, the whole family for two generations has been entirely identified with that city. John Curtin worked in several of the large industrial concerns in and about New Britain and finally secured the position of foreman in the works of the Corbin Manufacturing Company, and continued in that capacity until the time of his death, August 21, 1904. He was married there to Ellen Murphy, a native of Ireland, born in the town of Mallow, County Cork. On June 15, 1855, she had come to this country alone and was afterwards followed by her father, James Murphy, of Mallow. County Cork. Her mother was a Miss Bowman, of Cork. To Mr. and Mrs. Curtin were born ten children as follows: Mary J., now Mrs. James E. Murphy ; John M.,
deceased, and James M., who were twins, the latter is now the president of the Com- mercial Trust Company of New Britain and one of the most prominent financiers of the city : Thomas J., foreman of the Corbin Serew Works; Jeremiah J., with whose life this sketch is chiefly concerned ; Dennis J., who was a practicing physician in Wallingford, Connecticut. until his death there, July 28, 1800; Catherine A1, the wife of P. Rynn, of New Britain; William ; Ellen, the wife of Franklin R Kent, of New Britain; and Peter. With the exception of Father Curtin, all the children now alive are residents of New Britain.
Father Curtin was born April 1. 1850. in New Britain, Connecticut, and there passed the years of his childhood. attend- ing the local public schools for the pre- liminary portion of his education. At a very early age he showed a deeply re- ligious trend, which was not, however, wholly developed until he had reached young manhood and had gone to college After completing his preparatory studies in St. Mary's School, New Britain, he left home and entered Holy Cross College at Worcester, Massachusetts, and it was here that he first irrevocably made up his mind to become a priest. Ile graduated from this institution in 1877. and then spent three additional years in studies to fit him for his high office at Grand Seminary. Montreal, Canada. On December 18. 1880, he was ordained to the priesthood by Monsigneur Fabre, Bishop of Mon- treal, and immediately afterwards was as- signed to duty as assistant in St. Mary's parish in East Hartford. His duties there began on January 1. 1881, and he re- mained in that place for nearly two years. On November 25. 1882, he was trans- ferred to St. Bernard's parish at Rock- ville, Connecticut, in the same capacity. For nearly ten years he remained there,
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and there it was that he first displayed his ability to take charge of all sides of the parish work as well as his marked talent for organizing. Accordingly, on Febru- ary 2, 1892, he was given charge of his first pastorate, that of St. Francis Xavier at New Milford, and on December 3, 1895, was placed in his present post at the head of the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Waterbury. Since Father Curtin has had charge of this parish a wonderful develop- ment has taken place therein. At the be- ginning of the period its affairs were con- siderably run down and a generally lax condition obtained. In the years of his pastorate, however, much has taken place to advance the parish generally. The number of people who are members there- of has increased about fifteen hundred, from twenty-eight hundred to forty-three hundred, and there has been a correspond- ing increase in other points. The parish is now one of the important ones in the city and there is a marked activity on the part of all the members in the line of re- ligious work. Won by the truly demo- cratic personality of Father Curtin and his camaraderie, the young men of the parish are taking a greater interest in the church and its affairs, and the whole tone of the neighborhood has improved through his efforts. The service he has rendered the community generally is an in- valuable one and is deeply appreciated there.
WEIDNER, Calvin, M. D., Physician.
After a course of most thorough prepa- ration in institutions at home and abroad and with the experience of several years of general practice, Dr. Weidner located in Hartford, Connecticut, as an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist. The years that have since passed have firmly established
him in public favor, and he has gained well deserved reputation as being most skillful and successful in the treatment of those baffling diseases. Dr. Weidner springs from Pennsylvania ancestors, his father and mother both born in Lehigh county, that State. He is a son of Joseph S. and Sarah A. (Rothenberger) Weidner, she a daughter of George Rothenberger, of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. Joseph S. Weidner learned the carpenter's trade in his native Lehigh county, married, and went west, settling in Indiana. There he became head of an important contracting and building business, which he conducted until retired by the weight of years. He also became quite skillful in architecture, designing and drawing the plans for many of the buildings he erected. Clinton coun- ty, Indiana, was long the scene of his operations, and he is now living a retired life at Mulberry. For several years he was township trustee, for many years he has been an elder of the German Lutheran church, and is highly esteemed for his honorable, upright life. He married Sarah A. Rothenberger, also a member of the German Lutheran church, and his true helpmeet. They were the parents of five sons and a daughter: Albert; Charles; Calvin, of further mention ; Emma, Oscar, and Madison.
Calvin Weidner, twin with Charles Weid- ner. was born in Dayton, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, September 6, 1867, and there spent his boyhood. After gradua- tion from high school he taught school, then entered Central Normal College, whence he was graduated, class of 1889. Deciding upon the profession of medicine, he entered the medical department of Transylvania University at Louisville, Kentucky, receiving his M. D., class of 1892. He then spent a year in post-gradu- ate work in the medical department of the University of Indiana, 1893, going
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thence to Fort Wayne as assistant sur- geon to Dr. H. D. Wood, chief surgeon of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. He remained in Fort Wayne in that relation for three years, coming to New England in 1896, locating in West- ford, Massachusetts, where for a time he took charge of the practice of Dr. W. J. Sleeper. He was next in general practice in Manchester, Connecticut, and later spent a year at the University of Vienna under and assistant to Professor Gustav Alexander, an eminent authority on dis- eases of the ear, nose and throat, and was also a co-worker with Dr. H. Koscher and other specialists of note.
After his return from Europe, Dr. Weidner attended the Vanderbilt Clinic at Bellevue Hospital, New York City. clinics at the Polyclinic Hospital, and spent six months at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. In the fall of 1909. he located in Hartford, Connecticut, and has practiced as an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist with great success until the present (1917). He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Con- necticut State Medical Society, the Hart- ford County and Hartford City Medicai societies ; keeps in closest touch with all advance in medical science and holds the unvarying respect of his contemporaries of the profession. In Mulberry. Indiana. he became a member of Imperial Lodge. No. 240, Knights of Pythias ; in Manches- ter, Connecticut, he passed all chairs of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. is a member of the Heptasophs, the Mac- cabees, the Get-to-Gether and Automobile clubs of Hartford.
Dr. Weidner married Edith May, daugh- of William Foulds, of Manchester, Con- necticut. Both Dr. and Mrs. Weidner are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
MITCHELL, Amos Pierce,
Business Man.
The Mitchell family is one of the oldest in New England. The origin of the name is not clear. Lower says: "The Anglo- Saxon mycel, great. or mickle, would be a tolerably satisfactory etymon, and this may in some instances be the origin of the surname, but I think in most cases it is derived from Michael, a very popular baptismal name in many countries, through its French form. Michel " Mr. Somerby, the London genealogist, says: "The Mitchells were a family of good stand- ing, and their arms, 'sable, a chevron be- tween three escallops argent,' are painted on the roof of the chancel of Halifax Church." The branch of the family repre- sented in the present generation by Amos P. Mitchell, of Hartford. is said to have originated in Scotland whence the grand- father or great-grandfather of Matthew Mitchell. the American immigrant. re moved to Halifax in Yorkshire, England (1) "Mr." Matthew Mitchell was born in 1590 in South Outram Parish. Halifax. Yorkshire. England. He was a Dissenter and is represented to have been a very pious man. but a dissenter from the Church of England. He was therefore subjected to the persecutions heaped upon those of his faith at that period. Seeking the religious freedom of the New World. he embarked at Bristol. England. on the ship "James." May 23. 1635. which sailed from Milford Haven. June 22, and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. August 17. 1635. He was possessed of considerable means, but despite his social standing and eminent character he may truly be said to have been a "Son of Misfortune" He settled first at Charlestown, but in the spring of 1636 he removed to Concord, During his short stay there he suffered severe losses by fire. It was in the same
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year that he went to Springfield, Massa- chusetts, and signed the Pyncheon Com- pact. He then removed to Saybrook, Con- necticut. There he suffered from attacks by the Indians, who destroyed cattle and other property worth hundreds of pounds, and killed several of his farm hands and his brother-in-law, Samuel Butterfield, who was cruelly tortured to death. Some- time prior to April, 1637, he removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut. There he was a most welcome addition to the settle- ment. not only because of his means, which were still considerable, notwith- standing his misfortunes, but because of his sound judgment and executive ability which were soon recognized by his fellow citizens. He was elected to represent Wethersfield in the General Court the year of his arrival in the town and was a member when that body declared war on the Pequots. He took a foremost part in the deliberations which established the colony on a firm foundation. He became the second largest landowner in Wethers- field. He was chosen the first town re- corder in April, 1640, but the General Court rejected the choice, owing to the opposition of Ruling Elder Clement Chap- lin. It is said that Chaplin "was a proud. arbitrary character, whose spirit of rule was that of 'rule or break,' and who, hav- ing what would now be called 'a pull' with the General Court, was able to an- tagonize, both in civil and ecclesiastical matters, those who did not think or act his way."
But Mr. Mitchell, evidently backed by those who had elected him to the office, refused to recognize the action of the Gen- eral Court. and entered upon the duties of his office in defiance of the Court's order. This has been cited by a legal authority as the only instance of a town's refusal to obey a court order. Mr. Mitchell was fined "Twenty Nobles" by the par-
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