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 174

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 174

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).

ROBERT A. STANTON, the head of a large grocery concern in Mystic, and a prosperous busi- ness man of that place, is a descendant in direct line from one of the very earliest settlers of Con- necticut, and has inhertied many of the sturdy vir- tues of his courageous and upright forebears.

The first of the name of Stanton to come to America was Thomas, known as Capt. Thomas Stanton, of English birth. He was educated for a cadet, but not liking the profession of arms, and taking a deep interest in the religious principles of the migrating Puritans, he came to the Colonies in the ship "Bonaventura" in 1635, embarking at London, England, Jan. 2d. He landed in Virginia, thence going to Boston, where he was recognized by Winthrop and his associates as a valuable man, worthy of their unlimited confidence. The next

Robert Staulow

محــ

76g

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

year he was selected by the Boston authorities to accompany Mr. Fenwick and Hugh Peters as in- terpreter on a mission to Saybrook, Conn., to hold a conference with the Pequot Indians relative to the murder of Capts. Stone and Newton. He pos- sessed an accurate knowledge of the language and character of the Indians, which gave him promi- nence in the new settlements of Connecticut. In 1637 he took up his home at Hartford, where the General Court declared he should be a public officer to attend the court upon all occasions, either general or particular, at the meetings of the magistrates. to interpret between them and the Indians, at a salary of ten pounds per year. He became the intimate and special friend of Gov. Winthrop of Connecticut, acting as interpreter in all of his inter- course with the Indians. He was the first white man who joined William Chesebrough in the new settlement in the Pawcatuck Valley, and in the spring of 1650 and 1651 he established a trading house in Stonington, on the west bank of the Paw- catuck river. For a few years his family resided in New London before permanently locating in Stonington, in 1657. After this he took an active part in town affairs, becoming prominent, and he was elected to almost every position of public trust in the new settlement; he served as magistrate from 1662 until his death, was appointed a judge of the court in 1666, and was a deputy to the Gen- cral Court 1666-1675. Mr. Stanton married in Hartford, in 1637, Anna, daughter of Dr. Thomas and Dorothy Lord, and they had ten children : Thomas, John, Mary, Hannah, Joseph, Daniel, Dor- othy, Robert. Sarah and Samuel. Through these they became the progenitors of a numerous race in the country about Stonington. Thomas Stanton died Dec. 2, 1677. aged sixty-eight years, and his wife passed away in 1688. Before the removal of the family from Hartford they had come into pos- session of a considerable quantity of land, and were considered well-to-do for the times.

(11) Capt. John Stanton, born in 1641, in Hart ford, Conn., was chosen in 1051 by the Court of Commissioners to be educated for a teacher of the Gospel to the Indians, but the young man ultimately gave up his studies and in the course of events be came one of the leaders of warfare against those very Indians. He was in command of one of the companies raised to participate in King Philip's war ; was present at the Narragansett Swamp fight. Dec. 19, 1075 ; and later he and Capt. George Deni son led their companies in successful pursuit of the remnants of the tribe and by overpowering them brought the war to a close. In tony occurred his marriage to Hannah, a sister of Res. William Thompson, of Braintree, Mass. Mrs. Stanton diedl Oct. 3, 1713, the mother of John, Joseph, Thomas. Ann, Theophilus and Dorothy. The family home was on a farm in Stonington, on the east bank of the Mystic river. It descended to Capt. John from

his father and has never since passed out of the hands of the family.

(III) Joseph Stanton, born Jan. 22. 1668, in- herited the family property and lived all his days on the old farm. On July 18, 1696, he married Margaret Cheesebrough, who was born about 1676. She was the daughter of Nathaniel and Hannah (Denison) Cheesebrough, and granddaughter of William, who came to America from England pre- vious to 1649, at which date he was on record as a resident of Stonington. The children of Joseph and Margaret Stanton were named Hannah. Mar- garet, Zerviah, Sarah, Anna. Dorothy, Joseph, Jolin and Nathaniel.

(IV) Lieut. Joseph Stanton, born May 1. 1712. was married Nov. 6, 1735, to Anna Wheeler, born Dec. 23, 1715, daughter of William and Hannah (Gallup) Wheeler. The former was a descendant through Isaac, of Thomas Wheeler, who is known to have been a resident in Lynn. Mass .. as early as 1635. Lieut. Stanton and his wife were both of Stonington, and there reared their family of eleven children: Hannah, Joseph, Margaret. Isaac W .. William, Anna. Nathan, Eunice, Martha, Mary and Dorothy. The father died March 14. 1,73.

(V) Joseph Stanton, born March 31. 1739. married April 22, 1767, Hannah Cheesebrough. daughter of Col. Amos and Desire ( William- ) Cheesebrough. She was born Sept. 27. 1:15. and died in 1835. three years later than her husband. They resided in Groton and had eleven children : John. Joseph, Anna, Amos, Desire. Joshua, Anos (2), Joshua C .. Hamah, Mary and Robert.

( VI) Robert Stanton, born May 0. 1;27. 11 Groton, spent his life on a farm in Ledsand, and with farming combined the occupation of a car penter. In his political views he was a Degeer. and stanchly upheld that party until the ny et Inis death, June 22, 1872. He was married in Presten. Comm .. Feb. 22. 1812, to Hannah, daughter Of the Isaac and Cynthia (Swan) Hewitt. Mrs. Stirton was born June 6, 178;, and died June 23. IN Children were born to her and her husbandes in' lows: Mary A. Dec. 20. 1813: Robert \, Ma 12. 1816: Iste Wheeler, March 25. 1800 00011 V .. July 25. 1822: Charles 11., Dec. 1, @SAL

( 11) Timer Wheeler Station was 1 ; well Gider Hill district of Lessard, and past lys 10 hood there. On beginning his tor hadthe some time in Abyste, then bought a tonly Clear- field, a Fast Lane, and was engagent theochs & carpenter and farner Moshe and continued to make In the date (1) Ins death. mi Febin.s. 1555 there by Gourdon 5, Allon ter of Rece Whams. a wheelwright, cresteran 1 binliter of Lawsand She hel m 1805, For chip dien were born to Isaac W and Ines Stain, onh 150of whom lived to grow up The best sell. Reg .

770

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

born in East Lyme, reached the age of twelve; the second son died in infancy. The two who survive are : Robert Allyn and Charles, of Mystic.

(VIII) Robert Allyn Stanton was born in East Lyme, April 9, 1863, but his school days were spent in the Ioth District, West Mystic, in Groton, whither his father had moved when the boy was about a year old. When he was fifteen he began his business life by clerking in a grocery store for John T. Batty, and after two years there spent nine more as a clerk for William E. Wheeler. He then went to Providence and worked for Murray, Spink & Co., a notion house, where he was employed in the office. Later, for a period of two years, he worked for J. M. Noyes, of Mystic. For a time Mr. Stan- ton traveled for the wholesale grocers, Daniels Cor- nell Co., of Worcester, and then for R. C. Williams & Co., of New York, but he finally returned to Mystic once more and spent eight years there as a clerk for W. E. Wheeler. At the end of that time, March 1, 1902, Mr. Stanton bought out the business, moved to his present location, and, with his intimate acquaintance with every detail of the trade, gained bv his long and varied experience, easily made a success from the beginning.

On Oct. 27, 1897, Mr. Stanton was united in matrimony with Mrs. Addie B. Gerrish, daughter of Jesse B. Crandall, of Mystic. Well-known in the business circles of his locality, Mr. Stanton is also popular socially, and belongs to Stonington Lodge, No. 26, I. O. O. F., and to Lodge No. 37, K. of P., at Boston, Massachusetts.

WILLIAM R. STEVENS, the leading pho- tographer of Norwich, is a descendant of an early New England family founded on these shores by William Stevens, shipwright, who is of record in Salem, Mass., as having a grant of land, in 1637, for the building of ships, the land probably being at Marblehead, where he was rated the same year, and also in 1640. He had built in London, before he made his home on the shores of Cape Ann, the great ship "Royal Merchant," of 600 tons. In 1643 he built a ship in Gloucester, Mass., and an- other in 1661, and it can hardly be doubted that he built other vessels. Mr. Stevens came to New England before 1632, and probably had his resi- dence in Boston or vicinity. He was at Salem in 1636. He was admitted a freeman in 1640, and in 1642 appears in Gloucester as one of the commis- sioners appointed by the General Court for order- ing town affairs. He was a selectman for several years, town clerk, and for four years a deacon in the church, a military officer, selectman in 1667, and from 1674 to 1691, inclusive ; and representative for ten years. He had eleven children, of whom William, Samuel, Ebenezer, David, Jonathan, Mary and Hannah were living at the time of their father's death.

At an early day there went from the vicinity of Gloucester, Mass., quite a colony of people who

settled in what is now Androscoggin county, Mainc. Among the number was at least one, probably sev- eral, of the Stevens family, and they settled at a place which they called New Gloucester, after the Massachusetts town. Later the town of Auburn was set off from New Gloucester, and in Auburn was a place called Stevens Mills, so named because one of the name conducted a sawmill there, lumber for the first buildings in Auburn being sawn at this mill. In that vicinity are numerous representatives of the name. Not far from the mill is a cemetery which contains the remains of several generations of the family, for 200 years. The old mill property is yet in the family name.

Sutton Stevens, grandfather of William R., was a farmer, and resided at Stevens Mills, where he died. He was unusually successful as an agricult- urist, especially for the time, being able to give each member of his large family what was then considered a good start in life. He was a man much esteemed in his community, and a devout member of the Uni- versalist Church. Sutton Stevens was twice mar- ried, first to Anna Haskell, and he became the father of a large family of children, thirteen of whom grew to maturity.

Isaiah Sewell Stevens, eldest child of Sutton Stevens, and the father of William R. Stevens, was born in Auburn, Androscoggin Co., Maine, and was reared to farm work. He learned the trade of machinist, at which he was working when the Civil war broke out. He enlisted for ninety days' service in the Ist Maine V. I., and subsequently enlisted in the Ioth Regiment, eventually joining the 29th, and serving several years in the army. After his dis- charge from the service he located at Portland, Maine, where he followed his trade, and he spent two years at Panama in the employ of a Maine firm when the railroad across the Isthmus was built. The latter years of his life were spent at Lewiston, Maine, where he died at the age of forty-nine years. Mr. Stevens was a Christian man, believing in the Golden Rule and attending the services of the Uni- versalist Church, and he endeavored to do his duty in whatever position he was placed. He was a stanch believer in the principles of the Republican party, but never cared enough about politics to take any active part in such matters or seek official honors. Fraternally he united with the I. O. O. F., and was much interested in the G. A. R.

Isaiah S. Stevens was married, in Lewiston, Maine, to Emma A. Ross, of Yarmouth, that state, daughter of William and Sarah A. (Groves) Ross, and she survived him several years, dying at Lewis- ton. They rest side by side in the cemetery there. Four children came to this couple: William Ross, who is mentioned below : Anna Haskell, a resident of Lewiston ; Maude Groves, Mrs. James A. Scott, of Lewiston ; and Emil Augustus.

William Ross Stevens was born Feb. 3, 1860, at Auburn, Androscoggin Co., Maine, be- ing quite young when his parents moved from

77I

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

that town to Portland. He spent his boy- hood days in the latter place, and received his early education in the public schools there and at Lewiston, whither the family had re- moved later. He began to learn the photographer's art at the age of sixteen years, in Lewiston, and was subsequently employed at Portland and Boston, coming from that city to Norwich, Conn., May I, 1897. He had purchased the Durgan Studio, which he has ever since conducted, building up an exten- sive patronage by high-class work, on merit alone. Mr. Stevens is regarded as one of the leading ex- ponents of his art in that part of the State, and his success is ample guarantee of his proficiency.

Mr. Stevens was married, in Lewiston, Maine, to Miss Mary McDonough, of that city and they have two daughters, Margaret Stanley and Elinor Emma.

In fraternal circles Mr. Stevens is well known and popular, being a member of St. James Lodge. F. & A. M. ; Franklin Chapter, R. A. M. ; Franklin Council, R. & S. M .; Columbian Commandery, K. T. ; Connecticut Consistory, 32d deg. : and Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Hartford, where he is also a member of the Sphinx Temple Band. He also holds membership in the Arcanum Club. Mr. Stevens is a Republican in political sentiment, but his activity in such matters begins and ends with the casting of his vote. However this does not in- clicate any lack of public spirit, for he is interested deeply in everything which conserves the welfare of his adopted city.

EMIL AUGUSTUS STEVENS, brother of William R. Stevens, was born Nov. 19, 1874. in Portland, Maine, and received his education in the public schools of Lewiston, that State. Soon after leaving school he accepted a position with the Walworth Manufacturing Co., at Boston, where he remained until 1897, when he came to Norwich to enter the employ of his brother and learn the art of photog- raphy. Like his brother Mr. Stevens united with St. James Lodge, Franklin Chapter, Franklin Com- cil and Columbian Commandery, and holds office in the Blue Lodge and Commandery. Mrs. Stevens was formerly Miss Maude L. Bullock, of Norwich.

HON. CHARLES WILLIAM BUTLER. lawyer and judge of New London, himself a man of prominence, springs from a prominent, sturdy New England ancestry which reaches back to the very landing of the Pilgrim fathers, numbering among that band John Howland and Richard War. ren, of the "Mayflower." 1620.

Born July 14. 1834. in New London, Conn .. Judge Butler is a son of the late Charles Butler. who for a quarter of a century was identified with the banking interests of New London, and his wife Lucy Caroline ( Williams ) Butler, In the paternal line the Judge is a descendant in the seventh gener- ation from John Butler, so far as known the first

American ancestor of this branch of the New Lon- don family. The lineage of Judge Butler from this John Butler is through Jonathan, Capt. Jonathan. William, Charles and Charles Butler (2). These generations follow in detail in the order named.

(I) John Butler was in New London in 1000. but probably not there until after 1680. He was born in 1653, and married Katherine, born in 1661. daughter of Richard Hanghton, of New London. Mr. Butler died March 26, 1733, and Mrs. Butler died Jan. 24. 1728. .

(II) Jonathan Butler, born July 13. 1700. in New London, Conn .. married Dec. 8. 1726, Tem- perance, born in 1708, in Saybrook, Conn .. daugh- ter of Daniel and Sarah (Lee) Buckingham, a de- scendant of Thomas Buckingham, of Milford : Rev. Thomas. of Saybrook : Thomas Hosmer, one of the original proprietors of Hartford: Lieut. Thomas Lee, of Saybrook : and Rev. Chad Brown, of Provi- dence. R. I. Jonathan Butler died in Saybrook. March 30, 1760.

(III) Capt. Jonathan Butler, born March 28. 1730, in Saybrook. Conn., married in 1751. Mary Parker, born Dec. 12, 1728, granddaughter of John Parker, attorney at law. Queen's attorney for New London county, and deputy to the General Court. a descendant of John Parker, of Northampton, Eng- land: Thomas Jones, of Guilford. Com. : Deacon Francis Bushnell, of Saybrook : Capt. Robert Chap- man, of Saybrook, and Thomas Bliss, of Hartford. Capt. Butler was lost at sea in 1752 on a voyage to Madeira.

( \\') William Butler, born April 16, 1752, in Saybrook, Conn., married Sept. 20. 1778. Sarah Hull, born Feb. 23. 1758, and was of Durham, Conn., before the close of the Revolution, where his marriage and the births of his children are recorded. Their children were: Charles, born 1770: Elizur. 1781 : Sarah, 1784: William, 1786; Harriet, 1,88: Chauncey, 1791: Betsey, 1793: Lyman, 1705: Rhoda, 1707: and Eliza, 1799. The father died April 7. 1830. His wife Sarah died Oct 7. 18.35.

(V) Charles Butler, born March 21. 1779. in Durham, Conn., married Nov. 0. 1802. Sarah Crocker, born Jan. 20, 1782, a descendant of John Warren, of Watertown. Mass. : Ellis Barron, of Watertown : Edward Sprague, of Upwas, England ; Anthony Eames, of Charlestown, Mass .. Richard Church, of Plymouth, Mass., and Richard Warren. of the "Mayflower." Mr. Butler became a resident of New London, Con., m cark hic, and was there married, Ins wife being a resident of that town. Two children were born to the marriage He later married a second wife, Is when he had une chil- dren.

Mr. Butler became associated in the best and show business with Henry Douglass, when for nous year's was the honored town clerk of New London. In 1805 they bought a building which stored on the site of the brick structure, corner of Golden and

- ==

772

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Bank streets, now occupied by a saloon. In Decem- ber, 1815, Mr. Butler bought a lot in State street and erected the brick store now in possession of Ralph Smith & Son. In this structure he launched into business on his own account and employed sev- eral workmen making shoes on the third floor. The middle part he rented for various mercantile pur- poses. For more than forty years he was in the business of making and selling shoes. He made a brand of slippers known as "Butler's Pumps," and every sailor who went whaling out of New London or New Bedford was supposed to have a supply of the pumps before making the voyage. He was a member of the common council of New Lon- don in 1820. Mr. Butler died Nov. 4, 1847. His wife Sarah died Sept. 2, 1806.

(VI) Charles Butler (2), son of Charles and Sarah (Crocker) Butler, born Sept. 2, 1803, in New London, married Sept. 4, 1833, Lucy Caroline Williams, born July 22, 1809, in New London, daughter of William and Lydia (Wheeler) Wil- liams, descendant of Robert Williams, of Roxbury, Mass. ; Thomas Wheeler, of Stonington, Conn. ; Capt. Thomas Prentice, of Newton, Mass. ; Thomas Stanton, of Stonington, Conn. ; Thomas .Lord, of Hartford, Conn. ; Thomas Hammond, of Newton ; Thomas Gardner, of Roxbury ; William Denison, of Roxbury; Captain George Denison, his son: John Borodil, of Cork, Ireland ; Robert Lay, of Say- brook; Christopher Avery, of Salisbury, England ; Clement Miner, of Chew Magna, England ; Walter Palmer, of Stonington, Conn. ; Joshua Holmes, of Stonington : John Randall, of Westerly, R. I. ; Dea- con William Park, of Roxbury, Mass .; Capt. Rob- ert Chaplin, of Edmondsbury, England ; Capt. John Gorham, of Plymouth, Mass .; John Howland, of the "Mayflower ;" Capt. John Gallup, of Boston. Mass. : Mrs. Margaret Lake; Edmund Read, of Wickford, England; Rev. Thomas Shepard, of Cambridge, Mass .; Francis Wainwright, of Ips- wich, Mass., and Valentine Prentis, of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Mr. Butler passed his life in New London, of which city he was long a substantial man and useful citizen, respected and esteemed by the community. On the organization of the Bank of Commerce in 1852 he became its cashier and most acceptably filled that position from that time on until his death, which occurred March 13, 1878. His wife survived him, dying April 28, 1891. Their oldest child was :

Charles William Butler, whose name introduces this article, was prepared for the law in the office of Judge George Goddard and the Hon. Abiel Con- verse. He was admitted to the Bar in New London county in September, 1871. From 1866 to 1870 he was postmaster of the city of New London. From 1878 to 1885 he was clerk of the court of Common Pleas. From July 1, 1877, he was judge of the Police and City courts of New London twenty-six years, until July 1, 1993. He has also served for years as United States commissioner.

WILLIAM WALTON, one of the highly re- spected and substantial business men of Pawcatuck, in the town of Stonington, is one of the worthy sons whom England is still sending to our shores to take their part in the stirring life of the younger country. He was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, March 9, 1831.

George Walton, father of William, our subject, was born in Birmingham, and for the greater part of his life was employed as a master weaver. He married Susannah Fletcher, of Wakefield, York- shire, and became the father of eight children. Of these only two, Joseph and William, came to Amer- ica. Joseph came in 1843 and saw service in the Mexican war under Gen. Taylor. He returned to England and during the Crimean war enlisted under his country's flag. He died in his native Hudders- field.

William Walton, our subject, is the only sur- vivor of a family of nine children. He spent his childhood and schooldays in his birthplace, and be- gan working when nine years of age, being em- ployed there as a spinner in woolen mills, where he remained thirteen years. In 1855 he embarked for America, arriving in Pawcatuck Feb. 18th of that year. For some eleven years he was engaged as a spinner in the woolen mills owned by O. M. Still- man, and then in 1866 started in business for himself in the junk and iron trade. In the course of this pursuit he has traveled over the whole of Connecti- cut and Rhode Island, buying iron, in which busi- ness he has met with well-earned and deserving success. His legal residence ever since coming to this country has been Stonington, and since 1866 he has been a voter of that town. In politics he is a Republican, and fraternally he belongs to the I. O. O. F., which he joined in England. He attends the Episcopal Church, of which he is a liberal sup- porter.

On Feb. 10, 1858, Mr. Walton was married in Stonington borough to Miss Mary Pilling, like him- self a native of Huddersfield, England, who died in Pawcatuck, Conn., Jan. 18, 1882. They had five children, namely: (I) John, who lived only two years; (2) Annie, born in 1866, now the wife of Edward H. James, a boss carder, formerly of North Andover, Mass., now of Pawcatuck, by whom she has had two children, Edward (born in 1886), and Mabel, (born in 1897) ; (3) Joseph, who died. aged six months; (4) Henry, born in 1874, who is in business with his father; and (5) Mary, at home. For his second wife Mr. Walton married Jane Parker, who died in Pawcatuck without issue.

Mr. Walton is in the truest sense of the word a self-made man, whose only stock in trade upon land- ing in America was a willingness to work and a determination to succeed, combined with energy, pluck and perseverance, to which characteristics his success in life is due. His quiet manner, combined with a pleasing social nature, has won for him a host of friends in his adopted town, where he and

William Halten

773

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his estimable family are held in highest esteem by all who know them. Mr. Walton visited his native land in 1895, and found only one member of his family still living, his oldest sister, who is now deceased.

FREDERICK S. ARMSTRONG, one of the representative and most highly respected citizens of Franklin, New London Co., Conn., is a descend- ant of one of the first settlers of the town. His an- cestral line is as follows :

(I) Benjamin Armstrong and his two brothers came to America from Kent. England, and he settled in Norwich, Conn., before 1664, as shown by the records of that town. For a time he resided in what is now the city of Norwich, and later moved to what is now Franklin, locating in the southeast part of the town, where he resided until his death. He and his wife Rachel had children ; Benjamin, born Nov. 30, 1674 (died Jan. 10, 1717) ; John, Dec. 5. 1678; Joseph, Dec. 10, 1684: Stephen, March 31, 1686 (died aged seventeen years).

(11) John Armstrong married Ann Worth, Jan. 18, 1710 and their children were: John, born Oct. 18, 1711; Persevere, Dec. 18, 1712; Hopestill, Oct. 15, 1713; Oliver, Aug. 19. 1715: Ann, Dec. 17, 1717: James, July 22, 1718; Thomas, March 3. 1720 ; Lois, April 1, 1723 ; Katura, March 28, 1725 : Jeremiah, Nov. 3. 1726; Eunice, Sept. 12. 1727 ; Freelove, April 1, 1731.

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.

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 174

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