USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 9
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
57
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Preston, who was seated at Preston in Westmoreland in the time of Henry II. Sir Richard de Preston, fifth in descent from the above Richard de Preston, represented the county of West- moreland in Parliament in the seven- teenth year of Edward III. His son, Rich- ard de Preston, had likewise the honor of being knight of the shire of Westmore- land in the same reign, 27th Edward III., and in the same year, 1368, obtained license to embark five hundred acres. His successor was Sir John de Preston, of Preston Richard and Preston Patrick, and was a member of Parliament for Westmoreland in the thirty-sixth, thirty- ninth and forty-sixth years of Edward II. His son Richard had no male issue. His son John was judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas in the reigns of Henry IV. and VI., and retired from the bench in consequence of great age, in 1427. Chil- dren of Judge John : Rev. John ; Richard. his heir, and a daughter. The American families are undoubtedly descended from some branch of this family. The Connec- ticut family has been traced to George Preston, of Valley Field, who was created a baron of Nova Scotia in 1537, through his son William, who died April 23. 1585 : his son John; his son William, the Con- necticut immigrant, came in 1635, died in 1639, leaving land in Yorkshire, whence he had come to this country.
Roger Preston was born in England in 1614. In 1635, at the age of twenty-one years, he took the oath of allegiance in London, and sailed for America in the ship "Elizabeth," April 8, 1635, William Stagg, master. His name first appears as a resident of Ipswich in 1639. His wife, Martha, whom he married in 1642, was born in 1622. In 1657 they removed to Salem, Massachusetts, where he died Jan- uary 20, 1666. Martha, his widow, mar- ried (second) Nicholas Holt, of Andover, where she resided thereafter, taking her
sons, Samuel, John and Jacob Preston, with her. She died at Andover, March 21, 1703. Roger Preston was a tanner by trade. His son, Samuel Preston, was born 1651, at Ipswich, and settled in Andover with his mother. He married (first) May 27, 1671, Susanna Gutterson, who died December 29, 1710. Their fourth child, Jacob, was born February 24, 1680-81, and in 1723-24 we find him in Windham, Connecticut, at which time he united with the church of Canada Parish. He mar- ried, June 2, 1702, Sarah Wilson. Their son, Benjamin Preston, the ancestor of the Willington Prestons, was born in April or May, 1705. He married, May 5, 1727, Deborah Holt, of Canada Parish. Windham county. He and his wife died within the same hour, November 26, 1784, and were buried in the same grave. Theif son, Darius Preston, was born at Willing- ton Hollow, in 1731, and died there, May 30, 1821. His powder horn, dated 1771, is now in Major Preston's possession. He married. November 15. 1759, Hannah Fisk, who died January 12, 1813. Their son, Amos Preston, born February 8, 1782, was the youngest of eleven children, and died October 6, 1864. He married, September 4, 1803. Martha ("Patty") Taylor. who was born February 8, 1782. and died December 7. 1860 Her father, Thomas Taylor, died April 5, 1815, aged sixty-three years. Joshua Preston, son of Amos and Martha (Taylor) Preston, was born July 15, 1813. the youngest of six children. He learned the trade of tanner, and was for many years foreman at the tannery owned by his eldest brother, the late Hon. S. T. Preston. For a time he was the proprietor of a hotel in the vil- lage of Westford, Connecticut, and also owned the Lincoln tannery. He was a stanch Democrat, but was indifferent to the lure of political office. He was de- cided in his opinions and outspoken, espe- cially on the temperance question, and
58
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
was one of the first to identify himself with the temperance movement, which he believed went well with the Christian principles he professed. He was a men- ber of the Baptist church at Willington, and was quite an accomplished player on the double-bass viol, with which he fur- nished music at the meetings of the church. In 1857 he became foreman for P. Jewell & Sons, tanners, of Hartford, and remained with them until 1879, when he removed to Chicago, where he held a similar position in the plant of his son, Captain E. B. Preston. In 1895 he re- turned to Hartford, and made his home with his daughter, Mrs. W. Chapin Hunt. until his death, March 18, 1900. He mar- ried, March 3. 1835, Caroline, daughter of Ariel and Betsey (Dimock) Eldredge, born February 6, 1816, in Willington, died April 27. 1882, in Chicago, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery at Hartford. Ariel Eldredge was born April 28, 1791, and died September 15, 1849. He was the son of Zoeth Eldredge, born, it is supposed, in Willington, Connecticut, about 1751, died there, March 18, 1828. He was a farmer. He marched on the Lexington Alarm in Major Elijah Fenton's company from Willington. Upon his dismissal from this brief service he enlisted in the Second Connecticut Regiment. Colonel Joseph Spencer, serving in the Fifth Com- pany under Captain Solomon Willes, from about May I until the latter part of December, 1775. when the regiment was dismissed. He was at Roxbury during the siege of Boston, and also saw three months' service under Washington in New York City in Captain Joseph Par- sons' company, Colonel Samuel Chap- man's regiment. He married in Willing- ton, Connecticut, October 16, 1779, as his second wife, Bethia, born December 10, 1759, in Tolland, Connecticut, daughter of Captain Ichabod Hinckley, of Tolland, who was born October 13, 1735, in Wil-
lington, and died February 23, 1807. He was captain in the Continental army, and was very active in the Revolutionary War; served two terms in the General Assembly, and was selectman for four- teen years. He was a man of great natu- ral dignity, of unusual ability, and of highest integrity. He served as first lieu- tenant, Sixth Company, Third Battalion, Wadsworth's Brigade. This battalion was raised in June, 1776, to reinforce Washington in New York City; served there and on Long Island; was caught in the retreat from the city, September 15. and suffered some loss ; also engaged in the battle of White Plains, October 28. His time expired December 25, 1776. His first wife, Mary, died in Willington, January 8, 1769, aged thirty-seven years. Benjamin Hinckley, father of Captain Ichabod Hinckley, was born June 19, 1707. in Barnstable, and died in Willing- ton, Connecticut, October II, 1749. He was a farmer and was admitted freeman in Willington, December 17, 1735. He married in Tolland, November 6, 1733. Deborah Palmer, of Windham. His father was Ichabod Hinckley, born Au- gust 28, 1680, in Barnstable, died in Tol- land, Connecticut, May 10. 1768. He married, January 5, 1702, Mary, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Davis) Good- speed, of Barnstable. She was born Jan- uary 10, 1678, and died October 1. 1719. Having purchased three hundred acres of land, partly in Tolland and partly in Wil- lington, he removed in 1732 with his fam- ilv to Tolland, and served several terms there as selectman. His father, John Hinckley, brother of Thomas Hinckley. sixth Governor of New Plymouth Colony. was born May 24, 1644, and died De- cember 7. 1709. In July, 1668, he married Bethiah, daughter of Thomas Lothrop, and granddaughter of Rev. John Lothrop. She was born July 23, 1649, and died July 10, 1697. John Lothrop was
59
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
born about 1621, probably at Egerton, Kent, England, and was about thirteen years of age when he came with his father to Scituate, Massachusetts. He married Sarah, daughter of William Learned. "Ensign" John Hinckley was a prominent citizen of Barnstable, where he owned much land. His father was Samuel Hinckley, of Tenterden, Kent, England, who came to New England with his wife, Sarah, and four children in the ship "Hercules," of Sandwich, which sailed about March, 1634. He settled in Scituate, where his wife joined the church August 16, 1635. They removed to Barn- stable in 1639, where his wife died August 18, 1656. He died there, October 31, 1662. He was prominent and owned much land.
Jesse Eldredge, father of Zoeth El- dredge, was born August 9, 1715, in East- ham, and died in Willington, Connecticut, December 17. 1794. He married, Novem- ber 7, 1734, Abigail, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Freeman) Smith. She was born in Eastham, December 17, 1718, and died in Willington, March 16, 1793. She was a descendant of Elder William Brew- ster, Stephen Hopkins, Governor Thomas Prence, Edmund Freeman, Rev. John Lathrop, Ralph Smyth, Henry Howland and Thomas Clark. Elisha Eldredge, father of Jesse Eldredge, was born about 1690, and died in Mansfield. Connecticut, November 9, 1754. He married Dorcas, daughter of Thomas Mulford, of Truro. She was born March 6, 1693, in Eastham. and died in Mansfield about 1755. Her mother was Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Basset, and granddaughter of William Basset, who came in the ship "Fortune" in 1621. His father was Elisha Eldredge, born in 1653, died in Eastham, October 14. 1739. In 1693 he was in Harwich and bought land in the Doane neighborhood. He afterwards sold this and removed to what later became Wellfleet. His father, William Eldredge, was a resident of Yar-
mouth, Massachusetts, from 3-3-1645, to 1667. He was a man of standing and substance ; was constable in 1657, 1662, 1674, 1675 and 1677; was also surveyor of highways. He married Anne, daughter of William and Tamesin Lumpkin, of Yarmouth. Lumpkin came over in 1637. He was deputy to the Colony Court and held many local offices.
Major Preston's maternal grandmother, Betsey (Dimock) Eldredge, was born January 29, 1795, in Mansfield, and died in March, 1873. Her father, Shubael Dimock, was born October 4, 1757 ; mar- ried. January 22, 1789; died March 8, 1828. Her mother, Elizabeth (Wright) Dimock, born July 31, 1769, died August 10, 1837. The Dimock ancestry has been traced back to Elder Thomas Dimock. who was a selectman of Dorchester, Mas- sachusetts, in 1635; freeman, May 25, 1636; Hingham, 1638; Scituate. 1639; one of the grantees of Barnstable, to which town he removed in 1639. Amos Otis says he was the leading man of the town. He was deputy to the Plymouth Colony court in 1640-41-42-48-49-50, and held other important offices. On October 14. 1642. he was elected lieutenant of militia, and reëlected in 1646: was or- dained elder, August 7, 1659, and died in 1659. His widow, Ann (Hammond) Dimock, was living in October, 1683. Their only son, Ensign Shubael Dimock, who lived to mature age, was baptized September 15, 1644. He was prominent in town affairs; selectman and deputy to the General Court in 1685 and 1686 and deputy again in 1689; was ensign of the militia. About 1693 he removed to Mansfield, where he died October 29, 1732, in his ninety-first year. In April, 1663, he married Joanna, daughter of John Bursley. She died May 8, 1727, aged eighty-three years. They were apparently the grandparents of Betsey Dimock's father, Shubael Dimock. Eliza-
60
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
beth Wright was the daughter of Eleazer and Anna (Marsh) Wright. He was born April 12, 1741, at Mansfield, Connecticut (his name is given in Mansfield vital rec- ords as Ebenezer), and died January 21, 1825. His wife died April 10, 1825. Eleazer Wright was the son of Ebenezer Wright, of Lebanon, Connecticut, who was born February 22, 1701 ; married, in 1728, as his second wife, Sarah Hunting- ton. He died April 22, 1786, and she Oc- tober 19, 1775. Ebenezer Wright was the son of Ensign Abel Wright, of Lebanon. Connecticut, where he died June 2, 1745- He married, September 6, 1691, Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Terry, of Springfield. Abel Wright was the son of Lieutenant Abel Wright, of Springfield, who mar- ried Martha, daughter of Samuel Kritch- well, of Hartford, December 1, 1659. She was scalped July 26, 1708, and died Octo- ber 19, 1708. He died October 29, 1725, in his ninety-fourth year. He was select- man of Springfield in 1689 and 1698, also deputy to the General Court. Sarah (Huntington) Wright, wife of Ebenezer Wright, was the daughter of Deacon Joseph and Rebecca (Adgate) Hunting- ton. Deacon Joseph Huntington was born September, 1661, in Norwich, and died December 29, 1747. He married. November 28, 1687, Rebecca, daughter of Deacon Thomas Adgate and Mrs. (Bush- nell) Adgate, died November 28, 1748.
At the age of thirteen years, Major Preston went to Hartford to begin his career in the business world. Such was his application, intelligence and thrift that we find him eleven years later, at the outbreak of the Civil War. a member of the firm of Griswold, Griffin & Com- pany, manufacturers of shirts. On April 22, 1861, he offered to give temporary as- sistance as a clerk in the office of Adju- tant-General J. D. Williams. On July 17, 1861, in response to the request of Colo- nel Orris S. Ferry, Mr. Preston was ap-
pointed quartermaster of the Fifth Con- necticut Regiment, with the rank of first lieutenant. On July 23 he was mustered into the United States Volunteer service. In September, 1861, he was detailed by Colonel Dudley Donnelly, and afterward by Generals G. H. Gordon and A. S. Wil- liams to be acting assistant quartermaster of the First Brigade. General Banks' Di- vision, and remained in that position un- til January 1, 1862, when he was returned to his old place in the Fifth Connecticut. In March, 1862, Lieutenant Preston was detailed as aide-de-camp on the staff of General Ferry, who had received a briga- dier's commission. During a part of the time until February 19, 1863, he served as acting assistant quartermaster of the division. On that date President Lincoln commissioned him as "additional paymas- ter, United States Volunteers, with the rank of Major," and this position Major Preston held until July 31, 1865, when he was honorably discharged by the secre- tary of war. Millions of dollars passed through his hands during the war, and in the final settlement with the government his accounts balanced to a penny. At the close of the war he became a special agent for The Travelers Insurance Company. After two years in this position he was appointed superintendent of agencies, in 1898 he was promoted to be general man- ager of agencies, and has held that office continuously since that time. This posi- tion calls for executive ability of the highest order, with a gift for diplomacy equal to that of a foreign embassador. Major Preston is a man of poise, and while he possesses a determination that enables him to surmount every obstacle to the accomplishment of his purpose. he accomplishes results through the exercise of tact that makes every one his friend. In the course of his work Major Preston has traveled all over the United States. Canada and Mexico. He is a member of
61
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Hartford Lodge, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, being one of its eight oldest members; Massachusetts Com- mandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion; The Fifth Connecticut Infantry Reunion Association; Society of the Army of the Potomac, representing the State of Connecticut on its board ; Robert O. Tyler Post, Grand Army of the Re- public, being one of the trustees of the ten-thousand-dollar fund owned by the post; Army and Navy Club of Connecti- cut, of which he is president; Hartford Club; Red Cross Association ; Connec- ticut Humane Society; Charity Organ- ization ; Visiting Nurse Association : Wil- lington Cemetery Association ; Lincoln Farm Association; Connecticut Peace Society; Connecticut Forestry Associ- ation, of which he was elected president in 1898; American Forestry Association ; Connecticut Civil Service Reform Asso- ciation, and Municipal Art Society. For several years he was a member of the board of trustees of the Connecticut Lit- erary Institute of Suffield, and was presi- dent of the board for two or three years. Major Preston is a strong and active Re- publican, and has served in the Common Council and as a member of the board of aldermen.
Major Preston married, September 9. 1863, Clara M., daughter of John G. Litchfield, of Hartford. Children: Harry Edward, born September 27, 1864, died at San Antonia, Texas, April 7, 1893; Evelyn Wallace, born April 9, 1867.
In 1868 Major Preston began to arouse interest in a project to form a Baptist church on Asylum Hill, and on January I, 1869, he circulated an invitation signed by himself and a number of other leading Baptists to attend a meeting to discuss the matter. In 1871 the committee of which he was a member purchased the lot. In that year a Sunday school was organized, and the following year the
church edifice was completed. Major Preston was treasurer from 1872 to 1901, and deacon from 1875 to the present time. He is a member of the Baptist Social Union of Connecticut, which he has served as secretary, treasurer and presi- dent at different times. He has also served as a member of the board of the Baptist State Convention.
GRAHAM, Charles H.,
Manufacturer, Inventor.
Perusing the records of the brilliant men who have built up the industries of New England and made that region what it is, we are often compelled to wonder at the great number of of men who, in the face of great odds, forced the issue with destiny and made their names to be forever identified with this or that great enterprise, commercial, industrial or financial. These are the men who are perhaps the dominant and certainly the most conspicuous type in that whole great region, the type that we think of first when the term New Englander is used. It would be difficult to find a finer example of this type we so much admire than that presented in the person of Charles H. Graham, of Unionville, Con- necticut, who, although he is now retired completely from all business activities, was at one time one of the most conspicu- ous figures in that whole region and iden- tified with many of its most important en- terprises.
Born October 15, 1837, at New Britain in the State in which he has always made his home, Mr. Graham is originally of Scottish extraction, his paternal great- grandfather being a native of that coun- try, the youngest son of the then Lord Graham. This gentleman, being of an en- terprising nature, preferred to come to the United States, where he might make something of the opportunities open to
62
Fra b1. E . Williams
What Ho Graham
=
EK
. NG
:
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
all men than to remain indefinitely in the old country where his position as a younger son necessarily relegated him somewhat to the background. Accord- ingly he left the old land with all its associations and came to the great west- ern republic where he must depend sole- ly upon his own unaided efforts. He set- tled at Norwich, Connecticut, and there his family continued to live for many years. His son. Curtis Graham, the grandfather of Charles H. Graham, was born in that town and passed his life there. He was successfully engaged in a saddlery business and was a well- known and popular citizen. He was mar- ried to Paulina Lord. of Norwich, and they had three children: Gilbert, a resi- dent of New Britain; Mary, who moved out West and lived in the State of In- diana, and William Lord, the father of the Mr. Graham of this sketch. William Lord Graham was born at Norwich and there passed the early years of his life. He was educated in the local schools, and until young manhood lived with his father. He then went to New Britain, where he learned the trade of brass-turner and followed that craft in the same town for a number of years. He then saw an opportunity to engage in an industrial enterprise, which he seized with alacrity, and was soon doing a successful business in the manufacture of hames, cow bells and similar articles at New Britain. His death occurred at Burlington, Connecti- cut, in 1869. William Lord Graham, was twice married, the first time to Almira Wilmot, a daughter of Thomas Wilmot, of Burlington, Connecticut, and they were the parents of four children : Charles H., of whom further; Walter A., who became the superintendent of the Fair Haven & Westville Railroad and made his home in New Haven, Connecticut ; Mary Jane. who became the wife of Albert J. Brewer, of Unionville, Connecticut; and William
J., also a resident of that town Mr. Graham married (second) Frances Petti- bone, and of their children but one sur- vives, Arthur, now a resident of Burling- ton, Connecticut.
Charles H. Graham passed the early years of his childhood in his native New Britain and there also began his educa- tion, attending the local public schools for this purpose. When still a mere child his parents removed to Burlington, Connec- ticut. and he there continued his studies, and, being of an unusually ambitious and capable character, made the most of his advantages and gained an excellent edu- cation, considering the somewhat meagre opportunities offered by the public schools of those days. He was eighteen years of age when he finally completed his studies and entered the business life in which he was to make so large a success. His very first position brought him into contact with the great concern with which he re- mained identified throughout his entire active life. He was employed as a hand in his factory by Dwight Langdon, of Unionville, Connecticut, who in 1854 founded the concern that afterwards be- came the Upson Nut Company, although it was then carried on under Mr. Lang- don's name. The young apprentice quickly showed his talent in picking up the detail of the new business of bolt and nut making, and he very soon became a master of the craft. Shortly after his con- nection with the company began. the con- trol of the business passed from the hands of Mr. Langdon into those of A. S. Upson and George Dunham, who purchased the former owner's interest. For a time these two gentlemen conducted the business under the firm name of Upson & Dun- ham, but it was later incorporated under its present name of the Upson Nut Com- pany. Mr. Graham's position with the growing concern continued constantly to improve. For a time he was employed as
63
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
a shipper by Upson & Dunham and then was given a contract to make bolts and nuts for them. The business talents of the young man were not long waiting for recognition and his employers soon made him superintendent of the factory, a posi- tion of great trust and responsibility which he filled for upwards of fifteen years, continually learning more about the requirements of the work and making himself invaluable to the concern. Dur- ing this period a Mr. Samuel Frisbie held the office of treasurer of the Upson Nut Company, but upon his death the good record of the young superintendent was rewarded by his appointment to the office thus left vacant. For many years there- after the firm was composed of A. S. Up- son, president; W. A. Hitchcock, secre- tary, and Mr. Graham, treasurer.
His interests, however, were by no means confined to the single concern, but were extended to many others and even went far beyond the limits of the commu- nity in their scope. His inventive genius was, perhaps, the first factor in making him well known, for, with his invention and patenting of the automatic lathe for threading bolts, he at once leaped into prominence wherever this industry is carried on. He became the secretary of the Union Nut and Bolt Company of New York and Chicago, and assistant treasurer of the Union Rolling Mill Company of Cleveland, Ohio. In his home town, also, he was interested in other concerns and was vice-president of the Unionville Water Company and a director of the Union Water Company of Unionville. A few years ago, Mr. Graham retired from active business and sold out his large interest in the Upson Nut Company to a Cleveland steel concern, which bought the whole company. Mr. Graham is now living with a married son, S. F. Graham, at Unionville.
The exacting nature of Mr. Graham's work in connection with the various con- cerns with which he was identified for so many years rendered it difficult during the greater part of his life to take the part in the more general life of the community which his tastes impelled him to and his abilities fitted him for. He has been for many years, however, a member of Even- ing Star Lodge, No. 101, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and up to recently has been active in the affairs thereof. He has always been keenly interested in political matters, especially in their application to local situations and conditions and, had his tasks been less onerous, might have taken a conspicuous place in public affairs. As it is, he has served his fellow towns- men as justice of the peace and as a mem- ber of the relief board. He is a Republi- can in politics, and was elected by that party to the State Legislature. He and his family attend the Congregational church, and take an active part in the work thereof.
Mr. Graham was united in marriage at Unionville, Connecticut. with Emeline A. Upson, a daughter of Seth and Martha (Brooks) Upson, of that place. To theni were born five children, as follows: I. Walter E., who is associated with the Upson Nut Company of Unionville ; mar- ried Clarabel Lusk, by whom he has had two children, Kenneth and Arline. 2. Samuel F., who is now superintendent of the Unionville branch of the Upson Nut Company ; is a selectman of Unionville ; married Clara Roboham. 3. Henry C., a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, and a mem- ber of the corporation that purchased the Upson Nut Company ; married, in August, 1899. Alice Taylor, of Unionville; chil- dren : Taylor and Winifred. 4. Lila E., deceased. 5. Winifred, deceased. Mrs. Graham is also deceased.
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.