History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 39

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1532

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their examination was one written by the Rev. J. H. Clinch, A.M., of Boston, Mass., and the second best was that from the pen of the subject of this sketch. In December, 1837, when but little more than twenty- two years of age, he became the editor and proprietor of The New Havener, a weekly literary periodical. While under his supervision it numbered among its contributors Prof. Gibbs, of Yale College, Noah Web- ster, LL.D., Rev. J. H. Clinch, Mrs. Sigourney, and other writers of established reputation. During the autumn of 1839 he removed to Philadelphia, but soon after became associated with Mr. Naudain as joint editor of The Delaware Sentinel, a large tri-weekly political journal published in the city of Wilmington, Del. Here he remained through the " Harrison cam- paign," perhaps the most exciting one in our partisan annals, and had the satisfaction of believing that bis services were generally acknowledged and appreciated. In the mean time he had been a frequent and well- known correspondent of several of the most popular magazines and literary papers in the Union, in the prospectuses of some of which his name had been widely heralded as a " principal contributor."

In the summer of 1841, Mr. Kilbourne left Wil- mington with the intention of seeking his fortune in the West, but unforeseen circumstances changed his destination. He soon after became connected with E. B. Greene, Esq., in the editorship of The New England Weekly Review, in Hartford, Conn., a paper which had previously been edited by the celebrated poets John Greenleaf Whittier and George D. Pren- tice. In June, 1842, he published a volume of one hundred and eighty pages, entitled "The Skeptic, and Other Poems," which was well received by the public. "The Iron Horse," a poem, also from his pen, soon after made its appearance in pamphlet form. He remained in Hartford, as one of the editors of The Review and of The Columbian, until the summer of 1845, when he returned to his native town, and became the editor and proprietor of The Litchfield Enquirer.

During his residence in Litchfield Mr. Kilbourne was four or five times elected a member of the board of education. In 1847 his "Family Memorial," an octavo volume of one hundred and fifty pages, was published. In February, 1850, he was commissioned hy Governor Trumbull as a notary public; and in January, 1851, he was appointed and sworn as a commissioner of deeds for the State of Vermont. During the year last numed his poem entitled " Ban- tam" was given to the public in a pamphlet form, and his " Biographical History of Litchfield County" was published in an octavo volume of four hundred and sixteen pages. On the 24th of August, 1852, he was appointed by his excellency Governor Bigler, of Pennsylvania, pursuant to an act of the Legislature of that State, a commissioner, resident in Connecticut, with "authority to take the acknowledgment and proof of any deed, mortgage, or conveyance of any lands, tenements or hereditaments lying or being in

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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

the State of Pennsylvania, or any other writing under seal to be used or recorded therein; with full power and authority also to administer oaths, take deposi- tions, and examine witnesses under any commission emanating from any of the courts of said State rela- ting to any cause depending or to be brought in any of said courts."

In consequence of too close application to business the health of Mr. Kilbourne ultimately became so impaired that, in March, 1853, he disposed of the En- quirer office to Mr. H. W. Hyatt.

At the annual commencement of Union College, N. Y., in August, 1853, the president and trustees of that institution conferred upon Mr. Kilbourne the honorary degree of Master of Arts.

In politics Mr. Kilbourne was uniformly recognized as a Whig. Though the life of a politician was far from being congenial to his tastes, his position as editor almost necessarily compelled him to take a somewhat active part in the contests of the day. He was often a delegate to Senatorial, Congressional, and State conventions ; frequently officiated as secretary of these conventions, and on the committees on reso- lutions ; and in March, 1855, he was president of the American Senatorial Convention which convened at Winsted, Coun.

In the summer of 1855 he took a trip to the Old World. An account of his tour through England and Wales, in several chapters, was published in the En- quirer in the summer and autumn of that year, under the general head of "Rides and Rambles in the Father-Land."

Mr. Kilbourne was a member of the Connecticut Historical Society ; corresponding secretary of the Kilbourne Historical and Genealogical Society ; sec- retary of the Litchfield County Historical Society ; corresponding member of the Historical Societies of Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin ; Fellow of the American Statistical Association; corresponding member of the New England Historical and Genea- logical Society, etc. Also clerk of the borough of Litchfield ; clerk of the Court of Probate for the dis- trict of Litchfield ; and commissioner of the Superior Court of Connecticut.

In 1856 he published " History of Kilbourne Fam- ily," one of the earliest and best-arranged genealogies published; was Governor Holley's private secretary. in 1857; published "History of Litchfield," put in type by himself, in 1859. This publication is a valu- able contribution to the historic literature of the State, and takes front rank among the standard local works of our times. Mr. Hollister, in the preface to his "History of Connecticut," vol. ii., gives Mr. Kilbourne a glowing tribute, closing, "I should have been unable to do even the little I have done without him, and am not willing to let this occasion pass with- out attempting to do him justice : as a genealogist, I have never seen his superior." He died July 19, 1859.

DANIEL SHELDON.

There is no prouder or more enduring personal record than that of a man who devotes his life-work to the advancement of a noble profession and the amelioration of the human race. Such a one is Dr. Daniel Sheldon, one of the first in date and in medi- cal skill of the physicians of Litchfield, who enjoyed in an eminent degree the confidence and respect of his fellow-townsmen. He was entirely devoted to his profession, which he practiced with judgment and sound common sense, detesting quackery and dis- liking the heroic treatment. Threatened at one time of his life with pulmonary consumption, his experi- ence in his own case indicated a regimen which is still considered the best, if not the only, method of dealing with this dangerous disease. His reputation extended throughout the State and to the city of New York.

Dr. Sheldon's cheerful, kind, and disinterested char- acter made him a general favorite. All his actions were directed by a strong seuse of duty. He came of a sound Puritan stock, and was educated in those bracing Calvinistic doctrines which produced in the New England of his youth and manhood "a horror of sin, an enthusiasm for justice, purity, and manli- ness."

Dr. Sheldon was descended from Isaac Sheldon, au Englishman, who settled in Dorchester, Mass., in 1634. He was born in Hartford, Conn., Oct. 19, 1750 (O.S.). Like many other New England boys his time was di- vided between farm work in summer and the gram- mar school in winter, where he acquired a knowledge of Latin and Greek. At the age of seventeen he went to reside with his uncle by marriage, Dr. Bird, of Litchfield South Farms, and studied medicine. He commenced practice in Washington, Conn., and was married in 1777, to Miss Charlotte Judson, of Washington, by the Rev. Daniel Brinsmade. Mrs. Sheldon died in 1782, leaving two children. In 1784 he remarried with Miss Huldah Stone. The cele- brated Dr. Lemuel Hopkins, whose wife was a sister of Miss Stone, was then practicing in Litchfield. It was arranged between them that Dr. Hopkins should move to Hartford, and Dr. Sheldon take his place in Litchfield. This was in 1784. Dr. Sheldon remained in Litchfield until he died, in April, 1840, at the age of ninety, having enjoyed excellent health to the end.

He had six children. His eldest son, Daniel Shel- don, Jr., was secretary of the United States Legation in France, and Chargé d'Affaires. He died in Mar- seilles in 1828. His second and third sons, Frederick and Henry, were successful merchants in New York. His daughter, Mrs. Lucy Beach, still survives him, in healthy, happy, and honored old age, and resides in the house he built in Litchfield, and in which she was born.

Dan "Sheldon ~

S. H. Dudley

Fleman Beach

CHARLES D. WHEELER.

RESIDENCE OF CHARLES D. WHEELER, LITCHFIELD, CONN.

VIEW OF BARNS OPPOSITE THE RESIDENCE OF CHARLES D. WHEELER.

RESIDENCE OF LEVI COE, LITCHFIELD, CONN.

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LITCHFIELD.

SAMUEL H. DUDLEY.

Deacon Samuel H. Dudley was born in Litchfield, June 28, 1804. He is descended from William Dud- ley, who was an Englishman by birth, and the first of the family who emigrated to this country. He settled in Guilford, Conn., in 1639, and died at Saybrook, March 16, 1684. He was twice married; his second wife was Mary Stow, by whom he had nine children, of whom Joseph was born April 16, 1643. He mar- ried Ann Robinson ; they had nine children, of whom William was born Dec. 17, 1678; married Ruth Strong, of Lyme, Conn., for his first wife, and Rebecca Fish for his second. He raised a large family, among whom was Medad, born Feb. 3, 1724; married Mary Fowler; they had nine children, one of whom was Charles, who married Ruth Hart, of Durham ; they had five children, viz., Susan A., Lois, Samuel H., Frederick, and Ruth. The mother died Aug. 27, 1808. Mr. Dudley was again married, to Rhoda Baldwin, of Washington township; they had two children, Mary Ann and Charles. Mary Ann is the wife of Eliada Kilbourn.

Samuel H., the eldest son of Charles Dudley, re- sided with his father in Litchfield, and worked upon the farm until he was thirty years of age, where he was married, and settled on a farm near the old home. His wife died Dec. 22, 1873, leaving three children, Lucretia, Florence A., and Caroline E.

Mr. Dudley and his wife were consistent members of the Congregational Church, where he has officiated as deacon for more than forty years.

HIEMAN BEACHI.

Heman Beach was born in Litchfield, June 23, 1813. Ile was the son of Heman Beach, who was bern on Beach Street, in the town of Litchfield, where the family have lived for several generations. The Beach family trace their genealogy to their ancestors who came from England and settled at New Haven at an early day.

Heman Beach, Sr., was a farmer on Beach Street. He married Clarissa Kilbourn, only child of Appleton Kilbourn, who was the son of James, and grandson ef Joseph Kilbourn, one of the first settlers of Litchfield and one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in that town. Ile was admitted an inhabitant Dec. 12, 1721 (see biography of Eliada Kilbeurn). Heman Beach was a farmer in Litchfield; his wife died, leav- ing three children, two of whom are still living, viz., Marcia, married James C. Newcomb, a farmer on the old Kilbourn homestead; Milo is also a farmer. Mr. Beach was a second time married, to Phebe Landon.

Heman Beach (2) eame on to the place where he now resides when eighteen years of age, with his father, who owned the farm. Here he has lived for fifty years, and is one of the substantial and respected citizens of his town. He has been three times married.

First, to Eliza Thomas. She died Dec. 10, 1849, leav- ing six children,-Algaman G., Thomas W., Eugene I., Charles T., Wesley H., Eliza J.,-three of whom are now living. Mr. Beach was again married, to Minerva D. Goslee. She died Jan. 29, 1853, aged twenty-four years. He was a third time married, to Mary K., daughter of Daniel Keeler, who came to Litchfield when seventeen years of age with his father, from Middlebury, and settled on a farm near the village of Bantam; their children are Edgar D., Frederick E., Oscar D., and Mary C .*

CHARLES D. WHEELER.

Charles D. Wheeler was born in Stonington, Conn., Nov. 18, 1817. He was the son of Christopher and Orinda (Gallup) Wheeler, who came to Litchfield in 1819, where they raised a large family of nine children, as follows : Emeline, Christopher P., Eliza O., Charles D., Emeline Ann, William C., Elizabeth H., Mary Jane, and David M. The father died Jan. 24, 1858, and the mother August 27th of the same year. Only three of the children are now living, viz., Charles D., Elizabeth H., wife of John Williamson, and Mary Jane, wife of Jacob Morse.

Charles D. Wheeler was married when twenty-five years of age to Mary E. Guild, daughter of Albin Guild, of the fifth generation in this country. The family trace their genealogy to John, Samuel, and Ann Guild, who emigrated to this country from Scot- land in 1643.

Soen after Mr. Wheeler was married he moved on to the farm where he now resides, and for forty years has pursued the vocation of agriculture. He has large and commodious buildings, with such surroundings as indicate the thrifty farmer. Po- litically Mr. Wheeler is a Democrat, and has filled the office of assessor, selectman, and represented his town in the Legislature in 1873. Mr. Wheeler and his wife are members of the Episcopal Church. They have one daughter, Jennie Elizabeth, wife of Isnac II. Hutchinson. They have two children, Charles L. and Carrie M.

LEVI COE.

The Coes are of English descent, but very little is known by the historian of the ancestors in this country. Thomas was one of the first of the name to settle in Litchfield County, having come from Middle- town, Conn. Married and had children, of whom Levi Coe, Sr., was a son, born in Litchfield, Conn .; married Deborah McCall and had ten children, viz., Dyer. Ira, Walter, Emeline. William, Elizabeth, Olive M., Levi, Maria D., and Thomas M .; the three youngest are living, all born on the old Coe homestead in Litchfield, Conn.

. Since wrillug the above, Mr. Beach was Inkou suddenly Ill and died March 26, 1Ss1 .:

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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

Mr. Levi Coe, Sr., purchased this farm before his marriage. He was twice married, but the children are by his second wife. He died in 1832. Mr. and Mrs. Coe were members of the Congregational Church.

Levi Coe, son of Levi Coe and Deborah McCall, was born on the farm now owned by him, Sept. 14, 1810. He has always been a farmer on the old home- stead, which he bought of the heirs after the death of his father. His farm consists of some two hundred acres well improved; the buildings are substantial, showing thrift and enterprise. He married Lavinia M., danghter of Samnel and Lavinia (Judson) McNeil, of Litchfield, May 22, 1838. Their children were Dwight McNeil, died at twenty-three ; Frederick L., married Sarah C., daughter of William Norton, and bas two children, Stanley L. and Philip F .; and Fran- cis M., born Jan. 22, 1852, married Marion J., daugli- ter of Sherman Platt, of Marbledale, Conn.

Mr. Coe is a Republican in politics. He has been magistrate of the town several years. Mr. and Mrs. Coe are members of the Congregational Church in Litchfield.

Samuel MeNcil, son of Isaac, was born in Litchfield, was a farmer by occupation, married Lavinia Judson, and had eight children, viz., Isaac H., Lewis J. (deceased), Louisa B., Lavinia M., Mary Ann, Julia E. (deceased), Frederick D., and Charles L. (de- ceased). Mr. McNeil died at sixty-three years of age, and his wife survived him and died at ninety- two.

JACOB MORSE.

John Morse, of New Haven, born in England about 1619, emigrated and settled at New Haven, 1639, and removed to Wallingford, Conn., 1670. John Morse was one of that noble band who founded the colony of New Haven. His foresight, courage, and enter- prise in embarking in the work ; his wisdom and pru- dence; his self-denial, firmness, and perseverance in carrying it on, are well attested by records when read in connection with the history of his times and the privations and trials of his situation. He lived to honor God and do good. Of the time and place of John Morse's birth, and the date of his arrival in New England, we have no certain information. If he had attained his majority when admitted a member of the General Court, 1639-40, he was born as early as 1619, which would have made him eighty-nine years old in 1708, when he, as is alleged, removed from Wallingford. But as his removal at that age is improbable, and as none of his children or grandchil- dren are known to have attained so great an age, he was not probably born earlier than 1622. That he came unattended by relatives is improbable. Francis Morse and Christopher Morse, of Boston, were not improbably his brothers; and John Morse, who mar- ried into the family of Robert Kaine, of Boston, and owned a house in Shoe Lane, London, might have

been of the same race. Hopkins, Eaton, and Daven- port arrived in Boston Jnne, 1637,-too intent on locating at New Haven to listen to proposals from the General Court to settle in Massachusetts. John Morse probably came in that company, and a careful perusal of all the wills of the first planters of New Haven establishes that fact. He was no common youth. Without regard to the tradition which makes him to have been a relative of the father of Bishop Morse, Sr., he must either have been of high family or extraordinary precocity. He doubtless arrived at New Haven in 1638. The first record of him was dated Feb. 18, 1639-40, when he signed a social compact as one of the proprietors and planters, and was admitted a member of the General Court. At this time be was probably a minor. "Upon the formation of the government he took an oath, July 1, 1644, to support the same." He resided in New Haven thirty years, when he went to Wallingford, Conn., and there re- sided till his death.

John (2), born Oct. 12, 1650, married Martha La- throp, Dec. 12, 1677. He died March 31, 1717. His wife died Sept. 21, 1719. They resided at New Haven and Wallingford, Conn.

John (3), born Nov. 10, 1682; died May 14, 1755; married Elizabeth Hall, Feb. 25, 1708; resided at Wallingford. His wife died Jan. 17, 1754.

Levi (4), born Dec. 31, 1722; married Martha Fenn, Jan. 19, 1743-44 ; resided at Wallingford.

Amos (5), born Nov. 17, 1744; married first to Betsey Ives, second to Esther Andrews, of Litchfield, Conn. He died December, 1819; resided at Litchfield, Conn.

Jacob (6), born March 6, 1792; married Lucretia Gilbert, December, 1813. She died Sept. 18, 1818, and he married Harriet Morse, March 14, 1821, and had the following children, viz., Linus G., Lewis H., Lucretia, Jacob, and Albert (deceased). Mr. Morse was a farmer by occupation and a man much esteemed by all. He died Nov. 1, 1862.

Jacob Morse, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born in Litchfield, Conn., Feb. 19, 1827. He was reared a farmer, which honorable occupation has been the chief business of his life. He has also been engaged as a trader in stock. His advantages for an education were such as the common schools afforded, supplemented with a few terms at the Litch- field Academy. On the 1st of April of 1863, he set- tled in the village of Litchfield, on the place formerly owned by Julius Deming. In politics he has always been a Democrat, and as such he has been constable and first selectman of Litchfield for more than twenty years, and in 1861 was elected to the State Legisla- ture of Connecticut. On the 16th of October, 1848, he married Mary Jane, daughter of Christopher Wheeler, of Litchfield. She was born Nov. 28, 1825. Their children are Ella O. (deceased) ; Virginia, wife of Truman Catlin ; Christopher W., died young ; Har- riet E .; Arthur J .; and Dermont L. (deceased).

Stevi lac

Leeal chor

DAVID M. GRANT.

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LITCHFIELD.

Mr. and Mrs. Morse are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is one of its principal men and main supporters.

DAVID McNEIL GRANT.

David MeNeil Grant was born in the house where he now lives in Litchfield, Aug. 11, 1812. He is the representative of one of the pioneer families of Con- necticut. He traces his genealogy to Matthew and Priscilla Grant, who came from Scotland on the ship " Mary and John," and landed at Dorchester, Mass., in 1630. Their descendants were: (2) John and Mary (Hull); (3) Joseph and Sarah (Cook); (4) Increase and Ann (Herford); (5) Ambrose and Hannah (Mason) ; (6) Charles and Hannah (Me- Neil) ; (7) David MeNeil and Caroline B. (Judd).

The first Grants-Matthew and Priscilla-landed at Dorchester, Mass., but soon went to Windsor, Conn., with a colony of Scotch people, where the family resided for several generations. Increase Grant was the first of the family to settle in Litchfield County. He came to Torrington as early as 1730. His son Ambrose was the pioneer in Litchfield, and settled in the north part of the town, where he built a large and substantial residence in 1795. Here the family have sinee resided. He had a family of seven chil- dren,-five sons and two daughters. His son Charles succeeded him on the farm. Charles married IIannalı McNeil. They had four children,-three sons and one daughter, Harriet Lucretia. She is unmarried, and resides at the old home with the only surviving son, David MeNeil Grant. He married Caroline B. Judd in 1860. She died in 1865, leaving two children, Charles H. and Fanny L.

THE PLUMB FAMILY.

The historian is not in possession of any facts rela- tive to the history of the Plumb family prior to their settlement in Litchfield Co., Conn. They are of Scotch origin, however, and the first of the name in America of whom we have any knowledge was Ezra Plumb, who was born probably somewhere in New England, and was one of the carly settlers in Litch- field County. Ile had two sons,-perhaps more chil- dren,-Ezra and Ebenezer.

Ezra Plumb (the second) was born in Litchfield, Conn .; married Sarah, daughter of Nathaniel Wood- ruff, and had a son, John. Ebenezer Plumb was born in Litchfield, Conn., Jan. 23, 1747, married Deborah Griswold, daughter of Elijah Griswohl and grand- daughter of Capt. Jacob Griswoldl; Deborah was born May 6, 1746, and died July 2, 1836. They had a daughter, Deborah. Ebenezer Plumb died Sept. 5, 1829.

John Plumb, son of Ezra, was born in the town of Litchfield, Conn., July 4, 1777, and married Deborah, daughter of Ebenezer Plumb. She was born Feb. 26,

1772, in Litchfield, Conn. They had two children,- viz., Frederick W. and Charlotte. Charlotte married Asa Slade, of Kent, Conn., and is still living, and is a widow, eighty-one years of age.

John Plumb was a blacksmith, and a man in mod- erate circumstances. In polities a Whig. He died in early manhood, aged thirty-four years, and his wife died at forty-eight years of age.

Frederick W., only son of John and Deborah Plumb, was born in the town of Litchfield, Conn., Oct. 28, 1801; married Huldah Seymour Landon, daughter of Capt. Seth Landon, of Litehfield, Conn. (See history of James Landon, of Salisbury, Conn., for history of Landon family.) Mr. Plumb was a substantial farmer, and at his death left his family in good circumstances. In polities he was a Republican. While he always manifested a great deal of interest in political matters, he never aspired to official honors. Mr. and Mrs. Plumb were members of St. Michael's Church, at Litchfield, Conn., and he was a warden of the same. Mr. Plumb was a man universally re- spected. He died Sept. 25, 1877 ; his wife died July 19, 1854, leaving to her children the legacy of a Christian character. Their children are as follows, viz. :

(1) John L., horn Dec. 14, 1831, married Lucy Fields, daughter of Lyman Fields, of Watertown, Conn., and has five children,-(1) Frederick L., (2) Anna G., (3) Edward L., (4) Willey S., and (5) John F. He is a farmer and florist by occupation, and re- sides on the old Plumb homestead.

(2) Seth FF., born Aug. 27, 1836, received a common- school education, working on his father's farm sum- mers and attending school winters. lle taught school several winters until the breaking out of the great civil war, when he enlisted as a private in Company E, Eighth Connecticut Volunteers, July, 1861, and was with his regiment during their three years of ser- vice. He re-enlisted with rank of first sergeant, and came home to get recruits for his regiment. Soon after his return to his regiment he was commissioned lieutenant by Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut. Ile continued with his regiment, taking part in all the . engagements of the same, until he was killed at Chap- in's Farm, Va., Sept. 29, 1864.

From the Connecticut war record we quote the fol- lowing :

" Ono other name I must mention among our honored dend. Onr rolla record him only as aus onlisted man, with mnok of sergeant; for although living been commleslonod, he had never been mustered as Hentenant. But falrer character novor graced a soldior's uniform, and ho lives em- balmed in the affections of home nud in the hearts of his comrades. He led In the closing prayer of that last meeting beforo the fight, and his last words as the column moved for the charge were respecting ' that good meeting and the preciousness of Christ to the soldier. Even the casket in which auch a jewel has been carried is prized, and as wo write hero In camp, on tho burying-ground of Litchfield, Conn , weeping friends nro preparing tho gruve of our dear comrade, Seth F. P'lunik."

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History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 39

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1532

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1532