USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Norfolk > History of Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 1744-1900 > Part 41
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He was specially interested in the observance of Forefathers' Day. Genealogy also claimed his active interest, and he corre- sponded widely on the subject.
Thus passed away the last one of a large and distinguished family, widely known and honored."
MRS. ELLEN BATTELL ELDRIDGE.
It remains to speak briefly of the youngest member of the Battelle family. In a private memorial of her it is said:
"Entered into the rest that remaineth for the people of God, October 5, 1893, Ellen Battell Eldridge, youngest child of the late Joseph and Sarah Battell, and widow of the late Reverend Doctor Azariah Eldridge of Yarmouthport, Massachusetts.
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK.
Mrs. Eldridge was born at Norfolk, and spent her earliest years here, receiving from her cultured parents the liberal education which they bestowed upon all their children. In 1849 she was mar- ried to the Reverend Azariah Eldridge. The earlier years of their married life were spent in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and at Detroit, Michigan, where Dr. Eldridge was settled over the Fort Street Presbyterian Church.
After leaving Detroit, Doctor and Mrs. Eldridge resided in Paris, France, where he was in charge of the American Chapel. On their return to this country they purchased the ancestral home of the Eldridge family at Yarmouthport, naming it 'The Haven,' where they lived for the remainder of their lives, Doctor Eldridge dying there October 1, 1888. They had one child, Anna Battell Eldridge, who died in childhood.
During her residence in Yarmouth, Mrs. Eldridge's life was mostly given up to philanthropic objects. The number of her charities will never be known. She not only gave, but gave wisely and well. She presented to the Chapel of Yale University the clock and chime of bells now in use, and also added a large sum of money to the fund for musical instruction in the University.
Through Mrs. Eldridge's addition to this fund the instructorship of music was raised to a full professorship, and a separate depart- ment established.
Mrs. Eldridge had been an invalid, and for several years had not visited her native home. A few days previous to her death, di- vinely led, she returned here, saw again the happy scenes of her youth, the hills and valleys of her native town, the dearly beloved home of her birth, and the kindred she was so soon to leave. As peacefully and gently as she had lived, she passed away in the home of her fathers."
Professor Joseph Emerson of Beloit, Wisconsin, a few days after the death of Mrs. Eldridge, wrote to her brother, Robbins Battelle:
"Word has come that your sister is at rest,-Blessed rest! And her works do follow her. So the choir of your sisters is again com- plete, no more to be broken. And what a wonderful harmony it was and is, here and in the Father's home. Sarah, with her abounding fullness of genial life; Urania, with her admirable womanhood; Irene, the model of every grace; Anna, with her queenly dignity; and now Ellen, that child of truth and trust, whose sympathy and helpfulness were such a blessing in your home and community, in the home and work of my noble class- mate, her husband. The kindly grace of early years must seem
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to have passed on undisturbed from the fellowship of your child- hood home to the reunion in the Father's home, and the everlasting thanksgiving. May we all be there."
Professor Joseph Emerson, who penned these words of tender love, himself a native of Norfolk, companion in early childhood of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Battell, son of Rev. Ralph Emerson, D. D., born in Norfolk in 1821, for many years an honored and beloved professor in Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, has recently passed over "to the reunion in the Father's home, and the ever- lasting thanksgiving."
The announcement has been made of his departure from earth at his home in Beloit, August, 1900.
:
'They are gathering homeward from every land, One by one! One by one!'
Another son of Rev. Ralph Emerson, born in Norfolk, is living at Rockford, Illinois ;- Mr. Ralph Emerson, "Presi- dent of the Emerson Manufacturing Company, Standard Agricultural Works."
XXVII.
THE WELCH FAMILY.
"The first of the name in this town was Hopestill Welch, who in the part of Windham, Conn., which is now called Hampton, married Alice Woodward, May 12, 1762, both being natives of that place. They lived in their native place for a few years; afterwards for a time at Windsor, and re- moved to Norfolk about 1772, and lived here for more than fifty-five years. Mr. Welch was born in 1741, and died in this town March 9, 1828, aged 87 years. Mrs. Welch died June 3, 1828, aged 82 years. Hopestill Welch served as a soldier in the French war, under General Putnam and others, and was also a soldier in the Revolutionary army,
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and a pensioner as Sergeant, after 1818. He was a black- smith and lived near the school-house on Pond Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Welch were members of the Congregational Church. They had thirteen children,-three sons and ten daughters.
Alice, married Joel Walter and died in Norfolk, leaving no chil- dren.
Vine, married Esther Coggswell; was a blacksmith; removed to Ohio about 1812, and died at Euclid, Ohio, at more than ninety years of age. He had a large family of children.
Benjamin, studied medicine, and is mentioned at length below.
Sarah, married Enoch Searles, from Vermont; they lived in Norfolk and Shalersville, Ohio. Sullivan Searles, one of their sons, was a constable in Norfolk in 1831, and afterwards went West.
Eunice, unmarried; lived with and died at the home of her brother, Dr. Benjamin Welch, December, 1846, aged 74.
Abigail, married Joseph Gaylord of Norfolk; removed to Ply- mouth, Illinois, and died in Kansas at a great age.
Susanna, married Abraham Thompson of Goshen. They re- moved from Goshen to Hudson, Ohio, about 1800, as pioneer set- tlers. She was a noted school teacher.
Lucy, married first Joel Walter, who had before married her oldest sister, Alice Welch. She married, second, Mr. Tyler. She married, third, Enoch Searles, who had before married her sister, Sarah Welch. Her only child was the late Judge Joel Walter Tyler of Cleveland, Ohio.
Charlotte, married Nathan Jenks of North Providence, R. I. They lived in Canaan, Conn., and Albion, N. Y.
Elizabeth, (Betsey,) married Jonathan Pettibone, son of Col. Giles Pettibone of Norfolk. They settled fifteen miles from Ply- mouth, Illinois.
Hopestill married Eunice Stevens, and settled in Blanford, Mass., as a physician. Being out of health he started with a horse and sleigh to visit his sisters in Ohio. On the journey he became suddenly worse and died at Geneva, N. Y., aged 25 years. His only child was Samuel Stevens Hopestill Welch.
Phebe Sophia, married Daniel Welton of Goshen. They went west and died at Beloit, Wisconsin. Her only child, Phebe Sophia, married Stephen Obed Humphrey of Goshen, and died at Beloit in 1874.
Olive, married Ezekiel Wilcox of Norfolk and removed to Shalersville, Ohio.
A century ago the belief in signs and portents was almost uni-
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versal. The following tradition is well authenticated. In 1810 Hopestill Welch lived near Pond Hill Schoolhouse. He had a large family, several of whom had removed to Ohio. One morning at breakfast Mrs. Welch, then an old lady, said she expected bad news that day. She had slept but little through the night, and once felt sure she heard the tolling of a death bell. Her daugh- ters tried to cheer her up, but the mother persisted in saying "You will see." Days passed, perhaps weeks, and tidings came of the death of the youngest son, at the age of twenty-five years. .
He was a physician, named for his father, Hopestill, and after a long illness had started with a team for the west to visit his friends, hoping the journey and change would be a benefit to him. When near Geneva, N. Y., he was taken suddenly worse and died there among strangers, on the very night that his mother thought she heard the tolling of the bell.
Benjamin Welch, M. D., third child of Hopestill and Alice Welch, was born at Windsor, Conn., February 3, 1768, and in childhood removed with his father's family to Norfolk, where he lived for more than three-quarters of a century, and died December 17, 1849, aged 82 years. He was the "Beloved Physician," and his funeral sermon by Rev. Dr. Joseph Eldridge was published. Dr. Welch studied medi- cine with Dr. Ephraim Guiteau of Norfolk, and October 31, 1788, married his daughter, Louisa Guiteau. She died De- cember 6, 1816, aged 47 years. He married second, Eliza- beth Loveland of Glastonbury, November 12, 1817. She died September 27, 1867, aged 80 years.
The children of Dr. Benjamin and Louisa Guiteau-Welch were Asa Guiteau, born July 31, 1789; married Phebe Stevens of Nor- folk. He died at Lee, Mass., August 13, 1851. She died November 18, 1862, aged 70 years. They had no children.
Irad, born 1792; died 1796.
Luna Selina, born July 23, 1795; married John D. Bidwell, Esq., of Tyringham, now Monterey, Mass. She died December 29, 1873, aged 78 years. Mr. Bidwell died May 27, 1867, in his 75th year. Their only son, Dr. John Welch Bidwell, practiced medicine for many years, and died in Winsted, April 19, 1897, aged 72 years.
Benjamin, born May 24, 1798; married Sarah Beebe of Win- chester. He died at Salisbury October 9, 1873, aged 75 years. She died November 30, 1875, aged 70 years. They had no children.
Louisa Pamela, born March 28, 1801; married Rev. Ira Petti-
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bone. She died at Winchester April 8, 1865, aged 64. He died June 11, 1889, aged 88 years.
Alice, born April 28, 1804; married Rev. Henry Cowles, D. D., the eminent divine of Oberlin, Ohio, and author of many volumes of Commentaries upon the Prophets, and other books of the Bible. Dr. Cowles died at Oberlin, September 6, 1881. Mrs. Alice Welch Cowles died at Oberlin October 14, 1843, aged 39 years. Of their six children, two are living (January, 1900): J. G. W. Cowles of Cleveland, Ohio; and Sarah, Mrs. Thomas H. Little, for many years Superintendent of the State Institution for the Blind, at Janesville, Wisconsin, having been chosen at Mr. Little's death as his suc- cessor in that position. She was a graduate of Oberlin College.
James, born January 7, 1807; married Lavinia M. Hubbard of Salisbury. They celebrated their Golden Wedding in 1881, and lived for more than fifty years in Winsted. He died November 22, 1886, aged 80. She died January 2, 1882. Of their six children, two are living: Dr. Edward H. Welch, who succeeded to his father's medical practice in Winsted, and Dr. William C. Welch of New Haven. An- other son, Dr. John B. Welch, a young man of much promise, en- tered into his country's service as surgeon in the army, in the War of the Rebellion, and died in the service.
Phebe Sophia, born Feb. 3, 1810; died August 3, 1822.
The sons of Dr. Benjamin Welch and his second wife, Eliza- beth Loveland-Welch.
William Wickham, born December 10, 1818; married Miss Eme- line Collin, of Hillsdale, N. Y. She died in 1850. He married sec- ond, Miss Emily Sedgwick of Cornwall, sister of the late Major General John Sedgwick, who survives him. Dr. William W. Welch spent his life in the practice of medicine in his native town, and died July 30, 1892, in the house where he was born, aged 74. His son, Professor William H. Welch of Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, has made a distinguished name for himself already. He is mentioned below.
Mrs. Emma Walcott, of New York Mills, N. Y., is the daugh- ter of Dr. William W. Welch.
The youngest child of Dr. Benjamin Welch was John Hopestill; born March 18, 1827; married Elizabeth M. Bell of Cornwall. She died December 22, 1876. He died in Hartford, January 8, 1893. They had five children, one son and four daughters, the eldest of whom, Mrs. Ellsworth D. Ives, is a resident of Norfolk. The son, John W. Welch, was long Treasurer of the Dime Savings Bank, in Hartford. The other daughters are, Mrs. George D. Harrison of Lakeville, Mrs. Everett P. Curtiss, and Mrs. Andrew F. Gates, of Hartford."
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK.
DR. BENJAMIN WELCH, SEN.
It seems but just and appropriate that more of a mention than the foregoing should be made of such a man, and of such a life as was that of the elder Dr. Benjamin Welch, who for more than half a century was the physician in this town, responding to every call of sickness and suffer- ing, by day and by night, in heat and in cold, summer and winter, year after year, and through him and after him, to make some adequate mention of his five distinguished sons, all of whom also were physicians, and spent their lives within some thirty miles of this, their native home.
The discourse delivered by Dr. Eldridge at the funeral of Dr. Benjamin Welch, December 21, 1849, was published in response to a request for its publication, signed by his five sons. The whole discourse is so excellent that it is emi- nently worthy of being reproduced entire in this volume did space permit, but only the brief personal mention of Dr. Welch can be given. In part Dr. Eldridge said:
"Dr. Benjamin Welch was born in Windsor, Conn., and would have been eighty-two years of age, had he been spared to us till February next. While a lad, his parents having removed to Nor- folk, he was placed in the family of Dr. Ephraim Guiteau, the first physician resident in the town, and then in extensive practice. With him the deceased resided till he was twenty-one years of age, and from him received his medical education. About the time he became of age he received a license to practice medicine from a board of examiners appointed by the Litchfield County Medical Society.
After an absence from town of about two years he returned to Norfolk, and entered upon the practice of medicine, and here spent the remainder of his life, being a large part of the time the only practising physician in the place.
He was frequently called to neighboring towns, and was ex- tensively known abroad. He was thus actively employed for a period of fifty years. Endowed by nature with a constitution of great vigor, he performed an amount of labor, bodily and mental, which few men have the ability to sustain. In 1838 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine, from Yale College.
At different times he has held nearly every office in the gift of the town. When he had assistance in his professional business, he several times represented the town in the State Legislature. He
MRS. ELIZABETH LOVELAND WELCH.
BENJAMIN WELCH, SEN., M. D.
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK.
was for many years justice of the peace, and generally the active one when business was to be transacted.
Such is the brief historical notice of Dr. Welch. Were I to stop here, I should be unjust to my own feelings, and to the senti- ments of all here present, especially of the more aged persons here, whose recollections go back to the scenes of active exertion, in which the deceased passed the whole of life, save the few years last past, during which he has been disqualified for labor by the growing infirmities of age. My own heart and your wishes prompt me to say something of his character.
Dr. Welch, both as a man and a physician, possessed and ex- hibited all those qualities that inspire confidence and win regard. For his day he was eminently qualified for his profession. He gathered knowledge from books, and was constantly adding to his stores from the results of his own large and long continued ex- perience. In practice neither rash nor timid, he reached a safe and happy medium. In his disposition he was eminently kind, and free from all tendency to impatience or irritability. Unwilling to give pain, and eager to relieve distress, he was yielding in trifling matters, but decided and firm on occasions of serious importance.
He was prompt in meeting every call, as much so if made by the poor, as if made by the rich. No exhaustion, no state of the weather or roads, prevented his setting out. Be it cold or hot, wet or dry, summer or winter, night or day, he spared no exertions to meet every demand upon his skill and aid. From what I have learned from all quarters, the amount of unrequited labor which he performed during his long professional career was incalculable. The art of collecting he never acquired, and in fact received but a small portion of his dues from those able to pay. Nevertheless he never complained, and so long as his strength held out, he abated not his efforts. He was, indeed, too forgetful of himself,-too re- luctant to insist on his just demands.
His domestic affections were tender and strong. He was happy in his family, and contributed much to make his home an abode of peace and joy. His hopes in regard to his children had been realized. Of his five sons, he lived to see every one engaged in the same profession to which his own life had been devoted, and not undistinguished in it.
Many years ago he embraced the Christian faith. He firmly believed the doctrines, and relied on the saving provisions of the Gospel. Its consolations solaced him amid the infirmities of age, and its hope cheered him as he consciously approached the con- fines of the future world. His toils are over; his work is done; he has gone to his rest. He will be seen no more, as in former years, traversing, in all weathers and seasons, every part of this
.
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town. His venerable form will no more attract the attention of strangers, as it used to do, in the house of God. He will no longer be found at his own door, ready to welcome with cheerful smile and cordial greeting, every visitor. . . . His children will all cher- ish his memory, and peculiarly favored are these sons, in having had before them so complete a model in the very line of their pro- fession. . . This day, fellow townsmen, we have to follow to the grave one, who during his life was eminently useful here; one who had endeared himself to all; one who died without an enemy in the world; one upon whose monument we are prepared to en- grave, as expressive of our real sentiments, and as a fitting epi- taph, the words of the text,-"The Beloved Physician."
MRS. LOUISA GUITEAU WELCH. MRS. ELIZABETH LOVELAND WELCH.
"Mrs. Louisa Guiteau Welch, the first wife of Dr. Ben- jamin Welch, was a woman of talent and excellence, of delicate health, and her work was mostly at home. Her children, six of whom reached maturity, partook of her ability and of her love of truth. She was not a member of the church, but Mr. Emerson said at her funeral, "We sor- row not as those who have no hope."
Her original gravestone said, "Her many virtues are to her friends the most precious mementoes."
"Nov. 12, 1817, Dr. Welch married as his second wife Miss Elizabeth Loveland, then thirty years of age, and daughter of John Loveland of Glastonbury, Conn. From this time until her death in 1867, at the age of 80 years, her home was in Norfolk, and she was the friend of all the people. Two sons were born to her, and besides the care of a large family she found time to do much for others. Her door was always open and her welcome hearty for each child and grandchild and all the remote kindred, as well as for neighbors and friends.
She was a refined and beautiful woman and possessed a lovely character and rare tact. An earnest Christian, she loved the church, was an active worker in the Sunday School, and much interested in the cause of missions.
Daily and continued prayer was her habit, and at evening
JOHN H. WELCH, M.D.
JAMES WELCH , M.D.
-
ASA
G. WELCH M.D
FRANKLIN ENGCO.
BENJAMIN WELCH JR M.D/
WILLIAM W. WELCH . M.D.
THE WELCH BROTHERS.
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time a hush often fell upon the group of playful and noisy children, "because Grandma had gone away to pray" in her room.
Words cannot do justice to her worth."
Of Mrs. Elizabeth Welch, who half a century and more ago was fondly known by almost every Sabbath School boy and girl in the town as "Grandma Welch," it could most truthfully be said that her very presence anywhere was a blessing and a benediction, whether at her home or among her neighbors and friends,-upon joyful occasions, or in homes where there was sickness and sorrow,-in public or in private. She was one of the very first in the town in- terested and instrumental in the organization of the Sun- day School, in about 1825. She was at the time of the organization of the school chosen its 'Lady Superintendent,' and held the position continuously until the close of her life. How we little children watched for Grandma Welch to come to our class, as she passed around through the school with her basket, containing books for the little ones, and copies of 'The Dayspring,' probably the first child's paper printed in the country. She had a pleasant word for every teacher and child, and knew us all by name. For several years she had the care and training of her two grandchildren, after the death of their mother, Mrs. Dr. William Welch, which occurred October, 1850, at the age of 28, leaving an infant son six months old. Mrs. Eliza- beth Welch "passed over unto the other side" September 27, 1867, aged 80 years. "Her children," and those to whom she was "Grandma Welch," scattered all over the land. "Arise up and call her blessed."
ASA G. WELCH, M. D.
Dr. Asa G. Welch studied medicine with his father and prac- tised with him for several years. In 1814 he removed to Tyring- ham, Mass., where he lived for thirteen years, having an extensive ride, and where he built a fine mansion for his own use. About 1827 several prominent business men of Lee, Mass., gave to him a formal invitation to settle in that town. This invitation he ac- cepted, and continued in active practice in Lee until his death in 1851. He accumulated a handsome property for the times.
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK.
He was a successful physician, having splendid tact for his pro- fession. He was a public-spirited man, a wise counselor and a pillar of strength to his friends. He was a portly, fine looking man and of commanding presence.
He became interested in politics, and in 1835-6 represented the town in the legislature and in 1851 was elected to the State Senate. He was a warm personal friend of the late Governor Hull of Mas- sachusetts.
BENJAMIN WELCH, JR., M. D.
Dr. Benjamin Welch, Jr., graduated at the Yale Medical School in 1823, and afterwards spent one year at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, to perfect himself in the knowledge of anatomy and surgery. He also for a time assisted the eminent Dr. Everest of Canton, and was benefitted by the culture and training of one of the leading surgeons of that day.
About 1825 he located in his native town of Norfolk, and quickly became the leading surgeon in this part of the state. After seven- teen years in Norfolk he was at Litchfield for four years and in 1846 went to reside in Salisbury, which was his home until his de- cease. He spent 54 years in the arduous practice of his chosen profession.
Soon after 1850 Dr. Welch began at Lakeville (Salisbury) the manufacture of splints for fractures, invented and patented by himself. The splint for a broken thigh was especially ingenious, for by a curious mechanical arrangement, of extension and counter- extension, it could be lengthened or contracted without removal. The splints are commended in Prof. Samuel D. Gross's "System of Surgery."
Dr. Welch was the pioneer in this department, and though the business was not pecuniarily successful, its establishment marked a new era in the treatment of broken bones.
He was prominent in all public matters and town affairs, and a strong pillar in the church and Ecclesiastical Society during the years when he was in the practice of his profession in this his na- tive town; and professionally his old friends never forget him. He was often called in severe cases in counsel, surgical and others, to come back to Norfolk, the common expression being, "don't give up all hope before' you have sent for 'Doctor Benjamin.'"
At his funeral at Lakeville, Dr. Adam Reid, pastor of the Con- gregational Church at Salisbury, said: "Dr. Welch was a man of sense and intelligence; of sterling moral worth as well as of Chris- tian principle. In the department of surgery especially, his skill was deemed pre-eminent, and was sought for, far and near." Dr. Eldridge, his pastor in Norfolk, said of him: "He was strong, in-
WILLIAM W. WELCH, M.D.
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telligent, upright, just, and right. Always calm, wherever duty led him he deliberately went. He was a man to see and to do, rather than to talk. His death is a great loss to his family, neighbors, this whole region, the country, and the Church of Christ."
JAMES WELCH, M. D.
Dr. James Welch graduated at the Berkshire Medical Institute at Pittsfield, Mass., in 1830 under such teachers as Prof. Childs and Prof. Parker, who were his life-long friends.
He then spent a few months at Sandisfield, Mass., in the prac- tice of his profession. In 1831 he removed to Winsted and, except for a short absence, was an active physician until his death in 1886. He did an extensive consulting business in the County in addition to his large regular practice, and to an unusual degree kept abreast with the times. His cheerfulness was unvarying, his common sense unfailing, his memory remarkable, his sympathy and tact always ready, his discrimination keen, and his judgment generally correct. He was a kind, genial man and a courteous Christian gentleman. He was a sincere friend, and his friendship was worth having. He was public-spirited, doing all in his power to forward all moral and business enterprises.
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