USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 3
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Friend Davis, the great-grandfather of Ella Melinda (Davis) Noble, married Sophia Gridley. Their son, Alexander Davis, was a soldier in the Union Army and served as a spy. He married Eliza Tuttle, a daughter of Ephraim and Sarah Tuttle. Henry Friend Davis, son of Alexander and Eliza (Tuttle) Davis, married Susan Jackson Harrison, a daughter of Simeon Gibson
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
and Susan (Jackson) Harrison of Bethlehem. (See Harrison Line). The children of this marriage were: (1) Ella Melinda, born September 6, 1870, married Francis Benjamin Noble. (See Noble Line). (2) Flora Miriam, born in Baltimore, Maryland, January 31, 1867, died in Watertown, Connecticut, November 28, 1886. (3) Alexander Harrison, born August 1, 1864, died February 6, 1922. He married April 17, 1890, Mary Codding, of Towanda, Pennsylvania, and she died May 5, 1896. They were the parents of a daughter, Dorothy, born January 1, 1892, and married December 28, 1916, Clinton Willis Roenisch, of Duluth, Minnesota. They now reside in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and are the parents of the following children: Clinton Willis, born December 7, 1918; Dorothy Elizabeth, born July 11, 1924; Wil- liam Robert, born May 27, 1926; Davis Harrison, born February 8, 1928.
Sophia Gridley, the wife of Friend Davis, was a direct de- scendant of Thomas Gridley, who came from England with his brothers, Richard and Samuel. Traces of the family in England can be found as far back as the year 1200. Thomas Gridley came to Hartford, Connecticut, with Rev. Thomas Hooker, where, in 1639, he was one of the one hundred and twenty-seven landhold- ers. He was married there, September 29, 1644, to Mary Sey- mour, daughter of Richard Seymour, and died at Hartford about 1655. His two sons, Samuel and Thomas, were numbered among the original eighty-four proprietors of Farmington. Nearly all the persons living in the United States by the name of Gridley are descended from Thomas, the Hartford settler.
The Tuttle coat of arms: Azure, on a bend cotised argent, a lion passant sable. Crest: On a mount, vert, a turtle dove proper in the beak a spring vert, fructed or. William Tuttle, the immi- grant, came from England in 1635, and settled in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1639. His wife was Elizabeth, and they were the parents of Nathaniel Tuttle, who was baptized February 29, 1652. At the third division in New Haven, in 1680, Nathaniel Tuttle, a soldier, did not come in till after the lots had been drawn and was allowed to come in after the division on the east side. He served in the Indian war. He afterwards sold his rights to the Rev. James Pierpont and his heirs. Nathaniel lived for some time in Wallingford, but removed to Woodbury, where he died August 20, 1721. His wife, Sarah Tuttle, died in November, 1743. She was a daughter of the widow Howe.
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Ephraim Tuttle, son of Nathaniel and Sarah Tuttle, married Dinah Wheeler, February 13, 1706, daughter of John and Sarah (Sherwood) Wheeler, of Stratford. She was baptized in 1681 and her father was one of the signers at Woodbury. Ezekiel Tuttle, son of Ephraim and Dinah (Wheeler) Tuttle, was born January 5, 1718, and married Tabitha Hickox, who was born February 19, 1719, daughter of Samuel and Ellen Hickox. Ephraim Tuttle, their son, was baptized November 23, 1763, and married November 19, 1789, Sarah Stone, who died July 28, 1847. Ephraim Tuttle died December 19, 1830. Eliza Tuttle, eighth and youngest daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (Stone) Tuttle, was born March 11, 1816, and became the wife of Alex- ander Davis. (See Davis Line).
The Harrison coat of arms: Azure, two bars ermine, between six estoiles, three, two and one argent. Crest: A stork with wings expanded, argent beaked and membered or. Thomas Harrison, the immigrant ancestor of this family, was born in 1620, and settled in New Haven, Connecticut, in that part which is now East Haven. He was a planter at Branford, Connecticut, July 7, 1644, and took the oath of fidelity April 4, 1654. He married in this year the widow of John Thompson of New Haven. After her death he married on March 29, 1666, the widow Elizabeth Stent. Thomas, his eldest son, was born March 1, 1656, and mar- ried Margaret Stent, the daughter of his stepmother. Their son, Captain Thomas Harrison, was born October 4, 1694, and lived in North Branford, until 1739. He purchased one thousand acres of land in Litchfield, Connecticut, and removed there. The house in which he lived was occupied for many years by the family of Matthew Lewis. Thomas Harrison, their son, was born in 1722, and died December 23, 1791. He was a soldier in the Revolution- ary war and his grave in the Morris cemetery has been marked by the Mary Floyd Tallmadge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The name of Thomas Harrison appears in the Honor Roll of the Litchfield County Revolutionary Sol- diers on page 21. He married in September, 1764, Sybil Chervoy. The life of Sybil Chervoy is historically interesting and romantic as well and follows in detail.
Sybil Chervoy was born in Nova Scotia (at that time Acadia) in the year 1742-44, of French parentage. In the autumn of 1755, two thousand (seven thousand embracing all Acadia) of
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the French residents of that country were taken prisoners by the English and Colonial forces under the command of Colonel Wilson and by the order of the King placed on shipboard and scattered among the colonies of America. The family of Filmie or Philemon Chervoy was among those deported. (A tradition exists that a son or brother of Philemon was on a hunting expedition, thus escaped capture and remained among the Indians). The names of the children deported were Filmie, Joseph and Sybil. The wife of Filmie or Philemon Chervoy was named Sybil. The children were separated from their parents (taken off in another ship) and did not meet again in several years. Sybil often told of her parents praying and weeping as the children were left behind. The parents were landed at some port in the South Colonies. Sybil and her two brothers were brought to New Haven, on the Good Ship Boston and with other refugees were placed in custody of the authorities. Four hundred of these people were sent into Connecticut by Governor Lawrence and were distributed among the towns of that colony according to their lists by the general assembly, convened January 21, 1756. The share that fell to Woodbury, Connecticut, was nine; among them were Sybil and her two brothers. The selectmen were directed to find accommo- dations for them at some distance from the settlements and to take care of them in a suitable manner. Sybil and a brother were placed in the care of Mrs. Stiles. Sybil at that time was almost a grown girl. Mrs. Stiles tried to find a home for her and took her to Kent, Connecticut, finally leaving her in good care near the town of Litchfield, with a Mrs. Captain Harrison. The parents finally obtained a permit to travel through the colonies and search for their children. They found Filmie and Joseph in Woodbury and Sybil in South Farms.
Because she was engaged to be married, Sybil desired to stay in her new home and when her parents were about to leave she hid in a barrel of hemp in the top of a tower in the garret. A care- ful search failed to locate her hiding place and her parents left without even saying goodbye. Her parents were well supplied with money, had gold and silver in bags. Before the forced de- parture from Acadia, Sybil saw her father bury almost a half bushel of gold and silver in the garden by the side of a big rock. She was married to Captain Thomas Harrison, in September, 1764. Sybil was born a Roman Catholic and she was converted
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and joined the Congregational Church. She was illiterate, but her ability to read scriptures and hymns indicated a most won- derful memory. At an advanced age, she broke off taking snuff, saying she made such dirty work with it. Before she became blind she spun a lot of linen thread and gave a hank to each of her grandchildren as a gift for remembrance. In the last hours of her life in the wandering's of her mind, she was around the scenes of her childhood, talking in French and counting her beads.
Sybil Chervoy was buried in Morris, Connecticut, and her age on her tombstone is given as ninety-seven years. (She died December 18, 1835). The parents, Philemon and Sybil Chervoy, went to Hispanola and bought a plantation. On their death their property went to the government as they left no heirs in that country.
Asahel Harrison, son of Thomas and Sybil (Chervoy) Harri- son, was born June 18, 1778, and died March 31, 1823. He mar- ried Miriam Harris, daughter of Ebenezer Harris of Canaan, Connecticut. She was born June 11, 1786, and died March 31, 1868.
Simeon Gibson Harrison, son of Asahel and Miriam (Harris) Harrison, was born October 27, 1813, and died July 28, 1852. He married Susan R. Jackson, of Bethlehem, born April 5, 1819, and died April 3, 1841. They were the parents of Susan Jackson Harrison, who became the wife of Henry Friend Davis. (See Davis Line).
JOHN HOWARD RAPSEY
Among the more recent additions to the citizenship of New Haven is numbered John Howard Rapsey, a market operator and substantial business man, possessing the poise and breadth of view of one who has had the benefit of cosmopolitan experience. A native of the British West Indies, he was born in Port of Spain, the capitol of the island of Trinidad, December 12, 1894, a son of the late John Alfred Rapsey and Margaret Adamson Rapsey, the former a native of England and the latter of Scotland. The father went to Trinidad in his youth and became the owner of a number of estates. He was a sagacious business man who pros- pered in all of his undertakings and was president of the Tele-
J. HOWARD RAPSEY
1146104
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phone Company and the Trinidad Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany, while he was also interested in many other local enter- prises. He likewise figured prominently in civic affairs and made an enviable record as mayor of Port of Spain.
J. Howard Rapsey attended Loretto school in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was next a student at Reading University, an Eng- lish institution of learning, which he left before the completion of his course owing to the death of his father, returning to Trinidad to assume the management of the family estates. In 1915 he became first lieutenant of a local company of artillery but later resigned his commission to take up special work in West Africa for the British colonial office. In 1916 he went to the British Cameroons and with some fifteen other British officers who made up the plantation department under the supervision of the Nigerian government. From January, 1917, until July, 1918, he was assistant superintendent of that department, discharging his important duties in a manner that won for him the finest certificate of service for efficiency ever given to a British officer. On resigning his position Mr. Rapsey returned to Trinidad, where he remained until 1922, when he sailed for America, and for four years was a resident of New York city, acting as a salesman for brokerage houses during that period. In 1926 he came to New Haven as a representative of Roberts & Company, New York brokers with headquarters at 120 Broadway. This con- nection was maintained for a year, and in June, 1927, he entered the investment field independently, operating under the style of J. Howard Rapsey, Inc., with offices at 42 Church street. This company is listed in Poor's directory and in all of the important bankers' and brokers' directories in the country.
On the 16th of January, 1930, Mr. Rapsey was married to Miss Ethel Louise Cruttenden, of New Haven, and their city residence is at 370 McKinley avenue, while they also have a coun- try home in Bethlehem, Connecticut. Mr. Rapsey is identified with many clubs and other organizations. He belongs to the Con- necticut Chamber of Commerce, the New York Athletic Club, the Kew Gardens Country Club, the British Schools and Universities Club of New York city, the Royal Automobile Club of London, England, the Royal Motor Yacht Club of that city, the Air League of the British Empire, of which organization he is a founder member, and the West India committee, of which he is a life
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member. His has been an active, purposeful life, replete with interesting experiences, and a winning personality has gained for him warm friends in many parts of the world. He has closely allied his interests with those of New Haven, and his enterprise and ability are bringing him rapidly to the fore in his chosen line of endeavor.
JOHN CAMERON MENZIES
John Cameron Menzies joined his father in the plumbing and heating contracting business at New Haven following the close of his service in the World war and succeeded him as head of Charles A. Menzies, Inc., when the founder passed away in Sep- tember, 1928. He was born at New Haven, Connecticut, June 21, 1894, a son of Charles A. and Helen (Cameron) Menzies, natives of Scotland. A review of the career of his deceased father ap- pears on another page of this publication.
John C. Menzies received excellent educational training in his native city, attending successively the public schools, the Hopkins Grammar School, from which he was graduated in 1913, and the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, where he completed a course in mechanical engineering in 1917. He then enlisted for service in the World war as a petty officer in the naval reserve force and late in the same year was commissioned in the Naval Flying Corps. He was on duty with the coast patrol for six months and taught aviation mechanics at the naval gas engine school at Columbia University. Early in 1918 he went overseas to France as Liberty motor officer under Commander Briscoe, his duties taking him to all naval air stations in Belgium, France and Great Britain and placing him at length in command of the United States naval air station at Zeebrugge, Belgium, where he re- mained until the signing of the armistice. He was discharged with the rank of lieutenant at the Bayshore naval station on Long Island, New York, but has continued his connection with the navy to the present time as fleet reserve officer for deck and engineer- ing duties. When the war had ended he became associated with his father in the plumbing, heating and ventilating business at New Haven, where he has since remained active along that line, taking over the business when his father died two years ago. He
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is an enterprising, capable and progressive young business man and has proved himself thoroughly qualified to meet the responsi- bilities which devolve upon him as head of Charles A. Menzies, Inc., sanitary and heating engineers. The concern is accorded an extensive patronage in the field of engineering, jobbing, contract- ing and repair service and also handle various domestic and indus- trial mechanical equipment.
On the 18th of October, 1918, Mr. Menzies married Miss Elsie Carmichael, of New Haven, a daughter of the late Donald G. Carmichael, who won well merited success as a prominent con- tractor and builder of the city. Mrs. Menzies was graduated from Mount Holyoke College with the class of 1917 and has become widely known for her active interest in civic and social projects. She is a director of the Young Women's Christian Association, secretary of the Connecticut Valley Presbytery and a member of the Woman's Club, the Garden Club and various other women's organizations. By her marriage she has a son, John C., Jr., born July 28, 1920. Mr. Menzies has membership in the Masonic fraternity, the National Sojourners, the University Glee Club, the American Legion and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
HENRY J. REYNOLDS
Acquiring the mechanical skill that results from years of ex- perience and close application, Henry J. Reynolds steadily pro- gressed in his chosen field of activity, rendering the service of an expert pattern maker to many of the large industrial enterprises of the east. He is now devoting his energies to administrative direction and executive control and figures prominently in manu- facturing circles of Waterbury as the owner of the business con- ducted under the name of the Reynolds Pattern Company.
He was born in this city, November 30, 1866, a son of Ran- som S. and Emeline (Chatfield) Reynolds, the former a native of Woodbury, Connecticut, and the latter of Waterbury. The grand- father, Solomon Reynolds, represented one of the pioneer fami- lies of Woodbury, where he followed the trade of a carpenter for many years. His son, Ransom S. Reynolds, was also a carpenter and likewise became well known as a millwright ard pattern
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
maker, devoting his life to those activities. He passed away at an advanced age, and his wife is also deceased.
Henry J. Reynolds attended the grammar and high schools of his native city, and his first knowledge of industrial affairs was gained in the employ of the Waterbury Clock Company, with which he spent two years. He was next identified with the New England Watch Company, working in their adjusting department for one and a half years, and afterward learned the trade of pat- tern making with the Gaylord, Cross & Spiers Company, machine builders and foundrymen. He remained with them for five years, working under his father, who was superintendent of the shop, and later was a pattern maker for E. J. Manville for four years. Capable and dependable, he steadily advanced and at length was placed in charge of the pattern shop of the Manville Brothers Company, machine builders, with whom he continued for fifteen years, materially promoting the work of production in that con- nection. Subsequently he spent a few years with the Blake & Johnson Engine Company and on the 1st of July, 1916, made his initial venture in the industrial field, organizing the firm of Reynolds & Currie, the junior member being John M. Currie. They entered upon the making of wooden patterns at 141 Maple street, employing seven skilled workmen, and soon developed a profitable business. They also engaged in general contract work, securing about fifty per cent of their orders from out of town. The enterprise was continued under a partnership relation until March 16, 1929, when Mr. Currie sold his interest to Mr. Reynolds, who has since conducted the business alone, changing the style to the Reynolds Pattern Company. He has a modern, completely equipped plant at 260 East Main street and personally supervises every detail of the work, maintaining a high standard of produc- tion. He operates on a large scale and is a recognized leader in the field in which he specializes.
In 1890 Mr. Reynolds was married to Miss Gopplep, of New York city, and they have four children: Elsworth G., who was graduated from Columbia College and was connected with the Colonial Trust Company for a time but is now a statistician with General Motors; Samuel H., who completed a course in the Mass- achusetts Institute of Technology and fills a responsible position in the Boston office of the Crucible Steel Company; Muriel E., who was graduated from Wheaton College and acts as private
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secretary to one of the officials of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey; and Susan F., who supplemented her high school education by attendance at the Russell Sage School in Troy, New York, where she is now a student.
Mr. Reynolds has membership in St. John's Episcopal Church and casts his ballot for the candidates of the republican party. When a young man he served on the town committee and in the early days was one of the volunteer firemen of Waterbury, while at one time he was foreman of the hook and ladder company. Along fraternal lines he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past grand, and for thirty years has been recorder of the local lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. However, outside interests have never been allowed to interfere with his business, which has been wisely and efficient- ly conducted, and his success is the merited reward of an earnest, purposeful life of rightly directed endeavor.
EDWARD E. FITZPATRICK, M. D.
On the list of professional men in Waterbury appears the name of Dr. Edward E. Fitzpatrick, a well known physician and sur- geon, who has practiced here for a period of six years. He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, a son of Richard and Catherine (Moran) Fitzpatrick, the latter also a native of that city. The father was born in New York city and served in the Union Army during the Civil war. Afterward he participated in several cam- paigns against the Indians and was mustered out of service in 1872. Although he endured many privations and hardships, he attained an advanced age, passing away August 27, 1929.
Dr. Fitzpatrick prepared for his profession as a student in the University of Maryland, from which he won his M. D. degree in 1915, and then returned to the east, becoming an interne in St. Francis Hospital at Hartford, Connecticut, a position which he filled for one and a half years. At the end of that time he opened an office in Woonsocket but laid aside his practice soon afterward, enlisting in 1917, and he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the medical corps of the United States Army. He was engaged in active duty overseas for nineteen months and after the war resumed the work of his profession in Woonsocket, later taking a
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postgraduate course in Harvard University and attending clinics of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1924 he came to Waterbury and engaged in general practice. He main- tains his office at 83 East Main street, and his scientific knowledge and skill have won for him many patients. He is connected with the urological clinic in St. Mary's Hospital of Waterbury and is also surgeon for the police and fire departments of the city. He is particularly well known as a urologist and dermatologist, and gratifying results have attended his ministrations.
On the 2d of January, 1928, Dr. Fitzpatrick was married in Waterbury to Miss Marie Dowling, who occupies an enviable place in social circles of the city. For recreation the Doctor turns to fishing and other outdoor sports. Along fraternal lines he is identified with the Knights of Columbus. He is a member of the Waterbury, New Haven County and Connecticut State Medical Associations and holds to a high standard in the field of profes- sional service, constantly endeavoring to promote his efficiency through research and study.
JAMES A. MURRAY
As president of the business conducted under the name of the Goodyear Rubber Sundries Company, Inc., at 75 Daggett street, James A. Murray figures prominently in manufacturing circles of New Haven, basing his success as an executive upon a detailed knowledge of the rubber industry, to which he has devoted forty-five years of his life. He is also well known as a civic worker and a man of marked public spirit. He was born in Bristol, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1867, a son of Michael and Mary (Rourke) Murray, who were natives of Ire- land. On coming to America they settled in Bristol, Pennsyl- vania, where the father obtained work in a rolling mill, and was thus engaged until his death.
Reared in his native town, James A. Murray attended its public schools and when his textbooks were laid aside he secured a position in a stocking mill, there remaining for about three years, during which he learned the trade of a weaver. In 1885 he came to New Haven and entered the employ of the Seamless Rubber Company. He was assigned the work of sweeping and
James P. Murray
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
cleaning the factory, and from that humble position he advanced through the various departments, mastering every phase of the business. He served in succession as cutter, foreman, assistant superintendent, superintendent and at length was elected vice president, also acting as general manager. In 1916 he severed his connection with that corporation and in association with his son, James A. Murray, Jr., organized the Goodyear Rubber Sun- dries Company, purchasing the four-story building previously owned and occupied by the Seamless Rubber Company. They operated on a partnership basis for a year and then incorporated the business, which has enjoyed a rapid growth. Starting with one building, they have developed an industry of mammoth pro- portions, occupying one hundred and three thousand square feet of floor space. This immense plant is devoted to the manufacture of rubber notions and sundries, for which there is a wide demand, the products of the house being sold from coast to coast. The duties of president and treasurer are discharged by James A. Murray, Sr., and those of vice president, assistant treasurer, secretary and general manager are entrusted to James A. Mur- ray, Jr. The notable progress made by the corporation is due to the enterprise, ability and foresight of Mr. Murray and his son, who at first had but eight employes, while five hundred and sixty-two people are now in their service. In addition to his responsibilities as the executive head of the business James A. Murray, Sr., is identified with financial affairs as a director of the Broadway Bank & Trust Company.
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