USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 58
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Christian C. Georgia
sibilities upon his son, who finally succeeded to the entire management, in the interests of the estate.
It was not only in business circles that Mr. Georgia found recognition for his prominence in the affairs of Unionville and its sister town, Farm- ington. To him the community was indebted for what was at that time a most valuable advantage-a pure spring water supply, distributed from his own private reservoir-this and other improvements contributing greatly to the welfare of an important portion of the town. His business ability and confidence in his integrity were attested by his long association with the Canton Trust Company as a member of its directorate. His public spirit was one of his strongest and most highly appreciated traits, and he was ever among the most ardent advocates and workers for all movements undertaken for the advancement of community interests. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but he was too independent to give a blind support to his party merely out of partisan considerations. At the time of Grover Cleveland's first administration, Mr. Georgia's services to the party had been conspicuously useful, and the newly elected President appointed him postmaster of Unionville, a position which he occupied with marked ability until the Republicans again came into power and he was dispossessed. He was one of the oldest members of the Putnam Phalanx of Hartford, a faith- ful attendant at its meetings, and a genial companion on the many excur- sions and visits made by that famous body. He was also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.
Mr. Georgia was married to Emeline Gladding, a daughter of Hubbard and Maria (Belden) Gladding, of New Britain, Connecticut. Her father was a soldier in the War of 1812. Mrs. Gladding survived her husband many years, living to the remarkable age of one hundred years, lacking only thirteen days, and dying in 1899. To Mr. and Mrs. Georgia were born three children. Charles C., the only son, is a most active and capable man of affairs, inheriting the fine qualities of the father, whom he has succeeded in the management of the Georgia mercantile and financial interests, in behalf of the estate. He is a staunch Republican, and has ever been active in sup- port of his party. His record of public service is most commendable. He has served as postmaster of Unionville for the remarkable period of twenty years; has held the office of selectman in Farmington; and in 1895 was elected to the Legislature. He is a highly regarded member of various fraternal bodies. In Masonry he has attained to the thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite; is a sir knight of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar ; and a noble of Sphynx Temple, Mystic Shrine.
Lillie M., eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Georgia, is the wife of Mr. Frank A. Andrews; she is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Clara, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Georgia, is an elocutionist of more than local note, and has delighted many discriminating audiences with renditions dramatic, pathetic and humorous, not appearing upon the platform except in aid of worthy bodies and causes, and cheerfully lending her aid to such. She is an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and in 1899 was grand matron for the State of Connecticut, being then the
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Christian U. Georgia
youngest person to hold that lofty position. She is also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is active in community affairs, and is vice-president of the Unionville Library Association.
On July 31, 1912, Mr. Georgia passed away, sincerely mourned by those who held him in highest regard for his many-sided abilities and fine personal qualities. While a master mind in business affairs, and a genial companion with men of the world, he was one of the most domestic of men, finding his greatest delight with his family and in his home, having been a most devoted husband and father. In 1885 Mr. Georgia, accompanied by his wife, made a voyage to Germany, and visited the scenes of his childhood, for which throughout his life he retained a fond and affectionate remembrance. He came back very much in love with his adopted country and he retained great interest in its welfare until the end of his life. Mr. Georgia's wife survives him. She was an admirable companion to one of his disposition and tastes. A woman of strong yet gentle character, she was all that woman could be as wife and mother, yet was at the same time a real helpmate to her husband, who was proud to acknowledge the great value of her advice and wise judg- ment in relation to his business enterprises at their almost every stage.
William huntington Darbep
1 'T HAS BEEN most truly said that the chief asset of a com- munity is the character of its citizenship. It avails com- paratively little that a city or State should be able to point to its accumulated wealth, its records of past greatness, or even the brilliant achievements of a few men of genius in the present, unless it can also say of the bulk of its population that it is virtuous, enlightened and free. If it can truly say this then, indeed, may it feel assured that its prosperity is founded upon a rock and look with complacency into the future. And surely if there is any community that can so speak of its people, it is New England with its myriad industries, all the result of the enterprise and intelligence of its sons, and the great foundation of a strong and educated agricultural people upon which all the rest of the social fabric must rest as a pyramid upon its base. It is to this great and admirable class that we must turn to seek the origin and environment of the distinguished gentleman whose career forms the subject- matter of this note, William Huntington Harvey. Mr. Harvey's death January 22. 1915, removed from the region of Hartford, Connecticut, a con- spicuous figure in its life, who had long stood as a type of the successful farmer, the good citizen and the worthy man. He was descended on both sides of the house from fine old New England families which settled here in Colonial days, his paternal ancestor being Thomas Harvey, who immigrated prior to the year 1650, and the maternal being Deacon John Dunham, an early settler in Plymouth.
William Huntington Harvey was born June 6, 1834, in Glastonbury, Connecticut, a son of James and Amanda (Dunham) Harvey, formerly of Mansfield, Connecticut. While still a mere child Mr. Harvey was taken by his parents to live in Somers, Connecticut, and thence to Windsor, near Hartford, where he continued to make his home during the remainder of his life. He received a liberal education and attended the Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield. After completing his studies he turned his attention to farming, the occupation of his forbears. He was eminently successful in this enterprise, and in due course of time became one of the most promi- nent agriculturists in that part of the country. He was gradually led to specialize his products, and finally turned his attention almost exclusively to dairy farming and the cultivation of tobacco. In these two specialties he did so large a business that he was able to retire from active life for a number of years before his death.
The work of farming is not one to allow of much time being spent on other matters, it being one of the most exacting of all the occupations on the time and energies of him who follows it, yet so energetic was Mr. Harvey that he turned his attention to a number of other things. For one thing, he took a keen and disinterested pleasure in politics, both local and general, and participated to a considerable extent in the former. He was a man of strongly independent mind and strongly supported the principles of the
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William Huntington Harney
Democratic party, making himself a leader, indeed, in the local organization thereof. He was chosen assessor in Windsor and occupied that office for several years, and he was also a member of the school board for a long period. His work in both these capacities was extremely efficient and in the year 1879 he was nominated and duly elected to the State Legislature, serving on that body during the session of 1880. In this service, also, he was of value to his town and won the approval, not only of his constituents, but of the community generally. Mr. Harvey was a man of strong religious convictions, in belief a Congregationalist and a member of the First Church of that denomination in Windsor. He was a faithful attendant upon divine service and did much to aid the work connected with the church.
On February 3, 1863, Mr. Harvey was united in marriage with Rhoda A. Griswold, of Bloomfield, Connecticut, a daughter of Noah and Ruth (Loomis) Griswold, her father a native of Bloomfield and her mother of Windsor. To Mr. and Mrs. Harvey were born six children, as follows: William Earle; James G .; Grace H., now Mrs. Orville Smith, of Suffield; Thomas D., married Alice Filley, who bore him one son, William Filley ; Etta I .. , now Mrs. Randolph R. Herriott, of Suffield, Connecticut, and the mother of two children, Ruth and George; Charles G., married Cora Alford, who bore him one daughter, Althea. Mrs. Harvey and her six children sur- vive Mr. Harvey. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey celebrated their golden wedding in 1913.
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Sturgis P. Turner
T HOUGH EMINENTLY SUCCESSFUL as a business man, the true measure of Sturgis P. Turner, for many years a prominent resident of Glastonbury, should be taken as a citizen, and not merely as a merchant. He was for many years one of that town's most aggressive and wide-awake men, active in every public enterprise, a factor in shaping political affairs, and a citizen whose influence, while wide, was of that silent character which impressed the more deeply. He was un- ostentatious, courteous and accommodating, and was held in high esteem.
William H. Turner, the great-grandfather of Sturgis P. Turner, was born in 1764, and as a bright eyed boy in Boston attracted the attention of Elizur Hubbard, a merchant of East Glastonbury, who was visiting in Boston, and whose liking for the vivacious youngster was followed by a proposition to the boy's mother to give him a good business education. She consented, and the Massachusetts boy became identified with the interests of Glastonbury. He became a sailor and married Mercy Wrisley, born in East Glastonbury in 1771, and to them were born nine children, of whom the eldest, William H., born in 1788, was the grandfather of Sturgis P. Turner. The grandfather was a ship builder, and master of a coasting vessel. In 1812 he married Mary Nicholson, who died in 1813, leaving one child, who died in infancy. For his second wife, William H. Turner married Bathsheba Brewster Wrisley, a native of Marlboro, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Huxford) Wrisley. Samuel Wrisley was a Revolutionary soldier, a "con- ductor of teams" and a captain in his regiment.
The third child and the second son of William H. and Bathsheba B. (Wrisley) Turner was Welles Turner, father of Sturgis P. Turner, born November 13, 1828, on the Turner homestead on the west side of Main street, Glastonbury, near station No. 45 of the trolley line. Welles Turner received a good academic education, attending the South Glastonbury Academy under Orange Judd, who gave $50,000 to Wesleyan University, and also under Henry L. Wells, later a millionaire of Minneapolis, Minne- sota. Leaving school, he began his career as a clerk in the dry goods store of H. B. Chaffee & Company, which stood on the ground in Hartford now occupied by Sage, Allen & Company. E. S. Cleveland, postmaster at Hart- ford under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson, was a fellow clerk in that store. Later Mr. Turner clerked for two years in the store of J. Gordon Smith, and then in 1852 moved to South Glastonbury and opened a general store which he conducted for four years. He married, October 2, 1854, Isabella P. Ben- ton, born in Glastonbury in March, 1830, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Plummer) Benton. To them was born one son, Sturgis P., of whom further. The wife and mother died November 8, 1856, and after her death the bereaved husband gave up his mercantile business and retired to the old homestead where he resided, a highly esteemed citizen of Glastonbury. He was a Democrat in politics, and was the first registrar of voters at Glas-
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tonbury. Fraternally he was a veteran member of Columbia Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons, of South Glastonbury, which in 1896 celebrated its one hundredth anniversary.
Sturgis P. Turner, born October 16, 1856, was but a few weeks old when his mother died. He was reared from infancy at the home of Dudley Lee and wife, at Glastonbury, remaining there until twenty-one years of age. As a boy he worked on the farm and attended the third district school of his native town, his first teacher being Miss House. He also attended the schools of Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Noyes, and later attended the academy at Glaston- bury, when L. S. Brown was principal. In May, 1878, he went to New Britain and entered the employ of the New Britain Knitting Company as a general helper. He worked until October of the same year at $1.25 per day, then returned to his home in Glastonbury, and the following spring leased his father's farm. This he managed four years, and while so engaged, in the fall of 1879, he married Harriet (Hattie) A. Welles, who was born Sep- tember 21, 1856, youngest daughter of Frederick and Catherine (Saltonstall) Welles. To them was born one daughter, Isabella Benton.
The mercantile career of Sturgis P. Turner began March 15, 1883, when he purchased the store of P. H. Goodrich, at Glastonbury. This he con- ducted most successfully, and from time to time added extensively to the stock, introducing among other lines, boots and shoes and drugs. Mr. Turner was one of the wide-awake and prosperous business men of the town. He was one of the incorporators, and the first president of the Eagle Sterling Company, was later treasurer for a time, and was prominently identified with the company until February, 1898. In politics Mr. Turner was a staunch Republican, and he was one of the most active workers for the success of that party. It was through his efforts and those of others that the town, which was formerly Democratic, joined the column of Republican towns. He represented Glastonbury in the State Legislature in 1884, and again in 1888, and was one of the youngest men who ever represented the town. Politically he was one of the leaders in Glastonbury. He was a prominent member of Dascom Lodge, No. 86, Free and Accepted Masons, at Glastonbury. Mr. Turner died January 28, 1916. Mrs. Turner is a member of the Congregational church. Her home, erected in 1888, is one of the finest and most modern in Glastonbury.
Lon. Frederick Telles
H ON. FREDERICK WELLES, who was for many years a leading resident of Glastonbury, was a worthy representa- tive of a family which has been prominent in the history of the country from an early day. He was a direct descendant of Governor Thomas Welles, who died in 1660, and was of the fifth generation in descent from Samuel Welles, a noted man in his day. Gideon Welles, a member of President Lincoln's cabinet, was a second cousin of Hon. Frederick Welles. The family has been identified with Glastonbury for more than two hundred years.
Joseph Welles, grandfather of Hon. Frederick Welles, was born No- vember 9, 1756, a son of Captain Samuel and Lucy (Kilbourn) Welles. He died September 7, 1808, leaving a fair competence, gained by an extensive trade with the West Indies. His brother Samuel was in partnership with him in this business, and for many years they were engaged in sending hay and horses to the islands, bringing back rum and molasses. Joseph Welles also conducted the "Welles" Hotel at Glastonbury to meet the demands of the stage travel of those days. He was an outspoken man, somewhat stern in manner, but was much respected in the community. He married Susan- nah House, born October 9, 1756, daughter of Benoni and Susannah (Hol- lister) House. She survived him and married Gad Talcott, of Hebron, Con- necticut, where her death occurred April 6, 1826. Joseph and Susannah Welles had the following children: Susannah, born April 3, 1780; Joseph and Leonard (twins), born April 15, 1781; Leonard (2), of whom further; Joseph, born March 31, 1784, who settled in Ohio; Lucy, born February 6, 1786; Clarissa, born March 3, 1787, and Lucy, born November 21, 1790.
Leonard Welles was born in Glastonbury, April 28 1782, and as his health was poor in early life he spent much of his time at his father's hotel. He also taught school for a time, but after his marriage to Sally Sellew, which occurred October 13, 1804, he engaged in farming. He located at the corner of Main street and Naubuc avenue, where Miss Alice Goodrich later resided, and by his industry and close attention to business made a good income, though he was never considered a rich man. To politics he gave but little heed, but he affiliated with the Whig and Republican parties on national issues. He lived to the good old age of ninety years, keeping his health and faculties almost to the last, and when seventy years old he drove a wagon with two yoke of cattle and a horse for forty days in succession, between Glastonbury and Hartford, taking fifty hundredweight of tobacco and bring- ing back a load of lumber. He was fond of his home and family and to each of his boys he gave $500 as they came of age, their remarkable financial suc- cess being a source of pride to him in later years. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and as a citizen he was held in high esteem. He died at his homestead, January 19, 1873. His wife, who died November 5, 1859, was born November 15, 1784, daughter of John and Sally (Smith) Sellew. Her
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Don. Frederick Tuelles
twin sister Nancy married Norman Hubbard, of Glastonbury. Children: I. Oswin, born January 19, 1809, was a pioneer tobacco packer of Glaston- bury and the most successful man of his day in his town. As a young man he learned the cabinet-maker's trade and engaged in the manufacture of tubs, pails, chairs, and later, cigar boxes, but seeing the possibilities in the tobacco business he began dealing in that commodity both in leaf and in cigars. A shrewd business man financially, he was also generous, and his affection for his family was shown in his treatment of his brothers, whom he took into partnership, all of them becoming wealthy men. He was a remark- able man in many ways, and it was characteristic of him to never hurry, yet always be on time. He married (first) Sarah A. Goodrich, of Portland, Connecticut, (second) Helen Penfield, (third) Kate Coffin. He died Angust 9, 1879, in Hartford, where he had lived some years previous, enjoying the fruits of a highly successful life. He had seven sons, but only one, Cassius, lived to maturity, he died at thirty-nine years of age. 2. Nancy, born Sep- tember 6, 1811, married Joseph Edwards Goodrich, of Portland, and died December 20, 1891, in Glastonbury. 3. John S., born February 13, 1814, was a tanner at East Haddam, Connecticut, until 1856, when he removed to Glastonbury and became associated with his brothers in the tobacco busi- ness, accumulating a large property. He married Maria H. Chapman, of East Haddam, Connecticut, and his death occurred December 29, 1888. 4. Leonard T., born February 23, 1818, died September 11, 1879. He married Lucy Carter. 5. Henry, born October 24, 1821, died January 17, 1853, in Glastonbury. He married Delia Bartholomew, of Wallingford, Connecti- cut. 6. Frederick, of whom further.
Hon. Frederick Welles was born in Glastonbury, February 13, 1825, and was educated there, attending the common schools until the age of twelve, and a select school for five years following. He was reared to work, gaining valuable practical ideas from his father, and as a boy he began to plan for business life, the success of his brothers in the tobacco business naturally inclining him to that line of effort. His brother Oswin employed him for three years at $1.50 per day, and in 1856 he became a member of the firm of O. Welles & Company, with which he remained thirteen years, until in 1869 he engaged in buying tobacco on his own account. In 1884 he retired, but he grew tobacco for a number of years thereafter, partly as a pastime, having always been interested more or less in that work. He had had a larger experience with tobacco than any other man in Glastonbury, and was considered one of the best judges of the weed in this State. Mr. Welles' business methods were always straightforward, his word being as good as his bond, and while he paid every penny of obligation he expected the same upright dealing in return. He was fond of good horses and some fine specimens were usually to be found in his stables. In politics he was a Republican, of Whig antecedents, and at one time he represented his town in the State Legislature, but he preferred business to public life. When the Grange was organized in Glastonbury he became a member and from 1849 to his death he was identified wth the Congregational church at Glaston- bury, declining, however, to hold office in the society.
On December 9, 1846, Mr. Welles was married, at Glastonbury, to
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Catherine Saltonstall Welles, and they passed more than fifty years of happy wedded life, their golden wedding having been suitably observed in 1896. Both were well preserved in mind and body, and their geniality enabled them to keep in touch with younger generations to a marked degree. Mrs. Welles was born in Glastonbury, May 17, 1826, daughter of Dorrance and Amelia (Goodrich) Welles, attended the schools of the third district and later a select school in Glastonbury, and a private school at Portland, Con- necticut, and for some time taught school at $1.50 per week "boarding 'round" among the patrons after the custom of that day. She united with the Congregational church at Glastonbury in 1845, and was always a sym- pathetic helpmeet to her husband in the various duties of life. Two children blessed their union: I. Sarah A., born January 1, 1854, married H. J. Curtis, of Hartford, and has two children: Alice Louise, who graduated from the Hartford Public High School, and is now attending Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, and Mary Bertha, who graduated from the Hartford Public High School, in June, 1899. 2. Harriet A., born September 21, 1856, married S. P. Turner, of Glastonbury, and has one child, Isabella Benton, who is a graduate of Steel's Select School, Hartford.
Mrs. Welles was a descendant of Governor Thomas Welles, the line being traced as follows: Governor Thomas Welles (died in 1660) ; Samuel (died in 1675) ; Samuel (1660-1731) ; Thomas (1693-1767) ; Jonathan (1732- 1792) ; Gurdon (1773-1852) ; Dorrance (1799-1887). Dorrance Welles, born May 3, 1799, married Amelia Goodrich, born in 1802, and they died De- cember 25, 1887, and June 12, 1877, respectively. He was a Republican in political sentiment, and a great worker for the success of his party, but he never sought office. In 1844 he joined the Congregational church, to which his wife also belonged. They had three children: Catherine S., wife of Frederick Welles; Mary, who resided with Mr. and Mrs. Welles; and Alsop, born February 4, 1829, who died March 28, 1892. The last named married Augusta M. Brown, of Essex, by whom he had no children. After her death, which occurred in 1861, he wedded Cynthia Payne, of Portland, who died in 1892, and by whom he had two children, Henry B. and Amy. He was a farmer by occupation.
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William henry Pickering
A MONG THE SERVICES which the men of New England have performed for the world, and they are many, one of the chief is the great contribution to the mechanical theory and practice of the age that they have made, the scientists, inventors and discoverers in this department of human knowledge who have had their birth and training in that part of the country, being second to none either in technical knowledge or the volume and importance of the work they have accom- plished. But this result, of which New Englanders generally may well feel proud, has not been the product of any one, or even a group, of master minds, but rather to the genius of the people at large, which working, here at one problem and there at another, has in the sum total of its accomplish- ment produced the striking effect just commented upon. Typical of this sectional ability, as well as of the other virtues and talents of his fellows, was the life of William Henry Pickering, whose name heads this brief record.
Mr. Pickering was a member of a family in which the talent for mechanics was highly developed, two of his immediate family at least, his father, Thomas Pickering, and brother, Senator Thomas Richard Pickering, displaying it in a high degree. His parents, Thomas and Jane Pickering, were old residents of New York City, where the former was engaged in the spice business. His mother's death occurred in that city, and after that event his father removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where he passed the few remaining years of his life. It was in New York City that Mr. Pickering himself was born, March 4, 1847, and it was there that he secured his educa- tion at the public schools. His mechanical talent, which was inherited from his father, showed itself early in his life and he won a considerable reputation even as a boy for his skill and cleverness in that line. There is little doubt that he would have made a name for himself in technical studies and the practical application of them when still very young had not a terrible emer- gency arisen, greater and more insistent in its demands than any personal interests whatsoever. This was the crises incident to the slavery and seces- sion discussions which finally resulted in the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. At the time of the first hostilites Mr. Pickering was too young to be admitted into the ranks in any capacity, so that despite the most intense longing to serve his country, he was obliged to wait until the following year. On September 20, 1862, being then fifteen years of age, he enlisted as a drummer boy with Company B, of the One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, and was promptly sent to the front. He was later transferred to the ranks as a private and in that capacity saw much active service, and took part in a number of important engage- ments. He was also transferred to Company B, One Hundred and Seventy- fourth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, and it was from that com- mand that he was finally mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, October 13, 1865, receiving there his honorable discharge.
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