History of Windham County, Connecticut, Part 89

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: New York, Preston
Number of Pages: 1506

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Mr. Dean, on the 13th of December, 1837, married Pamelia B., daughter of Charles Hobbs, of Sturbridge, Mass. He was a member of the East Woodstock Congregational church, with which Mrs. Dean continues active and useful relations.

MARQUIS GREEN .- Thomas Green, the progenitor of the Green family in America, came from England in 1635, and settled in Malden, Mass. His son Henry, born in 1638, married in 1671, Esther Hasse. Among their seven children was a son Henry, born in 1672, who maried in 1695, Hannah Flagg. Their son

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Henry, the third of the name, born in 1696, married Judith -, and resided in Killingly. A son John by this marriage, born in 1736, one of six children, was the father of Benjamin, whose birth occurred March 11th, 1766. He married Tamer Moffat, to whom were born four children. By a second mar- riage to Esther Jewett were seven children, the youngest of whom is the subject of this biography.

Marquis Green was born January 19th, 1816, in Thompson, where he attended the public schools and concluded his studies at the academy at Millbury, Mass. At the age of seventeen he learned the carpenter's trade, and for a period of thirty-five years was actively employed in this department of industry. In 1848 his present home in Woodstock was purchased, to which, after a life of activity, he retired in 1868, and has since that date been engaged in the improvement of the property. Mr. Green has been to some extent identified with public life. In politics he was formerly an old line whig, and later joined the republi- can ranks. He has officiated as selectman of his town, and in 1871 was its representative in the legislature, serving on the committee on constitutional amendments. He was one of the in- corporators of the Putnam Savings Bank.

Mr. Green was married August 26th, 1840, to Clara G., daugh- ter of David Goddard, of Millbury, Mass. Both Mr. and Mrs. Green worship with the Congregational church of Woodstock, of which the latter is a member. Their only child, a son, Clar- endon M., was born February 18th, 1844, and at the age of eigh- teen joined the 18th Regiment, Connecticut volunteers, during the late war. He participated in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged, until wounded at the battle of Kerns- town, near Winchester, Va. On his discharge he learned the carpenter's trade and succeeded to his father's business. He married Virgelia, daughter of James I. Sawyer, of Woodstock, and has three children : Justin Sawyer, born October 21st, 1869 ; Clara Sophia, March 15th, 1874, and James Marquis, January 31st, 1879.

WILLIAM LYON, 4th .- The progenitor of the Lyon family in Connecticut was William Lyon, born in 1675, who when four- teen years of age, came with an uncle to Woodstock and settled on the homestead farm now owned by Mrs. William Lyon and Mrs. Emma Lyon Frink. William Lyon, his eldest son, born in 1700, was the father of eight children, of whom Elijah, born

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in 1727, had among his children a son William, born November 11th, 1778, who was the father of William 4th, the subject of this biography, born October 7th, 1801. His birthplace was the homestead farm, which has passed by inheritance into the hands the eldest son in the successive generations of the family since it was first acquired.

Mr. Lyon received a common school education and was early made familiar with the details of a farmer's life by his father, with the hope that he would succeed to his calling. The bent of his son's mind lay in the direction of a trade, and the skill with which he, unaided, erected the frame and built a barn on the farm, decided his fate as a carpenter and master builder. This trade he followed with great success for many years, his services having been in general demand in both town and county.

On the 31st of October, 1832, when thirty-one years of age, he married Harriet, daughter of Benjamin Green, of Thompson. Their children are a daughter Emma, Mrs. Frink, and a son Or- igen, who entered the army during the late war, was in several engagements and died from disease contracted during his period of service. William Lyon on his marriage built and removed to the dwelling now occupied by Marquis Green, where for four- teen years he resided. He then returned to the homestead, where his death occurred February 9th, 1859. He was actively interested in the political issues of the day, and as a whig was elected to the legislature and to various important offices in the town. He possessed mature judgment, a fund of strong com- mon sense, and was highly esteemed as an influential citizen. In early years Mr. Lyon united with the Baptist church, of what was known as Quasset.

JOHN MCCLELLAN .- General Samuel Mcclellan, the father of the subject of this biography, was born in the town of Worcester. Massachusetts, January 4th, 1730, his parents having emigrated from Kircudbright, on the Firth of Solway, in Scotland. In the French war he served as an ensign and lieutenant of a company, during which service he was wounded. On his return from the provincial campaign he purchased a farm in Wood- stock, and there married and settled. At a later date he engaged in mercantile business and established an extensive trade, not only importing his own goods but supplying other merchants as well. The war of the revolution, however, ended his commer-

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Lyon 4th

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cial projects and enlisted his interest in the training and equip- ment of the militia of the county. A fine troop of horse was raised in the towns of Woodstock, Pomfret and Killingly, of which he took command. He rose by successive promotions un- til commissioned, in 1784, brigadier general of the 5th Brigade, Connecticut militia. In 1776 his regiment was ordered into ser- vice, and stationed in and about New Jersey. He was earnestly solicited by General Washington to join the continental army and tendered an important commission, but his domestic and business affairs necessitated a refusal of this offer. Immediately after the invasion and burning of New London and massacre at Fort Groton, he was appointed to the command of the troops stationed at those points, and thus continued until the close of the war. When not in active service he was employed as com- missary in the purchase and forwarding of provisions for the army.

On the close of the conflict General Mcclellan returned to his mercantile pursuits, but soon abandoned them for the manage- ment of his extensive landed possessions. He was esteemed as a Christian gentleman, and honored by his townsmen with many important offices. In 1757 he married Jemima Chandler, a de- scendant of one of the earliest settlers of Woodstock, who had one daughter and three sons. He married a second time in 1766, Rachel Abbe, of Windham, whose children were three daughters and five sons.

His son John, the subject of this biography and the eldest child by his second union, was born on the 4th of January, 1767, in Woodstock, and fitted for college under the late Reverend Eliphalet Lyman. Heentered Yale College in 1781, and received his first degree from that institution in 1785. He then removed to Norwich for the purpose of prosecuting the study of law un- der Governor Huntington, and later under Charles Church Chandler, Esq. He was admitted to the bar of Windham county in August, 1787, and at once began the practice of his profession in Woodstock, where he continued thereafter to reside.

Mr. McClellan came very early into public life in the govern- ment of his native state, and was for a period of twenty years, with some intervals of retirement, a member of the Connecticut legislature. He in most of the debates wielded a commanding influence, his animation, perfect good temper, and brief speeches, often seasoned by a vein of humor and anecdote, always securing respectful attention.

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In his own town and county he enjoyed a wide ascendency, both in secular and ecclesiastical affairs. His sound practical judgment and knowledge of business made him frequently an umpire in important matters, and the people were drawn to him both by their confidence in his integrity and wisdom and the in- variable kindness of his manner. To the humblest individual he was attentive and conciliating, and benevolent to an extent that often subjected him to serious losses. In the family and the social circle the sunshine of a cheerful spirit always shone about him, nor was it long clouded even by disaster and sorrow. An intelligent reader and an enlightened conversationalist, his in- tercourse through life was chiefly with the cultivated and re- fined classes of society, though never forgetful of the courtesy due the poor and humble. He was a most perfect example of the Christian gentleman of the old school, among whom polite- ness was both a sentiment and a habit.

On the 22d of November, 1796, Mr. Mcclellan married Miss Faith Williams, daughter of Honorable William Williams, of Lebanon, Connecticut, whose mother was a daughter of the elder Governor Trumbull. Their children were: Mary Trumbull, who married Isaac Webb, and died in 1836; Faith Williams, wife of Rufus Mathewson, now residing with her daughter, Mrs. Alexander Warner, at Pomfret; Sarah Isabella, wife of Isaac Webb, and afterward married to Professor Benjamin Silliman, of Yale College, who died in 1875; Jane Calhoun, wife of Jon- athan Weaver, now residing in Danielsonville; and two sons, John and Joseph, of Woodstock. The death of Mr. McClellan occurred on the 1st of August, 1858, at his home in Woodstock.

CHARLES HARRIS MAY .- Stephen May, the great-grandfather of Charles Harris May, first settled upon the homestead farm in Woodstock, which he bequeathed to his son Ephraim, familiarly known as "Captain Ephraim," who married Abigail Chandler. Their children were: Seth, Asa, Mary, Eliza, Julia and Hen- rietta. Asa May was born on the homestead farm now owned by the subject of this biographical sketch, where his life was spent as a farmer. He was an influential citizen, active in pub- lic affairs, possessing rare executive ability, and highly esteemed for his intellectual gifts and his exemplary character. He was an earnest Mason and much interested in that order. He mar- ried Sally, daughter of John May, and had children: Elizabeth, widow of Emerson Rawson; Charles Harris, Ezra C. and Carlo.

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Ce ye May

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Mr. May's death occurred in 1830, at the early age of thirty- seven.

His son, Charles Harris, was born September 2d, 1823, on the farm where he resides. He enjoyed some advantages at the public school and at the academy, but is more indebted to his studious habits and careful reading than to other causes for an education. His life work has been that of an industrious and successful farmer. He has been more or less active in town af- fairs, filled the office of selectman of the town, and held other positions of trust. In 1854 he was elected to the Connecticut legislature. He is a member of the Woodstock Agricultural So- ciety, of which he was for two years president, and has been for the same length of time a member of the state board of agri- culture. Mr. May is a supporter of the Congregational church of East Woodstock, of which his wife is a member.

He was married March 13th, 1856, to Harriet F., daughter of Stephen and Abigail Carter Child of Woodstock. Their chil- dren are: Julia A., deceased; Charles H., married to Nellie Bray- ton; Herbert, married to Lena Ivons of Mystic, Conn .; Asa L .; Marion F., deceased; John S. and Everett E.

JOSEPH M. MORSE .- The progenitor of the Morse family in Woodstock is Anthony Morse, who, on his emigration to Amer- ica, settled in Newbury, Mass., in 1635, and died in 1686. His son, Deacon Benjamin Morse, born in March, 1640, married Ruth Sawyer. His son, Benjamin, Jr., born in 1668, married Susan- nah Merrill. Their son, Abel, was united in marriage to Grace Parker, whose son, Doctor Parker Morse, A.M., married Hannah Huse, and became the father of eight children, one of whom was Abel Morse, who married Sarah Holbrook, and had twelve children. Leonard Morse, a son by the latter union, was born October 27th, 1770, and resided in Woodstock. He married Re- membrance, daughter of Joseph Meacham, to whom were born six children, as follows: Albert (deceased), Nathan, Nelson, Ste- phen, Joseph M. and Charles D.

Joseph M. Morse, the subject of this biography, and the fifth son of Leonard and Remembrance Morse, was born in Wood- stock, April 1st, 1823, and educated at the common schools. He until the age of seventeen, assisted at the work of the farm, and then learned the carriage maker's trade, which he followed for several years, first in Woodstock and later in Wilmington, N. C., Bowling Green, Ky., and elsewhere. In 1862 he responded to

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the call of the government for troops to suppress the rebellion, and joined the Twenty-sixth regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, for a period of one year. He served with the Banks expedition, in the Department of the Gulf, and participated in the fights at Port Hudson, May 27th and June 14th, his regiment doing good service in both engagements. Mr. Morse, on abandoning his trade, turned his attention to farming, and in 1873 removed to his present home in Woodstock, where his attention is given chiefly to the cultivation of his land.

He has meanwhile not been unmindful of the public interests, and identified himself with the political measures of the day. He has been selectman, assessor and a member of the board of relief. In the year 1871 he represented his town in the Connec- ticut house of representatives. He is one of the directors of the National Bank of Webster, Mass., and an incorporator of two savings banks.

Mr. Morse was on the 11th of December, 1873, married to Lucy, daughter of Abiel May, of Woodstock, the latter being a son of Captain William May and a grandson of Thomas May, all of Woodstock. George A. May, a brother of Mrs. Morse, joined the army during the late rebellion as a member of Company D, Eighteenth Connecticut Volunteers, and participated in many important battles. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Morse are a daughter, Florence May, and a son, Arthur George.

The brothers of Mr. Morse are deserving of mention as enter- prising and successful men. Albert, a progressive farmer, oc- cupied the ancestral land in East Woodstock, where he ranked as a foremost citizen ; Nathan has been much of his life engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, and recently pur- chased a valuable mill privilege in Woodstock, to which his at- tention is now given ; Nelson was formerly a carriage manufac- turer, but at present devotes his time to the cultivation of a val- uable farm; he has held various town offices, been county com- missioner, member of the legislature and is active and efficient in public matters; Stephen owns and cultivates the farm on which his father formerly resided, has represented his town in the state legislature and been otherwise prominent in public af- fairs ; Charles D., a resident of Millbury, Mass., is an extensive manufacturer of builders' materials, including sash, doors, blinds, etc., is one of the most influential residents of his town, has filled various local offices, and represented his constituents

Joseph In Imorse

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY. 919

in the state legislature, and is president of the National Bank of Millbury.

NATHAN E. MORSE is a descendant of Anthony Morse men- tioned in the preceding sketch. His grandfather, Abel Morse, married Sarah Holbrook. Their son Nathan, born October 14th, 1785, was twice married; first in 1822, to Rebecca Child, and second to Mary Mills. By his first wife he had three children- Abel, George and Nathan E. Abel, born August 20th, 1823, married Mary Elliott, of Thompson, and died February 25th, 1858. George, born May 19th, 1825, married Sylvia C. May, of Woodstock, and is county commissioner.

Nathan Eugene Morse was born in Woodstock November 12th, 1829, and was married August 29th, 1850, to Sarah B., daughter of John Fowler, of Woodstock. They have had three children-Susie E., born June 14th, 1855, wife of Nathaniel G. Williams, of Brooklyn, Conn., and two who died in infancy Nathan E. Morse received an academical education, and at the age of 18 years engaged in teaching, which he followed for several winters, working on the farm in summer. At 20 years of age he commenced farming on the Jonathan Carpenter farm, continuing there for five years. He then engaged in mercan- tile pursuits for six years, and has since followed farming, and during this time has been engaged in the mail contracting busi- ness and lumbering. In politics he is a republican. He has set- tled many estates, has been a member of the school board twen- ty years, assessor, member of the board of relief, selectman, jus- tice of the peace many years, member of legislature in 1883, and trustee of Putnam Savings Bank seven years. He is deacon of the Congregational church of East Woodstock, and has been secretary of the Agricultural Society of Woodstock.

OLIVER H. PERRY .- Judge Perry's ancestors first settled in Massachusetts, his grandfather, Daniel Perry, having removed when a young man from Rehoboth, in that state, to Woodstock, where he became the owner of a valuable farm and the breeder of choice stock, which he shipped to the West Indies.

He married Judith Hunt, of Rehoboth, whose children were : John, Otis, Daniel, Judith, Sally and Nancy. Otis, of this num- ber, was a native of West Woodstock, where, with the exception of a brief period in Greenfield, he engaged in the varied pursuits of miller and farmer. He married Polly, daughter of Chester Carpenter, of the same town. Two of their children died in

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youth. A daughter, Mary W., first married to Chester A. Paine and now the wife of Waldo Phillips, and a son, Oliver H., are the survivors. The latter was born July 7th, 1821, in Greenfield, Mass., and removed at the age of two years, with his parents, to Woodstock. The district school and an academy at Wilbraham, Mass., afforded the opportunity for a common English education, after which he began work on the farm, and with the exception of two years spent as clerk, continued thus occupied until 1854. His father, in 1844, on retiring from active labor, gave him a deed of the homestead farm, in consideration of the filial care bestowed upon his parents in their declining years. In 1854 Judge Perry sold the property and removed to New York city, where he embarked in the flour and feed business, and was for eleven years a member of the firm of Phillips & Perry. In 1865, having purchased his present home, he settled again in Wood- stock, where he has since been largely identified with local affairs.

Judge Perry in early days was an avowed abolitionist, and has always voted either the whig or republican ticket. He was at the beginning of his political career elected a justice of the peace, and in 1854 represented his town in the Connecticut house of representatives. He again served as justice, and in 1880 was made judge of probate for the district of Woodstock, which of- fice he now fills. He is a director of the Putnam Savings Bank, treasurer of the Woodstock Creamery Corporation, and was one of the committee to purchase land and erect the buildings of the Woodstock Agricultural Association, of which he was for two years president and treasurer. His ability and judgment make his services invaluable in the settlement of estates and in kindred offices of trust. His religious belief is that of the Second Ad- ventist church, with which he worships. Judge Perry was mar- ried September 24th, 1844, to Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Deacon Laban Underwood, of West Woodstock.

Oliver Je Perry

ARTOTYPE, E. BIERSTADT, N. Y

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE TOWN OF KILLINGLY.

Location and Description .- Original Killingly .- The Whetstone Country .- First Proprietors .- Attempts at Settlement .- Bounds and Claims .- Settlers and Settlement .- The Town Organized .- Localities .- Counterfeiters .- General Progress .- Taking Care of the Poor .- Highways .- Early Manufacturing .- Prosperity of Manufacturing Interests .- The Gospel Ministry .- Meeting House Controversy .- The Second Society formed .- South Killingly Church.

T HE town of Killingly lies in the eastern central part of Windham county, on the Rhode Island border. In terri- tory, population and business importance it is one of the largest towns of the county. Its territory, which originally em- braced the whole northeast corner of Connecticut east of tbe Quinebaug and north of Plainfield, has been diminished by the formation of Thompson and Putnam in part from its territory. It is bounded by Putnam on the north, Rhode Island on the east, Sterling and Plainfield on the south, and Brooklyn and Pomfret on the west. Much of its surface is hilly and but moderately adapted to agriculture. It is well drained by the Assawaga or Five Mile river and its tributary, the Whetstone branch, and the Quinebaug, into which the former empties. The last named stream forms its entire western boundary. These waters afford power for a number of mills and manufacturing concerns, this town being one of the large manufacturing towns of the county. Alexander's Lake, a handsome sheet of water a mile in length by a half mile in breadth, lies in the northwest part, and Chau- bamaug pond, a narrow body a mile and a half long, lies near the eastern border. The town is about nine miles long from north to south, and an average width of six miles from east to west. Thus it has an area of about fifty-four square miles. The Norwich & Worcester railroad runs along its western border the length of the town. The post offices of Danielsonville, Ballou- ville, Killingly, East Killingly and South Killingly are in this town. A small part of the borough of Danielsonville extends

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into the limits of Brooklyn, otherwise the borough lies in this town. The factory villages of Attawaugan and Williamsville are in this town. The population of the town at different peri- ods has been-in 1756, 2,100; in 1775, 3,486; in 1800, 2,279; in 1840, 3,685 ; in 1870, 5,712 ; in 1880, 6,921. The grand list was- in 1775, 627,907; in 1800, $41,027; in 1845, $35,727; in 1847, $38,809 ; in 1857, $44,938; in 1887, $2,144,153.

The original township of Killingly was laid out north of Plain- field in 1708. It occupied the northeastern corner of Connecti- cut, in the wild border land between the Quinebaug and Rhode Island. This region, called the Whetstone country, was known to the white settlers of the surrounding towns, but was for a long time neglected. It was owned by the colony of Connecti- cut and not by individuals or companies, and tracts of it were given by the government in recognition of civil or military ser- vices rendered it. Its first white proprietors were thus the leading men of the colony. Governors Haynes, Treat and Saltonstall ; Majors Fitch and Mansfield ; the Reverend Messrs. Hooker, Pier- pont, Whiting, Buckingham, Andrews, Noyes, Woodbridge and Russel; the Hons. Giles Hamlin, Matthew Allen and Caleb Stanley, had grants of land here and were associated with the early history of Killingly. The grant to Governor Haynes was given as early as 1642, that to the Reverend John Whiting in 1662, but the greater number at a later period. These grants were not located, but simply conveyed a specified quantity of land to be selected by the grantee according to his pleasure, so long as it did not "prejudice any particular township or former grant."

The first to take possession of land in the Whetstone country under these grants were Major James Fitch and Captain John Chandler. A grant of "fifteen hundred acres, to be taken up together and lyeing beyond New Roxbury, near the northeast corner of the Colony line," was confirmed to Major Fitch by the general court, in October, 1690. With his usual dispatch and discrimination, Fitch at once selected and had laid out to him the best land in the whole section-the interval between the Quinebaug and the Assawaga, extending from their junction at Acquiunk to Lake Mashapaug, and also the valley east of the Assawaga, as far north as Whetstone brook. Captain John Chandler of Woodstock, was next in the field, buying up land granted to soldiers for services in the Narragansett war. Two

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hundred acres purchased by him from Lieutenant Hollister were laid out at Nashaway, the point of land between the Quinebaug and French rivers, and confirmed to him by the general court in 1691. A great part of the valley land adjoining French river, and a commanding eminence two miles east of the Quinebaug, then known as Rattlesnake hill, afterward Killingly hill, were speedily appropriated by Captain Chandler. The other grant- ees, less familiar with the country, and less experienced in land grabbing, found more difficulty in taking up their grants. The country was not easy to explore. Lack of roads, swelling streams, deep marshes, tangled forests and refractory Indians, all con- spired to make the task of locating land claims at that time par- ticularly laborious and hazardous. The Reverend Samuel An- drews succeeded in having his grant of two hundred acres laid out in 1692, west of Rattlesnake hill, bounded on three sides by wilderness.

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History of Windham County, Connecticut, Part 89

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: New York, Preston Number of Pages: 1506

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: New York, Preston
Number of Pages: 1506