USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 33
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 33
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Henry C. Platt, born in Milford in 1832, is a son of Jonah Platt and a descendant of Deacon Richard Platt, who settled in Milford in 1639. Henry C. is the sixth generation from Deacon Richard. He was educated at Yale College, studied law in New York city, was ad- mitted to the bar in New York in June, 1861, practiced law there until 1869, then came to New Haven, and has practiced there since. He has continued his residence in Milford all his life. He has never sought office, but was justice of the peace several years.
N. Dwight Platt, born in Milford in 1848. is a son of Nathan and Sarah S. Platt, grandson of Nathan and great-grandson of Joseph. Nathan and Sarah had three sons: George F., Norman S. and N. Dwight. The first and last are residents of Milford, while Norman S. resides in Cheshire. George F. and N. Dwight are farmers and fruit and seed growers. N. Dwight Platt married MI. Lizzie Manville, of Milford, in 1869. They have one son, Frank N. In politics the Platts are republicans.
Theodore Platt, born in Milford November 20th, 1837, is a son of Clark and grandson of Jonah Platt, and a descendant of Richard Platt, one of the first settlers of Milford in 1639. Theodore Platt was a member of the firm of Platt & Merwin, which succeeded John W. Mer- win in 1874 in the grocery business. This firm continued until Jan-
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uary 1st, 1889, when it was succeeded by Theodore Platt & Co., con- sisting of Theodore and his brother, Nathan C. Platt. They are also engaged in raising seed. This business was established in 1858. Their farm is located at Pond Point, in this town. Mr. Platt is a member of the Odd Fellows' Lodge, Encampment and Grand Canton.
Doctor Willis S. Putney, born in New York city May 26th, 1859, at the parsonage of the Second Street M. E. church, is a son of the late Reverend Rufus C. Putney, a Methodist clergyman. Willis S. was educated at the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, studied medicine under Doctor William H. Hanford, of Brooklyn, graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College in 1882, and com- menced the practice of medicine in Bethel, Conn., in 1882. After a practice there of two years, he removed to Milford in 1884, and has since practiced there. His office and residence is at the west end of Broad street. He is a member of the Connecticut Homeopathic Medi- cal society, a member of the I. O. O. F. of Milford, examining physi- cian of Volunteer Council, No. 819, Royal Arcanum of Milford, mem- ber of the board of education and of the board of health of Milford. He married Helen S., daughter of Doctor John Young, of Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1883. They have one son, Edward W.
Isaac T. Rogers, born in Milford in 1813, was a son of Josiah Rogers, who was a sea captain, and died about the time Isaac T. was born. The latter was educated in New Haven, where his mother moved when he was nine years old. He first engaged in the manu- facture of carriages in Milford, and afterward moved to New York and engaged in importing and exporting goods between New York city and London, with his twin brother, Henry S. Rogers. He retired from this business in 1860, and for the last 32 years of his life made Milford his home, devoting his time to public affairs. He was acting school visitor for a quarter of a century. He took an active part in securing the charter of the Milford Savings Bank, and was president of the bank until September, 1890, when he resigned. He married, in 1842, Martha Ann Ingersoll, and they had three children: George Ingersoll, in the State Insurance Department, Hartford; Helen Louisa, married Charles Tuttle, of New York ; and Martha Amelia, married Doctor Frank Hamilton Whittemore, of New Haven. Mr. Rogers died May 19th, 1891.
John E. Rogers, born in Milford in 1834, is a son of Joseph and Anna (Nettleton) Rogers, and grandson of Joseph Rogers. They were descendants of John Rogers, one of the settlers of Milford in 1639. Joseph and Anna (Nettleton) Rogers had six children, five of whom are still living: John E., George E., Theodore H., Elizabeth A. and Mary A. Charles J. died in 1872. John E. has been twice married. His first wife was Charlotte Plumb, of Milford. They were married in 1861 and had no children. For his second wife he married, in 1888, Ella L. Wilcox, of Cromwell, Conn. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are
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members of the First Congregational church, of Milford. He is a farmer. On his farm the Bridgeport M. E. Conference held their an- nual camp meetings from 1858 until 1874. His brother, George E., was twice married. His first wife was Alice Crosby and his second wife was Harriet M. Pope. By his second wife he had two sons. He served nine months in the war of the rebellion. He is a member of the F. & A. M. and of the G. A. R.
David E. Smith, born in Milford in 1848, is a son of Richard E., grandson of David, and great-grandson of David Smith. Richard E. married Mehitable, daughter of Enoch Clark, whose father, David, was a son of Isaac Clark. David E. Smith learned the trade of car- penter and builder when 18 years old, and became a contractor and builder as early as 1870. He built St. Mary's church, of Milford, in 1882, and St. Lawrence's church, of West Haven, in 1886, and has erected some of the finest residences of Milford and other places. He established a lumber yard in Milford in 1876, and July 1st, 1890, one in Bridgeport, Conn., known as the Burns & Smith Lumber Company. He employs in his building business 25 men. He married, May 31st, 1871, Emma F. Studley, of Bridgeport. They have six daughters and one son.
Edwin P. Smith, born in Middletown, Conn., in 1813, was a son of Edwin and Harriet (Porter) Smith, and grandson of Nathaniel, whose father, Lamberton, was a son of Lamberton, and he a son of Captain Sam- uel Smith, whose father, Lieutenant Samuel, was a son of George Smith, one of the first settlers of New Haven, who came with Davenport and Eaton. Lieutenant Samuel married Obedience, daughter of Captain George Lamberton, who came from England in 1638 and settled in New Haven. Captain Lamberton came in 1635 to Boston, afterward returned to England, and came with the Davenport and Eaton com- pany in 1638. Edwin P. was engaged in business in New York, from 1836 until 1872, as a distiller and sugar refiner, with William M. John- son & Sons. He built the first sugar house in which white sugars were made by the centrifugal process. He removed to Milford with his family in 1884, and died January 5th, 1890. He married Mary, daughter of Peter Hepburn, of Brooklyn, N. Y. They had three daughters and two sons. The father of Mrs. Smith, Peter Hepburn, was born in Milford in 1795, and was the son of Nathaniel and Abigail (Merwin) Hepburn. She is a direct descendant of the first Miles Mer- win of Milford.
Isaac C. Smith, born in Milford, October 21st, 1832, is a son of Nathan, and grandson of Isaac, both natives of Milford. He was edu- cated in Milford, Iearned the trade of shoemaker, and followed it about five years. He then worked in the straw shop of Milford six years, then engaged in the butcher business and followed it 23 years. Retir- ing from this in 1873, he followed the livery business ten years. He has also practiced veterinary surgery for the past 30 years, having
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studied one year in New York, and under Doctor W. J. Sullivan, of New Haven. He now makes a specialty of breeding fine Jersey stock on his farm in Milford. He was elected first selectman and town agent in 1885, 1887, 1888, 1889 and 1890. He married Laura A., daugh- ter of William Platt, of Milford, in 1854. They have one son, George WV., born in 1860, now engaged in the butchering business in Milford. Isaac C. Smith was an active member of the Governor's Horse Guards of New Haven for 15 years, and is still an honorary member. He has held all the offices in this company, from private to major.
Nathan E. Smith, born in Milford in 1833, is a son of Nathaniel and Susan (Merwin) Smith, and grandson of Theophilus M. and Abigail G. (Nettleton) Smith. Theophilus was a son of Nathaniel and Cath- erine (Miles) Smith, and grandson of Joseph and Martha (Bryan) Smith. Joseph was a son of Benjamin and Sarah (Haughter) Smith, and grand- son of William Smith, who came from England and settled on Long Island, and afterward came to Milford. Nathan E. Smith married Sarah A. Buckingham, of Milford, March 10th, 1857. Her father was Jonah C., son of Daniel, grandson of Daniel, a descendant of Thomas Buckingham, one of the pioneer settlers of Milford in 1639. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three children: Charles E., born February 22d, 1858; Carrie I., August 22d, 1859, and Frederick A., February 12th, 1874. Mr. Smith has taken an active part in the school affairs of Milford, and has been a member of the board of education 18 years.
CHARLES A. TOMLINSON, one of the most active of the young citi- zens of Milford and at present the sheriff of New Haven county, is a descendant, in direct line in the eighth generation, of Henry Tomlin- son, one of the first to bear that name in America. That ancestor was a son of George Tomlinson, of Derby, in Derbyshire, England, who, "according to tradition, was a native of Yorkshire, where the family name runs back in history several hundred years." The father removed to Derby, where the son was reared to his trade-that of a weaver, which, according to the prevailing custom in England in the sixteenth century, gave them the same social position as the iner- chants or the "Landed Gentry," or the class next below the nobility of that country. The family arms brought to America by Henry Tomlinson indicates by its ornamentation that in earlier periods the Tomlinsons descended from some line of kings. In England, as well as in America, the family has had representatives eminent in political, professional and military life, and all the members have, by their worth, to a large degree, commanded the esteem of the communities in which they have resided. A number, in different generations, be- came noted in the pursuits of the law, medicine and theology, several attaining high official positions. Gideon Tomlinson, in the sixth gen- eration from Henry, the founder of the family in America, graduated from Vale College in 1802. In 1819 he was elected member of con-
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gress from Connecticut, and served eight years in that body. He was elected governor of the state in 1827, and held that office until he was chosen United States senator in 1831. In 1836 he was elected the first president of the Housatonie Railroad Company. Besides Governor Tomlinson there were fifteen other Tomlinson graduates of Yale Col- lege from 1744 to 1885. Some of the Tomlinsons became distin- guished educators, and others attained distinction as successful man- ufacturers or business men. Reverend David Gibson Tomlinson, of the seventh generation, an unele of Sheriff Charles A., was a most worthy and useful Episcopal minister, who died as the rector of Em- manuel church, in Weston, Conn., November 3d. 1864. With few ex- ceptions, the Tomlinsons of every generation have been earnest churchmen, and while, in consequence of this training, some adhered to the British erown in the troublous times of the revolution, most of them were staunch patriots, and a number were soldiers in the Amer- ican armies. As showing their devotion to the duties they had assumed, the following anecdote is told:
"Caleb Tomlinson, of Huntington, being a soldier in the revolu- tion, was sent by General Wooster with a dispatch to General Wash- ington. Being from the same neighborhood as Gen. Wooster, young Tomlinson was selected by the general because he knew him to be a plucky Yankee, although a little uncultivated in his manners, but one to be trusted for the discharge of duty.
"Arriving at headquarters, he asked to see Gen. Washington, but was told by the guard, ' You cannot see him.' 'But I must; I have a dispatch for him from Gen. Wooster.' The guard reported to Wash- ington, and he was admitted to the presence of the general, who was seated at a rude table, writing, when Tomlinson handed the dispatch, and Washington, on reading it, nodded assent, and asked, 'Anything more ?' 'Nothing,' said Tomlinson, 'but an answer from you.' ' Do you presume to tell me what I must do?' inquired the general. 'No, General, but I'll be darned if I leave these quarters without something to show that I have discharged my duty as a soldier.' Rising from his seat, Washington remarked, 'You are from Connecticut, I per- ceive.' . I am, sir,' was the reply. Tapping him on the shoulder, the General said, 'Young man, I wish to the God of battles I had more such soldiers as you. You shall be granted your request.' "
Henry Tomlinson and his wife, Aliee, and several children, after having come to America from Derbyshire, England, settled in Milford in 1652, where the town granted him a home lot " by the water side." on which to build his weaver shop. Later, he was elected as the " keeper of the ordinary," and was thus brought into prominence in the town's affairs. In the course of four years he removed to Strat- ford, where he became a large owner of lands, purchased of the In- dians. in Derby and other localities. He died at Stratford, March 16th,
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1681, leaving a large estate to his wife, five married daughters and his two sons, Agur and Jonas, the latter being the paternal ancestor of the subject of this sketch. He settled on Great Hill, in Derby, about 1675, on the tract of land given him by his father, where he died the latter part of 1692. Of his four children, all sons, Abraham, the eldest, also resided, as a farmer, on Great Hill, and was prominent in the affairs of old Derby. His will, made in 1739, devised a large estate to his wife and six children, the eldest of these being Jonah, the an- cestor of Sheriff Tomlinson. He was born in Derby in 1712, and died in that town in 1796, when his estate inventoried nearly £2,500. His wife was Mary, daughter of Reverend Joseph Moss, of Derby, and their children were nine in number, the eldest being Abraham, the pater- nal great-grandfather of Charles A.
Abraham Tomlinson, born in 1738, became a physician and surgeon, and after some years removed to Milford, where he died December 29th, 1816. Besides being active as a medical practitioner, he was also a merchant, and engaged largely in the shipping trade with the West Indies. His third son, David, born in 1767, married Anna, daughter of David Camp, of Milford, and of their eleven children the tenth, Nathan Camp, was the father of Charles A. Tomlinson. The grand- father, David, died in 1825.
Nathan Camp Tomlinson, born in Milford in 1813, married in 1835, Susan Catharine, daughter of Hezekiah Baldwin, of Milford, a descend- ant of one of the first settlers of the town. He was a farmer and very prominent in all the matters pertaining to the welfare of his native place. The father deceased November 21st, 1885; the mother had de- parted this life at the homestead on Broad street, May 5th, 1884, leav- ing a family of five daughters and one son, Charles Abraham.
Charles A. Tomlinson was born in Milford, July 19th, 1848, and was educated in the schools of his native town. He next worked as a mechanic in some of the factories of Milford, but in 1874 he was en- gaged in the coal trade, which he has since successfully followed. Oc- tober 27th, 1868, he married Lucia E., daughter of Fowler Sperry, of Milford, and they have four living children: Edward Sperry, born Sep- tember 20th, 1870; Kate Louise, Ada May and Bertha Hart. Since his boyhood Mr. Tomlinson has taken an active interest in the affairs of Milford, and has served it in many official capacities. For fifteen years he was a member of the board of education, serving that body as its secretary. For a longer period he was one of the vestrymen of St. Peter's Episcopal church, and the treasurer of Ansantawae Masonic Lodge at Milford. In 1876 he was elected one of the representatives of Milford in the state legislature, and was reelected in 1877. He was again chosen in 1882 and 1886. In November, 1890, he was elected sheriff of New Haven county, and since June, 1891, he has discharged the duties of that office. The principles of democracy have always
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been advocated by him, and in 1888 he was one of the delegates from Connecticut to the convention at St. Louis, which renominated Grover Cleveland. In all his feelings he is energetic and progressive, encour- aging whatever measure will promote the welfare of his native town. He is the president of the Milford Board of Trade, and the secretary of the Steam Power Company. When the soldiers' monument was erected, in 18SS, he was at the head of one of the chief committees, and was also the chairman of the Memorial Committee, which so successfully commemorated, in 1889, the 250th anniversary of the settlement of Milford, which has so highly honored his citizenship.
CHAPTER VI.
THE TOWN OF WOODBRIDGE.
BY REVEREND S. P. MARVIN.
Location and Natural Features .- Geology and Mineralogy .- Flora .- Industries .- The Regicide Judges .- Amity Society .- Union Society .- Chapel .- Ministers .- Burial Grounds .- Prominent Citizens .- List of Early Inhabitants .- First Town Meeting .- Town Officers .- Town House .- Roads .- Physicians .- Biographical Sketches.
T HE town of Woodbridge lies northwest of New Haven, having New Haven and Orange for its southern boundary, Derby, An- sonia and Seymour on the west, Bethany on the north, and the West Rock range of hills on the east. It was incorporated in 1784. The scenery of Woodbridge is picturesque and attractive. From numerous points may be seen the city of New Haven, the mouth of its harbor and Long Island sound, with its white sails or its palatial steamers, as they pass to their destined ports. From some of its eleva- tions may be seen more than fifty miles of Long Island sound, and of the north shore of Long Island. Round Top and its companion, Tom- linson hill, are each of them over 600 feet high, and from their tops may be seen with a glass, in addition to the extensive view of the sound and Long Island, some 15 of the towns which surround them. The late President Woolsey, of Yale College, when taking the view from these hills, remarked: "We have no view in the vicinity of New Haven to equal this."
The Ravine has long been attractive for its romantic and delight- ful driveway, with its high and shaded bluffs on the one side, and its clear, silvery brook on the other, rushing over the pebble stones at one time, and at another forming a cascade, at the foot of which a pool in sleeping beauty mirrors the bold and rugged rocks and trees of the over-hanging banks, and the fleecy clouds floating in the sky above it.
The streams abound with the speckled trout, the glens with the partridge, quail and woodcock, while the forests are made musical with the chatter of the red and grey squirrel.
Woodbridge is celebrated for its healthy atmosphere. Being seven miles from Long Island sound, and having an altitude of from four to six hundred feet above the sea level, it combines the sea and mountain air, making a most delightful and healthful atmosphere. Those who have resided in other localities say that the atmosphere of Woodbridge
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is as good as at Litchfield in this state, or any place within a hundred miles of New Haven. It is a suggestion of some of the old physicians of New Haven when anything is the matter with the babies, " Take them up to Woodbridge. The Woodbridge air is better than any medicine I can give them." Woodbridge is also celebrated for the ex- cellence of its water, which is noted for its purity and coolness. The necessity of ice is hardly felt, so cool and refreshing is the water from its numerous springs.
The soil is a rich loam, which holds the fertilizing properties which are put upon it, and their influence may be seen for years. The sur- face is somewhat uneven and stony, but when once cleared of stones it amply repays in productiveness for all the labor of removing them.
In some parts of the town are immense boulders, the relics of the glacial period, while the eastern valley and the Sperry's farm plains give evidence that they were once covered with water, which was an arm or bay of the sound.
The gneiss and granite are the prevailing kinds of stone. Slate is found, but not in quantity or quality to repay its being prepared for the market. In the northwest part of the town indications of silver have been sufficient to attract the " prospector," and boreings have been made, but not with satisfactory results. Along the hills on the east side is found the argillo magnesian limestone, out of which cement similar to the Rosendale is made. Quite extensive works were started for its production, but for some reason the venture did not prove a success.
The fruits and flowers common to this part of New England flour- ish here. Apples, pears and quinces are quite productive. The peach is somewhat unreliable, though in some years produces a valuable crop. The wild flowers are abundant in variety, decking the hillsides and rendering beautiful the ravines. The cardinal flower grows bril- liant by the brooksides. The pitcher plant, quite rare in most places, grows in the meadows. The pipsissewa and the trailing ar- butus are found in the woods.
Agriculture in its various forms may be said to be the principal in- dustry of the place. Market gardening is carried on to some extent, and milk is extensively produced for the New Haven market and the villages of Ansonia, Birmingham and Seymour. Woodbridge was once famous for its excellent beef, but the great corporations of Chi- cago and Kansas City have so extended the dressed beef industry that the raising of beef by the farmers is not so profitable as formerly. The cattle trade was once extensive and lucrative, but at present D. N. Clark is the only cattle broker doing business between Albany and New Haven and the surrounding villages.
Quite a number of mechanics and other business men are engaged in the city, and ride back and forth night and morning.
The friction match had its origin in this town. Messrs. Anson
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Beecher, William A. Clark and Thomas Sanford were pioneers in the business. Mr. Beecher moved his business to Westville, where, under the direction of Mr. Eben and Wheeler Beecher and their brothers, it assumed large proportions, and became a source of great wealth. William A. Clark continued to carry on the business in the north part of the town, gaining a high reputation for his matches and a compe- tence of wealth. After his death, under the management of his son- in-law, Frederick P. Newton, it was absorbed in the Diamond Match Company and removed to Westville.
The timber trade was at one time quite extensively carried on by James J. Baldwin and others between this place and New York, but with his advanced years the business has declined.
Though the Judges' cave on West Rock is just without the limits of the town, still there are several locations which have a historic in- terest as places to which the regicides fled, or where they secreted themselves, and were aided by the early settlers of Woodbridge. There are several places which bear names evidently derived from their having been the residence of the exiles, such as the " Lodge," the " Harbor." the "Spring," "Hatchet's Harbor," and others. Of these places the Lodge was probably the one most frequented by them. This was in the northwest part of the town. Reverend I. P. Warren, in his history of the three judges, thus speaks of it: " Here by the side of a ledge of rocks, some 20 feet high, was built a cabin of stone, 9 by 10 feet in dimension and covered over by trunks and leaves of trees. From the top of the ledge is a fine view of the city and Long Island sound, with the intervening villages and scattered farms and dwellings. A little spring of clear water issues from the crevices of a rock a few rods distant." " This," says President Stiles, at one time president of Yale College, " was undoubtedly their great and principal lodge." The "Harbor " was about three quarters of a mile above Halsted Bishop's, on the stream across which the New Haven Water Company have built their large dam. Another hiding place was with Mr. Richard Sperry, the ancestor of the Sperrys, once so numerous on the flat known as " Sperry's Farm." It is evident that to Woodbridge and its inhabitants, as much as to any other place or people, the regi- cides owed their escape from the emissaries of Charles the Second, who had come over from England to apprehend them.
The Ecclesiastical Society of Amity (including Bethany till 1763) was formed in 1737 .* After petitioning the general court for 20 years, consent was granted, and it was formed from the northwest part of the town of New Haven, with the addition of one mile and six score rods in width from the northeast part of Milford, and in length, from an east and west line about four miles south from the Waterbury line. Before this, those living on the New Haven side had gone to the First church of New Haven, and those on the Milford side to the First * Incorporated in 1739.
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