History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 44

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 44

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The second son, John Fenno, was in command of a company of light infantry from Cincinnati, under Gen- eral Hull, in the War of 1812, and shared the disaster of his disgraceful surrender. Upon his release, while cross- ing Lake Erie, he contracted a fever, and, soon after his return to Cincinnati, died at the house of a friend, not of fever alone, but of a broken heart.

Joseph King Fenno, the subject of this sketch, was born in New Haven, Conn. In 1817, he entered the Military Academy at West Point, and graduated with high honors in 1822, being second in his class. In ac- cordance with regulations governing the appointment of cadets to the corps of engineers, Cadet Mansfield was, on the Ist of July 1822, appointed brevet second lieutenant of engineers. Army promotions at that time were slow; and he did not receive his commission as first lieutenant until 1832. In July 1838, he was promoted to the rank of a captain, and on the outbreak of the Mexican War was intrusted with the responsible part of chief engineer of the army commanded by Major-General Taylor during the years 1846 and 1847.

In the defense of Fort Brown, which was attacked on the 3d of May and heroically defended until the 9th, Captain Mansfield was particularly distinguished and re- ceived the brevet of major for his services.

In the three days conflict at Monterey, 21st, 22d, and 23d of September 1846, Major Mansfield again distin. guished himself, and was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for gallant and meritorious conduct. At the storming of Monterey, he was severely wounded, but in five months after, February 1847, he was again at his post, being brevetted colonel for gallant services in the battle of Buena Vista, February 23d 1847.

In 1851, Colonel Mansfield was still captain in the corps of engineers, his name being third in the list. At this time the following distinguished officers were his as- sociates in the engineers:

Generals H. W. Halleck, G. B. McClellan, Horatio E. Wright, G. W. Cullum, W. L. Rosecrans, John Newton, G. Foster, H. W. Benham, S. G. Barnard, Charles E. Blunt, Quincy A. Gilman, and Quartermaster General Meigs. The Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee, Peter G. T. Beauregard, and Charles S. Stewart were also offi- cers in this corps at the same time.

On the resignation of Inspector General George A. McCall, Colonel Mansfield was selected, May 28th 1853, to fill the important post of inspector general, with the full rank of colonel, and thereupon resigned his rank as captain of engineers. He continued to perform the duties of inspector general of the United States Army until May 14th 1861, at which date he was renominated by the president for one of the new brigadier general- ships in the regular army, then just created by Congress. Soon after this appointment he was summoned to Wash- ington and assigned to the command of the defenses. Scott did not quite agree to his suggestion to fortify

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Arlington Heights; but he went ahead on his own re- sponsibility. All the forts around Washington were en- gineered by General Mansfield, and built under his su- perintendence. For a time he was in command of New- port News, and led our forces in the capture of Norfolk. He was there when he received orders to take command of Bank's corps under General McClellan. Being greatly pleased at the thought of a more active life in the ser- - vice of his country, he made haste to reach his command and came up with the army before Sharpsburg the night before the battle. On the following day, September 17th, while gallantly leading his troops into action, he fell, mortally wounded. Internal hemorrhage ensued, and on the dawn of the 18th, Major-General Mansfield gave his life a willing sacrifice to his country.

THE ALSOP FAMILY.

Thomas Wandell, of Newtown, Long Island, was the founder of the Alsop family, through Richard Alsop, his nephew, whom he brought from England when a mere boy, about the year 1665, and adopted as his son and heir. It is said of Mr. Wandell, the founder, that " the one act of his life in Newtown, which serves to perpetu- ate his name in local history, was his effort to thwart the burning of human beings for witchcraft. He was fore- man of the jury that tried Ralph Hall and wife, and ac- quitted thiem." The great qualities of mind and heart possessed by Wandell were impressed upon his young protégé and relative, and these have been transmitted, untarnished, through all succeeding generations down to the present time. Richard Alsop fell into the possession of Wandell's property about the year 1691, and continued " lord of the manor " until his death in 1718. He left three sons and several daughters. Of the sons, there were Thomas, Richard, and John, who became prominent in the legal profession and mercantile life. John removed to Esopus, on the Hudson River, where he became a prominent attorney.

Richard Alsop, the Ist of Middletown, was probably born at Esopus. At an early age he was placed in the store of Phillip Livingston Esq., New York, where he re- ceived a thorough mercantile education. He came to Middletown about 1750, and commenced business in the lower rooms of the old town house, which then stood in the middle of Main street, just above Washington street. He was one of the pioneers in the West India trade, in which he was remarkably successful, and accumulated a large fortune. There were no established insurance companies at this time, and he not only took his own risks, but insured vessels for others on his private respon- sibility. He was a man of broad, liberal views, public spirited, and engaged heartily in all works of charity and benevolence. He was one of the charter members of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., which then comprised most of the leading men in the State. He was twice elected master, and was a member of the committee that framed the by-laws. He was a member of the State Legislature and occupied other public positions.

the Ist of Middletown, was born at the homestead, Jan- uary 27th 1761. His early education was intended to fit him for a mercantile life that he might become the worthy successor of his father, but " man proposes, God disposes." The ardent imagination of the youth-his fondness for literary pursuits, and the death of his father when he was only fifteen years of age-too young to as- sume the duties and responsibilities attached to his father's position-all combined to change the current of his life, and, while the heavy burden of managing the father's complex affairs fell on the mother, he was left to follow his own inclinations. On his brow the muses had already placed their wreath, and in his " Charms of Fancy," written later in life, he beautifully portrays the genius of the poet of which he himself was the embodi- ment. He says:

" But in full force with influence unconfin'd Thou hold'st dominion o'er the Poet's mind, Fir'd by thy touch divine, in brightest hue,

. Each varied object ineets his raptur'd view: A lovlier dress the face of Nature shows, Inspir'd with warmer life creation glows, Far richer tints the robes of May adorn, More splendent glories paint the blush of morn, Sublimity a grander mien assumes, And loveliness in fairer beauty blooms: While scenes of wonder to his view arise And all Elysium opens on his eyes."

He pays a fitting tribute to his contemporaries in the following lines:

" The Muses sing; lo! Trumbull wakes the lyre, With all the fervor of poetic fire, Superior Poet! in whose classic strain In bright accordance wit and fancy reign; Whose powers of genius, in their ample range, Comprise each subject and each tuneful change,

Each charm of melody to Phoebus dear The grave, the gay, the tender and severe. Majestic Dwight, sublime in epic strain, Paints the fierce horrors of the crimson'd plain; And, in Virgilian Barlow's tuncful lines, With added splendor, great Columbus shines."

Dr. Field, in his "Statistical History of Middlesex County," says of him:

"Though occasionally engaged in agricultural and commercial pur- suits, Mr.Alsop spent most of his days in the pursuit of elegant literature, for which he had an unusual fondness. In this pursuit he became familiar- ly acquainted with the literature of his own country and of the principal European nations. His love of poetry was enthusiastic, and was abund- antly gratified by reading and composition. Numerous poetical pieces published by him in newspapers and magazines, issued in different forms, were well received. and did honor to his genius. His transla- tion of Molina's History of Chili, the Universal Receipt Book, and the Narrative of the Sufferings of John R. Jewit, have also given him a re- spectable standing as a prose writer. All his compositions are charac- terized by purity of expression, and indicate that delicacy of thought and feeling which appeared in his private life.

"As a man, as a scholar and as a writer, Mr. Alsop will long be re- membered with affection and respect by his numerous acquaintances."

Charles Richard Alsop was graduated from Yale Col- lege in 1821, studied law in the office of Jonathan Barnes, Esq., and was admitted to the bar in this State. He then attended the lectures of Chancellor Kent in New York, and was admitted to the bar there. He returned to Middletown, his native place, in 1832. Upon the resignation of Noah A. Phelps, Esq., he was elected mayor of the city, April 25th 1843, for the residue of the term. He was then re-elected for two years, after which

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MIDDLETOWN-BIOGRAPHIES.

for the New York & Boston Railroad, known as the Air Line Road. He also obtained the charter for the Mid- dletown, now the Berlin Branch Railroad.

He was president of this road until its consolidation with the Hartford, New Haven & Springfield Railroad Company. He was one of the original corporators of the New York & Boston Railroad Company, and in No- vember 1850, was elected president of it. He was several times elected to the State Senate.

Captain Joseph Wright Alsop was the eighth child, and second son of Richard Alsop, the Ist of Middletown. He was born on the 2d of March 1772. The death of his father, when he was but four years of age, left him de- pendent on his mother, to whose careful training he was indebted for his success in life. With the exception of the extensive library left by his father, he had no other educational advantages than those afforded by the pub- lic schools of his native town. At an early age he evinced a taste for a seafaring life, which he subsequently followed, commencing as a cabin boy, and continuing until he became master of a vessel. This experience afforded him the opportunity of reopening the extensive West India trade established by his father many years previous. He subsequently formed a copartnership with Chauncey Whittlesey, which continued for several years, until the death of Mr. Whittlesey. Not long after this Mr. Carrington was taken in as partner under the firm name of Alsop & Carrington. At a later period another change took place in the firm, and Mr. Henry Chauncey, who married a daughter of Captain Alsop, became a member of the firm under the name of Alsop & Chaun- cey. After a successful business of some years, Mr. Chauncey withdrew from the firm and removed to Val- paraiso, where he became connected with the house of Alsop & Co., established several years previous by Rich- ard Alsop, a son of Richard Alsop 2d.

Captain Alsop was a man deservedly popular and proved himself a worthy representative of his distin- guished predecesors. He was in hearty sympathy with and an active promoter of all works of public improve- ment and benevolence in his native town.

On the 5th of November 1797, he married Lucy, daughter of Chauncey Whittlesey, by whom he had six children: Lucy Whittlesey, born December 13th 1798, died August 15th 1855; Charles R., born December 25th 1802, died March 4th 1865; Joseph W., born November 22d 1804, died February 26th 1878; Clara Pomeroy, born March 2d 1807, still living; Elizabeth W., born March 25th 1809, still living; Mary W., born March 3d 1815, died January 2d 1877.

Lucy Whittlesey Alsop married Henry Chauncey, of the firm of Alsop & Chauncey; Elizabeth W. married George Hoppen, of Providence, R. I .; Mary W. married Thomas D. Mutter, a professor in. Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia; Clara Pomeroy, the third daughter and fifth child of Captain Joseph Wright Alsop, is still living at the old homestead on Washington street. She never married, but her "lines have fallen in pleasant places, and she has enjoyed a goodly heritage." During

her long and useful life she has been actively engaged in works of charity and benevolence. She was one of the early promoters, and has been for many years an active supporter of the Widows' Home. Many a poor woman of gentle birth, who, but for this institution, might have been left to the "cold charity of the world," has found a comfortable home, and thus has been enabled to pass her declining years in peace and happiness.

Joseph W. Alsop, the third child of Joseph Wright Alsop, and Lucy Whittlesey, and grandchild of Richard Alsop Ist, of Middletown, was born in Middletown, No- vember 22d 1804. At an early age his father designed him for commercial pursuits, for which he had a special fondness and ability, inherited from his father and grandfather. Added to the usual advantages for acquir- ing an education, his father employed a private tutor to train and fit him for the counting house. It is said of him that in his youth as well as in his manhood he never experienced the sensation of fear, and it may be truly said of him that he was sans peur et sans reproche. At the age of 15 he entered the house of Alsop & Chauncey, of New York, of which firm his father was the senior member.

In 1824, he went to New York and engaged as clerk in one of the oldest commercial houses.

He afterward returned to Middletown as partner with Alsop & Chauncey. The house at this time had a large share of the West India trade, and he made several voy- ages to St. Croix and other commercial ports. About the year 1834, he returned to New York and established himself in business. On the return of Mr. Chauncey, in 1840, from whither he had gone, in 1830, in connection with the house of Alsop & Co., at Valparaiso, the firm of Alsop & Chauncey, of South street, New York, was established.

Mr. Alsop was the first president of the Ohio & Mis- sissippi Railroad. He was succeeded by Gen. George B. McClellan, and was afterward receiver of it for ten years. He was director of the Seaman's Savings Bank, New York, and was treasurer of it for some years. He was at one time a director in the Illinois Central Rail- road Company, from the stockholders of which he re- ceived a very handsome testimonial in the shape of a valuable silver service. He was a firm friend of the poor and unfortunate, and frequently made personal sacrifices to aid others.

On the 25th of October 1837, he married Mary Alsop Oliver, daughter of Francis J. Oliver, of Boston, by whom he had one child, J. W. Alsop.

His death occurred on the 26th of February 1878.

Dr. J. W Alsop was the only child of Joseph W. Alsop and Mary Alsop Oliver. He was born in New York city, in August 1838, and was educated at the Yale and Co- lumbia Scientific Schools. He also pursued a complete course of medical study, graduating from the Medical Department of the University of New York, in 1864. He has served in both boards of the Middletown Court of Common Council, and was a member of the House from Middletown in 1873, holding the position of chairman of

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the School Fund Committee on the part of that body. He has represented the 22d Senatorial District in the State Legislature for four successive terms beginning with 1881. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane at Middletown, also of the Russell Library, and trustee and treasurer of St. Luke's Home. He is largely interested in agriculture and stock breeding, and his learning has been of incalculable value as chairman of the Agricultural Committee in the State Legislature, while in other branches of legislation his scholarly attainments, knowledge of affairs, and ex- ecutive ability have won for him the esteem and con- fidence of his associates.

JOHN FISK.

The homestead of the English ancestor of the Fisk family was at Stadhaugh Manor, parish of Laxfield, Suf- folk, England.

Phineas Fiske, the American ancestor, came to Wen- ham, Mass., in 1641. Captain John Fiske, of the fourth generation, moved to Haddam soon after its settlement. John Fiske, of the fifth generation, moved to Portland and afterward to Middletown, where he became town clerk. His son, Bezaleel, born in Portland in 1774, was town clerk of Middletown for some years.

John, of the seventh generation, was the only child of Bezaleel Fisk and Margaret Rockwell, and was born on the 5th of August 1771. He succeeded his father as town clerk of Middletown in 1797, and continued to hold the position until his death, which occurred on the . 13th of February 1847, a period of nearly fifty years. He was also town treasurer from October 1822 till his death. He was city clerk from January 1793 to January 1818, and from January 1819 till his death. He was city treasurer from January 1818 till his death. He was clerk of Pro- bate, clerk of the Superior Court, and county treasurer. By his death seven offices were made vacant. He was sometimes called the " clerk universal." He was very careful, painstaking, and methodical in his habits; kind, genial, and sociable in his nature, and was probably missed more than any man who ever lived in the town.

A number of his descendants are now living, among whom is John Fiske, a grandson, whose reputation as an author is almost world-wide.

REV. SAMUEL F. JARVIS.

Samuel Farmar Jarvis, the youngest child of the Rt. Rev. Abraham Jarvis, the second Bishop of Connecti- cut, was born January 20th 1786. His early education was under his father's instruction, and he graduated from Yale College in 1805.

He was ordained to the diaconate in 1810, and ad- vanced to the priesthood in 1811. He was a rector till 1819, when he became a professor in the General Theo- logical Seminary, in the city of New York.

From 1820 till 1826 he was rector of St. Paul's Church, Boston, and in that time he was one of the editors of the Gospel Advocate. He then visited Europe, where he remained nine years, or till 1835. He then returned to | practical experience in the field and written a treatise on

his native country and became professor of Oriental Literature in Trinity College.

In 1837, he resigned his professorship and became rector of Christ Church, in Middletown, a position which he relinquished in 1842. He then entered on missionary work in the vicinity of Middletown, and continued it to within a few months of his death, which took place in March 1851.

In 1819, the degree of S. T. D. was conferred on him by the University of Pennsylvania, and that of LL. D. by Trinity College.

Dr. Jarvis was the author of many able contributions to church literature, but in 1838 he was appointed by the General Convention to his greatest work, that of the historiographer of the church.

As a man and a Christian he was without reproach. As a preacher he was remarkable for the clear and ele- gant style in which he set forth weighty truths. Few men ever wrote purer English, none ever put more matter into their sermons. His manner in the pulpit was grave and dignified. He used but little gesture, though the tones of his voice were earnest and solemn.

HON. EBENEZER JACKSON JR.

Hon. Ebenezer Jackson jr. was born at Savannah, Ga. in 1796. He was a graduate of St. Mary's College, Baltimore, and was a law student at Litchfield, Conn. He practiced law about four years in Philadelphia, but in 1827 he removed to Middletown where he passed the remainder of his life.

He was an active politician, and was elected to the Legislature in 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, and 1846. He was a member of the 23d Congress, during the adminis- tration of President Andrew Jackson. While a member of the Legislature he took an efficient part in procuring charters for the Air Line Railroad.

In the later years of his life he was much interested in the Indian Hill Cemetery, and was many years the presi- dent of the association.

He was a man of great force of character, and of a dignified and commanding appearance. He died in 1874. His family are residents of Middletown.

EDWIN FERRY JOHNSON.

Edwin Ferry Johnson was born in Essex, Vermont, May 3d 1803. His early life afforded little opportunity for more than the simplest common school education, outside of his father's office. In 1817, at the age of 14, he was engaged in land surveying in Vermont, and in 1818, assisted his father in the survey of the northeastern boundary line between the United States and British Provinces. At the age of 18, he became "teacher of arithmetic and geometry " in the military academy of Captain Partridge, at Norwich, Vermont, and later, “ in- structor in civil engineering, mathematics, and tactics," in the same institution, after its removal to Middletown, Connecticut. At the age of 26, he began his more strictly professional career, having already had a fair

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surveying. He was one of the first and ablest advocates of railway construction in this country, and the pioneer engineer in this untried path. Railway connection be- tween the waters of the Hudson and Mississippi, and the superiority of the railway to the canal system, had been the subject of his thoughts and instructions since 1826, and in 1828, he "had come to the conclusion that rail- ways must ultimately take the lead of canals." In 1829, he published a review of a pamphlet on this subject, is- sued by Mr. W. C. Redfield, and not only pointed out the proper route for a railway from the Hudson to the Mississippi, fixing the western terminus at Rock Island, Illinois, but gave the reasons for his belief in the superi- ority of railways, and concluded with the following, then startling, prediction:

"Railways as a means of intercommunication possess properties which in most situations will render them superior to canals; and with reference to the United States, considering how diversified is thesurface by hills and valleys, railways, when properly constructed, will be found the most valuable and effective; and ultimately, when their merits be- . come better known and more fully appreciated, by far the greater por- tion of the inland travel will be conducted upon them."

From this period his professional career may be briefly summarized. In 1829 and 1830, he was engaged in a survey of the land lines of the Erie and Champlain Canals; 1830, Catskill & Canajoharie Railroad; 1831, Potomac Bridge and water supply of New York; 1833, assistant engineer Chenango Canal; 1834, Res. engineer Utica & Schenectady Railroad; 1835, chief engineer Auburn & Syracuse Railroad, also of Ontario & Hudson Ship Canal, and of the Auburn Canal Dam; 1836, asso- ciate engineer New York & Erie Railroad; 1837, chief engineer of same; 1838, chief engineer Ogdensburgh & Champlain Railroad, and New York & Albany Railroad; 1839, president of Stevens Joint Stock Corporation, Hoboken, N. J .; 1840-41, chief engineer New York & Albany Railroad; 1842-43, same; 1844, same; 1845, chief engineer Whitehall Railroad, and New York & Boston Air Line Railroad; 1846, chief engineer Oswego & Syracuse Railroad; 1848, chief engineer New York & Boston Railroad; 1850, chief engineer Rock River Valley Union Railroad, Wisconsin.

Before this he had conceived the idea of a Pacific railway, and during the next three years he devoted his leisure time to writing an exhaustive preliminary report upon the northern route, which was published in 1854.

This work, which he regarded justly as the crowning one of his life, professionally, was a wonderful example of fore- sight, skill, labor, and faith; for it must be remembered that in 1851-52 the project of railway connection be- tween the Great Lakes and the Pacific was almost as startling, and to many seemed quite as visionary as did, in 1829, the proposed Great Western Railway from the Hudson to the Mississippi. The survey, or rather recon- noisance of General Stevens, was not made until 1854, and his report, when published, seemed but a confirma- tion of what Mr. Johnson had written, and the actual barometrical measurements and description of the ground traversed did not materially differ from the estimates upon Mr. Johnson's profiles and the maps he had pub- children, four of whom have died.

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History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 44

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 818

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818