Ansel Arnold, youngest son of Samuel and Amity (Pomeroy) Arnold, was born in Somers, Conn., August 8th, 1815. At the age of 21 he commenced the manufacture of shaker hoods at Mansfield Centre, which he continued till 1841, when he removed to Somerville, and was engaged in that enterprise in connection with keeping a general store till 1851. He then disposed of his manufactory, and continued to run the store till 1870, when he came to Willimantic and engaged in the flour and feed business, under the firm name of A. Arnold & Co. He is president of the W. G. & A. R. Morrison Co., president of the Board of Trade, vice-president of the First National Bank, and director of the Dime Savings Bank. He married for his second wife, Maria, daughter of Horace Chapman, and has two children-Willie and Louie. He represented the town of Somers in the legislature in 1857, and the town of Windham in 1876.
The Backus Family.-The common ancestor of the Norwich and Windham families of this name was William Backus of Saybrook, who removed to Norwich in 1660. His children were William and Stephen. The former, who was known as Lieutenant William, was one of the original proprietors of Windham. He married Elizabeth Pratt, and had the following family: William, John, Sarah (who married Edward Culver), Samuel, Joseph and Nathaniel. William, the eldest son of Lieutenant William, was born in 1660, and settled in Windham as early as 1693, for his name is found- in the first list of (22) inhabitants, made in that year: Previous to this his father gave him one of his thousand acre rights, which was located at Windham Centre. He married Mary Dunton, August 31st, 1692, and died January 25th, 1742. He had the following family: Samuel, Abigail (died in infancy), Mary, Daniel, Hannah, Peter, William, Stephen and Ephraim. Samuel (son of William) was born July 5th, 1693, and married December 2d, 1719. His children were: Mary, died aged 17 years; Lemuel, shot by the Indians; Andonijah, Nathaniel, Abigail, married Samuel Huntingdon of Mansfield, and Ann. Nathaniel (son of Samuel) was married to Elizabeth Hebard, daughter of Robert Hebard, October 7th, 1753., and his children were: Elijah (who emigrated to Vermont), Huldah, Calvin, Luther and perhaps others. Nathaniel died December 14th, 1815. Luther (son of Nathaniel) was born about 1772, and had three wives and twenty children, probably the largest family ever raised in Windham. Of this family Harry was the oldest, and married Susan D., daughter of Dan Sawyer, January 3d, 1819. Their children were: Julia Ann. Albert Henry, John C., Avery, Huldah plain, Eliza Elizabeth, Luther F., Mary M., Chester H. and George Abbe. Luther F. (son of Harry), born March 5th, 1823, married Ann Canniff. They had five children: William Christopher, born June 15th, 1854, married Hattie, daughter of S. O. Hatch, and is a member of the firm of Backus Bros.; Luther Edwin, born January 29th, 1856, married Annie Shay, and has two children-Helen C. and Florence, and resides in South Windham; George Harlow, married Lizzie A. Lamb, and is a member of the firm of Backus Bros.; James Henry, died in infancy, and Charles Henry, born January 2d, 1865. Luther F. died August 7th, 1883.
Reverend Nicholas Baker, born about 1611, was in Hingham, Mass., in 1635, and became a freeman in 1636. He was representative in 1636 and 1638, and removed to Scituate. where in 1660 he was ordained, and was third minister of the First church of that town. He reconciled the two churches of that town, which had quarreled for thirty years. He was a graduate of St. John’s College, Cambridge, England, and received the degrees A. B. in 1631-32 and A. M. in 1635. He first located at Roxbury. He died August 23d, 1678, and his will names the following children: Samuel, Nicholas, Elizabeth (married John Vinal), Sarah (married Josiah Litchfield), Deborah (married Israel Chittenden) and Mary (married Stephen Vinal). Samuel, son of Nicholas, resided in Hull and Barnstable, and married a daughter of Isaac Robinson. Of this family we have no record, but he is without doubt the father of the Windham settler, Deacon John Baker, who was born at Martha’s Vineyard in October, 1672, and married October 4th, 1693, Anna, daughter of Samuel Annable, of Barnstable. He came to Windham county with his two sons, Samuel and John, before 1746, and located in what is now Scotland. He died January 27th, 1763, aged 90. His children were: Hannah, Mercy (married Benjamin Lathrop), John (died in infancy), Rebecca, Samuel, Mary (married Lemuel Hodge, of Yarmouth), Mehitable (married Ebenezer Crosby, of Yarmouth), Abigail (married Ichabod Lathrop, of Tolland), John and Hannah. Deacon Samuel, son of Deacon John, was born in Barnstable, Mass., September 7th, 1706, and came to Windham county with his father. He was a member of the Scotland church, and was chosen deacon April 10th, 1777. He married Prudence Jenkins, of Barnstable, May 30th, 1732. Of his family the following were born in Barnstable: Martha (married Nathaniel Bingham, of Windham), Anna (died in infancy), Bethia, Samuel, and Mercy, died aged about 23 years. . The following children were born in Windham: Anna (died unmarried aged over 70), Joseph, Benjamin and Prudence (married Abner Webb). Deacon Samuel died December 9th, 1791. Joseph, son of Deacon Samuel, was born December 17th, 1748, was a physician and settled in Brooklyn, where he praticed till his death, May 16th, 1804. He married Lucy, daughter of Reverend Ebenezer Devotion, of Scotland. Their children were: Elizabeth, married P. P. Tyler, of Brooklyn, Conn.; Deborah, married Thaddeus Clark, of Lebanon (Their daughter, Sarah Jane, is the well known writer, Grace Greenwood. She married Leander K. Lippincott, and resides in New York city); Ebenezer, succeeded his father as physician in Brooklyn, where he died; Martha, married Solomon W. Williams, of Lebanon, Conn.; James, a lieutenant in the United States army, died at Savannah, Ga.; Rufus Lathrop; Lucy Maria, married the late Reverend Willard Preston, of Savannah, Ga.; Mary, married Jonathan A. Welch, of Brooklyn, Conn.; and Joseph, twin of Mary, died in infancy. Rufus Lathrop, son of Doctor Joseph, was born December 6th, 1790, was appointed ensign in the United States army in 1812, lieutenant in 1813, captain in 1817, major in 1832, lieutenant colonel in 1852, resigned in January, 1855, and died in Windham June 5th, 1868. He married Eliza, daughter of Charles Taintor, of Windham, and his children were: Charles Taintor, and William Rufus, born at Alleghany Arsenal, Pittsburgh, Pa., May 15th, 1830, graduated from Union College in Schenectady, N. Y., and resides in Paris. Charles Taintor was born in Windham April 13th, 1821, graduated at the Military Academy in 1842, was appointed lieutenant in the United States army, served in Florida and as instructor in tactics at West Point, and resigned in 1851. He married Ann Bartlett, daughter of Jonathan Dwight, of Springfield, Mass., and came to Windham in 1868, where he died February 28th, 1880. His children were: Ella, Cora (wife of Henry S. F. Davis, of New York city), Anna Dwight (wife of Julian Alden Weir, of New York city, who is a son of Professor Robert Weir, of West Point).
Jerome B. Baldwin, son of Raymond, was born in Mansfield, September 14th, 1843. At the outbreak of the war he joined the 21st Connecticut volunteers and served three years. He returned to Mansfield at the expiration of his enlistment, came to Willimantic in 1865 and in connection with his brother formed the firm of G. R. & J. B. Baldwin for the sale of clothing. His brother’s death occurring in 1867 the firm was dissolved and Mr. Baldwin was for the next nine years employed as a clothing salesman by John G. Keigwin, and in 1876 he purchased the stock from his employer and in connection with Frank F. Webb formed a partnership under the style of Baldwin & Webb, which continued till 1886, when he purchased his partner’s interest. He married Ella M., daughter of A. B. Adams, and has three children: Emma Bell, Jane May and Georgie Ella. Mr. Baldwin was a member of the Connecticut legislature in 1886.
Robert Barrows, son of Robert (who was the common ancestor of the Mansfield families), was born November 8th, 1689, and came to Mansfield about 1720. He married at Plymouth, Bethia Ford. Their children born at Plymouth were: Jabez, Lemuel and Thomas. Their children born in Mansfield were Amos, Lydia, David and Elisha. Robert Barrows died November 12th, 1773. Lieutenant Thomas (son of Robert), born September 13th, 1716, married for his first wife Mehitable, daughter of Deacon Experience Porter April 30th, 1741. By her he had a child, Experience, who died at the age of five years. He married Abigail, daughter of John Crane, February 2d, 1743-4, and had the following children: Abigail, married Nathan Palmer; Mehitable, married Thomas Swift, Jr.; Thomas, died in infancy, and Thomas. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Turner, January 9th, 1751-52. His children by this marriage were: Solomon; Mary, married Asa Bennett; Experience, died at Stamford, Conn., and was a soldier in the revolutionary war; Elizabeth, died unmarried, aged 78 years: Philip, Eleazer, Lydia, married Joseph Southworth; Lemuel, and Caleb Turner, who died in New York state. Philip (son of Lieutenant Thomas) was born November 29th, 1760, and resided in Mansfield, where he died August 16th, 1309. He married a widow, Sarah Fisk, daughter of Joshua Parker, March 29th, 1787. Their children were: Sarah, deceased, married Ira Bennett Philip, deceased; Harmony, died in childhood; Phares, Stephen Fisk, died in New York state; Amasa died in New York state; Celia, married Asa Lyon and died at Fredericksburg, Va., and Thomas Adam, died in Connecticut. Phares (son of Philip), born May 20th, 1797, resided in South Mansfield and married for his first wife Alma Parrott of Pomfret, Conn., May 20th,. 1820. His children were: Edwin Augustus, Harriet Sophia, married Joseph B. Spencer of South Windham; Elizabeth Gyles, married Nathan Griggs of Chaplin, and for her second husband Jesse Turner of Chaplin; Sarah Lucinda, married David A. Griggs of Chaplin; Mary A., married Milo M. Hibbard of East Homer, N. Y., and Delia Maria, deceased, married Deacon Waldo Bass of Scotland. Phares was married three times, and died in 1881. Edwin Augustus, son of Phares, born March 28th, 1821, was twice married; first to Anna J. Hanks, second May 21st, 1851, to Emily Ashley of Chaplin. His children, all by his second wife, were: Daniel Clifford, born April 10th, 1853; Edwin and Emily, twins, died in infancy; and Anna Maria, died at the age of six years. Father and son are both doing business in Willimantic, the latter being a jeweller.
Henry Brainard was born; in East Haddam, Conn., December 9th, 1794. He came to Willimantic to reside in 1829, and was engaged by the Windham Manufacturing Company for twelve years in teaming from Providence to Willimantic. In 1841 he removed to Marlborough, Conn., remained there four years, and married there Miss Amelia Blish. He then returned to Willimantic and purchased what was known as the Tremont House, which he kept as a hotel till 1854, when he purchased the Brainard Hotel, and enlarged the same and carried on business there till 1862, when he retired. He died March 11th, 1884.
The Brown Family.-The English ancestor of this family was John Brown, who was acquainted with the pilgrims at Leyden before 1620, but the date of his coming to this country is unknown. He settled in Plymouth colony, was at Duxbury, Mass., in 1636, at Taunton in 1643, and was an original proprietor and early settler of Rehoboth, Mass. He was assistant in Plymouth colony in 1636, which office he filled for seventeen years, and was one of the commissioners of the United Colonies of New England from 1644 to 1655. He was a large real estate owner in Rehoboth and was a friend of religious toleration, and was the first of the Plymouth magistrates who expressed scruples as to the expediency of coercing the people to support the ministry. He was a man of talent, integrity and piety, and his death, which occurred by fever April 10th, 1662, was felt throughout the whole colony. He had the following children, who were all probably born in England: James, who died at Swansea, October 29th, 1710, aged 8 7 years; Mary, who married John Willett, and John, who married a daughter of William Buckland, lived in Swansea and died March 31st, 1662. He had the following children: John, Lydia, Hannah, Joseph and Nathaniel. Captain John (son of John above) was born on the last Friday in September, 1650, and married November 8th, 1672, Anna, daughter of Major John Mason, of Norwich, Conn., the hero of the Pequot war. He was held in high estimation by his Mason relatives and the Mohegan Indians, and under date of March 2d, 1677, his brother-in-law, Samuel Mason, gave him a thousand acre right, which was located in what is now Windham, and part of this land is now owned by Elias P. Brown. Captain Brown lived among the stirring scenes of Philip’s war, and probably did active service in that struggle. Efforts were made to induce Captain Brown to settle in Windham but without avail. The exact date of his death is not known, but it was previous to 1711. His children were: John, who married Abigail Cole, and died at Swansea in 1752; Lydia, married Joseph Wadsworth, of Lebanon, Conn.; Martha, married Deacon Eleazer Fitch, of Lebanon, Conn.; Daniel, died in infancy; Ebenezer, died in Lebanon, Conn., aged 100 years; Daniel, Stephen and Joseph. Of this family Stephen was born January 29th, 1688, and located on a thousand acre grant of his father in Windham about 1717. He took part in the famous Hartford suit in 1722, in which his cousin, Jeremiah Fitch, of Coventry, was liberated from jail, where he had been imprisoned on account of some decision respecting the Hop river lands. He was married three times; first to Mary Risley in June, 1729, by whom he had one child, Stephen, Jr. His second wife was Abigail, daughter of Thomas Rugg, of Mansfield, by whom he had one child, Abigail, who became the wife of George Anderson, of Mansfield. His. third wife was Mary Jacobs, and the children by this marriage were Mary and John. Stephen died in October, 1766. John (son of Stephen) was born June 18th, 1742, and besides cultivating a farm and keeping a country tavern, carried on the. manufacture of potash and the refining of saltpetre, he being the only person in this part of the country who understood the latter business. He was engaged in the revolutionary war, and during that strug- gle prepared the saltpetre used in the Willimantic powder mills. He was also employed by the state and was highly esteemed by Governor Trumbull. He married December 22d, 1763, Sybil, daughter of jabez Barrows, of Mansfield. He died in December, 1824, aged 82. His wife died in January, 1837, aged 93. Their children were: Roswell, who died unmarried; Lydia, who married William Spafford and settled at Troy, N. Y.; John, Eunice, married Asa Brace and settled in New York state; Clarissa, married Samuel Babcock and settled at Westmoreland, N. Y.; Asenath, married Nathaniel Fitch and settled at Verona, N. Y.; Sybil, married Jedidiah Fitch and settled at Verona, N. Y.; Jabez, and Lucinda, who married Jabez Cummings, of Mansfield. John (son of John) was born November 16th, 1769, and was married three times. His first wife was Olive Martin, by whom he had the following children: Julia, died young; Roswell, died unmarried; E. Nathan, died in Lebanon, Conn., and Eliphalet, died in Willimantic. His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Elias Palmer, of Coventry. The children of this marriage were: Albert Banks, who died in Illinois; Maria Arnold, married Dwight Bailey, of Franklin. Conn., where she died; Elias Palmer, Wealthy, who married Frederick Curtis, of Saugerties, N. Y., where she died; Sarah, deceased, married V. R. Hovey; John Dwight, unmarried, killed by explosion of a powder mill in Manchester, aged 24 years; and Ralph Williams, died aged 8 years. His third wife was Nancy Fitch. He died April 27th, 1841. Elias Palmer (son of John), born May 30th, 1810, married Salina Dickinson. They had six children: Howard Z., born April 9th, 1839, married Lucy Tefft (They have a family of four children: Curtis Palmer, Jessie, Earl and Helen. He is engaged in paper manufacturing in town of Colchester, Conn.); Sarah A., wife of Charles Ladd, of West Winsted, Conn.; Ellen, resides at Gurleyville, Conn.; Edwin M., born September 12th, 1843, married Carrie Wheeler (He has the following family: Edward AL. Carrie, Howard and Pearl. He is engaged in business with his brother); Maria E., resides with her parents, and Mattie A., wife of J. F. Chandler, of East Woodstock, Conn. John (son of John) was born November 17th, 1816, married Rebecca T. Lyon and had three children: Wealthy J., died at the age of 29; Inez M., and John Dayton, born December 12th, 1856, married Nellie Hills and resides at Plainville, Conn.
S. L. Burlingham was born in Killingly, Conn., March 1st, 1845, being the son of Lewis and Eliza (Robbins) Burlingham. He came to Willimantic in 1857, and was employed by the Holland Silk Co. as boss finisher when they ,opened their works in that borough, and has been in the employ of the company ever since.
The Burnham Family.-All the families of this name in Windham county are descended from Deacon John Burnham, one of three brothers, who was born in England in either 1616 or 1626, and came to Ipswich in 1635. He died November 5th, 1694. His children were: John, Josiah, Anna (married a Low) and Elizabeth (married Thomas Kinsman). Josiah, son of Deacon John, was born May 9th, 1662, and died October 25th, 1692. He married Abigail, daughter of Thomas Varney, and their children were: Josiah, Jacob and Ebenezer, born December 23d, 1690, died March 10th, 1746. Ebenezer came from Ipswich, Mass., to Hampton, Conn., in 1733 or 1734, purchased a farm in that town, and joined the church October 20th, 1734. His children were: Joshua, Ebenezer, Joseph, Andrew, Isaac and Dorothy, who married Captain William Hebard. Andrew. son of Ebenezer, was born May 28th, 1726, and died in 1786. He married flay 11th, 1757, Jane, daughter of William Bennet. His children were: Andrew, William, Elizabeth (married Milan Hebard), Sarah, Adonijah, Mercy, Rufus and Enoch. Adonijah, son of Andrew, was born in Hampton July 25th, 1770, and died May 31st, 1827. He married Abigail Fuller. Their children were: Luther, Asa, Anson, Lyman, Chester the four last dying unmarried), Clarissa (married B. F. Robinson) and Jane E. (married Chester D. Burnham). Luther, son of Adonijah, was born in Williamstown, Vt., November 20th, 1800, married April 29th, 1827. Marcia, daughter of Jonah Lincoln, and had the following children: Marcia M. and Lucy A., died in childhood; Lucy 1L, died aged 20 years: Edward L., Ellen F. (deceased), married to Hon. Lester Hunt; and Stowell L., a lieutenant in the 82d Ohio regiment, killed at the battle of Gettysburg, aged 25 years. Luther was a member of the legislature in 1849 and 1862, and removed to the town of Windham about 1830. He married for his second wife Jane –T., daughter of Ralph Lincoln, and died April 28th, 1878. Edward L., son of Luther, was born in Windham October 18th, 1833, and married December 13th, 1865, Sarah E. Peck, a native of Chaplin. They have had five children, two of whom died young, viz., Anna Porter and Edward L. The others are Stowell L., Ellen C. and John P. William, son of Andrew, married Lois Grow. Their children were: Elisha, William, Rufus, Lucius, -Marcus, Mason, Lois (died at the age of 18) and Marvin. There were two other children who died young. Elisha, son of William, married Phebe Avery. Their children were: Edwin E., Alfred A. (deceased), Lucy Ann (married Wolcott Carey, of Hampton), Redelia (wife of James Smith, of Windham), and Amanda (deceased), married to Charles Larrabee, of Windham. Elisha was a blacksmith and owned a saw mill, and lived in what is now Scotland. Edwin E., son of Elisha, was born in Windham October 16th, 1816, and married Amanda, daughter of Captain Dan Lincoln. They have two children: Adelaide, wife of Samuel L. Burlingham, treasurer of the Holland Silk Company, and Emeline, wife of W. H. Latham. William, son of William, was born in Windham in July, 1797, and died July 31st, 1836. He married and had three children, of whom only two arrived at maturity. They were George INT. and Eliza (deceased), who married Doctor Fred. Coe, who was a Christian minister and came from an Ashford family. William removed from his native town to Ohio and joined the Shakers at Watervliet in that state. He subsequently returned to Connecticut, became a member of the Shaker village in Enfield, and remained with them eight years, then returned to his native town. George NV., son of William, was born at Milford, Ohio, December 7th, 1818, married Miranda Smith and has had five children: Sarah, died aged 4- years: Delia, George A., married Nancy Babcock, and died at the age of 34, leaving two children, Estella M. and Agnes; Eva, wife of Henry Edgarton, of Shirley, -lass., and Sarah, who married Eugene M. Lincoln, and died aged 25.
Martin Card was born in Lebanon, April 10th, 1823. He was the son of Thomas and grandson of Joseph, both of whom lived to be 92 years of age and were natives of Rhode Island. Martin was long engaged in the butchering business, from which he retired in 1885. He married Lydia Fitch and has two children Clinton, who resides in South Windham, and Annie.
Horace M. Chapman, born in Russell, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., September 6th, 1818, is the son of Parley and Roxa (McKnight) Chapman. At the age of six his parents removed from New York to their native town of Ellington, Conn. He was a resident of Ellington till 1880, when he came to Willimantic. While in the former town he was engaged in farming, and while in Willimantic was engaged in the flour and feed business, being a member of the firm of A. Arnold & Co. He married Julia Ann Tiffany, of Somers. ‘They have had two children Willie, who died aged 26, and Maria, wife of Ansel Arnold, of Willimantic. Mr. Chapman is a democrat. He was a member of the legislature in 1861 from Ellington, and held town offices in that town. He has been warden of the borough of Willimantic.
James A. Conant, born in Mansfield August 16th, 1829, is the eldest son of Lucius and Mary E. (Eaton) Conant, and is a lineal descendant of Roger Conant, who came to America in 1623. At the age of fifteen he engaged in the silk business, which he has followed ever since, excepting one year, when he was engaged in farming, and about seven years, when he was employed by the Watertown Manufacturing Company. He has been in the employ of the Hollands since the spring of 1864, and holds the position of superintendent of the throwing department. He married Caroline A. Chapman, and has one son, John IV., a resident of Easthampton, Conn. He is superintendent of the throwing department for the Eureka Manufacturing Company at that place. He married Nellie Blood and has two children. Mr. Conant married for his second wife Mary Etta, -widow of Andrew Brown.
William H. Cranston, born in Wickford, R. I., May 17th, 1814, is the fifth child and fourth son of a family of eleven children, of Thomas and Alice (Eldridge) Cranston. At the age of eighteen he entered a mill and was at one time employed by the Spragues in their mills at Natick, R. I. He came to Mansfield in 1842 and engaged in farming for three years. He then removed to Willimantic and was employed by the Windham Manufacturing Company as overseer, which position he held till 1861. He was afterward with the Smithville Manufacturing Company till 1865, when he removed to Corry, Pa., but returned to Willimantic in 186S and was engaged with the Smithville Manufacturing Company till 1873, when he retired from active business. His first wife was Safety Prosser, by whom he had one child, William, who married Alice Prosser, and died at the age of 37, leaving one son, Allen Lincoln Cranston, who resides in Willimantic. His second wife was Mary Saunders.
Hezekiah Hammond, son of Hezekiah, married Polly Greenslit and had four children: Elisha Griffin, Mary Ann, widow of Edward Moseley, of Hampton: Maria, (deceased) married William Brown, of Hampton, and Albert, died at the age of 4 years. Hezekiah married for his second wife Hannah Warner, of Ashford, by whom he had the following children: Charlotte Lucinda, widow of Gurdon Brown, resides in Brooklyn, Conn.; Helen Elizabeth, wife of Edwin Walter Payne, of Philadelphia; Frances Jane (deceased), married Edwin S. Chase, of Brooklyn, Conn.; and Lucy Griffin (deceased), married Hiram Waldo Richmond, of Brooklyn, Conn. Hezekiah removed from Hampton to Brooklyn, where he died. Elisha Griffin, son of Hezekiah, was born in Hampton, Conn., May 26th, 1805, and married Olive Johnson, of Windham. Their children are: Emily, wife of Henry B. Perry, who resides in New York state; George, died single, aged 20 years; Mary Ann, wife of Ellis Harkness, of New York city; Levi Johnson and Hezekiah Griffin, twins, resided in Windham. Mr. Hammond has been a resident of Windham since 1833.
Robert W. Hooper, born in Winchendon, Kass., March 24th, 1817, is the second son in a family of eight children of Linus and Susan (Wilcox) Hooper. In 1831 he came to Willimantic with his mother. He entered a mill at the age of ten at Manchester, Conn., afterward went to Vernon, Conn., and in 1831 was employed by the Windham County Mills, where he remained till 1851. The next six years he was a traveling salesman, and in 1857 he commenced the retail dry goods business in the Old Franklin Building in Willimantic. This was burned and he erected the present building and continued business till 1886, when he retired.
Albert Hartson was born in Mansfield, July 95th, 1820, and is the youngest of six children of Nathaniel and Sarah (Lincoln) Hartson. He removed to Windham in 1842, and married Mary J., daughter of Nathaniel Flint of Hampton. They had two children: Elizabeth, wife of Hezekiah Utley of North Windham, and Lester M., who was born in Windham, November 10th, 1846, and married Delia C., daughter of Philander Fuller of Hampton. They have two children, Howard and Leslie. Mr. Hartson is engaged inn the manufacture of specialties which are used by silk manufacturers. This industry he started at North Windham in 1868, and has customers in every part of the United States.
The Hatch Family.-It is recorded that the first settlers of this family were from England, and were three brothers, one of whom settled in New London, Conn., another at Boston, Massa while the third one located in Nova Scotia. Samuel, who located at New London, was a baker by trade, and had the following family: Samuel, Elijah, Peter, Joshua, Joseph, Daniel, Stephen, John, and three daughters. Samuel, son of Samuel, was born September 26th, 1738, was a shoemaker, and married Naomi Phelps of Lebanon. They had ten children: Eleazer, Samuel, Asel, Joseph, Tryphena and Salena, twins, who died single; David, Jonathan, Naomi, who married Eleazer Fitch, and Elijah. Samuel died April 30th, 1815. Jonathan, son of Samuel second, was born January 6th, 1777, and married Betsey Payne. Their children were: Samuel Orville, Naomi Eliza (died aged 13), Chester Payne (resides in California), Jonathan, James Chandler (died in infancy), Elijah Phelps (lives in South Windham), James Chandler (lives in Avon, Conn.), Caroline Eliza (deceased, married James Babcock), and Nelson (died in California). Jonathan died October 5th, 1833. Samuel Orville, son of Jonathan, was born in Lebanon, Conn., June 2d, 1809, married Eunice T. Armstrong, and had the following children: E. Eliza, lives in South Windham; John 0., born in Franklin, Conn., March 4th, 1840 (engaged in farming until age of 19, when he learned the machinist’s trade, and was employed by Smith Winchester Company until his death, September 25th, 1885. He married Edna L. Gavitt of Willimantic, and left no children); Jonathan A., died aged 30 years; Mary A., died aged 18; Henry Chester, born in Franklin, Conn., December 2d, 1846, married Lucretia, daughter of Oliver Johnson of Franklin, Conn., has no children (is a machinist by trade, and has been in the employ of the Smith Winchester Company for twenty-three years); Hattie A., wife of William C. Backus of South Windham; Adella B., wife of Eugene Kinne of South Windham; Charles P., resides in Hartford, Conn.; Carrie L. and Lillie L., residents of South Windham. Samuel O. died June 13th, 1877.
James M. Hebard, son of Gurdon, was born in Scotland, Conn., September 19th, 1815. He was in early life a music teacher, but on arriving at manhood, engaged in the railroad business, and from 1853 to 1867 was purchasing agent for the New York and Hudson River railroad, but on account of ill health was obliged to give up his position. He married Delia Benton, daughter of Doctor Chester Hunt. He died December 25th, 1882.
Eli Hewitt, youngest son of Eli and Betsey (Williams) Hewitt, was born in Stonington, Conn., June 28th, 1815, came to Windham in his early manhood, and was engaged in farming. He married Mary, daughter of Gilbert Lamb, of Franklin, Conn., and had two children: Gilbert L., a wholesale grocer in Norwich, Conn., and Mary A. Eli Hewitt died September 17th, 1887.
Elisha Holmes married Sally Harris, and had a large family of children, as follows: Samuel; Sally, married Robert Bishop; Lois, married Jonathan Forsyth; Pauline, married Noah Wood; Charlotte and Marcia, both married Holcombs; Elisha H.; Griswold; Lucretia, married a Brown; Mary, and Alice, died unmarried. Elisha Harlow was born in Chesterfield, Conn., October 29th, 1799, and came to Windham in 1818. He was a cabinet maker by trade. He also was a farmer, had a grist and plaster mill, and was engaged in the dredging business. He married Lydia, daughter of Amos D. Allen, by whom he had seven children, of whom only two lived to maturity, viz., Lydia Allen and Elisha Harlow. He died October 21st, 1886. Elisha Harlow, son of Elisha Harlow, was born in Windham, July 13th, 1844, married Sarah W. Johnson, and has four children: Richard Johnson, Alice Lydia, Grace Sarah and Florence Jane.
The Lincoln Family.-Tradition says that the first settlers of this family came from Lincolnshire, England, and made settlement at Hingham and Taunton, Mass. A son of the Taunton settler named Samuel, came to Norwich and the supposition is that he afterward removed to Windham. He married June 2d, 1692, Elizabeth Jacobs, and had the following children Samuel, Jacob, Mercy, Thomas, Jonah, Nathaniel (died in infancy) and Elizabeth. Samuel, son of Samuel, was born in Windham November 29th, 1693, married in 1723 Ruth Huntingdon, and their family were: Samuel, John, Nathaniel, Joseph, Eleazer and David. John, son of Samuel, was born July 28th, 1726, and married Rebecca , by whom he had two children, both of whom died young. He afterward married Annie Stowell May 30th, 1758, and their family were: Annie, Eleazer, Jonah and Jerusha (twins), and Olive. John died June 7th, 1810. Jonah, son of John, born November 15th, 1760, married Lucy Webb, and their children were: James, John, Dan, Stowell, Ralph, Albert, Elisha, Burr, Lucy, married Benjamin Perry, and Marcia, married Luther Burnham.. James, son of Jonah, born May 31st, 1784, married November 28th, 1811, and had a large family. Marvin, son of James, born in Windham, May 6th, 1813, married Asenath Brooks, and has two children: Herbert Selden, resides at Springfield, Mass., born October 28th, 1837, married Isabel Brooks, and has two children, Herbert Edward and Alice; and Julia Alice, married Bernard R. Green. Lorin, son of James, born December 3d, 1819, married Elizabeth Parker of Ashford, and has two children; Maria E., wife of John G. Bill of Willimantic, and H. Eugene, born February 23d, 1849, married Sarah, daughter of George W. Burnham, by whom he has one child, Louis B., born March 22d, 1876. His second wife is Edith H., daughter of Frank M. Lincoln, and they have one child, Frank M., born July 17th, 1884. Ralph, son of Jonah, was born in Windham, December 22d, 1792. and married Almira Trumbull of Mansfield. He had four children: Frank M., Jane W., widow of Luther Burnham, a resident of Willimantic; Charles Trumbull, resides at Putnam, Conn., and Delia, wife of David R. McCray, of Hampden, Mass. Ralph died June 24th, 1876. Frank M., son of Ralph, was born December 24th, 1816, and married Mary N., daughter of Rufus Burnham, and has one child, Edith M., wife of M. Eugene Lincoln. Stowell, son of Jonah, was born in Windham, October 20th, 1788, and married Maria Welch September 28th, 1815. Their children were: Emily Maria, died aged 8 years: Dwight Fitch, died aged 6 years; George, and Dwight Fitch, a resident of Hartford, Conn. Stowell died March 29th, 1.870, and his wife died September 3d, 1887, aged 98 years, 3 months and 6 days. George, son of Stowell, born in Windham, November 27th, 1821, married Caroline Maria, daughter of Samuel A. Lincoln, and has two children, George Arthur and Stowell W., both residents of New York city. Nathaniel, son of Samuel, was born in Windham November 18th, 1728, and married December 21st, 1757, Agnes Austin. He died March 16th, 1834. His children were Nathaniel, Owen died in New York state; Lora, married D. Spafford, and died in Scotland; Fanny, married John Robbins, and died in New York state; Samuel Austin, died in Windham; Warner, died in Mansfield; Olive, died young; Henry, resides in Scotland; and Lucius, died in New York state. Nathaniel, son of Nathaniel, was born February 1st, 1771, and married June 10th, 1792, Anna Stowell. They had but one child, Sumner Lee. Nathaniel married for his second wife Huldah Warner, and died December 27th, 1864, being over 93 years of age. Sumner Lee, son of Nathaniel, born November 26th, 1820, married Cordelia Kimball of Scotland. He died May 18th, 1879. He had but one child, Edwin Sumner, who was born June 15th, 1849, and married Mary, daughter of Edmund A. Kendall of Ashford. They have one child, Florence Sumner.
The Page family is among the oldest families of Windham. William, who married Lucy Upton, had seven children: William, Tryphena, married Lucius Funk of Windham; James, Amy, married Elisha Jenner; Laura, married Whitman Porter, and Lucy, married Ezra Child. James, son of William, married Maria Backus and had six children: Henry, Charlotte, widow of Henry Smith, resides at Willimantic; Thomas, lives in Holyoke, Mass.; Freelove, died single; Edward and Abby, both lived in Willimantic. Henry, son of James, married Mary Stoddard, and has three children: Frank, lives in Putnam, Conn.; Charles, lives in Willimantic, and Mary, wife of William H. Wales of Willimantic.
John Perkins, a native of Newent, Gloucestershire, England, came from that country to Ipswich, Mass., in 1630. He died in 1654. He married Judith, and of a family of six children Jacob was his fifth child and youngest son. He was born in England in 1624, married. Elizabeth and died in Ipswich, January 29th, 1700. He was known as Sergeant Jacob Perkins, and he left a large family of children, of whom Joseph -and Jabez, his eighth and ninth children, came to Norwich, Conn. Joseph, known as the deacon, was born at Ipswich, June 21st or 22d, 1674, and married May 22d, 1700, Martha Morgan. ‘He died September 4th, 1726, and of his family of eleven children Matthew was the sixth child and third son. He was born at Norwich, August 31st, 1713, and married, in 1739, Hannah, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Fobes) Bishop. Of his family of thirteen children Samuel was the youngest child. He was born in Lisbon, Conn., September 13th, 1767, and married, February 24th, 1793, Nancy, daughter of Solomon and Ann (Dennison) Huntingdon. He graduated from Yale College in 1785, having studied for the ministry, which he followed a short time and then commenced the practice of law in Windham, where he died September 22d, 1850. He had a family of four children: Ann Huntingdon, Samuel Huntingdon, Harriet, and Horatio Nelson, who died in infancy. Samuel Huntingdon was born in Windham, February 15th, 1797, and married for his first wife Charlotte, daughter of Jabez and Anna (Clarke) Elderkin, by whom he had one child that died in infancy. He married the second time Mary F., daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah Donnell. The children of this marriage were: William Donnell, who died young; Samuel Clarke; Robert Smith, died in infancy, and Charlotte Ann, single, who resides in Philadelphia. For his third wife he married Margaret, widow of Charles Dyott. He was a graduate of Yale College, class of 1817, and practiced law in Philadelphia during his life. He died in that city May 4th, 1874. He was a prominent Mason and Odd Fellow, having been grand sire of the latter order and grand master for the state of Pennsylvania in the Masonic order. Samuel Clarke was born in Philadelphia, November 24th, 1828, graduated from Yale College in 1848, and in 1888 received the degree of LL.D. from that college. He is engaged-in the practice of law in his native city, and himself and father have been for seventy consecutive years elders in the First _Presbyterian church of that city. He is president of the board of commissioners for the erection of public buildings of Philadelphia, one of the vice-presidents of the Union League Club, also president since 1880 of the University Club, is a prominent Mason, and has been grand master of Pennsylvania.
Elisha Benjamin Sharp, eldest son of Elder Elisha B. and Fannie (Gardiner) Sharp, was born in New London, Conn., February 7th, 1821. He removed to North Windham with his father at the age of two, afterward went to live in Scotland and came to South Windham in 18770, where he died June 13th, 1884. He was engaged in buying produce for the Providence markets. He married Jerusha A., daughter of John Morgan, and has had two children: Milo B., resides in Lebanon, Conn., and Myron P., died aged 30 years.
Of the Spencer family the first one to settle in Windham was Samuel, who came into the town about 1800. He had a large family of children, of whom Charles married Lucy Dewey, and had a family of ten children, among whom was Freeman D., who was born in Windham, October 22d, 1820, and married Lucy D. Utley, of Hampton. They have two children: Anna, and Charles, born December 25th, 1854, married Elva M. Phillips, and has one child, Mabel.
Rowland Swift came from Wareham, Mass., to Lebanon; Conn., and died there February 13th, 1795, aged 73. He married Mary removed to Mansfield, Conn., and had the following family: Abigail, married a Peabody; Rowland, settled in New York; Zephania, a resident of Windham, became a chief justice of the state and died in Ohio, in 1823; Mary, married Lathrop Davis, of Mansfield; William and Thankful. William, son of Rowland, was born in Lebanon, and died in 1835, aged 75. He married Abigail Clark, of Lebanon, and had two children: Abigail, who died unmarried, and Justin, born in Lebanon, November, 3d, 1793, and married Lucy, daughter of John and Sally Lathrop. They had four children: Abby and Sarah, died unmarried; William and Julia, resided in Windham. Justin died in September, 1884. He was a merchant, and was in the latter years of his life engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods at North Windham and Willimantic. William, son of Justin, was born in Windham, March 16th, 1823, married Harriet G. Byrne and has two children: William B., a lieutenant in the United States Navy, and Abby, wife of Charles R._ Utley, of Willimantic.
Chester Tilden was the son of Ebenezer and was born in Lebanon, Conn. He came to Willimantic in 1827 and formed the First Baptist society, which was organized at his residence and of which he was the first pastor. He was by trade a stone mason and was foreman at the building of the first stone mill in Willimantic, which is the present spool shop of the Willimantic Linen Company. He removed to Andover, Conn., in 1831, where he remained two or three years. He then removed to New London, Conn., and was pastor of the First Baptist and Bethel society. He afterward preached at various places in Connecticut and Massachusetts, but finally returned to Willimantic, where he died at the age of 77 years. He married Nancy Maria Yeomans, of Columbia, Conn., and had six children: Austin B., died at the age of 21; Maria, died in childhood; Chester; Samuel D., resides in Brooklyn, N. Y.; Henry, died aged two years, and Augustus F., died aged nineteen years. Chester, son of Chester, was born in Lebanon, Conn., January 25th, 1826, married Jane L. King, of Mansfield, and has had four children Theresa E., wife of Herbert T. Congdon, of Willimantic; Augustus F., a resident of Willimantic, married Susie A. Randall and has two children, Fred C. and Belle; George C., died aged one year, and Nettie V., wife of William H. P. Swett, a resident of Willimantic. Mr. Tilden engaged in seafaring at the age of nineteen and has visited every quarter of the globe. His first voyage was in the whaler ” United States,” of Nantucket, in which voyage he was wrecked on the Fiji islands. He has been master of three different vessels, and has commanded both English and American craft. He abandoned seafaring life in 1852, and has since been engaged in business in Willimantic, being at present in the insurance and loan business.
John Tracy, only son of Zebediah Tracy, was born in Scotland. Conn., February 21st, 1812. He came to Willimantic in 1829 and engaged as clerk in the Windham -Manufacturing Company’s store, soon afterward became bookkeeper and finally a partner with Matthew Watson in the corporation, and was for over thirty years resident agent of the corporation. He married Delia, daughter of Philip and Sophia Barrows. Their children were: Oliva, died aged nineteen years; John Theodore, a resident of Fair Haven, Conn.; Delia, married James H. Campbell, and died aged thirty-two years; Julia Ida, wife of William Goldman Reed, of Boston, and Cora, died at the age of two years and seven months. John Tracy died May 8th, 1874.
The Wales family is one of the oldest families of Windham, and the first one of whom we have any record is -Nathaniel, whose son Nathan married Rosamond Robinson and had the following family: Nathaniel, Peter, Nancy, who married Darius Hicks, of Pomfret: Fannie, married Elisha Hebard, of Hampton; Philena, married a Ripley; and Jerusha, married Thomas Grow, of Hampton. Peter, son of Nathan, was born in Windham in September, 1801, and died in February, 1883. He married Sally, daughter of Benjamin Perry, and had nine children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were: Susan, died aged 5; Mary, widow of R. W. Putnam, resides in Windham; Laura, widow of Gardiner Thurston, resides in Norwich, Conn.; Deborah, wife of Joel W. Webb, of Willimantic; Sarah, wife of Luther Barstow, of Willimantic; Henry N.; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Belfield, of Pawtucket, R. I.; and Cleveland, lives in Franklin, Conn. Henry N., son of Peter, born in Windham, August 10th, 1837, married Euphemia A., daughter of Warren Tanner, and has no children. He received only a common school education, and was engaged in farming till the age of twenty-one. From 1861 to 1867 he was engaged in mercantile business at South Windham and Willimantic, being a member of the firm of Webb & Wales. From 1867 to 1872 he was employed by George H. Norman, of Newport, R. I., in constructing water works at different points in New England. He was employed from 1872 to 1877 in erecting water works for the city of Manchester, N. H., and by the city of Boston on the Sudbury river conduit. At the commencement of 1877 he returned to Willimantic, and in the spring of 1879 was employed by Hyde Kingsley to manage his lumber and coal business, where he continued till 1883. He has been town clerk several times, and was appointed postmaster of Willimantic for four years in December, 1885. In 1882 he was chosen chairman of the committee for the purpose of ascertaining the best method of introducing water into the borough, and a commission of three was chosen in January, 1884, of which he was one, his term expiring in January, 1887. During this time the present water works were built.
Additional Offsite Biographies
Source: History of Windham County, Connecticut, Bayles, Richard M.; New York: W.W. Preston, 1889