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 23

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 23

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).

(VIII) RICHARD SILL GRISWOLD (2) was born in Lyme, June 3, 1845, and died June 30, 1904. His childhood was passed in Lyme; at the age of eleven he went to New Haven where he entered the Hopkins Grammar School, and later he attended school in New York City. He made nearly twenty voyages across the Atlantic, his business for a num- ber of years being on New York and Liverpool packets. He was also in business with Brown & Brother, brass manufacturers of Waterbury, for seven years. On Feb. 9, 1869, he married, in Water- bury, Rosa Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Dr. James Brown, of that place. Mrs. Griswold was born in Aberdeen, Miss., Nov. 25, 1849, and traces her de- scent through her father Dr. James Brown, Col. James, Stephen, Stephen, Capt. Francis and Samuel, to Francis Brown, an early settler in Connecticut, who was one of the seven men who stayed in New Haven, through the hard winter of 1639, at the place which is now the corner of Orange and Church streets. The children of Richard Sill and Rosa E. (Brown) Griswold, were as follows : Richard Sill (3), born Nov. 15, 1869, in Waterbury, attended the Bartlett School in Lyme, and graduated as a physician from Bellevue Hos- pital, in New York City. He practiced medicine in Hartford for a time, and at the breaking out of the war with Spain enlisted in the Ist Connecticut, as surgeon. He went to the Philippines with the 26th U. S. V. I. as lieutenant and assistant surgeon, and was killed in the massacre at Samar Sept. 28, 1901. (2) James Brown, born Dec. IO, 1870, in Waterbury, lives in Morristown, N. J. He is a graduate of the Bartlett School, in Lyme, of Dartmouth Medical College, and of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He married Mary A. Stokes, of East Hampton, L. I. (3) Daniel Eddie, born April II, 1874, in Lyme, attended the Bartlett School and graduated from Williams College, and from the Co- lumbian Law School, and is a practicing attorney in Lyme and New London. He married Helen, daugh- ter of Major Bancroft, of New London. (4) George, born March 8, 1876, in Lyme, is a graduate of the Bartlett School, and of the Biltmore School of For- estry. He is engaged in the insurance business and

resides in Lyme. (5) Harry Todd was born Jai 1879, in New Haven ; he attended the Bartlett So and studied music in New York City. He is il engineering department of Westinghouse, Chif Kerr & Co., with his headquarters in New } (6) Rosa Elizabeth, born Jan. 29, 1880, in Haven, is a graduate of Miss Porter's Schoc Farmington, Conn. (7) Joseph Perkins, born ! 15, 1881, in Lyme, is a graduate of the Bar School. (8) Woodward Haven, born July 28, I is also a graduate of the Bartlett School.

Richard Sill Griswold was a well known ma fraternal circles, being a thirty-second degree Ma and member of the lodge, chapter, council and c mandery, in Waterbury. He is also a membe Lodge of Perfection, Cyrus Goodale Chapter, I Croix, Hartford, Connecticut Sovereign Consist Norwich, Mecca Temple, New York City, and Veteran Masonic Association. He represer Lyme in the Legislature in 1878 and 1879. In 1- the Boxwood School for Girls was established Lyme, which is under the direction of Mrs. C wold. The school, with its ample grounds ideally situated between the Connecticut river the Sound, and every care is taken to insure the 1 being of its pupils, the aim being to secure for tl the best physical, mental, moral and spiritual de opment.

HON. FRANCIS B. LOOMIS, late of M London, whose death occurred July 13, 1892, at home of his daughter in Hartford, had for fc and more years been a prominent and influen citizen of New London, as manufacturer, bank legislator, etc. He was descended in paternal lit from a family known in England, and one of ( tinction for 450 years, and of earlier existence Lombardy and Spain.

Born April 9, 1812, in Lyme, Conn., a son Joel and Ellis (Chappell) Loomis, the deceased v a descendant in the seventh generation from seph Loomis, the immigrant ancestor of this brai of the family in the United States, his lineage be through Deacon John, Deacon Samuel, Daniel, Jc (2) and Joel Loomis.

(I) Joseph Loomis, a woolen draper in Bra tree, County of Essex, England, born probal about 1590, came to Boston in 1638, sailing fre London in the ship "Susan and Ellen." It is record in Windsor, that in 1640, he had granted h from the Plantation twenty-one acres of land adjo ing Farmington river, on the west side of the Cc necticut river ; also several large tracts on the e: side of the Connecticut river (partly by purchase the Judge Loomis home there still standing. I- wife, whose name seems not to be known, died At 23, 1652. He died Nov. 25, 1658. There came w. them eight children, all born in England, as f lows: Joseph, a daughter, Elizabeth, John, Thom: Nathaniel, Mary and Samuel.

(II) Deacon John Loomis, born in 1622, in En

Francis B Loomis

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

married Feb. 3. 1648-49, Elizabeth, daughter tomas Scott, of Hartford. He was admitted · Church in Windsor in 1640, and in 1643 had

an of 0 ed him from the Plantation forty acres of land. ora Fro 1652 to 1660, he resided in Farmington, then "eti ied to Windsor, and was a deacon in the church :he 166 liev chil He was deputy to the General Court in and in 1667, and also from 1675 to 1687. He Sept. 1, 1688, his wife surviving him. Their en were : John, Joseph, Thomas, Samuel, Dan- mes, Timothy, Nathaniel, David, Samuel (2), Elizabeth and Mary.

el, .sa. .66 No

iel‹ nd

II) Deacon Samuel Loomis, born Aug. 12, married (first) July 2, 1688, Elizabeth, born 13, 1667, daughter of Daniel White, of Hat- she died Feb. 10, 1736, and he married (sec- Oct. 25, 1738, Mrs. Elizabeth Church, a widow, vhe died Aug. 10, 1751, aged seventy-six years. Deabn Loomis removed to Colchester in 1700, vhe. in 1702 he was chosen deacon. His death oc- url May 20, 1754. His children were: Eliza-

›etl "Samuel, Samuel (2), Isaac, Jacob, Azariah, Elizbeth, Sarah, Caleb and Daniel.

V) Daniel Loomis, born Feb. 20, 1709, mar- iedo ct. 7, 1731, Hannah Witherell, and resided in Coleester. He died March 28, 1784, and his wife ass away March 1, 1779, aged seventy-six years. Che children were: Hannah, Mary, Daniel, Eliza- etl- John, Israel and Samuel.

") John Loomis, born June 6, 1741, married Dec 18, 1760, Rachel Harris and lived in Salem. Ir. oomis died May 4, 1811, and his widow passed wa June 23, 1827, aged ninety-two years. Their hil en were: Jacob, John, Rachel, Elizabeth, El- ie, arris, Joel, Hubbel, Guy, Elias and Elijah.

firs

I) Joel Loomis, born May 6, 1773, married Hannah Angel; she died June 12, 1806, aged -eight years, and he married (second) Ellis ell, who died May 17, 1853, aged seventy-four

.00

s died March 1, 1867. Their children were

ah, James, Eliza, Charlotte, Joel, Almena,

G., Francis B., Christopher, Emma A., Ellis

11bl le neral Assembly, judge of probate for many ear for a brief period an associate judge of the Court, and an intimate friend of the late Chi

Justice Wait, of Connecticut." . Ezekiel 'ha oll, the father of Ellis (Chappell) Loomis, 'as soldier of the Revolution, serving throughout g period.

I boyhood Francis B. Loomis had the benefit f a je years' tuition in a private school. On at- Lini his majority he engaged in the manufacture

E w len goods in Lyme, Conn. Success followed in

this business from the very beginning. Later 1 h rected woolen mills at Montville, and became 10 ner of the Rockwell mills at Norwich and the actories in that town. He removed to New onq 1 in 1848, and with the business interests of

that city and vicinity he was ever afterward prom- inent through the active period of his life. He then built, and for a time managed, the steam woolen mill at that city-the first factory ever built there for the making of textile fabrics, and of this he was the sole owner. He erected the woolen mill in Coventry, Conn. Subsequently he acquired the exclusive title to the large steam cotton mills at Sag Harbor, N. Y. In these enterprises Mr. Loomis was alone. In the development of woolen manufacture in this coun- try between 1840 and 1870, Mr. Loomis was one of the conspicuous factors. During the Civil war his manufacturing was conducted on a more extensive scale than that of any other man in Connecticut. His numerous establishments were running night and day, and his employees numbered a thousand or more. He possessed great ability as a financier. He organized the First National Bank, of New London, which was one of the first of its class in the county. He was the owner of nearly the whole of the capital stock of that institution, and in person directed its operations from its organization until it went out of business in 1877. It proved, as an investment, lu- crative, dividends for many years averaging twelve per cent in gold, and the surplus accumulations more than equal to the capital. The First National Bank was the government depository for Eastern Con- necticut throughout the Civil war, and for a long time held average government deposits of upwards of $4,000,000. It was also trusted with the sale of government bonds, and floated over $20,000,000 of the several issues.

In early life Mr. Loomis paid some attention to military affairs, and at twenty-one years of age was chosen colonel of the Third Regiment of Connecticut Militia. His political affiliations were with the Whig party, with which he acted until it ceased to exist, after which he was with the Republican party. On the breaking out of the Civil war he as a patriot supported the government. He was liberal to the fund for raising the first company of volunteers sent from New London. In 1864, and just before the carnage and horror of the battle of the Wilderness, he offered to furnish and equip at his own expense 1,000 men for 100 days in order to relieve the gar- rison at Fort Trumbull, that the regulars stationed there might be sent to the front. This offer was not accepted, but the patriotic act brought a compliment from President Lincoln who wrote him in part :- "I cannot pass unnoticed such a meritorious instance of individual patriotism. Permit me, for the govern- ment, to express my cordial thanks to you for this generous and public-spirited offer, which is worthy of note among the many called forth in these times of National trial." The letter from which this is taken is in the possession of the granddaughter, Miss Julia Loomis Havemeyer.

In 1872 Col. Loomis acted with the Liberal Re- publican movement. He was nominated an elector- at-large on the Greeley and Brown ticket, and from that time on he was identified with the Demo-

wel Cha ea1 They lived in Lyme, Conn., where Mr.

Ha ara nd ordelia F. Joel, the father, "was an influential man, a frequent representative of his town in

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cratic party. In that same year he declined the un- animous nomination as candidate for Senator of the Seventh district, and soon thereafter the Congres- sional nomination of the Third district. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention held at St. Louis, which nominated Tilden and Hen- dricks for President and vice-president. He was also made a presidential elector-at-large on that ticket from the State of Connecticut. He was elected lieutenant-governor of Connecticut on the Democratic ticket in November, 1876, and presided over the Senate with dignity and skill, and so accept- ably that the Senate presented him with a large photograph of the old State House, with the picture of the 21 senators grouped around it (the session over which he presided being the last held in that building), as a testimonial of friendship and es- teem. In this farewell of the Senate to its presiding officer Senator Browne, in part, said : "In your official position, on every occasion, you have treated all questions fairly and honorably, and in a manner to command the respect and approval of all. Strange as it may seem, yet it is true, that during the two years that you have presided over this body no ap- peal has been made from the rulings of the chair. In all personal relations, coming together strangers to each other as it were, we have come to love and esteem you, and no member of this Senate will sever the relations which have bound us together without feelings of pain and regret at the parting which will extend far into the future; but that pain will be softened by a pleasure in the new friendships which have been the growth and product of this session, which we seriously hope will only terminate with life. It brings feelings of sadness as we review the history of this session to think of parting; but we must not let its sadness oppress us. We must re- member that life is like a picture, it has its sunshine and its shadow ; let us not forget that we have for weeks walked together with you in the sunshine, in this parting hour we stand within the shadow. But as we part, whether in sunshine or in shadow, may God be with us all."

In 1880 Col. Loomis was a prominent candidate for the Governorship, but before the assembling of the convention withdrew his name from that con- nection.

On Dec. 20, 1836, Mr. Loomis was married to Miss Betsey Ingham, of Saybrook, who died March 20, 1839. He married (second) May 3, 1842, An- genora Beckwith, of Kentucky, who survived him, dying Jan. 5, 1895. One daughter, Betsey Ingham, was born to the first marriage, and to the second came three, two of whom died in infancy, the other being now Mrs. Charles W. Havemeyer, of Hart- ford, who has two children, Julia Loomis, and Loomis. Betsey I. is now the widow of the late George D. Whittlesey, of New London (mentioned elsewhere), in which city she still resides.

At the time of the death of Col. Loomis, the New London Telegraph said editorially: "Francis

B. Loomis, who died yesterday morning, v a familiar figure in New London, where his de. IS greatly regretted by men of both parties. [r. Loomis was a Democrat of the good old fashifed kind. He had been a prominent man here for aelf a century. He was a quiet and exceedingly tentatious man, who loved to live in a simpl n- assuming way. He possessed a fund of varie In- formation with regard to the affairs of State country, and had an extensive acquaintance th leading men in both parties. Though not a lat speaker, it was everywhere conceded he was a fin of individual thought and unquestioned abilit

The New London Day on the same occ on said: "Though an especially active and ener fic man in all the affairs of life in his earlier day bie was not known to the present generation. amassed a fortune, at one time a great one, and ille it the instrument of much good in helping those 10 had a claim on his interest, and many who halio special claim, and in extending a generous hospit to his friends. To the younger men about ,1, whose ability he recognized, he was ever a vin friend, and encouraged them with advice and Lı- terial aid."

BENTON. Among the New England fan 's that have been represented in all walks of life se the days of the Pilgrims, is that bearing the nan Benton. This family was planted on the strife shores of the New World by Andrew Benton, fo was born in the County of Essex, England, in Ih, and who came to America between 1630-1635 an older brother Edward. In 1639 he is recorders a license holder in Milford, Conn., and his first h ke was built probably in 1648-49. On March 5, 1 he was admitted to the church. He moved to E ford about 1660, and was a prominent member ofle First Church there, but with others organized e Second Church Feb. 12, 1669. From allotment 1 purchase he became the owner of considerable 1 in Hartford, and was one of the wealthy men of the days. It is known that he was twice married, ft to Hannah Stocking, who bore him eight child and second to Anna Cole, who bore him four ( dren. No record of either marriage, nor of the t wife's death, is extant, but Hannah was admitte' the Milford Church Oct. 13, 1650. He diecit Hartford July 31, 1683, and is buried near Ft Church in that place.

(II) Samuel Benton, sixth child of Andrew 1 Hannah, was born in Milford, Aug. 15, 1658, 1 he was but two years of age when his parents . moved to Hartford, where he spent the rest of 3 life. From the records it would seemn that he 3 quite an important citizen. He owned land in land, Conn., which he gave to his son, Samuel. death occurred April 10, 1746, when he was all eighty-eight years. His wife was Sarah Chatter - of New Haven.

(III) Samuel Benton (2), son of Samuel,

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the dest of nine children. He was born in Hart- Conn., Jan. 28, 1680, and on reaching manhood for wel to Tolland, where he lived most of his life. He arried Mary Pomeroy, of Northampton, Mass., , 1704, and his death occurred in Tolland Feb. 3, aged eighty-three years.

V) Samuel Benton (3), next to the youngest

of t seven children in the family of Samuel (2), wastorn Aug. II, 1717. On Dec. 22, 1743, he mar- riec ane Bradley, of Tolland, and they became the s of ten children, of whom four, Elisha, Jon- Samuel and Zadoc, served in the Revolution- my. There is no record of the death of Sam- nton (3).

par atha ary uel

) Ozias Benton, third child of Samuel (3), wasborn Feb. 25, 1748. On Nov. 19, 1772, he mar- riedet Tolland, Sarah Day, of East Windsor. He and is wife, and three of their children died in Mai, 1816, with what is recorded as an epidemic of cgestive pneumonia.

I) Adonijah Benton, eldest of the seven chil- drei f Ozias and Sarah, was born May II, 1775. On 25, 1803, he married Anna Post, of Tolland, s death occurred March 24, 1816. He was a hent member of the Congregational Society.

pro1

II) Erastus Benton, the first of five children borı o Adonijah and Anna, was born in Tolland, Jan.

7, 1805. His education was acquired in the dist: t schools, and for some years he engaged in teaching in Connecticut and Massachusetts. It was til after the birth of his two children that he not

tor the Church at Plainfield and Sterling. He latervás pastor successively in the Franklin Circuit v London county, Eastford, Mansfield, Uncas-

and Montville, Thompson, Woodstock and ville

Glastonbury. In 1847 he was appointed pre- Sou

elder of the New London district, and resided sidiı 'wich as such for four years. Resuming the at N

: duties of pastor, he had charges in Norwich regu

North Bridgewater (now Brockton), Mass., tow1 et, Mass., and Stafford Springs, Thompson- Wel

id Portland, Conn. After another two years ville

iding elder of the New London district, with as p

resicice at Stafford Springs, Conn., he served as at North Dighton, Mass., and .Rockville, past

The last years of his life were passed in Con Staf ber .

d Springs. For fifty-one years he was a mem- what is now known as the Southern confer- enceff the Methodist Episcopal Church. Erastus was twice married. On May 24, 1827, he Bent marı

1 Almira Towne, of Belchertown, Mass., who died : Stafford Springs, Conn., Oct. 4, 1871, the mot of two children: Josiah Towne and Mary

Flet r. His second wife was Mrs. Louisa (To

e) Phelps, a sister to the first wife. Erastus Bent died Jan. 24, 1884.

1 s family presents a remarkable record for

mini rial and religious work. As stated above Eras ; Benton devoted fifty-one years of his life to the

urch; his son, Josiah Towne Benton, spent

fifty years as a minister; and his daughter, Mary Fletcher, who became Mrs. Scranton, was for nine- teen years treasurer of the Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Corea, and while there organized the first school ever known for girls in that far-away land, while her son, Rev. W. B. Scranton, M. D., who graduated from Yale in 1878, a classmate of Gov. Taft, now Secretary of War, and who-received the degree of M. D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, was superintendent of missions in that country. When his mother returned to America on account of ill health, he accompanied her, and for two years was engaged in the practice of medicine in East Hartford. In August, 1904, he and his family and his mother returned to Corea, he having again been made superintendent of missions. Rev. Stephen Olin Benton, son of Rev. Josiah Towne, has had thir- ty-five years of faithful work in the Master's cause, and his sister, Emma Jane Benton, went to Yoko- hama, in 1882, and remained as a missionary in Japan seven years. She married Rev. G. W. Elmer, now a member of the New England Southern Con- ference. If the services of the Rev. Paul Townsend, uncle of Rev. Josiah T. Benton, and those of his son- in-law, Rev. Elmer, are added, there is a total of two hundred and fifty years of ministerial and mission- ary work in this family, and those closely allied to it by marriage.

(VIII) REV. JOSIAH TOWNE BENTON was born in Tolland April 10, 1828, and was educated in the schools of Plainfield, the high school at Thompson, and a private school in Glastonbury. After leaving school he engaged in the mercantile business in Glas- tonbury, and for a time was accountant in Collins Brothers' cotton factory in the same place. In 1853 he was licensed to preach, and his first charge was in his native town of Tolland. Afterward he preached in the following parishes: Lyme, East Lyme and Lebanon, Conn .; New Bedford, Fourth Street ; First Church, Taunton; Provincetown, Mass .; Stafford Springs, Conn .; East Greenwich, St. Paul's in Prov- idence and Centerville, R. I .; and in Thompsonville, Uncasville and Niantic, Conn. In 1879 on account of ill health he was obliged to give up active regular work in the ministry. On Nov. 24, 1847, he married, in South Glastonbury, Maria E. Granniss, who died Feb. 22, 1899. Their children were: Stephen Olin ; Elizabeth Almira ; Herbert Granniss, who died aged seven years ; and Emma Jane, who married Rev. G. W. Elmer, and has five children, Eva, Irvin, Herbert, Ernest and Mildred. On Oct. 31, 1903, in Niantic, Rev. Josiah T. Benton entered into rest at the age of seventy-five years.

(IX) Stephen Olin Benton, eldest son of Rev. Josiah T., was born in Middletown, Conn., April 30, 1849, and was educated in the public schools, gradu- ating from the high school in Providence. For a time he engaged in teaching, and then pursued an ad- vanced course in East Greenwich Academy. When only seventeen years of age he was licensed to

ente

d the ministry. In 1833 and 1834 he was pas-

NOV and

Jan- 8, I

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

preach, and when about twenty he joined the con- ference. The degrees M. A. and D. D. were con- ferred upon him by Wesleyan University. He served as pastor successively at Dighton, Mass .; Vernon, Conn. ; Norwich ; East Main St., East Greenwich, R. I. ; Danielson, Conn .; Burnside, Conn .; New Lon- don, Conn .; County Street, New Bedford, Mass .; and Chestnut Street, Providence, R. I. He then spent six years as presiding elder of the Providence District, after which for five years he was pastor of the First Church, Fall River, Mass. He was later presiding elder of the New Bedford district. In August, 1902, he was elected recording secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and now resides in Mt. Vernon, N. Y., with his office at No. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York City. For eighteen years he was secretary of his conference, and was five times a delegate to the Gen- eral Conference, for three of which he led his dele- gation, and for three times he was one of the secre- taries of the General Conference. Ten years of efficient services as one of the managers of the Mis- sionary Society have greatly advanced the practical and beneficent work of that body. During one quadrennium he was a member of the Book com- mittee.

In 1869 Rev. Stephen O. Benton was married, at Stafford Springs, Conn., to Nellie. M. Taft, of that village. To this union came one daughter, Eva May.

(IX) Elizabeth Almira Benton, daughter of Rev. Josiah Towne, received an excellent education, grad- uating from the East Greenwich Academy. For some years she was an efficient and popular teacher in the schools at Thompsonville and Centerville, and for nineteen years she was engaged most successfully in the drug business at Niantic. She is one of the few women of the State to be a licensed pharmacist. She retired from business in 1896, and continues to reside in Niantic.

GALLUP. The Gallup family of Connecticut is one of 270 and more years' standing in New Eng- land, and of only a few years less in this Common- wealth. Its usefulness in the very dawn of our cultivation, in the conspicuous part it bore in the struggles against the Indians, its large representa- tion in the war of the Revolution, as well as the part it has taken in the subsequent affairs of the State, are matters of history.

The branch of the family under consideration here is that of Hon. Henry Haskell Gallup, now serving his second term as treasurer of the State of Connecticut, and one of the leading and influen- tial citizens of Norwich, and his younger brother, Charles Davis Gallup, sons of Isaac and Maria T. (Davis) Gallup, of Preston. They are descendants in the ninth generation from John Gallop, the immi- grant settler, their lineage being through Capt. John, Benadam, Lieut. Benadam, Col. Benadam, Isaac, Isaac (2), and Isaac (3).

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 23

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