Genealogical and biographical record of New London County, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the early settled families, Part 10

Author:
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1568

USA > Connecticut > New London County > Genealogical and biographical record of New London County, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the early settled families > Part 10

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Capt. Spicer gave a farm, with buildings oft, and a large sum of money for the use of the indi hit of the town of Groton, during his lifetime, ande left an additional amount to this charity in his 1. The schools of Noank were frequent beneficials also. At the time of his death he was a membe ff the Chamber of Commerce of New York, an la Pilot Commissioner of the Port of New Yorl'a trustee of the Sailors' Snug Harbor, and a men ir of the Marine and New England Societies, as - came "a man who loved the sea."

New England has produced few better men t1 Elihu Spicer. His were the qualities of solid wo having no care for idle display. Beneath his uil- suming exterior there beat as warm a heart, as get. a spirit, as kindly and generous a disposition as il century adorns and sweetens humanity. There vy in his mental equipment and moral make up, soit thing suggestive of the serenity of the sea he hace long and often traversed, and his nature seemed alternate between the profound peace of an oc calm, and the musical ripples that, sunlighted, w come the coming of the morning breeze. His s seemed free from storms, and the tempests of ear ly contention never disturbed his courteous deme or, or ruffled his clear and elevating mind. With vain pretense, he harbored qualities that made h the valued associate, the trusted adviser, and congenial companion of the very flower of our c zenship.

The career thus too briefly told, is that of an t right and honorable figure in the life of this co munity. It could be said of him accurately that "nobly bore, without reproach, the grand old nai of gentleman." His gentle spirit took flight, Fe 15, 1893, from his home, No. 7 South Oxford stre Brooklyn, N. Y., and he was buried in the town his birth. His memory will survive in the record public and private benefactions, in the wide range reputable commercial distinction, in the annals refined and healthy social association and in t hearts of all who knew and liked him.

On Jan. 21, 1852, Elihu Spicer wedded Ma M. Dudley, now deceased. Of the three childr

Espicer

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tin to them, Mary and William both died young ; al Uriah D. died at the age of twenty-four in the fiver of young manhood. 1136110

HON. GILBERT COLLINS, ex-mayor of Jer- S City and a Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jey, is a descendant of a family prominent in nington, Conn., for many generations.

(I) Daniel Collins, the progenitor of the family, v; born in 1710, and died July 16, 1797. His 1 hplace is not known, but at the time of his mar- Ige he dwelt in New London, afterward removing t Stonington. On Feb. 7, 1731, he married Alice I1, of New London, and had one son, Daniel, Jr.

( July 7, 1754, he married (second) Rebecca, v low of Samuel Stanton. She died childless in I| 5.

It is supposed that Daniel Collins, Sr., built, a ut the middle of the eighteenth century, on the che Boston Post Road, opposite the present meeting- Huse of the First Congregational Church, the tav- e house which was taken down only a few years This was a large double, wood-colored house, V h roof sloping nearly to the ground at the rear, all t two stories in front-being thus built it escaped t tax upon two story houses. At the west end of house, hung a swinging sign, ornamented by the f ire of an Indian, and the word "Tavern." From t front door entrance the stairs leading above and How were in plain sight. At the right was the great et room-the favorite resort for friends upon the Sobath Day before meeting began, or when any s hering was held at the Road. At the rear of that rIm was the long kitchen, with a small bed room at hier end, while in a large room up-stairs occasional dices were held. At the left of the front door was al naller room with a fireplace in it and windows on south and west sides, which was called the "bar m." On the north side of the room was the coun-

r t running east and west, and completely shutting c the narrow room where were kept the jugs of "st India rum, sugar, tea, and decanters of vari- V kinds of liquors. A red painted door, suspended C fim the ceiling, was lifted or closed at will by the son behind the counter, and was supported by tf › long, narrow sticks, arranged to hold it in posi- t1. In those days even the minister and best people aled themselves, and no one was considered hos- ble who did not offer to his guest some good 1

1, home-made wine or cider.

I The Tavern was kept for years by Lieut. Daniel lins, son of Daniel Collins, Sr., and by his son, ( bert Collins, grandfather of Judge Gilbert Collins. (II) Lieut. Daniel Collins, only child of Daniel ( lins, was born March 10, 1732, in New London.

1 died April 6, 1819, after passing the greater part chis life in Stonington. From 1775 he served in t Continental army, and was First Lieutenant in t First Regiment of the Connecticut Line, forma-

t 1 of 1776. On Dec. 26, 1756, he married Dorothy V ·lls, by whom he had eight children : William, Pell,

Hannah, Daniel, Lydia, Polly, Eley and John Wells. His children all migrated west, and their descendants live in New York State and in Toledo, Ohio. He mar- ried (second) Anne Potter, widow of John Hilliard, by whom he had six children : Robert, born April 14, 1788, who married Ruth Browning; Gilbert, born April 14, 1790; Rebecca, who married Henry Wor- den ; Maria, who married Justin Denison; Betsey, who died young ; and Anne, who married John D. Noyes.

(III) Gilbert Collins was born April 14, 1790, and became a farmer in Stonington, where he was long prominent in public affairs, for several terms representing the town in the State Legislature. He died March 24, 1865. On May 3, 1807, he married (first) Prudence Frink, born Oct. 6, 1788, a de- scendant of John Frink, who came to Stonington in 1666. To this marriage came three children: Ben- jamin Franklin, born Sept. 10, 1808, married Mary Denison ; Anne married John Robbins; and Daniel Prentice, born Aug. 21, 1813, died in February, 1862. Gilbert. Collins married (second) April 28, 1816, Lucy Breed, born May 20, 1787, daughter of Joseph and Mercy (Holmes) Breed. The six children of this union were : Gilbert William, born Feb. 19, 1817, married Mary Randall, and died Jan. 19, 1865; Ethan Allen, born Nov. 24, 1818, married Lucy Grant, and died in 1896; John Noyes died young ; Thomas B., born Feb. 10, 1823, married (first) Frances Morgan, (second) Lucy Ann Morgan, and (third) Susan A. Collins, daughter of Robert Col- lins; Francis Marion died young ; and John Pierce, born Oct. 21, 1827, married Mary Margaret Palmer, and died Feb. 28, 1857. For his third wife Gilbert Collins married Mrs. Susan (Wells) Dickens.

(IV) Daniel Prentice Collins was born Aug. 21, 1813, and died Feb. 17, 1862. He spent his boyhood in the Road District of Stonington, and after his mar- riage lived in the borough of Stonington, where he and his brother, Gilbert William, under the firm name of D. P. & G. W. Collins, engaged in the man- ufacture of sash, doors and blinds, also keeping a lumber yard and hardware store, and taking con- tracts for buildings. They had a resident agent in Jersey City, N. J., and did an extensive business out- side of Stonington, shipping large quantities of goods. Mr. Collins, however, was a legal resident of Stonington all his life, and was prominent in social as well as business life. In February, 1839, he mar- ried (first) Maria E., daughter of Roland and Maria (Palmer) Stanton, who bore him three children, as follows: Daniel Webster, born Dec. 13, 1839, died Feb. 9, 1858; Maria Smith, born Dec. 3, 1840, married in June, 1867, Lewis Neil, and died Jan. 5, 1868, in Jersey City, N. J. ; and Han- nah Elizabeth, died in infancy. On Dec. 25, 1843, Mr. Collins married (second) Sarah, daughter of John and Clarissa (Wells) Quinn, and to them was born one son, Gilbert, Aug. 26, 1846. Mrs. Collins died in 1894.

(V) Gilbert Collins was born in Stonington bor-

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ough Aug. 26, 1846. Up to the time of his father's death in 1862, he attended the schools of the borough, and also Dr. Hart's private school, where he pre- pared for the sophomore class at Yale. After his father's death the family removed to Jersey City, N. J., where Mr. Collins read law. He was ad- mitted to the New Jersey Bar in February, 1869, and began practice in Jersey City, where he has ever since remained. In March, 1897, he was appointed a jus- tice of the Supreme court of New Jersey, which office he resigned in January, 1903, resuming practice as a member of his former firm of Collins & Corbin. From 1884 to 1886 he was mayor of Jersey City. In 1899 the honorary degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Rutgers College.

The Judge was married June 2, 1870, to Harriet Kingsbury Bush, of Jersey City, N. J., and they have had a family of six children : Gilbert, Jr., who died in infancy; Walter, born Aug. 9, 1872, who was graduated from Williams College in 1893, was ad- mitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1896, and died Nov. II, 1900 ; Mabel, who died in infancy ; Blanche, born Feb. 9, 1875; Harriet, who died in infancy; and Marjorie, born June 15, 1885.

The summer home of Judge Collins in Stoning- ton, though remodeled and seemingly almost new, is in fact the oldest house in the town. It was built by John Hallam in 1683, and has been owned only by the Hallam family, Charles H. Phelps, James W. Noyes and the present occupant.

COTTRELL. This is one of the oldest families in Rhode Island, and one made conspicuous not only in America, but in foreign countries, through the wonderful achievements in mechanical lines of the late manufacturer and inventor-Calvert Byron Cottrell, of Westerly. This town for upward of 260 years has been the abiding place of his fore- fathers and is now the home of his immediate fam- ily, his several sons, Edgar H., Charles P. and Ar- thur M., being, respectively, president, treasurer and secretary of the C. B. Cottrell & Sons Company, whose plant is not only one of considerable magni- tude, but of celebrity, owing to the almost universal use of its product by the printers of magazines and periodicals of the world.

Nicholas Cottrell, the original ancestor and pro- genitor of the Rhode Island Cottrells, appears in the list of inhabitants of Newport, May 20, 1638, and he was admitted a freeman of that town in 1655. He represented his town ( Westerly) in the Colonial Assembly in 1670. He was one of the signers of the Misquamicut ( Westerly) Purchase. He was twice married, and died in 1680. In his will are mentioned eight children, namely: Nicholas, John, Gershom, Eleazer, Mary, Hannah, James and Jabez.

From this Nicholas Cottrell, of Newport and Westerly, the lineage of the late Calvert Byron Cott- rell is through Nicholas (2), John, Major John, Elias and Lebbeus Cottrell.

(II) Nicholas Cottrell (2) was admitted a free-

man of Westerly, Oct. 28, 1668, and was a scler in the Narragansett war of 1675. He held a 1jn- ber of important offices evidencing his character [ a. citizen. Like his father he represented his townin the Colonial Assembly. He served as const

e, then an important office, and his name appears juryman, fence viewer and councilman. He married, the name of his wife not being known, d died in December, 1715, in Westerly, leaving a 11 in which are mentioned children as follows: N olas, John, Mary, Elizabeth and Dorothy.

(III) John Cottrell and wife Penelope.

(IV) Major John Cottrell and wife, Lois Bo 1- man, of Preston, Conn. Major Cottrell diec Westerly in 1778.

(V) Elias Cottrell married Nov. 7, 1776, Pha , born May 13, 1752, daughter of John and Tha ful Gavitt, and to them were born children as lows: Thankful, born Sept. 23, 1779; John, My 19, 1781 ; Elias, Dec. 2, 1782; Russell, March 1785 ; Phalley, March 3, 1787 ; Lois, April 11, 17 Lebbeus, Jan. 29, 1792; and Joshua G., Feb. 1794.

(VI) Lebbeus Cottrell, born Jan. 29, 1792, nt- ried Lydia Maxson, who was a descendant of Ril. ard Maxson, of Portsmouth, R. I., in 1638, and|[ Newport a year later.

(VII) CALVERT BYRON COTTRELL, born Aug. . 1821, in Westerly, R. I., married May 4, 1849, Ly - W. Perkins, daughter of Elisha and Nancy (R) - sell) Perkins, a descendant of John Perkins, of I wich, 1632, and six children blessed this unid: Edgar Henry, Harriet Elizabeth, Charles Perki Calvert Byron, Jr. (deceased), Lydia Anngenel- (deceased), and Arthur Maxson.

Calvert B. Cottrell received his education in public schools. In 1840, when nineteen years of a. he apprenticed himself to the firm of Lavall Lamphear & Co., manufacturers of cotton machine at Phenix, R. I. He remained with this conce some thirteen years, most of the time in the capac of employing contractor. During this period his ventive genius was brought into action, and he ma many improvements in labor-saving tools and m chinery. The success that followed his efforts w such that he determined on beginning business f himself. A partnership was formed with Nath: Babcock, in 1855, and under the firm name of Co rell & Babcock the manufacture of machinery general was begun, but gradually the firm devot itself entirely to the production of printing press and printing mechanisms. At a later date Mr. Cot. rell determined to devote himself exclusively to i vention and improvements in matters belonging printing press manufacture. Among the first of h devices was an improvement on the air spring, fo reversing the bed of the press. The peculiar featu. was the yielding plunger, a vacuum valve, and governing attachment. The air springs, as applie by him to cylinder presses, lessened in a marked de gree the jar of the press in its action. His inver

& B Cottrell

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ns, increasing as they did the capacity of the nting presses from twenty-five to thirty per cent. : fine as well as fast work, were so far-reaching their effects that they immediately brought Mr. ttrell into the notice of the printing and mechan- 1 world as one of the leading inventors of the y. Among his many important inventions is the ›eless delivery, for delivering printed sheets with- t the use of tapes ; the patent hinged roller frames ; tent attachment for controlling the momentum of cylinder, insuring perfect register at any speed ; patent sheet delivery for delivering the sheets in ont of the cylinder without the use of tapes; a tent rotary color printing press feeding from a 1 of paper, and printing 300,000 labels in three col- 3 per day. One of his latest and most successful ventions is a shifting tympan for a web perfecting ess, which prevents offset on the second cylinder, d enables a press, which has heretofore been ca- ble of printing only the ordinary newspaper, to ecute the finest class of illustrated printing. This vention was generally adopted and successfully erated. Mr. Cottrell was granted over one hun- ed patents in this country and Europe. The first e was granted in 1858; subsequent patents were arly all on improvements in printing presses.

In 1880 the firm of Cottrell & Babcock was dis- Ived, Mr. Babcock retiring. Mr. Cottrell contin- d the business under the firm name of C. B. Cott- 1 & Sons, associating with him his three sons, all them inheriting the father's genius for invention. le new firm doubled the capacity of the works in esterly, and entered upon a degree of prosperity inently satisfactory. Mr. Cottrell died in May, 93, and was buried in the town of Westerly, where of his ancestors, with the exception of Nicholas ), were buried. The extensive works located in esterly, R. I., are an evidence of the busy life he I, and the accomplished facts which bear the im- ess of his name. He was one of the influential en of the town, and his labors in its behalf prob- ly had more to do with the town's growth than ose of any other person. The business was in- rporated in 1892, being capitalized at $800,000. le concern has offices at No. 41 Park Row, New bork, and No. 279 Dearborn street, Chicago. Mr. ttrell's four sons have taken active part in the 'airs of the company, aiding materially in produc- z up-to-date improvements, and in advancing the :erests of the concern. The death of the third son, ilvert B. Cottrell, on April 8, 1901, was a sad ent for the town, and a great blow to the company, he had made his personality an important factor the business of the concern.

This company is now manufacturing printing esses, including rotary web printing presses for gh-class work, two revolution, stop cylinder, litho- aph and drum cylinder presses. Probably none the numerous large manufacturing companies of iode Island has given the State so striking a rep- ation as this printing press concern in the town of

Westerly, because there is scarcely a magazine or periodical of any kind issued in the United States with a circulation of any extent, which it not printed upon one of their presses, and there are very few printers in this country who aim to do the finest work who are not using the Cottrell printing presses, which produce the finest illustrated work that is possible to be obtained by the art of printing.

EDGAR H. COTTRELL, son of Calvert B. Cottrell, president of the C. B. Cottrell & Sons Co., of Wester- ly, R. I., has been actively engaged in the business of the company since his boyhood, and no little of the success of this great manufacturing plant is due to his efforts. For a number of years Mr. Cottrell was a trustee of the Westerly Savings Bank and a di- rector in the Washington National Bank. He now holds the office of director in the Washington Trust Co., of Westerly. While he claims Westerly as his residence Mr. Cottrell's time is mostly spent in New York City at the offices of his company, which are located at No. 41 Park Row.

CHARLES P. COTTRELL, treasurer of the C. B. Cottrell & Sons Co., was born in Westerly, on the Connecticut side of the Pawcatuck river, March 9, 1858, and has had charge of the works at Westerly, R. I., since 1880. His duties have kept him a resi- dent of Westerly, and the town owes much to him for the active interest which he has taken in public affairs. Mr. Cottrell was a trustee of the Westerly Savings Bank and vice-president of the Washing- ton National Bank. He is now a director in the Washington Trust Co., also secretary and a trustee of the Westerly Memorial and Library Association. On May 26, 1886, Mr. Cottrell was married, in the town of Stonington, Conn., to Harriet Morgan, daughter of John Avery Morgan, and to them were born: Calvert B. (3), born in Stonington, Conn., Dec. 4, 1888; Margaret, born in Stonington, July 20, 1890; L. Anngenette, born in Stonington, March 9, 1896; Charles P., Jr., born in Westerly, R. I., May II, 1898.

ARTHUR M. COTTRELL, secretary of the C. B. Cottrell & Sons Co. since 1901, was born in Wester- ly, R. I., Dec. 8, 1871. He was graduated from Brown University in 1897 and since that time has been identified with the works at Westerly, R. I. In 190I he was made plant superintendent, a position which he holds at the present time. On Dec. I, 1903, Mr. Cottrell married Kate Virginia Hunkins, of Chicago, Ill. To them was born a daughter, Kate Virginia, on Dec. 20, 1904.

CALVERT BYRON COTTRELL, JR., the fourth child of the late Calvert B. Cottrell, was born at Pawca- tuck, in the town of Stonington, New London Co., Conn., Aug. 12, 1860, and died April 8, 1901. He received his education in the public schools of that town and in Westerly, R. I., graduating from the Westerly high school with the class of 1878. After leaving school he at once associated himself with the business of his father, and in July, 1880, he be- came a member of the firm of C. B. Cottrell & Sons.

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

When the firm was incorporated Mr. Cottrell was chosen secretary, a position which he occupied at the time of his death. Mr. Cottrell married Nov. 24, 1891, Agnes Clark, daughter of the late William Clark, of the William Clark Thread Company. Children as follows came to their union: Donald Clark, born Aug. 17, 1892 ; Kathryn, May 27, 1895 ; and Mary Stuart, July 7, 1901.

E. WINSLOW WILLIAMS. For three gen- erations-a period covering the greater part of the nineteenth century-the branch of the Williams family of which this gentleman was a member has been prominent in the social and business circles of Norwich, especially conspicuous in the city's indus- trial life. The male members of the generations referred to have been grandfather, son and grand- son, in the persons of Capt. Erastus, E. Winslow, and Winslow Tracy Williams, successively at the head of the Yantic Mills, now the Yantic Woolen Company.

To those familiar with New England annals the mere mention of the names Williams, Winslow and Tracy indicates alliance with the first families of this commonwealth and of the Colonies before it, and of an historic connection in their formative period. The Williams family traces back to Charles Williams, who died in Saybrook (now Essex), Conn., in 1729. His son, Benjamin, had a son Samuel, who was born in 1751, and died in 1822. His son, Capt. Erastus Williams, was born April 14, 1793, in Essex, Conn. Retiring in early man- hood from the active life of his 'shipping interests, he located in Norwich and became interested in the various manufacturing operations. In 1824 he pur- chased at Yantic the premises of R. R. Baker, a native of Scotland, who through his agents, John and George Tisdale, had erected about 1820 a cotton mill on the old site of the iron works of Elisha Backus, which were of historic note and great usefulness in the war of the Revolution. On this, the present site of the fine mills of the Yantic Woolen Company, in the village of Yantic, there had been at an early date grist and saw mills, and a carding machine later. As stated, Capt. Williams purchased the premises and erected a woolen mill, and was engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods the remainder of his active business life. The property in 1865 passed into the hands of his only son, E. Winslow Williams. The old mill was de- stroyed by fire in that year, and the present fine stone mill was erected in its stead by E. Winslow Will- iams, who also was identified with the business through his lifetime, and was succeeded by his son, Winslow Tracy Williams, who has since been active in the business of the concern, which, since 1877, has been operated as a joint-stock company.

The principal mill of the Yantic Woolen Com- pany is 170 feet by 54 feet, five stories high, with wings about 200 feet by 50 feet, three stories high, 60 feet by 120 feet, and 44 feet by 96 feet, one story

high. About 175 horsepower is furnished by a of 12 feet in the Yantic river, acting on wheels and 42 inches in diameter. The dam is located ab half a mile above the mill, and the water is led the wheels through a natural cleft in the ledge, great picturesqueness. The mill is finely and m ernly equipped throughout. Ten sets of cards a 88 broad looms are used in making about 2,250,( yards of flannels and dress goods annually. 1

goods are dyed and finished at the works, and : sold through Boston and New York houses. T mills give employment to some 150 hands, and £ them about $60,000 annually. Capt. Williams w one of the charter members, and the first preside of the Norwich Bleachery (now the United Stat Finishing Company), and held a controlling infl ence in the institution.

Capt. Erastus Williams had married, in 182 into one of the prominent old Colonial families Norwich-the Tracy family, of which more will said farther on. He was one of the leading citize: of his community throughout his life, which close April 16, 1867. For a term of two years, beginnir in 1853, he was the honored mayor of Norwic succeeding in that office the distinguished son Franklin, Hon. LaFayette S. Foster. Capt. Wil iams was an active member of Christ Church, a Norwich, was warden for many years, and serve on the building committee when the present churc was erected. He was a soldier in the war of 181.

E. Winslow Williams was born in Norwich Aug. 16, 1830. He was prepared for college at th! school in Flushing, N. Y., taught by Dr. Muhler, berg, and entered Trinity College, at Hartford Conn., from which he was graduated in 1853. Soo: thereafter he began a career in his native town as woolen manufacturer with his father, succeeded hin at his death, and in turn at his own death was suc ceeded by his son, Winslow Tracy Williams, al identified with the business in the establishmen whose history is outlined in the foregoing.

E. Winslow Williams was married in 1858 to Lydia Marvin McNulty, of New York, and the union was blessed with four children: Louis Brinckerhoff, who died in 1884, aged twenty-eight years, was superintendent of the Yantic mill ; Wins- low Tracy is mentioned below; Jessie Huntingtor and Lilian Marvin are unmarried and reside in New York.

Mr. . Williams' political affiliations were with the Republican party. His church relations were with Christ Church, Norwich, and Grace Episcopal Church, at Yantic, of which he was a liberal sup- porter. During a busy career he found time to take part in public affairs, and all measures tending to advance the interests of his native town found in him an earnest advocate and a ready helper. He was one of the leading citizens of the town. Al- though never having held public office, he took an active part in town and State politics, and was ever a liberal contributor to his party's needs, both of

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Genealogical and biographical record of New London County, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the early settled families, Part 10

Author: Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1568

Author:
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1568