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 14

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 14

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On Oct. 17, 1839, Mr. Nichols was married to Hannah T. Fairfield, of Pomfret, Conn., and to the union came one child, Franklin, who is now de- ceased. Mrs. Nichols died July 12, 1894.

BRANDEGEE. For a hundred and fifty and more years the name of Brandegee has been identi- fied with Connecticut history, and at least since the period of the Revolution, the family, and those

allied with it through marriage, have played a co spicuous part in American history. New Lond has given to the country two sons of the name- the personages of Hon. Augustus Brandegee a his only living son, Hon. Frank Bosworth Brand gee-whose achievements have reflected honor up themselves, upon the family name, the city of th birth and their country. Each in turn has served a member of the General Assembly of the Sta Speakers of the Lower House of that body, and ea a member of the United States Congress, and bc as members of the law firm of Brandegee, Noyes Brandegee, of New London.

Jacob Brandegee, Jr., the progenitor of t Connecticut family, came to the locality about Ne Britain toward the middle of the eighteenth centur and when only a lad in his teens. He was a weav by trade, and was born in 1729, at Nine Point N. Y., where his brothers, David and Joseph, we also born. The Newington records show his ma riage, on Oct. II, 1753, to Abigail Dunham, presur ably a sister of Solomon Dunham, who came fro Martha's Vineyard to that locality, where he was fo many years a magistrate and prominent man. M. Brandegee kept a store at Great Swamp Villag and was engaged in the West India trade, runnin vessels from Rocky Hill. His death occurred : sea in March, 1765, when he was aged thirty-six.

John Brandegee, a descendant of Jacob, and ti:| father of the late Hon. Augustus Brandegee, wa born in Berlin, Conn. He was but a young ma when he went to New Orleans, where he engaged i business as a cotton broker, in which line he ac cumulated a competency. He was an officer in th City Guards there, and took part in the famort battle of New Orleans, Jan. 8, 1815, under Jackson About 1818 he came to New London, Conn., an here became interested in the whaling industry, an was one of the founders of the Whaling Banl Many other local enterprises claimed his interest an attention, such as the old Bartlett school, of whic he was one of the incorporators, and the New Lor don, Willimantic & Palmer railroad, in the buildin of which he was largely interested. He also dea. very extensively in real estate. That he had an ur usually good bank account for the times is evidence by the fact that in 1820 he advertised in the Reput lican advocate, a newspaper then published i New London, for a check which he had lost, an which was drawn to himself for $5,000. Soon afte his removal to New London, Mr. Brandegee mar ried Mary Ann Deshon, and they lived in the bric! house built by the well known Dr. S. H. P. Lee; i stood on what is now the site of the "Crocke House," with the side toward the street. Mr. Bran degee was a man of remarkable ability and forc of character, was enterprising and progressive t the last degree, and was a leader in the business act ivities of the times. He died in 1857. Mrs. Brande gee was a lineal descendant of Daniel Deschamps a Huguenot who fled from France on the revocation.

Augustus Grandeque

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

f the Edict of Nantes. Capt. Daniel Deshon, her ather, was appointed in 1777 to command the rmed vessel "Old Defence," which was built and ommissioned by the State of Connecticut for serv- 'e against the British in the Revolution. Two other members of this Deshon family-John and Richard -also served with conspicuous gallantry as captains f Connecticut forces in the Continental army in the .evolution. Through the veins of the Brandegees ourses the blood of both Puritans and Huguenots, ne branch of the family tracing back to Elder Brewster, of the "Mayflower." Mr. and Mrs. Bran- egee had three sons, all of whom inherited the in- ellect, ability and energy which characterized their ather. John became an Episcopal clergyman. Frank as a physician and practiced in New London, where e died.

HON. AUGUSTUS BRANDEGEE, like his brothers, ecame a professional man, and was well known all ver the State of Connecticut as a member of the gal fraternity. He was born July 12, 1828, in New London, and laid the foundations of a classical ducation at the Union Academy in that town. He ompleted his preparation for college at the Hopkins Grammar school, New Haven, under the tuition of he celebrated Dominie Olmstead, and entered Yale 1 1845, during the last year of President Day's ad- ministration, graduating with the class of 1849. Although he was necessarily absent during the reater part of his sophomore year, he was grad- ated fourth in a class of students, an unusual num- er of whom afterward became distinguished. Among these, President Fiske, of Beloit University who ranked first in the class), President Timothy )wight of Yale (who ranked third), Judge Finch, f the New York Court of Appeals, and William D. Bishop, may be named as conspicuous examples. After studying a year at the Yale Law School, at that eriod under the superintendency of Ex .- Gov. Bis- ell, and Dutton, Mr. Brandegee entered the law ffice of the late Andrew C. Lippett, then the leading ttorney of New London, with whom he soon after- vard formed a partnership which continued until 854, when Mr. Brandegee was elected to repre- ent his native city in the House of Representatives of the State of Connecticut. The old Whig party vas then in the throes of dissolution after the disas- rous political campaign under General Scott; and he proposed repeal of the Missouri Compromise lad stirred the moral sense of the North to its oundations. Mr. Brandegee threw himself with he ardor of a young and enthusiastic nature into the nti-slavery movement. Although the youngest nember of the house, he soon developed talents of a very high order as a parliamentarian and debater, ind became its leader. He was appointed by Speak- r Foster-afterward Senator-a member of the udiciary committee, and also chairman of the se- ect committee to carry through the "Bill for the Defense of Liberty," a measure drafted by the late Henry B. Harrison, subsequently governor of the

State, the practical effect of which was to prevent the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law in Con- necticut. He was also appointed chairman of the committee on the Maine Law, and, as such, carried through the Assembly the first and only prohibitory liquor law ever passed in Connecticut. Mr. Bran- degee was largely instrumental in the election of that section of Speakers Foster and Francis Gillette to represent the anti-slavery sentiment of Connecticut in the United States Senate.

Returning to his practice Mr. Brandegee was elected judge of the city criminal court of New London. In the enthusiastic campaign for "Free Speech, Free Soil, Freedom and Fremont," which followed the anti-Nebraska excitement, Mr. Bran- degee took an active and conspicuous part. He made speeches in the principal towns and cities of Con- necticut, and soon became noted as one of the most popular and well known campaign orators of his party. He was chosen as one of the electors of the State on a ticket headed by ex-Gov. Roger S. Bald- win, and with his colleagues cast the electoral vote of Connecticut for the "Path-Finder," and first can- didate of the Presidential party, John C. Fremont. In 1858 he was again elected to represent the town of New London in the Connecticut House of Rep- resentatives, and in 1859 he was a third time chosen. Although selected by his party, then in a majority, as their candidate for speaker in 1859, he was obliged to decline the office on account of the death of his father. In 1861 he was a fourth time elected to the House, and was honored by being elected its speaker. This was the first "war session" of the Connecticut Legislature. The duties of a presiding officer, al- ways difficult and delicate, were largely enhanced by the excited state of feeling existing between the two parties, and the novel requirements of legislation to provide Connecticut's quota of men and means for the suppression of the Rebellion. The duties of the chair were so acceptably filled by Speaker Brande- gee that at the close of the session he was presented with a service of silver by Hon. Henry C. Deming, the leader of the opposition, in the name of the members of both political parties without a dissent- ing voice.

Mr. Brandegee took a very active part in the great uprising of the North which followed the firing on Fort Sumter. His services were sought all over the State in addressing patriotic meetings, raising troops, delivering flags to departing regi- ments and arousing public sentiment. In 1863 he was elected to the XXXVIIIth Congress of the United States as a representative from the Third Congressional District of Connecticut, and in 1865 he was re-elected, and served in the XXXIXth Congress. Although the youngest member of the body, he at once took a prominent position, and was selected by Speaker Colfax as a member of the com- mittee on Naval Affairs, at that time next after the Military committee, one of the most important. He was also one of the committee on the Auditing of

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Naval Accounts, and chairman of a special commit- tee on a Post and Military Route from New York to Washington. Mr. Brandegee continued a member of the House during the four historic years covered by the Civil war and the re-construction period, act- ing with the most advanced wing of his party, and was trusted and respected by his associates, among whom were Garfield, Blaine, Schenck, Conklin, Dawes, Winter, Davis and Thaddeus Stevens. He was admitted to frequent and friendly intercourse with President Lincoln, who always manifested a peculiar interest in Connecticut, and who was wont to speak of Gov. Buckingham, its executive at that time, as the "Brother Jonathan" upon whom he leaned, as did Washington upon Jonathan Trumbull.

In 1864 Mr. Brandegee was a member of the Connecticut delegation to the National Republican Convention, held at Baltimore, which nominated Lincoln and Johnson. It was largely due to this delegation that Johnson was selected instead of Hamlin for the vice-presidency, the Connecticut dele- gation being the first to withdraw its support from the New England candidate. In 1871, notwithstand- ing his earnest protests, he was nominated for the office of mayor of the city of New London. He re- ceived very general support and was elected, but re- signed after holding office two years, being led to this step by his large and growing legal practice. In 1880 Mr. Brandegee was chairman of the Con- necticut delegation to the Republican National Con- vention, held in Chicago, nominating Washburne for the Presidency. His speech attracted favorite no- tice not only in the convention, but throughout the country, and gave him wide reputation as an orator and party leader. In 1884 he was again chairman of the Connecticut delegation to the Republican Na- tional Convention, also held at Chicago, and made the nominating speech for General Hawley, the can- didate of the State for the Presidency.

For, perhaps, the last decade Mr. Brandegee was, of choice, gradually retired from public life and de- voted himself almost exclusively to the practice of law at New London ; and although he was repeated- ly urged by the leaders of his party to take its nom- ination for governor, and was frequently talked of as an available candidate for the United States senator- ship, he uniformly declined this and all other public offices and honors, preferring to devote his entire time and energies to professional work, in which he was actively engaged until his death, having as as- sociates his only son, Frank B. Brandegee, and Wal- ter C. Noyes. As a lawyer Mr. Brandegee was ranked as one of the very foremost in the profession ; as a politician, one of the highest ability and integ- rity ; and as a citizen, one of the most honored and respected. His death, Nov. 10, 1904, removed from Connecticut one of the strongest men in her history.

FRANK BOSWORTH BRANDEGEE, son of Augustus and Nancy (Bosworth) Brandegee, is a native of New London, where he was born July 8, 1864. He attended the common schools of his native town and

was graduated from Bulkeley High school in 188 After this event he immediately entered Yale U1 versity, and was graduated with honor in 188 While in college he took a lively interest in athleti and for three years pulled the bow oar on his cla crew. Following his graduation he traveled abro: for a year making an extensive tour of Great Brita and the Continent. Mr. Brandegee has also tra eled extensively in his own country, visiting near every state and territory and Alaska, as well as t. Hawaiian Islands and Canada. Since 1888, in whi year he was admitted to the Bar in the county of 1: birth, he has been settled in the practice of his pr fession in New London, as a member of the la firm of Brandegee, Noyes & Brandegee, one of tl leading and most successful in Eastern Connecticut

Mr. Brandegee is rapidly following in the foc steps of his distinguished father, the two careers thi far being quite alike, furnishing an example seldo occurring in one family. In November, 1888, he wi elected to the Lower House of Representatives ( Connecticut and served with conspicuous ability a chairman on the committee on Cities and Borough In 1889 Mr. Brandegee succeeded Major John M Tibbits to the office of corporation counsel of the cit of New London, and for seven years served wit ability, good judgment and discretion. Mr. Brand gee is one of the most prominent Republicans in h section of the State. He was chosen a delegate i the Republican National Convention held at Minnd apolis in 1892. From youth he has enjoyed a larg acquaintance among the leading Republicans of th State. In 1894 he was favorably spoken of for gov ernor as the candidate of the younger element of h party. In 1898 he was chosen a member of the Republican State Central Committee, and the dec sive Republican victory in that portion of the Stat demonstrated that the interests of the party wer committed to competent hands. He is still a membe of that committee. Mr. Brandegee was again electe to the Lower House of Representatives of Cor necticut in the fall of 1898, and on the convenin of the session following he was chosen the Speake of that body and served with signal ability, makin a model Speaker. He is widely known throughot the State, and by his frank and cordial manner an! winning personality makes friends wherever he goe:

At the Republican Convention held at Norwich Oct. 28, 1902, Mr. Brandegee was nominated unar imously as Representative to the United States Cor gress from the Third district, as successor to the lat Charles A. Russell for the rest of the unexpired terr as well as the following term. At the election whic followed on Nov. 4th, Mr. Brandegee's pluralit was 4,183. He was unanimously renominated a representative in Congress in October, 1904, an elected by a majority of 5,625. He is a member o, the committee on Naval affairs.

Of Mr. Brandegee a writer has said: "He is a easy and forcible writer, a strong and persuasiv speaker, and has the courage of his convictions

Firmaet 3. Bronologia novégia 11

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

F character is unblemished, and his public and 'ate life without stain."

P The only other surviving child of Augustus Endegee is his daughter Helen, who is the wife Iajor M. G. Zalinski, of the United States Army.

GEER. The family bearing the name of Geer is ne of the oldest in New London county. . The lilage herewith given is that of the late Captain M haniel Bellows Geer, of Ledyard, one of the most b a ved and highly esteemed citizens of that town, of his son Thomas H. Geer, of Cleveland, Ohio, ol of the leading and best known local insurance a hts in the United States.

The Geers in America are descended from CIrge and Thomas Geer (brothers), who came to Ajerica in 1635, and landed in Boston. Thomas ed in Enfield, Conn., in 1682, and George came to New London about 1651, in 1653 settling at the pre now known as the Geer homestead, which has site been continuously in the possession of his de- sidants, and which was located in that part of the ton which has since been set off as the North So- cy of Groton, and is now the town of Ledyard.

I:| 658 he married Sarah Allyn, and they had eleven cl dren. From them the line of descent is through R ert Geer and Martha (Tyler), Ebenezer Geer a Prudence (Wheeler), Robert Geer (2) and Ly (Fitch), James Geer and Sarah (Lewis), to Nhaniel Bellows Geer.

Captain Nathaniel Bellows Geer was the second scrof his parents, and was born at the Geer home- S1 d- in North Groton (now Ledyard), Jan. 31, It. He was reared to farming, which he followed is earlier years, afterward teaching in the public sc pols of Ledyard and adjoining towns. He also flowed surveying. In 1832 he was appointed to the

C: aincy of the Fifth Company of the Eighth Regi- t of Infantry in the State, and always retained tl title. In politics Capt. Geer was an active Re- P lican, and he held the offices of constable, as- SỐ

for, tything man, justice of the peace, and treas- u of the town deposit fund. As judge of probate erved several successive terms, and on reaching age of compulsory retirement from that office,

tl h was continued in charge as clerk of the court. was one of the original trustees of the Bill Li- y Association, and a president of the Poqueta- b

: Cemetery Association. In early life he became 11

a ember of St. James Church, Poquetanuck, of ch he was an active member until his death, serv- W = as Sunday-School teacher, member of the choir,

er of the bass viol, vestryman, collector, delegate toje convention, parish clerk ( for sixty years) and W den (for twenty-six years).

The following is from the New York Church- : "Capt. Geer, as he was affectionately styled for 11

half century following his meritorious service in = tl organization of the militia of his native State, a man of mark, one of those whom a commun- asily counts among pillars of Church and State. it

He combined with the sweet humility of a disciple of the Christ, the power which qualifies a guide and leader of men. His silent example was a living force. Such men as he, combining high ability with the modesty which never seeks official promotion, are they who have been and continue to be the 'makers' of this nation. And such men as he, as humble- minded as they are brave and true-hearted, are they whose light of Christian living, shining in a naughty world, gives truest glory to Almighty God."

On Nov. 19, 1837, Capt. Geer married Julia Davis, born Feb. 8, 1814, eldest daughter of Thomas and Mary (Shaw) Davis, of Preston, Conn., and they had a wedded life of nearly sixty years, Mrs. Geer dying Feb. 17, 1896, and Mr. Geer on Aug. 18, 1898. Mrs. Julia Davis Geer traced her lineage from John Davis, of England and Easthampton, L. I., through Thomas Davis and Abigail (Parsons) , John Davis and Catherine (Talmage), Thomas Davis (2) and Mary (Conklin), Thomas Davis (3) and Mary (Shaw). Soon after his marriage Capt. Geer pur- chased the farm adjoining the Geer homestead on the south, and there lived fifty years, in 1887 return- ing to the ancestral home, where he passed the re- mainder of his days. He was survived by two sons and three daughters: (I) Thomas Henry is men- tioned below. (2) Albert D. resides in Binghamton, N. Y. He married Alice C. Cook, and has one child, Harold M. Geer. (3) Juliette and (4) Mary A. are unmarried. (5) Maria Adaliza is the widow of John D. Brewster, of Norwich.

THOMAS H. GEER was born Sept. 3, 1840, in Led- yard, and there his boyhood days were passed. His educational advantages were excellent. After re- ceiving a good foundation in the public schools of his native town, he went to Irving Institute, at Tar- rytown, N. Y. He then attended the State Normal School at Westfield, Mass., from which he was grad- uated in 1859. At this time he looked upon the teacher's profession as his life's work, and he began teaching in the Haskell Grammar School at West Gloucester, Mass., meeting with unqualified success both as an instructor and as a disciplinarian. In 1860 he was elected to the principalship of the high school at Rockport, Mass. His devotion to his work was marked, and he was ambitious to equip himself further in the higher branches. He entered upon a special classical course at Norwich Free Academy, where he gave evidence of a deep and logical mind. In the spring of 1862 he became a tutor in Burling- ton College at Burlington, N. J., and there continued through the summer term of 1865. Close application to study undermined his health, and he was obliged to give up his school work and to find some other avenue of usefulness. In April, 1866, he became special agent in Eastern Massachusetts for the Char- ter Oak Life Insurance Company, of Hartford, Conn., and so well did he meet the exigencies of that position that in the following October, he became resident agent for the company at Cleveland, Ohio. In 1876 he added fire insurance to his work, and has

GENEALOGICAL, AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

since continued in general insurance at Cleveland, with spacious offices at No. 158 Superior street. He has built up one of the largest agencies in that line in the city, representing a fine list of companies. Mr. Geer is one of the best known local agents in the country, and has always been interested in associa- tions organized for the benefit of the various branches of insurance. He has been secretary and president of the Cleveland Life Underwriters Asso- ciation, secretary of the Life Underwriters Asso- ciation of the State of Ohio ; president of the Cleve- land Board of Underwriters in 1894-95, of which he had previously been treasurer and vice-president. He was active in the organization, and served as first chairman of the executive committee, of the Ohio Association of Local Fire Insurance Agents for three years. In 1903 he served as president of the National Association of Local Fire Insurance Agents, having previously served as vice president of that body.

In the financial world in Cleveland Mr. Geer is well known. He was one of the organizers, and he served as vice-president, and a director of, the Sav- ings, Building and Loan Company, and when it was merged into the present Reserve Trust Company, he became a director and a member of the Finance com- mittee of that organization.

Politically Mr. Geer is an uncompromising Re- publican. At the age of eighteen he was confirmed in St. James Episcopal Church at Poquetanuck, Conn., by the late Rt. Rev. John Williams, bishop of Connecticut. Since his residence in Cleveland, he has been a communicant of Trinity Cathedral, and for many years a member of the vestry and Cathedral Chapter, chairman of the Music committee and for twenty years a member of the vested choir.

On June 30, 1868, Thomas H. Geer was married in Poquetanuck, to Fanny Halsey Brewster, who was born in Ledyard, daughter of Hon. John and Mary Esther (Williams) Brewster. To this union came one daughter, Mary Brewster, who married Edwin L. Thurston, a graduate of Brown University, and now a member of the firm of Thurston & Bates, lead- ing patent attorneys of Cleveland, and they have a son, Thomas Brewster, born May 9, 1899. In spite of nearly four decades that Mr. Geer has been a resi- dent of Ohio, he still has a great love for the home of his youth, to which he is a frequent visitor. Suc- cess has attended his efforts, and today he stands at the head of his profession, honored and respected, as a man whose word is good, and whose character is above reproach.

DEACON BENJAMIN WILDMAN TOMP- KINS was one of the venerable and esteemed citi- zens of Norwich, where he resided for considerably over half a century, and occupied a prominent place among the best citizens of that city, and a foremost position among the successful manufacturers of Con- necticut. His ancestral line is as follows :

(I) John Tompkins was of Concord, Mass., in

1640, and of Fairfield, Conn., in 1644. His chilch were: Ruth, born April 1, 1640; John, born A 25, 1642 ; and Nathaniel.

(II) Nathaniel Tompkins, son of John, die f East Chester, N. Y., Sept. 6, 1684. His w: Christian name was Elizabeth, and their chilch were: Nathaniel, Stephen and Elizabeth.

(III) Nathaniel Tompkins (2), son of Natha! married, and he died in East Chester, N. Y., 1 15, 1732. His children were: Edmund, borr 1 1702, and perhaps Nathaniel.

(IV) Edmund Tompkins, son of Nathaniel was born in 1702 ; married Hannah -, and he d June 30, 1783, in Waterbury, Conn., and their dren were: Edmund, Else, Hannah, Jerusha, Susanna, the place of birth of whom is unkno Elizabeth, born Dec. 4, 1735, in Woodbury, Com Nathaniel, born March 20, 1738, in Woodb Conn .; and Rachel, born Jan. 23, 1740-41 ; M born March II, 1742-43; Philip, born May 6, 1. all in Waterbury, Connecticut.

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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 14

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